The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Best Of - Nick Wright reacts to SHREDDED Luka Doncic, Lamar Jackson PLAYOFF FAILURES, Browns MUST START Shedeur

Episode Date: August 2, 2025

Nick Wright discusses what a slimmed-down Luka Doncic means for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' title aspirations. Should Luka be the favorite to win the NBA MVP? Next, Nick breaks down why Lamar Jackson deserves criticism for his playoff performances and must prove his doubters wrong following another Baltimore Ravens playoff loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills last NFL season. Is Lamar ready to get Baltimore past Buffalo, Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs, and Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals en route to a Super Bowl? Later, Nick breaks down why Shedeur Sanders must start at some point during the NFL season for the Cleveland Browns over Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel. Lastly, Nick reacts to Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey's commenting that most people do not view LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 NBA bubble championship as legitimate. Nick explains why anyone holding this opinion is... well... insane. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, 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. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. From My Heart Podcasts, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. This is for Vietnam. They're pouring patril all over here. Freedom for Vietnam!

There's a fire coming to this country, and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon. on the I Heart 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 man. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

Listen to help from Hippocrite Wednesdays on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Luca was on the cover of Men's Health magazine looking very slender. He came out with a quote saying, just visually, I would say that my whole body looks better. How are you feeling about Luca's transitions? So a couple things. One is, first, sorry to, I pointed this out on TV, and I'm not trying to pick on anybody,

but this to me is one of the main takeaways from the article. Remember how I told you guys, AI doesn't know sports and that AI hallucinates sports? This article got marred a bit by the fact that the author included in it an anecdote about how Luca, when he came into the league, had a. 42 inch vertical that was measured at the NBA combine. The problem with that is twofold. One is anyone that's watched 10 minutes of Luke at Anzsche at any moment of his career knows he never had a 42 inch vertical. The other problem is Luke at Ancich did not go to the combine.

So there is no place to measure his vertical. So what happened there? The most obvious answer is figured out by some internet sleuths was if you Googled Lukadansjich vertical, the top AI result was that Lukadansch had a 42-inch vertical measured at the NBA Combine, which then links you to an article about Dante D. Vincenzo's 42-inch vertical at the NBA Combine, but AI hallucinated it. I guess they saw the chah in both names, white guys,

same draft class, and they just made it up. So again, I'm not saying AI can't be used for things. I'm not saying it's not, you know, the next, the future, all of that. I am saying for some reason AI does not know sports and can't figure it out. That's first thing. Second thing is this. My other takeaway from that article, DeMonte, I'm going to read you a lot. line in it, which I found fascinating.

The facility, which is located in the town where Donchich has vacationed every summer since he was a teen. That's important. The facility, which is located in the town where Donchich has vacationed every summer since he was a teen, didn't have weights until earlier this month when he had dumbbells, barbells, weight plates and med balls trucked in. So here's why that's noteworthy to me. Luke every summer goes back to this town in Slovenia and trains,

but his training has always just included hooping. You know what I mean? He plays ball and does drills all of it. Weight training was never a big part of it for him. And so now, you guys know I feel like the, go ahead. Oh, no, it's just so cool, just being able to get a bus of, weights just brought to

wherever you have yeah of course but the the I felt that the whiplash effect of you know

Lucas fat out of shape drinking problem was far too strong considering that without ever being in peak physical condition

he had one of the greatest opening six year stretches of a career ever This is where I am contractually obligated to remind the audience that Luca Donchich already has made more first team all MBAs than either Steph Curry or Chris Paul and only has one less than Kevin freaking Durant. He's 26 years old. That's how great he's been. Now, he did have a down year and part of it was he was a little out of shape. He was also sad.

He also got hurt. He also got traded. And all of those things. So I think that is important. It's not giving him an excuse, but I just thought 12 months ago today, before Luca got hurt, before Luca got traded when Luca was coming off a finals appearance, nobody thought. And he had beaten and. round two Shea and in round three Anthony Edwards and it averaged 34, nine and 10 in the regular

season. Nobody thought Shea or Anthony Edwards was better than him. Now, I think it's like conventional wisdom that those guys are better than him. And Shea certainly has earned it, I guess. Anthony, I don't think quite has, but whatever. The point I'm making is this. Luca in non-tip-top physical condition was already well on his way to being one of the greatest players ever. Luca like this should be the early favorite for league MVP.

Well, you don't think with his playstyle that him being a little bit thinner might affect it. So I don't think he's going slow kind of get you on his head. Yeah, but I think that if he is, I don't think he's going to be skinny. I think he's going to be lean. You know what I mean? I think if you just replace

some of what was fair... with the Lakers. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like I would bet he weighs about the same, but looks. I mean, if not more. Yeah, I mean, muscle weighs more than fat. Right.

But I mean, he looks a lot thinner than he was. He looks a lot thinner. You know what I mean? So I just, yeah, I don't think you want actually skinny Luca. Right. But thinner Luca, I think what is helpful. And I think that he has taken this, you know, What happened last year to heart?

And this was the thing that I warned the Mabbs about after the trade. That even if they were going to be right, they're going to be wrong. Even if they were right that if they didn't trade him and they signed him to an extension, he was just going to get fat and out of shape and all these things. By trading him and motivating him and insulting him, they then put, this extra chip on his shoulder. Now, people can say, why didn't he do it during the year?

I don't think you can do this type of thing during a season. You know what I mean? I think you have to. You need an off season. And he's about to be playing a ton of ball at Eurobasket for Slovenia. And right now, he would be my early season pick to win league MVP next year. And if he just torches Dallas every single time they play and it just doesn't even matter. God, I can't wait.

I just can't wait if that were to happen. Also, by the way, shout out to Marco in the chat, watching from Slovenia. Yes, sir. Shout out Marco. Very cool. Let's do Matt Stafford here, and then we get to the listeners. Yeah, so Matt Everett has been dealing with some backsornness

and is set to miss another week of camp. You've been high on the Rams. Does this affect it at all? I think the guy just doesn't want to go to training camp. He's old. Oh, I hope that's it. That would be great. That would be an awesome result here.

If it's just old guy doesn't want to practice. So here is, before training camp, there was one story of potential contender that hit my radar. and that was the CJ Stroud shoulder soreness. I was like, ooh, that's something to watch. CJ Stroud, you know, like that he wasn't able to do full throwing practice or whatever. I'm like, that's something to watch. That seems to have subsided, okay?

But it was, it hit my radar. In training camp, we've been lucky so far, fingers crossed. There hasn't been the like devastating superstar injury. and there hasn't been the contender that has just been hit with a bunch of, you know, contributor injuries, at least not yet. So there have been to me two major stories out of training camp so far for contenders. One is a positive one. One is a worrisome one. The positive one, and people can say this is, you know, Chief's colored glasses, but I'm not wrong about this.

the chief's rookie first round pick who was considered a top 10 talent who fell because people thought his knee was not right and he might not be healthy for a good portion of his rookie year. Not only being healthy the first day of camp, but being slotted as the starting left tackle, not competing with Jalen Moore

who they signed to be the left tackle, for that spot and just being their left tackle from day one of camp to right now is one of the biggest positive stories for any true contender this training camp. Because if they have that spot locked down, and then you have Jalen Moore, the guy they side from San Francisco and Jawan Taylor, the right tackle who's been a bit of a disappointment with Kansas City since they signed him from Jacksonville competing on the right side, then all of a sudden the chief's offensive line is totally different.

So, and there was, everyone agreed that Josh Simmons had the talent to potentially be the number one tackle in his draft class, but the injury was so worrisome, he slid. If the knee is really right, then the chief's dealing, taking care of one of the most important and one of the most expensive spots in football by drafting a guy at 32 is a game changer. That's in the positive direction for a contender. In a negative direction for a contender, it's this Stafford story. Because aside from confidence for your team's secondary, there is nothing positive that comes out of Jimmy G. practicing and playing in training camp. And you need desperately a healthy Matt Stafford in a healthy Matt Stafford in a order to contend. And I think the Rams can contend. I like Devon. Now, poor Devante Adam.

He's like, you got to be kidding me. I got Matt's, I got Jimmy G. Throw me the wall again. I love Puka. I really like their D-line. I obviously love McVeigh. I think Devante is good as a number two with the Rams, but it all comes undone without Stafford. And Stafford is 37. He got the shit kicked out of him for a decade in Detroit. He has been banged up at times with the Rams. It's not the biggest story, but I am

not going to ignore it as a potential big story. So it's just something to watch. Nothing says summer. Like long days, clutch plays and firing off a few bets on the game, all with Drafking's Sportsbook. As the season heats up, so to the bats,

and Drafking Sportsbook has you covered, live betting, home run props, odds, boost and more. Whether you're chasing dingers or jumping in midgame, there's always action to be had. If you never bet on baseball before, it's easy. Pick a guy to go yard, hammer some live odds midgame, or just ride with your squad and hope for the best. No spreadsheets, just vibes and dingers. Something special for first timers. New Draft King's customers, bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app now and use code right. That's code right. That's code for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets instantly.

When you bet just five bucks only on draft kings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-8-Hopen Y or text Hope & Why at 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-88-989-7777 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casinoin Resort in Kansas,

21 and over, agent eligibility varies by jurisdiction. void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Minimum minus 500 odds required. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio. Hey, it's us to Jonas brothers and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the 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 do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?

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

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

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between, mean 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.

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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Follow Timbo Slic Life 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. Genshin win. I mean, she went down in three to Roebuckina, but I'm delighted. Yeah, she's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lernerabakina 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. All right. Speaking of indefensible, I guess this is semi-defensible, but I hate it.

The Madden rating. I don't know about indefensible, but the 99 club came out for Badden 26. Yeah. Your guy Mahomes was snubbed. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are the two. They both have 99 ratings. Yeah. How do you feel about this?

Is this legit? I think it's pretty fair. I think that Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are much more Madden-type quarterbacks than Patrick Mahomes is like Patrick Mahomes is more of an improviser. Lamar Jackson is obviously like super fast. and Josh Allen's like a freak athlete. He's huge running through dudes. So it's like as far as games,

like if you want to play Madden, like you're thinking like you want to play, you would rather play with Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen. Okay, so that's a really interesting way to look at it. And I, if that's the argument, that so be it. Listen,

Mahomes coming into this year in the six Maddens post his rookie post his first year as a starter. He was a 90, four times. He was the highest rated quarterback five times. The one time he wasn't, he was the third highest rated quarterback behind Brady and Rogers.

And that was after the AFC championship game lost to Cincinnati. And he responded by having more yards than any player in the history of the league, winning the Super Bowl MVP, winning the regular season MVP, and having arguably the greatest quarterback season anyone's ever had. So I'm not even mad at Madden. Maybe they motivated them. I actually, I want to use this as an opportunity. And listen, Josh just won Super Bowl, or I'm sorry, regular season MVP had, you know, for a team that a lot of people thought was not going to be good.

Some people who had always been called a Bills hater for just being right about the Bills. Then last year thought the Bills could be really good. and that person was me. But it was because of Josh Allen. So it's fine. And Lamar has had basically back-to-back perfect regular season. So you want to give them a 99 rating. It's fine.

I actually want to use this time here to talk a little bit about Lamar and the Ravens. Because I was on Mina's podcast. And she was a guy. that I was skeptical of the Ravens. And Mina, you know, said Lamar didn't play poorly in the playoff game, which I find unbelievable, and said that basically she thought I was being unfair, to Lamar or the Ravens by not, I guess,

chalking up the same exact thing happening every single year to just dumb luck. And said, oh, I didn't know you were a Ravens hater. And this is where, as I said with her, I will break K-Fabe for a moment. I adore Mina Kimes. I know I call her my rival that I want to vanquish. I think she's outstanding. It's the only reason I went on a podcast with her at 7 o'clock New York City time on the night before I was going to the Bahamas for a few days.

And I think she does great work. But I, there are two major points I want to make here. The first one is this. At what point does someone stop being a hater if, they are constantly one of the only people prove incorrect. At what, I'm just curious for the media and internet at large, at what point does hating transition to accurate skepticism? Or is the answer never?

Is the answer, nope, if the whole world acknowledges this, guy is just, you know, close to a perfect player who's had a couple perfect regular seasons, who's just bad timing for these awful moments. And now, 2023 for Lamar, it was an awful game. 2024, it was not an awful game. It was a couple really awful moments that ruined an otherwise really good game by

him. But I am, and so. Because I didn't think Lamar was terrible in the divisional round game against Buffalo. What I did think was a guy who was historically good all year about protecting the football, having two turnovers in the first 20 minutes of that game, made it to where the best grade he could get for the games, like a C-plus. And especially because they end up losing. And so the question I truly have, and the question I truly have for the audience is, is that hating? Is, and I'll use the Bill's thing as an example, every single year, people called me a Bill's hater.

Now, I was a Bill's troll to a degree, and I said drop the banner and I poked fun and I did all that stuff. But I was also right every single time. And then this past year, when I thought the pendulum had swung too far in the other direction, and I said, actually, the bills are going to be excellent. I think they're once again the biggest threat to the chiefs. And that's the opposite of hating, and it was just correct, right? So then the And yes, guys, when I say

Mahomes at the most yards in the single season ever, that's that is exactly the, it's exactly what I'm saying it is. It's total yards for the full season, everything all put together. The most yards any players ever accounted for was 22 Patrick Mahomes. So the Lamar stuff to me is interesting because I, it's not, only that I don't think I'm a hater, but I think a lot of other really smart people who cover this league are in willful denial because they like him and because they want it to be different than it is and because, and this part I really empathize with, because

they detest so much, so many of his original actual haters. The people who said he should change positions coming in the league, or he'd never be any good or any of that stuff. And so all of that has created this very odd world where folks patronize him a bit in a way, they discuss what is the only hole on his resume, but it's the hole that matters the most, which is in that league for that position, how you play in the postseason. And so this is the question that I would just have to everyone.

Folks on Ravens Twitter who are mad at me because they think the team is absolutely stacked and I have questions about its receiver position. and folks in the media that think I'm unfair in my skepticism. Because one of the other things that happened when I was talking, again, I think Mina's outstanding. With Mina was Stafford came up. And I talked about how if I were, like, I kind of been prompt to, was talking about how he might be my third pick.

of any quarterback in the league to have in the postseason. That would go Mahomes, Alan Stafford. And she seemed legitimately aghast that I was not including Lamar in the math for that. And I was legitimately aghast that she possibly could include Lamar in the math for that specific question. You can have any quarterback for a playoff run. Like, well, I'm not going to pick the guy who's literally not. never like shown us that he can do that. It would seem, that would seem silly to me.

You might be like, well, Josh hasn't shown it. Josh has had plenty of playoff runs where he's played excellent throughout. The team wasn't good enough. Where you'd see that from Lamar? But that's fine. This is kind of an old hat. We've talked about this each of the last few years, because each of the last few years, it has gone exactly like this.

Unbelievable regular season that I look at with a quizzical eye, because I want to see how it works in the postseason. than Lamar has one of, if not his downright worst game in the postseason. And then everybody has this moment of clarity for about three days. We're after the year. People were like, damn, Nick was right without saying Nick was right. And then come this time of year, it's like, no, this year will be different. So this is my question.

Because Raven's Twitter, Ravens Twitter thinks the team is absolutely loaded. So obviously, like, there shouldn't be any excuses there. but my question the media is this if it were to happen again same beats as the last couple years is Lamar going to win MVP he is the MVP's top two MVP all of it and then once again the Ravens don't play to their seed or don't play to their talent

or you know and it's because of massive quarterback mistakes early in a playoff game that puts them in a hole that they can't quite dig themselves out of, will this year then be enough? Is it like before the sample is too small? Or will it still just be at randomness? Dumb luck of the playoffs. I find it really fascinating.

Because it is absolutely true that the only thing standing between Lamar and being in the discussion to Monzae. as one of the six or seven greatest quarterbacks of all time is one great playoff run. That's all that's standing between, it's just one, because the regular season stuff is so unbelievable. But the only thing standing between him and being in a very unique class of all time athletes in a in a

not great sense is deja vu all over again one more time and it makes this year one of the most fascinating it makes the Ravens and Lamar one of the most fascinating stories of the season and it also

I am I'm really excited to watch it and I am really excited to see how people react, myself included, to how this full season plays out. And so, like, it was, it's back-to-back years.

It's all been right there. All been, and that's one other thing I want to say. Because one of the things me pointed out was DVOA has, over the last quarter century to Monza, the two best teams, the two best five-year stretches by any team to not make a Super Bowl are the last five years of the Buffalo Bills and the last five years of the Baltimore Ravens. And the point there that Mina made was, you know, basically that's an Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes stat.

and it's that these two teams were good enough to be all-time great. They were just blocked by one of the greatest, if not the greatest duo in NFL history. And I pushed back on that too, because I think the bills being on that list is a Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes stat. Because the bills have lost to the chiefs five times in this stretch. I'm sorry, four times. I don't know that I feel the Ravens being on that list is a chief stat. Because only one of those years have the chiefs been the team to block the Ravens. They haven't gotten to that level yet.

So we'll see. And listen, you believe in the Ravens this year. Brew believes in the Ravens. Go ahead. NFL's wide open this year. 100%. NFL is wide open this year. See what he does.

Yeah. No, we'll see. I have a feeling it will be like every year. Unbelievable in the regular season. They lose a couple games. they probably shouldn't lose that are a little odd, but it is jaw-dropping. And then come the playoffs,

we're going to be like, wow, this team sure looks different. Wonder why. I doubt it. But listen, maybe I'll be wrong. Maybe I'll be wrong. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name?

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 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, 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, S&L'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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where 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 beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action. with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife Life 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. Jenchian 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, 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. So Brown's owner Jimmy Haslam has distanced himself from the Shador Sanders pick, saying that the GM was the one who made that call and not him. So why wouldn't he want stake on such a low-risk, high-reward situation? So, listen, I think he is just trying to, I don't think he's trying to distance himself

as much as what he's trying to do is make it clear or at least clean up a bit. No, the GM's in charge, not me. Here is what I find so interesting about the Shador situation right now. I was not a Shador guy. I was one of, I think, the first people in the mock draft community that had Shador early in the process, slipping to the back half of round one,

talking about that the Steelers might not need to trade up if they need to get him. I talked a lot about how I thought there was too much discussion about Shador's personality and not enough discussion about his lack of arm talent. And I just didn't look at him as like a blue chip prospect. So I was not a Shador guy. And now, however, because of where he is and the quarterbacks that he is competing with, I find myself feeling like they've got to start him at some point. Because here's the deal.

Kenny Pickett is injured and not an NFL quarterback. There is a 0% chance. Kenny Pickett is the Steelers answer at quarterback. Zero percent. The Steelers, pardon me. There is a 0% chance he wasn't the Steelers answer that Kenny Pickett is the Brown's answer at quarterback. So cross him out. Joe Flacco is 40 years old.

There is a 0% chance. Joe Flacco is their long-term answer at quarterback. So cross him out. Dylan Gabriel, sorry, and you're not going to like this, Damase. He's too small. There is a 0% chance. Dylan Gabriel can be a nice backup, maybe a spot starter. there is a 0% chance

Dylan Gabriel is the Brown's franchise quarterback three years from now. Shador, there is a 5% chance. Shador is the Brown's franchise quarterback. 5%. Got more than one less than 10, somewhere in there.

When the other three guys are combined 0% and you're going to be a terrible team, the moment, you know, you can start Flacco to start the year, but the moment that the year has gotten away from you, you got to play Shador. And that's the other weird thing. Haslam was like, Andrew picks the players, Stefansky sets the right, you know,

decide to plays, but then also said in that same soundbite, obviously both young guys need to play this year. I mean, Haslam's not the greatest owner. Just flatly. Both of them, just saying that this year is like a waste. Well, I mean, I don't, I mean, it seems like. Both young quarterbacks need to play this year.

You kind of have an idea of what your seasons are going to look like. Correct. Because they have two first round picks next year and they, yeah, I mean, Haslam's a tough guy to work for. Danny's quarterback rankings are just an abomination. And it just begs the question why. why do we play the games if they're not going to count? And again, they are, I might be being a little harsh,

because the rankings are actually, Danny's rankings go, Mahomes, Allen, Borough, Lamar, Herbert, Stafford, Jaden, Gough, Baker, Hertz. So here's the, when I say they're an abomination, here's what I mean. Or here's what's unfair about that. If he simply flipped

Hertz and Herbert, there are totally legitimate ranking. And that's not, I'm not saying that's how I would have it, one through 10, but if it went, Mahomes, Allen, Borough, Lamar, Hertz, Stafford, Jaden, Gough, Baker, Herbert,

that's fine. Like, there's nothing crazy about that. But having Justin Herbert ahead of Matt Stafford, Jaden Daniels, Jared Gough, Baker, Mayfield, and Jalen Hertz for nothing other than vibes. It's just, it's just ridiculous. And that's pretty good. Now, you, DeMonte, do you have an issue with people who put Burrow ahead of Lamar? No, I could see those.

I can flip those on any given day, I feel like. So, I could pull Lamar before, before, I'm also not mad at Burrow being before Lamar. I'm not mad at Burrow being ahead of Lamar. However, again, my job on this pod is to just be sports, the sports world draws Al Ghul and, you know, create balance in the world where there otherwise isn't. Let me defend Lamar for a moment here.

It is unfair, in my opinion, to penalize Lamar for bad postseason performances and then lift up Joe Burrow, who the last couple years has had non-existent postseason performances. You know what I mean? So like that is, it's a weird, because you can't argue, as great as Burrow has been was in the regular season last year,

a lot of the MVP voters, all pro voters, a lot of people thought Lamar was better. And then obviously the year before, Lamar was better in the regular season, as Burrow was hurt and wasn't that effective early in Lamar won league MVP. And so the knock on Lamar's postseason performances, but Burrow hasn't been in the postseason. So like that one, I do think is a little unfair. Lamar is my guy, and you're ripping into him the other day on Tuesday, about his postseason success. I really can't argue, like, that's fair.

But how much of that stuff is Burroughs' fault? How much of that stuff is Lamar's fault as far as the postseason? What happens? Like with Joe Burrow, you're saying he was banged up, and then he had a terrible defense last year. I just think, oh. Well, no, that's what I'm saying is, yes, those are true factors, but I'm also not going to use it as a metric, like when ranking them.

Well, no, I, what I'm not going to do is, say after the regular season, Lamar is higher than Burrow. Burrow misses the playoffs. Lamar plays poorly in the playoffs, and then Lamar gets dropped beneath Burrow. Like, the,

because you can't, showing up to a test and failing it is still better than skipping the test. Like not showing up. And so like you got you got more you got some questions right and so like the and and so that's the so I listen I don't think having Burrow ahead of Lamar is outrageous, but it's not what I would have. Um, and and then it starts getting, you know, then we start

figuring out where exactly do you have Hertz and the Hertz ranking is really interesting. And I tried to make this point on TV yesterday and I did it kind of ham, which is Eagles fans right now, and I get it, they're feeling themselves. You won the chance. Super Bowl should absolutely be thrilled. But they kind of want the best of both worlds. They want everyone to acknowledge how utterly stacked their roster is, how great Howie Roseman's done, how good they are. know, in every way, shape, and form.

They want all of that, but they also don't want any of us to incorporate any of that into our evaluation of Jalen Hertz. Like, they want everyone to bend the knee that they have the best overall roster in football by a mile, but also pretend like we think Jalen Hertz is carrying just a regular team. And so now I think Hertz has been clearly excellent in huge spots. And I think having Hertz 10 like Danny did is too, you know, a bridge too far. But I also think that it is you view it differently than if Josh Allen had won the Super Bowl last year with the team he had, Jalen winning it last year with the team he had. I just think there is some nuance there. Eagles fans on the other hand want us all to be like,

you have the greatest roster in the league. It's Sequin's a Hall of Famer. Howie drafts better than everyone. The best wide receiver duo, the best offensive line, and also Jalen Hertz got no help. Which is the you're not going to get that. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers. And guess what?

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

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how 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 to be. down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad,

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 content. 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 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 Goals. every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.

Jenchian win. 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, 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of I Heart Women's Sports. Yesterday was the five-year anniversary of the first game in the bubble. And it's still a huge debate on its legitimacy. Darryl Morrow said, in quote, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees

that it doesn't truly hold up as a genuine championship. Yes. Looking back, how would you measure the bubble championship? Okay, so first, let me help out my past. about Daryl because I was shocked when I read this quote because Daryl has publicly many times talked about how legit he finds that championship to be and how hard it was. And so when I saw, it's one thing for, you know, Legion hoops or whatever, one of these kind of fake aggregators to post a quote to another thing for ESS.

their social team to post, in quotes, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn't truly hold up as a genuine championship with the source being the athletic. So I'm going to read you, so I reached out to Daryl and not surprisingly, he explained to me what I thought was going to be the case, which is while he wasn't misquoted, it is being misinterpreted. So I'll read you the full quote and clarify, but then I'll also give you my thoughts on what everybody seems to think. All right. Daryl says, quote, had the Rockets won the title, I absolutely would have celebrated it as legitimate, knowing the immense effort and resilience required. Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn't

truly hold up as a genuine championship. Pause for a moment. the privately agrees is what is tripping people up he is saying everyone he talks to agrees amongst themselves like he is the outlier that says this was an amazing accomplishment but everybody else says not so much where people are saying and i actually understand why people are confused, they are reading it as everyone privately agrees with me. He's saying everyone privately agrees with each other. And so just to, and again, Daryl is my pal, but I also, you know, he deserves to have his actual opinion out there correctly. He then went on, say, perhaps lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its

leadership at both the beginning and the end of pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk. And he again is saying there because that's the way seemingly everyone else feels. And so here is, I said to you guys a couple months ago that the vast majority of NBA myths fall into one of two categories, not all, but the vast majority. Category one is uplifting Michael Jordan and category two is tearing down LeBron James. and there is no greater example of that than the revisionist history on the goddog bubble.

So here is the accurate timeline of the Los Angeles Lakers winning the 2020 NBA championship. Okay? In 2018, LeBron James was universal. hailed as by a wide margin, the best player in the NBA, dragging a Cleveland Cavalier team to the NBA finals with a playoff run that had an all-time record eight 40-point games, two true buzzer beaters, two game seven victories, one of which on the road, And what some consider the single greatest individual performance, any players ever had,

51, 8, and 8 in game one of the 2018 NBA finals, where with no other, because Kevin Love was not, was, had gotten banged up at the end of the Celtic series, with no one around him against Steph, KD, Clay, Dremont. That's who LeBron was in 2018. In 2019, he goes to the Los Angeles Lakers, who were in the midst of the worst half-decade stretch in the history of their franchise. And is playing a game on Christmas Day when they are a top four, as drugged that team to a top four seed in the West and suffers the first major injury of his career. But at that moment, there was still. No argument and no debate over who the best player in the world was.

That offseason, they acquire Anthony Davis and instantly become the best team in the league. That Laker team, pre-pandemic, pre-bubble, pre-everything with AD started the year 24 and 3. was running rough shot over everyone. LeBron James was the leading NBA MVP candidate, and they were the favorite to win the championship pre-pandemic. So what we had was the Lakers had the best record in basketball, the Lakers had the best player in basketball, the Lakers had made the biggest trade and acquisition of any team that offseason with respect to what the Clippers had done,

and they were the favorites to win the championship. The season then shuts down. Post shutdown, right before the shutdown, Janice had really gone on an unbelievable run, and the NBA MVP debate came down to two guys. Janice or LeBron with Hardin kind of lurking because Hardin had made the Key and Westbrook thing work, and that team seemed dangerous. And then we get to the bubble,

and there is no home court, which penalized two teams more than any, which were the two teams that had earned home court advantage. LeBron's team and Janice's team. LeBron's team which won the West by four games and Janice's team which won the East by four games. And then the bubble happens and the playoff bracket is set and every single potential pitfall or matchup

that people are convinced is a bad matchup or the toughest possible path hits the Lakers. We can now pretend it did not happen, but Dame and Portland were the scary team that nobody wanted to face in round one.

And the Lakers drew them with no home court advantage. And after losing game one, dispatched of them in five. Then the Rockets, with the one year Hardin and Westbrook worked, that Rockets team with James Hardin being third an MVP voting that year. And Russ, the last actually really good season of his career,

career on a at least that involved winning it's round two the lakers get the rockets and they lose game one and then dispatch of them in five and then you get the denver nuggets with a healthy jamal murray who would not lose another playoff series with a healthy jamal murray for years and Anthony Davis plays the best basketball of his life. LeBron James in a closeout game goes 38, 16, and 10, and they dispatch of the nuggets in five. And then in the NBA finals, oh, they get a fluke of a team that definitely wouldn't have made the finals

if not for the bubble. The Miami Heat, who responded, by the way, to that finals trip by two years later making game seven of the conference finals and the year after that

making the NBA finals again. And in those finals, LeBron James plays close to perfect basketball reminding people once again that he's still the best player in the world when he averaged 30, 12, and 9

on 5942 splits. To finish off a playoff run where again, the best player in the world, LeBron James averaged for the postseason 28, 11, and 9 on 56% percent from the field. That team won the championship. And then how did they defend their title when the bubble was done?

The next season, they started 21 and 6. Well, they, I mean, they started actually 11 and 3. And they had the best record in basketball, or in the West, Western Conference, it was maybe the Western Conference or basketball, the day Solomon Hill stumbled into LeBron's ankle and he got hurt. So before the pandemic, they were the best team in the league with the best player in the league. During the pandemic, they had their home court advantage they had earned taken from them and got what people were calling at the time a nightmare their path, Dame in round one, Hardin and Russ in round two, Joker and Jamal Murray in round

three, and dust them all in five. In the finals, people think, oh, they got lucky. They don't have to face Janus. They don't have to face, I think Toronto was actually the two seed that year. That would have been no problem. And they got this fluke of a team in Miami, except for the fact that Miami, a couple years later, beat Milwaukee again and came within a jump shot of going back to the finals, and then the next year did go back to the finals. And the best player in the world played peak basketball, and then the next season, they start 21 and 6. The idea that the wrong champion was crowned, the idea that that was an easy or fraudulent. or lesser path

when the only basketball, tangible basketball thing that was altered was no one had home court. And so the only tangible damage that was done to any of the teams were the teams that would have had home court throughout. And that was the Los Angeles Lakers. And every single single,

single person watching knows that if the Milwaukee Bucks, who were the one seed and had the league MVP, it's like the Lakers who were the one seed and had the second or the runner up for league MVP, if the Bucks had won that title, there's not a person in the world that would be like fake title. If the, I don't even know if the Warriors made the playoffs that year. I don't think they did.

Certainly, though, if the Clippers with Kauai and Paul George, instead of absolutely mortifyingly folding against Denver, had won the title. No one would be calling it a fake title. Because ultimately, that discussion is not about how real or fake a title is. That discussion is about dis either dislike or jealousy of LeBron James. And now our chat says,

79% say yes, the bubble title is legit. Our chat probably skews a little LeBron and Laker fan heavy. But you cannot say that the team with the best record and the best player in the world with a very difficult path who again, the team they beat in the conference finals validated their appearance there by winning a championship a couple years later.

The team they beat in the NBA finals validated their appearance there by making the finals a couple years later. You cannot argue. And then they validated it themselves by being an awesome team the next year before LeBron got hurt. It's just such horse shit. And deep down, everybody knows it. What's up, DeMonsley? Horse crap is funny.

But yeah, I saw it in the rundown last night. You went on the rant. But I, uh, I instantly thought, like, how many of those people that say that it wasn't legitimate just don't like LeBron? And it's funny that that was like that was the angle. Of course. I mean, that's all it is. You kidding.

Everybody knows. Everybody knows. knows that if the Clippers, who was everyone's team of the flavor of the month that year, and Kauai had won the title, no one would be saying it doesn't count. And everybody knows if Janice had won the title, because those were the next two favorites. It was Lakers, Bucks, Clippers were the favorites kind of all year, had won the title. no one would be saying it didn't count. It's just so stupid.

Just so incredibly. Yeah, the only real factor is the calm court advantage, but that obviously goes both ways. But it goes both ways, but it hurts the team that's damaged by it is the top seed. Yeah. Like that's the, and so it's such utter silliness.

Hey guys, it's us and the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast. called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast?

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

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm conky. 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. This is Saigon. story of my family and of the country that shaped us. From IHeart Podcasts, Saigon.

You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. This is for Vietnam. They're pouring patriots all over here. Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.