The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - Eric Karros stops by The Herd, the Knicks are not contenders

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

More on the Dodgers dominate season so far including if Shohei Ohtani can win the Cy Young award How the new CBA is affecting the NBA and why Colin doesn't feel the Knicks will do well in the playoffsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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 ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the moment and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to the Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m.

To noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Well, you know, when Joe Torrey, the last dynasty we had in baseball pre-Dodgers was Joe Torrey in the Yankees. And I always thought like the strength of Joe Tori is the ability to be collaborative in a very loud baseball city. Now, Los Angeles isn't as angry as a lot of those traditional East Coast markets, sports talk radio is more. supportive than cynical.

But Dave Roberts similarly has a star-studded locker room. And because he's not a big personality, he always kind of protects his team. You know, until last year, when he literally pulled every perfect lever in game seven, finally people went, you know, Dave Roberts really knows what he's doing. Well, a guy that sees him nightly is Eric Carroll, the former Dodger, been an analyst with a team for years. Good dude. Son now Kyle made his major league debut. We'll get to that in a minute.

You know, you're with Dave Roberts all the time. And there is something about wearing well. You know, you know Tommy Lassort, a late Tommy Lassort. Tommy was, Tommy could be combative and, you know, depending on the mood or the winning streak. What is it like to be around a star-studded team with this sort of high EQ mentor, you know, I mean, really, there's no chaos with Dave. he's like the high school teacher all the students liked what is it like to be around him so you know you hit it right on the head as far as recognizing you know dac doc pulling all the right levers last year in the world series but what he's even better at is creating a clubhouse

culture and you know making everybody feel like they're a huge part of the team whether you're you know number one on that team or you know with the way they use the roster you're you're number 40 and his ability to communicate, his ability to handle the public to take bullets for the organization, to take bullets for the players. You know, I don't think, he doesn't get enough credit because the lazy, the lazy way to describe things are, well, what a great team and the resources. But there have been a lot of great teams. There have been a lot of high price teams that don't win World Series. And, you know, he's won three of them. And he's cemented himself in the Hall of Fame. And he does need to be recognized as, you know, one of the great managers of our time.

And look at when you talk about L.A. history, you've got two Hall of Famers in Walter Alston and Tommy LaSorda. And he's going to be a third. And arguably, he is going to be the most successful of the three. You know, with analytics, there has been a sense over the last 15 years in baseball, but that the GMs hand the manager the lineup. And some of that, I think, is situationally, you kind of sit down with the GM in the front office and the analytic guys and talk about certain matchups in a series going forward. But I felt last year, especially in the playoffs, that felt very Dave Roberts. I mean, some of those levers were late inning. Do you believe because has he added credibility inside the organization? Does Dave have more power than the average manager simply because of winning?

and that buys him not just credibility but leverage. Well, I think he's always had the credibility, right? And I think the trust, though, has evolved over time. And that just comes with the success, the experience. You talk about the World Series and some of the levers that he pushed. I mean, none other are more important than put Miguel Rojas in the starting lineup. And, you know, going with him. That came out of nowhere.

And that was really just, you know, Doc, having a gut feeling and wanting, you know, Miguel out there. And, you know, one of the things about it was he felt like, look, this may be his last year. He's going to go out and play like his life dependent on it. Not like other guys won't, but the compete part was going to be off the charts. And it proved true, especially with that. I mean, who saw that home run coming, except for maybe Doc?

What do you make of Otani's two starts this year? What do you make of it? I mean, look, he's, whatever he puts his mind to, he's going to be dominant. And that's, that's anything. If he was solely a pitcher, I think he'd be the best pitcher in the game. You know, he's still trying to do both. He's done everything that they've asked. You know, the word is, you know, he wants to win a Cy Young.

Put that on the resume. If he was solely pitching, yes, he can do it. I think it's going to be tough just because I don't know that he's going to have enough starts. and because of the limited amount of starts, he's going to have to be perfect because he has a, you know, a bad outing or two. That's tough to rebound when you're trying to compile numbers. So can he do it? Of course. I would, if you ask me, you know, can Shohei do this, do that?

100% I'm saying yes to everything until he proves that he can't do it because he puts his mind to it. It happens. Last year, Mookie Betts had that injury early in the season. came around later. Otani struggled against the Phillies in the playoffs. Even a great lineup. You got Kyle Tucker now this year. It's had a little bit of a power outage.

He's not hit. I mean, your kind of takeaway on, it's an interesting lineup. You've got a lot of viability if you're Dave Roberts. There's a lot of people you can move. Is there a best place to put like a Kyle Tucker in that lineup? Is there a place you think he belongs? Well, I think he belongs in the second spot.

assuming that he plays like he's played, you know, the last few years, right? Just because of the patience, his ability to make things happen to elongate the lineup, you know, hitting ahead of when guys are healthy, mookie and Freddie, you know, all those sorts of things. You know, look, this team is as deep as anybody, probably the deepest Dodger team that I've ever seen. And I've been watching, you know, these guys, I've been in the organization since 88. and probably one of the deepest baseball teams I've ever seen put together. And, you know, real credit to the front office. And they're doing things right now that, you know, there's no Blake Snell.

There's no mooky bets. You know, they're only going to get better. Are they vulnerable in the postseason? Every team is vulnerable. I mean, you make a pretty solid argument that, you know, if 10 or 11 things don't go their way, if just one of them went the other way, Toronto wins a World Series last year. You go back two years. San Diego could have arguably knocked them out in the division series.

So are they the best team during the regular season? Yeah. Will they withstand it? Yeah. Will they win a World Series? Who knows? You know, one of the advantages, and I think maybe people are happier, it's the weather, perhaps, that I, Bowl Bichette, Mets pick up Boll Bichette.

By his third game is that Mattie's getting booed. Jazz Chisholm's getting booed. The Dodger, and again, you can say this, because they're winning, but for years and years they were winning their division, but they weren't winning a World Series. When you're a member of the Dodgers, it doesn't feel as caustic. It is more supportive. And I wonder if that's kind of the L.A. culture.

But I never feel, despite the expectations, there's negativity around the Dodgers. Was it that way as a player even during lean times? Well, I think, look at when there's lean times and when there's struggles, you can go back to the previous owner's show. and it wasn't always roses, right? There was a period where, you know, the league had to step in and, you know, pay the paychecks, right? So right now, look, and everything is going well with the Dodgers. They've been on a run.

This thing has been, you know, I don't want to say set up on autopilot. It took a few years to get going, but ownership. And then obviously the front office, you know, the compiling of the players. I mean, it's just, it has been extraordinary to get to where. they're at right now. So what, I think if anything, sometimes the fans may get, um, they don't realize what, what they're seeing. Yes.

Because this is truly a dynasty. Yeah. And you know, you just expect, hey, okay, let's get to October and compete for a world series. It's truly a special time here. Yeah. They have to remember five of the top six payrolls can't hit right now. It's like I'll see Dr.

Fan complaining because, you know, the back end of their bullpen last year. And I'm like, guys, this is. is a long season. It takes a while to figure it out. Okay, your son Kyle made his major league debut last year with the Rockies. I want to roll a piece of tape. There we go. There we go. That's cool, EK. That's cool, E.K. He's hitting some hard luck. He finally gets one to go. Yeah, happy to do the show when that happens. That didn't happen. I'd be like, all right, hey, guys, I'm out of here. That shouldn't happen. We're not showing any highlights. That's just the best. Oh, man. I love that. Love that. There you go.

All right. So there you go. Kyle Caros, proud father. For the record, when you watch your kids play, this is second year for him. When you watch your kids play, I was a wreck watching my daughter play volleyball. What is it like to watch your son play Major League Baseball? So I think the best way to describe it, Howie Long, you know, fellow employee here at the network, you know, he said it best.

And he had two kids play at the highest level in the NFL. And he said, you know what it's like? It's, it's, you getting ready for a game when you were playing. And you have all the adrenaline. You have all the, all right, the excitement. And then you can go out on the field and release that, right? He could do it on a football field. I could do it out competitively on a baseball field.

Well, I still get all that nervousness, that adrenaline, and I've just got to sit in the stands or sit and just watch it, right? You can't release it because then it's like, oh, look at that guy over there. What's he doing? And just so that, you know, I wish I could enjoy it more, and I should theoretically enjoy it more. But you experienced it just, it doesn't matter if it's high school or you sport, whatever. You're watching your kid play and you just, you get worked up.

That's just the reality of it. Hey, before we let you go, is there a, right now the Dodgers are the deepest, best team in baseball? Yeah. And I've said, I think the Yankee starting pitch, if Soto came back, the Yankee starting pitching, their bullpen right now with the Yankees a mess, but their starting pitching could give the Dodgers trouble. Is there anybody in the National League that you look at and you think they match up with the Dodgers?

Well, I think, look at when the Phillies, if Wheeler comes back and they get, you know, Lizarro and Sanchez going right, they got Duran at the back end. I mean, that's a team. Look at Philly. Philly lost three games to one last year in the series, and they could have easily won that series as well. They get in a few breaks. So, you know, look at the Phillies are the obvious one.

raves are playing well. I mean, San Diego's got a nice record, but I think they've, you know, decimated with injuries and the starting staff. You know, somebody will emerge and there'll be trades. But right now, I'm going to say, you know, Philly when they're clicking on all cylinders, you know, that staff can be real competitive. Great seeing you. You've aged well, not surprisingly, you live a good life. Be well, Kahn. Thanks a lot, buddy. You bet Eric Caros, Fox Sports. That's crazy. Watching your kids play, like, professional sports. How nerve-wracking would that be. 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, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the odd couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right. You can now watch the Odd Couple live on YouTube every day. All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube. Again, YouTube, just search Odd Couple FSR.

Check us out on YouTube and subscribe. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a...

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

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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

or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories

behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for

more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen, kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering

Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levant, this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my. my life.

Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

Fun fact, when I moved out to the South Bay, I played basketball one day against these two big white guys, and I was like, damn, those guys are athletic. They're like, oh yeah, they're going to be pro baseball players. They're dad's Eric Caros. So his sons can play hoops for sure. Yeah, they went to the public in Manhattan Beach.

Yes, sir. Miracosta. Indeed. Yeah, big school, pretty good sports. It's almost like you're coming out west this week or something, Cowherna. Yeah, well, maybe I am. You miss it too much. All right, let's get to the NFL, Colin.

I've totally forgotten about this, but did you realize that we have 10 new head coaches in the NFL, almost a third of the league, and six of them have no head coaching experience? Where we want to drill down is on the Ravens and the Dolphins. they are the only coaching staffs with zero full-time head coaching experience. Now, the Dolphins, it doesn't matter, right? We agree they're tanking. They're playing the long game. They're purging bad contracts.

But the Ravens have Lamar Jackson. And I'm just like, that is interesting. That's an inexperienced staff with a veteran team that's been knocking on the Super Bowl door now for a couple years. I think they take a step back. But I'm curious where if you agree. It's funny. And I don't know why I'm so interested. in this. The feeling around the league is

the Miami Dolphins have no players. And I'm just here to tell you that Malik Willis is going to be much better than people think, and they have a two firsts, a second, four thirds. They could go get six or seven starters. Now, they don't

have any cap space this year. But if they hit on guys, you know how it works. The cap is always greater than expected. And also, if Jeff Halfley, who, I mean, one of the first times I remember last year and the year before, really thinking Green Bay could match up defensively with teams.

I think that's the Halfley presence. I think they got the coach right. I think Malik Willis, it's a quarterback coach league. I think the Jets have a lot of players. They don't have the right coach or quarterback. People look at the dolphins as talentless. And I'm like, I like the quarterback a lot. I like the coach they hired.

I think the GM's going to hit. this league, you know it and I know it. Everybody thought Green Bay and Seattle were too young. And, I mean, New England, oh, too young, got too many players. I think Miami is going to be surprisingly feisty this year because I think they got the coach and the quarterback right. That's why I'm so interested in the Dolphins draft. Wow. So my only question with Willis is, I think he has four career starts.

And you remember Drake made that first year, he didn't even start out of the gate in the Patriots, they had, I forget the coach, but he was like, yeah, we're going to play our best guy, and it wasn't Drake May. They were a disaster than the next year's Super Bowl, but I got to disagree. I think this is like a five-win team. You look at their win total. I saw a five and a half out there. They're down there with one of the weakest rosters, Colin, in the league.

Now, maybe they load up in the draft, but I will just say on Halfley, the defense was awesome with Micah Parsons. And then when Micah Parsons got hurt, if you look at the numbers, it was just like, oh, this is not a great unit. I am curious, Ravens, we touched on the Bengals earlier. Do you think a rookie head coach with the Ravens can take Lamar to the playoffs? Or is there a pullback there as well? Yeah, you mean, Steelers without Aaron, Cleveland.

Yeah, I mean, I feel the same way about Baltimore. I'm not quite sure if Jesse Minters it, but my take is probably a lot of these guys, a lot of the young hot shot defensive coaches, Mike McDonald, great rep, has been a hit. Demico Ryan's great rep, been ahead. Well, Jesse Minter reputation, great. So I prefer offensive coaches, but every year there's a defensive coach hired every year, and he's the hot defensive coach. Well, that's Jesse Minter.

So if we're following along the last several years, I think Jeff Halfley's going to be a good coach. So I think Baltimore is so structurally sound that he'll be fine. They'll be fine. Let's move on to tonight's NBA action. It's the play-in, Colin. Get excited. We got two games tonight. First up, heat hornets.

Interestingly, some money coming in on the hornets. People really like them. They're a fun team, three-point shooters. And then the late game is Portland and Phoenix. The sun's kind of limping to the end here. Portland, hey, your West Coast Blazers back in the playoffs for the first time and forever. Any read on these games tonight? Are you really wagering on them?

I think Charlotte, because of the concanipple, is really, really interesting. and it's the first time ever that I remember them really being kind of a fascinating team. The East is weaker. So I think if anybody was rooting, I think people want to see Charlotte would be a nice story. Concaniphol's been, I mean, he was a good college player. I mean, listen, in that whole rookie of the year award, Cooper's the better player, but he's on an awful team. You could say that Concanipple's been the most important player for a playoff. That's not a bad take.

And so if that's, and that's what he is. He's the most important player for them. So when he, he'll probably, my guess is, I think Cooper Flagg's better. But we're talking rookie of the year, MVP, that stuff comes down to, you've got to be on a viable team and Cooper Flags not in Concogn. Yeah. Kennepple's been great. I think some of this like, oh my gosh, he's the next Superstar, a little overblown. I need to see a little more.

He's been great as a 19-year-old. but like we now have a full season of tape on him. I'm going to guess tonight. Eric Spolstra has a defense cooked up for him. I would not be surprised if some of his unders hit. I haven't bet them. Just putting that out there. All right, Colin, final story is to the NBA,

and I always love this. They have jersey sales numbers for the NBA players this season. And we have the top 12 for you. Shockingly, Steph Curry is number one in jersey sales. He's been with the Warriors forever, but they're still buying his jersey. Luca Donchitz, number two. You have to squint to find SGA.

The presumptive MVP, again. Media loves them. Do the fans? He's only eight. Yokic, where's he? Oh, you squint. Yeah, he's 10th. Colin, the most pop.

Why do you think that the league made Saturday night, right, all the playoff games? Lakers Rockets is in prime time. The other games are on Amazon Prime. And that's because LeBron is fourth in Jersey sales. People love the frickin' Lakers. And I know the media, this great story with SGA, the fans disagree. They don't love OKC the way the media does. And if you look at these jersey sales, Colin, the proof is in the pudding.

People love Brunson, people love Curry, Luca, Lakers. Yeah, I mean, I also think L.A. and New York are in San Francisco are huge, you know, markets. Sir. Well, I mean, Steph and LeBron are iconic. Wembe will be iconic. Yeah. I know real, nothing here. I'm trying to think, you know, Jalen Brown's nowhere in the top 12,

but a teammate is. Who missed three, what, three fourths of the season? Three-fifths of the season? That's kind of surprising. Tatum being seven's kind of surprising. I thought you said he had no aura. Well, he's got some. He's got jersey selling aura.

He's got some juice. Steff Craving? By the way, Kade Cunningham. Hmm. Number one C, Detroit. Do you see him anywhere on there? He's not a flat. He's just a really, really...

He's a really good player. Oh, he's a really good player. Yeah. But they're going to be buried in the deck when it comes to marquee TV playoff games. And I'm on record, the Cleveland Cavs take them down in round two. I don't know if you want to... You want that wager? I'm trying to think of somebody...

Is there... No Devin Booker on this list. D-Book. Yeah. Yeah, he's not on this list. Booker was... I'm told Booker was 13 and Cade was 14. All right.

Hell, I'm surprised. Austin Reef. Heaves wasn't ahead of those guys. Yeah, Austin Reeves is popular, isn't he? Very. Oh, my gosh. Where's Derek White on this list? Who?

No, kidding. That's a joke. Sorry, Boston people. I know Ryan Rosillo takes those dig seriously. I know. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The herd lie news. In Chicago, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news.

We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling. it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this went to a billion dollar fraud.

But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsClice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Sunday, NASCAR is back on Fox, and we're headed to the heartland as NASCAR's best go full throttes. in Kansas. Our pre-race coverage begins at one Eastern with the green flag dropping at two. It's the Advent Health 400 Sunday on Fox. The, you know, I've said earlier with Nick, I think college sports has become more chalk,

especially March Madness. We all know why it's the NIL, the Michigan's and the, you know, the Florida's in your top college basketball programs, Yukon, whoever, they can, Arizona. You can just go, they always get great players, you can just add, like if you have any weakness, you can just go buy a mid-conference level guy and fix your issues. Pro sports, I think the Dodgers are making baseball a little chalky. NFL's never been that way. Even the Patriots dynasty, there was 10 years with no trophies.

I mean, Kansas City, the last two years does not feel like the same team. the NBA, it's interesting because of there's limitations on acquisitions and trades because of the new CBA. That's why we have seven champs in seven years. So it's hard to make, I mean, the Knicks made a big move with McHale Bridges, who's a B-level player. They gave up five first-round picks. You would not even consider doing that today. That's the old CBA where Rudy Gobert fetched nine picks. Nobody's getting that anymore because the draft is better because of NIL.

So I think, you know, when I look at the playoffs, it's real chalky. I think, you know, I think it's going to be Detroit and Boston. Now that Kate Cunningham's back, I think it's going to be Denver O.K.C. in San Antonio on the western side. I'm never quite sure what to do with the T. Wolves. Love the coach, aunt. But they've been, you know, kind of an average regular season. But here's the thing. we used to really love did we not we loved big NBA offseason trades or in season trades

it feels like it's done old KD was a big move and it hasn't really moved the meter and i i just think the nicks have cat had a down year mcale bridges went backwards a little and that means you need more from brunson and they have no bench so you're going to ask jalen Brunson, I need more offense from Jalen, and there's nothing. You can't go to the bench and get points. So I just, I think the Knicks will fare worse in the playoffs this year than last year, where Bridges and Kat both, to me, had better years. Here's Nick Wright earlier on why the Knicks aren't contenders.

You are short-changing Jalen Brunson a bit. Listen, there is a ceiling on a player his size. That's just the fact of the matter. Becky Hammond said it two years ago. Everyone killed her for it. All of league history tells us that that is true. I think you can be a great team and him be the second best player, probably really hard for him to be the best player and you win a championship,

unless you fill out the rest of the roster perfectly, which the Knicks thought they did. Yeah, I mean, they thought the McHale Bridges moved because Boston had so many good perimeter players. They wanted to go get guys that could hit a three and play D. That was Mikhail Bridges. So they gave up five picks. You know, had they given up two, they don't get him, probably, or three, and they'd have more picks now to go get Yannis.

So they're kind of limited. I like the Knicks. They're a fun watch. They remind me a lot of the Lakers. Offensively, they have great halves, great quarters, great knights. They're really skilled. They got about five guys I like. No bench.

Lakers have no bench. Nicks have no bench. Lakers can't really defend the three. Nicks can't really defend the three. But I think Detroit will push them around, and I think Boston's going to be a bad matchup. The Lakers, because of the injuries to Luke and Austin, they're just not going to last long. It is interesting that when you get new ownership, how a season ends has a greater impact. I mean, Jeannie Buss, to some degree felt she owed, I mean, the franchise was a disaster.

LeBron comes in, and there's merchandise, goes up, they win a COVID championship. He was more consistent than younger AD in better shape than younger Luca. And so I do think it would have been genuinely hard if the, if the Lakers had not sold the majority of their organization to the Dodgers owners, I still think it would be incredibly hard to get rid of LeBron because of what he's delivered. He's still an incredible asset, still moves jerseys, go to any Laker game. It could be a Tuesday night against Orlando.

It sold out. But I think the OKC loss and if they get swept or beaten five games makes it much easier for a new ownership group to come in and say, guys, we can't. We got we have, we got, we need four more players. And I do think when you acquire Luca, there is a way, you know, when LeBron was in his prime or Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown, there isn't necessarily a way to build the Celtics. Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum can both defend. They're both in their prime. They don't miss, despite Tatum's injury,

they don't miss a lot of time. You don't have to build a roster to plug holes with certain players. SGA is not a great defensive player, but he puts forth an effort. When Luke is your best player, there's a way to build the team. You've got to have a rim protector.

You've got to be exceptional in terms of length, size, and perimeter defense. Lucas got limitations. Six years ago, LeBron could be that guy. He can't anymore. So here's Nick on LeBron's future as they take on the rockets in round one. Here's what I find the most interesting about LeBron's future. LeBron took on that Swiss Army Knife third option role out of necessity.

But I don't know if that's the role he wants for the final days of his back. basketball life, especially because the moment. Here's a crazy stat for you, Colin. The first three games that Austin and Luca were out when LeBron went immediately back to being the number one option, he had not had a three-game stretch with that many points and that many assists since the Lakers won the title six years ago. And the truth is, though, it was a three-game stretch, and he can't do it for 82. to LeBron's in a weird spot where on any given quarter or any given eight minute, seven minute spurt,

he's a top six player in the league. And he knows it. But I remember talking once to Kurt Schilling about this as he aged. He said, I would go into a red sock start at the end of my career. And I had 12 great fastballs. And I had to use them wisely. I had 12 great pitches. LeBron in any given night, if you watched the Lakers the last two years, if you noticed,

LeBron generally lets the game come to him early when he had Luca and Austin Reeves. He kind of wanted to, he conserved his energy. He wasn't having a lot of great first quarters. He's really smart. He was saving his energy for the second half in big spurts. And he can still provide those. The problem now without Luca and Austin Reeves is he's got to play like that in the first quarter. And you're going to see total limitations.

They're going to make LeBron work on the defense event. If you're Houston, your whole game plan is make LeBron work. Yeah. So, Colin, listening to this LeBron take, I know Luca may come back. Austin Reeves seems unlikely. I just started thinking about Reeves and I looked up some numbers. So when did the Lakers take off, right? In March, they went 15 and 2.

What happened? LeBron, less usage, Austin Reeves, more. Right. Austin Reeves played in a career low 51 games. Is one of the reasons because his body just can't hold up? He attempted eight and a half, sorry, 7.3 free throws per game, most in his career by a mile. His style is attacking the basket, drawing fouls. LeBron can withstand that with his body.

Austin Reeves cannot. He was injured multiple times this year. And I wonder, do you think now this is going to impact his offseason? He can't go to the Lakers and be like, I want all the money. Well, it's a great point. Austin Reeves' body is not 79 games with massive usage. With LeBron closer to his prime, he didn't have that massive usage. And the second thing is Lucas' body's not built for it.

he's not in great shape. And the truth is, in that Oklahoma City game, he was getting dinged up in the second quarter before he left in the third. So if you look at Austin and Luca, again, there's a way to build the Lakers going forward. It can't be with 42-year-old LeBron. You've got to get really young, really athletic guys either going into their prime or in it, even if they're limited players. Because Austin is not an 82-game guy with massive usage. And Luca, similar, led the NBA by a mile in usage. Even Michael Jordan's the last guy to lead the NBA in usage rate and win a title.

It wears you down. So there's absolutely, Luca's one of those rare stars. There's a way to build around him. Kyrie Irving. Right? Kept getting hurt.

Yeah. Kept getting injured. And I think Laker fan doesn't want to admit that. And people will say, well, LeBron's still an ass. He's still good in spurts. He now, is a bit of a liability because Austin and Luca, they're going to miss games.

Yeah. They can't be that high in ball usage. Austin's body and Lucas' body. They're not built for it. I wonder if the Lakers can make, blessing in disguise, obviously this stinks. You know, they're going to lose a series barring a miracle. But now, you know, Austin Reeves can't go around the market. Be like, I'm a max guy.

Wait, the second you became the number two to Luca, you kept getting injured? Yeah. Like, you can't be enough. Maybe he's not built physically. Like, he's an awesome player. Well, I've said this about Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy is a very good player. I should be more positive.

He's more athletic than I give him credit for. But he is a smaller player. Yeah. And he does need certain things to go his way, and he gets dinged up. And luckily, one of the injuries was end of the year, so he had an offseason. But Brock Purdy gets dinged up more than you'd want your quarterback to get dinged up. All right, Jay Mack, I'm in Los Angeles tomorrow. So we're doing a show from the West Coast.

Good stuff. I want to thank Eric Caros and Nick Wright. and Albert Brin. And everybody that stopped by, First Things First is around the corner on a Tuesday. The Hurd. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers.

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

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

Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

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

And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.