The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD – HOUR 3 – Brad Guzan: USA Loss Not All Pulisic’s Fault, LeBron & Steph Curry Teaming Up?

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

Colin Cowherd addresses the mounting criticism for Team USA star Christian Pulisic after their disappointing exit from the World Cup. He draws comparisons to other star athletes and the scrutiny they face after underperforming. Former USMNT goalkeeper Brad Guzan joins Colin to talk about the scrutiny faced by American soccer star Christian Pulisic after the team's exit from the World Cup, and how this tournament has introduced the world to Erling Haaland - could there be an American Haaland somewhere out there? Colin talks about how it doesn't matter where LeBron goes, everyone's already made up their mind up already about LeBron vs. Jordan and he will get criticized for ring chasing wherever he goes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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iHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Heard podcast. Welcome in Hour 3. We're live in Chicago. Well, Christian Polisick continues to get beat up after the USA's humiliating loss in the knockout stage to Belgium. So, of course, earlier today has camp made sure to give us the injury update for the U.S. Star. Pulisic suffered a bone bruise, micro fracture of the tibia. Nobody's denying he's hurt.

but before the injury there was disappointment. Do I think of Christian Pulisic scored seven goals in the World Cup? This would come out. No, I don't. But Pulisic has been our best soccer player, arguably in the country for six, seven years, four-time player of the year, and like maybe our best ever. So this is part and partial to what happens if you go to a World Cup and you're a no-show. Remember, before the injury, we were greatly disappointed. And because our soccer media is a little soft and precious and too often panders like our NBA media too often does, it's taken actual soccer players to lower the boom.

Here's Landon Donovan. Again, the media and soccer won't do it, so Landon Donovan delivers. I speak to people who are at U.S. soccer. I speak to his sponsors. I speak to his teammates. I speak to the staff and the coaches, people are fed up with the way things are handled around him. I actually don't think it's from him. I think it's from the people around him.

And they need to stop. And he needs to man up and have a conversation with them and say, look, guys, this is not helping me. Ask yourself, at the World Cup, Messi's a captain for his team, Mbapay's a captain for his team, Harry Kane's a captain for his team. Last two World Cups, Pulisic isn't. Burrhalter, nope. Potorino, nope, I'll give it to the old guy. Burrhalter, I went with a young guy. Why isn't he the captain?

This is not out of bounds. Why isn't he the captain? I do think when you become Tom Cruise or LeBron James or Messi or a big deal in Silicon Valley, you have handlers, you have layers of people to kind of stop the wannabes from hanging around. creates resentment because it also keeps some legitimate people at bay. Tom Cruz did TB12. Belichick hated it. He tolerated it. Belichick hated it. Brady was saying my guy's better than the team people. So I'm going to have my guy work on me, not the team people. Brady was right. I agree with Brady. Patriots didn't like it. They didn't like it at all. And the truth is, as our greatest

soccer player, Pulisic probably has some handlers, an agent, a PR person, to keep. Keep the wannabes and the hangar-ons and the sponsors at bay. I don't blame him at all. Now, that does create resentment because there are some legitimate people in the soccer federation that are also kept at bay. I've seen it in Hollywood, in tech, in sports my entire life. So I thought, I think if he scored seven or eight goals in the World Cup, you wouldn't hear about it.

But the problem when you are a star and you have these layered, Michael Jordan talked about it, it gets very lonely on the road. You don't go out, you're in your hotel room, there's pictures, there's documentaries. You become sort of insulated to keep away the hangar honors. But in that process, it creates resentment from, like, legitimate people who are also too often kept at bay and don't have the control they want as managers and bosses. And I think there's a lot of that.

You're hearing it from Landon Donovan. You heard it from Stu Holden. It's taken players, Carly Lloyd, Alexei Lawless. It's taken American players, men and women to come out. They've all been talking about this for years. This is not a new thing. why wasn't he captain last World Cup? Why isn't he captain this World Cup?

Messi is, Mbapé is, Harry Kane is what's going on. Now, I also think this is true. Because as our best, arguably best American soccer player ever, he's played 11 years of his career overseas. Well, folks, when you stay at a Rich Carlton, a Marriott won't do. When you stay at a four seasons, the Hilton doesn't feel like the same.

So I think 11 years overseas, very sophisticated, he's seen the best, he played against the best, the best leagues, the biggest crowd, the toughest media. Sometimes he feels a little indifferent to like a regional tournament that we really care, and Pocotino really cares, and Pertholder really cares, and, yeah, I mean, Pulisa kind of cares, kind of. But I'm over there at the really nice hotel, and I think that's part of it.

I'm not beaten up on him, but I'm saying our soccer media tends to be a little precious. let's defend him. This is unfair. It's not his fault. He had a bad World Cup. He hasn't been named captain. If we're going to bang on NFL quarterback, look at how we treat our number one sport.

Our media treats football guys like Argentina treats soccer guys. And until we are tough and demanding, it's okay. It's not over the line. Now, I think when it comes to injuries, I'm not going to guess how serious it was. Before the injury, we were all. disappointed. But this is also part of the growth of soccer being really harsh when we disappoint. We got out of the group stage. We won a knockout stage game. But it wasn't good

enough. It was an embarrassing loss. This is part of the growth. I'm not supporting Bullisic, but I'm saying the fact that you have people in the building. Go ahead, yell at me. You don't know what you're talking about. Landonan Donovan does. Stu Holden does. Courtney Lloyd does. Alexei Lawless, they know what they're talking about. They know American soccer. And this is what happens when you are a star and you create the layer, which I'm not saying you can't do that, you could be a great, you could be a top podcaster. You got PR people and got people in front of you and you got booking agents and you got an agent and you got handlers and you don't want to do this and that and that, that's fine. But it does create resentment. So you better deliver or the knives

come out. You age out, you stink, you have a bad series, you're a little vulnerable. there's always resentment for stars. Unless you're winning, there's always resentment for stars in every industry. Okay, so I'm going to say something you're going to think I'm crazy. I'm not going to tell LeBron James where to go. He and Savannah, it's the sunset stage. Like there's multiple stages for a player, the showoff stage, the championship stage, the mogul stage. LeBron's now moved into the sunset stage.

Where do you want to watch the sunset in your last year or two? And I truly believe this. If LeBron joined the Philadelphia 76ers, this is the best starting five he's ever had easily. I don't want to hear about the Heedles. I don't want to hear about the Heedles. The Heedles had Mario Chalmers at point. Tyrese Maxie is all NBA. The Heedles had Joel Anthony at center.

I'd say Joel Embed slightly better. The Heat didn't have any young ascending star like V.J. Edgecom. They were old. Ray Allen, Badi, Mike Miller. Adonis Haslam. Eudanus Haslam. Guys, I love. They didn't have anybody like Edgecombe, who is an ascending star.

Like, not good. Like, All-Star to eight times. Jalen Brown and D. Wade are very similar. Playboy fans, very, very athletic. Both are going to end up in the Hall of Fame. LeBron's obviously not as good as the Miami, LeBron. But if you're talking quality lineup, Tyrese Maxie, All-NBA, Edgecombe, ascending rocket ship, Joe L. M. Bede, Hall of Famer MVP.

Jalen Brown, all NBA. And I've been hearing this. Well, if he chooses Philadelphia, it's the easy way out. Damn straight it is. The sunset stage is all about the easy way out. You don't need to play the black T's anymore. Move up to the blues or the whites. And by the way, get a cart and grab a Bud Light.

I don't need you. I know you've proven you're great. for all of you, I don't care what career you're in. You could be a landscaper or a lawyer. The sunset stage, take the easy way out. Give yourself a bonus. Play the white teas. Grab a cart, a couple of cigars.

Have somebody else pay for it. If I'm LeBron James, and he shouldn't listen to me or anybody else, he should listen to Savannah. You know, his wife, he can make the decision. I'm just telling you, that Philadelphia starting five, oh my God. I don't know if it would work, but LeBron said he wants to be happy and have fun. You know what's fun?

Winning. You know what makes people happy? Winning. Edgecombe, Embed, Jalen Brown, Tyrese Maxie, LeBron James. Come on. When the Miami Heat were winning titles, they didn't have any size. They were a lousy rebounding team. They had a bunch of old guys at the end of their career.

They had no point guard. LeBron, Mario Chalmers drove him nuts. Maxie Edgecombe, Jalen, LeBron, are you kidding me? There's a shot. All five of those guys are Hall of Famers. So when Tom Brady chose Tampa Bay at the end, where did Tom Brady, he could have gone to two or three play?

He chose Tampa Bay. Offensive coach, great wide receiver, tight end talent, easy division. Again, play the white T's. Play the blue T's. This is not like going to the Warriors with Kevin Durant, right? The Sixers have one title in 40 years. They can't win a second. playoff series. So LeBron's not taking, you know, a dynasty in motion. That would be like going to

the Knicks. As you age, work smarter, not harder. Philadelphia is stacked if LeBron goes there. I mean, Jeff Bezos always says this. When you're a public figure, the biggest waste of time is worrying what people think about you. Who cares if people say it's the easy way out? You've earned it. you've earned it i mean cleveland what about cleveland james hardin come on see a winning playoff guy what about miami they got no shooters you have a good front court you got nobody on the bench bob meyer 76ers exact making his push for philly if i he was here i'd say i honestly believe this is your best chance to win you have to decide all the other things that are equally important because it's his life right i don't he gets he has to

play what i would just say is if it's about winning and and that let's talk about this team because you can win here you know all the cheese steaks you want play the celtics a lot and that a great sports town j mac i think lived by philadelphia a lot of people love philadelphia villanova's right downtown, but great Americans sports city. I was going to call Philadelphia one of the nicknames, but it's not friendly. So listen, if you're on top in Philly, they love you. If you're not, not going to be great. Well, welcome to pressure.

I would rather play in a market that cares. I would. I would rather, you know, in Orlando, you know, is that a great sports market? What about the tax situation, though? No, I'm just kidding. Well, I mean, that, you know, Miami is attractive. You know, Nevada, Las Vegas, hockey team, baseball team. That's attractive.

There's no reason to mock the taxes, you know. But a lot of athletes like California, and you guys are taking home about four nickels on a dollar. So what? We got the beach. We got the sun and sand. How are those storms working out for you? There are no storm. I got this stomach virus.

That ticks me eyes. No two stomach viruses out here because nobody eats anything. It's only avocado toast. Whatever I got, you don't want it. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports.

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I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.

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3.05 with Lele Pons as part of my Coulthura podcast network on the IheartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast, I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in one of the world's most notorious prisons. Imagine that. You're Paul McCartney. It's 1980. You're an ex-Beedle.

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she barely escaped from was Ted Bundy. Listen to Discrace Land on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Collins Soccer Spotlight. It's brought to you by Halion, the official partner of U.S. soccer, and the maker of Sensadine, Tom's, Volteran, Advil, and Centrum.

The brands behind your everyday wellness wins. Because every goal starts with an assist, on and off the field, learn more at haelianassist.com slash iHeart. The reality is England invented the sport. They've got the best league and they've got one World Cup in 60 years. This stuff's hard. And I said, what makes Belgium painful is not that we lost.

It's how we lost. But historically, if you look, I've been bringing many of our former great goalies on. Brad Guzon is another one of those. Played in the Premier League for seven years, played on two World Cup teams. He is joining us live. He's from Chicago, by the way. So, you know, it's interesting, Brad. If you're a great basketball player, it's understood.

You go to the NBA. If you are a great international baseball player in Japan, you come to the bigs. Well, if you're a great soccer player in America, get over to the Premier League. And I think sometimes we just think we're America. You know what? We just spend a lot of money. It's like, God, we don't have a player that starts for France. And I love Weston McKinney.

And I love Christian Bullism. we don't have a starter. Like, is some of this just America needs to kind of grow up a little bit and realize these countries are spending $500 million annually and the players over there better right now? Is it just part of that? Yeah, I mean, I think that's certainly part of it. I think when you look at these countries that you're talking about in terms of their history of the sport and what the sport is meant to their country, it's the main sport.

it's everything for for a lot of these communities in these countries. And I think in the United States, that's certainly not the case in terms of how popular the sport of soccer is. And, you know, it's going to take time in terms of growing the sport. And it's moments like the other night where we need those results to go our way to help continue with the growth, not only collectively, but also individually for players to, you know, not only step onto the world stage, but then prosper. from it and accept those moments and relish the challenge of of going up against the world's best. Okay, people talk about our youth soccer, but you ended up playing seven years in the Premier League,

Casey Keller, Tim Howard. How did you become great? What was the point that Brad Guzon went from kid from Chicago, Evergreen Park? Oh, he's a good college guy too. Holy crap. He's starting in the Premier League. What did you do? Yeah, I mean, you've got to be able to fight.

You got to fight for your spot. there's certainly this stigma when I was coming through of of Americans that we were only able to produce goalkeepers and over the last, you know, 10, 15 years, more and more outfield players have been going over there and not only just going over and playing, but playing well and becoming big parts of big clubs around the world. And I think that is, that's huge. And we need more guys to be able to do that because the more times that guys are in high-pressured environments at big clubs where winning matters and winning is the end-all be-all, the more they're able going, the more they're going to be able to take that attitude

and understanding and bring it back to the U.S. national team. You know, Brad, I've said we beat up our NBA players, but we really beat up our football players. If you read the Argentinian press, the Italian press, the tabloids in England, it is brutal. So when I see our American soccer press going, hey, slow, down on the pulicit criticism, I'm like, guys, if you heard what we do to our quarterbacks every Monday on my show, when you were over in the Premier League, Brad, did you ever have a bad

start? Tell me what the press was like when you had a bad game, a bad match on the pitch over there in England. You weren't leaving your house. You weren't leaving your apartment. You weren't going out to a restaurant to go to dinner. You weren't going to the coffee shops. It was very much a case of going to and from from the training facility and back home and kind of waiting until that next the next match day. And that goes back to what I was talking about earlier of, you know, helping the popularity of this sport get bigger. And with that comes criticism. With that comes attention to how the team is performing collectively and individually. And once that starts to grow, then I think you're going to start to see individuals start to build and to build

you know, you can use the phrase of tough skin and just that understanding that, you know, what, what we're doing here matters to the common U.S. soccer fan. And now it's, it's important that we produce and we come up with the goods in terms of getting results on the world stage. So Erling Holland, I remember when he was, it was like 20, years old. He went over to the English Premier League and just tore it up. And everybody said he's kind of gronk. You know, whatever. He's got an American vibe. He's funny. He's big. He's joyful. He does have a little grong feel to him. And I've, there was an argument to be made that if

you just put Erling Holland, forget our infrastructure. If you put them on our team, we're tough to beat. Now, we're not France. We're not. We don't have the infrastructure. But he does change outcomes. I mean, Norway, I, I never thought. thought of Norway as a power. I thought they were less than Switzerland. I've never put them in Belgium, England, Spain, Argentina. Could it be in America? Brad, if we just found one star, six four strapping, kid wanted to play football, went to soccer, or does it take years in infrastructure? Yeah, I think it's a bit of both. I think early in Holland is certainly a little bit of an outlier. And you look at his progression. And listen, when you talk about infrastructure, you're talking

about youth clubs, professional clubs that have youth teams and academy systems that are producing these players and giving them the opportunity to go and play men's football, men's soccer at the highest level in their domestic league. And, you know, Major League Soccer here in the United States is still a young league in comparison to the world's leagues and how much history is enriched in those leagues. And so we're very young. And it's going to take. time for us to continuously produce these players from our academies and give them the opportunity to play against men and against, you know, seasoned professionals that understand what it means to play at the highest level. Now, with that being said, when you look at Erling Holland and what

he means to this Norwegian team, it's unbelievable. It's inspiring on so many levels, mainly his social media account and his ability to enjoy what's happening off the field during this World Cup. watch him play, he's not a guy that is constantly getting 100, 200, 300 touches throughout the game. No. There have been games, yeah, there have been games where he's not touched the ball more than 50 times, but he's scored goals. And the role of a striker, first and foremost, is to score goals.

Now you look at the fear that he causes when he goes up against a back line. Listen, that is real. And his ability to then cause fear in a back line with his determination, with his athleticism with his strength and with his with his IQ he knows what he's doing and then his ability to put the ball in the back of the net is is world class so I'm rooting for England my mom was British London's my favorite city in the world I I'm rooting for him Jude Bellingham's obviously great he's young Harry Kane is like the toast of England what is it like because you had teammates like this what is it like to be the biggest soccer star in England for

Harry Kane what would that be like Yeah, I mean, the expectation for him is obviously different than everyone else in terms of continuously producing magical moments. And he's done that for England year after year. He's, he did that, Tottenham. He's gone on to Bayern Munich and Germany. He's done it there. And, you know, for these players, we talk about expectations of the U.S. team. We talk about, you know, how they've raised the bar, especially through the group stage.

England is different because of the country that they represent. and the footballing history of their country. And, you know, when you look at Harry Kane, yes, he has done so much for them throughout this tournament. And it's almost unfair to ask the question, if they don't win the World Cup, is it a failure? And that responsibility and pressure is certainly going to fall on his shoulders because of what he meets to this English national team.

And, you know, for, you know, your sake and all of the England fans out there, you want them to do well because, as we mentioned, the pressure in that country is different, the expectation is different. And so, yes, they have an unbelievable result against Mexico where they hold on, beam down a man, and they go on to win a historic game in the Azteca. But at the same time, the pressure and the expectation for their team is certainly different. Let's end it on Pulisic. For the last nine World Cup games, he's either and missed him with an injury or left early with an injury. Messy, small athlete, doesn't get hurt.

You know, sometimes guys are injury prone. But there is, not that I defended him, but I said there is a little bit sometimes of an indifference to him. He's played 11 years overseas. And sometimes, and when you play overseas, you see the stadiums, the history, the passion, the press, it feels bigger. You come over here and it's like playing basketball, if you're Yokic going back to your country, doesn't feel like the NBA.

Right? Like, sometimes he's almost indifferent. World Cup's another big tournament. It just doesn't play well to me. It comes off as sort of indifferent. We want you to love it as much as we love it. Is there part of Pulisic? I see the knives are out a little bit on him from our former soccer players.

Is there part of it that maybe he doesn't feel quite like he's all in? And we like our guys to be all in and care and play hurt. Is some of the criticism fair? I mean, listen, I think that some of the criticism is certainly. fair. I think at the same time, you know, we didn't, we didn't play well against Beldom, not just because of Christian or him coming off the field. That was a collective effort. That was a team effort to, you know, really lower the standard of where they set the bar during the group stage. And so I think when you look at Christian over the years and what he's meant to this national

team and what he's done overseas has been tremendous. Now, yes, when, you talk about American sports, when you talk about American figureheads of certain sports, you want them to go out there and be bloody and come off the field and, you know, just look as if they've given everything. And sometimes that's not the case. I don't think that is, you know, all on Christian himself. You know, you see the different reports coming out a couple days now, potential micro fracture or bone bruise or whatever that may be of the cause of his

injury of having to be subbed off in the Belgium game. You know, Christian's never been the guy that wants to be, hey, listen, look at me, look at me. at me. It's always been about the team. And I think when you look at the Westons, when you look at the Gioraynas, the Chris Richards, you know, it's a complete, I don't want to use the word failure, but it's certainly disappointing how it all unfolded.

Yeah. Was it meltdown? When you look at Christian. and him being the figurehead of this national team and of this program, as fans, as neutral fans, everyone is looking to him for answers. And I just don't think he had the answers on the night. And I certainly don't think the team as a whole had the answers. Brad, it's good meeting you.

And I appreciate you stopping by. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I think they had a bit of a soccer meltdown. It ended ugly. We didn't have the goal keeping that we'd had historically. and Americans felt embarrassed. I think when we feel embarrassed, we get upset.

If we lost two to one, it's one thing. When you lose four to one and it's just ugly, that's like humiliating. And like there's certain sports like basketball, if we go to the Olympics and don't win gold, that's our sport. We know soccer's not our sport. Just don't embarrass us. And I think that, I think, and I honestly believe this, I think if you would have put in four or five of our great goalies ever from our country,

and we would have lost to Belgium two to one. But a couple of our goals, we just weren't. It was embarrassing. We don't like to be embarrassed. Nobody does. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Yeah, it was like, I don't know if it was we got embarrassed, but we embarrassed ourselves. Like, that was such an embarrassing performance, Colin. Like, I'm still angry. It was a total meltdown. Second half was a meltdown. Absolutely. Meltdown.

All right, let's start in the NBA. We've talked a lot about LeBron with the Sixers, a lot about LeBron with the Cavs. Well, guess what? The Golden State Warriors are really high on the line. list and Steph Curry has now chimed in. There's a celebrity golf tournament happening somewhere. And apparently some, I don't know if it was a fan or a media member rolled up and asked Curry about it.

He'd say about LeBron joining Golden State. I'm more interested to see LeBron play golf. We'll handle the basketball stuff later, but I want to see the LeBron golf free agents. See what Steph Curry's doing here. He's deflecting a little bit. We obviously would love to play basketball. basketball together. I mean, hopefully it happens, but he's deserved the opportunity and the right to take his time with the decision. That's not a full-throated endorsement, is it?

I just think when you're Steph Curry and you've got to watch your words and he's buddies with LeBron. I don't make anything of it. Is he at that Lake Tahoe tournament they do, the Celebrity Golf Tournament? I believe that's where it is. I was not invited to play, so I'm not going to promote it. I think he was probably asked. He doesn't want. want to, you know, I think it'd be fascinating to watch them play. Like Philadelphia, I disagree with everybody. I think Philadelphia could win the title. If you look at this lineup, it's just a bunch of old guys. What is that the Atlantic Division title or what? No, they could win the NBA title. The Warrior thing would be fun, but they'd be like a, I mean, let's be totally honest

about this. They'd be like a five seat or a four seat. The Philadelphia team could win the NBA championship. So let me ask you, so what Rich Paul wants badly is Anthony Davis to get paid. That's one of his clients, right? AD's stuck in Washington. Washington ain't paying him. So what Golden State's going to have to do if they want LeBron, Colin, they're going to have to give up future picks, and those are valuable. They're not going to.

Well, I would agree. Because Curry's 38, LeBron will be 41. They're not. In three years, the Warriors are going to be terrible. So you can't give up those future. They're not going to be good now. That's a good point. Philadelphia.

Go look at the Philadelphia lineup. Maxie in his prime. Brown in his prime. LeBron and M.B. But Edgecombe's probably a year and a half away from his prime. Like, that's, there's nobody on the Warriors who's a star and in his prime. Butler, Draymond, Steph are out of it. Pods is a 15 point of game guy.

So that is a great lineup. True point guard, defensive players, small forward, passer, distributor. That's 76er lineup. That is five Hall of Fame basketball players. But Vijay Edgecombe, he and Dylan Harper are the two. Well, say, balls one season? Slow your role, Colin. Time out.

The kid scored 36 points in his first game. As a pro, like he's a huge, BJ Edgecombe is a jump through the television. He may not be Dylan Harper, but if you told me two guards right in the NBA right now, like 21 or younger make the Hall of Fame, you'd go Dylan Harper won, Edgecombe 2. Not even close. Here's the problem. You still only have one basketball. Go look at the usage rate of Maxie in the playoffs.

Okay, go look at Jaylon Brown. All these guys want or need the ball. You got Rich Ball saying, hey, I wish Luca would have dribbled less. LeBron needed the ball more, basically. Oh, really? What are you going to tell Jalen Brown and Tyrese Maxie? Nobody's disputing Philadelphia. That's why I think LeBron actually would work in Philly,

because LeBron's always made the right basketball play. It's the all-time leading score. He doesn't need to get a bucket. LeBron wants to win games and have fun. LeBron wants to win games. And also, wouldn't it be nice for LeBron to go to a play? where LeBron's like, I scored 12 tonight. We won by 28.

Like the LeBron's never had that. Like we just blew people away. I played 24 minutes. I'm having a blast. I mean, I look at Philadelphia. This whole thing about, well, you can't take the easy route. Hell, you can't. When you get old, go play from the white T's.

Get in the cart, grab a couple of Gatorades. Estella, have a good time. No reason to make it harder on yourself when you've had a great career. What are you talking about? So does Embed become a three-point shooter here? Like, hey, Joel. Embed plays 44 games, keeping for the playoffs. Honestly, keeping for the playoffs.

All right, let's move to the NFL, Colin. So we've been banging this drum for a couple of years now, okay? T.J. Watt, really good in his prime. He's a declining asset. The Steelers should have moved off of him. Yep. Colin, there's a new edge rusher rankings list out, according to executives, coaches, and scouts.

Yeah. I will give you two guesses as to where T. Never mind. There's the 10 on the screen. TJ Watt checking in at 7. This is a guy who two years ago, a 20-23 led the NFL in Sacks with 19. I would take Max Crosby and Will Anderson over Micah Parsons,

but I would say Miles Garrett, Will Anderson, Max Crosby, then Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchison, Hunter's great, Bolso and Healthy is really good. Brian Burns is excellent for the Giants. Bonito, a Denver's been a stud. Yeah, I mean, I, I, I suggested to you, it's amazing to me. Two years ago, I suggested moving off T.J. Watt.

It was met with utter outrage. Now try getting rid of him. You're not going to get nearly the same package. Well, the way to get rid of him now, it feels like, is at the deadline, if the Steelers are not in the playoff mix, somebody's going to want an edge rusher to chase a quarterback in the postseason, whether it's Buffalo. It is amazing to me how easy it is to do certain things.

Don't fall in love with players. in like with players. The Cleveland Brown just moved off the best pass rusher, not named Lawrence Taylor in the history of the league. Think about Miles Garrett. He plays for Cleveland. They don't lead latent games. Teams are running the ball and eating the clock.

He's now going to go to the Rams who are going to lead in 14 of their 17 games with six minutes left. Miles Garrett's going to have a record year potentially, a record year. He has performed at that level on a team that doesn't. lead games late that are running the ball, they're running away from him. Like, folks, stop falling in love with jerseys and laundry. Move off guys. So he had requested a trade, Garrett.

Watt hasn't done that. And this is like a Jalen Brown situation, except Watt is a little more declining. Like, T.J. Watt probably has the most jerseys sold. Oh, by far. Any Sunday in Pittsburgh. Watt is the man. They love him. He probably wants to retire a stealer.

but the organization would be smart to be like, we got to move off you. Sorry. It's just, it's just when I suggested this two years ago, people were like, what are you talking about? You get about six great years of an edge rush.

Even Cleveland, like we like Miles Garrett, but Jared verse maybe 80% of him, but he's going into his prime, and Miles is probably a year away from getting out of his. Like you just, you got to see problems or issues before they're in your lap.

Anybody can go, wow, Look, you know, quarterback's 38. Like Big Ben, you know, after he had that surgery, it's like, uh-oh, we got to draft the quarterback. We got to go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. It's just not that hard.

You can, there's always an organization. I mean, if you notice this a lot of the times, the best organizations trade with the worst organizations. You know, they're suckers on every NFL corner in the front office. What do you say? People pick up the phone. Hey, Jets. How you doing? What's going on?

Exactly. Final story, Colin, let's go to the World Cup. And your favorite player, Erling Holland, boy, he's going to have to carry this Norway team because right now there is an illness going through the squad. Not great. It's not official that anybody's been ruled out for the England match. But, I mean, it is on Saturday. But it sounds like a couple guys won't be at 100%. Plus, there's this, Colin.

Apparently, they've had to move hotels due to major construction in the Miami area, keeping them up at night. This is not good. Heading into a match against mighty England, but you have Erling Holland, so you'll be in the mix. England's going to win. I would agree. By the way, this is how big Holland is. I got friends in Miami,

and I guess Holland was playing golf yesterday, and some people took video of Erling Holland on the golf course, and it went viral instantly. People are going crazy for this guy. He's, like, become a major story at the World Cup. It's pretty cool. And he also has really wrapped his arms around America, and people love that.

You know, people are proud of their countries. They want you to love America. Fans have been great. Our fans have been amazing. J-Mack with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News.

Boy, I got to tell you, England, yeah, I'll take England over Norway. That win in Azteca. Do you guys see the ratings for that? By the way, I mean, just the ratings for England, Azteca, America likes quality. I mean, if that game's in England,

England, it doesn't feel the same. Putting it at Azteca, England the favorites, like, oh, my God, I didn't know if they could win. But America will, oh, it doesn't have to be our athletes. America likes quality. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all?

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The man who had given her that ride she barely escaped from was Ted Bundy. Listen to Discrace Land on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Charles Barkley, former Sixer, said LeBron should not go back to Philadelphia. Or go to Philadelphia. He should go back to Cleveland. and finish his career there. If he goes to Philly, people are going to say

he's ring chasing to catch Michael. If he goes to Golden State, they're going to say he's ring chasing. You don't have no affiliation in Philadelphia or Golden State. He goes to the Cavaliers, which is what I think the rightful of thing, because that's his home.

He grew up there. They're probably going to be favorite to win the East. So here my question. why would LeBron care that people say he's ring chasing? I was watching an article, reading an article on Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder. And somebody asked him an interesting question, like, what do you make when you're a celebrity and you get this criticism thrown at you? And he said, like, when you're a celebrity or you're well-known,

it's the biggest waste of time worrying about what people think of you because they can see a picture of you on a yacht and they think you're on a yacht all the time. You may be on a yacht, you know, seven days a year, but that's the picture you see. You don't see them working at a computer. You're like on a yacht. And so like LeBron, why he should think about one thing.

Where can I have the most fun? Where can I win the most games? I mean, he's got his own goal stream, you know, travel, seeing family. Philadelphia's got the best players. You want to sign up with James Harden? I mean, Donovan Mitchell now, you're signed up for that and not a lot of playoff success. I mean, they got swept in the playoffs. So it's like, well, Cleveland's home again.

Folks, there's an old saying you can't go home again. Cleveland and LeBron, he'd be going home again again. It's just go to the best team. Who cares what people say? Like, who cares while he's ring chasing? The people that love LeBron will always support him. And the people that hate LeBron will not. never budge. The MJ fans have made their mind. It's over. So, you know, I look at, I look at

stuff like that. Like when I see people criticizing like certain cable outlets or everybody's made their mind up on Fox News. Nobody's switching allegiances. There's no liberal saying, you know, it's, it's reasonable. I'm going to start watching it. And there's no conservatives that like the other liberal channel. Like everybody's made their mind up on stuff. Everybody's made their mind up on LeBron. So if he goes to Cleveland, he gets bounced earlier than he would have. Philadelphia, he's going to get criticized because he couldn't win a ring in Cleveland. If he goes to Philadelphia and wins

the whole thing, well, he's a ring chasing. So just do what makes you happy. It doesn't matter. People, when people have made their mind up, like in politics, I always laugh at the, I'm one of the very few people. Like, I'll vote for either side.

Like, I'm a total centrist, total moderate, don't really care, socially left, physically right, I'll change. I can vote for either side. Convince me, you're the person I should vote for. I feel like I'm on an island. I'm one of them like eight people in America. Everybody else has made their mind up.

People have made their mind up on LeBron. So when they've made their mind up on you, don't worry about convincing them otherwise. Just go where you're happy. If Cleveland is where you're happy and you want to go back, I mean, you've left it twice already. So it doesn't have that much of an indelible mark. You've already left it twice.

But if it works for you, then take, I'm not against him going to Cleveland. But Philadelphia, we've shown. shown this a couple times on the air today. Look at that Philadelphia starting five. It is four Hall of Famers and one guy, VJ Edgecombe, who is a rocket, who is a comet, who is an unbelievable player. Now you could say, well, who's going to shoot the ball? There's only one basketball. That's what they said about KD. Steffin Clay. It worked. You know, it's not like, it's not like Michael Jordan played with a bunch of guys that didn't want to shoot. Kooch

wanted to shoot. Pippin wanted to shoot. Kier wanted to shoot. Paxson wanted to shoot. Ron Harper wanted to shoot. I mean, Shaq and Kobe and the Lakers. They got Derek Fisher wanted shots. You know, Robert Ory wanted shots. I mean, everybody that plays in the NBA is a great player at the high school, AAU college level. You know, like, they're all great. They all were the man at some point in their life. And then they, you know, they pull back. But I always feel like with LeBron, everybody's made up their mind on LeBron. You cannot worry about convincing people. You're a good guy or you're your bad. LeBron's never been in Trump. once in his career.

You know, he's married, the kids are great. Like, he's a good guy. You don't have to love everything about him, but he seems like a good guy to me. I know what team I'd like to watch the most, Philadelphia with LeBron. That's the one I'd want. Now, maybe I'm being selfish.

That's the team I want to watch. What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the hosts of everyone watches women's sports, a new podcast from Together. We're breaking down the biggest headlines,

the viral moments, and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. From game-changing performances to culture-shifting conversations, we'll give you our takes, our debates, and a few laughs along the way. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Joy is essential, and it's also elusive.

But now, there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Joy 101 and Listen Now.

Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby is presented by CVS. My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerrin. Have surprises. Many surprises. Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group chat comes to life. What a... You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade.

This is Sweet 305. Here, oversharing is encouraged. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Disgraceland. I tell the stories behind music's biggest names. Like how the story of the foo fighters isn't just about music. It's about grief, shock, and the moment every time. changed. Imagine that. You're in the biggest band on the planet, as Dave Grohl was in 1994 in Nirvana.

And the phone rings. And you learn that your singer, your friend, the reluctant voice of a generation, Kirk Cobain, is dead. Listen to Disgraceland on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.