The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-3-Kawhi, NFL, dress code

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Kawhi Leonard has proved he's the best player right nowThe start of the NFL will hurt the NBAThe reason for the NBA dress codeGuest: Rich Ohrnberger Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 IHard 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, Clifford 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, unfilled conversations with athletes,

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For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in.

This is The Herd, wherever you may be in, however you may be making it as part of your day. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowherd. Great third hour of the show for you. Rich Ornberger is going to join us. Former offensive lineman and a good one. Also a host on Fox Sports Radio. We got news to update you on.

And there's this. I realize that the MVP is not going to be Kauai Leonard. I realize that. Not going to be Kaui Lent. Because in order to be the MVP, you got to play most of the games. You've got to dominate most of the games. Stats, though, they don't matter. And honestly, the MVP discussion in the NBA,

I feel like is somewhat a creation of ESPN. I just do. Not that we didn't discuss it before, But the whole season long, who's the MVP? You know? That's because they, in their new TV package, they have so many NBA games that you got to give me some reason to watch. MVP candidate, James Hardin, teaming up with former MVP, you know, MVP, James Hardin with MVP, Russell Westbrook, going up against MVP, right? Like, it's like, aye, y, y, I get it.

You want me to watch. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. So, Janice is probably the MVP. I would have given it to LeBron James. I think that's a very responsible way of looking at it because if you're LeBron, you know, if you're LeBron, you sit there and go, hey man, I turned around this entire franchise.

Our team became great defensively. My stats are great. But more than anything, we have more wins than anybody in the West. And by the end of the season before it was postponed, they were beating the Clippers and the bucks in the same week. Those are the two MVP candidates, but the guy who's the best player in the league is Kauai Leonard. He plays both ends.

LeBron can't play as well defensively as he used to. He's not able to get where he wants to get as often or as easily. He doesn't make, it's a little bit harder for him. It just is. Look, man, when you're 35 years old and you're going up against dudes that are in their 20s, it's going to be a little bit harder for you. He's still a monster, still a tremendous player. I thought he was dethroned as the best player in the league by Kevin Durant

during the two previous NBA finals when they went against each other. Kauai Leonard was the best player in the finals. I don't know, we didn't see Kevin Durant against him enough to really determine. And Kauai's been a two-time finals MVP. But I watched Kauai play yesterday. I'm like, man, that's the best player on earth right now. Both ends. Post, can handle, can pass, can rebound, can shoot.

He's the best player. But what if that's a bad thing? What if it's a bad thing? Like the NBA is about personalities, the personalities of superstars. And Kauai Leonard, I'm sure in the bubble, deep, deep, deep in the bubble,

maybe he has a huge personality. And I don't mind that he, he's not one of these guys that had anything put on the back of his jerseys. He's not about, he's not about social justice in terms of outwardly being grabbed the microphone and protest things, even though I'm sure as a black man these things are near and dear to his heart, just doesn't have to be flamboyant with it. That's not his style.

But it's hard to be the face of the league if that's not your style. If you're not an out-in-front guy, just isn't. Like, he's tremendous. He does, and I don't think there's anything wrong. with New Balance's campaign for him, but it's still new balance. It's hard to be cool and wear new balance. Promote new balance. It doesn't affect your game.

You can still be the best player, but I want you to think about these factors working against the NBA. In a week and a half, you're no longer the biggest show on Earth. Right now, baseball has clearly taken a backseat to basketball, and I love, I'm a hoophead. I watch all these games. I have the games going on. They start playing. I'm watching them all day.

It's amazing. But I'm also realistic that once Thursday night hits and it's Chiefs and Texans, if you're leading and talking about basketball instead of football, you're digging your own grave as a sports host. It's just not as important. Even if they're playing for a championship. I know it's counterintuitive.

But they're getting ready to go up against football. That's not going to end well. I don't think that all. of their emotions are in check and many of it through no fault of their own. Like, look, dude, if you're at a hotel for two months straight, you're going to go a little cuckoo for your cocoa buff too. No matter how nice to go. No matter how nice the hotel is. And you can sit here and tell people, hey, you know, you were at home for three months. What's the big deal being gone for two or three months? Yeah. Well, when that's not what you're used to, granted, first world

problems, beautiful resort, everything taken care of, it still can lead to your mental. So you're not, you're not necessarily acting and behaving with the same type of joy and fun. We talked about this early in the show. Jamal Murray has 50 last night. He didn't really crack a smile. I understand when you watch the video of Kenosha, Wisconsin, you're like, that was disturbing. That is heart wrenching. and you start to learn some of the different details to it,

and you have your own questions like, and you can be passionate about social justice and police reform and the election, all these things. But sports was designed to kind of take us away emotionally emotionally. And if you want to know that, yes, it's lacking a crowd. But the big thing that the bubble seems to be lacking is fun, fun. So the NBA has become a little less fun of a league, a little too serious. And they're taking on serious topics.

Does time demand that they have to? I guess. But once you start playing, it can just be about playing. And about enjoying yourself, about competing. Because Jamal Murray at the end of the game actually kind of tried to let us in. Like, hey, I just play to win. But then he got into the mode of social justice warrior. And it became about more than basketball, which is a cool saying and is a fact.

It's going to be fasty to see how much it changes at all, if anything in society. But dude, not one mention of like, that was awesome. That was so much fun. Every time it was basically like NBA, you ever played NBA jam? You know when the guy gets on fire? He's on fire. And no matter what shot you throw up, it goes in, that was Jamal. So you have Kauai Leonard is your best player.

He's boring as sin. you have dudes having historic nights and they won't crack a smile because they're so serious with all the things happening in the world and because of their stances there's a certain divisiveness in the us and them kind of camp

and look I'm not going to sit here and say I in any way agree with the mistreatment of any American citizen or really any human being but I also will tell you, like, there's big discussions to have about politics and most every opinion that

doesn't violate somebody else's rights should be welcome. That's the way this thing works. But when you bring politics in the sports, it can be, it can turn off a lot of people. And I want you to look back. When Jordan left the league really for good, I know he came back with the Wizards, you know, whether it was the gear guys were wearing or the approach guys had, but the reason, David David Stern put in the dress code was that was, it wasn't as relatable to the average fan as it needed to be. The NBA was the most popular sport in America. And then it got passed by baseball and football.

And of course, now I believe it's more popular than the baseball. But what led to it? You had a superstar who was boring in Tim Duncan and a team that didn't want to, was in a city that wasn't a popular city and a franchise that didn't want to play ball in terms of enjoying the limelight at all. Kobe went through kind of his, I want to be a hip-hop star sort of, he started to take over the league a little bit as well. You had a little bit of divisiveness just in the desire to, the desire to be almost progressive in terms of music and dress and whatever. This is coming off of Jordan who's wearing a suit and top. high everywhere he goes. I'm not telling you it turns me off. I don't care. I like to watch

basketball and those guys are great. You know, like I watched them play and there's so much better than I could ever hope to have been. I'm sitting there next to my son watching NBA players. And my dad's like, my son's sitting there and going like, man, you almost play in the NBA and I think to myself like, I think I was a little bit further off than I previously thought I was because these guys are amazing. Amazing. But that I'm not the average. fan. I'm not the average consumer. We seem to be walking down the same path of what happened previously. And in a week and a half, I think there's a chance for a reckoning. NFL football starts versus NBA basketball. If you have one TV, you're going to watch Chiefs and Texans,

even though it's only week one and there'll be 20,000 fans in the stands? Or are you going to watch Rockets, Lakers, game four? Ask yourself. Ask yourself. Kind of interesting, right? That's what we do. So look, I love Kauai. I thought he proved to be the, I thought he proved to be the best player in the NBA yesterday.

He continues to rise his level in elimination games. Just, I'm going to win this game. And I don't mind that he's not flamboyant, but I don't know if you get the same buy-in from the American sports fan considering all the factors at play. All right, coming up next. Former offensive lineman Rich Ornberg joins the show. Where will Leonard Fornett end up?

And can culture actually win games in the NFL, or is it you got to have players? Because it feels like several NFL teams are going, hey, culture above talent, character above talent. We'll get that next in the hurt. 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. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. I'm going to give something away here that I don't normally give it away. For our best for last, and I'll explain why I came up for this best for last, I want to do the 10 best movies without happy endings. Make sense? 10 best movies without happy endings.

So feel free to submit those at Gottlieb show on both IG and on Twitter. At Gottlieb Show. The list is good. The list is strong. Order is always a very difficult one. There is a clear number one. This is like the final college football poll. Now there's a clear number one.

number one. We know who the number one is. Goulet, do you know who the number one is? Movie without a happy ending? It's one of the great movies of all time. Doesn't have a happy ending. No. Okay. I don't you think about it. All right. Rich Ornberger joins us. Of course, you can hear him on Fox Sports Radio on the weekends. He's a former offensive lineman. He's an NFL analyst and a good one. He joins us here in the herd Doug Gottlie filling in for Colin.

What's your reaction to Leonard Fournette getting cut? my reaction is the Jaguars are in full-on tank mode and regardless of whether or not they're going to admit it they are. Leonard Fournett is coming off arguably his best season as a football player because he's playing at the highest level and he averaged over four yards per rush. He had the most yards from scrimmage last year. As a career running back in the NFL, he averages exactly four yards per carry on average. So this is not surprising considering Gardner Minshu is your starting quarterback and Mike Lennon is his backup. You know, but it is an absolute confirmation that they are clearing house and they are looking forward to 2021, 2021, 2022, 2023, whenever this young team can get back on the path to winning again. I guess my question would be if Leonard Fournett and everything you said is,

in terms of having a great year. He actually had 76 catches, which is, that's the mind-blowing thing because the knock-on-letter four-net is he's a good running back, but that's all he does is get the ball and run the football. He actually caught it out of the backfield relatively well last year. But why wouldn't anybody trade for him if he's

so good? Well, running backs, especially this time of year, unless we're talking about a Sequin Barkley, if you were, you know, completely displeased with the Giants and looking to force to trade, you know, this is a tough time of year, unless there are a rash of injuries at the position,

you're not going to get great value because in the NFL, and this has been true for a while now, it's not the most important position. It really comes in somewhere closer to the 10th most important position on the field these days. I mean, you need to have a great quarterback. You need a great left tackle. You need a great pass rusher. You need a great receiver. You need a great quarterback.

And the list goes on for a few more positions. and then you start talking about running back. So already it's a position in the NFL that has been devalued. I'm not going to argue against the value of a great running back. Look at Derek Henry, who absurdly carried the Tennessee Titans offense into the postseason. They beat the Patriots in the first round. So there are great running backs who you can sort of rest the franchise on their shoulders still in the league. But the value of the position has decreased.

and this isn't a great time a year to be shopping trade. Rich Hornberg, joining us in the herd. I'm Doug Gottlie, former offensive lineman, Fox Sports Radio host, and an NFL analyst and a really, really good one. Have you ever heard of what Yonik and Gokwe did? He's got one year left on his deal. He took $6 million less to get out of Jacksonville. Like, I don't remember hearing that.

It's actually, the last time I remember it being proposed was actually Kaepernick, his last year in San Francisco. He was set to make 14. And the Broncos said, like, hey, we'll take you, but we want you to only make seven. He balked at it. That was the end of that as a possibility. But I can't remember a player in Gakway's position as a defensive end taking this much less money. I can think of, you know, based on the move, is he wants to go join a team in an organization with a brighter future

and an opportunity to really and truly prove himself. It's sort of like, you know, short-term investment. You know, this is a career. It isn't just a collection of snapshot. So I'm assuming, you know, going to the Vikings where clearly they're trying to build a winner felt like a better option. And also, let's think about where this defense for Jacksonville is. 2017 in the Super Bowl and the NFC championship team game. You know, we look at the Jaguars now, and it's a mess.

You know, they've traded away some key pieces. You know, Jalen Ramsey, it's been a long time since he's been a part of Duval Nation, and that was really the first of many chips to fall following him. And so in Gakwe, I just think really want it out, and he's taking a short-term loss to potentially prove himself of a team who's aiming to be a winner. And, you know, that next contract will be a big one if he can do that. We are a week and a half away from NFL games being played, right? It's with no preseason, limited scrimmages, what are your expectations?

Like, you know, Kansas City, they did lose two guys, two starters who opted out. Damien Williams is their best, I thought their best player for most of the Super Bowl. I know Pat Mahomes obviously won the MVP. It was a starting offensive lineman. Like, what can we expect from these teams where they haven't actually had a preseason game for the first time ever in recent memory? Well, the interesting thing is I've always said this. The preseason isn't essential because everybody's starting from the same platitude.

If we were talking about how, you know, there was a preseason and due to COVID-19, you know, team-wide outbreaks or something like that, half the week couldn't participate or couldn't completely fulfill their preseason games, you know, then it would mean that half. the league has a leg up on the other half. But in this situation, since the preseason was completely, you know, banned, you know, due to the concerns over COVID-19, we have everybody starting from the same platitude. It's going to look potentially a little russier than years past,

but these are paid professionals, and they've been practicing within the facilities for a month at this point. So I look at it as we probably won't be able to see the difference. from years past. The only place where you may see a slight difference is younger players trying to get early action in the league. Rookies, second year players where the preseason can dramatically advance their opportunities depending on play. We may see less of that. We may see a heavier reliance on veteran players during the early days of the season. But outside of that, I think we're going to see an evenness across the NFL very similar to it.

All 32 teams played out a full preseason because none of the 32 teams had a preseason. Richard Berger, I guessed in The Hurt. I'm Doug Gottlieb filling in for Colin. It appears that Cam Newton Shocker has separated himself in New England. But there's a team that lost more starters than anybody to COVID in terms of opting out. and they already were depleted in regards to, you know, why did Tom Brady leave? Well, there's other reasons, but one of them was, like, put some dudes around him, right? What can we expect from Cam Newton considering the limitations of his supporting cast, the lack of time with his team,

and the fact that he hadn't played in, you know, he only played the first couple games last season? Well, what we can expect is his personal best effort. If he's healthy, which from all reports, it appears he is, this is going to be. as much as we could possibly see at a Cam Newton. He comes into this season with a chip on his shoulder. Obviously, he's spent about 100 days on the free agency market, and the Patriots have a habit of refitting even veteran and older veteran players with some star potential back into the conversation

of one of the greats in the NFL, and I think Cam Newton could be the next one. I don't disagree with you. They're depleted in a lot of places across the offense. But Cam is a special player when healthy. Cam can create like very few other players in this league when healthy. You know, he brings a dimension to this offense, which was truly one-dimensional last year.

I mean, and that you could blame that on Tom Brady's, you know, lack of ability to evade the rush. You could blame it on the offensive line who struggled last year. You could blame that on the injuries. You could blame it on the lack of ability to surround Brady with talent, but it truly was one-dimensional offense. So if Kans healthy, we can expect a lot more creativity from the Patriots offensively. So I don't know what to expect because I'm not sold.

I'm not 100% certain that he can be the cam of yours. But if he is, get ready for fireworks. Because I know Josh McDaniels is going to be excited. to work with a dynamic quarterback. I know that this offense, including Edelman and Sanu, and some of these other pieces that have been in place for a while, could thrive in a situation where there's a little bit more improvisation as opposed to straight line, snap, handoff, snap, pat.

I look, and everybody wants a mobile quarterback. I just, my question becomes how mobile is Cam at this point in his career through that number of injuries? and maybe how mobile is he after somebody hits him a couple of times because he's taken a savage beating because of how he's played football to this point. Derwin James out for a significant amount of time. I do understand that many who watch football love football. They know who Derwin James is.

They've heard the name. They know how good he is. But it doesn't really have an effect on things to them because it doesn't play a part in fantasy football and frankly plays for the Chargers. But to someone like you who truly knows this game, How big a loss says that for the Chargers? Immeasurable.

Immeasurable. It's a big reason why the Chargers really fell off a cliff in 2019. Derwin James is such an unbelievably special player. Look, the NFL is really tough. The NFL is a really, really hard place to be successful. And very few rookies find immediate success. Derwin James, out of the box, from Florida State, was a difference maker on defense. He helped carry his team through 12 regular season wins.

he helped earn the chargers in his rookie season, a playoff victory against Baltimore. I mean, this is one of those players who could truly be transcendent just on the very limited vistas that we've had into his potential at the NFL level. But that's a problem because your durability is your most important ability. If you can't stay healthy, it doesn't matter if you're the fastest guy. We'll never know it because if you spend more time on the carpet than the grass, we don't get to see what you could potentially do at this level. So it is a frustration that Derwin James again reports out that it's a meniscus injury

and he'll miss significant time this year. There was a refrapture of a foot injury he had from college days last year that his early career over these past two and some odd change seasons has been disrupted this way. But as soon as this guy's 100% healthy, he can play. every position on the defense excluding, you know, interior defensive line. He can be used as a pass rusher and a blitzer up near the line of scrimmage. He can be used as a slot corner. He can be used as – he can match up against a number one receiver.

He can play deep safety. He can play box linebacker. He's a utility knife that the chargers were using perfectly before this rash of injuries. And they will use him again that way, assuming help. Rich, great stuff, man. Thanks so much for joining us. Look for, we're a week and a half away from football. Thanks for being our guest.

Yeah, you got it, Doug. Pleasure is all mine. That's Rich Ornberger, here on Fox Sports Radio on the weekends. Let's get to my man, John Gulley, with the news. This is the Herd Line News. So as you mentioned with Rich, the Jaguars have traded, and this just became official. Yannick and Gokk and Gokwe to the Vikings for a second round pick, and then a conditional fifth round pick from 2022, which could work its way up to a third,

depending on how good he does. In order to complete the trade, and Gakway agreed to a one-year $12 million deal instead of his franchise center. So basically, he gave up $6 million to leave Jacksonville, which is kind of crazy. We've talked enough about the Jags today, though, with two news with Fournette being released as well. Let's go to the other side. Does this change anything for you with the Vikings? Over under nine wins this year. They lost their defensive backfield.

Yes. So I guess the plan is like, hey, you got De Niel Hunter on one side. and you got Ingaquay and the other. You can hide it with a really good pass rush. They still have an issue with their running back wanting to get paid, who they don't want to pay. And they lost Stefan Diggs. Well, they lost Stefan Diggs.

Added Justin Jefferson. Add Justin Jefferson. But a rookie for a guy who's a vet is hard. And they lost Kevin Stefanski who called plays. Now, the plays may have been boring, but it did work. It did work. It did work. It's like boring but good.

It's like a bowl bowl. Anyway. So, yeah, I don't, there's a little bit of jazz. Jacksonville as well to the Vikings, and stick with me on this one, right? Okay. The downfall of the Jaguars can be correlated directly to when they gave a quarterback who no one believed in a contract extension. Sure. Right?

Sure. And you can say, well, we believed it. No, you didn't. You had a lead and the football in New England, right before the half. You had like 58 seconds to go, and you took a knee. It was like the Jimmy Garoppolo and the Super Bowl kind of thing, right? And okay, you didn't win the game. But that's coming off his best game when he played against Pittsburgh,

best game of his life. And he didn't give him a shot. Okay. Then he gave him a contract extension in the offseason when you clearly didn't believe in him? That was the downfall. I bring that to Minnesota because I know that Kirk Cousins played well in their win against New Orleans on the road, their playoff win. But everyone has their doubts of the ceiling of Kirk Cousins.

And I know they had to move some money around because they're kind of in cap hell. but giving them a contract extension at about the same money feels a little bit like what Jacksonville did. So I'm cautious of the Vikings. I don't think they'll be as good. I just don't. You lose a coach. You lose defensive backfield.

The Packers are still very good. I think the Bears will be a little bit better. And I think the Lions should be better. I mean, I've been a lot of people's kind of upset pick. I mean, look, you could, you got Matt Stead. If you have Matt Stap for the whole season, you're going to be better. And I think they've done a good job of turning over that roster.

some. So they could be the same and have a worse record, but I don't think there's the same. I think they're slightly worse. During the Clippers game six went over the madge yesterday, Marcus Morris committed another, not another, but another attack on Luca and a flagrant foul. It was a flagrant two, so it got him ejected. He hit him in the face as he was driving to the lane. In the face! Doc Rivers said Morris was going for the ball and said, quote, I think he got ejected because he's Marcus, to be honest. Doc Rivers just blatantly lying. to all of us. Listen, Morris has been doing this, right?

He's clearly, he's going after Luca because he's young, fragile, or in theory, fragile, and the Mab's best player. Right. Is this going to continue throughout the playoffs where Marcus Morris is going to, like, this is an intimidation factor. This is my role? Yeah. I mean, Pat Beverly does a little bit of this when he's back.

Yes. But, I mean, I would say when they're going to face either the jazz or the nuggets, who also have young stars. Right. Yeah, I mean, this is why you need one crazy person. Yeah. Right? Because the way it's supposed to work is you foul my star.

That's fine. Next time your guy drives in, boom, down he goes. And so I think that's probably the next step. I mean, part of it is the flaw in the construction of the Dallas Mavericks is they have no tough guys. No. Who's the tough guy? They got all great, great dudes. They have no tough guys.

Nobody who's willing to knock somebody on their ass, which is what should have happened. You foul Luca, fine. We're going to put you on the deck next time you drive or your star player on the deck. next time you drive. And finally, on Saturday, the Blazers run, bubble run came to an end. They lost to the Lakers in game five. Skinny Mello became one of the storylines of the bubble, showed up in great shape, average 15 a game in the series with the Lakers, and sounds like he wants to stay in Portland.

Honestly, think that I found the home in Portland. You know, I got comfortable with the organization. I got comfortable with the guys on the team. They got comfortable with me. And at this point in my career, I do think that that's the best fit for me, the best situation, especially having this experience now. A lot of people seem to like him, think that he did a really good job. Doug, you are not a huge Mello fan. No, no.

Not a fan, but you are not as impressed with how he played as some others. I just, like, there's a lot more to it than just like, did the ball go in the basket or not go in the basket? Yeah. Right? Because he's not an efficient player. You know, he had his first three games, really three and a half games. He was terribly inefficient. And if he doesn't give you great efficiency on offense, he gives you very little on defense.

And, you know, a lot of it's about roles. You know, in that role, there's a reason Portland was so bad defensively. It's not just Damon Lewis not good defensively. C.J. McCollum's okay. Like, they're just, and then Mello can't really guard anybody. That's why he struggles. Do I think Mello in his prime I thought he was the best

score in the league for about five years there because he could score to three not as well as he's shooting in now great mid-range and unbelievable post-up player. He was tremendous. When you're that guy, they can hide you a little bit defensively. When you're the third or fourth option,

you can't hide you defensively. You can't. And especially when you're playing in starters. And he got absolutely exposed. So I don't fall in love with the stat column for at what he's shot and how many points he got. In totality, Poirley went from a Western Conference

finals team to one that lost in the first round and having Mello play that many minutes is at least a portion of the reason why. He mentioned fitting in. He does. He fits what the rest of the Blazers do is they're good on offense and not good on defense. The problem is they kind of need the opposite of that to fill his role. Right. They need... Well, they didn't have

Trevor Reza either, because he opted out. I mean, really, they needed Trevor Reza, but they needed Trevor Reza from like five years ago because he's too long the tooth through it. But yes, you're right. They need defense and somebody doesn't need the ball. And that's John Gulley with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News.

I am super encouraged by your help at Gottlieb's show, our best for last. I'll tell you why and what our top 10 list of movies without a happy ending are. That's next in the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays and noon Eastern, 9th,000. AM Pacific. 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 a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure,

and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. I got to leave in for calling. This is The Herd. I heard from a lot of you on social media that you agree with me

on this major point, this important, important point. And I cannot iterate and reiterate. And it's one of the things that parents have implored upon me in terms of coaching youth sports, which is, and I get away with it from it sometimes, which is sports is supposed to be fun.

And I got to tell you, I love the NBA. I think the guys are amazing. I think, you know, the old narrative of dumb jocks is a dumb narrative. Some of the brightest people I've met are athletes, president company excluded. So this is an attack on anybody's intelligence or wherewithal, you know, I, I, I, I, I don't even, I've heard people question whether or not you get into a political discussion when you're not a politician. Like, now politics should be for everybody to discuss. But I think if you're trying to sell me that basketball games are part of a big political

statement, like, it just makes it so it's not fun. I'm sorry, sports is supposed to be fun. I'm actually not sorry. Sports is supposed to be fun. I respect the fact that you want to stand up for people, less, if you feel like you're standing up for people less fortunate than you, I respect that. And these things matter to you? I respect that.

But do you remember when basketball was fun? I saw Jamal Murray have 50 last night and save his team from elimination. Couldn't get him a crack a smile. Couldn't get him. Couldn't get him crack. He was just talking about how tired he is of this fight, like, do your 23. You know? Enjoy the moment. There is lots of time in the day, lots of time in your life to make social change.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be important, but you should also have fun with the fact that you just lit up the Utah Jazz and save the nuggets from elimination. Let's get to the best for last. It's almost the end of the show, but that doesn't mean we're phoning it in. Nope, we grind to the very last segment. It's time for best for last. Okay, I was, there is no historic meaning to the reason for this poll, except for this. So I have a daughter, her name is Harper. She's 14, okay. And in my effort to relate to my daughter for as long as possible, we watch movies together.

It's been our thing through quarantine. And we watched movies together. And she watched Shawshank Redemption. Great movie, right? She did watch Silence of the Lambs. Scary, great movie. and plenty of others. So he hadn't watched a movie in a while,

and I thought, what about a million-dollar baby? I mean, honey to be a million-dollar, you know, produced, directed by Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, again, the Shawshank Redemption connection in it. And then Hillary Swank is the fighter in a million-dollar baby. I don't want to give away the ending. But I remember we're coming up on the ending, and she's a movie talker.

She talks a lot, which is good. That's why we vibe. is she asked questions in the movie and sometimes I'll stop it and kind of explain it. She's like, wait, is she going to walk again? Like, no.

She broke her C1 and C2. She can't breathe on her own. She's going to walk again. Well, that's not how a movie is supposed to end. So I thought of the 10 best movies, just personal get, personal, 10 best movies without a happy ending. Number 10.

Titanic. Guess what? Ship still sinks, right? You know, people still die. Ship still sinks. But, great movie. Anybody argue? Like, a little bit of a chick flick, but still a great movie. Number nine. No country for old men. There's a lot I would like explained for the end of this movie. Right? Like, I don't, I think I know what happens. Maybe it had a happy ending and we just don't really know. Right? It's very confusing. I'm like, did that... Did they forget to put the ending part on there? Nope, that's how they wanted it.

Number eight. The Departed. This is one of those movies. It's not like Legends of the Fall. Remember Legends of the Fall, Brad Pitt and that one? Everybody dies. That's basically the departed. Everybody. Just like, oh, maybe he had... Nope. He's going to die too.

Nope. He's going to die too. Bad wins. Good doesn't. Everybody dies. Still a great movie The Departed. Number seven. Green Mile. You know, I need to go back and watch the Green Mile.

I do remember vaguely how it ended. And I remember Tom Hanks. And I remember what's the, what's the, he actually died, the super gunned up dude? No, no. I can see you in the movie, but he actually died in real life, too. Michael Clark Duncan, right? Michael Clark Duncan.

They're the bigger than life human being, right? Number six. Braveheart. That is the ultimate in unhappy endings. What they... Mm. Mm. Did the Mel Gibson's character.

Mm. William Wallace. Just, if you had... Oh, yeah, that's how it ended. Number five. Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights. Okay, so Friday Night Lights, the movie, which is also a book.

And it's a true story. All right? It's not varsity blues. You ruin my season, Billy Bob, right? No, it's not, no, like don't get them confused. I'm not talking about the TV show Friday Night Lights. Has there anything that's gotten like book, TV show, and movie? That's a lot.

It's a lot. Number four. Avengers Infinity War. Very important. Arguably the best of the Marvel movies. I would put Deadpool first. I know that I personally. what was the one that I

why am I forgetting? What was the one that I told you guys? I thought my favorite is I'm a Guardians of the Galaxy. I like Guardians of the Galaxy. I like Deadpool, like the sense of humorant. Black Panther was on like every station last night because of the untimely death of the star.

But Infinity War, if you remember, wait, can I give it away? It's not that old movie. We're talking about movie endings. Spoiler is kind of implied. Right. But with one glove gripping itself, half of the universe's population vanishes, including back Panther. Don't worry.

The next Avengers, he's okay. He came back. Number three. Seven. Okay, this might be the worst ending of all of them, right? Right? The woman you love, head in a box. Brad Pitt opens it up, like not even, yeah, that is not the surprise ending that I thought would happen at the end of seven.

But it makes for a great movie. Number two. Million dollar baby. If you've forgotten, she's in a championship fight. Dirty fighter punches her when she turns her back and substitute stool guy. You know, corner man for Morgan Freeman's character leaves the stool out there instead of Clint East would have usually holds the stool himself. She hits her head, breaks her neck, and then Clint Eastwood, only after going to church and asking the priest about it, decides to fulfill her wishes and help her commit suicide. Yeah, that's not the ending you thought was coming. Number one. Empire Strikes Back. Like, it's the, it's like the original old school, hey, I didn't know evil could actually win at the end of a movie. Granted, they wrapped it all in a bow.

Return of the Jedi, but maybe the most iconic and by my estimation, best, not so happy Disney-type ending, Empire Strikes Back. So that's our best blast. Honorable mention, someone tweeted this in too late, American History X. American History X also very good. There was some that were like twist, twisted endings, right? That we, usual suspects for a second. Guys, that's a twist.

It's not a happy ending, but he does get away, right? does get away. So it's kind of a happy ending. He's the bad guy, but he gets away. A twisted ending is different. All right. The NBA playoffs continue. We continue to get closer and closer and closer to to an NFL season. But tonight in the NBA, you got Miami, Milwaukee, Game 1, followed by Oklahoma City and Houston. Houston looked just dominant last time out in comparison to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City. a team that can't really shoot.

But when they hit shots, they're very athletic defensively, very young. Houston is a five-point favorite. I would like the Rockets to win and the Rockets to cover. Milwaukee's a five-and-a-half point favorite. I like Miami to cover and Milwaukee win. I think those will be two, I think one will be a close game. I think Houston puts away Oklahoma City and that season comes to an end. You have the death of John Thompson, also Lude Olson, legendary Arizona.

on a coach you passed away. So you're having kind of a generation of college basketball coaches. Eddie Sutton, my head coach died as well this year. So really 2020 generally sucks. Anyway, we'll be back tomorrow. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Hurt. 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 headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart 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. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.