The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Steve Sarkisian

Episode Date: July 31, 2023

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian stops by to talk about his team and what to expect from them this coming season Colin ranks the 7 wonders of the sports world  See 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind 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 on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station

for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Well, he's had jobs where he has had to rebuild brands. He went to Washington. The year before he got there, they didn't win a football game. He went to USC.

They were beaten down. He went to Texas. They were down. And rebuilding is hard. And these are big brands that have impatient boosters and often executives in the office, in the athletic department. So Steve Sarkesian now, here we go. 10 of 11 offensive starters return. Do you get a sense, Steve?

This is a big year now. You lost close games. Now you don't have a bunch of kids anymore. Do you sense this is, you got to turn those late seasonals to Ws. Do you sense the pressure? I don't really feel the pressure. I feel excited for our team in that, you know, we've got a really good football team. You know, we've got, we're returning a bunch of players.

We recruited really well. We've got good depth across the board. I was talking to staff earlier today. We're not a one-dimensional football team. I feel like we can win a high-scoring game. We can win a low-scoring game. If it comes down to special teams, we're really solid there with our specialists.

If we need to throw it, we can. If we need to run it, we can. We're just a really well-rounded team that has got a lot of veteran players, but also a really nice influx of talented young pieces to the team. So here's Arch Manning. and then you already got a quarterback who, I mean, listen, Sark, you've had some good quarterbacks. You've got a couple of guys that can really sling it. How do you balance it between having a guy that could be a first round quarterback, having maybe the most prolific

high school quarterback ever, how do you balance that? Do you want the young kid to get reps? Do you want him to sit and learn? The manning name is American football royalty. How do you balance that? Well, I think the first thing is getting them to understand that everybody's at a different phase in their development, right? Whether you're talking about Quinn yours, Malik Murphy, Arch Manning, all these guys are in a different phase. And what they need to do a really good job is not get caught up in what the other guys working on in his development, but focus on what we're asking them to work on in their development. And then, too, be a great teammate. You know, I've been part of some really good quarterback rooms over the years. You know, back in the day at SC, I had Carson

Palmer, Matt Castle, and Matt Liner in the same room. I was in a quarterback room with John David Booty and Mark Sanchez in the same room. I was a quarterback room at Alabama with Tuatonga Viloa and Mack Jones in the same room. So I'm not, this isn't just foreign territory for me. I think, like I said, the key is focused on what each individual needs to work on to be the best player he can be, and then be a great teammate for the other guys.

And we've got a really cool camaraderie amongst this group of guys right now and looking forward to watching them all play here in a couple days. Bejohn Robinson reminded me a little of Ladanian Tomlinson in an LSU where he could block, catch, run. There were literally, I called him last year in the draft a flawless football player. And I know everybody in the world's down on running backs, but he was so dynamic, so refined as a college running back. I mean, as good as the Reggie Bushes are, the kid could do everything at a high level.

Are you concerned at all? you didn't lose a back. You lost two in the draft, by the way, and one of them is one of the best running backs in a decade. How do you replace that? Well, that's going to be one of the key question marks going into training camp. Of all the 10 starters coming back for us, the one that we don't is Bejohn and at that running back position. And then we also lost Rochon Johnson, you know, a third round pick at that spot. So we've got a talented room. It's not going to be about the ability, you know, whether it's a Jonathan Brooks, Akela Robinson, Cedric Baxter, Jaden Blue,

Trey Wisner, a Savian Red. These guys are all talented players. It's who gives us the best opportunity to have success offensively. And is it one of them? Is it two of them? Is it possibly three of them? That's what we have to find out. And if there's anything, that's one of the best question marks going into training camp,

but one that I think we'll feel really comfortable with coming out of training camp when we get it answered. Washington, USC, and Texas are big brink. They've all got national championships. Washington won in the early 90s, as you know. Very proud program. SC and Texas are two of the top five names. But it always feels, and I've said this before, is I don't know why this is,

but I've always loved Texas as a program, the colors. It's so big, and it's glamorous. It's USC's got this. It's a glamour brand. There's a lot of good football brands. Are there similarities to USC where, um, Texas football is it's college, but there's like a pro vibe, a big city vibe to it. I've never been around it.

You know, you're my link to it. Explain Texas football compared to, you've been at Bama. You've been at Texas. USC, Washington. Is it different at Texas? Well, first of all, we've got to get you down here to a game, Colin. I mean, it is, I don't know if you've, have you ever been to Austin? Yes.

Oh, no, I've been to Austin several times. I've been to one Longhorn game years and years ago. but there is something about the program that feels, I've said this, there's two or three glamour brands, Notre Dame, USC, Texas. It feels different than even Alabama. Well, first of all, I think A, the history and tradition speak for itself. And you're right about the colors in the uniform. They're very unique that way. The city of Austin is on fire. And with all that and the growth that Austin has, you know, the only pro sport we have is, Austin FC. And so when you talk about being in the state of Texas, being in Austin, Texas,

the capital of the state, we are that program. And inevitably, we've got a brand that is world renowned. It's, in my opinion, it's a number one logo in sports. You know, look on my shirt. It doesn't say Longhorns. It doesn't say Texas. There's just the picture of the longhorn, and everybody knows what it is. So in the end, it is like those other schools. I think it's very similar that way. I think we can recruit great players. I can remember being on the sidelines in that national championship game with USC

thinking, man, Texas has players that look like ours. There's FACC's hours. They're as big as hours are. And we have won 33 straight games in a row. And inevitably, Vince got us that night and arguably the greatest college football game ever. So it is a

tremendous brand. We're extremely fortunate and it's one that I know we take a lot of pride in. You know, I was talking earlier about, you know, every day I walk into this building with a real sense of humility, and I'm humble the fact that, man, I get to be the head coach at University of Texas, and I don't take it lightly. And we're fortunate to have a really good football team this year, and we'll see how far we can take it. All five of your losses were one possession games. Now, some of that I'd give you a pass on because you were young.

I mean, you were starting two freshmen on the offensive line. You had kids everywhere. But now I think there's a burden, Steve, to, Okay, now you've got to win these close games. When you look at last year, you go over the game film, are there things in those close games that you look at now and go, oh, yeah, we're going to be better at that. I can't believe we did that.

That is just simply maturity. Guys are 19, not 18, 20, not 19. No question. You know, I think when you really break down football and you start looking at the special situations within the game, you look at third down, you look at fourth down now, which has become such a, you know, change in philosophy-wise of what's going on. You look at what we were able or inability to kind of score in the red area.

That Alabama game, we were in the red area five times and scored one touchdown. What a difference that that game could have been if we could have punched in a couple different times. You know, how we control the ball in the fourth quarter to close out some of those games that we had leads in. But inevitably, I don't look at it as a burden. I look it as an unbelievable opportunity. You know, what's going to happen when we do?

And that to me is something that I think our players have embraced, our coaching staff is embraced, and we're looking forward to the opportunity because we've got a hardworking football team. We've got great coaches. We've got really good continuity amongst our staff. We're returning a lot of really good players. But this influx of young players as well provides depth to where guys aren't having to play every snap for three quarters and they're just trying to make it in the fourth. We're going to be able to rotate some guys and keep people fresh into the fourth quarter of these games. Yeah, you're very, very deep at quarterback, wide receiver, and that's your specialty. The game has changed. I mean, I watched Tennessee. I watch you guys in Tennessee go up and down the field on Bama. Can you win on the defensive side? Now, Georgia has done it, but they've also had really good quarterback play with Stets and Bennett. That helps a lot.

Do you ever think to yourself as an offensive coach, do you celebrate as hard when you get a corner in recruiting as you do a receiver? Or does it feel like it's just hard to win defensively these days? No, I think you have to have defense. At the end of the day, you have to. And you just start going through it. I mean, I think that, you know, even the year LSU wins it with Joe, with Burrow, they weren't great on defense, especially earlier in the year. But as the season went on, they started playing better and better defense as that year went on. You still have to play great defense. And I think also you have to be an opportunistic defense. You've got to find ways to create turnovers. You've got to find ways to get stops in the red area and force field goals.

Then you've got to find a way to get stops on fourth down because not anymore in college football do you defend three downs. You've got to defend four. And you never know when teams are going to go for it anymore. I mean, Lane, I think, has partially changed the game here in Ole Miss. The book, as he refers to it as always seems to say, go for it. So I'm not sure what book he's got. But at the end of it all, you know, I think you still have to play defense. You've got to get stops. You've got to create turnovers. And you've got to be able to affect the quarterback because everybody's throwing the ball around.

You've got to find a way to affect the quarterback to create some errant throws and turnovers and whatnot. Okay. Finally, listen, it's going to be a great quarterback class. Quinn yours is interesting. At times he does something that can get me frustrated. He's got a little bit of Jay Cutler where he can be a little bit casual sometimes. He's got a huge arm.

He's obviously super talented. How do you, you know, because some guys, it's loose. You can't be loose in pro football. You could probably be a little loose in high school or college, but you get to the pros. That loose is an interception. What are you doing now? What's the evolution of Brock Ewers to tighten his game up? I know he talked about diet, which I thought was actually interesting,

because I think he's a first round talent, but I need to see consistency. How do you clean that up? Well, I think that's all of it, right? That's all part of the process. You got to remember his freshman year of college. He basically graduated high school early and went to Ohio State. And then we got him in January. So we kind of felt like last year was his freshman year with us. And there were some great moments. There was a few great games in there where he just played lights out. And then there were some growing paints. And that's part of playing the position. You know, ideally, I would have love for him to be able to sit and watch somebody and learn and watch their mistakes and learn from those teachable moments. But in the the end, he got some invaluable experience. I did think he saw the value of changing his body. You can see the maturity in him as he continues to grow. But inevitably, some of that looseness comes from maybe you just didn't quite know, right? And you know, you try to give them all the different looks in practice and then you get something in game. It's okay, now where do I go with this ball and what do I do? So the repetition matters. I think the

the expertise in the system matters. And historically for us, guys going into year two in our system, which we're running an NFL offense. It's the same stuff we did in Atlanta with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and those guys. Historically going into year two, that's when we really see that step. And all signs are pointing to that. That's where Quinn's going this year for us. I can't wait.

Cannot wait. Who do you guys open? I don't have your schedule in from me. Who do you open with? We open with Rice. Oh, boy. Then it's Alabama. That's no, oh boy.

Okay, listen, I want a couple trick plays against Sabin. I like to see Nick get uncomfortable. Put a little razzle in that dazzle, Steve, because last year you hadn't beat last year. And I don't think I'm alone when the country was waiting for you to pull it off. And Bryce Young did what Bryce Young does. So it's at Bama. You've got some landmines there, but how do you not, do you ever talk to, will you talk to Nick the week before you plan? Will you call him?

Will you talk to him? Probably not the week of, you know, maybe right before the season, I'll give him a call, but maybe not the week of. But, you know, I've got the utmost respect for him. Of course. He, you know, yeah, I can't say it enough what he did for my career. We had some special moments. And that's, you know, I learned this from Pete a long time ago at SC. There's nothing better than competing against your friends and the people you respect the most.

And so, you know, we'll put forth a great week of preparation. We'll have a good plan. and I have no question. Our guys are going to go out and play hard. We've got to play well enough to win. September 9th, that is going to be one for the ages. Texas loaded in Alabama. I cannot wait.

Sark, always root for you. Great seeing you. You look so good with that color. Look, it just fits really, really nice. I appreciate that. Thank you. It's great seeing you. Throw my horns up. Yeah, there you go.

We're all right here, man. All right. Great seeing you. Steve Sarkesian, a friend. He's been doing a smart guy. I've been doing it for a long time. and that is one of it. I don't know why this is.

I didn't grow up around it. I've always loved Texas football. I don't know what it is. You know how you have, there's a lot of sidewalk, Notre Dame fans or Dallas Cowboy fans. And they never lived in Dallas. I don't know what it is.

Nebraska was a power. I wasn't a huge fan. Oklahoma was a power, but I can go back to the old Texas days, Daryl Royal. It was Johnny Lamb Jones. Oh, here we go. Trip down 70s memory lane.

I got to taste of it's the colors. It's the, For me, it would be Notre Dame because they were on TV all the time. I remember in the 80s and 90s, they were good. My buddy went to Notre Dame, played soccer. I play hoops with a guy who was a quarterback at Notre Dame. I've got a little connection there. Sidewalk alumni, or what do they call it?

Subway alumni. Something like that. In New York, yeah, they got a lot of things in New York. They're just occasion. I mean, I'm not from New York, but when I was a kid, I would go to Mariner games, and Reggie Jackson in a mink coat in the summer would come out with Billy Martin and Munson, the catcher. Thurman Munson, and I was instantly a Yankee fan.

They were the only baseball team back then outside of the Cincinnati Reds, who were dominant. In the late 70s, it was like that a big personality. So it was like Texas football, Yankee baseball. Notre Dame with Rocket Ishmael. Remember him? Tell me you remember, Rocky, the Rocket Ishma. I remember him. Tim Brown. I was never anti-Noderdane, but they didn't draw me in.

How about Tony Rice? You remember running the option? Tony Rice is nasty. Yeah, good stuff. memorable run against USC. Yep. We don't need to bring that up again. Yeah, sorry. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard 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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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. 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 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 J. 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. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So Tua is the next quarterback in the NFL in line to get a. big money extension. Oh, he is. Two of the top five guys in his class have agreed to massive deals. Tua says he's not thinking about the next deal. He needs to earn it on the field.

I think regardless of what it is, if they wanted to do it now, if they want it to wait, whatever. I think for myself, I'm always a person that wants to prove to myself that I deserve whatever I get. And so, you know, for me, I feel like this is something that I need to work for. It's plain as simple as that. I haven't talked about any contracts since what I've understood with, you know, my fifth-year extension. So I don't think that's a worry of mine. That's when, when things come, they'll come because you either deserved it or it's supposed to happen that way. Such a nice kid.

Yeah, it's not really talked about enough, but it's easy for us to sit up here and talk about who should get paid and blah, blah, blah. I would struggle to pay him early because of his health. imagine Tua. You're practicing every day. Then you've got to meet the media. And they're going to ask you this stuff every single day. Every day, Colin. You know, you and I finish shows, we go on with our lives. We don't have to sit in front of the media and get peppered with questions. Can you imagine what that would be like? Hey, coward, that was a bad take on the Jags. Or, you know, can you drill down on that? That's just not happening. Nobody's calling you out in the media. Like, every day Tua is going to be asked about this. When Burrow gets his deal, more questions for Tua. And like, at some point, that,

That's got to get in your head, doesn't it? Well, he's had a bumpy Brian Flores and he didn't get along. The Ryan Fitzpatrick years, the concussions, his journey has been full of landmine. So, you know, he's an easy guy to root for. It's not gone, you know, for Mahomes, who's great, but, you know, most young quarterbacks, Burrow got hurt. Herbert had a terrible offensive line. Tua didn't get along with Brian Flores.

I mean, these are the good ones. Trevor Lawrence had the Urban Meyer experiment, even the great ones. It doesn't, Mahomes is rare. Andy Reed, Kelsey, the Hunt family, Brett Veach. Now, he's earned it, but no turbulence. I just feel like we get videos of Tua often in front of the podium. You know what he looks and sounds great. He's always great.

Tell me it was the last time he saw Justin Herbert in front of the podium saying anything. So are the chargers hiding him? Is he just being boring? No, but Tua's had more turbulence. I mean, the Flores thing, he came from a higher profile college program, the concussion thing, the wrong. Ryan Fitzpatrick. So a lot of the Tua stuff isn't the media. He's been newsworthy. He's been in big stories. He is more interesting. Yeah. Justin Herbert 25 and 24 in his career.

You're big on QB records. I'm not. But like there are questions to ask him. Like Herbert, they got your top five tier one. You don't have a playoff win. What's up, my guy? Nobody's asking him that stuff. Maybe it's the Miami media. Well, they're also the chargers in a city with USC, the Rams, the Lakers, the Dodgers are not as high a profile. In Miami, the heat are the franchise of record, dolphins are two. Yeah, Bill Plashke's not going to Chargers practice and grilling Herbert. Yeah. And then it becoming a story. It's just not happening.

Maybe that's what we should do. You and I should just go grill teams. I don't, I'm not a... All right, I could grill. Let's do it. It'd be fun. Well, we get him on the couch. Yeah, he's hard to grill because he's such a good guy. Yeah. Hard to grill the good guys. Hard to grill the good guys. It's fair. To get got to sometimes, but it's hard to grill the good guys.

Yeah. Next up, Dallas Cowboys. They're keeping their core defense together, and they added 2019 DPOI, Stefan Gilmore. All the pieces in place, Micah Parsons believes this defensive group could be up there with the all-time greats. Well, I think this defense could be.

I think we could be up there with, you know, the 49th of great defense. You know, I think we could be up there with the Ray Lewis's of defenses. You know, I think we could be up there with the Legion of Boom. Just with the talent we have, the vet guys mixed in with young guys,

the experience that we all have. Because I just feel like, you know, since my rookie year, we got thrown in the fire and we just keep building that experience of tough games hard games um playoff level games um i only thing there's a guy on our team that don't have a playoff experience besides obviously the guys that just came in notice how much bigger he is i was just gonna say you're in pads there like he put on 25 pounds oh my gosh i mean he is big he might be defensive player the other well i think a lot of it is he's like i don't need to be a linebacker

i need to be a pass rusher because that's where the money's that's where the money i mean i mean He looks like a edge rusher. He's got the trap game up here, like the shoulders. I used to have that, not anymore. You didn't have that much of it. I've never seen your trap game. Your trap games on the basketball court. Oh, hard.

You can be trapped. All right, let's fast forward to my favorite NFL comment of the week. So, New Orleans, obviously, is a big food city, okay? And one of the staples is bignettes. I don't know. I'm sure you've had some before. You know, they're great. So Jamal Williams, who was on the Lions, I think, led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last year.

He's now in New Orleans, and he really ticked off Saints Faithful when he was talking about their famous dessert. Now, listen to this and don't get too angry, New Orleans people. You can't get those Beny's? Yeah, I'm not impressed. It's just a funnel cake. It's just a funnel cake. So, yeah, the bigniades is just a funnel cake. Yeah.

You're doing so well. What, what? Like, just with the fans. I don't know if that one's going to, like, land so well. I'm sorry. I'm not from, I just got here. I respect your bignettes and all that. In California, we just call them funnel cakes.

Well, that's just where we know them at. I tasted it. It tastes just like a funnel cake. That's all. But it's good, though, if you like funnel cakes. I think that. So I did not hear about this. And we went to the Dodgers game yesterday,

and I got a funnel cake with the kids. And my wife goes, did you see that NFL player talking about funnel cakes being bignets? And I was like, what? Who would possibly? say that and it was Jamal Williams and apparently you go online and Saints fans are like this guy, get this guy out of town. I don't think I've ever had a

funnel cake. I've had Benets. I've never had a funnel cake. I don't even know what a funnel cake is. A funnel cake is really, really tasty. So you were in a Dodger game and they're small? Yeah, we had some good seats so, you know, we had the access to the good food and the funnel cakes that were incredible. I had more than one,

let's just say, the small portion. There's small little cakes. Yeah. And it's got powder. sugar on it, yeah. Well, that would be a bignet. And that's what he's saying, Jamal Williams. And now Saints fans are like, get out of town. They're going to probably boo him. I had the best oysters Rockefeller of my life in New Orleans. Great seafood town. Great, for the record, best service of any city I've ever been to in the country. Best service? No, when you go to a restaurant in New York, they're trying to get you out of there and get the next table. In Los Angeles, it's just an actor. But in New Orleans, they take unbelievable pride in their service, best service of any service.

city I've been to the country. You go to a restaurant. They don't want you to leave. That table's your, that's why Zion. Zion agrees. Like best service. Oh, no, no, I would be, I would, uh, that city would be hard to maintain abs in. Very hard. Okay. And their food's rich, cakes and fatty, basically. Yeah, I mean, it's, uh, unhealthy. Oasters and, uh, oysters are healthy, aren't they? Not the way they do them in New Orleans. I love oysters. Fishing with dynamite. A amazing. amazing oysters. Yes. That's a Manhattan Beach reference.

Yes. All right, Jay Mack for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. How do you own the day in sports? You make incredible plays. How do the rest of us own it with Irish Spring?

Look for Irish Spring at your local retailer today. When the spring hits you, you're ready to own the day. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hi, this is Jay Glazer. And you may know me for the world of football or fighting or even. in shows like HBO's ballers. What you don't know is for my entire life,

I have lived in something I refer to as the gray, depression, anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer, where each week, while we talk about mental health, I hope to describe it. Give it words. Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, 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. A win is a win. I don't care where you're saying. 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 Podcast, 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-tapped 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 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.

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. Yes. 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. And to your first year, Discover credit cards, double all the cashback you've earned

automatically everything earned double. Check it out for yourself. Discover.com slash match. So we were talking this morning about, you know, this is a really remarkable time in that I've been lucky enough. I've been doing this long enough. So about the only great, great athlete that I always wanted to see but never saw was Sandy Kofax, who many believe is the best pitcher for a short stint in the history of baseball. I didn't get to see him. I've seen video clips. Mickey Mantle, if you're on the East Coast, I didn't see him, but supposed to be amazing. But I even saw Young Wilt. I've seen all the track and field superstars, Carl Lewis. Obviously, I remember very early. And right now we have, because everything feels global,

except maybe the NFL, we have the best athletes we've ever seen. Nutrition, size, strength, training. So we thought about this morning the seven wonders of the sports world. You've heard the term the seven wonders of the world. The seven wonders. Now, some of these are not yet in their prime, some in their prime, some out of their prime, but the seven wonders of the sports world. We would say number one would be the greatest young soccer talent of all time. Killian Mbapé. won a World Cup for France as a teenager was the leading score in this World Cup eight goals. Many believe he'll shatter everything.

Some say he's Palais, but more athletic and stronger. He just rejected a billion-dollar offer to play for Saudi Arabia. Kiliin Mbapé is number one. Number two would be Patrick Mahomes. Right now in America's most popular sport, highest passer rating in league history. first player in the history of pro football to have multiple championships and MVP's within his first six seasons. Really now just moving into his prime, two Super Bowl wins, two MVP's.

Literally, we had a guest on earlier talking to scouts around the league. There's him, there's Mahomes, and then even the second best quarterback in the league falls short. He's done it without great defenses. He's done it without great special teams. Patrick Mahomes is too. Number three for me would be arguably the greatest basketball player ever, and that is LeBron James, who on any given night is still an incredibly dominant player, 19 all-star selections, only player in league history, 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 10,000 assists, and he could have scored far

more. Again, what's remarkable is very few injuries. Michael Jordan did not age this well. Magic left the sport early, so did Larry Bird. LeBron, the size, the commitment, the layering, the Swiss Army knife in the history of the sport. Number four has to be a baseball player that we talk about a lot. Show Hey O'Hawtonny. It's incredible.

He leads baseball in power stats and allows hitters as a pitcher to hit just 185. So he's arguably the best pitcher and the best power hitter in baseball. it's remarkable. First player to ever throw a shutout in the first game of a doubleheader and then hit multiple home runs in the second game. He runs. He's got power. It's amazing how he generates the power and he's only 210 pounds. There's nothing like him. Babe Ruth did not simultaneously for any extended period of time hit and pitch. Otani at some point may make a choice but he remains dominant. Number five, Lionel Messi. Again, with Pele, the great soccer talent,

26 World Cup matches, won the World Cup with Argentina, second leading score in this World Cup, seven goals, one assist, he's an all-timer. I think number six is a player that is remarkably still underrated, Steph Curry, the greatest shooter in league history, four-time champ, six finals last nine years.

He's as selfless as any great player all time. Steph Curry can play with Kevin Durant, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green, multiple head coaches. In a sport that now puts a premium on shooting, he has virtually unlimited range. And number seven, Novak Yilkovic. He was number one for 389 consecutive weeks. Now think about that. That is in the Roger Federer Rafi Nadal years.

389 week, probably, and I grew up with Borg and McEnroe and Connors, when he's playing well, feels like a notch above Nadal and Federer, who are arguably Federer's the second best player of all time. So my seven wonders of the sports world, the most exciting is probably Killion Mbapé, because he burst onto the scenes at 18 for France. They get to a World Cup. They win. He's a teenager. He is unlike, and you're a soccer guy, he's unlike anything on the planet right now. He's a stronger version of Messi.

Is he a little bit more athletic quicker than Ronaldo? He's everything. You know what? It's great about this, too. Is that not a lot of highly controversial guys, mostly completely utterly committed and really good teammates. I mean, you could have egomaniacs, you could have selfish players, overwhelmingly get along with others, pretty giving guys. I mean, LeBron's, one of LeBron's great assets and abilities, he's elevated everybody he's ever played with. Same with Mahomes. I'm sure the audience wants to know who just missed the cut.

Rinaldo. Okay. Janice. Joker? Not quite yet. Okay. Usain Bolt? Or is he kind of retire?

I mean, six years ago, probably, is the world's fastest human. Yeah, I think, I think Janus is close. I think Rinaldo is close. It's interesting that Mahomes is the NFL, only NFL player here. The gap between him and number two, like you said earlier, is just massive. Well, I mean, now that Brady's gone, you're Peyton Manning. I mean, I thought Aaron Rogers, but he just didn't feel as big as these. Agreed, totally.

Well, and also, if you went to 10, I'd probably have four soccer. I would have Rinaldo. Yeah. So soccer's a more global sport. Solid list. Hey, listen. It's a good list for you. Take this stuff seriously.

Yeah. Take it very seriously. All right, we're done. Steve Sarkesian, Mike Sando, go to the athletic, quarterback tiers. It's one of my favorite football columns, probably my favorite of the year. First things first around the corner. It's the herd. 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. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.