The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE HERD - Hour 3 - USC HC Eric Musselman joins The Herd

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

USC basketball HC Eric Musselman stops by The Herd to talk about the National Championship game, playing against Michigan, why they look like a NBA team, the affect NIL has had on college basketball, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends

on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest

storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the day.

dumbest people you know. Listen to help from Hippocrite Wednesdays 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 SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to you. to Fox Sports Radio. Well, he has coached in the NBA

with a hawks, Grizzlies, Magic, T-Wolves. He's coached in college basketball, Nevada, Arkansas, and USC. And the two now, in the last several years with NIL, it's got more of a partnership feel like college football and college basketball, college football and pro football, which I like.

Nothing against the G-League. I think college basketball is great for talented young players. Marketing, the coaching's better, the arenas, the environment, I am for it. Eric Musselman, second year, coach USC, is joining us with a lot of basketball experience. Okay, so you played Michigan. I want you to go. You walk in, you know, you bring your team out on the floor and you looked over at Michigan.

What did you think looking at him? Like it looks like an NBA team. There's no doubt, Kyle. When you look out there and you see, you know, Mara at the five and Mores Johnson at the four and then Yaxel at the three, just that front line alone really has an imposing look to him. And then you can't simulate getting ready for them in practice because they're so hard to score on because they switch. They kept more at the rim. Dusty May did a great job assembling the roster and then also coming up with schemes,

both offensively and defensively, to make the personnel fit with a structure and a style. You know, it's interesting. You're in Southern California. There's a lot of good basketball players around there. But Hurley always says, we don't look at stars. Are they willing to compete? Are they physical? Are they tough kids? A little bit of Villanova did a little bit of that when they would go out and get a kid whose dad was a cop. They kind of like to get those kind of tough kids. And I think it's hard because, you know, a lot of coaches have proven Duke has five-star kids. It's fun. It's pros. Where do you balance? that because Hurley's kids last night, Eric, they weren't as good as Michigan. They competed their arse off. Where are you on the portal when you get a kid from another school and what kind of players? Do you look at stars? Do you care about that stuff? Well, in L.A., I think you got to think and look your star power matters in our community. So for sure, you know, you look at what Coach Gottlieb's done on the women's side with Juju Watkins. And like so star power does matter.

I think we'd all like to get players that have toughness, players that have grit. You know, and I tell, you know, a lot of my friends at the NBA level, the biggest difference, you know, and Coach Malone's going to find this out at North Carolina is at the NBA level, you're drafting guys. And at the college level, you can have a profile for what you're looking for. hey I want this at my point card position I want this at my center but then it comes down to who can you get into school who's actually interested in your school geography matters the caliber of zooms that you do just to get in to maybe a group that then comes on a visit and then what does

the official visit look like so I think we you know most of us would like a certain thing in a player characteristics but then you got to try to land the guy and and so So it's not a draft. If it's a draft, you know, situation, it would be a lot different. It's hard with the portal. So many names are coming at you. And then certain players are looking for different things. Some guys are only worried about can they get to an NCAA tournament.

Other players are worried about how do they have good stats so that they can get to the NBA level. So you've got to try to figure out, you know, where does your niche kind of fit with what they're looking for? And it's a lot more complicated right now than it was when we were at Nevada in the first couple of years at Arkansas, because at that time, players sat. And so we had a philosophy that we're going to have nine scholarship players and four guys sitting. It's not that way anymore. And it's become way more competitive in the transfer portal than it was five, six years ago. You're a very intense guy. You've probably like all of us when you get to be 50, 60.

You know, the governor turns down a little bit. And I joke with Danny Hurley, you know, you can't be that intense in your 70s, all right? So, but he's a great coach. But it is interesting. I asked Tom Isle this, too, is that, and Hurley is when a kid can just transfer now. Like Dusty May has got a very kind of, you know, he's kind of got a light smile, you know, everybody's different. Coach Kay was a barker, Calapar, he can bark, Hurley can bark. You're intense.

I don't know if you're a barker. you tell me has it made you coach differently knowing a player's got so much power and can leave I don't think so I think you want to make sure that guys that you bring into your program want to be coached and I think that's the one thing when you look at like coach Hurley and then you study and I mean he has those conversations you know with players when they're coming into his program and I think when you look at the success of coach iso for all these years and he you know three by the last four years, the Sweet 16, all these things, you know, Mick Cronin, there's a lot of coaches that get the most out of their players, and everybody's got a different way of doing it. But I do think players

in today's structure, like they crave, they want to get better, they understand what it takes to get better. And I think if you convey that coming in the door, you know, the fact of, as a player can, you know, can your player kind of take on the same personality as the coach? That's when teams become really great. And Dusty May has a certain demeanor. And I think his team took on that same type personality. And certainly the greatest example is Coach Hurley and all the success he's had. And his players do personify toughness, grittiness, will to win, and never quit. And you saw that throughout this tournament that Coach Hurley's team. has his personality.

Well, you watched, it's really interesting the balance. So Duke was great, but young. Calipari, I used to joke that Calipari canceled senior night at Kentucky. They didn't have any, and they won one title. And yet Villanova had old guys and Michigan had old guys and Hurley had old guys, is that what I watched college football this past year, when Indiana and Miami played, I'm like, man, Indiana and Miami, they got men. These are not 20-year-olds.

These are 24-year-old men. The quality of football was better. I'm watching last night, that is arguably the most physical college basketball game I've ever seen. It was a rock fight. You're not getting that. Duke, they didn't want that smoke in the second half with Yukon. You could see it.

I mean, I think it's an advantage. You know what it takes in the NBA, but would you sometimes consider, okay, the guy's not quite this, but man, he's been in a weight room. He's more mature. How do you balance the age talent thing? Well, you know, I think from a coaching standpoint, you know, I look at Arkansas that, you know, a few years ago, we had three, one and Duns.

And that was one of the funnest teams I've ever coached. It was Anthony Black, Nick Smith, Jordan Walsh, and you could see those guys grow as players. And we knew going in when we had three guys that were McDonald's All-Americans, we knew that there was going to be growing pains in November. and even in December, but we felt like, hey, once we get through mid-year of conference play, and then if you're able to get a talented group like that into the NCAA tournament, you hope they continue to grow. But I do feel, especially this year with still having COVID players eligible, now the influx of players from outside the United States,

there is way, way more physicality. you know, we have some freshmen coming in, McDonald's All-Americans, and we're talking to them right now about the importance of the weight room. And because it is a way more, it's actually got to the point, Colin where college basketball, to some degrees, is too physical. And I think that the league that we play in, there's so much physicality. But I was laughing last night watching that game. You know, when Doc Rivers played in the NBA,

there was the old hand check where you could literally put your hand. hand on a player's waist and you could direct him defensively. Last night there was a lot of hand checking going on. There was a lot of physicality. And, you know, what you saw last night was two teams that could play through physicality. And the only way to advance in that tournament right now is to have guys that can play through physicality, whether they're freshmen, fifth year seniors, but you've got you've got to play through contact right now. It's much more. much different in college than it was 10 years ago from a physicality standpoint. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports

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Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas, we invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide. range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

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

not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and Headwere writer Street or Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending,

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

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina. But I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lennar Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So if I's Carolina, I'd have hired Billy Donovan,

but he likes the NBA. And I've, I've talked about this on the air. It sounds a little boogie, but it's like Rich Carlton's, team jets, you know, great cities,

restaurants. Good for DM. Huh? Per DM? Big, good for DM. Right. Like,

I get why guys are like, listen, I'm going to be a pro guy. I totally get it. But college, you can control personnel. If you got the right NIL money, it's a good life.

You get to go, you know, live on the beach in L.A. It's fun. Well, I look at Mike Maloney. alone, my concern is he's a pro guy. And he may do it. I think Mike's a hell of a coach. But he does feel like a pro guy. And Billy Donovan feels like just a basketball guy.

You're a basketball guy. I don't look at you pro or college. And then, you know, Eric Spolstra, I think, could do both. You know, he's got the energy. He's got the personality. Do you worry that he is, his experience is a lot of NBA? I think he'll do a great job. I think number one, you know, there are certain programs in the country that their logo is an advantage in recruiting. Obviously, there's name image like this, but I still think that, you know, certain logos can get you in the door from a recruiting standpoint. I think there's a lot of players, the majority of them, want to play at the next level. So Coach Malone's going to be able to walk into a living room or somebody coming on to visit. and he's going to be able to talk so much NBA basketball,

and he's going to be able to sell a style of play that mirrors what the NBA does, because that's been his whole career, basically. And the one thing with Mike Malone, he's going to win games based on his X&O's. You know, I think the one thing that's very underrated about NBA coaches is the reps. We always talk about reps with players.

Well, with a coach like Mike Malone, you take the 82 game season and all the pressure of seven game series in the playoffs. He is so experienced and he's been in so many late game situations. It would take a college coach so many years to even duplicate what he's experienced in the game reps that he's had. And I do think like he's going to find the differences on, you know, while the season's going next year. like when I came from the NBA, I thought, oh, I have this, you know, all these side out of bounds packages. Well, there's hardly ever side out of bounds in college basketball. And in the NBA, if you don't have a side out of bounds package, you're doomed because of the advancement of the

ball, where the ball is taken out at the NBA in college. Almost every dead ball ends up as a baseline out of bounds. So there's little nuances that, you know, he's going to have to get used to. it might cost you a game or two in year one. I certainly felt like it did for me at Nevada not understanding some of those things. And then you're behind in understanding referees tendencies. And you're not on a first name basis with referees. But what he will have is respect from the referees. They all have TVs.

They've watched what he's done. And so I do think he'll have some advantages on that end as well. All right, Eric Musselman. Now, it's transfer portal day. I had Mark Few on yesterday. He looked exhausted and it hadn't started yet. He was already, but he did a nap and it hadn't started. So give me your best transfer portal.

Is it done today for you? Where are you on that stuff? Give me a player. Have you already landed a guy yet you can talk about? No, we haven't landed a guy. We're not even close. We are doing a Zoom right now. When I jump off with you, I'm jumping right into a Zoom.

and we have zooms all the way until 10 o'clock tonight. Wow. I don't know if we've ever set so many zooms up. We got about a 40-minute break at one o'clock to grab lunch as a staff and kind of fill each other in. Because right now we have all the assistant coaches are on the phones. When we do a Zoom, each assistant coach has one little portion of the Zoom, and then the other guys are off on the phone. So we're introducing ourselves to guys right now.

We're talking about strengths of our program. And so it'll be a long, drawn-out process, but it goes really quick. You know, some guys geographically know where they want to go for us. It's going to be really, really quickly. How can we get you on a Zoom? How can we get you on campus? And then, you know, our staff's ability, can we close or not? Eric, it's great seeing you again.

You're living down at the beach. That's a good life, you know. You don't need to go back to the association. that's a good life. Volleyball. I'm not going to complain about the South Bay and Manhattan Beach. I'm loving it. Well, next Wednesday night, you know where to meet me.

Hopefully you drop by. I'm there. Look forward to seeing you, Colin. Thanks for having me on. Okay. Eric Musselman, USC basketball coach, and yes, Middlecoff, you won't be in L.A., so I'm going to go to my haunt, my local haunt in Manhattan Beach.

Maybe I'll just fly in. for the night. I heard where you guys are going. A couple of red stripes. There's no reason to, you know, don't go crazy or anything like that. That was fun. All right, John Middlough with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, you know, transfer portal, some similarities with the draft, though it sounds way crazier. The NFL drafts right around the corner. And we had some news today that Fernando Mendoza will not be attending the draft. That'll be the first. number one overall pick since Trevor Lawrence in 2021.

The other thing is today, Colin, as we speak, he is at the Raiders facility. And he's been working with Brian Greasy, who a long-time TV guy, but the last couple of years, he's been the quarterback coach for Shanahan. Well, Shanahan, Kubiak, they run the same offense. You know, this is not your normal pre-draft visit because he knows he's going there. This is not an interview. This is, we're talking football, we're talking the plays. I think the most fascinating part about this, Kubiak said last week,

ideally a young quarterback sits behind Cousins. But what if this guy's just ready and Cousins is just a backup? You know, this is, how do you think Cubiac's going to handle this situation? I think Mendoza is going to blow him away. I want to see the draft. I think the Raiders have, you know, three or four. fourth round picks. I think they're going to get, my take is they went and got five starters in free agency. They're going to be a little bit like New England, except Drake May already had a

year in the NFL. And I think they're going to pick up five starters in the draft. They got a handful of starters I like. I think Brock Bowers, Colton Miller left tackle. They got a couple of linebackers they went and spent money on. So, I mean, they're going to be a little bit like New England. Like, I think the Raiders next year are going to be a team. I don't think they'll be great in September. But I think he's going to walk in, John, and I think it's going to be jaw-dropping stuff. And I think he's going to beat Kirk Cousins out, and I don't think it's going to be that close.

Well, this isn't that crazy because they only won three games, but I know you love the double-year win total three to seven to me feels pretty easy. Oh, absolutely. And I think this is a team that you're going to, for the first time in 15 years, you're going to look at the Raiders and go, oh, I see exactly what they're trying to do. We've got the coach, we got the quarterback, we got the left tackle. I mean, they need upgrades in some obvious spots. Wide receiver is a position for Fernando.

I mean, he's got three NFL wide receivers at Indiana. Look at the Raiders receiving group. Beside Bowers, it's not great. They do have Gentie already on the roster. I'm high on the Raiders as well, especially for the next couple years. Sticking with the NFL, Liam Cohen and Trevor Lawrence, they obviously had a bunch of success last year, win the division, 13 games. Lawrence threw a career high, 29 touchdowns.

But Cohen knows there's much room for Trevor to grow. Four new systems, multiple different head coach situations, OCs, whatever it is. It goes throughout the season. And you find out, I mean, doesn't miss a single practice. Doesn't miss a single throw in practice. Played the whole season. Obviously, MVP finalists, comeback player of the year finalist. Did some great things.

There's so much room. to continue to improve. Yeah. And I think that's what we're excited about attacking. But when you start with A, humility and B, toughness mentally and physically, I think you can do a lot with a quarterback. Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things, John, that has changed in football in my life, there are so, it used to be you had to put in the time.

And that's just not the way it is. If the owner and the GM think you're sharp and you're 38, they don't care, is that there are so, I don't remember a time in my life. McVeigh is still young and McDonald and D'Amico Ryans and Kevin O'Connell. There are so many good coaches. Liam Cohen literally walks into a dysfunctional organization. And, I mean, I, I mean, they lost a Buffalo in the playoffs because Buffalo's been there before. Yeah.

But I was, I love Trevor Lawrence. I was kind of ready to sell all my stock. And then you're like, oh, that's the guy I liked out of college. Like it just, Liam's really, really good at what he does. He doesn't get the love because he's in Jacksonville, right? And we just, it's a small market. It's kind of buried. We talk more dolphins.

Liam Cohen's a great. I mean, Baker Mayfield had him and I think misses him. I think he's really a special coach. I had sold all my stock. I didn't know any Trevor Lawrence stock. He shows you the power of Liam Cohen. Honestly, if I had a choice between Liam Cohen or Trevor Lawrence, if I was an owner, I would take Liam Cohen.

He feels like he's got a chance to be pretty special. I agree. I'm still, Trevor's clearly, you know, I think he earned some toughness credit last year. He played well. He's productive. He was thoroughly, I thought, outplayed in the playoff game against Josh with a little hit or miss. But I would be pretty, they did lose Travis E.TN or A-chan, I guess, is his actual name. The Titans are going to be better.

We know how good the Texans is. The AFC's hard. I think it's going to be hard for the Jaggers to get back. But to baseball. You know, hanging out. here in in southern California. These Dodger games are on everywhere. Yeah. And you just look up and, you know, the basketball game's going, there's another

home run. There's another home run. I look up at the end of the game. Miguel Rojas, he's on the mound closing things out 14 to 2. Colin, I've hated this team my whole life. I'm from Northern California, but I have to tip my hat that they are an absolute powerhouse. And I think it's clear this is the best version of the team that's already won several World Series. Yeah, I mean, Edwin Diaz changes everything. I mean, last year, you go into the playoffs,

their bullpen wasn't settled in September. Like, they didn't know exactly. They had to go at one point and asked Roki. Dave Roberts said, we went and asked this young phenom, can you go out of the pen? Diaz changes everything. Because their offense is so profound,

they're going to lead 70% of their games in the sixth inning. The question for them has been the last couple of years. Can they close stuff out? I think the number was last year. They blew 26 save opportunities. So look at them right now. My takeaway, just watching them, and obviously you know their roster so well by this point,

is if they try, which remember last year they had some weird games, they had some injuries. I think they could easily win 125 games. If they actually took it seriously, that's not the way baseball usually works. I think they could close their eyes and get to 105 wins.

I mean, this team is a freight train. Okay, their team batting average is $2.99. Without looking yet this year at team batting averages, I bet if you took the Dodgers out, the average batting average in baseball is $2.60? I bet it's lower than that. $257? Yeah. I mean, I think that now all these guys swing for the fences,

you can be batting in the hundreds if you hit home runs. I would be sure. I bet there are a ton of teams that are sub two. I think the Dodgers, I mean, their power, their speed. I live in in Arizona, I've been to some of their spring training games. Yeah, this is the difference between them and the Yankees. The Yankees are going to be pretty good. The athleticism.

They have like NFL speed. Otani runs like a deer. So does Buckey Betts is an incredible athlete? I don't know. I know the baseball playoffs are weird, and if you have a couple of weird games pitching, this team, it'd be stunning. Here we go. The Major League Baseball average is,

holy God, it is low. If you take, wow. No one swings for contact anymore, Colin. Just home runs and you can strike out. No one cares. This is crazy. I guess 250 something. Without the Dodgers, the Major League average is 232.

Yeah. That is, so the Dodgers are basically Derek Jeter at the plate as an average. There are 300 hitting team. There are three teams hitting under 200. good for you I would have never guessed this under 200 this this this team is

you feel it down here I mean they feel this has to if you lived in Chicago in the 90s with the bull this team feels like a traveling you know rock band All star team

Yeah I mean it's it's impressive to why And last night they were really on Yeah I mean the Blue Jays were in the World Series last year Every time I looked up There's another ball flying out the yard.

John with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I am shocked rarely. Three teams hitting under 200. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed. to a first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking, I'm originally calling it

one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast for people could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.

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

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by their. people who live them.

Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen went.

I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerna Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, Founding Partner, a partner, I heart women's sports. I think I said, you know, it's funny. I'm viewed as somebody that doesn't have great admiration for Jason Tatum. The truth is the opposite's true. I've been to two different games with Jason Tatum. He's out like 45 minutes before any other player.

Grindr, that's why I came back from injury. He's just a grinder. Great kid. I have said, face of the league, you've got to to want it. You have to have like the style and the aura and the want and I think he wants it, but he didn't have much of an aura. He's just kind of quiet and and, you know, he's really a, he fits into a team. The other thing I've said is there are times that Jalen Brown, who I don't think is quite as talented, it's just more aggressive and demands the ball. So Jason, it's kind of

confounding. I do think he's a top 10 player in the NBA. I'd probably put him around, I mean, top of my head, it's no particular order. Luca, SGA. Yokic Wemby you know name your top seven or eight players in the league he's in that 7-8-9 category no question but I think Cooper Flagg

as a teenager is probably now about 14th and he's a much more aggressive player than Tatum he like jumps off the TV and I I was a little surprised like Nick holds Tatum here and then

down here is Cooper Flagg. And in the history of sports, be it Tiger Woods when he was 19 or 20, or Bryce Harper when he first got to the Biggs, when guys with huge ceiling, and I think Cooper's ceiling is higher than Tatum, I do. They just get much better, much faster than you think. And I think, like right now, if you told me Cooper Flagger Tatum, 10 years build it, I'd take Cooper Flagg. And that's not disrespectful to Tatum.

I think by next year, Cooper Flag will start getting MVP votes. I think he's that good. Nick Wright does not. And he talked about the Cooper Flagg, Jason Tatum, comp earlier. Right now this moment, Tatum coming off the Achilles where he's not fully, but if we're saying Jason Tatum at full strength next season, walks into next season, one of the seven best players in the sport, Cooper Flag, in my opinion, does not approach that until probably,

year four. I think he has the whole toolkit. And if you're saying is his, is Cooper Flagg's ceiling higher than Tatum's ceiling? I think probably, because I don't think Tatum's ever going to win league MVP and I think Cooper could. If you go and look at the splits pre-all-Star game posts, and this is with nobody around him. Like when you play the Mavericks, stop Cooper Flagg. he is averaging more points since on February 1st on than Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, James Harden, Bam on a Bayou who dropped 83 in a game, Carl Anthony Towns. These are high-end offensive machines.

He's averaging more. I think, you know, it's funny. Eric Musselman was talking about this. He said he loves coaching talented, freshman because beginning of the year to end, they're like new players. And that's like three and a half months. The NBA season is a grind. It starts in October.

It ends, you know, finals, June or is it June? Yeah, mid-June. So, I mean, I think Cooper Flagg, and again, a college guy's got to go to class. Cooper Flagg can pay for individual training, no class, all basketball, 17 hours a day. I look at I mean these are insane numbers it is so good and people say oh that's a lot of pressure

I don't think it is with him I think he and Tatum are not that far off again if you gave me today in a series I take Tatum he's a more refined player he's got much better players around it but if you put Cooper flag with the Celtics and put Tatum with the Mavericks

they would you know I think you'd tell that Tatum is just a more refined player. He's an older, mature, you know, there's angles, there's kind of playing in spurts, but I, boy Cooper flagged something else. Something else. You know, it's a lot of these, you know, the irony is rich today on the show. So I don't think, Yukon had a team several years ago that was great.

But this Yukon team was just really, really good, well-coats. they really want on toughness and culture. I do think it's funny that Yukon fans almost to a fan is like, you know, the officiating last time. It's like, guys, everybody that Yukon's beaten under Dan Hurley has complained about officiating. Because they play so physical. This Yukon team doesn't have, they don't have that kind of skill. So they got one big guy and then they shoot their way to wins. And when they were hot against Duke, they came roaring back.

Michigan's got several ways to win. Last night, they were ice cold. So they said, all right, we're going to go in the paint, score 36 points. But it is kind of ironic. I said this. When I covered Mike Tyson in Vegas, he was a bully. He intimidated people. And then he tried to do that with Evander Holyfield,

and the Holyfield didn't buy any of it. And it's just interesting to me that Yukon fans are arguing about officiating. This Yukon team never gets to the free throw line. That's the one to the two things Yukon did poorly all year. bad fouls, Hurley admits it, and they don't get to the free throw line. And a lot of great teams, especially in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, I don't have it in front of me. They shoot a ton of threes. And the warriors in their dynasty shot. They were a lot of off ball movement, off ball action, and get to the free throw line. Just because you're a great

team doesn't mean you shoot your way to the championship from the charity stripe. So Yukon doesn't get to the line. So don't look at that and go, I look at it. Look at the disparity. They're 275th in the sport this year. Michigan attacks, has the skill. They're gigantic. You foul them. They get to the free throw line.

The Boston Celtics average, the fewest free throws right now, in the NBA. Fewer than the Wizards. Why? Like the Warriors? Like Yukon jump shooting team. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

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

We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I told myself can then shape my behavior,

and that can lead me to sound. sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast Deeply Well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown

from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives. Helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike! I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice.

Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrat, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.