The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Zion Williamson, Tom Brady, Lakers-Clippers, & Kevin Durant

Episode Date: February 14, 2020

Colin comments on another excellent performance by Zion Williamson, why he feels Tom Brady is being too sensitive about his situation in New England, why the Clippers would love to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and his thoughts on the recent Kevin Durant comments. Guests include Doug Gottlieb, Rashad Jennings, Sam Amick, and Jason McIntyre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sacks, Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with the Anna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Friday live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be. However you may be listening, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, NBA All-Star weekend. Joy Taylor, joining me now.

We'll go to Chicago. She'll be at the NBA All-Star weekend for the festivities. I'm heading to Vegas to watch a magic show with my son. So we're having a dynamic weekend. How are you, Joy? I'm great. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Oh, you wore, I wore, uh, there's a little pink in here. Yeah, there's some pink stripes in there.

And you are looking lovely today. You're somebody's valentines, I hope. The city of Chicago's Valentine's. The city of Chicago's Valentine. All right. So it's Friday. It's fun. So I don't know if you saw it last night.

Zion was amazing. 19 years old. 32 points. He now, most points per minute as a rookie, Wilt and Zion, one and two. By the way, Michael Jordan 6th, Kareem 10th, Oscar Robertson, 7th. Now, all of you, most of you, nitpicked Zion. I did not.

I said he's going to be a star very quickly in the NBA. I thought it would take the end of his first year, I said, give him to the All-Star break. After the All-Star break, gets in shape, gets the body right, he's going to be an all-star top 30 player in the league. A lot of critics, a lot of doubters. It reminds me on when I saw Russell Wilson. For the first three years, everybody said it's Pete Carroll.

It's Marshawn Lynch. It's the defense. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no. Russell Wilson has an otherworldly talent. Russell Wilson, along with Steve Young, had the greatest escapeability. I'd ever seen in my life. Steve Young and Russell Wilson weren't perfect. Zion's not perfect.

But when I look at a young person and I see a otherworldly ability, I see this with Tua's accuracy, I see it with Russell Wilson's escapeability, and I see it with Zion's body type and explosion. Then there's only one other thing I look for, self-awareness. Mello's never had it.

Westbrooks never had it. John Wall's never had it. They have otherworldly talent. John Wall's the fastest player since Iverson. Mello's the best 19-year-old wing score since I don't know who. Westbrook's the most explosive dynamic guard I've seen for a... But I didn't like him because I didn't see the self-awareness. So I knew Zion, I said he's going to be 20 to 24 a night into this league because his body, it's a cardio league.

A lot of the centers are European. It's get up and down the floor. No hand checking. No forearm in the back. Nobody's going to want a piece of that body. Nobody's going to want to take the charge. Nobody's going to want a piece of the body. He's going to roll into arenas at 19, 20 years old and give you 24 a night just on effort,

explosion, body type, size, girth. Nobody wants it. But then I look for self-awareness. Russell had it. I said, okay, all you doubters, I'm seeing. this otherworldly escapability. But if you talk to Russell Wilson, I talked to him at 23 years old, shook his hand, I was in New Orleans at a Super Bowl.

He was a guest, and I turned to a producer and said, that's a superstar. That's how they talk. That's how they act. That's how they look. That's their self-awareness. He's going to run this league. I've told this story before. Zion at Duke showed me these incredible leadership qualities.

The Internet, you have to quit Duke. This is outrageous. He did not listen. He did not follow. he said, of course I'm going to play a basketball player. I love basketball. He didn't follow Twitter and social media. He was a leader, not a follower.

He said, I want to play basketball. I've got to be honest. I want to come back and play another year of college basketball. I love it, but I probably have to go pro. So I saw immediately self-awareness, intelligence, he's not a follower. He's a leader. He's also never taken 20 shots a night. He plays within himself.

He knows very much what he is and what he isn't. After having a very good opening game where he shot threes, you know what he's not doing since? Shooting threes. He knows that was an outlier. He knows that's a one-off. He's not a three-point shooter. He's not taking him. The Pelicanter plus 74 when he's on the court.

He makes the team better. He plays with it himself. He's smart. He has self-awareness. He gets it. This is why I like Tua. This is why I like Russell Wilson. This is why I like Zion.

I'm looking to spot a otherworldly talent. And a lot, not a lot, but you see about two, three players in NFL draft, one or two players, an NBA draft. You're like, okay, but they don't all become legends. Some are iconic Westbrook, but not really winning players. But the self-awareness with Russell Wilson, the self-awareness with Zion, to me, this is a star. This is a guy that I can put in front of the cameras for 20 years. He's not going to get in trouble off the court, unless he's.

gets hurt, he's not going to get in trouble on the court. People are going to want to play with him. And again, we nitpick everybody. Like Steph Curry, he's an otherworldly shooter. Stop nitpicking. That will overcome the rest of his

flaws. Zion is so uniquely explosive with a nice touch, it's going to overcome the other stuff. Everybody's looking for the perfect player. They don't exist. Michael Jordan was a ball hog. To the end, he couldn't pass well. To the very end, he didn't have a ton of shooting range. He was a mid-range

guy, the best basketball player of all time. Really wasn't a great long-range shooter, Michael Jordan. Wasn't a great teammate. He's the most relentless player I've ever seen. He's the greatest offensive player I've ever seen. Probably the greatest player I've ever seen. But Michael had flaws. Brady's not athletic. Russell Wilson's a little short. We're picking apart these guys. spot the otherworldly talent, and then if they have self-awareness, which makes them more coachable, adaptable, amenable, they'll spot their weaknesses, they'll know their strengths, they'll get the right friends, they'll stay out of trouble,

they'll listen more than they talk, then you've got an icon. I saw it with Russell, I see it with Tua, and I've got it with Zion, and I couldn't be happier. Looks like a great kid. So this morning I'm driving into where, work while I was driving a Mercedes, of course, because you know the advertiser of the show. So I'm driving into work like Joy does in the morning and Goulet and Tui. We all drive to work.

And I, you know, I bounce around the radio dial. I don't care what people are saying their opinions. I kind of like to hear the topics. I go show to show to show to show to show. What are the lead topics today? But I was listening as I was bouncing around the radio dial on XM serious to Channel 83 XM Sirius. That's our channel.

I heard. Nick Wright and Eric Mangini had a great. moment on the show. It was really special. I was going to text him, but you can't text and drive. My kids tell me that all the time. So they were talking about, Nick started talking about Tom Brady and said, boy, he's sacrificed a lot. He thinks the reason Brady is, is thinking of leaving is because his feelings are hurt. Some buddies of mine on the radio in Kansas City talking about the difference between a friend and an on the way friend. And an on the way friend is you call them in the middle of the night and say, I need you.

And before you ask any questions, say, I'm on my way. And the reason I bring that up is, I wonder if Brady's always thought in his head, okay, Belichick runs things the one way, and we have the way we do things here. But if I ever were to tell him, I need something. Even though I've never done it, I know in my heart of hearts he'd be there for me. And Tom, finally, for the first time ever made that phone call. Bill, I need you. And the response was, sorry, Tommy, I'm busy.

That would hurt. And that would make you reevaluate the wrong. relationship. If I've sat there over the last 18, 19 years and seen a bunch of people pick up the phone and say, hey, Bill, I need you. And Bill say, hey, you know, I'm busy. And then suddenly I think, well, I'm going to pick up the phone and I'm going to get a different answer. Isn't that my fault? Why do I expect the organization and the person runs the organization to suddenly get nostalgic about me? I side with Mangini here, although I thought Nick's points were excellent.

Tom has been the spokesperson for the system. This system does not have a soft landing. There's no Disneyland at the end. It's a tunnel of harsh. It's got its own slogan, the Patriot Way. Brady laughed at the Super Bowl parade where Bill chanted, no days off. It's not that he's been just a member.

Tom's been the spokesman. Tom's been the guy that takes the pay cut. Tom has lived in that tunnel of harsh, the Patriot way, punitive, intense, unforgiving, laser-focused, and he has benefited greatly. But when Belichick took over the franchise, do you remember the two players they had? They had a guy named Ben Coates. Tom Curran wrote about that in Boston this week.

Ben Coates was a pro bowl tied end, aging but great. And then they had Drew Bledsoe, and Bledso had a left tackle named Bruce Armstrong, also a pro bowler. They were pro bowlers. They were the glue of the franchise. Less than two weeks after Bill Belichick was hired, he let them both go. As Tom Curran writes, the reasons were simple.

Both were in decline. Tom knew the game day one. Tom Brady is looking for Disneyland. This is not Disneyland. That could be the Chargers. That could be Indy. That could be Tennessee. But Tom has been the spokesperson for the most punitive, the harshest, the most bottom line, the Patriot Way, no days off.

Tennessee is going to be more fun. Indianapolis will have a better offensive line. The Chargers will have more weapons. But this is the most frugal, bottom line, harshest, intense, laser-focused franchise in the National Football League. And it's probably not the most human way, the most sensitive way, but it's benefited Tom greatly. I think one of the most frustrating things in any relationship. You hear men complain about it, you hear women complain about it. trying to change who people really are.

Don't get married and try to change people. Don't go work for a company and try to change the company. Bill is what he is. He has never given you false hope that he'd give you a big balloon payment on the way out. Tom got his feelings hurt because Tom's trying to change what Belichick is. That is an exhausting relationship to be in. If I'm Brady, I retire, or I go have fun in Tennessee, Indianapolis, the Chargers. But you cannot expect a soft landing at the end of the NFL's harshest tunnel.

All right, coming up next, we talked about it this week with Andrew Wiggins. Environments matter. We saw it again last night in the NBA. Give a kid a better environment and watch him flourish. That is coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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 Sports Slice on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we

don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth,

or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose

on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, mom, I'm a one.

I want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Farrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah.

This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer

games in the back of my Honda Odyssey with all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar something here? Just a again. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

Oh, I would. Come on. Can you move? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. That's delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You are. I'm not an alcoholic. You are.

You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. De owner rent a home, of course you do. Fortunately, Geico makes it easy to bundle your home and auto insurance. Go to Geico.com, get a quote, see how much you could save.

Geico.com, it's very easy. Doug Gottlieb this hour, Rashad Jennings. It is great to have you in. Joy Taylor is joining us today. She'll be going. She's got her Valentine's Red On to Chicago. for the All-Star festivities. I'm going to watch Magic Tricks in Vegas with my son.

It's great to have you in. So last year, Jason Tatum last night, scored 39 points. He's the Celtic kid out of Duke. He's terrific player. He had an unbelievable rookie year. And last night he had 39. He helped his team, the Celtics at home, beat the Clippers in overtime.

We'll get into the game later. But he had a great rookie year. We all kind of fell in love with him. And then I started hearing stuff in the last year and a half. He's regressing. Sealing! Hit a ceiling. You know, he's not.

nearly as good. I see a lot of flaws in his game. And then this year again, he's incredible. Seven points more per game. His three point percentage is up. His rebounds are up. His assists are up. Oh my Lord. He's just back to being terrific. What's the common thread? No, Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving's a unique talent, but he was a great rookie without Kyrie, and now he's great without Kyrie. And he was really good in that one playoff series and playoff run a couple years ago when Kyrie was hurt. He didn't work with Kyrie. Cairo didn't like Brad Stevens. Have you noticed Jalen Brown has popped as well this year, 20 points a game? Environment matters. All the time I talk about in the show, life and

environment, you do realize NBA players are just like us, but taller. NFL players are just like us, they're humans, except bigger and stronger. And baseball players are just like us, too, except they throw 97-mile-an-hour splitters. The reality is athletes are just like us and suffer the same vagaries and maladies and issues that we all do. So ask yourself with Jason Tatum. Does environment matter? Of course it does. A child growing up in a more chaotic home, statistically, has a much greater chance at problems than a less chaotic home. I've been a broadcaster for 25 years. I've always been a better broadcaster when I have better bosses and better teammates. When I have bad ownership and bad management.

There was a place I had that for a couple years. I stunk. I was no fun to work with. Jason Tatum without Kyrie Irving is allowed to flourish. This is why I like Andrew Wiggins in Golden State, from a losing culture to a winning culture, to a better head coach and Steve Kirk,

to better teammates, to a better system, to a better supportive, smarter ecosystem. And what has Wiggins done? Now, I know it's just three games, but he's averaging he's taking six fewer shots a game in Golden State and yet averaging more points. Of course environment matters. Do you believe that Carson Palmer gets drafted by the Patriots?

Tom Brady gets drafted by the Bengals and Tom has all those trophies and Carson has none. Of course coaching matters and cultures matter. That's why when you come in, Mel Tucker just left Colorado. He's going to Michigan State as a football coach. The first thing he's going to do is create the Mel Tucker culture. What matters? You put message boards up. You got posters up.

What matters? Inspiration. Let's center the program. What will be vital and crucial for our growth as a program? This is what you do. You build the ecosystem. You build the culture at Google, at Microsoft, at Amazon, at Fox Sports. You build it at Disney.

You build the culture. And then you find people who are talented. often from they're undervalued because they've been at lousy cultures. You get them, bring them into your culture, and they flourish. Steph Curry wouldn't be Steph Curry with Charlotte. Clay Thompson wouldn't be as great. He'd be a very good player. He wouldn't be as great with the Pelicans years ago.

This is why Wiggins is going to kick bud. He's a kid. He's 24. He's going to grow. And this is why Jason Tatum without Kyrie Irving now has supportive teammates. doesn't have a super outfit point guard, has a Kimball Walker who can score, but is much better share and distributor of the basketball,

though he likes to score. Environment matters to Jason Tatum, because environment matters to you and me and everybody you know. Basketball players are us, just taller. Here's Joy with the News. Turn on the news. This is the Herd Line News. Greg Olson has completed his free e-a-news.

agent visits and has reportedly narrowed it down to three teams. Okay, let's go. Joe, I give you the teams. According to Adam Schaefter, he is currently in contract talks with the Bills, the Redskins, and the Seahawks. I have no bias here, but I think Seattle is a perfect fit. No bias whatsoever. I actually, I like him with the Bills as well. Yeah.

I don't, I mean, obviously the Redskins, you have Ron Rivera there, so there's an obvious, obvious tie as far as that goes. That's a good sign that Ron Rivera is showing you what he thinks of Greg Olson. Right. Like what he does to a locker room and the culture. And it would be good for Dwayne Haskins to have a veteran like that on the offensive side. But I think the bills and the Seahawks are obviously, I mean, there. Where would you go? You're a tight end.

Where would you go? Wouldn't you go to the best quarterback? Well, look, I mean, you're, take, take me out of it because I would rather, I'd rather play in Seattle for multiple reasons than Buffalo. No offense to Buffalo. But, I mean, I think that the bill is. or the Seahawks are the best places for him as far as quarterback talent goes, obviously, Russell Wilson being at the top end of that.

But, you know, the bills are going to be contenders next year and the Seahawks are as well. So it just is a matter of really, like, fit. Okay. You know how I got Greg Olson's number at the Super Bowl? And I've never texted him. Are you going to text him to tell him to go to Seattle? I'm going to text him here in five minutes. After Gottlieb, I'm going to be subtle.

I'm just, I'm a little subtle. I'm going to say, if you don't go to the Seahawks, you're out of your gourd. Oh, that's, yeah. That's subtle. I mean, honestly, any of these, all these makes sense. Obviously, Rom Averer with the Redskins, he's not going to be going to a contender, but he's going to be in a situation that I'm sure he'll feel comfortable. But I would go to the bills of the Seahawks, obviously Seahawks being my first choice.

Even though I'm a journalist, I can still root for my friends to go to the right places. Well, the Seahawks and the Redskins have tight ends coming off of injuries, and they're questionable for the start of 2020. Seems like a lot of production if you go there, no state tax. And the bill started rookie Dawson Knox for most of the last season. So he'd be in a bit of a mentor situation. Sean McDermott, the coach of Buffalo, was in Carolina, so he knows it. Okay.

So there's another side there. Yeah, that helps. So James Winston is scheduled to be a free agent after five seasons as the Bucks starter. And Bruce Ariens admitted the team is still looking at all their options at the quarterback position. He said, really nothing has changed. What's door number two? Can we make the one we have better? All of those things you go through right now, you're just sitting there waiting to see.

Is there someone available? Is he a better option? And then that's the problem. you get about three days to decide the legal tampering period. It's really monotonous right now because you don't have any answers. So that's not really a vote of confidence from Bruce Ariens and James Winston's direction, but I don't think it's unfair at this point for him to feel that way. What's the cap?

I mean, I look at where they draft and it's like, I get, I mean, I've seen enough of James, but I get why they'd stay another year with him. I totally get. No, I wouldn't blame them if they stay another year with him. He's productive. But he is productive. also productive for the other team, as we know. But he did have LASIC surgery, and Bucerians has said that that was a problem for him.

Like, he couldn't see the scoreboard. If he's having vision issues of that level, then I'm sure that plays some role, at least, in his high interception rate. So we'll see if that changes next year. But there are also so many veteran quarterbacks that are going to be moving around this free agency period, that it's, I mean. I get, I would say this. With Cam, I get moving off him.

with James, I get keeping him. Like, I've seen enough of both. Like, I've seen enough of Matt Stafford. But there is something about James. The LASIC, Bruce Ariens, Bruce may have one more year to coach. You may want to give Bruce him one more year. And then I'm not sure if Bruce is going to be here seven years.

He came out of retirement. Can you go out together? Can Bruce and James give it one more year in that? I mean, by the way, he's very productive. I mean, this offense is not. I mean, he's productive, but he's also. He makes mistake. but he's not, he's not old.

Remember, you can't be old, unathletic, and mistakes. He's young athletic and makes mistakes. Yeah, he also had the most amount of pick sixes ever in the history of the world. Yeah. That's not great. That is a... I mean, I'm with you. I could see him being there another year.

I get it. Because like Brouserian said, what's option number two? That's right. So if you don't have option number two, that's better than option number one. You might as well try and improve on what you have. So they can franchise tag him, I'm told in my ear, for 20. 27 million. I can live with that. He's going to give me 30 touchdown passes, 27 million. And hopefully less than 30 interceptions. Yeah, LASIC knocks him down to 22 interceptions.

He can see the corners now. Finally, the XFL continues tomorrow with the Tampa Bay Vipers taking on the Seattle Dragons at 5 p.m. Eastern on Fox. It will be Seattle's home opener and fans are very excited about the new league in Seattle. The team opened additional seating sections at CenturyLink Field for tomorrow's game because the ticket demand was so high. That's great. Seattle leads the XFL in season ticket sales. Oh, they do. And they had about a thousand seats for $24 each that were added on Monday.

And the team president said that they were sold out in 20 minutes. That's great. I love this. I love this. So do I. You know, last night I went to my boozy club. And a guy came up to me and he said, you know, I watched that XF. All he goes, it was kind of fun.

I really haven't talked to anybody who didn't like it. It's not the NFL. It's people in Canada love the CFL. This feels very CFL to me. It does. It's well produced, obviously, where it's on our network. They do an amazing job. The camera views, the coverage, the sideline reporting is all excellence.

The level of play is completely entertaining. We're going to find out, as I said last week, who the stars are, who it is that we're supposed to follow. And this isn't surprising coming from Seattle, because as you know, Seattle is a major sports town. Oh, loves it. Fans in Seattle are die hard. That's why there should be an NBA team there.

And they support their teams. Listen, they got a University of Washington sells out the football games. You can't get a Cod ticket. The soccer franchise, they're the number one North American soccer city. And now the XFL. And by the way, they didn't lose the Sonics because they didn't fell out the arena. They left it because their owner, Howard Shultz, sold it to a guy. They always, Seattle, the Sonics attendance, they have the worst arena in the league.

I'm from Seattle. There was nowhere to park. You couldn't get there. Seattle downtown is flat at night. They didn't leave because nobody watched the Sonics. The Sonics were popular even when they were lean. Yeah. So it doesn't surprise me that the XFL team there is doing well and we'll continue to grow.

But excited for that. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Joining us now, Doug Gottlieb, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Yes, Mercedes-Benz.

Doug Gottlieb's show after ours. Fox Sports, Rich. So, I like the XFL. We talked about that last week. All right, so let's go back to Zion. So far, restrictions on minutes. Shooting about 17 minutes, 17 shots a night, 16 shots. He's been very, you know, golf's about putting it in the cup.

Basketball's about putting it in the cylinder. He's been pretty productive. He's been amazing. He's been everything he was built to beat. You brought me out like I'm some kind of Zion hater. We're very critical. I just said he looked like he wasn't in great shape, and I'm concerned about his ability to stay healthy.

By the way, Joy, did you notice Doug has it too? What, the little throat thing? Yeah, so you feel great, but you can't. I'm the same, Joy and I for a week. I look amazing. I just, I see you have the Toccova's on. I do. Man, do I feel good.

Those are great boots. Huh? I mean, I feel. Because a lot of people, a lot of people were saying this morning, you got to give it to Gottlieb. You got to give it to him, coward, because he doesn't like Zion. No. He's great.

Like, listen, if we're judging. him against John Morant. John Moran's teams in the playoffs. John Moran has been great. Yes. So has Zion. And they've been as good as advertised. Look, I just want to make sure people understand what you're seeing.

Hey, this is a little different. He's a six, five and a half center. Yeah. We talked earlier this week about Houston and what they're doing with small ball. Okay. And trying to kind of change it. But PJ Tucker is shooting threes. That's how they open up the floor.

Right. Let's not, you got to take that first game where he made four threes and scored 17. That's not who he is. He hasn't made it three since. Right. He is just too explosive for any of these big guys, Stephen Adams, to contain him. And he's too strong for anybody his size to guard him. Right.

So he's a freak of nature. But I'm still concerned. I had an NFL guy texting me. He went to Zion's game, and he said, like, I just, he doesn't, he looks really thick. I was like, that's what he looks. He looks like a football player playing basketball. Oh, he doesn't even look like the other players. Yeah, look.

Am I still concerned about his weight and, and aware? and tear on his body? Absolutely. But I told you that this is what he was going to be. A small ball center, a power forward. But he is very productive. I mean, absurdly productive. Why wouldn't he be? And the reason that he fits with this team, okay?

The reason that I liked him initially is this is how he played at Duke. He wasn't the focal point of what they did and he was still productive. R.J. Barrett had the ball a bunch. On this team, now Brandon Ingram didn't play last night. But Brandon Ingram is the go-to guy. He's having a great season. Statistically, they're not having a great season, wins and losses. You got Drew Holliday, who's a dominant ball handler and a very good player.

You have Lonzo Ball, who is a great fit for Zion. Shooting better, by the way. Shooting better, but he can throw it to the rim from anywhere, and Zion just explodes quicker and better than anybody else. He just jumps over people. So he's tremendous, and I think there's a little bit of, I said this on Undisputed, Lamar Jackson, in that he's doing something at more explosive than anyone we've seen at that position before.

I think there's going to be an adjustment as people are trying to figure out how to guard him, who to match up with, how to understand what they're doing. They didn't win last night as well. But look, he's as good as advertised. He has to improve his shooting. He has to continue to improve his fitness.

And if he does so, he'll be a superstar to match up with his superstar off the court status. Yeah, I mean, one of the things I was saying this in my opening rant today, I see it with Tua, I saw it with Russell Wilson, I see it with Zion. when I see what I would call an otherworldly dynamic, Russell Wilson's escapeability. I hadn't seen anybody since Steve Young. It just in little tiny spaces he would move around.

It wasn't Michael Vick running. It was just finding time. To his accuracy on one leg is insane. It is breeze. And then when I see Zion, his energy and explosiveness. The second thing I want them. Because John Wall had otherworldly speed. The second thing I always look for is self-awareness.

Can you be coached? Yes. Westbrook can't. Well, there's a bunch of, everything is coming together perfectly. Okay, can he be coached? Remember, he didn't grow up in L.A., okay, in Chicago, in New York, where all the shoe companies are throwing money at him when he's 11, 12, 13, 14 years old, right? Because if you grew up in Southern California, you remember the name, Shay Cotton.

Okay, Shea Cotton was Zion and LeBron before he's a cover sports illustrator. UNLVee went after him. He ended up going to Alabama. He averaged 17 a game. Never made it in the NBA. But part of he was always a superstar, so he didn't, he didn't, he couldn't play off the basketball. He couldn't just find a way to five. He didn't have the greediness, the toughness.

He didn't have the self-awareness. Whereas Zion just goes and plays. He's okay being second, third, fourth, though. He doesn't know any better. He hasn't been the guy on the main court in Vegas at the AAU tournament his entire life. Did he have that big game against, was it one of the ball brothers a couple years? Yeah. But that wasn't until he was a rising senior.

So because he wasn't lusted over when he was 12, 13, 14 years old, there's a certain kind of earnestness to him. Yeah. The other part to it, though, is the timing of when he got into the NBA. Okay, a lot like LeBron. LeBron has benefited from being great, but also the timing of we took handchecks out, and now he can play downhill.

He's just bigger, stronger than anybody else. And we also have a European League, which is a more skilled big man without the trunk. Right, which I think hurts John Wall, okay, because these point guards have been become more about skill. Have to be. Damian Lillard is having a better career, even though he's probably not a better player than John Watt.

But a better shooter. Because he's so much better shooter. And he has unlimited range. And that changes the dynamic of what they do and how they guard him. Whereas you take Zion, Zion comes into the NBA in the 80s, and he has to be Charles Barkley. Still, great player. Okay.

Now you're matching him up with either centers who are rim protectors, and they're just not strong enough or quick enough. Quick enough. Or you're matching him up with PJ Tucker, who he's bigger then. He's bigger and stronger than. Or Draymond Green, who's now in his 30s, and he's just more explosiveness. So you open up the lane and you unleash him. And then Drew Holiday might not be one of the top 10 passers in the NBA.

But if he's your two guard and Lonzo Bowles your point guard, you have the best passing tandem of guards in the NBA. You combine their passing with his explosiveness and ability to find a crease in the defense. And it is the perfect timing, the perfect. spot and in just a small sample size of 10 games, good as advertised. Yeah, it is interesting. When I grew up, this is in the 70s, there was a baseball player named Dave Kingman. Sure.

Dave Kingman today would get $400 million. Struck out 200 times. All he did, Joy was hit bombs and strike out. But that was in an era when striking out was a weakness. So he was kind of a bizarre, unique, kind of a, you know, he was always kind of you rolled your eyes at Dave King. Today, he would be Bryce Harper. Right.

Nobody cares. And so there is something to be. about the game moved into Steph and away from Russell Westbrook. Right, Steph, and now you're seeing Tray Young, right? It's moved right into his style. You know, when you have skill, it's a skill-based game for the guards, and then if you're a big guy, you don't have to, when, you remember Derek Williams? He's from LaMirada High School just down the street from here.

Derek Queens played Arizona number two pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yeah. Okay. When he came out, he was playing four and five at Arizona. He had to become a guard. It was impossible. He's had an up and down NBA career. I think he's playing overseas now.

Last year, a cup of coffee, a couple of teams of Lakers even in the NBA. If he came out now, he wouldn't have to change positions. He'd just be a four and a small ball five. Sometimes it's about timing of when you're born a little bit of luck, which allows you to see your athletic greatness. All right, we'll take a break. Doug Gottlie comes back. I've got some thoughts on the Joe Burroughs situation.

Should Joe Burrow tell Cincinnati, you got an 84-year-old owner slash GM, the smallest scouting department. I'm not playing for you. Elway did it. Eli did it. There are some that suggest Burroughs should do it. Doug Gottlieb next to Heard.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. Sportslice 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.

more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast.

Learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. A rep, mom, I'm a one. want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean.

I'll bet you a paramed apostle chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my GenX squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that?

I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to.

to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura podcast network available on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Make 2020 your year. Start Your Own Your Own Life as an IT pro. Little as four months. Go to my computercareer.edu and take a free career evaluation course today. Doug God, Let's Lebe show, the Dugger after our show. He's got a suit and tie on, no idea why, and those gorgeous Decovis boots.

Look at that. That's free advertising right there, Joy. That's pretty good. I was on their website yesterday. I'm using their, I use their travel bag. It's out of this world. Really good. Austin, Texas-based.

It is a great company. Good belts, good everything. Can we get a free trip to Austin? Austin's a great place to be. Are you going to recline your seat on that free trip? We'll get into that in a second. Okay. John Elway and Eli Manning had the guts,

and they also had their dad willing to be a villain. we're not playing for your team. We're not playing for the Colts. We're not playing for the Chargers. Cincinnati's got an 84-year-old owner who also considers himself the GM. They have the smallest scouting department. Carson Palmer said during Super Bowl week, they're not committed to winning. You're Joe Burrow.

Do you have the guts? Do you and your dad have the guts to say, we're out? I do not. And I think if all things were equal, if it wasn't, if he wasn't from Ohio, dad wasn't a football coach, if it wasn't just perfectly set up, I understand that the Bengals are different than any organization in football. They're just a boring version of Cleveland.

They're totally dysfunctional. I don't think they're Cleveland because they used to be the Bungles, and then Marvin Lewis never got the credit he deserved, right? There were some things that went bump in the night, you know, the Vontas perfect. He stabilized them. He did. He made them a playoff team. Yeah.

And having a good relationship with Carson, I know why he chose to retire out of the. than play for the Bengals. He signed the biggest contract in the NFL. They made him promises. They promised this. They promised that. And they didn't deliver on any of them. And he's like, you know, what is really the point here of putting myself out there? But for Joe Burrow, you know, you go and play. Look, the organization still could have A.J. Green. They have Joe Mixon. Last year's first round pick was the lineman who got hurt didn't play. You can rebuild this thing. I don't think he's as valuable to other franchises as he is to Cincinnati. I think it all works. I'm not sure he goes number one overall if he says, I'm not playing for the Bengals. And by the way, while other franchises might flinch and trade him,

if he balks, you know who won't? The Bengals. They're not. They're holding on to that pick. They'll draft him. And if he wants to sit for an entire year, they'll let him sit for an entire year. And he won't be the number one pick next year. Trevor Lawrence will be the number one pick next year.

And Justin Fields will be the number two pick. So, you know, the idea sounds great. It sounds like, well, you know, Elway did it. And Ben, Eli did it. and okay fine but Joe Bro's from Ohio he's not going to sit another year after sitting two years not playing in college and then being rusty his third year when he played at LSU that sounds really good into the microphone but the reality is get out there you'll get a chance to start you do have an offensive-minded head coach and you'll get a great opportunity with a good running back

and a rebuild offensive line I do not tell him I tell him to go and play for the Bengals Nick Wright and Eric Mangini I thought had a fascinating five minutes it was great it was really great And, you know, Nick's point was, listen, man, if I give, give, give, give, give in a relationship, and I ask one of favor at the end and you say, no, it hurts. Man, Jeannie was, this is the system where you were the spokesman for. Is Tom Brady simply getting into his fields too much? Yes. I don't think it's Tom.

I think it's people around him. And I think if you, you know, whether it's Alex Guerrero, who had his facility there, you know, on campus, if you will, and they're like, hey, it's too close for comfort or whomever. it is because the people I talk to in the NFL, they say everyone you talk to around Brady. No one talks to Brady as a different idea for what he should do. And I

think that's because they're all telling him, Tom, they're not giving you the receivers. They're not doing, and Nick Casario just resigned as, you know, as their general manager. Just got him. The Patriots are doing it the Patriot way. They will not stop doing it. And God bless him.

With a bad offensive roster at skill positions, they won 12 games last year, right? They went 12 games. And we can say what we want about the guys around him. Tom Brady was down a point, had the football, a chance to drive them down, get a field goal, win the game. I don't think they had a good enough roster,

but it wasn't for lack of trying. They had Josh Gordon. They had Antonio Brown. That's fair. They did have A-B. Right? So they did implode. Those guys did implode, and they did draft it. They're bad at drafting wide receiver, but they did try and draft a wide receiver. It's not for lack of trying. Yeah. It's for lack of execution. But we can

blame Belich and his arrogance and this and that. Tom Brady had the football, down one at home, a chance to drive him down against Tennessee Titans. He threw a pick six and they lost the game. Okay. And they won 12 games. So you come back. You do it the Patriot way. We'll probably pay you a little bit more than we should, but less than you really want. And that makes the most sense. Because what are the other options? I know you think the Cowboys are a legit option. I think Tennessee, I've come around talking to enough people in the last week. I think Tennessee, you know, Doug, I always had this theory. And you've done a little to this. I've done more because I'm older. When you leave a place, you're generally trying to solve the primary headache. Tom's primary headache isn't winning or money. His primary headache is, it's not a lot of fun.

I'd like to be respected more. Tennessee answers the weapons and fun quotient. Who are the weapons outside the numbers? Well, Derek Henry, Adam, they drafted the Ole Miss wide receiver, AJ Brown, Corey Davis, Adam Humphreys, Derek Henry, and Braebles is best. He's

drinking buddies. Okay. So it doesn't drink. Well, I mean, it answers the fun component. He'll solve the one thing. I just, I don't think Brady to Tennessee works. I just, he's a brand. Vegas would make sense. L.A. would make sense. Tampa doesn't

doesn't be, I know they have the Super Bowl next year, but Tampa doesn't feel like it's a market that makes sense for him and Giselle. Nash Vegas is, you know, if you've been there, it's bigger than anything you imagined, and it's the, maybe the fastest growing major city, major market in the country, but it doesn't feel as big for it.

For Tom Brady to move, you only move for L.A. Or you only move maybe for Vegas. I just, I don't see it. I'm not saying it's not, couldn't happen. Here's our Brady pie. 70% New England, 1% retirement, 4% shocker, 25% Tennessee. I also think that as there's the quarterback shuffle, don't be surprised if whether it's breeze or rivers,

one of them goes and does TV. Like the money for Romo is real. And those guys are like, wait, wait, what? I can make $10 million? I can make $10 million and I don't have to go to OTAs. So there's another point that I don't think people understand about Brady and why he should stay in New England. Remember, last year he skipped OTAs.

If you go to a new franchise, you can't skip on OTAs. You've got to be there every day. Like you can't, no, no, no. The offense doesn't run itself. You have to implement your system with a whole new staff that doesn't know your verbage, that doesn't know how you do what you do. Tom Brady going to a new system is much like me trying to teach you French

at your late stage in your life. You can't learn new language. It's too difficult. Yeah, that's true. We. All right, we have a minute left. So there was a massive viral video this week about a woman in an airline that reclined, and the guy behind her was in the last row couldn't recline and started pounding her seat.

I watched it for about 10 seconds. It was too uncomfortable for me. It was like a jeopardy contestant struggling. I can't watch people struggling. I get too emotional. So I would have turned around and punched the guy right in the forehead. But I believe all airlines should have seats that reclines slightly and then you can't move them. What was your take on the scenario?

I'm with Team Joy Taylor. I pay for my seat. It's allowed to recline and recline. You're trying to create some utopian society and change airlines. That's not a real question. Okay. Yeah. So that doesn't exist.

That doesn't exist. In the world in which we live and travel, what is your suggestion? Are you team recline or not? I do not. Sometimes I will recline an inch, but I am always very aware of the people behind me. Right. I mean, listen, listen, he's not flying at the regular terminal anymore. Oh, stop.

No, but that's a real thing, though. Like, we're talking about coach specifically because it doesn't matter. No, I only fly Delta. So I would acknowledge that I have gotten so tired of all airlines, Delta is my go-to, and I recline an inch. No, listen, I think proper etiquette is, hey, I'm going to recline this thing. It's never happened to me. I take 40 flights a year. No one has ever asked me if they can recline their seat.

They just recline it. I'm just saying that could be proper etiquette, but you should be allowed to recline. You should be allowed to recline. You pay for it and it reclines. That's it. Great. I'm with Team Joy. Joy to the world.

Carliners and Ray's Korean Airlines. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are true.

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 athletes 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. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Come out. Look. Quarterback on office blue of 42.

Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva. mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do.

So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamani Arriba, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? How can it be?

How can it be? How can it be? That one's kind of hard now. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public.

Listen to How Heart Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ah, here we go, hour two. We're live in L.A. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Joy Taylor joins me. She does recline on an airline. I recline slightly, but do tend to kind of look. Look at the whole plane and see who's got room. And Joy is like, listen, mostly I'm reclining and now you're getting a lot of pushback. Pushback. This is a very, like, this is more divisive than politics. This is an age-old debate. Yes.

And this is how I firmly feel. I've paid for my seat and whatever space it reclines to. And there's certain airlines that don't recline. So maybe everyone should just fly those. But I paid for that space and that's it. And if you don't want me to recline, you're more than welcome to Venmo me for my ticket. I take VEMO, Cash App, Zell. And then I'll sit up a 90-degree angle.

It hurts my back. I understand that. I am mostly a non-recliner or a slight recliner. This is not a first-class conversation. This is for coach flying on. I fly economy class at all times. I flew a middle seat from Salt Lake to L.A. 14B on a Delta flight last weekend.

14B right in the middle. It's impressive. There you go. Right in the middle. And you did not recline. Did not, not that I, no. I mean, I look back and again, I do about an inch. It's generally, if somebody reclines into me, I reclined back about an inch.

There you go. Right. But so you're okay with someone reclining into you. You're tall. Just so you know, Colin's tall. Tall, very tall. Powerful and tall. So I saw this story.

Kevin Durant makes more news for not playing than any basketball player in recent memory. He came out in one of his podcast this week, Kevin Durant did, and said, I isolated myself after the warrior swept Drame. Green incident under the rug. Now, you remember this incident. We had video of this where Draymond Green said, listen, you're a B word, and you know you're a B word. We don't need you.

We won without you. That was this moment. So I had said at the time, this is something I came back to. I said, Kevin Durant's never going to forget this. There are lines you can't cross. Now, I didn't like what Draymond did. And Kevin Durant came out and said, listen, they never supported me. Like, I know stuff happens, but they never supported me.

So first of all, Katie's a very sensitive guy. Bill Parcells has said it for a year, the legendary football coach. Treat everybody fair. Don't treat them the same. I've got kids. They all have different hot buttons. The Warriors did not put their arms around KD enough for his taste, and he said, I never got over that. So we know he's sensitive.

So in that area, I support Kevin Durant. He's a more sensitive guy. That's okay. And I think when you find a very sensitive guy like Kevin Durant, rant. And then the basketball culture is different than the football culture. In America, the football culture is about building up men harshly. You're in college three, four, five years. Pay you, we wouldn't even suggest it. Go complain on Twitter. We can cut you. We can trade you. The head coach always has power even over Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Joe Montana was traded off a great

season. Brady, forget the pay cut. That builds up men. It builds up metal. Basketball culture builds up stars. That's different. There's a lot of coddling and worshiping. And basketball, the culture is spot the talent, surround the talent, Nike, AAU, college coach, and then groove the talent to be a money machine for all of us. It's a different culture. It's a more coddling, worshipping, protecting culture. Football's a harsher culture. But when you're sensitive like Kevin Durant and you've come through a culture that's increasingly

worship-driven and coddle-driven, Kevin Durant's a guy who is hyper-sensitive. by pro-athlete standards. There was nothing wrong with this. I think the Warriors probably, in my opinion, should have been more aware of it. But this does highlight a concern I have about Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. So the San Francisco media is, like most West Coast media's, chill. Steve Kerr's a former player, so is Bob Myers, the GM.

Steph is the easiest superstar in my life to play with. Silicon Valley is very progressive, very star-driven, protect the star. It was the perfect place for Kevin with one bad incident. Brooklyn, the New York weather's harsher, the media is harsher. Kyrie is a blamer. He calls people out. It's a losing franchise. It is not the number one star-driven sports platform in New York.

Yankees are bigger. Giants are bigger. The Knicks are bigger. I think Kevin Durant should have aggressively, not passive-aggressively, addressed Steve Kerr and Bob Myers, gone to him. You have some culpability to go and, you know, call out your bosses if you're unhappy. That's not who he is. He tends to be a little passive-aggressive and sensitive.

But again, let me go back to the beginning. I totally get him not liking the line Draymond cross, because I think Draymond absolutely crossed the line. And the Warriors made a mistake, not recognizing that Kevin is different than Clay and Steph. He is. You just have to come to terms with it. But we said this would never, ever, this was a huge issue. A lot of media people are like, ah, they're over it. You do not, there are certain lines you don't cross. And if people are calling you the B word over and over, I got to tell you something. Friend calls me that. That's a line. I'll never forget that.

So Kevin, I think, ended up because of one really ugly incident. Other than that, Warriors were pretty nice for him. Good spot. That moved him all the way cross-country to what I believe is going to be a harsher, more punitive basketball environment. That's why I don't think it'll work. Last night, by the way, the Clippers lost and Paul George got nicked up, and Kauai, of course, is doing the load management thing. And so, you know, on most of the shows like, you know, the kind of show we do here, the opinion-based shows, there's going to be a lot of this. Look at the, look at the Clippers. Right now, Lakers are a number one seed and Milwaukee looks better. You have to understand what is happening with the Clippers in Los Angeles.

These regular season games do not matter. The Clippers have been the most interesting regular season team. It was called Blake and Chris Paul and D'Andre Jordan. It was called Lob City. And it had no impact on the L.A. basketball environment. Los Angeles, the Lakers, may be the only city in America at Los Angeles. Angeles is, that basketball is more popular than football when both are in the city. It may be the only city in America. In Philadelphia, they like the Sixers. They live for the

Eagles. New York may be the only city where baseball, the Yankees, is bigger than the NFL. And L.A. is the only city where basketball, the Lakers, is bigger than the NFL. Mostly if you have an NFL team, it's the most popular in your city. And so not only is basketball popular, but it is completely symbolized by the greatest franchise in league history, the Los Angeles Lakers. So when Steve Balmer, the genius from Microsoft,

bought the Clippers, it's about branding. Okay, they want their own building. They share a building right now. They're the little brother sharing it with the big brother of the Lakers. They want their own building. They want their own brand. They're trying to separate from the Lakers.

And the only way to do that is to humiliate the Lakers in the Western Conference finals and then win the title. And I'm frankly not sure dominating the Lakers isn't more important than winning the title. This is a brand play. Load management works for this franchise. It wouldn't work for other franchises. The Clippers are about winning a title and crushing the Lakers on the way to the title. And one title's not going to change it and two may not change it.

This is all about the postseason. This regular season stuff, they've been captivating in the regular season. It didn't change a thing in Los Angeles. Even with all their Blake Griffin, CP3 Lobb City, they charge less than half of what the Lakers do for a ticket in the same damn building. They don't care. They don't have the massive TV deal locally like the Lakers do. This is about getting a title.

Nobody in that organization is. losing any sleep with regular season losses, load management, Paul Jor's semi-injury, Lou Williams taking a night off. You have to live in Los Angeles to get the power of the Lakers. You can't go anywhere in this town. Everybody plays second fiddle. The NFL plays second fiddle to virtually nobody. In L.A. Lakers way up here, Rams way down there. USC, third place, Dodgers, get behind the Lakers. And so that's what the Clippers are fighting. And so when everybody's getting worked up about the load management,

Paul George is out, they're not playing great. In their building, it is about May and June. And by the way, they want to meet the Lakers so badly in the Western Conference finals. They don't want the Lakers. They do not want the Lakers losing to Utah. They do not want the Lakers losing to Portland or losing to upstart Memphis or offensively gifted Dallas. The Clippers want to meet the Lakers in the Western Conference Final. They wanted to get a huge TV rating and they want to beat them in five games and stamp on the Lakers.

It is our town. That's what they want. Nobody with the Clippers wants the Lakers getting knocked out in the first or second round. They want to meet them in the conference finals, crush them. and then win the championship. And they want to do it back-to-back years as the Lakers age. Don't worry about the regular season. Clippers aren't.

All right, good stuff. I've got so many interesting things here today. I've barely touched on them. Rashad Jennings, Jason McIntyre, the former giant joins us next. We'll talk some Joe Burrow. We'll talk to a. We'll talk some Tom Brady.

All coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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.

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Kier Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Destin, Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two

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linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue 42. Hey, my mom, I want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart for Chip. I'm Tad Ramos.

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Yeah, it's fun. Rashad Jennings is fascinating. You played NFL running back. You're a best-selling author in New York Times. You have a child book series we'll talk about. You're a dancing with the stars champion. And you go to Liberty and make the NFL. Did you watch you watch? any of the XFL last weekend. I watched a bit of it. Yeah. I watched a bit of it. Yeah. Running back wide receiver is the strength of the league. O-line is the weakness. Yeah. The skill set, the skill set you can find one or two guys that probably could play in the next level, but the offensive lines shows yourself. Listen, there are not a lot of good old lines in the NFL, so you're not going to have eight good offensive lines in the XFL. Yeah. So we'll get to your book in a second.

I want to talk about something, the Joe Burrow trade. So John Elway had a football coaching dad. So did Eli Manning. their dads came in and said, my sons are not playing for your dysfunctional organization. Joe Burroughs' dad is an accomplished coach, not as well known perhaps as a Jack Elway or an Archie Manning. But I've always said once a player in the NFL signs,

a quarterback out of college, he's trapped for seven years. You're trapped. They can franchise tag you. I'm Joe Burrow. This is an 84-year-old owner who also covets the GM job with the smallest

scouting department in the league. I would get if Joe Brewer and his dad said, no, we're not coming here. You haven't proved, and you can say to yourself, that's unfair. No, it's not. You can go get your quarterbacks in other rounds. Number one guy in certain years won't play for you. Is that an outrageous thought?

Do players talk about that? Yeah, I think it's not an outrageous thought. It's two sides of the coin on this one. I mean, if you take a guy, and one, you need the buffer to be able to fight for you, not Joe. Let Dad be the villain. Yeah, because the issue you come in to play with, let's say it doesn't pan out. Let's say if he, him and his camp starts to bark that they want elsewhere and it doesn't pan out and he gets drafted to the Bengals. Now you have this or about him in the locker room and as soon as they go out there, any incompletion people are going to be

say, oh, so you didn't want to be here. If you lose a game, oh, see, you didn't want to be here. So it messes up the trajectory of his whole career and this stigma about it. And he's, him early. So if you're going to swing the bat, you've got to make sure you hit. Or else is going to look ugly. Yeah, no, that's a good way to put it. But I get it. I totally get it. Now, if you're going to do it, if you want out, I mean, this is a prime time to do it, especially when you've had some other quarterbacks say that that organization isn't about winning first. And I do believe the Chargers have a bunch of picks and players, Carolina, Indianapolis. You have multiple teams that would go to Cincinnati. I read a story

yesterday. Carolina's like here. Here's Christian McCaffrey, our number one pick, two seconds. You know, it's not crazy for Cincinnati to go, okay, we're going to keep Dalton for one more year. We'll draft a quarterback later in the second round. It's not the craziest thing, but I think you put it best. If you're going to do it, you better get a base knock. If you're going to swing the bat, you better get a base knock. You got to get on first base. That's right. It's tough to navigate. So we have situations. I want to go to Carolina. Carolina's got a new owner and a new coach. And I've said this. When Tim Tebow got replaced in Denver, Tebow was so popular. He was iconic. They had to bring in Peyton Manning.

You bring in Peyton, people say, okay, I'm over Tim. If you had brought in a journeyman veteran, they wouldn't have had the force to overcome the love for Tebow. Cam is very polarizing, but the people who love him in Carolina are all in. They're all in on his fashion, the personality. Like, if I'm the owner of Carolina, I better get the number one pick or bring in a real player. Because I think if you replace Cam, if you don't have an idea what you're doing, if you limp into that, it could be really ugly in that locker room. What would you do if you're the new owner in Carolina? or the new coach?

See, if I'm the owner, is different from if I was a coach versus the player. I got all three different type of attitude. What would you do? If I'm the owner, I'm gambling a little bit here. If I'm the owner, I'm going to, Cam still can play football as a great player.

I think he still has a lot of value in the league and I'm going to trade him. I'm going to get my money worth, allow him to go. I would be open for Christian McCaffrey for a trade or some type if there's a strong value there. And what I would do with that money is I would stack my offensive line. I would stack my defense line, build my team inside and out.

I will go into the next season and compete very hard. Evaluate everybody, coaches and everybody. This is my first year as an owner, so I'm not going to get shy. Whatever happens. I'm going to need time to build this out. Now, odds are if you let go of McCaffrey and if you don't bring Cam in. It's a pretty inemic offense. Yes.

And then you go into that season, not playing the best, but then guess who you get as your first round draft pick the following year. Okay, so that's what you, see, I don't think you're wrong on this. Trevin Lawrence, but that's if I'm the owner. Now you're the coach. If I'm the coach, I need to win now. I ain't got time for that. I need Christian on my team.

And if I'm going to let go of, if I'm going to let go of Cam, who will we, who are we bringing in? I do need somebody. Now I'm not going to worry as much with my offense and defense the line. I'm a build up to a lot of skill players and draft with my offensive line and compete. But now I'm not letting go on McCraffey for nothing. I'm the head coach. This is why, by the way, I've had GMs tell me this. Coaches, coach, GMs do it differently.

Coaches want to win games. Coach's name. Matt Rule off to an 0-and-7 start. The owner's like, you know, what do I care? I'm going to get a quote. But for coaches, that's very personal. Coaches want to win on Sunday. Yeah.

So you may have a seven-year contract. Kyle Shanahan was having no fun going 4 and 20 without Jimmy Garapolo. Because everybody's saying, well, you know, he's young. Maybe Shanahan's not a head coach. He's a coordinator. Matt Rule goes 0-and-7 without Cam. everybody's like, you know, he's a Baylor guy. He's not an NFL guy, even though he could be a very good coach.

Let's shift to Brady. There's a lot out there. You played in this league. What do you think is really happening right now inside the walls in Foxborough? Yeah, that's a good one. So Brady, obviously, he's always going to be arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game. So what's interesting about this one is there's no surprise for a lot of people in that. organization.

If you let your franchise, not just a franchise quarterback, but a goat, get to the point of March 11. Yeah. And you haven't signed him. It's very telling that you are not going to sign him because he has a good relationship with Belichick and the craft family. So I know goodness well, he's had a conversation with them off the record about what's going to happen or what should happen or once.

Brady's taking so many sacrifices. over there, taking pay cuts so he could build out the team. He's put team first. He's won Super Bowls for you. He's done everything he could. So I know you have a great relationship in behind the walls. Now he's going to, to the media, he's not going to let out, air out any of those

conversations. But you believe they've had conversations. He hasn't resigned. Has it. And I think one of those conversations ticked him off. I think there's some friction between those three individuals collectively and Brady wants out and he said, listen, now it's a

money. If you don't, if you, you should have paid me a long time ago, um, and been the highest, highest paid quarterback in the league at some point in his career. Now I'm going to make it about money. But Brady's not, he's also, you know, this is, this is totally a push. But Brady's never been on social media his whole entire career. Why is he now? Exactly. I think because of the TB12 brand. I think he's, he knows the end is near. Yes. And so he's trying to build out some of his. his business accolades, which I think is brilliant and amazing. And I applaud him for that.

But then again, if I'm looking at it as an owner, a cultural player, I got three different attitudes of how I'm watching this. If I'm from the owner, I'm like, okay, he's more, he's beginning to show more focus elsewhere. Right. And the latter years of his career, which typically you start tanking. But you can't, he's an anomaly, so you can't compare him to anybody else, which is difficult. And I think that's where they're at. I think they're going to wash your hands.

I think we'll see him in another uniform. And I can't wait. I think it's going to be great soap opera for next year. His buddy's Mike Vrable. Tennessee's got New England people upstairs in the executive building. They've got his buddy as a head coach and they have weapons. Weapons for days over there. Yeah.

A great offensive line. And I would love to be in those meetings because Brady's not trying to convince anybody. He's showing up saying, hey, convince me. What are you going to do for me? How are you going to allow me to control the team? how you're going to allow me to play? What's the goal? What's the plan? And for that reason, I'm excited to see where he's going to be at.

You know, he's still an elite player, and he's always carried a chip on his shoulder at the age of 42, while then being 43 into the season. Still has it. Still has it. Something to prove. Yeah. One last thing with that is the thing about protecting Brady,

he protects himself because there's a stat that I saw out of the ball coming out of a quarterback's hand, 2.5 seconds he has 80% completion. The next quarterback in the history is Philip Rivers with 74%. And then the next is Peyton Manny at 68. And so

with all that said, he always protects himself because he can get the ball out quick. Yeah. Well, I mean, there's another component to this, a business component. He has got his TB12 protein powders in the Whole Foods in New England. So my takeaway is would he, so he took him for years to get him into the whole food

Group in New England, would he bail on that? Because then the whole foods group in New England would say, well, you're not a patriot anymore. There's a lot of business components. Like you said, he got very socially media savvy in the last 18 months. Tom is clearly the years. He's got one or two left, but Tom has another career and he's close to hitting it beyond football. Okay, you've got a new book, Arcade and the Fiery Metal Tester. Third book, this is in your CoinSlot Chronicle series. So these are child books. You write these. You've been doing this for years.

You wrote at Liberty when you were there. Did you ever imagine you'd get to this point? You know what? It's always been a hope. But no. To be honest with you, I really didn't foresee it. And I'm humbled by it. Every single classroom I get a chance to go to and see kids light up.

And the emails that I give from parents and teachers saying how much their kids run to run. read. Like that's, that's amazing for me because I grow up with a read of comprehensive deficit. And we know as adults how pivotal the success is to a human being with the ability to read. It allows us to be created. Do you think that's why you started writing? Absolutely. You know, I'm writing for myself to get, because I didn't find things that were fun to read. I didn't see diversity in books. And so I'm writing in touch with my 13-year-old self and saying, what would inspire me to flip the page and see what happens next? When you had

your writing deficit, go back to being 12, 13 years old. Were you embarrassed? When you're mad, were you anxious? How did it make you feel? Absolutely. You know, being 13, I laughed because I see the picture of myself. Yeah, I was totally embarrassed. You know, we used to do popcorn reading. Yeah. Right in class where you read a, read a few sentences and then the next person reads besides you. When it got about three people close to me, I would raise my hand and magically have to use the bathroom. Like, I couldn't read in front of people. was embarrassed. And then that enabled me from public speaking, a lot of other things, too, that followed. It was made fun of. I thought I was behind the eight ball all the time. I was

pushed through the system, yet not building the education and the foundation of it. I really had to then, that's why I went to summer school classes. You can remember those days in class. You remember at 12 and 13 years old. Yeah. Isn't it amazing how much power that has in your life today? You took, you took embarrassing to great. Yeah. And through the, these books, the kids start to own their quirkiness. They start to own their mishaps. And they start to build on their creativity throughout the book because you fall in love with the characters and who they are and what they mean to you. And it's a series. It's a series that's super fun. And we actually own all the rights to it. And we've been talking and having a conversation about turning it

into a cartoon for different vendors because it's fun. It's a fun book. It's an easy, read. And like I said, I gave a lot of effort into this book. I'm biased, but I think it's absolutely amazing. And I'm appreciative because, you know, my first book made New York Time bestseller so that opened up the door. And me as a professional athlete, you know, it's, again, I always say it's not special. Nothing special about me is the position. So I get to magnify things that I believe in. And kids usually follow. Your story is great. You had, you had a, in your 12-year-old, 13-year-old world, crisis. You were embarrassed about it and you wanted to solve it. And I

love stories like that. I love your story. Appreciate it. You're always welcome. Appreciate it. Rashad Jennings and Joy Taylor with the news. No. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay

for what you need. So Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn spoke publicly for the first time since the team part of ways with Philip Rivers. Oh, he did. What do you say? They still have Tyrod Taylor under contract. And Lynn thinks he has the potential to take a step up this year. Tyrod Taylor, I mean, he's like a quarterback. I mean, we couldn't have a better backup right now.

And now he has an opportunity to maybe step into a starting role. And I've had Tyraud before. And I know what this young man brings to the table in the passing game and the running game. He's a top five backup in the league, no question. They are in a good situation. You remember what he did in Buffalo? No, no, Tyrod is, I'm not building around him, but you can win. games with Tyrod Taylor. No, but I do like, if they do end up getting Tua, I love Tyrod being there

with Tua. Now, unfortunately, for Tairod, he's kind of in the same situation as he was in before with Baker, but I just think Tiread's such a pro and such a reliable... That's it. Your words exactly, he's a pro. He's a pro. He's completely reliable. He's someone, like you said, you're not going to build your franchise around him, but if you need a quarterback for this year or for the next two years until you figure out what you want to do, Tyrod's your guy. He's going to go out there and win games. They have a lot of weapons, so they made the wild card round with the bills. And he also, what Tyrod Taylor doesn't do is make mistakes.

Right. So this, again, the Chargers have enough talent. Sometimes Philip Rivers could make the play, but there was a James Winston quality to Philip, which is, oh, my God. Tyrod doesn't have the arm. He knows it. So he really, he's very Teddy Bridgewater. He's very Alex Smith. Yes.

I'm efficient. I'm an athletic. I can move a little, but I play within what I am. So the ceiling's a little lower, but Tyrod doesn't lose games for you. And he's reliable and consistent, professional. If you get someone like Tua in there, say to his maybe not 100% by the time the season comes around, you're in a perfect situation if you're the charges or any rookie quarterback. For that matter, if that's the direction that they choose to go in. So the Redskins are releasing veteran cornerback Josh Norman after four years with the team.

Norman said that Ron Rivera called him this morning to break the news. While it wasn't his decision to leave Washington, he said he is ready to start something new and fresh. He was due $12.5 million in 2020, which was likely what led to that split. Going into his ninth season, still playing at a high level. So he's going to end up somewhere, just obviously not going to be at that number. He had 40 tackle, total tackles. He's still a playmaker. One sack, one force fumble, one interception.

He's a playmaking corner. He's not just a corner. Josh still makes plays. Right. Now, he was benched at the end of the season. He played in only two of the final six games, 10 total snaps. But I think this is a good situation for Ron Rivera.

Obviously, he is with him for years in Carolina. But Ron Rivera is clearly trying to establish what he wants there, clear some space, bring in some young talent. And for Josh Norman, he's going to end up somewhere. like that's that's no question about that. But the only thing that confuses me about Washington still is Dwayne Haskins. Oh, I think they're going to give them a whole year. I think they're going to give Dwayne Haskins.

I think they're going to go draft Chase Young. I wouldn't be, I could be nuts on this. I think teams would move up for Chase Young. Now, Chase is probably too good to move down on. But I think you draft Chase Young and you just say, we're going to get a little younger, a little leaner. We're going to let go of some Josh Normans. And you give Duane. 16 games, and if you see marked improvement week one to week 12, then you keep them.

I think this is Dwayne Haskins, all in. I think Alex Smith is going to retire pretty soon, actually. They don't really have a timer on them this year. There's no heat on them this year to do anything except for take small steps of improvements and allow Rivera to come in and establish whatever culture he's going to put in in Washington. Also, Alex Smith, I believe is going to retire and transition to the front. offices in the NFL. Alex is the perfect guy to have in the building.

Of course. He's like Tyrod Tair. Perfect guy to have in the building over Dwayne. Dwayne. This is what you got to do. I mean, you saw what he did for Patrick Mahomes, which obviously, you know what is comparing Patrick Mahomes to Dwayne Haskins. But Patrick has said many times, being able to see how Alex Smith prepares what he does

as a professional helped him tremendously in his career. Finally, Ben Rothusberger is still rehabbing his elbow after suffering a season ending injury last September. and Steelers' GM, Kevin Colort, is very optimistic about Big Ben's future. He said, all signs are good. We are hopeful that he can make a complete recovery. We don't think he's at the end of the road.

Well, yeah, I mean, there's really nothing else to say because he's making $34 million this season. So he's going to be out there one way or the other. Last time he started, he threw for 40, they throw for 4,500 yards. I mean, his last year, he threw for, I mean, he may have thrown for 5,000 yards. Well, he's going into his 17th season. Yeah, I mean, he's old. this is one of these, let me watch him play.

Yeah, I mean, there's no other option. Like I said, he's getting $34 million this year. So we're going to be watching Ben Rathesberger with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, Ben's been talking about, you know, retiring and then he's not retiring over the past couple years. And obviously, that was kind of due to some frustrations with whatever was going on in Pittsburgh, which, you know, who knows at this point. But he's going to be 38 in March. But Big Ben is not Tom Brady. Like we're not comparing the body situations there in any way.

And Big Ben takes big hits because he's a big guy. But I do think that this is more reflective of what the AFC North is going to be next season because it's just not going to look the way that it did last season. And that's what the Steelers hung in there, like had an unbelievable season despite having being completely. They were down to a guy named Duck Hodges. Yes. It's insane at the quarterback position. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. Thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News. Our third hour, we're radio only, so we're going to bring Jason McIntyre at one of my favorite segments. We run it on Fridays in the last hour. We're going to move it up. I love it.

It's called Tomorrow's Headlines Today with Jason McIntyre. He gives you the big headlines of the weekend. What do you think the newspapers will be blaring in the blogs on Monday? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FM. 1 and the IHeart Radio app. 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 athletes 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. from viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood,

pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clever Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee.

We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because, When they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The greatest day in all of racing returns.

The Daytona 500 picks off the 2020 NASCAR season. Sunday at 2.30 Eastern with the pre-race beginning at one, only on Fox. By the way, the Delta CEO, the Delta airline CEO says you should ask the person behind you if you may recline. Stop it. When was the last time the Delta CEO sat in the middle seat in Road 202? Very good point If you pay for the ticket You should get to do whatever you want

You and joy are a couple of Peaches over here with your attitudes Insanity I'm just You don't recline your attitude I'm flying tomorrow morning I'm flying a beautiful Delta flight I will recline an inch

Okay It's not it's never It's not even a thought of my mind I paid for that space Yeah I you guys are And the person in front of me paid for that space I you're not wrong It's just I wouldn't

Listen, I barely follow regular rules. So I'm not even considering unwritten rules. You might as well be my, you are my wife. We're born on the same day. We have the exact same mentality. Is it really same exact same? I do not know that. Jason McIntyre here for our radio audience.

Tomorrow's headlines today. Let's get right to it. All right, tomorrow's headlines today. What should Cincinnati do with their number one NFL draft pick? I can't believe I heard you bashing Joe Burrow. I mean, unbelievable college. The headline will be Bengals and Tigers in Burrow.

Oh my. Joe Burrow, lock it up, Colin. Number one, to the Bengals. And listen, I heard a lot of you love Tua. And for a while this season, I liked Tua, too. But at the end of the year, when you look at what Burrow did against Clemson, okay, in the semi-final game against Oklahoma, this guy threw for 16 touchdowns the year before.

It went up to 60. Doesn't it worry you that he was just average as a junior? And I knew that question was coming, so I'm ready. He's 23 years old. Some guys are late bloomers, if you will, right? He was in Ohio State. He wasn't quite ready. Couldn't beat out Braxton Miller and a bunch of other nice guys.

Did get injured. Finally, gets to LSU is okay. And then gets Joe Brady. And finally, it all clears up. I mean, you had that professional moment in your career where you were pretty good. And then all of a sudden, boom. Boom.

They're like, hey, you're the next Tony Cornheiser. Come on down. And it opened up and Colin becomes a big star. That's what happened with Joe Burrow this year at LSU. All right. I think he turns it around for the Bengals. I mean, they're not going to win eight games next year. I don't know if he'll be as good as Kyler Murray was,

because it sounds like AJ Green's not coming back. But I think Joe Burrow is going to be the guy in Cincinnati. Okay, I made a comment this week. Apparently did not go over well in Michigan, where I said if I would draft two if I was the Bengals at three, and I'd trade Stafford, who I think has value on the market. Tomorrow's headlines today with Jason McIntyre. Should the lines move off Matt Stafford?

This is easy, obviously. Stafford, 32 years old, great quarterback. The headline will be standing Matt. The Detroit Lions stand put and keep Matt Stafford. This is not even a question. Colin, listen, I'm a big Matt Stafford fan. If you look at the last six years, three times he's led the NFL in game winning drives. He hasn't had a defense in Detroit. They got nothing there. This is the guy who hasn't played with a running back. If you go through his 12 year career, who's the best running back he played with? You can't even name him. A bunch of guys. who are irrelevant. The defenses have stunk, and all Matt Stafford does is put up big numbers,

lead his team back, and pick up good victories. Now, they were close last year. Remember, they started two, oh, and one. I may have bet the over for the Detroit Lions season win total, so I know this intimately. And they got a little unlucky against the Chiefs. You remember this game? And then the following week on Monday night football got job by the refs. I'm not going to go week to week. But Stafford gets hurt in the middle. What are you smirking for? He gets hurt in the middle of his really good season, 19 TDs, five picks, and that was all she wrote. I'm going to go on the record right now. Matt Stafford will take the Lions to the playoff next season in Detroit.

Take it to the bank. This team's close. Matt Patricia cannot bail on him. Take two. He's going to get fired if he does that. Collin, come on. Tomorrow's headlines today. NBA.

Who will win the NBA rookie of the year? John Morant's in the lead, right? Right. Right. A lot of basketball left. The headline will. be Zion Top of the world.

Zion Williams and my guy, come on. You know, I did some undisputed this week with Rob Parker, Greg Jennings, and Parker's just like, he's not a star. Broussard, he's not a star. Why am I turning my TV on every night to watch him? I mean, listen. Isn't that the definition of a star? The Pelicans are coming here to play the

Lakers at Staples. I have some friends who have season tickets. They're already fielding requests. Bring me to the Pelicans game. This guy's unbelievable. Back-to-back 30-point games. He's the fourth teenager in NBA history to do that. And he has a minute's restriction. Yeah, he's not even 100% healthy.

And if you watched him last night against Stephen Adams. He is in shape now. He's in shape, but he's not fully basketball ready. Ten games. He bullied Stephen Adams in the Post. No. And Stephen Adams is... One of the toughest guys in the league. Yes.

Like from a physical perspective. And look at the quickness from Zion. I can't take my eyes off him when he's on the court. And listen, John Morant has been fantastic. I think he's coming on my radio show tomorrow morning on Fox Sports Radio, John Marant is. So I'll ask him about it. A lot of people say Zion will have no chance because he hasn't played enough games.

I'm telling you, if they get to the playoffs. He was going to get a lot of votes. And just so you know, they have the easiest remaining schedule, the Pelicans, in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have the toughest remaining schedule. So things could line up. Now, Colin, Zion Williamson versus LeBron in the first round of the playoffs. I'm not complaining about it. That would be the greatest thing for the issue.

And Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingrow. Oh, the revenge. Former Lakers. That would be that. Ideally, that's the best playoff series in the West. Maybe the best first round series in a decade or so. That would be incredible. Tomorrow's headlines today.

Who will represent the East in the NBA finals? I'm sure some people will say this is knee-jerk. After watching a great game last night, the headline will be Jay and Silent Brad strike back. Yes, I'm a fan of that silly comedy movie. But Jason Tatum was phenomenal last night. He's been great without Kyrie Irving his entire career. But they got better.

by losing Kyrie Irving. Jalen Brown's having a season. They got three guys, Jalen Brown, Campbell Walker, Jason Tatum, averaging over 20 points a game. Now, everybody says,

all the bucks are being incredible and the best record and everything. That's true. But I just, this comes down to trust. If you talk to anybody in the NBA, who do you trust in a playoff series for Milwaukee?

Janice and... This is what I said. It's about Denver. Yokic is great. If Jamal Murray's not hitting, they got a bunch of guys, Barton, and then average 12 a game.

I'll tell you right now, I trust Gordon Hayward, who's maybe the third or fourth option on the Celtics, more than I do Chris Middleton. If you run back that Raptors series last year against the bucks in the playoffs, Chris Middleton was invisible. 13 points per game. I think he shot 29% on threes.

Like, I know he's an all-star, but the reality is I don't trust Chris Middleton is my second star. Now, Tatum, Hayward, Kemba Walker, we've seen him be clutched since dating back to his college days. Now, listen, Boston has got everything. Don't have a ton of size. Well, that's the question.

How do they defend Janice? Philadelphia and Milwaukee have the big. Definitely. They don't have Al Horford. He's now in Philly. I think they packed the lane and dare them to beat them from three. Maybe Janus has an off series and the Celtics pull it off. Jason McIntyre.

So what are you doing for the big weekend? She's going, Joy is going to Chicago for the All-Star game. Yes. And I'm going to Vegas with Joy, you travel every weekend. You do. You do. How many miles do you? How many miles do on those travels?

Good. Cline my seat. Yes. Nice. And what do you? You do. I'm coaching both of my kids basketball games and then we're going to a little trip for next week with the kids. Well, vacation. Catch me on Instagram and join the sun. Good stuff. I got to read this spot, fellas, guys, gals. Casper's transforming the way we sleep. One snooze at a time. Get 15% off your order. Get a Casper or wave mattress today.

Go to casper.com.com.com.com.com. Get a Casper.com.com. Go to Casper.com.com.com. Joy and I Turn for our number three on the radio side in FS2. Thanks, Mac. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Would True Car shopper save an average of over $3,500 off MSRP, buy smart or drive happier, get TrueCard? By the way, with this Astros controversy, here's the thing.

If you're a Major League baseball hitter, I've sat around a batting cage a few times in my life. If these guys knew the pitches that were coming, do you know what guys would bat? The world's best hitters, they know the pitch that's coming. Like these Astro fans, Greg Tooie should just be ashamed of himself as an astro fan. Who says I'm not? All right. At least you're that. I mean, it's just like, if you know what pitches are coming, of course the owner's like,

it didn't have anything to do with it. You take major league hitters and they know a slider's coming? It's ridiculous. That's why you hide signs because that's the, only chance you have as a pitcher is to move the ball around the plate. It's an obvious blatant competitive advantage. There was just no humility in that press conference yesterday. Like, once you have gotten the punishment from MLB, I mean, how much more trouble can

you get in? Just be, just have some humility about it. Culpability. Yes. Accountability. Self-awareness. Wow. Is Sam there?

He writes for senior NBA writer for the athletic, which according to, you to my sources will own the world in about a year. Sam Amick, the athletic, covered the NBA for 15 years, USA Today before that, and USA Today still. Wait, let me figure it out. He's just athletic now. He used to be at the USA. These guys are all moving around out of the athletic.

It's just gobbling up everybody. Sam, you wrote about the Clippers chemistry. And we saw a story about a month ago. Oh, boy, there's, you know, Kauai load management. it's not sitting well. Let's do a deep dive what you learn, Sam, in regards to Kauai, the load management, the chemistry. What's the truth behind the wall here? Colin, as always, thanks for having me.

You been? My feeling has been going back to when we wrote that piece and then certainly still now is that it's a pretty understandable process that they have gone through, where you have this two collections of players and athletes and men, where the guys who were there before, Kauai and Paul, achieved some pretty special things. Now, you know, eighth seed in the playoffs is not normally called special, but they were a plucky playoff team that was gritty, and they played above their heads.

And honestly, I think the way they competed last year, winning two games against the Warriors in the playoffs, that was the kind of thing that the optics were great. Kauai and Paul definitely were impressed as they figured out what they wanted to do with their futures. but the Lou Williams of the world, Montrez-Harrell, guys like that, Patrick Beverly, you know, they, with good reason, took a ton of pride in the way they had their program built before, and then integrating two big-time superstars and Kauai and Paul, and some of the

unique elements specifically that come with Kauai, which is that because of his physical, you know, condition, which we can't forget, this is medical stuff. These are health problems he has had. He's handled differently. And, you know, early on this year, I do. I think it was kind of there were some growing pains there between those two contingent. I do think they've gotten it together for the most part, and their goal has always been to take the long view here and just make sure that they found enough synergy by the time the playoffs came

around to kind of mesh those two camps and have a title contending team. So last night I'm watching Zion and a little Celtics. I watched the time fascinated with Zion. Before I get to that, let's talk about Jason Tatum, who was spectacular last night, It was spectacular as a rookie. Now, Kyrie's gone. He's spectacular. Again, there was a lot of talk last year.

He's regressed. He's hit a ceiling. And my takeaway is environments matter. And the environment with Kyrie was not ideal. I think Andrew Wiggins will flourish in the Golden State environment. These are young kids. I mean, isn't it fairly clear at this point that Kyrie in Boston, it just didn't work? Oh, 100%.

I mean, and not only that, but some of those themes obviously have traveled with him. to Brooklyn in terms of the way that kind of what comes with Kyrie. And I think my thing would be if you're Jason Tatum, if you're Jalen Brown, and you were going to set the storyline last season internally, which is to say that you kind of felt, you know, maybe it wasn't personal, but you felt like Kyrie's style and his presence was holding you back. Well, if that's the way you're going to frame it, then you've got to deliver on the back end when he's not around anymore.

And last night, Jason in particular, delivers him. in the kind of way that he never has in his career. And big stage, you know, really good Clippers team, nationally televised game, just exciting stuff. And whether he's, you know, dunking on somebody's head late or hitting that stepback three or blocking Lou Williams as he tried to get to the cup, Jason was incredible. And really, that was one of those moments where you go, wow, okay, like is he going to be their new franchise centerpiece?

Because, you know, last night he certainly looked like it. Well, tell you what, between Tatum Hayward, Kimball Walker and Jalen Brown, you got four guys, who can score 20. Now, Milwaukee's got the best player. But if, you know, Milwaukee, I don't trust Chris Middleton in the playoffs. You can make an argument if the playoffs is about depth last year, you know, Toronto, depth of starters. You know, is there four teams in the league?

Is there one team in the league outside of Boston that has four guys that you wouldn't be surprised if they dropped 24? It's a pretty unique team in terms of depth of scoring. No, it is for sure. I mean, Toronto's got its balance, and when they're healthy, they're incredibly deep. So they come to mind. You know, Miami's a different landscape, you know, once you get past Jimmy and Bam out of bio, and, you know, to a lesser degree, Drogich, you know, they don't have that kind of weapon,

you know, weapons to throw at you. The Milwaukee thing, I mean, it doesn't matter how dominant they are. They are going to likely finish with the historic season in the 70, you know, range from a win standpoint. But they're going to have to exercise the demon of the playoffs of last year where not only did you lose against Toronto, you got swept, you know, after winning the first two. And that's the type of thing that as far as deciding what we think of that group, you know, that's the kind of college rolling over. College is not answering the bell from an adjustment standpoint. Mike Boodenholzer, you still look back at that and say, how did that happen? And that's what they're going to have to reconcile.

But in the here and the now, I do think, and this is kind of the flip side of it, I definitely still think we're sleeping on that group because Middleton, I've been skeptical at times of his ability to be that second guy. I mean, I'll say this, he cannot play better given his God-given abilities than he is. The guy has had a wonderful year, and he's a lights out shooter. And these are not kind of second-tier co-star numbers. These are big-time co-star legit numbers. Sam Amick joining us, senior NBA writer of the Athletic. All right, I'm on the Zion train.

I loved him at Duke. I think he's got that unique ability to be confident yet humble. I think he's got self-awareness. I think he's a leader, not a follower. He showed that at Duke where he said, I want to come back for a second year. Of course I'm going to play following the injury. There's nothing I don't like about him. Sam, you're in NBA arenas every night.

What do the sources say? What do the scouts say? What do the people say on Zion who is putting up historically good numbers? in his first, you know, 10 games. Yeah, I mean, as you would imagine, I mean, there is kind of, you know, crazy over this guy as the fans are, as the media is. The elephant in the room question is certainly, no pun intended,

just his size and the ability to stay healthy. You know, I watch a game like last night against Oklahoma City, and, you know, you still see some of the youth. You know, he had that bad turnover late. It was a big deal. And then, but specifically there was one possession, Colin where he goes up to grab his own offensive rebound and nobody's got a quicker second jump that he does on the planet.

But his second jump, what struck me was this kind of jarring reminder of his size. And he jumped over Stephen Adams and it was special to watch, but it still just looked photoshopped from the standpoint of the size of his frame. Like, what are you, are you kidding me? Like, there's so much bulk. And I know the Pelicans have pushed back hard. against the idea that he's got to lose more weight. And I can't pretend to be a physiologist, a doctor, a trainer, any of the above.

I'm not an expert in that field. As somebody who just generally likes seeing athletes, you know, stay healthy and maximize their talent, I just hope that he can put together a 20-year career. And if he does, he is a Hall of Famer. It's just to me it's a no-brainer. Yeah, I mean, he reminds me a little of Carl Malone, a little of Sean Kemp, a little of Blake Griffin, and a little bit of Charles Barkley with the butt, the base, where he can push guys around.

All of those four all-stars. So to me, he's an all-star player with a superstar name style. Duke clearly helped him get noticed. I don't know if he'll be a superstar in terms of titles, but Barclay was a superstar and didn't win titles. Marino was a superstar. Some guys have it. There's an it quality to him, Sam.

I know this. when the NFL season is over, I turn into heavy NBA rotation every night. I watched this kid last night. I chose it over the Clippers who were in my hometown over Boston. I just wanted to see the kid play. And if I'm the average NBA fan, there's something there that Adam Silver has got to be looking at his chops. Oh, yeah. He gets me to a television.

That's all I know. I'm with you, Colin. I'm sitting in my house last night and to give you my setup. I got a bunch of spots in my house to watch games. but I have a projector that gives you the huge picture on the wall, and then you put one game there, and then I had the laptop in front of me with the second game, and after about five minutes of watching Clippers Celtics,

I kind of had this epiphany, like, what am I doing? I got to switch these. Zion's got to be on the big screen, and I guarantee you Adam Silver loves here and all of this stuff because ratings have been down in the first half of the season. This is, for them, I think, a really exciting way to go into the All-Star break. with the healthy Zion Williamson,

with a lot of these teams that we talked about parody a lot in the summertime and all these different dynamic duos, we thought that was going to generate interest. I think early on it generated a little bit of confusion among the fans about, I don't have a villain and a hero anymore with the Warriors and the Cavs, things like that. Like, I think people have had to figure out who's who and what's what, but I think it's evolving.

I think it should be a fun second half of the year. Senior NBA writer for the athletic, It's worth the subscription. Sam Amick. You have a great all-star weekend. Thanks, man. Thank you, Colin. Appreciate you.

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A deductible may apply. Joy Taylor with the news. No. No. No. Turn on the News. This is the Herdline News. Juby's. Jubries hasn't announced yet whether he will play a 20th NFL season this year.

That's interesting. But he does know the end is coming sooner rather than later. Man, it's been such a huge part of me. And while football is not my identity by any stretch, right? There's still a little bit of a scary feeling that at some point you're going to have to walk away from the game, right? And it's not going to be able to play it anymore. It's not just to wake up one day and you know that it's, okay, it's not. longer, right? It's something you struggle with for a while, right? You struggle with the thought

of walking away. But also, listen, man, I know, I believe in my heart, man, the next chapter for me is going to be even better. That moment when you retire is really something that sticks out to me. Like, I remember when my brother came and told me that he was going to retire. What was that like? I mean, I was just sitting in his house and he just walked in the room and was like, hey, I think I'm going to be done. Like, I think I'm going to retire after this year. And it was the middle of the season. And I was like, okay, well, how do you feel about it?

And he was like, I mean, I just, I just think it's time. And like, you know, Jason was very, very good with his money. And he obviously had an incredible career. You obviously wanted to win a championship. But it was at that point with the dolphins, like, that wasn't an option for the next year. So he just felt like it was time. And it was the right decision for him. But it's such an experience to walk away from something that's been your identity for decades at a time.

Like how he's saying it's not his identity. You know, he does have a family and all this other things. But when you play on that level for that long to then come to grips with the fact that you're not going to do that every day is dramatic. And then on top of it, you're considering that whatever it is that you move into, whether it's, you know, broadcasting or whatever, there's going to be nothing like the experience of waking up every day and going into a locker room, getting around a group of men and competing and then going out in front of thousands of people to then do what you've worked so hard on. It's just it is a big moment to come to grips with.

There's a void for a lot of pro athletes. That's why it's rare. You know, Brady's been pretty smart about this. I think the late Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Brady, you can kind of see, about a year or two before they go. They're just starting to position themselves. Because it's so all-encompassing. When you play a sport, you really can't be in it 75%.

Right. So, I mean, like Brady, as soon as the year ends, he does a lot of social. And then once the season starts, his social is Sunday, 12 seconds on Instagram, going LFG. Right. Which he probably has someone put together and he just approves. Yeah. So it is hard.

To be great at anything, you have to be 98%. all in. I think you have to just be 100% all. And everyone around you just supports that that's what it is that you do. But when it comes to sports, there's just, there is no alternative to that level of competition and crowds and energy. And Kyle Lowry said the other day, like what it feels like to be a champion, there is no high like it.

Like there's no replacement for that feeling. So it is. It's a big decision to just retire. We talk about it like flimsy, whatever. You know, like Manning retires, Phillip Riversford retire. It's a big decision to make. So it's well known that the on-court incident between Kevin Durant and Jemond Green last season contributed to Katie's departure from the Warriors. And now he's getting a little more detail about when wrong.

He said that he started isolating himself after that incident because he felt like the team swept it under the rug and never talked to him about it because that discussion never happened. He just decided to focus on himself and his game. I think we've talked about this incident a lot, especially when it happens. It was way personal. I felt like it was so, it was so, I mean, to say it was ill-advised by Jamon Green is underselling how ridiculous it was. I'm very surprised that the team didn't handle it the way that it did. Because as you said earlier, like there's certain things you can't come back from once you say to someone. That was one of them.

I mean, even like it just, in intimate relationships, there's things you can't come back from. Co-workers are things you can't come back from. But in a situation as volatile and emotional as the competition and scrutiny that they were under to do that so openly. And for the Warriors not to understand, and they did know, I know this because I have it sourced inside the organization. They knew, and this is not a knock. Kevin's just more sensitive. So you take a pretty sensitive kid who kind of feels a little bit like an outsider because it's Steph's team. And then Draymond says, go read yourself what he says.

You got to repair that damn. You got to repair that damage fast. And everyone knows that that's Katie's personality. Personally, even if he wasn't that personality, why wouldn't you address it? Like even if he was somebody that you know let stuff roll off of him, that's such a dramatic public situation. You would think that they would take the time to make sure that that is solved and everyone is cool and then look into it from Katie's camp. Like, okay, he's saying he's okay, but is he really okay? like do we need to do more work.

It just seems like such an oversight, such so out of character for the warriors that they let that happen. Well, and it also, it is what we said it would be. It was a bigger deal than anybody. Everybody kept saying, you know, they patched it up. And you and I kept saying, those words aren't really patch up words.

No, you have to do some work. Oh, it's not a, that's sleeping on the couch for two months. I mean, that's, that those words, go read them. I'm not saying them. Those words sting. If, yeah. I mean, I'm not getting over that, but I'm petty. So finally, Damian Lillard strained his groin on Wednesday and will not be able to participate in the All-Star game this weekend.

Devin Booker will take his place as a reserve on Team LeBron. This is Booker's first All-Star game appearance, very well-deserved. And he will also take Lillard's place in the three-point contests. I'm very excited for the slam dunk contest in three-point contest. Who's the leader in the slam dunk contest? Who's going to be the big star? Well, the slam dunk contest is Pat Connettton, Aaron Gordon, Dwight Howard, and Derek Jones, Jr. Dwight Howard.

Obviously, I'm going for Derek Jones Jr. Heat fan. Dwight Howard is interesting, though. He has had a shocking year. He deserves a lot of credit. He really does. He does. He has had a... Because he's always just been goofy.

I mean, he was great, and then he was hurt, and then he was goofy. But he's become less goofy and more productive. Yes. And he's fit back in with the layers. Which is a huge question mark for their chemistry this year. Pops off the bench, gives you numbers. They've got bigs. Their issue is going to be, do they have, to me, Kyle Cusman's got to play well in the post.

Danny Green will be fine. They got to have a fourth guy that can hit a three. I think they're going to have to do what every great team does that has some spots missing in the playoffs. A role player is going to have to be big every night and maybe not the same one throughout the series. Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Live News.

It's Valentine's Day coming up next. We give out gifts. Our favorite athletes should receive for their Valentine's Day. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Got plans this weekend. Be prepared with a windshield wiper that handles anything. Michelin Endurance XD Silicon Wiper Blades Available at Walmart last two times longer than other blades.

It's our best for last. Enjoy Valentine's Day is a day of giving gifts to the ones you love. So we thought we've got some sports figures we talk about a lot on the show. And what would be the perfect Valentine's gift for the sports stars in our life? Well, Colin, let's do Joelle and Beat and Ben Simmons. What should you get them for Valentine's Day? All right, Goulet, do we have some... Oh, God, that awful music again.

That's bad. Okay, Embedon Simmons, I think flowers, because flowers are the perfect consolation after a breakup, and they're not going to last. In two months, they're going to be broken up because Ben Simmons, in nine games without Embedd this year, averages eight assists, nine and a half rebounds, and 22 points. So let's give them flowers.

That's a beautiful consolation prize when people break up. This music is so boogie nights. Yeah. What gifts should the Lakers get this Valentine's Day? How about the oldest team in the NBA, a case of insurer? Because whereas the Denver Nuggets have one player over 30, the Lakers average age is 29 and a half. Boogie Cousins out.

Anthony Davis missed seven games. This is an old, old team. You know what they call a 30-year-old on the Lakers? Hey, kid, a case of insure as they age. What kind of couch life are you envisioning getting someone insurer for Valentine's Day? What gifts should Russell Westbrook get this Valentine's Day? That's easy. A box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get with either one.

Forrest Gump. So he's shooting 23% on three-pointers. I don't even know what to say to that. His average is like 31%. And the Rockets are 5 and 9 in their 14 biggest games. And so chocolates are unpredictable. I always go with a dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate.

The square dark chocolate. I don't like the nougat. I'm not a nougat fan either. You know, I like, I need some nuts in there. I'm dark chocolate. I always go to a little square dark chocolate once almost always nuts or like fudge. Yeah.

Forrest Gump, low-key, very romantic movie. Yeah. Colin, what gift should Dak Prescott get this Valentine's Day? I was thinking about this. How about a trip to Mexico? Because it worked for Zique. You got a new contract. And also, remember Zeeke went, got a new deal.

he went to Mexico, and it's a much-needed vacation after all this contract talk. It's gone on for 12 months. He needs to go down there, and the food is spectacular, the waves, the weather's beautiful in Mexico. Okay. What about Baker Mayfield? What does he get this Valentine's Day? Well, you know he tends to talk a little too much, so I thought we'd get him candy conversation hearts where you can only have three words.

Smart. Like no comment or no comment. Or like on to Cincinnati? Natty. That's right. Yeah. So he talks too much. So if you get him candy hearts and he can only have two or three words,

he won't get in nearly as much trouble. Very thoughtful. All right, Kyle Shanahan. What does Kyle Shanahan get on Valentine's Day? I think we both like Kyle Shanahan. We do. But he has had a couple of, how do we say this, stinkers in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl?

So I thought we'd get him Cologne to cover up the stench of being outscored 46-0 in his last two Super Bowl. in the fourth quarter. The Kyle Shanahan Cologne. Cologne is always a nice gift. It is a nice gift. All right. Finally, the goat. What should Tom Brady get for Valentine's Day? Well, you've really got to think this one out. Yeah. What do you get someone who has everything? How about a heart-shaped card with a message inside? Roses are red, violets are blue, come play in L.A. so I can see you. So he'll be right. I mean, that's, that's poetry for the ages. It really is. You know, Manhattan Beach, where I live is not very far from the stadium. Yeah. And it's very athletic.

And you're basically a part of the Chargers front office at this point. Yes, I am. I am. They listen to me a lot. By the way, Rangers, Blue Jackets in today's Discover card key matchup. Discover matches all the cash back you earn. End of your first year. 95% of places in the U.S. take it. Discover.com slash yes. Limitations apply. Doug Gottlie, Rashad Jennings, Jason McIntyre, and Sam Amick stopped by today. We got into this big conversation that took over America.

Even the Delta Airlines CEO is confused. So there was a video out there virally where somebody, a woman was leaning back all the way Max lean back recline. So two inches. And the guy, it was the last row of seat and the guy started banging on her chair and somebody taped it. And he just started banging on it. And so I am not, I'm a recliner, but a subtle recliner. Joy is you recline as far as you want. I go the whole two inches, yes.

Okay. And the Delta CEO today addressing it, even he said, you know, well, you should ask the person. Well, that just creates another fight. So what if you ask me and I say, no, don't recline? That's just a- It's absurd. I'm telling you, I have flown like 14 of the last 16 weekends. I've never had a person ask me if they can recline into my space. Now, but do you fly first class? No. I fly first class when someone. is flying me somewhere, like a company is flying me somewhere. If I buy my own seat,

I am not flying first class. So when you I don't got it like that. You don't want? I do not have it like that. Sorry. I do not have it like that. It comes out. I don't got it like that. I cannot fly first class every time I fly. And it's fine. I don't mind flying coach. I don't have long legs. So I'm usually fine. But my back does hurt on these flights.

So I recline it. And the person reclines into my space. It's fine. The seats recline. Now that said, in that situation where if I'm in the last, the second to last row and I know that person can't recline, I wouldn't recline my seat. However, if you chose to punch the back of my seat, you can deal with the repercussions of whatever I choose to do. Well, I would go, if I was a steward or a stewardess, what is it? What's the proper term?

A flight attendant. You know, a flight attendant. I would go and say, well, you're going to meet police on the tarmac and this is the last time you fly for the next nine years. Yeah. I think you've got to be pretty dumb to punch a seat. Like, that's just a dumb guy. I don't know who that guy is, but.

It's not, I don't think anyone's on his side. I was once on a, sorry to interrupt you, I was once on a flight where police did meet us. Oh, no, no, like police cars. What happened? So I was on a flight. Don't remember the airline. Yes, I do. It was Northwestern airline. And I was on a flight, and a guy got on and he had his pants on, not only inside out, but backwards. And there was a dark-haired, attractive stewardess, a flight attendant, and she was not about to deal with his crap. And he was just goofy, and he made a move toward the cockpit.

And she grabbed him, sat him down. And all I know is when we landed in Minneapolis, there were lights all around. And the flight landed and a bunch of guys in jackets storm the plane. She was a tough lady. Yeah, in general, just behave. Yeah, but his pants were not only inside out. They were inside out and backwards, which is a warning sign. He's on meth. That's a pretty good sign he's going to unravel at 33,000 feet. Joy, have a great NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago. Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast, And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite.

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Robert Smygel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Clivert Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.

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