The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Nick Wright Mailbag: NFL Club Superstar, RANKING current NBA players all-time, Josh Allen vs. Lamar

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet.   Nick Wright answers listener questions during a mailbag episode! Nick chooses which career he would take among Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Super Bowl cha...mpion Sam Darnold before diving into the most devastating play he's experienced as a Chiefs fan... and the answer might surprise you. Later, Nick creates Club Superstar for NFL players and breaks down where Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic, and SGA rank among the top 50 players of the last 50 years. Next, Nick creates a Mount Rushmore of international NBA players and answers whether he thinks Stephen A. Smith should be President. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 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.
Starting point is 00:00:12 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.
Starting point is 00:00:30 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.
Starting point is 00:01:04 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 and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHard.
Starting point is 00:01:30 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying.
Starting point is 00:01:48 You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis'clock, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the game.
Starting point is 00:02:00 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome in! What's Right with Nick Wright, episode 428. If you are watching this after watching Tuesday's show, you're like, you're wearing the exact same kind of not befitting the style of the podcast outfit. That's true for a couple of reasons. One is we are doing this on Tuesday, actually right before the Tuesday show. So this is going to, you're hearing this. after we've done another pod doesn't matter in LA De Manzay's here I am leaving from here to go do my hit on the herd so if I have any super viral takes from
Starting point is 00:02:38 Tuesday's show my hit with Colin or this episode we're doing today I almost need to be careful to make sure I only have that doesn't happen or else it's just first of all I'm not really dressing the part of the pod and second of all it'll look weird people who don't get it, but great to see you as always. This has been an unbelievable few days. I feel like I'm basically board certified to be an all pair at this point.
Starting point is 00:03:08 I mean, it took me a couple days, but I have, DeMonzee trusted me more with his three-month-old than his mother, my wife trusted me with our youngest daughter when she was three months old. And after a couple days, it worked out great. I feel like I nailed it. Today's show, again, we talked about it last week and earlier this week, is going to be a straight rip-off from Bill Simmons mailbag type of episode. We have not done these directly before we've done live question responses,
Starting point is 00:03:51 but today's show is not live. Like I said, you're going to be hearing it or seeing it on Thursday. We are doing it on Tuesday, so we have sourced the questions already. But we'll still do our regular stuff, like reminding you that this episode of WatchWrite and NickRite is presented to you by our great friends at Boost Mobile, even though since today I'm in studio, we don't have the sick Boost Mobile. What's the word for that? Not hologram.
Starting point is 00:04:18 Neon. Neon. Neon. Holo. Neon. Just a neon sign. Yeah, neon. It was the word I was looking for. Neon sign behind me.
Starting point is 00:04:25 And speaking of Boost Mobile, straight to voicemail, brought to you by Boost Mobile. Things we are not getting to today. I'm not getting to the Olympic scandal with the curlers and the pushing. I don't totally, I have not followed it maybe the way I should have. We're not getting to DeManzi's Curling Corner. And we are not able to recap how I did yesterday, which again is actually, is actually. actually tomorrow on no gamble, no future. However, if you didn't watch it Wednesday, it lives on this YouTube channel.
Starting point is 00:04:59 So you'll be able to see the live stream in replay there if you want to find out. I mean, it's on the board that by the time you listen to this, I am either, you know, I am, it's almost a guarantee that if you listen to this episode when it drops, I will be in a state of massive hangover, Thursday morning in Vegas, either celebrating what could be my biggest one-day gambling one of my life or dealing with the devastation of my biggest one-day gambling loss of my life. Either one of those outcomes will likely lead to a lot of drinking in Vegas Wednesday night and me feeling really awful Thursday morning because I'm washed and I'm in my 40s and I can't drink like I used to.
Starting point is 00:05:53 So we will give the full recap of that next week as well. Remind everybody, like, rate, subscribe, review. And now let's get right to it, DeMonsay. And we will start with some pretty straightforward NFL questions from the audience. First off, we got Zach. He asked, if you were an NFL QB whose career, would you rather have, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Sam? I'm Darnold. So I think despite being Super Bowl champion, I think it is very clear the last pick of that is
Starting point is 00:06:28 Darnold. Because Darnold, I mean, there is the nuts and bolts of he has made far less money than those guys. He obviously has had far less stability than those guys. He's had to move around. And he has been the subject of not. just major criticism, but just derision, mockery, in a way those guys never have been. Josh or Lamar, though, is an interesting question. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:07:03 Unfortunately, I like to say that I know Josh Allen hasn't really accomplished much more than Lamar Jackson, but I would say that Josh Allen's had some bigger games. I feel like Josh has I think the answer is Josh because I don't think there is both of the guys you know the money is basically the same and the success
Starting point is 00:07:31 is close to the same and that they both win a ton of games in the regular season they both have won a league MVP Josh is obviously one or I'm sorry Lamar is obviously won two but they and neither is won or reached a Super Bowl. They both get the love to move from the... They both get the love, but I feel like... And, you know, people can... You know, I'm the...
Starting point is 00:07:53 Again, I'm the hot dog meme guy where it's like, who did this? Yeah. I don't feel like Josh has any, like, true vocal... Died-in-the-Wold doubters. the way Lamar does. And so the, and, you know, while I have been, I guess,
Starting point is 00:08:16 a critic of both of these guys at various times, I think there is a level of skepticism about Lamar that has reached a higher degree than with Josh. I think Josh's public, you know, approval rating, if you will, as a player. I'm not not as a person. I think their approval rating as a person for both of them is incredibly high. I think Josh is just fair or not, less criticized and considered the slightly better player. And so I think the answer to that is Josh.
Starting point is 00:08:52 And it's close, but I think he has, I don't even know if it's fair to say he's had the better career, but I do think he is more highly regarded. I think their careers are very similar. and Lamar actually is the more decorated player. He has all pros, Josh, first team all pros, Josh doesn't. He has two MVPs, Josh has won. Yet, I don't really feel like Lamar is, I don't hear fans outside of Baltimore say he's the best player in the league. And I think they think he's one of the best, which clearly is.
Starting point is 00:09:37 but I think Josh is kind of at this point, if the answer isn't Mahomes, I think he is widely considered it's Josh. So I think Josh up to this point is the career I would rather have. Now, I will say, if neither ever reaches a Super Bowl, then I might switch that to I rather. Or is the,
Starting point is 00:10:04 here's why. If Josh never reaches, a Super Bowl, then every time people tell his story down the road when he's done playing, in the first paragraph of his story is going to be another
Starting point is 00:10:20 player in Mahomes. Patrick. And so that's Lamar you know, for good or for bad, doesn't have that. He's got locked up by like three or four different guys. Right. And so it's for a player as great as Josh, if he ends having never gotten to a Super Bowl and never
Starting point is 00:10:36 beaten Patrick in the playoffs, than it is, it's always tough to be the Patrick Ewing to someone else's Michael Jordan story. And that's kind of what it would be for Josh. All right, next. David asks, what single play from the Chiefs Dynasty keeps you up at night the most? My guess would be the D. Ford Offsides. So the D. Ford Offsides is Mahomes' first year as a starter, AFC championship game against the Patriots, down 14.0.
Starting point is 00:11:08 at half. Mahomes has one of the greatest second halves in NFL history. They score 31 points. They have, they finally, they take the lead in the fourth quarter. There's a couple minutes left. Brady throws the game ending interception. And totally meaningless to the play, D. Ford had his hand in the neutral zone. and the Patriots then, you know, the interception off the board,
Starting point is 00:11:42 it was Brady's third pick of the game. It was he was sitting on at that point, obviously, five Super Bowls, not seven. Mahomes would have beaten him. And I believe they would have then beaten that Rams team in the Super Bowl. So that's the answer most people give. I have, and maybe this is just what kids would call cope. I have come to the belief.
Starting point is 00:12:08 that the default off sides play and losing that game was good for the Chief's next half decade because the Chief's defensive coordinator that year
Starting point is 00:12:24 was Bob Sutton good man this is going to sound mean but just awful and had they reached and won the Super Bowl Mahomes's rookie year or the second year
Starting point is 00:12:38 but first year starting. They obviously are not firing anybody. Right. Because they lost that game, they fired him, brought in Spags, and Spags was so critical. He's still there.
Starting point is 00:12:52 Right, exactly. And has been so critical to all the championships that followed. So I'm just not certain if they win then and win immediately. Keep the guy. Right. If they get, if they have the, you know, three of the next five years, they win the Super Bowl,
Starting point is 00:13:13 five of the next six, they make the Super Bowl. The other play that stands out in people's mind is a different AFC championship game they lost in overtime. They're beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 21 to 3. The Bengals score a touchdown right before half. It's 2110. Chiefs have the ball on the three-yard line with seven seconds left. And Andy lets Patrick run one more play before the field goal.
Starting point is 00:13:53 Patrick makes a mistake and throws short of the end zone. And Tyreek gets tackled in bounds. They get no points. And the second half is a total disaster. They lose an OT. But that one, I again have dealt with the cope on. or I've coped with and that that loss led to them
Starting point is 00:14:14 trading Tyree and I think that was good for what it allowed the team to build. So I am going to give a maybe wild answer but my answer is the pick six from the Super Bowl against the Eagles because even though they ended up getting routed
Starting point is 00:14:38 I do I don't think that Eagles team was so much better than the Chiefs that you play that game 10 times the Eagles win 9. I think they were enough better that if you play that game 10 times the Eagles win 6 and they had structural advantages
Starting point is 00:14:56 on the line, but had if that game didn't get out of the hand so quickly. It's a lot of momentum. Pick six in the Super Bowl. And it and it led to Patrick pressing and so many things. So that's actually, and it's not like, well, that Super Bowl loss ended up being good for, no, the next year was the season from hell.
Starting point is 00:15:21 Now, the answer to that question, you know, maybe is going to be years from now obvious, and it's going to be the play where Patrick Moans tore his ACL. But I am, I think Patrick's going to come back from that. at 100% and not be like a pre-imposed injury, but maybe that's just, you know, blind optimism. All right, next. Joey asked Nick, if you made a club superstar for NFL players, who would be in, what would the rules be for it? I think the way to do,
Starting point is 00:15:58 it would have to be one guy per position. Yep. And one guy per position for certain. certain positions and one guy per position for position groups. So it would be, so let's think about who it would be. The quarterback would be Mahomes. Anybody disagrees can go to hell.
Starting point is 00:16:27 Yeah. The wide receiver. Tough. I think it would have to be, who's, so keep. Justin Jefferson. That's right. No, Justin Jefferson's the answer.
Starting point is 00:16:41 for me because, again, it's not purely just a raw rankings. Tie does go to the superstar component and how long you've been doing it. So running back, I actually think is easy. Like now in this moment? Right now this moment. But again, how long you've been doing it? Right. Fame.
Starting point is 00:17:15 All of it level. Would it be Derek Henry? That is correct. Listen, I think Sequan's obviously unbelievable. Christian McCaffrey's unbelievable. Bejohn, Jamir Gibbs, all those guys. But Derek Henry has been the running back. And he continued, it's been for so long he's produced at that level.
Starting point is 00:17:36 He is of those guys the only guaranteed Hall of Famer. And so Derek Henry. I'm just going to go one offensive lineman and I would give that I think I'd probably actually give that to Lane Johnson Eagle's right tackle and I also don't want to spend too much time debating that thinking about it
Starting point is 00:18:07 that would be my gut for D line I would do 1D tackle 1D and so what do we have right now we have four guys one D line one D end So defensive end is obviously Miles Yeah With respect to Micah and Crosby it's Miles D tackle
Starting point is 00:18:28 Again there is a bit of a legacy bump here But I'm giving to Chris Jones He is the only Active defensive tackle Who is a guaranteed Hall of Famer I understand he had a bit of a down year The whole team did
Starting point is 00:18:44 But it's him linebackers because you know edge is you know outside linebacker if you're in a three four it's the end rotate right and so I'm just going to do a middle linebacker the middle linebacker is Fred Warner that is to me inarguable corner
Starting point is 00:19:04 I I think the answer is certain okay he's he's one defensive player of the year I don't know if you have Christian Gonzalez is great. There's obviously a lot of great corners.
Starting point is 00:19:23 But I think the right answer for corner is Sertan. Safety is Kyle. Yeah. And so if I did it and I had the same rules of 12 guys,
Starting point is 00:19:40 that's nine. So then the three wild cards. No kick returners. No kickers. Definitely no kickers. Definitely no punters. Maybe one of the wild cards would be a kicker if it was like we were in a moment where like Vinatarian is prime. Tucker.
Starting point is 00:20:00 Justin Tucker back when we talked about Justin Tucker. Yeah. No, no, it's not your bet. So if we had wild card spots, I think Josh and Lamar have to get him. and one last we throw a coach in there I guess coaches weren't an NBA yeah so
Starting point is 00:20:24 so then I think then the last spot would go to Micah over Jamar Chase any of the running backs any of the other corners he is a superstar he is his
Starting point is 00:20:41 you know on a no doubt Hall of Fame trajectory. He was, you know, he's one of the only non-quarterbacks in the league that we know would be traded for multiple first-round picks because we saw it happen. So there you go. I think, um,
Starting point is 00:20:57 I think we just, I think we just nailed it. I think we just nailed it. All right, let's the, you know what? Let me talk to you guys about my friends at Hard Rock Bet and we'll get some other questions here. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet.
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Starting point is 00:23:01 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.
Starting point is 00:23:12 We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...
Starting point is 00:23:35 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.
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Starting point is 00:24:11 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.
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Starting point is 00:26:40 All right, Damanze, let's go on to the NBA. So, Pump asked, where to Tatum, Yokic, and SGA rank in the top 50 players in the last 50 years list? What a great question. And this honestly, I know I do this sometimes, but I mean it. This time, this summer, let's do an episode where we really fully give this a freshening up, so to speak. 100%.
Starting point is 00:27:09 So since I last did any tweaks, the active guys for top 50 of the last 50 years were, obviously, Bron, won. And again, if people aren't used to this list, it's Kareem to now. So this doesn't affect bronze ranking, but everyone else were going to say, if you were doing their all-time ranking,
Starting point is 00:27:42 they drop at least two spots because of Russell and Wilt, and some of them would drop three because they're also behind West. Some would drop four because they're also behind Oscar. Some would drop five because they're also behind Elgin or six because they're also behind Mike and or seven because they're also behind Kuzi. I'm not going to do all that work right now, so we will just do the top 50 of the last 50 by the previous rules. But again, for accuracy sake, keep that in mind.
Starting point is 00:28:13 So, Braun was one. Steph was 10 right behind Shaq and Akeem and right ahead of Dr. Jay and Moses. Durant, who's an active player, was 13. So for the first guy on that list, Joker, I would have him, if I were do it right now, he would jump ahead of, and as much as this hurts my heart,
Starting point is 00:28:48 because I love these two players. And one of them was the inspiration for the list. He would jump ahead of Moses and Julius and be right behind Steph. I can't put him ahead of Steph. I don't think that's fair. I thought you were initially when you first said you apologize. No, I can't. At least
Starting point is 00:29:06 at the moment. I think Only one title. He's amazing. He's amazing. He's utterly amazing. But he is right now, and I think this is fair when it comes to all time rankings, at the ceiling
Starting point is 00:29:22 you can be at with one title. Listen, Wilt, who's again not on the list, but would be, only as two. dream only as two if he gets a second one then we start having a real Yokic versus
Starting point is 00:29:39 the Steph Shack Dream Bird group like that's where the that's the neighborhood in which he lives but so he is so he right now would be 11
Starting point is 00:29:55 and so again 13 was Durant, 14 was Janice. So those guys would drop to 14, 15. And then so here's a, it's a trick. This is a tricky one, Demonset, because, and maybe I am crazy on this. It is very hard for me to say SGA is better than Tatum, even though I understand SGA is better than Tatum.
Starting point is 00:30:34 Does that make sense? Pretty hard for me to say that too. But there's no argument for, like, SGA has won an MVP is probably going to win another one. SGA has better stats. SGA, they both, you know, achieved at a super high level. SGA has a better resume than Tatum and has proven he can be a A-list MVP candidate in a way Tatum hasn't. And yet I still kind of deep down feel like Tatum's. better? I think that's when it gets down
Starting point is 00:31:06 to like the play style again. Maybe that's probably just me personally. I probably enjoy watching Jason Tatum play basketball more than SGA. So I agree with that. So I had Luke a 20th but again that was like a projection thing if I redid it as
Starting point is 00:31:22 great as Luke is. He'd have to drop. Chris Paul was 21. So I'm scrolling through it. James Harden was 25. So SGA, if I redid it right now, would come in, God, this is crazy, but right ahead of James Harden. Okay.
Starting point is 00:31:55 So he would slide in to 25.20. Yeah, I was going to ask, is James Hardin moved at all since? No, he's not going to move down, but he certainly hasn't helped himself. Right. And so for Tatum, I would slide Tatum in. so like 30 is Iverson 32 is Kauai
Starting point is 00:32:17 33 I would slide Tatum in right ahead of Scottie Pippin and right behind Kauai so it'd be 33 but again we've now added people but that that's where it would be
Starting point is 00:32:35 so Tatum's slightly behind SGA even though that doesn't feel right to me but it feels like it has to be and Joker right outside the top 10 All right All right Let's go to Iceman
Starting point is 00:32:51 Iceman asks Who would be the Mount Rushmore of international players So this is very easy And I think it's undeniable Oh I mean So it's
Starting point is 00:33:01 Yokitch Yes Wimby Is he I know he's fresh No he can't be there yet Oh There's It is Yokic
Starting point is 00:33:10 Dream Dirk Janice. And I think that's the only acceptable top four. I don't think I actually don't think that is even worth a debate. Now, could Wimby get there? Of course. Would it be shocking if Wimby doesn't get there? Stunning. But
Starting point is 00:33:31 Yokich dream Dirk Yonis has to be your Mount Rushmore of international players. and I don't like the Manu, Tony Parker, those guys are simply not in that. As big as these guys. No, those guys all one league MVP's.
Starting point is 00:33:56 Those guys all won championships. Those guys all won finals MVP's. Like they are they are the guys. And this is a reminder for the, well, actually guys, Tim Duncan is from the US Virgin Islands. So he's not an international. international guy. He obviously would be on there, which would create a problem for either Janus or Dirk, who is, you know, the Yokic and Dreamer solidified, Janus and Dirk, different people
Starting point is 00:34:24 might have them ranked differently. So a top three, there could be some debate. A top four there is not. All right, next. Nick asked, I'm a mass fan of it last year. The last year has been a roller coaster. After the Luca trade, I nearly picked a new team. I didn't, but it's an interesting thought exercise. If you were picking an NBA team to be a fan of right now, who would you go with without just picking the best team like OKC or a hometown team? So I think if you were just truly a NBA free agent, I think the Knicks would be a fun team. Yeah. Because they've got a, I think, a very easy to root for a superstar, diehard fan base.
Starting point is 00:35:11 Good culture. Games are on TV at times. they're you know they are they're always going to spend they're always going to care and players want to show out at MSD yes so like i think that would be a fun team to just pick out of nowhere i get why people would say Denver because you get to watch you know root for joker every night but that's a tricky one because it does feel like once joker's done the nuggets just kind of go back to the nuggets um i would i could not strongly recommend enough not being a Lakers fan under the current ownership and general. It's so frustrating.
Starting point is 00:35:53 Now maybe now that the Dodgers are taking it, the Dodgers owners are taking over, it'll be better and they're out, but there's, you wouldn't feel, it's kind of, that's a weird thing to be like, I'm all of a sudden a Lakers fan.
Starting point is 00:36:06 People just, you don't get any like cool points for that. What about the Hornets? So that's, fun team, nobody expects anything from. You get to ride it out to maybe their success at some point. I mean, yes, if you believe in...
Starting point is 00:36:19 Fun players. If you believe in Lamello, then sure. I would go a different way. And I, you know what? I think this might be the answer. I just thinking about it briefly. I think the right... If you're just a true NBA free agent
Starting point is 00:36:36 and want a combo of long runway, team that can legitimately win, when now and in the future, you get kind of like a credibility, cool points like, oh, you're a real basketball fan. Fun style,
Starting point is 00:36:54 fun players. I think the answer might be the Detroit Pistons. Oh, okay. Yeah. You get, for the next decade.
Starting point is 00:37:03 Jalen Duren's, you know, just played in the All-Star game. There's a world where they win the title this year, but nobody thinks like, oh, you're a front runner. Great.
Starting point is 00:37:15 It's a cool basketball history with them. They've won three championships. So I think that might be the right answer of kind of melding everything together. Minnesota would be fun because of Ant. But yeah, I think Detroit's my answer there. Okay. Yeah, I like that one a lot. All right, let's get to some more questions.
Starting point is 00:37:41 Mustard asked, does being a hot take specialist sometimes hinder sports betting? if the conventional wisdom is correct to seeking a contrary an opinion open you up to risky bets. So here is what certainly hinders my actual sports betting and Parkins gives me a hard time for this all the time.
Starting point is 00:38:01 I simply don't have the discipline or ability to bet against my takes. Yeah. So like... I'm not.
Starting point is 00:38:15 And obviously I would never bet against what I say I believe is going to happen. Right. But sometimes it's less what I, you know, sometimes our, you know, discussions or it's less about what I believe is going to happen more about what I want to happen. And I find myself too often betting on what I'm hoping will happen versus trying to look at. at it purely from like a value perspective. But don't you think that helps you hit some bet sometimes too? Because you see the storyline and you. Right.
Starting point is 00:38:52 Certainly it can. But I think in the over the long run, I think it's probably a losing strategy. But that is I just, I would never, it's not that I always bet on what I'm hoping will happen. But I never bet on what I'm hoping won't happen. Even if in my head, I'm like, man, this team should be getting three points and they're getting six. I still just don't have the ability to go. Yeah, I feel like it. That's right.
Starting point is 00:39:27 All right, next. Curtis asks, Nick, what's the moment in your life that made you realize this is what I want to do for a career? I just, I remember being very dead set. that I was going to play in the NBA. Having... You don't think you ever told me about this. Oh, really? No.
Starting point is 00:39:52 Yeah, I was like dead set to the point of... I was a very emotional kid. Being maybe eight years old and sitting in the back... I just remember this so vividly. Being in the back of my dad's car, and I had a Moses Malone basketball card in my hand. Moses Malone, I just said it was 12th, the greatest player the last 50 years on this list. Now 13th. But Moses Malone at the end of his career played everywhere.
Starting point is 00:40:31 So he was, so this, if I was 8, this was 92. Does this line up? This is exactly right. So maybe I was 9 and it was 93. But Moses Malone after his unbelievable run with Houston and then Philly over the next decade of his career went bullets to the hawks to the bucks back to the Sixers to the spurs. And I remember looking at the back of his basketball card and then my dad sang to me, Nick, why are you crying? and I don't know it's so embarrassing but I don't care I was a little kid
Starting point is 00:41:13 and I said to him I was like I'm just worried that when I make the NBA I'm going to get traded all the time like Moses Malone and I was just like it was just like so certain that I was going to be in the NBA and I was like man that would suck to have to be I don't want his career and I obviously didn't know what a
Starting point is 00:41:38 legend he was um but i was fortunate in that by like i think age 10 maybe 11 i realized oh you ain't making the NBA buddy like your um you had a welcome to the world moment i just i was smart i was such a diehard sports fan as a little kid like i was the the annoying little kid that was like asked me any sports question i know all the you understood i and then i was like I'm not the best player amongst my friends. Like, I'm cooked on this. And so the moment that happened, I just pivoted instantly to,
Starting point is 00:42:22 well, then I just want to call NBA games. No, I didn't think it was debate. I thought I wanted, I wanted to be, I didn't realize this at the time, that color commentators were only former, I wanted to be the person, Jeff, Reggie Miller.
Starting point is 00:42:36 Yeah. I think Little Kid Nick might have been better than Reggie Miller. Right, the color commentator. And that was all I wanted to do. And so, like, I, you know, I've told the story before, so I won't do it again. But when I was like 12, I met Bob Costas, and I asked him what he did, where he went to school. He said when Syracuse worked at W.A.R. And I was just like, okay, that's what I'm going to do.
Starting point is 00:43:02 And that is what I did. So it's just the only It's like career goals If you were to track it The only like on the record things I've ever said were Lion Tamer as like a five year old My mom told me that I said because we went to the circus That transition to NBA player
Starting point is 00:43:27 And that transition to sports broadcaster And it never changed So I've wanted you know I've wanted I thought I was going to do this for 30 years, is the answer. All right, next. Alexander asked, should Stephen A be president? No. And I don't, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:43:57 I had been, I had thought for a while he did not actually want to be. I don't know that I think that anymore. And there, if we are, as a country going to fully pivot from, like, statesmen or at least long-term politician to professional
Starting point is 00:44:33 entertainer, which is, listen, that's what Trump was. I mean, he was, people say he was famous for real estate. He was famous for being famous, and he was famous. He was really famous for the apprentice. And he was famous for being famous and understood television and really, really uniquely gifted at understanding what marketing, marketing, what moves the American people and that that is a political trait, but it didn't used to be the, the defining one.
Starting point is 00:45:12 If we were to go from President Trump to President Stephen A. Smith, then that is what the office then becomes. It's almost like a version of like the royal family in England where it's like, hey, this is not a figure-head position that has real power, but that is, it would if the next president is a celebrity turned politician,
Starting point is 00:45:42 then I just think that's what presidents will be from there on. I don't think that's what's best for the nation as a whole. And that's without getting into what I think would be my guess is, and I don't
Starting point is 00:45:57 know if he's ever really, He's been very cagey about what he actually believes and what his actual policies are while flirting with these things. My gut is I would probably have a lot of very, very different policy feelings than him. But I will tell you this, the flip side to that whole coin is, he'd be better than the president that we have now. Oh, no. That's, well, that's, I mean, my opinion on that is very, you know, there's, it'd be. be hard to walk past somebody in the street
Starting point is 00:46:31 who I don't think wouldn't check that box. But the no, the the flip side to that coin is, I mean, if he's running, I mean, like, I could just like,
Starting point is 00:46:53 well, I mean, I don't know. If the idea is he's going to crush on the debate stage, I can tell you one person in the field who I think would do better on the debate stage. And so maybe I shouldn't close the door to him or anybody who is a captivating public speaker and sports take guy. All right, next.
Starting point is 00:47:15 Cooper has chances that the U.S. advances out of his group for the upcoming World Cup. It will be a catastrophe if they don't. So we're going to talk a good amount of World Cup this summer, and that is not me just being a company man because Fox has the game. That is me doing it because I love. the World Cup. I love the World Cup. And it's in the U.S. and I'm going to go to some of the games. And the U.S. got a great draw. And with the new format of 48 teams qualifying and 32 advancing out of their group and given the fact that the U.S. either got the best or the second best draw possible, it will be an utter catastrophe if they don't make it out of group play. And the goal for the U.S. should be quarterfinals, which is final eight.
Starting point is 00:48:09 The minimum for the U.S. should be round of 16, so win a game in the knockout round. Disappointment for the U.S. is losing your first game in the knockout round, which is round of 32. An utter catastrophe, salt the earth, and start anew for U.S. soccer. is not making it out of the group stage.
Starting point is 00:48:37 All right, but we got a few more, and this is actually gone longer than I thought. This has been great. We should do these more often, but real quick, you ever notice everything keeps going up, rents going up, streaming services going up,
Starting point is 00:48:46 even your favorite burrito spot is charging an extra for salsa? What's up with that? But with Boost Mobile, you and your phone bill don't have to play the, will this go up soon game? Why? Because Boost Mobile has unlimited.
Starting point is 00:48:58 Talk, text, and data plan at a price that'll never go up. In fact, it's the same price you'll pay for life. So switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that will never go up only at Boost Mobile. After 30 gigs, customers may experience lower speeds. Customers will pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited Plan. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what?
Starting point is 00:49:22 We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to... We're the first people to do podcasts.
Starting point is 00:49:33 Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey, Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down?
Starting point is 00:49:57 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,
Starting point is 00:50:15 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 helped make you funny. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.
Starting point is 00:50:38 Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,
Starting point is 00:50:56 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,
Starting point is 00:51:23 give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people. 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 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.
Starting point is 00:51:50 And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen Chinchin win. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface.
Starting point is 00:52:13 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. 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.
Starting point is 00:52:40 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, so some content ideas people are throwing at us. Culinary charts ask more of a request than a question.
Starting point is 00:53:08 Can you do a gambling 101, 201 series where you outline some of your approach towards gambling strategy? Yeah, I think we could do that over the summer, probably tail into the summer for football season starts. And so, yeah, I think we could definitely do that. And I also think a big, an important piece of that should be explaining to people that there's the people love and the sports books market and are really into parley's. Parlays are, you know, if you are, whoops, if you are doing this just, you know, for, you know, for, a little added fun while watching a game or on the weekend, a fun lottery ticket. Anything where it's you can bet X and make 10 or 20 or 100 X, you need to treat that the way
Starting point is 00:54:15 the math intends. The scratcher is. No, no, no, no. Like it is in the same. if you are, if you are, you know, doing $10 to win a $1,000 parlays, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is in the same ballpark as buying, you know, lottery tickets. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:54:40 You understand the odds are this is worth zero, but it's fun and it gives like that. So there is that. You feel a lot more confident, though, placing in the lottery tickets. Like that feeling of it. Of course. And you do have, you're not, it's not a, you know. Right, exactly. You're picking the guys who you.
Starting point is 00:54:58 And it's not 200 million to one or whatever. No, you, you have a real shot of hitting them. But that is not like a long-term strategy. Like the people should not look at it as this is a great way for me to make extra money this month. Yeah. They should look at it as, listen, I think. I think I, I believe, I think I, you know, can do well or I want to have a little extra fun, whatever it is.
Starting point is 00:55:32 That's the parley side of it. And then the straight bet side of it is really a lot about stuff that, you know, I've kind of tried and he's picked up on teaching de Monzae over the last couple of years, which is truly understanding the value of half points, key numbers, those things. so you have a real fighting chance. And even doing it that way, it's again, it's very, very, very difficult to be a winning and profitable gambler, which is why it is a form of entertainment that I, I know some people have moral qualms with it. I find it no different than paying, you know, when people pay to an admission to go into an amusement,
Starting point is 00:56:23 park. Like you know you are leaving there, you know, with you have, you own nothing and you are paying for the experience. It's, it, it needs to be looked at in a similar bucket with, you know, something that you will enjoy even if you don't win. Right. Which is why it's important people don't bet, you know, over their skis and there's. And so yeah, we can talk about all that. I am, I, I, it is very important. to me as I understand how entrenched sports gambling is in my life, in my livelihood, in the pod, that I'm just honest with the audience about, you know, the pros and cons and what it is. And I think I've been, I have always tried to be very.
Starting point is 00:57:13 I feel like you're pretty thorough with explaining the process and stuff. And not trying to treat it the way some people who have. are like shilling crypto coins treated as like get rich quick type of that's not what it is but i do i've done it for i said i thought i wanted to be in sports broadcasting for 30 years i've been gambling in some way shape or form for almost as long and so it is in my blood i come from two lines family lines of gamblers um and you know i the i'm you know in Vegas all the playing poker. So I'm not here. I am, I, I just want to give people the full picture of it. So yeah, we can definitely do that
Starting point is 00:58:01 this summer. All right, next. Michael asks, any thoughts on a once a week, Nick Wright episode on current events? Love to hear your thoughts on goings on the current U.S. and global events, especially as sports topics, get a bit slow. So here's the, here's the reason I'm hesitant to do that, like a once a week thing. People get, Sorry. No, go. I'm curious what you thought. Go.
Starting point is 00:58:27 Well, sometimes when we talk about current events, I know some fans, they don't. Oh, I'm not as worried about people getting mad, especially if I branded it as like, hey, you skip this episode. Right. I am not comfortable talking about important things if I don't feel I am totally buttoned up on them. And so if all of a sudden, I had no, like somebody was like, hey, your thought. on the curling controversy. Yeah. I would, I know just enough about that that if I had to like give a take, I could give a take.
Starting point is 00:59:02 And if it's like, Nick, you idiot, you don't even understand. I would just be like, oh, my bad. I would feel, and I don't say this lightly, immoral doing that about things that actually matter. Like, because I do take my platform seriously. I do think that, you know, I'm not like a taste maker, but I do think my opinion matters. at least to some degree, and about actual real-life stuff, I only try to talk about it if I feel I am fully dialed and I know all of the information that one can know. And I do not currently have the bandwidth or the time to be, to know as much as I need to know about sports.
Starting point is 00:59:55 to be great at my full-time job and also be fully buttoned up on everything that's going on in the world to give an opinion on it. Now, when the person says, you know, when sports gets slower, like, could I do more of it? Maybe.
Starting point is 01:00:12 But what I, instead, my approach has always been, if there is something I am very passionate about or really care about, that I want to talk about, I will make sure I truly educate myself on the totality of it before I speak on it. And I think that folks that I would just caution anyone against taking anyone's opinion seriously on anything if that person has a strong opinion on everything. that if every time a topic comes up
Starting point is 01:00:56 that person's like I've got this one clocked then there is an element of you don't have anything clocked and and so I have a lot of respect for people who have the humility and ability to say
Starting point is 01:01:17 you know I don't know much about that and I think that is a bit of a lost art and it is, I will take it just one step further and then we got to wrap the show. We got one more question after that. Even in sports, I just did two days from the Daytona 500. I made it very clear to the audience that I'm not an expert in this. You know what I mean? I've done, I work hard and I take my job seriously.
Starting point is 01:01:49 And I'm enough of a sports fan, whereas Wilde would say fan of sports. that I know more about the NASCAR and the Daytona 500 than the average non-avid NASCAR fan, but I am far from an expert. But in the days, I knew we were going there for a few weeks. So I did, you know, I studied up. And then I went there, you know, as a curious interloper that wanted to learn with my own kind of research questions on him. I would, but I would have felt like a fraud had I showed up at the Indiana, or the Daytona 500 or at the Indy 500 last year and presented myself as if, man, I've been studying this my whole life. And that's about car racing.
Starting point is 01:02:39 Right. I can't imagine just being like, hey, I've done a couple days where the research and let me tell you what I think about, uh, the war in Gaza or, or. about the war in Ukraine or about the history of um 85% of folks on Twitter. Well, yeah, I mean, people transition from expertise in one field to another very quickly. And so I just, I am on important stuff, I want to know everything that I can know before I voice an opinion. on sports stuff, I kind of do feel I know close to everything and stuff that I don't, I shy away from. So that's a long answer to, I think, a complex question.
Starting point is 01:03:28 All right, one for you, DeMonset, if the Ravens moved off Lamar and he won a ring somewhere else like Darnold, would you be more happy for Lamar or more sad about your Ravens, not winning with him? Before you answer, I want to say this. I think I know the exact answer. Yeah, I'll see. Go.
Starting point is 01:03:46 I would be more happy for Lamar. I wouldn't. The Ravens are the same team that were not given to a contract in the very beginning when I first became a fan of his. I wouldn't be sad that he wanted somewhere else at all. And is this correct? If Lamar left the Ravens, you have no affiliation with that team. Honestly, it's not like you grew up a Ravens fan.
Starting point is 01:04:08 You were a Lamar fan that made you a Ravens. Right. And honestly, I liked Harvall. But I can acknowledge that they're probably, we needed to be some new scenery. Yeah. But especially with Harbaal being gone to, like, just Lamar. No, yes.
Starting point is 01:04:21 You have no, you have no. So for, like. You're like Howe Hamilton. Yeah. No, you're a Lambert. You're not from Baltimore. You weren't like a Ravens fan as a little kid. You are, you were a fan of Lamar first and foremost, which made you a fan of the
Starting point is 01:04:37 Ravens. Yes. So, yeah, I think that would be, I think that if a genie appeared and was like, hey, we can guarantee Lamar wins a story. Super Bowl, but he has to leave the Ravens. You would be like, sign me up. I don't care. Yeah, which I totally, that I, I think it's very different if you have a hometown team. Right. Like if God forbid, if Mahomes left the Chiefs, I would still root for him, but I would be a Chiefs fan. Like I'm a Chiefs fan. All right. This is fun. Like, rate, subscribe, review to the pod.
Starting point is 01:05:08 Thank you guys for watching. Shout out to Hard Rock, Bat, and Boost. Also, volume and Blue Duck. We will be back here on Tuesday next week with our regular schedule. Talk to you guys. We'll try. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.
Starting point is 01:05:30 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 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.
Starting point is 01:05:47 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.
Starting point is 01:06:15 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. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope From a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives,
Starting point is 01:06:31 helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help From a Hypocrite
Starting point is 01:06:47 the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to help from Hippocrat Wednesdays on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments.
Starting point is 01:07:08 If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in too. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs.
Starting point is 01:07:19 This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

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