The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Playing with LeBron James

Episode Date: March 22, 2023

Thoughts on the Heat teams with LeBron and the differences between Michael Jordan's generation Colin continues his defense of Paul George   Guest: Mario ChalmersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Hour number two on a Wednesday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. J-Mack is joining us. So the tournament starts back up tomorrow night. Fired up for it.

Fired up for it, baby. It's like we got a mind meld going on. I literally was just thinking, I wonder if Colin would love an idea of like ranking the 10 best players in the Sweet 16. I'm like, I know he's into the tournament. No. But I don't, yeah, that might be a problem. Well, college basketball, that's not what it is. I'm watching a lot for the brands, the competition, the close games. A lot of these games, you know, they're in the 60s. So it's not a, the great offensive players, they go to the NBA really fast. In fact, the best two players, arguably, in this draft, are not even playing college basketball. And that's okay. And the game's also very international. A lot of those guys don't play college basketball. That's okay. You know, college football looks like the NFL. A lot of receivers spread the field out. You can see,

NFL players everywhere. College basketball doesn't look like the NBA. It's a coaching game. It's a brand game. It's a defense game. Not a lot of elite vertical finishers. That's okay. I like close. I like drama. I can watch brands. I mean, my life is I go to the same coffee place. I go to the same grocery store. I can be seduced by brands. I don't, not everything has to be the best. Sometimes it's proximity. It's something I trust. College basketball makes, I watch close competitive guys working their tails off, being coached hard. The referees, by the way, in March Madness have let a lot of these teams play. Some of these games are crazy physical. Duke Tennessee was just pushing each other around.

Yeah. Well, Brandon Miller, maybe the best prospect in the draft who's in the tournament, is shooting five for 22 in two games. Five for 22, Alabama's best player. And they've won both games by 20 or more. Yeah. So I was thinking about this. I watched the Celtics Kings last night, first three quarters, then fell asleep. It's raining here. I fall asleep in the rain. Okay. So there's a story out this week. Jalen Brown, who came from Cal. He came out of college as a really good athlete. Danny Ains drafted him.

He just gets better and better and better every year. He's having his best year. Just a really good player. And he would, people asked him about the rumors about KD, was going to join the Celtics. And he said, you know, listen, I, you know, I know that Tatum and KD were close. But his name always pops up whenever there's a trade rumor. And it's funny because.

Robert Williams is always hurt, really good defensive center, struggles to stay healthy. Marcus Smart could be the soul of the team, but I feel like he's limited offensively, a little inconsistent that side of the floor. And when you play that good a defense for that many years, you wear down a little. And then there's Al Horford, who's a little old and creaky. And so it's like, but Jalen Brown's name always comes up. And, you know, I think to myself, isn't he really? There's two things that everybody, every general.

manager in the NBA is seeking two things. One, a superstar, Janice, LeBron, Steph, whatever. You get one of those a decade. And I'm not talking one per team. I mean, you may get one to two of those a decade period. One magic, one Michael, one shack, one a decade, two a decade. And the other thing everybody is seeking is a guy that comes in, works his ass off, no drama, willing defender, and gets better every year. Every GM is looking for a guy that's willing to play some defense. Coachable. No drama.

And he just keeps getting better and better. And he gets along with a star. Isn't that Jalen Brown? I mean, he's only 26 years old and Tatum's only 25. The only fault for those two guys so far, they're not Janus or Steph. That's it. Well, right now the Celtics are in a better spot than 20. 28 of 30 teams.

They do not have Steph and they do not have Janus. I would take where they're at over everybody. And I do think it's interesting. A couple of weeks ago, I think JMAX said on the air, would you take KD for Jalen Brown. And I think I made a mistake when I said it. I said it. I said, I would.

But then I thought about it and I'm like, time out. Forget that KD got hurt. Forget that. But what everybody is looking for, like in the NFL, everybody is looking for a Patrick Mahomes. That's the one thing everybody's looking for. A superstar quarterback, you win rings, you make millions of the coaching staff, everybody keeps their job, you're a consistent playoff team. I mean, you'd like to have a left tackle that's great.

You'd like to have a great rush. Everybody's seeking the same thing. In the NBA, there's two things everybody's seeking. A star, right, like a star player, but then you need, because by and large, you need three stars to win a championship. Then you're looking for a guy who's a star, no star. drama, willing defender, and gets better every year. That literally is Jalen Brown. So the Celtics, like Oklahoma football, are always good, rarely great.

The Celtics have one title in 37 years. That's about Oklahoma football. Oklahoma's not fired. Bob Stoops won a championship early. They weren't going to run him off. Lincoln Riley was probably going to leave, so they gave Lincoln and Ronnie the job. It's like Brad Stevens moved upstairs, but, you know, you can only coach for so long in the

NBA. Pat Riley eventually moved upstairs as well. But I don't know. When I watched the Celtics last night, classic example, Jalen Brown does what Jalen Brown does, gives you his 27, they run the Kings off the floor. You got to be careful. Like Boston may never win a championship. Either did Utah. You're not going to trade Stockton and Carl Malone.

What you're trying to find, if Robert Williams never got hurt, I think they could have beaten the Warriors last year. I think you're always worried about Robert Williams and resting him and can he play here? but I don't know. Jalen Brown's a really good basketball player. No drama. Plays on both ends. Gets along with the star Jason Tatum.

I don't know. That feels like after getting Janus, that's what everybody in the league is trying to get, Jalen Brown. First, Durant, Curry, Janus. Second, Jalen Brown. And there's only about six guys in the league at any one time in my entire life. maybe four could be three that are true superstars like Kobe, Shaq. The league just doesn't have many of them.

We have now Janus, Luca. I mean, and the kid that's going to get drafted probably in the lottery. That will be the third guy. He'll walk in and drop 25 a night. He can't block his shot. So is Jalen Brown, to go back to the discussion last hour we didn't finish? Is he the, is he a premier number two player in the league? Can he be a centerpiece number one like Jason Taylor?

I think he's a premier number two. You know, by the way, Clay Thompson is going to make the Hall of Fame. He's a Premier number two. Anthony Davis is at two to LeBron. Anthony Davis is going to be a Hall of Famer. I mean, Pippin, a great number two. I covered Pippin in Portland. He wasn't a great offensive player.

He was a slasher. Jalen Brown is Scotty Pippinish, but a not as good of a defender and a better offensive player, right? Is that fair? Yeah. But, I mean, go ask yourself, what's the league looking for? Exactly him. One LeBron comes in a decade. One magic comes in a decade.

You're not getting that. That's usually a bad team wins a lottery. I mean, that's what you get. What you're looking for is Jalen Brown. Hard work or no drama, defender, and just keeps whittling away at it, masonry, brick after brick after brick gets better. Against the Warriors, he'll maybe be matched up with Steph Curry. And then in the next round against the Lakers or whatever,

they'll be matched up with Anthony Davis on a couple of positions. I could see where Jalen Brown's like tired of it. I'm giving you 27 a night. I get along with a star. I'm 26. What do you want from me? If we had Janice or Steph, we'd win tight. Everybody in this league.

I mean, Celtics are always good. Just be careful about taking a big swing to get great. What do I always say? Don't get happier than happy. Boston's really good. All it takes is a twisted ankle from Drew Holiday. You could get into the finals. By the way, Chris Middleton or Jalen Brown?

Jalen Brown. Yeah, exactly. But everybody views Middleton because he has a title as, oh, he's so good, he's amazing. And I like Chris Middleton, but Jaylon Brown is a far more complete player. And he's not hurt much. Middleton's getting a little creak, a little older. Mario Chalmers played for a decade in the NBA, most of it with a heat. NBA champ, most outstanding player with Kansas.

So I went and watched the movie Mario the other day. I went and watched air movie. So it's really good. I thought it was spectacular. And it told us, it really showed how valuable Michael Jordan's mother. there was, and I don't think she's ever been given quite the love and the credit behind the scenes for all she's done. And now, I don't know if you've seen it yet, but you made a comment the other day that

Michael was feared and LeBron wasn't. So my first takeaway is, did you get, did anybody from LeBron's camp, because you know LeBron very well, did anybody from the camp contact you? No, nobody contacting me. I think they pretty much understood what I was trying to say. So tell us again, what were you trying? Explain it for the audience that didn't hear it. Basically, I was saying I asked a question, who is my goat?

And I was basically saying Michael Jordan was my goat, and I was giving reasons. And if you go back for me being around a lot of older guys, being around the Big Three, playing with those guys that hearing different stories, you hear the stories of Michael Jordan and how people had a different fear or had an uneasy feeling of going against him. And what I was basically saying, like for Braun, when Braun left, Cleveland, he was a villain. Like, everybody hated Brown. Everybody didn't respect him because he made that decision.

The whole world was against him. So being the whole world against him, I don't think anybody feared him in that moment because everybody nitpicked at the little things that he wasn't doing. Wasn't winning championships. Wasn't getting to the finals. Was it doing X, Y, and Z? So everybody was nitpicking what he wasn't doing.

So everybody knew what he wasn't doing. So when he got to Miami and it was a different bra, Different beast. He got past the Dallas series that everybody killed him for. Then he won the first one against OKC, won the second one against San Antonio. Everybody started getting on his side again and being brawn fans and liking him. But from my experience, being next to him,

people didn't fear him because people didn't like him. Players didn't like him. Players was mad because he left Cleveland and came to Miami, started the super team that everybody called it. So by not going into the depth, of like I just did. Everybody took that and ran with it. So that's what I was meaning when I said.

People didn't. Players don't really fear Brown back in my days because he wasn't liked. Let me throw this at you, though. You know, I'm old enough that I watched Jordan Live. Michael had to be, I mean, he came into the league. You could hand check. The Pistons were tackling him. The Celtics were tackling him.

Back then, everybody fought for a small piece of the pie. Now, reserves get him. rich that the world's changed Mario everybody gets money everybody gets money so not people aren't as vindictive or i mean lebron's got kind of a magic vibe hey we're all getting rich here let's hang let's let's let's be so that that generationally michael grew up in a time you had to fight i mean michael did michael was underpaid for a decade for right and is it is it could i make the argument that basketball was different 20 years ago. It wasn't as skilled.

It was more of a fighter's. I mean, God, Dr. Jay fought, bird fought, Barclay, guys were getting into fights all the time, and that LeBron's just a product of his generation. Is that fair? That's definitely fair, because bronze, bronze a player that has grown with different generations. He's been in the NBA when it was a postman's game,

a big man's game. He's been in the NBA where it's been mostly three-pointers. And, you know, he's adapting to everything. So you can never take that away from him. It's just we never seen Jordan have to adapt to the three-point shot because it was there. There's different areas, like you said. Yeah. Even before Jordan, Cedric Henderson played in the game with a neck brace.

You would never see anybody in the NBA playing a neck brace right now. I mean, there's no point. There's no, it's not that important right now. You know what I'm saying? It's like life and death situation or nothing like that. So there's definitely different errs and there's definitely different generations. So that's the biggest thing. Like nobody talks about that part.

I mean, they do, but they don't stick with that part. And that's the biggest thing. It's just different generations, different mindsets, different styles of play. You know, you had Bill Self and Eric Spolstra, Pat Riley. You had really great coaching in your life. And it's hard. And you came from a very stable program in Kansas. Then you went to a very stable organization.

I see the John Morant situation, and it's hard. Some kids come from, you know, Most of you guys don't come. I mean, very few of us ever grow up with money. I didn't grow up with money. But for the Ja-Morant situation, I've seen this happen all over sports where you become a star, the money, the girls, the fame. When you watch John Morant, do you feel bad for him? Would you punish him?

What do you do? I mean, you probably had at least one teammate in your college or pro career who just went sideways. He got sucked into a bad group. You probably had one of those in your life. I mean, how do you feel about Jah? I'm a big job thing. I just think, you know, he got kind of a bad situation. He made a mistake.

Like he said, he went to Florida to do his counseling to help get his mind right. So he's doing the steps to show you that he's not that type of kid or a type of player that, you know, he's being portrayed as. He just made an honest mistake, something he's got to, you know, not do it again going forward and, you know, get back and focus on game of basketball. Yeah. So when you go back to your Miami days and Spolstra, I've said I think they're the dark horse in the playoffs. Go back to those Miami days. And I watched multiple times I watched that team live. I said at the time I thought it was one of the smartest teams I ever saw.

You guys didn't have great size. I think Dwayne Wade and LeBron's games, the chemistry wasn't perfect. It wasn't like a Kobe Shack, a big a wing. When you were on that team, which we consider with the warrior, the last dynasties in this league. Did you know virtually every night, Mario, you went on the floor that you guys were the better team? What was it like to be part of the Heedles for four years?

We definitely knew that we had the better team, the better talent, but we knew we were going to get everybody's best shot every night, and that's one thing you can't take lightly. You know, when teams come in with that type of hunger, you know, any little mistake, you know, they can capitalize on and go on the run and, you know, get the momentum. So for us, we knew that we was the better team. We had the better talent.

We just knew that we had to put it together for our whole game and keep it together. It was D-Wade City, and then LeBron suddenly had the ball in his hands a lot. And I always credited D. Wade. A lot of guys would have struggled with that. But very early on, D-Wade, smart dude, is like, you know what, man, LeBron's unbelievable. He's going to have the ball a lot. Go back to those teams. you're a guard, sometimes playing with LeBron can be difficult because he's a six, nine and a half dude with the rock.

Right. That's your ball. That's D. Wade's ball. Was it hard for you to adjust sometimes to LeBron? You'd always had the ball in your hands. At times, it was hard to adjust, but, you know, I kind of played that role in college where I was kind of off the ball, you know, kind of a score, being ready to shoot. So I was kind of used to to that being in that position. There's definitely moments where I wanted to handle the ball and be that point guard where I could show different things.

But you got to do what you got to do with. And, you know, Brian on the ball and being in that position, him making the plays, you know, it was easy to force to flow like that, keep it going. Finally, when obviously I've seen this with like Russell Wilson in the NFL. There's other guys, LeBron, Tom Brady, where they're really dedicated to, you know, their nutrition and working out. are you surprised at all that LeBron he's dinged up a little but he's still this good are you ever look at it and go how I mean because you played a decade in this league he's going on near what 2021 I'm not because you see what he does well I've seen what he does the court and you know the type of treatment type of take type of way he take care of his body

you know I'm so wouldn't be surprised he could play another five six years the way he does it He's just getting constant treatment. He's never had a real major injury, and that's a big thing. You know, once you don't have a major injury like that, and you're getting on up there, it's easy to keep going long as you're maintaining his body. You know, the game's less physical, so he's taking less hits that he was back in the day. Yeah. So it's definitely working in his favor.

By the way, did anybody from Michael Jordan's camp reach out and say you the man for saying that? No, I didn't hear from anybody. I heard from his fans. That was a funny thing. My Twitter and Instagram was going crazy yesterday. Yes, it was. Mario Chalmers. His Kansas Jayhawks won a title last year got bounced this year.

They'll be back. We can assure you that. Mario, good seeing you, two-time NBA champ. Thanks, man. Thanks, Kyle. Appreciate you. You bet. Yeah, I mean, it's...

LeBron's career is very much a parallel to Brady. Like, you know they're not quite, not quite at their height of powers. But I would say this. On the night's, LeBron can't do it like, like at the end of Barclay's career, he couldn't go back to back, right? Now, Barclay's not as good as LeBron, but I remember at the end of Charles' career, you'd get 34 points, and then the next night, bad back, he's not playing. If I said to you, LeBron is fully rested, every player in the NBA is rested for three days, every single player. So it's not a rest issue. And you get, give me the five players you would take, all rested, all healthy. The five players.

you would take in a game seven. Who would they be? I'll start with Luca. I would go Steph Curry. I got LeBron and Janus in that order. Yonis fourth. Yeah. No Kauai if they're all healthy? What is he? I mean, are we sure Kauai being saying he's healthy means anything? I don't know. Hey, let me go back to something Mario Chalmers just said. It's almost like he didn't want to give LeBron a ton of credit. And to me, LeBron's like the ultimate Roershark test, right? You and I can look at something on LeBron. Oh, he's sitting out.

Load management. I see it as smart. And other people see it as, oh, he doesn't want to play. He's soft. Mario Chalmers, like, why is it so difficult for him to give LeBron credit? Well, LeBron was... You're just listening to him. I'm like, dude, you're the...

LeBron is the reason you're doing this show, right? You were on his team with the Heedles. He carried you to two titles. I know you had a great shot. Well, LeBron and Mario were a little bit like LeBron and Coosma. I'm not sure they ever fit. True, but Coosma's going to eat forever because he was on a LeBron team that won a title. I know he's in a fashion and stuff.

But the reason Mario Chombers is relevant is because he played with LeBron. Kevin Bosch, really good career. We know him as LeBron's teammate. Kevin loves, same thing. Like, LeBron has done so much for these guys and for them to kind of, some of them, to not give him the full credit he deserved. It's just a little surprising to me, you know? Maybe I'm seeing it differently than you.

Well, I think the longer I talked about this on Monday, sustained success creates a lot of animosity and jealousy. People love you to be great and then go away. There's a lot of haters out there for LeBron and Tom Brady. People love you to be great and then it's my turn. LeBron keeps coming back and back. By the way, there'll be a point when Mahomes will irritate people. People love you to be great in this country for a short time.

Did Brady irritate anyone? Oh, yeah. When? Nick Wright, right after our show. Come on, he's a hater. But I'm talking about like, seriously, did he really irritate people? Why? When?

Did I miss that? I mean, seriously. There was a deflate football issue that was nonsense. Brady was better after it. They got caught up. That's a scandal. That's not just irritating people. Scandal.

Were they not deflating footballs? Scandal is that Silicon Valley bank. That's a scandal. A football scandal. Let me put it in better terms. No, I mean, find me somebody. it's very rare that you can be great for 20 years. I mean, Drake now.

Now, Drake's been great for so long. Now, he's got haters. Well, once you're at the top, everybody's coming to take shots at you. He's been at the top for a long time. So you're asking me, why can't Mario Chalmers give LeBron more love? LeBron has literally been dominant for 20 years. He was his teammate, Colin. We're on the show together.

Do you think in 10 years I'm going to take some shots at you? I wouldn't doubt it. Hey. No, no, it's not a show. shot at you, you'll just get irritated. By what? I know. It's hard to imagine. Winning championships already. Do you really think I'm going to be irritated about winning championships?

Like, the Mario Chalmers' stuff is very bizarre. Just weird. Find me, it's very interesting. How many guys you see out there taking shots at Brady after his time in Tampa? Anyone? Anyone? Any of his former teammates even taking subtle jabs? I don't see it. Most of them are out of the league. Okay, fine. Anybody taking jabs who played with Patrick Mahomes,

who's gone on to... Well, he's been good for an hour. What is it? Four straight AFCs. How about Tyree Kill taking shots at him? Okay. There you go. There's one.

Tyree Kill. All right. There's one. Just find, that's why when people ask me from time to time, what do you do with the haters? It validates it. That's the price and privilege of being relevant. If you're relevant and great for in any business or really, really relevant, just use the word relevant.

If you're relevant for 20, 25 years, the most criticized NBA player is LeBron James. that's the price and privilege of being relevant in any industry Howard Stern go to Howard Stern social media nothing but haters it makes 120 million a year he ended FM radio he is the most powerful impactful radio star in the last 25 years nothing but hey nobody goes to his Twitter account says great show today that's the price and privilege of being relevant so I think it was was it was it McAvelli who said is it better to be loved or hated I'm not sure who it was but in the modern right Now, it's better to be acknowledged. Well, I think right now in 2023, it's better to piss people off.

That's what you do. That gets caught up in the algorithm. Mario Chalmers is super famous for two days, and then it goes away. I think you just, right now, people are trying to tick people. I don't know if I could say the other word, but they're trying to tick people off by getting under the skin and digging at LeBron or Mahomes with Tyree Kilt. Like, it's just, it's very weird what's happening in modern society, especially with social media. I think it's always been like that. Well, social media is like 10 years.

years old. I know, but I'm saying, you've heard this saying before. No such thing is bad press. Yes. That was created 50 years ago. Whoever said that, it was like 50 years ago. So there used to be a show that most of you won't understand this. It was called Leave It to Beaver. We all watched it after school. I did not. Okay, so I did. I'm old enough. None of you watched it, but it was called Leave It to Beaver. I saw an episode about three or four years ago. I just, I was literally bouncing around TV land or something. Nick at night? Is that you? I forget where it was. But I, I watched about 10 minutes of it. And you know what they were doing the parents,

what the kids, the parents were complaining about kids these days. They were, that's what parents complained about in the 50s. Okay. In the 60s. Oh, they're listening to Joplin and they're smoking doobies. Still smoking doobies and probably some listening to Joplin or whoever they're listening

to. Parents, it's every, once you get older, somebody asked me this the other day. It was my son asked me this. He goes, why do people get cranky as they get old?

and I said, well, they're less mobile, so they're more fearful of threats physically, and they're protecting their money and their mortgage, and they, you know, they've worked hard for something. They don't want to work this hard. And I said, it's just very natural for people get older. They get a little bit more conservative. All right. So it's like everybody's complaining about kids these days.

They've never been smarter. Kids have never been smarter. There's, you know, you say, oh, the generation, this stuff, my kids are so much smarter than me. Your kids are going to be so much smarter than you. So it's, I, my son beat me in chess twice. this week. He's 12. He's been playing a lot. I whipped him in the third game, but yeah, you're right. Kids are, I would agree.

I mean, everything has gotten better with time, right? Technology has helped. Every single thing. But people. Except NBA players. They haven't gotten better because nobody's better than Michael Jordan, as he said, to start the week. 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.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep. That's me, Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

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

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It's a big night in the league, Colin. A lot of decent games. Are there tonight? Laker Suns, I was slated to go to my buddies. DeAndre Aiton's not playing. LeBron's not plighton. KD's not playing. Well, I've got other stuff going on.

Okay. What's the other big game? I could rattle them off for you here. Give me one. Fine. Let me call up the NBA games tonight. All right, we got New York. Miami's a big one in the Eastern Conference.

Where's that at? It's in Miami. Okay, that's a good game. Milwaukee's an 18-point favorite against the Spurs biggest spread of the season. How about Warriors? Warriors at Dallas. That's a big game for them. Warriors are favored on the road.

That's a big game. So we've got two good games. So I'll get on the treadmill for the, Nick's Miami game at 430. Atlanta, Minnesota, they're expecting Carl Anthony Towns to play for the first time in months. Trey Young and company, I hitched myself to that wagon this season.

You don't understand. Can I just say this for two seconds? So I am literally, all I watch on TV is sports. So I don't understand cord cutting. How do you give up cable? You're out of your mind. How do you watch college football and college basketball? How do you do that? So I watch cable, television, and broadcast TV for sports.

And then I watch streaming for shows. Last night I watched the streaming show. And then I watched a little bit of Celtics Kings. I don't understand like this, all these. YouTube TV? No, that's very powerful. Well, wait, let me ask you, though. You can't watch a sporting event on YouTube TV and expect to gamble in real time.

Because those are, it's like six seconds behind. I know. And lines are moving. Yeah, I can't do that. I'm watching cable like you are. I must have 30 passwords. Like, everybody says everything is going to streaming. And my takeaway is, okay, you guys go to your third.

streaming channels, I go to cable and broadcast and watch sports. The idea that I'm losing so much money on cable, stupid, I must have nine, my wife, we must have nine Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, app, I got a million of these things. I have Apple TV. I pay now more for that than I do my cable. I haven't started Ted Lassau. When do you have the time? You got NCAA tournament all weekend?

Football season, I don't watch any streaming shows. Way backed up. None. And then when it ends, I go into my, oh, plus I have acorn. which is British, which is more, they're all better actors than our actors. Acorn? Oh, Acorn's the best. It's like British television, unbelievable acting.

Is it better than BBC Network? Well, BBC's a news, a British broadcasting company. That's news. So what's Acorn? It's like their Netflix. Oh. Except realistic. Well, I'm embarrassed.

I didn't know that. Acorn's great. All right, J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline News. Except for like, uh, Jamie Fox, Tom. Tom Hanks, Don Cheadle, Ed Norton, Michael Keaton, Merrill Streep, British actors are better.

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck. Because they have bad teeth and blotchy skin like the rest of us. So it's like it's normal. When you watch Acorn TV, they look like normal people. It's not all these jacked up beautiful people. But I'm going to go back to something I said during the football season. We want to watch hot people on TV. I don't.

I want to watch real people living real lives. You have your hot people. You've got, your neighbors are real people living real lives. I love my neighbors. Great people. You go out for hot people. I'm middle America. I'm embracing the mailman. You go out there and try to fight Charlize Theron. So you're staying at a Best Western instead of the five-star hotel where the pool is swimming with IG models, right? All I know is I am back of the bus Southwest Airlines with the rest of America. All right, let's start with Lamar Jackson. He's being dinged by some folks because a representative, who is not certified by the NFLPA,

weird, is allegedly reaching out to teams saying that Lamar is ready to move on from the Ravens. This is weird. Dude, your mom now to a non-agent. Get an agent. What are you doing? You're giving away hundreds of millions of dollars. You can't use a parent?

Can't use a... I imagine it's a buddy or a friend. You've got to be an agent. This is so weird to me. We talked yesterday about Michael Jordan made great decisions. on who, David Falk, Phil Knight. He always made great decisions. Phil Jackson.

Lamar makes bad decisions. Great player, bad decisions. Mom to a non-affiliated agent. You're not an agent unless the NFL says you're an agent. Weird. Kind of disappointing. So, if this is true that he wants to move on, I think we've identified the Colts and Falcons as the two teams most likely.

You think Colts, I think Falcons. What would you rather have if you're the Colts? Lamar Jackson and Jonathan Taylor or Willevis and Jonathan Taylor? Lamar Jackson. What are the Colts waiting for? What is the hold up here? Well, and also for the Colts, they may have to move up to three to get Willevis. So I have to give up draft picks for an unproven college player.

I'd rather give up draft picks for Lamar Jackson. Because right now, the Colts draft four, Arizona's three. But somebody could leap the Colts so they'd have the fourth best quarterback in a four-quivor- quarterback class. Arizona's trying to trade down, obviously. Right. So I've got to give up like multiple picks to get Will Levis. I'd give up multiple picks to get Lamar Jackson. I'd give up, I'd give up a couple ones. You got to give up two ones. I give up two ones for Lamar. I mean, Russell Wilson fetched more than that.

You don't think Lamar Jackson for the Atlanta Falcons is not worth two ones. He's going to pass for 3,500 yards. He's going to run for 780. Of course, he's going to score 20 touchdowns. 25 passing and running. And then who's the best quarterback in that division? Lamar Jackson. Just making sure. I know you're a Mr. Derek Carr fan.

I like him, but he's not Lamar. Next up, this is a weird word. Ben Rathusberger retired after the 2021 season. However, he did a radio show this week where he said the 49ers during their quarterback injury issues last year called Ben Rothesberger, reached out to him to gauge his interest in a comeback. I would say this. Last year, there were some truths to the Niners thing.

They were, I think, reaching out for something. just to maybe gauge my interest. I don't want to sit here and say that I was going or like that. They called to gauge interests, okay? I had conversations with my agent with my wife, my family, prayed a lot about it. I'd be aligned if I didn't say there wasn't like a small part of me that was intrigued. Like, oh, man, I could, you know, I could still do it,

like prove to people, right, that I could still play. But at the end of the day, I just can't see myself in anything other than black and gold. I like that answer. That's a good answer. Well, why are you smirking at that? Come on. If the Niners are calling you and, hey, we've got a super. Roll roster. Can you come in and not screw it up?

He's going in a heartbeat. I think they just kicked the tires. You know, Terry Bradshaw said he could never see himself in any other uniform but a steeder uniform. There's something about Pittsburgh and Green Bay. Farv and Aaron Rogers leave resentful. Like Bradshaw and Big Ben are like, oh God, no, I could never wear another uniform. That's what ownership does.

Where did Joe Montana end his career? Well, they had Steve Young. We didn't have a choice. Steve Young was great. Look at Tom Brady. Where did he end his career? Like, let's, that's a little overblown. I can't wear another jersey. I can't wear more colors or different laundry. Could you see Derek Jeter in a Rays uni?

I don't think it would look good, but I could see. Hakeem Olajuwon played for the Raptors at the end of his career. Legendary Rockets. Yeah, but I don't think. Michael Jordan with the Wizards. Well, that was a financial move. Whatever, it happens. Like, Ben Rothesberger, give me a break.

I think the real takeaway here is maybe there was some truth to the Tom Brady 49er stuff recently. I mean, they got quarterbacks who were injured coming back. Garoppolo's gone. If they kick the tires on Big Ben, why the hell wouldn't you on Tom Brady? He's way better than Rothersberger, even at this stage. Oh, yeah. Wow. All right.

Final story. Not a good one here about your guy, Russell Wilson. According to Ian Rappaport of NFL Network, Russell Westbrook, Russell Wilson, sorry, underwent knee surgery shortly after the 2022 season ended. According to Rappaport, the injury has bothered Wilson for a few seasons, but he's already back to throwing and working out. Now, he missed a game with a hamstring injury last year, played through the shoulder injury.

Broncos were 5 and 12. Why is the story coming out now? We like to ask that question on the show. Why now are they announcing that? Why do you think? Well, he's been blasted here as failed, washed. They got Jared Stiddle. Maybe he's on his way out.

Seattle with a great move. He was a jerk in Seattle. This sounds serious. That could be a day surgery. They'd clean up. They'd clean up your knee. When I see knee surgery, in the 70s, you're like, wow. Now I'm like, you're in a hospital for two and a half hours.

So why announce that in the middle of March? Well, it's not about. Do you know there's a reason stuff comes out? Somebody leaked it. Why? Yeah, I think you're who, somebody leaked it from Russell's side to say, hey, guys, I was a little banged up maybe. I don't know. I think that's the.

You wait a couple weeks for the fire on rust to simmer down. Oh, by the way, he had a knee clean-up. He wasn't 100%. That's why he wasn't scrambling last year. The effective way he was scrambling in Seattle. Remember last year? Was not elusive in the pot. How many wins for Denver?

Ten. That's how I feel. 10 and 7. Playoffs. In the mix. Ooh. Well, I mean, you know, the Jets. Better record.

Dolphins or Denver. Both 9 and 10. Who will have a higher Vegas win total? Dolphins? Dolphins will. I think so too. Because the public's going to want to load up. They got Jalen Ramsey.

Two is healthy. Love the dolphins. Yeah. I'd bet the under. Same. Samezies. Yeah. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Back in a second, the Herd. One more Herd? The Herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the I-Heart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand. whenever you'd like.

Two NBA insiders, podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA grapevine. All happening in only one place. This League Uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein.

Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced

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

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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

Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So all you Paul George haters, he got hurt last night, and I think Paul George's a great player. So here's a prime example, how you get framed. You get framed because of a game a moment. Tony Romo threw a couple of like bad fourth quarter interceptions and people are like Tony Romo's not clutch.

He's got a top five. At one point, he had a top five fourth quarter passer rating in league history. But he's a cowboy and he had a couple of big crucial interceptions in the fourth. You guys all think Aaron Rogers is a great fourth quarter comeback quarterback. He's not, but the ones he's had are memorable. So Paul George has a reputation that he stinks in the playoffs. Let's look it up. In the regular season, he averages a point less a game than he does in the playoffs in his career.

In the regular season, he averages a rebound less a game that he does in the playoffs. In the regular season, he averages an assist. half an assist less, fewer in the regular season, then the playoffs. So he scores more in the playoffs. He rebounds more in the playoffs. His assists go up in the playoffs. Now, he shoots slightly worse field goal and worse three point. Yeah, so does Steph Curry in the playoffs.

Because in the playoffs, you're facing rested teams who are playing you night after night after night after night. So they build game plans for you specifically. everybody's equally rested. The best defenses in the NBA end up getting advancing in the playoffs. A lot of the, half the teams in the league play no defense. Those teams aren't playoff teams.

So you go to the playoffs, Steph Curry's shooting percentage. Field goal three point goes down. So does Paul George. But his points, rebounds, and assists all go up against better coaches, better defenses, and better teams.

But it's been framed as, well, I, you know, he doesn't hit the big shot. You go back to Paul George with the Pacers, and that team had Roy Hibbert, defensive-minded coach, Frank Vogel, George Hill, Paul George. They gave the Heald's Fits. Fits. Hibbert's not a score.

They gave LeBron, Wade, Bosch, Ray Allen, Badiere. They gave him fits. Really tough outs because of Paul George. And then he goes to the Thunder with Westbrook, no day at the beach. He averages 24 a game, six rebounds, four and a half assists, shoots 44% from the floor and almost 40% three-point shooting. Everybody's field goal percentage. It's just like in baseball. It's harder to get hits in the playoffs because you face the best pitchers.

It's hard. You don't get to face the A's, you know, you don't get to face the Royals and the pirates and the reds and the dregs of Major League Baseball, the Orioles. You're facing the best staffs and the best arms and the best relievers. So this idea that Paul George is just some playoff flame out, I've never bought into it. Like it's for years and years, prime example, Kobe had a reputation.

Great, great fourth quarter player. No, you want to know who is statistically? LeBron. And if you remember LeBron's first decade in this league, before he won a title, it was he wasn't clutch. It was nonsense. He was the only guy in Cleveland the first seven years that was clutch. He was the only one.

He was surrounded by a bunch of second tier guys. They couldn't get him an All-Star. So I will defend Paul George to the end. Paul George is going to give you 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and he's going to give you 35 minutes on the floor. He plays both ends of the floor, which not that many guys do. He's going to give you a great defensive effort, good offensive game. I'm a huge Paul George fan.

And by the way, he's not also people like Kauai better than Paul George, but Kauai is nonverbal. Kauai also, he's great, but like he'll come into the arena at 345 and say, I'm not playing tonight, my knee sore. You kind of don't know what you're, he's hard to coach. I've heard this from multiple people. He can be a hard teammate. You're never quite sure. Paul's verbal. Paul communicates.

Everybody likes Paul. Yeah. How about that? You like produce? How do you like them apples? Nonverbal Kauai got a clutch technical foul last night for Barkin or to ref. Did you see that? Do you see that weird possession by Kauai Leonard?

Yeah. 20 seconds on the shot-law. What the hell was that? You didn't even get a shot off. That was terrible. I'll just be- Paul George would have gotten a shot off. Sucinct on Paul George.

He's a really good player. I like him a lot. In big playoff moments, isolated, game seven, must win game four. He has flopped a lot. A lot. Power Hour nonsense. 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 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 put on 10. 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.