The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Best Of - Bill Belichick SNUBBED, Giannis TRADE DESTINATIONS, Seahawks to Super Bowl | Nick Wright

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.  Nick Wright reacts to Sam Darnold leading the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl for a matchup with Drake Maye's New England Patriots. Later, Nick reacts to Bill Belichick's Hall of Fame snub and breaks down whether it is understandable for the legendary coach to not be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Next, Nick shares potential landing spots for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo including the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs! #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart 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.

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She can win. She's an outsider to win the French win. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any service. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right with Nick Wright. The best takes and moments from this week on the show. Enjoy. All right, the Seahawks are headed to the Super Bowl, and that is not despite Donald. That's with Darnell. He continues to play the best football of his life.

Who could have saw this coming outside of maybe like Colin Coward? Yeah. So this is from the, this is not stunning once the season started being played. And again, I picked the Rams. But everybody, by the time we got to the playoffs, we knew Seattle was excellent and Seattle could get to the Super Bowl. and by the time we were midway through the season, we knew Seattle was a really, really good team.

This is stunning in the context of the feelings on the Seahawks from before the year. And I will go hand up in that regard where I was as loud as anybody saying, I thought they got worse at quarterback, that I thought Gino was a better player than Darnold. They were moving on from Gino to go to Darnold, where I last year gave basically all of the credit that Darnold otherwise, you know, deserved, to Kevin O'Connell and to Justin Jefferson and to the operation in with the Vikings and said the 14 wins and 4,000 yards were basically phony.

and because of that, I didn't, I shouldn't say I thought they were phony as much as I thought they were, as much as I thought they were as a team stat more of, more of his coaching, his team, the infrastructure, and less of him. And the fact that he played so poorly in the week 18 game to get the one seed and then so poorly in the playoff game, it confirmed. every Sam Darnold concern or skepticism any of us had. At least it felt like it did. And then this year, when he was absolutely rolling until they played the Rams the first time, and in that game, he threw four interceptions, it was double-stamped, triple-stamped, pumpkin mode.

The lights are too bright for this guy. and then something interesting happened when they played the Rams the second time, which was the first three quarters of that, he was about as bad as he was the first time they played. He had two turnovers instead of four. They seemed to be afraid to really cut him loose. And then in the fourth quarter and then that drive in overtime, he was excellent.

And he didn't really like build all. on that momentum because after that game, he didn't have any great statistical games. He just kind of stayed out of the way. But it did seem like that was a moment for him. And then week one of the playoffs, he didn't make any mistakes. They won by 35 points, but he didn't have to do much.

And then Sunday night to go to the Super Bowl, he went throw for throw with Matthew Stafford. And the team I thought it was really interesting that by the end of that game you saw how much his play caller, Clint Kubiak and his head coach,

who has to sign off on those decisions, how much those guys believed in Darnold on that last drive. I'm trying to pull up the play-by-play, which is really weird right now. Really weird. I always go to buy.

scores and play by play on ESPN.com. ESPN does not have for the Rams or the Seahawks on their schedule page. I have it now here. It doesn't have it listed as a game having been played. But I've got it now. On the final drive of the game for the Seahawks, this is what they did when they could have been in just grind, clock mode. Second and seven with 326 left, Sam Darnold pass.

Third and seven, after an incompletion, Sam Darnold passed. That was the Cooper Cup play. On that play, by the way, McVeigh, who has some game management issues, that's the one where he called the time out and then was asking them about challenging it. I just want to like clarify to everyone what was going on there. The problem for McVeigh was, I don't think they were telling him, you're not allowed to challenge. I think they were telling him because you have already called time out.

If you challenge this and lose, that will cost you an additional timeout. That is not on the officials. That is on McVeigh to recognize in real time that he had both of his challenge. left. He was going, there was three minutes left, but you can only use your challenges until the two minute warning. That was a spot. And I, and I just, I'm not trying to give myself too much credit, but it's not second guessing because I said it in real time. What McVeigh should have done in that moment after the Cooper Cup play, instead of calling time out to then look at it and see if you want a challenge, snap challenge. Because in that specific,

spot, a challenge is the exact same as a timeout. It's going to stop the clock. If you're right about it and you win it or whatever, you get your timeout back. If you're wrong, it costs you the exact same thing as using a timeout would. You don't have to conserve your challenges anymore because there's only a minute remaining you haven't used any. So he made a mistake there. Flatly, he just made a mistake.

It probably wouldn't have changed anything because I don't think that play was being overturned, but that he made a mistake there. But to the point I'm making, second down, they let Darnold pass with 326 left. Third down, they let Darnold pass with 320 left. Second and 10 with 305 left, they let Darnold pass. Second and seven with 217 left. And the Rams out of it. of timeouts, they let Darnold pass.

And so they put real faith in him. That second and seven play, when he threw it incomplete, but there was defensive holding called, just to give context, the Rams are out of timeouts. If they run the ball there, if they just go into like take knees mode, that play runs it down to the two-minute warning, the next play runs it down to, 115 and the Rams are getting the ball back. Best case scenario with like 105 left. By throwing the ball, you really took a big risk, not only of turnover, but incompletion where the Rams would have real time. They trusted Darnold. Now, he did throw an incompletion, but there was a penalty away from

the play, but still, it shows they did not feel like they have to coach around Darnold in this spot and they shouldn't have. In the biggest game of his life, the guy had the best game of his life. And if you can't give someone credit for that, then I don't know what the point of playing the games is. Like, if Sam Darnold isn't at least on the precipice of potentially, I don't even know I should say potentially of being a top 10 quarterback, then we're just saying he's ineligible because of the beginning of his career.

Because last year, he was exceptional all year until the biggest games. And then this year, he wasn't quite as good as last year, but he was really good all year. And then he played the best game of his career in the biggest game. You have to give the guy credit. and I don't know who, Demonsi, who should feel sicker about Darnold turning into this guy? The Jets are the Vikings. The Jets drafted him and had him for years and just gave up on him.

Or the Vikings who had him for one year and saw what happened and then moved on to go to JJ. I'm sorry. I think it's going to be the Vikings. I mean, you just... Why are you apologizing? Yeah, because I know Paul, Paul, we were just talking about this this morning. Our producer, Paul's a Vikings fan. Fair enough, but go ahead. Yeah, I mean, he just came off of 14 wins last year.

So, I mean, they saw it. The Jets just drafted him in the beginning. I think it's easy to say that in hindsight, but with the, with the Vikings, you literally just saw it last year and you dropped him. But that's... Yeah, so, and the Vikings kind of tepidly wanted to bring him back, but not for the money he got from. Seattle, and now he's one of the best bargains in the whole sport.

And so I just, and to be clear, I think everyone has acknowledged throughout the course of the year that if you remove quarterback and just evaluate teams based on everything that, you know, everything they have aside from quarterback, that the Seahawks had an argument that they were head and shoulders better than everybody else. Yeah. And their defense, even though Stafford was, and listen, Stafford's a great player. He's a great player, and he was great in that game. And so I'm not holding that loss against him, and we'll get to the Stafford side of things in a minute. But the reason I liked the Rams in that game was because, yeah, I thought the Seahawks had the slightly better roster, but the Rams had the far, far better quarterback. and Sunday night,

Darnold went throw for throw with Stafford. And if Stafford can play, doesn't have to play at that level. Just a minus level quarterback, then Calks are head and shoulders, best team in the league. Because they have an excellent D-line, they have excellent backers,

they might have the best secondary in football, they have maybe the best receiver in the NFL, they have a good running game, they've built their offensive, line. That is a great, great team. And they're now 15 and I'm sorry, 16 and 3. And their three losses, De Manzay are week one of the season by four, a 38, 35 loss to Tampa, where they had a touchdown lead with 2.30 left, and 2119 to a Rams team that they then beat the next two two times.

Just a great, I mean, they have had a great season. Let's talk JAS, let's talk receivers. Oh, yeah, JASN and Puka put up big games.

Where do you think they bring among top receivers or league's best receivers? I think they got to be the two best. Yeah, I was about to say one and two. Yeah, I think so.

I think it's JISN one, Puka two. And I mean, it's with respect to Justin Jefferson. But I just think those two guys are the two best receivers in the league. And Justin Jefferson had a little bit of a weird situation this year. I do think it's a little, it might be a little bit too hasty putting Justin Jefferson

behind. I just don't know, like, I mean, Justin Jefferson's unbelievable. He's a future Hall of Famer. And he is an all-time great receiver. I don't know. So Justin Jefferson last year with Darnold. I mean, it feels like it's kind of apples to apples. Last year with Darnold, 1,500 yards, 10 touchdowns.

Jackson Smith and Jigba, this year with Darnold, 1,800 yards, 10 touchdowns. J.S.N had 119 catches. Justin Jefferson had 103. I don't know. It's really close, but I think JASN and Puka, have supplanted Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase. I think it's J.S. M. Pucco 1, 2, Jefferson Chase, 3, 4.

And, I mean, there's no shame in that. They are all building their own all-time great careers and resumes. But that's where I have it. All right, one more on this. Are you a full darnold believer at this point? I think he's really good. I think he's really good. I think that you can't have that type of game in a conference championship game.

And I know people love to say that quarterbacks aren't going head to head with other quarterbacks. I get that. But I do think there's additional pressure on a quarterback if they're standing across the field from another guy. who from a guy who's great and who they know is going to be able to do damage. And so doing that in that spot against Stafford, I think is pretty remarkable. And so I got to put, like, I can't say that I believe in Trevor more than I believe in Darnold. That's not fair. They both had great pedigrees.

they, you know, Trevor showed flashes earlier than Darnold, but Trevor hasn't reached the heights Darnold's reached. And so I don't necessarily trust Jared Gough more than I trust Darnold. And those are two guys in Trevor and Gough that I consider top 10 quarterbacks. And so, I mean, if that, do I have them in the top five? No, I don't. And the top five, by the way, top five is going to be awful tricky

because top six is easy. The big four that it's been, Mahomes, Alan Lamar, Burrow had been the top four, I should say. Matt Stafford's got to be there, and Drake May's got to be there. And we'll get to Drake May. I know he hasn't been great this postseason,

but what he did over the course of the regular season, now they're in the Super Bowl, it kind of stamps it, even though he hasn't individually been great this postseason. I don't know which of those six were kicking out of the top five. But you can't have six guys in your top five. Do you have a gut reaction on that, Damase? I mean, I feel like I know who you're going to pick, but I mean, I think.

Who do you think I'm going to pick? Oh, well, actually, you know what? It's got to be Lamar Allen, I feel like. It's one of the, I don't know. It's actually pretty tricky because Burrell didn't. you know he had i think i think gun to my head i would burrow would be out yeah i just with the injuries and him not really being in the playoff picture uh at all in the last couple years yeah yeah i think gun i can't the it would it's not and again i know people think that i'm just

you know wildly unfair to guys that aren't my guys or whatever and i i can't ding lamar for injuries and not and be like Burrough's not dinged for it. I can't ding Lamar for missing the playoffs once and ignore Burrow missing it three years in a row. And so whatever the circumstances are. And so for me, I think Burrow would be on the outside looking at. I think it would be like if I were, if I and now what I will say about May versus Lamar is this and maybe you'll, think this is unfair. If you were to ask me, league disbands,

new league starts, who do you want, you know, it's fantasy draft time, but for an actual team, my number one overall pick, so this is where age matters. Yeah.

My number one overall pick would be Patrick. My number two overall pick would be Alan. And my number three overall pick would be Drake Mae. That's where I would have him ahead of Lamar. that and so but that's incorporating age and durability stuff and those things and where you know that question the most interesting person involved in that is where do Caleb and Jaden slide in in reference to

Lamar and Burrow Stafford's an easy one because Stafford's just like out of it right because he probably only has one or two years left but the other guys who are right around 30 you know 30 you 30. And all four of those guys that are right around 30 or at 30 have interesting longevity questions right now. Mahomes, we would think, will age the best and he's been the health. Coming off his worst injury.

But he's right, but he's coming off a devastating injury. So there's a little, yeah, but there. Alan's never missed a game due to injury. But man, oh man, he plays such a. punishing style. Lamar is dealing with his most injury-riddled season of his career, and it seems like age has taken away from some of his running ability. Yes.

And Burrow has been an injury concern since he came into the league. So all those guys have their own little yeah-butts, if we're being fair about projecting it. And while I'm wearing a sweatshirt that says Kent City versus everybody. I am shockingly fair when it comes to how we're kind of trying to logically look at

these things. All right, before we get to the other stuff, let me remind you guys. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, Florida's Sportsbook. The big game matchup is set and I cannot wait to see the Patriots versus the Seahawks. Hard Rock Bet has all the different

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and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember I think it was on a call about what we should call it And 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 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 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 acapella 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. 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. Gentian win. I mean, she went down at three to, Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina 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.

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. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClyce on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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. All right, so the reports came out that Bill Belichick was snubbed from the Hall of Fame. And from the outside looking in, like a newer fan like myself, Belichick isn't getting in. It's a little weird that all of his accomplices. What do you make in the situation? So, you know, it's really interesting.

I didn't know you were going to say that in the offset about a newer fan, but it is a intriguing angle to it because there are people, and you're 27 years old, your age, there are players in the league your age and younger that probably have no recollect. at all of SpyGate. And I do not want, and I am not going to relitigate the ends and outs of SpyGate, I don't think that is a good use of our time. But the reason I bring it up is that is the simplest explanation as to why Bill Belichick was not a first ballot Hall of Famer. And I understand Vah Gregorian, the columnist for the Kansas City Star, who has a Hall of Fame vote.

He wrote a column explaining he was one of the people that did not vote for Belichick, and it had nothing to do with SpyGate, with the cheating scandals, that it was simply, here is the way the Hall of Fame works, just so everybody understands. The regular Hall of Famers, the ones that Drew Breeze is up for induction, Larry Fitzgerald, the players that retired recently, they have this giant list of eligible people to consider. They whittle it down to 25 semifinalists. They then whittle that down to usually, I think, 10 to 15 finalists. And then at most, five people from that group make it.

There is then a separate procedure, but with the same voters, that consider five other finalists. Those five other finalists come from three buckets. They will consider one contributor finalist. This year, that was Robert Kraft. One coaching finalist. This year, that was Bill Belichick. and three senior committee player finalists,

meaning guys who did not make the Hall of Fame through the initial proceeding, but now are eligible again through the senior committee. And those three finalists were Elsie Greenwood, Roger Craig, and gosh darn it, put it in the dock. I forget who the third other senior committee finalist was. and the way it works is for those five finalists, each voter can vote for a maximum of three people. Now, you can split that however you want. You can vote yes for the one contributor, one coach, and one of the players, one of the three players,

or you could go two players and one coach or two players. Ken Anderson is the other player finalist that I forgot. Or you could go all three players. Viagorean explained he didn't vote for Belichick and it was because he thought those three players were Hall of Fame worthy that if they didn't get in now, they were likely never going to get in, he thought, because they're not guaranteed to be the three,

finalist next year. And so he voted, he uses three votes for them. I think there is also the possibility that this was unintentional in this regard, that people in that room de Monzae were like, you know what? I'm sure Belichick's getting in. So I don't want to use, he doesn't need my vote. So I'd rather use my vote because I'm, I'm a big Roger Craig guy and I think he's not going to get in.

That could happen. There's a lot of different ways that someone who is a deserving candidate can lose a voter to. But in order for Bill Belichick not to be elected, he would have had to lose at least 11 votes. You need 40 of the 50. And while everyone from Tom Brady to Jimmy Johnson to Patrick Mahomes to LeBron James to Troy Aikman, everyone was unanimous in how outrageous Belichick's snubbing was.

I saw the news and I said, well, I suppose I understand. And the reason I understood was because I read it as he lost some amount of votes because Hall of Fame voters felt like this was their opportunity and maybe for some people their responsibility to punish him for at least one of, if not multiple, cheating scandals in which he was not only embroiled, but in Spygate adjudicated by the NFL to have orchestrated benefited from and he was penalized for greatly. They find him the most the league can fine a coach half a million dollars

and they took a first round pick from the team. Those were massive, massive penalties. And this, my opinion on this might sound counterintuitive or incongruous. I hope it doesn't. If I were a voter, I would have voted for Belichick. Spygate was not to me such a mortal sin that it overshadows what is an unimpeachable resume of coaching excellence.

But I can feel that way while also understanding that others may not. I also can feel that way, and I do not think it is contradictory for many of the people. I would not find it contradictory if the 50 Hall of Fame voters from this year were the exact same 50 next year, and next year Belichick got in unanimously. because I do think one could argue that if you were a Hall of Fame voter, you might feel like, yes, Bill Belichick deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,

but we would like to deny him the minted distinction of first ballot Hall of Famer. That that is the penance for spy game. And I don't find that outrageous. Now, there is

Damonsei a real knock-on effect of Belichick not getting in this year. Because if people understood and were paying attention to the way I explain the way the current voting process works, each year

there is only one coaching candidate that becomes eligible. That will not as eligible, but that gets voted on. So if you are Kyle or Mike Shanahan or Tom Coughlin and you have hopes of being a Hall of Famer, or I guess in theory, Mike Tomlin could be eligible next year, but I would imagine they would make him wait

because they think he might be coming back to coach. If you are one of those coaches and you assumed Belichick gets in this year and then next year, you know, maybe I'm the coach who's nominated and I could get in. Well, now that ain't going to happen. Because this year, the coaching candidate Bill Belichick didn't get in. And next year, the coaching candidate. Belichick will hold that spot, I would think, as the coach that comes up for vote every year until he gets in. So there is a real knock-on effect to it.

The other knock-on effect that is what I was getting at when you first mentioned this at the beginning of the show. I do think there is a generation of people, including active players in the league, that didn't know two things about SpyGate and are now learning about it. Yeah. That is like, wait, so what happened? and fair or not, that will put a slightly different light on that first half decade plus of Patriots dominance. And I don't think that's unfair.

It happened. That was, and I understand Jimmy Johnson saying, we all tried to do it and this, that, again, I'm not trying to rejudicate SpyGate. But the NFL found out the Pats were doing it, told them to stop, and they did not stop. And then even in the 2017, there was a real sketchy where you guys pretending to film

a team documentary and actually filming the Bengals sideline during a Bengals Bears' game before they played you guys, that happened and the league had to step in. The Patriots played with fire, whether it be deflategate, which fell at Tom Brady's feet, Spygate, which fell at Belichick's seat, or any of the other things that were more allegations than proven throughout their run.

And it is not nearly enough for me to be. like vacate the trophy titles. Strip them of the banners. I'm not saying that. Not even close to saying that. But I understand if a Hall of Fame voter said, this is your penalty. And I don't think it is

double jeopardy, nor do I think it is outrageous, if the voters at the Hall of Fame said, listen, yes, we understand that this was adjudicated almost 20 years ago. But we haven't ruled on it. We have not had our say on it. And we are therefore, and again, this is the assuming that this was the reason he missed out on, you know, enough votes to not get to 40, some folks said no, the cheating bothers us.

because I don't think there's any other realistic explanation as to why he would miss out on at least 11 of the 50 votes. And I don't. Oh, the thought that the other guys should get in, you know, thinking that Belichick was going to be there next year and get this guy in now. It's also, I think, you know, making it a personal thing like that,

I just think it's a little, is the guy first ballot or not. Like, in that guy's case, that he's saying that, oh, I wanted this other guy to get in. But in that, I just think that if the guy's first out. Yeah, I don't like, I don't like that explanation. I don't like the explanation of, I'd rather make this guy wait because this guy might not get another opportunity. Yeah, I mean, I, again, everyone's entitled to their own process on it. I don't like that explanation.

It's bad luck for one of those guys, but with respect to Elsie Greenwood, Roger Craig, and Ken Anderson, if we are simply saying those two guys plus Kraft and Belichick, you can only vote for three of them and the cheating is not factoring in, then Belichick must get one of your three votes. He must. And then you have to go make a tough decision on the other two. Now, De Manza, you know I promoted the idea of this year putting Kraft in. and I think he might get in.

And then next year when Grunk comes eligible, either having Grunk and Belichick wait an additional year to win Brady's eligible, or the Hall of Fame, which is going to have to do a lot of, it would appear, because my opinions in the minority, you know,

kind of PR fixing over the next few weeks and months, I they could also simply say, hey, we're adjusting a rule, by the way. If you win more than five Super Bowls, we are shortening your mandatory weight for Hall of Fame eligibility from five years to four years. So Tom Brady's eligible next year. And putting Grunk, Brady, and Belichick all in together. My initial idea was, and have the other three. player spots go to guys who have been multi-time finalists or semi-finalists, Adam Vinotary,

Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, and have an all Patriots class. But at the very least, having Grunk, Brady, and Belichick all go in next year would be sick. And I, I'm all for one-off rule changes that impact one person as a testament to their greatness. Like if they said, hey, new rule, any player with five or more Super Bowl rings, you don't have to wait the full five years. That's not, it's not going to be like, oh, my God, so many guys is going to apply to. Nope, brave. And it's similar. It's of the same thought process that if Adam Silver came out and be like, by the way, we changed a rule over the summer that in any circumstance where.

the NBA's all-time leading scorer is an active player, he is an all-star that year. And by the way, that would only apply to LeBron right now and next year. I think these one-off rule changes can be effective. Because the guys are doing stuff that hasn't been done before. And you don't have to, and if that rule ever applies to anyone else, it will be because of their, you know, unfathomable greatness, and so we'd be fine with it. And so that's my, that's where I fall on this.

Now, I will say this. There are two unintended consequences of this Belichick snubbing. One I find to be positive, one I find to be negative. The positive one is this. I think this is Bill Polly and's emperor has no clothes moment. and I don't mind that. I've never been a Polion guy. Bill Polion hit the jackpot in.

His team had the number one pick when Peyton Manning was coming out. And then in my opinion, did a very poor job building teams around Peyton to the tune of, Polion's whole philosophy was, we're going to build the best team imaginable to play with a lead and to play indoors. which was awesome most of the time, but you were not always indoors in the playoffs and you did not always have the lead. And that along with Peyton's own shortcomings

is why they didn't win as much. Bill Pollyan also is 8 patient zero of what I consider to be a near decade-long, outrageous Lamar Jackson discourse because he's the guy who said Lamar should play wide receiver instead of quarterback, which then had a rubber band snapping impact on how Lamar is discussed positively and negatively today.

And Polion has made a total fool of himself in this process. He told Sports Illustrated, I'm 100% sure. He's told Sports Illustrated, I voted for Belichick. He then, half hour later, told ESPN, I can't quite remember. I'm 95% sure. And then the next day, read a prepared statement on Sirius being like, I voted for Belichick. So Polion being made a bit of a fool of is just a happy accident of this maybe. The other unintended consequence to Monzae that I think is a bummer is for the guys who do get in this year.

So Drew Breeze is going to get in. Larry Fitzgerald is going to get in and whomever else does. Robert Kraft is probably going to get in. The story of the 2026, Pro Football Hall of Fame induction will not really be about who is getting in. And it will be about who is not there. And that's a bummer for them. And that's, you know, that's the, it just all everybody's talking about with this one. Correct. And so it does.

And especially for those senior committee guys. Like, while it won't be accurate that all. of them took Belichick's spot. It will be at least somewhat accurate that one of them did. And so, and we won't know who. So whether it's Kraft, Ken Anderson, Roger, Craig or Elsie Greenwood, it'll just not feel quite right. And so that's, that's a shame of it.

Again, I think he should be in, but I understand why some voters might have felt differently by the way if you're thinking about upgrading to the all new iPhone 17 pro designed to be the most powerful iPhone ever but you're also thinking about the traffic on your way to the store or transferring all your data good news when you order a new phone online with Boost mobile they'll send an expert to your home how about that or home or work to deliver your brand new iPhone pro and get you set up on Boost mobile within minutes no hassle so how about that you get the new iPhone it comes right to

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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. 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. 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 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, 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. 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. Jenshin win. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina 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. 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 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12

in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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. All right, Damanzi. Let's talk a little hoops here. End of an era. Janus currently hurt, been on Milwaukee bucks for 12 and a half years, is asking out of Milwaukee.

Per Shams, there's been aggressive offers from the Warriors, Knicks, Heat, and the Timberwolves. What do we make all this? Well, so I don't, let me just start with the Knicks. I don't see how the Knicks can make an offer Milwaukee would be interested in, because they have no picks to trade. They can give them swaps. So that's the one that I don't.

I understand why DeMonsay the Knicks would want to do it, obviously. But I don't know why Milwaukee would be interested. But the Warriors, though? The Warriors and I mean, I heard they were offering, Jenny Butler. I get there. Well, so that would be to, yeah. So here's the thing on the Warriors. the Warriors at least can trade picks

and Milwaukee might want to you know full on rebuild so that to me though also like Butler and Kaminga plus let me see the picks that the Warriors have available so I think it is multiple first I guess but

yeah so the Warriors can trade four firsts. They can trade their firsts in 26, 28, 30, and 32, and they can trade swaps. So they could do, you know, a massive, massive draft pick deal. And the Warriors could, they would include Jimmy Butler because it's the only way to make the salaries work. So I think it's basically the framework of it would be Butler and, you know, Kaminga for Janice and I think Kuzma and that's how the salaries line up and then you trade a bagillion picks and I don't I don't think that is a great deal personally and Milwaukee is in this weird spot remember where them bottoming out does not benefit them because they don't

have their own picks. They have traded or swapped their next four years of picks in Milwaukee, so them being awful, it doesn't allow them to replenish it, which is why I have been promoting the Hawks trade, which the Hawks have this benefit of. they have the first round pick next year or this coming year that is the better of New Orleans and Milwaukee which will be New Orleans's pick and they have Milwaukee's first round pick in two years so if the Hawks were to move the the trade I came up with yesterday Chris Stapps

and former number one overall pick Risa Shea for the New Orleans pick this year, which might be the number one pick of the draft, and Milwaukee's pick next year, that to me, if I'm the Bucks, is at least interesting, but the Hawks are not listed on these teams. My issue with the heat, DeMonse, is I don't see a scenario why the heat would be in a much better position

the amount of money they'd have to match right from their from their team right so like what is this heat team going to look like once you have made the trade to get Janus the only first round picks they can trade are in 30 and 32

you're I guess you have to include BAM, but then it's just Janus and Hero and like that to me does not put Janus markedly closer to a title. So I there, I really like the Hawks one. If that's not what Janice wants to do, there are, there's a Rockets one that's interesting and there is a Spurs one, both of which I discussed yesterday on the show, but we can discuss here. So the Spurs have, okay, the following picks that they can move off of. Atlanta's first this year and next year.

Okay, that's interesting. Boston's first in two years. Dallas is first in 2030 and Sacramento's first in 2013. So the Spurs can move five first round picks none of which are the Spurs picks which is the key here. Like if you're Milwaukee, you're like

your team's about to have Wembe and Janus and those in those great guards, your picks are going to suck. So the spurs can include a bunch of potentially awesome picks like, I mean, the Sacramento picks a long way down the road, but an unprotected Sacramento first round pick is gold. Who knows what Dallas looks like in five years? Who knows even what Boston looks like in three years? And then Atlanta the next two years. Like, that to me is interesting.

And here is what I think is the most intriguing. about the Spurs offer to Monzae that I came up with. They can make the money work without trading any of their young guards. Barnes and Vassell

get the money to where it needs to be. So you still have Fox, you still have Castle, you still have Harper, and that to me is if Milwaukee's like, listen, we're going to rip it down and have these other team's picks to build with.

Winby and Janus on the court at the same time. It sounds insane. Would be bananas. So that to me is worth considering. Five first round picks, none of which are the Spurs picks. And the Spurs, so the Spurs keep their own picks,

and they keep their young players. That to me is a legitimate, possibility and then there's the rockets one which the rockets have two potentially very valuable draft assets and they're in the same draft amaze not this coming year but next year they have brooklyn's first and phoenix is first now phoenix is building a little something but Brooklyn is miles away. And so the rockets, that Brooklyn picks very valuable, and they can trade Van Fleet,

and I think you would then have to include Shingoon. You think that Stephen Adams' injury might force them to try to be extra aggressive, really honest? Well, or it might, or it might make them, hit the brakes. They might say, we're not quite as close. But Amen Thompson, Tarisen, Reed Shepard,

Kevin Durant, Yonis, that to me is a real thing and real interesting. And Shingoon and Yonit, here's the thing. I'm sure they wouldn't want to, and if you're Milwaukee, you get Shingun, who is a star, and Brooklyn, Oakland's pick in two years and you build it up from there. And Shingun and Janus, to meet Amante, don't really fit together.

Because now two of your five best guys are just non-shooters. Yeah. And so that, that to me is interesting. And then I'm going to throw one other just possibility out there, okay? And this possibility is if this post- season goes poorly for the Thunder. So this would not be a trade deadline deal. But the Thunder are in this really weird position where, over the last two years,

they're awesome at full strength, but they are oddly unbeatable when Jalen Williams doesn't play. They're 34 and 3 over the last two years when Jada Boll. doesn't play, and he has a five-year max that starts in the summer. So if Milwaukee waited until the summer, could the Thunder put together a package of Jalen Williams at his new Max deal plus one other guy, be it Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, Caruso, the other Jalen Williams, you know, whomever. And then they have so many picks.

They have the Clippers first round pick this coming year. The Rockets' first round pick this coming year. They have Philly's first round pick this coming year. They have in 2027 the Clippers first round pick. They have the Mab's first round pick and 2028. They have Denver's first round pick in 2029 and of course all their own. So the thunder could. They're not going to do anything now and they should. But if this doesn't happen at the deadline, then I would watch OKC pending on how their postseason goes. But those to me are Atlanta,

Houston, San Antonio at the deadline are all so much more interesting than any of the four teams that that have reached out to Milwaukee and

when we talk about go ahead. Oh, I didn't talk with the Timberwolves. That's interesting. So the Timberwolves problem is He's making a lot. They just don't have the draft picks. And so I don't know how you make it work.

I don't know what package you can build for the bucks that is super intriguing. And the Knicks are in a very similar bucket where, I'm sorry, I'm scrolling my Google Doc about the future. draft assets. Let me find where the Knicks are on here. The Knicks have traded away all their picks. And so all they can offer you is swaps and players.

So like it would really have to be something close to like Janus for Kat. And that don't make any sense for the bucks. So I don't know how the Knicks make it happen. Do you explain? And so... Oh, sorry.

Go ahead. Do you expect the Bucks to send Yannis where he wants, or just to get the most value out of him? I think the Bucks should ask Yonis what his five favored destinations are. And say, we will do our very best to send you to one of those five. But we can't let you... Right, we can't let you... You know what?

send us your five favorite you could do it a couple different ways but i think if it's like send us five places and we will work diligently with those five teams um but i don't think you can just let him pick because if he picks new york you're just screwed like there's just and i feel similarly if he picks golden state i just if you're One of the big keys here is Milwaukee does not own their own picks. So that's the part that I just want to emphasize real quick about Milwaukee and what, you know, tanking and what it means for them before we move on. Here's Milwaukee's situation, okay? This coming year, they,

this year they will have their pick unless somehow their pick is a better pick than the Pelicans pick but they'll have and then they'll get the Pelicans pick. This year though they have their pick. In 2027, their pick goes to New Orleans or Atlanta. In 28, their pick goes to Portland or Washington with somebody else's pick coming to them. in 2029, their pick goes to Portland or Washington.

In 2030, Portland has the opportunity to swap picks with them. So 27, no, this year through 2030, but really 2027, because we know New Orleans is going to have a worse pick than Milwaukee this year. after this upcoming draft if they they either don't have their pick at all or they're going to have to swap their pick for a worse one so just stone bottoming out

does not allow them to replenish their assets as quickly so I'm not certain he gets dealt before the deadline but if he does the teams that can make the best trades are Atlanta, the Spurs, and the Rockets, and the Warriors and Nicks, I'm sure, and let me ask you one other thing, and I don't know where you stand on this, DeMaze.

I don't think that the Warriors trading Butler and Kaminga, and I know Butler's out, for Janus, guarantees them anything. I still don't, I don't know that I would look at them as favorites in the West or even favorites to make the conference final. Just because of the drop off of not having Jimmy Butler as well or just, just, just, yeah. I mean, that's, I guess I look at it like this. Let's just say commingas a zero for them. Right. The Warriors with a healthy Jimmy Butler were miles away from contention this year.

is the gap between Janice and Jimmy Butler so massive and it's huge that it takes them from, but it takes them from miles away from contention to championship caliber. Right. I don't think so. And I am, you would really be testing the limits of the Steph gravity when you're playing lineups of Dremont, and Janus in crunch time. You know, as great as it. And so I just, I don't think that is as sure.

Now, obviously, if you're the Warriors, you do it. But I'm saying, I don't know if it's far from contention now. And then with Janice, it'll just be like, all right, maybe they'll give somebody trouble in like the first or second round. That's how I would feel. I would feel like their ceiling would still be probably the conference finals. Maybe not. I'd have to see a play together and Janice and Steph together, it'd be unbelievable.

But I wouldn't look at that as a, it might be a juggernaut. But I also just, if I'm Milwaukee, I hate that trade package. What you're giving me is your picks and a guy with a torn ACL. And comminga, who you've been trying to get rid of like, I just, that's not a good package to me. Hey guys, it's us and the Jonas brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. I'm Nick, and guess what?

We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. and at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French fame. 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.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, in every episode we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicalife 12 in the TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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