Best of The Herd

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd: "Best of The Herd"

Date: June 8, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd
Co-host: (Uncredited, likely Fox Sports analyst)
Notable Guests: Alexi Lalas, Al Harrington

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Overview

This episode of The Herd centers on three major sports topics driving headlines:

1. The NBA Finals showdown, with a focus on the New York Knicks, their surprisingly likable chemistry, and Karl-Anthony Towns’ emergence;
2. U.S. Men’s National Team’s outlook heading into World Cup week and their promising performance in a recent friendly against Germany;
3. Major NFL storylines, including the Dallas Cowboys' defensive rebuild, Drake Maye’s future, and the Bears’ potential stadium move out of Chicago.

The episode’s tone is classic Colin: energetic, opinionated, with insightful guests offering real-world sports wisdom. Cowherd dives into team dynamics, player development, and the evolving expectations of both fans and franchises.

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NBA Finals: The Knicks’ Unexpected Magic

The Knicks as America's Team (03:06–08:25)

• Knicks up in NBA Finals: Knicks led by double digits in both games against the Spurs and won—Cowherd predicts they'll win the series.
• TV Ratings Boom: NBA Finals up 90% vs. last year, attributed to the star power and storylines in play.
• Team Construction & Chemistry:
  • The Knicks aren’t "hype" or a squad of mega stars—they’re “complementary stars that play very well together, very cohesive.” (03:38)
  • Built smart: “[Jalen] Brunson’s on a rare NBA team-friendly deal. It’s a roster of high IQ, high EQ, not a lot of temperamental players.” (04:13)
• Fun & Rootability: “To me this is the easiest New York City championship level team to root for... This team's hard to root against. It's also really fun basketball.” (05:24)
• Contrast with past Knicks: Old Van Gundy/Riley teams had “awful offense... boring to watch unless you were from New York.” (05:45)
• Memorable Quote:

  “Spike Lee was more interesting than half the players. This team’s different. They’re the best fourth-quarter team ever.” (06:19)

• Jalen Brunson’s Reflection (07:59):

  “The amount of love I’ve gotten from this fan base and from the city since day one... I’m so honored to be able to put Europe across my chest... but as a team, as us inside the locker room, we have more work to do.”

Wembanyama and Patience with Basketball Prodigies (16:28–21:23)

• Culture of Patience/Impatience:
  • Football: Rookies are allowed to develop; basketball: instant results demanded. (16:15)
  • Wembanyama (“Wemby”) comes under scrutiny for his youth, but most great centers took years to mature.
• Youth vs. Experience:
  • Knicks are “old, experienced, and wise”; Spurs are “young and it shows.” (20:21)
• Al Harrington on Knicks, Wemby, and Mike Brown (57:11–66:04):
  • On the Garden: “The way the Garden is set up is like a stage... You got to bring your A game or you're going to hear about it.” (57:11)
  • Karl-Anthony Towns’ transformation: “He's matured in these playoffs... bought into the team concept... almost playing like a point center.” (58:00)
  • Experience matters: Knicks’ composure in late-game situations versus the “youthful ignorance”/inexperience of the Spurs. (59:31)
  • On Mike Brown’s resurgence: “The fact he’s had that much experience and coached under those coaches, he was just the perfect fit at the right time for this team.” (61:32)
  • On Wembanyama’s future: “Wait till he's 25... he's going to continue to get better year after year.” (63:55)

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World Cup Week: The U.S. Team’s Promise and Reality

USMNT vs. Germany – A Turning Point (08:25–12:42)

• Initial Reaction: Early goal given up was “ugly” and “tentative goalkeeping,” but “for the rest of the game, we actually went toe to toe” with Germany. (08:56)
• Statistical Encouragement:
  • Won possession (54%–46%) and “had five times as many corners, 10 to 2, than Germany.”
  • “We had a great goal, went toe to toe after the first two minutes.”
• Cowherd's Hopeful Analysis: “I was very, very encouraged. My entire life, when we played teams like Germany, we only counterattack... This was the most aggressive we’ve been.” (09:56)
• Co-host’s optimism: “The response [to the early goal] said a lot about the character and grit of this team.” (12:11)

Soccer Segment: Alexi Lalas on USMNT and World Cup Hopes (42:42–53:16)

• “Vibes” and Maturity:
  • “Much more positive vibes... still some concerns. You let in a goal right off the bat off of a set piece... but if you're going to do it, do it in the friendly before the World Cup starts.” (42:42 – Lalas)
• Possession as Growth:
  • “This is a... evolution... we're pinging it around... there is an association with possession and maturity or evolution.” (44:34)
• On Team Expectations and Pulisic’s Role:
  • “America, you should expect your team to win this group... Christian Pulisic... doesn't need to be [loud]; he just needs to go on the field and take players on.” (45:58)
• Personality & Grit:
  • “I think we have evolved in terms of the way that we play. I just hope we haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater.” (49:31)
  • On the coach: “Mauricio Pochettino has rebalanced this team... some tough love that this team needed.” (49:56)
• Hidden Gem:
  • “Chris Richards, who's a center back, I think he's going to be really, really important...” (51:59)
• Goalkeeping Question:
  • “I think it's going to be Matt Fries. By the way, if that happens he would be the first Harvard man to start for the U.S.” (52:39)
• Memorable Moment:

  “Be irrational. Be proudly irrational this summer... you are a full on, full fledged American fan, baby. Let's go. Let's light this candle.” (53:16 – Lalas to Cowherd)

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NFL: Dallas Cowboys, Drake Maye, Bears Stadium Drama, & More

Cowboys Find a New Defensive Identity (21:28–25:35)

• Defensive Overhaul:
  • “It's annoying... seeing it in practice every day... it's good to go against. It's very tricky.” (21:49 – CD Lamb on new defense)
  • New defensive coordinator from rival Philadelphia; top draft pick Caleb Downs leads improved secondary.
  • Colin: “It takes one off-season to completely overhaul one side of the ball. So, I think there’s a real argument if they’re healthy... Dallas could be an 11-win team.” (24:19)
• Soft Early Schedule:
  • “They don't face a lot of elite offenses.” (25:00)

AFC Challenges: Drake Maye and Tougher Roads (26:03–27:57)

• Drake Maye Watch:
  • Maye’s next season predicted to be tougher; facing elite QBs all year (Herbert, Mahomes, Allen).
  • Cowherd: “They’ll be an underdog in a third of their schedule.” (26:41)

Rams’ Added Power: Miles Garrett (27:59–29:58)

• Rams Super Bowl Favorites:
  • Miles Garrett adds pass rush. “It’s going to be hard to double him. The advantage is going to be a hard double.” (28:31)
  • Defensive front stacked—opportunity for big sack numbers.

Chicago Bears Stadium Saga (29:59–35:46)

• Potential Move to Indiana:
  • “The board of directors for the Chicago Bears has said, yeah, I think we're gonna move this thing right across the border to Hammond, Indiana. It’s not ideal and it’s not totally done...” (29:59)
  • "Change is almost always good. It really is... But this is just the reality of it. You get into these big cities, land’s a fortune.” (31:50)
  • Indiana governor: “That would be obtuse to think it would be the Hammond Bears. It's the Chicago Bears.” (33:06)

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Other Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Prodigies and Media Pressure:
  “Even in the NBA, MJ was a prodigy... They had massive failures for many years, folks. Beethoven was a child prodigy; his first, his best symphony was his fifth. He got swept in a couple of the first four.” (17:58)
• On suspensions/gambling controversy (67:12):
  “My question is, what do we do to young people who make really big mistakes?... He made a huge mistake, and he's gonna pay for it one way or another.”
• On NBA coaching:
  "Mike Brown being around those [elite] guys, he’s learned so much... he was just the perfect fit at the right time for this team. You see that we’re clicking at all cylinders.” (61:32 – Harrington)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------|------------------------| | NBA Finals – Knicks’ Rise & Style | 03:06–08:25 | | USMNT & Germany Friendly Analysis | 08:25–12:42 | | NFL: Cowboys’ Defensive Overhaul | 21:28–25:35 | | Drake Maye & AFC Quarterback Gauntlet | 26:03–27:57 | | Bears Stadium Move Discussion | 29:59–35:46 | | Soccer Deep Dive w/ Alexi Lalas | 42:42–53:16 | | Al Harrington on Knicks/Finals/Wemby | 57:11–66:04 |

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Takeaways

• The New York Knicks’ Finals run is drawing nationwide attention with its team-first, high-IQ approach—a rare and genuine underdog New York story.
• The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team is showing signs of real growth, confidence, and evolving style—finally not just counterattacking, but playing mature, possession-based soccer.
• NFL teams like the Cowboys and Rams are evolving through focused offseason moves; meanwhile, legal and economic realities are forcing painful but necessary changes, like the potential Bears move.
• Guests like Alexi Lalas and Al Harrington bring lived expertise and colorful anecdotes, grounding Cowherd’s analysis in tangible experience.

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This episode delivers Colin’s classic blend of storytelling, statistics, and strong perspectives—balancing optimism for American sports with sharp, pragmatic insights into what separates contenders from pretenders.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an I Heart Podcast.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. World Cup Week kicking off today in the Herd. We're live. Wherever you may be, however, and wherever you're listening, thanks for making us part of your day. A lot of choices out there. We appreciate it. Starting today, second hour, top of next hour, we'll give you great moments in the history of our best players. The World cup, the greatest moments, the greatest saves staff. Put it together. It's great. So tonight's Game three of the NBA Finals. Spurs have led the first two games by double figures and have lost both. And so New York, I think, is going to win the series. You know, you go on the road when the first two. But it's interesting, the ratings have been unbelievable. 90% over the 2025 NBA Finals opener. And we all know in America whose playing matters. Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers in a World Series. Big ratings. Rory McIlroy down the stretch on a Sunday at the Masters. Big ratings. Duke in the Final four, the championship game, big numbers. But this New York team is different. They're not hype. It's not mega stars everywhere. Yet they're incredibly great television. They didn't buy this championship. Jalen Brunson's on a rare NBA team friendly deal. It's a roster of complementary stars that play very well together, very cohesive. And New York fans may be obnoxious, but the team isn't. I mean, the next front office built a group of players, three from Villanova, high iq, high eq, not a lot of temperamental players. Some guys playing a little over their skis. I mean, I like Cat, he's dominating Wemby, that's a little bit of a surprise. But Josh Hart, og, Mikhail Bridges, high character. Guys, to me this is the easiest New York City championship level team to root forever. I like the Jeter Yankees, but I understood where a lot of people weren't rooting for them. This team's hard to root against. It's also really fun basketball. A lot of motion, a lot of passing. They're unbelievable in the fourth again, they fall behind. They take all the body blows. They're never out of games. Yes, the winning streak makes it even more compelling. But you go back to the Jeff Van Gundy, Pat Riley teams, which we were told were fascinating. Those teams were awful offensively and they were boring to watch unless you were from New York. I mean, those teams, by the way, were 25th in offensive rating, bad in the fourth quarter. I got all the numbers, fights. They tackled better than the Jets. Those weren't great watches. You were. I mean, Spike Lee was more interesting than half the players. This team's different. They're the best fourth quarter team ever. Their unbelievable offensive net rating. They do everything well. They don't shoot a ton of threes, but when they shoot them, they hit them. They don't like Mikhail Bridges, rarely misses a free throw. They're creative, they're great late, they're clutch. The passing, the motion. This is fun to watch. We were force fed the Van Gundy Riley teams and told, oh, some believable television. No. Jordan's Bulls. Unbelievable tv. Shaq and Kobe. That's unbelievable tv. The Knicks were. It was like bringing out the blocking sleds. It just wasn't that. That fun. So. And this is a really cohesive team and cohesive teams are fun to watch. It's got a collegiate feel to it. So I gotta tell you, great offense, great late, underappreciated star. They're gonna win this series. Even though they've trailed by double digits in both games, they. They're clearly getting more quality looks offensively and more quality looks without as much effort. They look old and stable, experienced and stable and wise. And the spurs look and feel in big moments really young because you know, they are. Here's Jalen Brunson on what it's like to be part of this Knicks team. The amount of love I've gotten from this fan base and from the city since. Since day one. I think it's grown over the years, but I'm so thankful. I'm so honored to be able to put Europe across my chest 27 years since the last Finals game in this building. I know our fan base is really excited, as they should be, but as a team, as us Inside the locker room, we have more work to do.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

All right.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

World Cup, Our first game. United States men's national team. It's Friday against Paraguay. Cannot wait. Over the weekend. Saturday, team friendly in Chicago. A city that doesn't get a World cup game. But what an environment. And we lost to Germany 2:1. And listen, soccer fans in America are in two groups, delusional to the point they think they're going to win every World cup or the most negative people in the entire world. I'm neither. I'm always cautiously optimistic. I'm not. Sky is falling. I'm not. Sky's the limit. My take is sunny day, blue skies, there's some clouds over there at about 30% chance to rain. So Saturday, two minutes in, we give up a really ugly goal to Germany. Germany, seventh. Best odds to win the World Cup. They're better than us. And it was a bad goal, and we looked disorganized on the back, and it was two minutes in and we fell behind. And it was tentative goalkeeping. But here's the thing. All that avalanche of negativity was kind of ridiculous because for the rest of the game, we actually went toe to toe. We won the possession battle, which we almost never do against elite European teams. 54% possession to 46. That's like time of possession in football. It matters. It tells you a story. We had more shots. We had five times as many corners, 10 to 2 than Germany. We had opportunities. We had a great goal. We went toe to toe after the first two minutes and again by intermission, by break, there's some substitutions, but I know what I saw. And it was, oh, we had a spectacular goal. Got close two other times. I worry about the back end. It was a really, really ugly goal. But if you look at the box score of this, it would be like a football game where we lost the turnover battle in the game, but we won yards in time of possession. And I was very, very encouraged my entire life. When we played teams like Germany, we only counterattack. It's cautious, conservative, and try to sneak out a late win. And the goaltender has to be Superman. Bring the cape. Yeah. Our goalkeeping is okay by our standards, poor. We got all sorts of talent, though, and I thought it was the most aggressive we've been. You know, you can tell a lot of times we always say, styles make fights. You know, you can tell sometimes if you watch Conor McGregor in his prime, he was the best fighter, and he knew he was the best fighter. You were trying to get to the next round against him. We're aggressive and we should be and we don't have to be conservative. So my takeaway, Tyler Adams said it after is we can go toe to toe with teams like Germany. I really believe that it's the moment of the game, you know, to concede

[Alexi Lalas]

that early in a game like this is always going to make it difficult. But the character we show, the, the energy, the resilience. I mean, guys were going at it like it was a World cup final and I think that's what we wanted to see.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I'm not going to go Kenny Atkinson of the Cavs and say we analytically won this thing. But there were signs we weren't just counter attacking. We had a. It's like we gave up a really early touchdown. We got beat on the back end. It looked a little disorganized. You clean it up, you play again in less than a week. Paraguay on Friday. J Mac, I am staying positive. I want to be glass half full guy because I watched it and I thought that's a pretty good outing. That's a pretty good performance.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Yeah, I texted you. I was kind of disappointed early with the giving up the goal in the first two minutes, but the response to me said a lot about the character and grit of this team. I love what I saw from Robinson and Dest. I think those might have been our best two players on Saturday. Yeah, overall, Colin, I'm very optimistic about Paraguay. I will be betting the game here. In short order, we're going to win that game. It's worst case draw. But I like what I saw from our team and I feel pretty good.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

All right, so game three is tonight and it is a chance. I actually think it's going to be really competitive again. The spurs have led by double digits in the first two games. Alexi Lawless is joining us one hour from now. His thoughts on what he watched over the weekend. Live in Chicago, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.

[Al Harrington]

And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

That's right. You can now watch the Odd couple live on YouTube every day.

[Al Harrington]

All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Just search Odd Couple FSR.

[Al Harrington]

Check us out on YouTube and subscribe

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I hate to say it, but I

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

don't trust much of anything.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It's the rage bait.

[Colin Cowherd]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

We got clear facts.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Maybe we could calm down a little.

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NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. All right, WEMBY season on the line tonight. Here's what's interesting about Our how patient we are with our football culture and how impatient we are with our basketball culture. Take Fernando Mendoza. He's older than Wemby and he's yet to play a pro football game. Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos, I think he got drafted the year. Was it after Wemby or before? After Wemby. He's four years older and we're still like, give Bo Nix time. Let's be patient. Wemby's 22. Our football culture, you have to go to college for three years. Most of the guys go for four years. Some guys go five, especially with nil. Yet we're really patient when they're rookies or second year players. Basketball culture is, let's get them into the association. Let's go one and done. Let's go. So don't be surprised if Magic Johnson has a final so bad. At one point in his early career, he was called tragic Johnson or Jordan. Couldn't get refined enough for the right coach, didn't win until year seven. Or LeBron James. I mean, he went to a finals, got swept by San Antonio, went to Miami and got humiliated as a favorite by Dallas and then added layers to his game. We said this all year about Wemby. You said it, I said it. Offensively, he's not there yet. He's not refined yet. Defensively, he's unbelievable. I would have voted him MVP. I mean, even in this series, he's averaging 27 a game and we're crushing him because he's had bad turnovers. He's looked young. But it should be noted, many of the great centers, he's 7 foot 4 and his body isn't fully developed yet. Many of the great centers, Jokic, Shaq, Russell, Akeem, Moses Malone was a two time mvp. They were moving people with their body. I mean, they may have been seven, seven foot one. They were massive physical men. Wemby's a little more Ralph Sampson, a little more Sam Bowie, that you can get under him. And if you beat him to a spot, you can even be the size of OG or Josh Hart or somebody that's 6568-69 and you can give him trouble. You can move him off his spot. So it's just. The reality is we're not terribly patient with our young basketball prodigies. And you know, Even in the NBA, MJ was a prodigy, right? Like LeBron was. Magic was. They had massive failures for many years, folks. Beethoven was a child prodigy. His first, his best symphony was his fifth. He got swept in a couple of the first four. I mean, he couldn't. He was bad. Top of the key. I mean, he just. Beethoven, you couldn't trust him with the ball up top. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. Wemby's great. Look at his numbers in the series. And he's getting. Everybody's like, oh, he is a liability. He's had some really bad moments late in these games. 22. Next best player is 21. Dylan Harper's 20. They look young because they are young. And the Knicks are old and experienced and these guys have been playing together for years. And Cats playing the greatest series of his life. Here's Wemby over the weekend on these finals.

[Al Harrington]

We need to capitalize and actually use all the efforts we did because it felt like we did a lot of. We did a lot of things wrong. But we also were relentless and kept pushing, but kind of like wasted that effort, even though I know it's not wasted, because our lessons are learned and I know we're not going to make the mistakes of the past again. But in a moment like this, we need to make these things matter.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Yeah, they. That game over the, you know, this game, when you watched it Friday, the takeaway was, oh, they got them. Oh, they don't. That's why this is the youngest finals team since the Blazers. And that Blazers team fell behind two nothing as well. It's a big stage, you know, at least in basketball, unlike football, you know, hockey, basketball, baseball, you can have some do overs, seven games scheduled. So I think the spurs will play really well tonight. But I was watching in the second quarter of game, and I mean, San Antonio was given. I mean, it was everything they had. They were playing well, they were shooting better. And you look up and you're like, yeah, Nick's Knicks lead or trail by one. It's like, yeah, it kind of feels like a Knicks series. It kind of feels like a Knick series. They're just a bit wiser, more intense, little more physical. Never look frenetic. That's how it looks to me. J. Mac with the news.

[Al Harrington]

No, no, no, turn on the news.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

This is the Herd line news.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

All right, Colin, let's start with the Dallas Cowboys. Obviously revamped defense in the off season, adding Caleb Downs. Listen, the group couldn't get any worse last year. Dead last in the NFL, allowing over 30 points per game. But hey, CD Lamb, he's seen these guys live here. He has. Here's what he has to say about the new Cowboys defense.

[Al Harrington]

It's annoying. It's been annoying to prepare against, but obviously seeing it in practice every day, I mean, it's kind of unique just seeing different guys communicate and being able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. I mean, it's good to go against. It's very tricky.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Interesting that they stole the defensive coordinator from the Philadelphia Eagles, Christian Parker. He was their secondary coach. Remember, the secondary was amazing in Philly. So you steal a division rivals defensive coach, you draft maybe the best secondary prospect in the draft. And Caleb Downs, you spend two other picks on defenders, you bolster Rashan Gary in the offseason college, I mean, there's a world where we're sleeping on Dallas.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Well, yeah, and I think, I mean, if you look at some of the analytic mavens, they. They have Dallas as a top 10, 11 team. One of the great things about the NFL because again, you draft older, more experienced players. I felt two years, I felt when I was watching Caleb Downs as a true sophomore at Ohio State, I'm like, he's a top five draft pick and yet he comes back for another year because he has to. And my takeaway is when you in the NFL, when you draft, you can turn around. It's hard. Like if you're a bad franchise, I've always said it takes. You can turn around one side of the ball in an off season. You can't turn around both sides of the ball in an off season. Like when the Patriots, they, they go get Vrabel, Josh McDaniels, Drake May, and they went and got the Eagles interior defensive lineman. They had good corners. And you're like, oh, this defense for New England's real. But the offensive line, the receiving core. Then New England attacks it again. Like, New England will be a better team this year, but I don't think they'll reach the Super Bowl. They got some breaks last year. So I mean, the reality is in football, there's Dallas didn't need to fix the offense. Absolutely. And did you notice during the draft Dallas was clearly telling you we're. We're more than satisfied with one side of the ball. We like our coach, we like our staff, mostly we like our offense, we like our kicker. We're going to put all of our draft capital, almost all of it goes to defense. And we've seen this time and time again. It takes one off season to completely overhaul one side of the ball. So I think there's a real argument if they're healthy, we know they'll score Points with Dak. They're going to be a good playoff viable team in week 16. 17. That's fair.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Remember at the draft when the schedule came out, the one team that had a big tick up in the win total was the Dallas Cowboys from 8 and a half to 9 and a half. That usually doesn't happen because we know the opponents. Why? Because the schedule is pretty favorable for Dallas. Now, Colin, listen, you got a new defense with maybe five or six new starters, but look who you face out of the gate. Jackson Dart. He's not going to kill you. Okay, so there's a world where you beat the Giants in week one, then it's Washington, they're going to be favored in that game at home. And then it's Lamar Jackson and Houston. If they could come out and win three of those first four, I think we're looking at honestly an 11 win team because the schedule is very favorable.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Colin? Yeah, for a new defense, they don't face a lot of elite offenses. Houston's good. Not offensively, no. I think there's an argument. It gets really, really tough about week 12. Eagles, Seahawks, Rams, Jags. Now Jackson Dart's got another 15 starts end of the year. It's pretty interesting. Then you're at the commanders of Jaden Daniels health. So basically the way the NFL scheduled it is. We, we'd like, we'd like to give the Cowboys a little bit of an early break, but we're going to make it big TV games against quality opponents late.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Yeah, I know you were hot on the Giants, but this could be one of those, you know, you were on the whiff of a team that's going to pop the right division, just maybe the wrong one. Dallas could be that squad. Colin. All right, let's go to the afc. And Drake May, coming off an unbelievable second year, nearly won the mvp, led the league in completion percentage and Passer rating. Josh McDaniels very fired up to get Drake May for his third year in the NFL.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

This offseason is different than last, last offseason.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

We are just getting to know the language and learning how to operate within

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

a system of offensive football, you know, and this year we're trying to take that and then go to the next phase of that, the next level of that in his case, which is obviously playing the position of quarterback. So he knows a hell of a lot more than he did last year at this time.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

I, I'm, I'm sniffing a little regression here. Colin. Remember last year we saw the schedule was extremely favorable for the now it's just.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It's just a landmine of tough road games. I mean, just say this out loud. Just say this. The quarterbacks you face at Sam Darnold, at Trevor Lawrence with a great offensive coach, at Josh Allen, at Caleb Williams, at Justin Herbert, at Patrick Mahomes, I mean, it's like just. Just the quarterbacks and the quality of coaching they'll face in road games at some point. Last year, weren't they favored and like, like 12, I don't remember the number 11 or 12 games. They'll be an underdog in a third of their schedule.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

The problem last year or the good fortune last year was that they faced a lot of backup quarterbacks or young quarterbacks.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Yeah, right.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

And Vrabel's a great defensive guy. Right. He got his ag. He knows defense. And so they just steamrolled the competition. Now you step up in class and it's like, holy cow. And I know they added AJ Brown and Romeo Dobbs, right? Those are good receivers. So I got the big question, Colin. We're going to find out about that offensive line. Remember, Campbell got destroyed in the Super Bowl. He got humiliated on the outside. He was a rookie. Is he going to start at left tackle? I don't know. I mean, they're going to run it back against Seattle. It's going to be interesting to watch because I just don't know about this team, man.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Neither do I. Yeah. All right, final story.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Let's go to Miles Garrett. Colin. Now he is on the Rams. They are the super bowl favorites and wouldn't you know it, Miles Garrett, who threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium this weekend, he is the betting favorite to win dpo. Yeah, I don't know that I can advocate betting this, Colin.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Come on.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Are they going to give him another one? Now he is going to face probably fewer double teams because that defensive line is so stacked. But I don't. I mean, listen, I'm bullish on Garrett. I don't know that he's going to win another dpoi. He's won, I believe, two of the last three.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I would say this. It's going to be hard to double him. Yeah. Puna Ford, number one rated nose tackle. Kobe Turner, Braden Fisk, Young on the outside. It's going to be really hard to double him. Who knows? Aaron Donald may slide back. I don't think he will, but I. One of the reasons Aaron Donald retired, there's literally video of him being triple team. That's why he left at 32. The advantage miles Garrett has. He's going to be a hard double. I mean, you could cut him with a back, but that, that's pretty ineffective with Miles Garrett. So I think he's going to. If you go back to last year, remember something we've talked about. The Rams will lead a majority of their games in the fourth quarter. The Browns trailed games meaning teams played Cleveland in the last couple of drives. Three step drops, run the football churn, eat up the clock, get out of Cleveland with a win. That's you're going to be playing teams that are down 8 to 10 points. 8 minutes left in the game, giving you another 5, 6, 7 opportunities for a sack. I think he's going to be incredibly productive.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

And that's a good point. What if the Rams, who are loaded, are blowing teams out? Is he sitting in the fourth quarter a lot?

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

No.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Are they resting him?

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Well, I. What are his bonuses? I mean, I, I don't think you rest players. They don't rest. Stafford play. It's football, one game a week. J. Mac with the news.

[Alexi Lalas]

Well, that's the news.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. So a story that broke Friday on our show, we brought the governor of Indiana on. Mike Braun, he was great. Is that the board of directors for the Chicago Bears has said, yeah, I think we're gonna move this thing right across the border to Hammond, Indiana. It's not ideal and it's not totally done. Remember, the bears own 326 acres in an area called Harl Arlington Heights, which is, you know, it's north of town. So just remember Jerry Jones, one of the richest owners in the Dallas Cowboys. Stadium is somewhere between Dallas and Fort Worth. In Arlington, which has all the charm of a strip mall. Kansas City's moving to a new state. The Niners play in nondescript Santa Clara. That is the world. You know, this is the latest litmus test on how people, sports fans deal with change. And change is almost always good. It really is. Baseball's made six or seven tweaks. They've all worked. That doesn't mean all change is good. I think March madness going to 76 teams is nonsense. It's nonsense. I think when the NFL decided we want to make pass interference reviewable was an all time NFL blunder. The NBA had a new ball that was ridiculous. Didn't give the players a heads up when baseball tied home field advantage in the World Series to the All Star Game winner Bud Selig. That's an all time blunder. It was that way for years. It Made no sense. So my takeaway is change usually works. It's not always great. But what you're finding time and time again, pro teams and pro owners making better deals, right? Making better deals for real estate, for zoning, for traffic, and for retail outlets around the stadium. That's hard to do. In metro areas. It's hard to do. I mean, in Los Angeles, Stan Kroenke, he got lucky. They've turned that area clippers into it. The forums now a music venue, SoFi, that's rare. I mean, both New York teams play over in Jersey, and it's not a good site. Like, I mean, you've got. Look at the commanders. They've moved. So this is just the reality of it. You get into these big cities in these urban areas, lands a fortune. And frankly, I mean, this isn't, you know, like F1 Monaco, where you can shut down the city and, you know, nobody really cares. It's a tax haven anyway, full of rich people that don't have to work. That's not Chicago. The governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, last week on the Bears potentially moving to Indiana.

[Al Harrington]

Think about how much more stadium you're

[Alexi Lalas]

gonna get built for the money in

[Al Harrington]

a place that's got a much lower cost of living and an economy that's on fire.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It's still the Chicago Bears. People are freaking out here. You're not changing the name, right?

[Al Harrington]

No, no, I would be. That would be obtuse to think. It would be the Hammond Bears. It's the Chicago Bears.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Yeah. The Patriots play in Foxborough. The Arizona Cardinals play 30 minutes out of town in Glendale, which there's not a lot in Glendale. It'd be great if it was in Scottsdale. It'd be great if it was downtown Phoenix. Like, it's just you have these, you know, in Philadelphia. They've all got them in one part of town. Maybe that's ideal. I don't know. But this is just the reality of it. By the way, there's no World cup games in Chicago, which is crazy, right? You've got him in. In the summer. You've got him in Houston and Dallas, you know, like these sweltering cities. You got one in Seattle. How come not Chicago? Because Rahm Emanuel, the mayor at the time of Chicago, said, I'm not writing a blank check to FIFA. I'm not doing it. And J.B. pritzker, the governor of Illinois, is like, listen, we're not. We're not gonna be held hostage by NFL teams, so. And for the record, not only is this happening everywhere, But a big chunk of Chicago is closer to Hammond. Where I sit right now in Chicago is closer to Hammond than Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights is by my house. It makes Sundays much easier. But you know, you got to remember Steve Ballmer was so rich when he built a stadium, he put it wherever he wants. All of that came out of his own pocket. Stan Kroenke, you're like, well, how did Stan Kroenke get that great spot in la? He paid for it out of his pocket. And by the way, he was so rich there was like a $4 billion cost overrun. And Kroenke's paying for the, you know, he's paying the bill. Kroenke is much richer than the Johnson family or the Mara family in New York. So he could do it and he got say. So it's going to be okay. It's not ideal, you know, Santa Clara is not ideal for Niner fans. Coming up next, we told you, I swear to God, it's not great. It's not the end of the world. But if you want to win an NBA championship, there's almost one rule with the new cba, that rule is you can't pay like a number three starter, number one or two money. You can't pay a number two starter, second best player, number one money. Or suddenly you go from Oklahoma City champion to should we move Chet Holmgren, Austin Reaves and the Lakers? Oh, here is the latest coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

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[Alexi Lalas]

I turned off news altogether.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It's the rage bait.

[Colin Cowherd]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

We got clear facts.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Maybe we could calm down a little.

[OnPlus Nicotine Pouches Advertisement]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there.

[OnPlus Nicotine Pouches Advertisement]

NBC News reporting for America.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Here we go. It is World cup week. Tingly goosebumps. Very excited. Live in Chicago. Chicago not hosting a World cup event, but a great scene over the weekend. Valiant effort by the United States men's national team. So listen, for most of my career, I try not to be a fan. You're a fan. You're emotional. I have a friend that she's always like, saying, you always say, don't get emotional. Well, we're fans. We're supposed to be emotional. That's what sports is. And I allow myself one team to just be a little fanish. United States soccer. With that said, I mean, my genetic makeup is reasonable, so I don't go crazy. But I really like this team. And every day this week at this time, top of the second hour, we're going to give you what I would call our Super Six. So the World cup starts on Fox and FS1 this week. It is going to be absolutely glorious for the next month. And so we are going to give you what we call the Super 6. And every day it will change. And we are going to start this week With I think a creative playmaker. I think in terms of overall skill, as good a player as we've ever had in the States, Christian Pulisic. These are his, in our opinion, six greatest goals. Representing the United States, number six, Austin McKinney. Scores. It's Captain America to the rescue for the United States. And he runs right into the goalkeeper at the end of this, but lays it all on the line for his team and for his country. Number five, Corona. This is weah for the US And Weah does well. Christian Pulisic on the pitch for a matter of moment with that innate and perfect sense of timing. What a huge goal for Christian Pulisic. Christian Pulisic with a potential potentially decisive moment against the old enemy in a World cup qualifier. Number four, Robinson, will hook that cross in Pisic. Oh, lovely hat trick. What a night. You see a guy tonight that is determined to get this team back, the World cup and just his performance. And that is filth. Number three, Christian Pulisic standing up with a free kick. P. Christian Pulisic with the goal to level it up. He won the free kick. He scores the free kick. Number two. Six goals in his last seven international games. PIs. It's spectacular from Christian Pisic. What a strike. What a beautiful full finish from Christian Pulisic. Number one. Pisic has it back now through the traffic. Pisic. What a goal. Wow, look at this. His car gets a slight touch on it. But that's in the top corner. That's your captain, that's your best player setting the tone from the very first minute. How about that for a finish? Our super six every day at this time, Monday through Friday. And with that, Alexi Lawless, who will be Thursday on Fox and FS1. The World Cup 26 begins Friday against Paraguay. So let's go back to this weekend where Pulisic wasn't the goal scorer, but there were several things I really liked. Let's start, however, with the early laps defensively to fall behind as an elite defender, a Hall of Famer. Is that lack of communication? Was that you? Tell me, what did your eyes see?

[Alexi Lalas]

Well, what I saw was, you know, the kids call it vibes nowadays. And this window, both the win against Senegal and then the loss the other day against Germany, much more positive vibes relative to this team going into this, this World Cup. Still some, some. Some concerns. You let in a goal right off the bat off of a set piece, which is just. You gotta. You gotta mark and I think a goalkeeper. In this case it's Matt Fries. Should be coming out and house there. If you're gonna do it, do it in the friendly before the World cup starts. So it's just a reminder. But I think ultimately this game in particular against Germany, this is not for nothing, but this is Germany. The US had wonderful possession. They created all sorts of opportunities, something like 10 corner kicks. So that was good. And by the way, the six goals that we just saw from Christian Pulisic, who was playing much better right now, and you're just going to be fan ish relative to this U.S. men's National Team in the World Cup. Yes. You as a fan, you have to be emotional, all right? You have to be crazy when you see something like this. I want you full on fandom, not fan ish. Be irrational. Be proudly irrational this summer when you are watching this game, when you are watching this World cup, when you were watching this U.S. team.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Well, I, one of the things I noticed against Germany was more shots, far more corner kicks, more attacking, less counterattacking and for instance, 54 to 46 time of possession. To the novice watching, I say that's a little bit like time of possession in football. It doesn't always mean you win, but it does show an aggressive nature which in my lifetime, when we play Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, we don't win. Time of possession. Explain to me. I thought that was important.

[Alexi Lalas]

Yeah, hit the nail on the head. I mean, this is a evolution, if you will, when it comes to the way that we played. Now, I'm not saying in the past we haven't had possession, but again, this is against a German team that's, you know, one of the elites in the world and we're pinging it around and this comes with time. And I think it doesn't always, like you say, equate to goals or winning, but there is an association with possession as to a maturity and an evolution. And so I think when you can't just have possession, right, possession with purpose, they talk about oftentimes. And I think the other day against Germany there was possession with purpose and it resulted, like you said, in a lot of opportunities, a lot of goal scoring chances. And not just, you know, half chances, real goal scoring chances. I mentioned the corner kicks. I think set pieces are going to be important for this team. So I think Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of this team after this window goes back in and says, all right, it's not perfect, but it's much better off than it was after the previous window. And going into a World Cup, I think they have to feel buoyed and confident.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

What. What do we need from Pulisic to get out of the group stage? Because my prediction is we'll get out of the group stage. I think we're going to win two games in the knockout. We've added teams to this World cup, and they're not powerhouse teams. We didn't add Spain, we didn't add England. There are some wins here potentially on the docket. What do you believe we need from Pulisic in terms of production?

[Alexi Lalas]

Yeah, Christian Pulisic is never going to be the personality that many want him to be, the leader that many want him to be. He's going to lead by example. All right. He's not particularly gregarious or, you know, larger than life when you see him interviewed or anything like that. He doesn't need to be that. He just needs to go on the field, take players on one on one. In doing so, he's going to draw plenty of defenders, he's going to open up space for others, and then he's going to do what he is so good at doing, which is beating players and then providing the assist or finishing off off the goal. He needs to be a star in the sense that he needs to dominate games, and I think he can in this World Cup. You know, ultimately, when it comes to this team, we should expect more from this US Team than we ever have in the past. All right? And I don't think that that's irrational or unfair to. To do that. But again, not grumpy old man in this, but this is a generation that's been given absolutely everything from a very young age, and with that comes higher expectations. America, you should expect your team to win this group. And as you said, Colin, now you're in this round of 32, at which point you'll be playing a team that you're better than. Never been in a World Cup, a men's World cup, where we're playing a team in a knockout game that we're better than. You take care of business there. And now you're back to the old round of 16. You need a little help from the soccer gods there. But this team, especially with the magic of a World cup, nothing better than a World cup except a home World Cup. And then you're into some rarefied air.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Give me the home environment. How much does it matter?

[Alexi Lalas]

I think it matters if you look at it as opportunity as opposed to pressure. You know, I think back, you know, a long time ago in 1994, yeah, there was a pressure, but I didn't, I didn't feel that it was oppressive or detrimental to the team. I think we looked at it as, yeah, we don't want to screw this up and we don't want to hurt our sport. And this is an opportunity to make sure that people come into the tent. It's interesting too, you know, nowadays the kids call, you know, they talk about their brands.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Right.

[Alexi Lalas]

We didn't call it that back then. But for a guy like Christian Pulisic or anybody else, it's one thing to star over in Europe and in different places, it's another thing to star at a home World Cup. For them and their brand, their lives will never be the same.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Anthony Robinson's goal. I said to the staff here, I said in previous World cup teams, it was just a beautiful international feeling. One timer, it's just a great. And again, for a casual, you know, these are not easy goals. I watched that and I thought, okay, I don't know if we do that in previous teams. That was a, that felt like something Spain, England, France, historically can do. Take us through the goal.

[Alexi Lalas]

Yeah. It's a special moment from a special player, Anthony Robinson. He plays on the left hand side. You'll see him going up and down, but he loves to get into the attack. And he's just hanging out at the top of the box here, as you can see, and he just hits it absolutely perfectly. I'm sure there's plenty of your viewers that play golf and you know, most of the time it goes off here, it goes off there, but when you hit it right, it's, it's effortless. And you look at this ball here, it's past the goalkeeper before the goalkeeper even reacts. So he, you could not hit the ball any more pure in that instance. And to have everything go perfectly and obviously to score the goal, not to mention flip after it was pretty awesome. I, you know, I hope that he saved a little for the World cup because this is still just a friendly but a wonderful moment and a wonderful strike.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

If you take your best teams, they had a personality or a toughness or a grittiness. What is the. What, what, what has. What's been developed? What is our personality? What is our essence?

[Alexi Lalas]

Yeah, I mean, I think we have evolved in terms of the way that we play. I just hope we haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater. And that's why I think Mauricio Pochettino been really important because he's come in, he doesn't suffer fools. He has, I think, rebalanced this team in that, you know, even you even saw where he's not calling players to tell him that he didn't. Didn't make the World cup thing. And I know that that sounds ruthless and mean.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Right.

[Alexi Lalas]

But this is a group that needed it. Keep in mind, last World cup, they were the second youngest team at the World Cup. Now they are that much older, they're mentioning they need to be treated as such and there need to be higher expectations. So I think Mauricio Pochettino got it right here and kind of some tough love that this team needed.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Yeah, the five times as many corner kicks as Germany feels substantial to me. I mean, it really does.

[Alexi Lalas]

It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's often a measure, an indication of the. The attack that you have, the possession that you have and the opportunities that you're creating.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

So the first World cup game,

[Alexi Lalas]

Paraguay, this Friday, baby.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Well, Mexico takes on South Africa and Mexico City, which is a, as you know, one of the great. One of the great cities, one of the great food cities.

[Alexi Lalas]

Oh, yeah.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Oh, man. Do you remember your first World cup game?

[Alexi Lalas]

So the first World cup game I ever watched, I was 16 years old. I was at the Pikes Peak Invitational soccer tournament with my. With my team, you know, playing like 100 games in three days or something like that. They pulled the television into the lobby of the Holiday Inn where we were staying, and in between the games, we would sit there and watch the World cup at that. That World cup was in 86. It was in Mexico. So I watched Diego Maradona and everything. Four years later, I had my face painted. I was bumming around with a bunch of high school buddies, drinking too much and chasing girls and watching the World cup in Italy, not even thinking that four years after that I would be representing my country. As you can see here on the. So, you know, the world and the soccer gods work, you know, work in mysterious ways.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Is there. But we'll let you go. But one more. Is there a player for this club, the United States national team, that doesn't get a lot. I mean, we talk Weston, McKinney, Robinson. There's a handful of players that even a casual discusses or is looking forward to. Is there a hidden gem here or an undervalued part of this team?

[Alexi Lalas]

So two things I'd say one, Chris Richards, who's a center back, I think he's going to be really, really important now. He has a little ankle injury. So interesting to see if he plays. I think he will play. And if he does, out of Alabama, you can see him right there finishing off both sides. Can't miss him. Big old hair. And listen, I can tell you that hair is very, very important in soccer, especially in a World Cup. So I think I love. Speaking of ruthlessness, a ruthlessness that has crept into his game, but he hasn't lost. He's got a wonderful smile in that. I think he takes what he does seriously, doesn't take himself too seriously. I think he has a chance of emerging here as one of the stars as he gets introduced to America.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Oh, wait. Do we know for certain who's going to be in goal Friday?

[Alexi Lalas]

I think it's going to be Matt Fries. By the way, if that happens, he would be the first Harvard man to start for the US So we'll see what happens. Ultimately, it doesn't matter where you go to school or where you're from. Just save the ball. We've had great goalkeepers in the past. He's got to, he doesn't have to make the saves that he, he needs to make. He needs to meet the saves that people think he can't make. And he hasn't quite done that. But listen, this is the platform to do.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It starts Friday. It's all over. Fox and FS1 former defender for the US National Team, the Hall of Famer, two time World cup appearances. Alexi, as always, my friend, good luck, good fortune. I'll be watching every minute of it.

[Alexi Lalas]

Not fanish, my friend. You are a full on, full fledged American, American fan, baby. Let's go. Let's light this candle.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

You know what, you're right. What am I holding back here? Let's just go for it. You know, J, Mac and I, you know, we, you know, we try to be America's honesty brokers and journalists and ah, the hell with that. Let's just go. Team usa. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio Apple.

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I hate to say it, but I

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

don't trust much of anything.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

It's the rage bait.

[Colin Cowherd]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

We got clear facts.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Maybe we can calm down a little.

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NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there.

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NBC News reporting for America.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I love these NBA veterans who played 15 plus years in the NBA and they've got all this wisdom and all these stories. And Al Harrington certainly did, averaging about 13, 14 a game. Six, 16 years in the NBA. He'll be on First Things first later today. And Al Harrington is now joining us live. Seven different teams in the NBA. Couple of years with the Knicks. You may remember those. All right, let's, let's. Al, first of all, thanks for coming on the show. New York is different. All these players say, I mean I can remember Michael Jordan going to New York, Kobe in the regular season. They're like it is show time you tell the, tell me, when you played there for two years, what makes New York playing in the Garden different?

[Al Harrington]

Something about just playing on Broadway, man. It's just, you know, the celebrities there, you know, I always say it was something about the lighting, right? You know, out of all the arenas in the, in the league, like the way that the Garden is set up is like a stage, you know what I'm saying? So you don't get that environment anywhere but New York. And when you come, you know, like, you got to bring your A game or you're going to hit about it.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Yeah, the, you know, the Knicks are interesting. I always thought Carl Anthony Towns was crazy talented, but he'd get into like, dumb fouls and sometimes I just didn't think he was serious enough or focused enough. I never doubted his ability. I mean, everybody in the league knows guy's one of the best jump shooting bigs in the maybe in the history of the sport. Are you shocked at how good he's been in the finals? He would be the MVP today. He's outplayed Wimby. Your take on that?

[Al Harrington]

I'm just, you know, I'm extremely proud of him, man. I just really look at the way that he's matured in these playoffs more than even the season. Right. You know, he's really bought into, like, the team concept. I think the biggest hurdle that he had to get over was just really just accepting that this is Jalen Brunson's team. Right. You know, you seven foot, you the big guy on campus, you just feel like this should be my team, this is all about me, but it's not, you know, and New York is about Jalen. Jalen. And I think that Mike Brown, what he's done with him is allowed him to be more integrated in the game and not just focus on scoring. You know, I always, I was saying the other day that I feel like he's playing a little bit more like, you know, Draymond Green, where he's like almost like a point center. So he's like, you know, he's the one starting the offense. You know, he's, you know, he's obviously, you know, he's scoring when he gets his driving opportunities, he's finishing at a higher clip. And then I think because he's playing so well offensively and he's feel like he's a part of it, that he's buying in on the defensive end. And that's a big difference in this team right now.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

So the spurs have led both games late. They've led by double figures in both and they lose. And at times I watch them and they look frenetic. They look like a little. They're a little hyper. Go to the youngest team, Al, that you ever played on. You tell me late in games, I just feel like if it's close, I trust the Knicks. And I think some of that is learned behavior. Some of it is just there's nothing the spurs can do. They have to fail here. Go to your youngest teams and maybe the oldest team you were on. And the difference with four to five minutes left in a game.

[Al Harrington]

Well, I definitely have to just go from the standpoint of like, you know, playing this type of basketball, playing this deep into the season. It had to be my Indiana Pacer years, right? When I first came in the league, my second year, we went to the finals and we played against, you know, Kobe and Shaq, and that was their first championship. And that was on a super veteran team, right? And that team, to your point, you know, you just never felt like you was out of it, right? And no matter what circumstance happened throughout the game, you always felt like you knew how to get out of it. Then you fast forward to two years later when, you know, we were a younger team where Reggie Miller was our only vet on the team, but it was myself, Ron Artest, Jermaine o', Neill, Jamal Tinsley, and we were a younger team, and there was times when we were in series and we would kind of doubt ourselves, you know what I'm saying? Just because we were young, we hadn't been through enough at that point. And I think that's what's happening with the spurs, right? I think that they're youthful, like, ignorance is what has allowed them to get themselves here because they just, like, they have no fear. But then, you know, to the point of when certain runs happen in the game, you could just see that body language that goes down on the list. The Knicks, on the other hand, when they're down 15 points, you can't see, you can't tell the difference, right? They're just. They're just locked in. They just feel like they're going to find a way to win this game. And that's from three years of going as far as they win the playoffs and having heartbreak. And now they realize that, like, this is what it takes and it doesn't matter, like, how bad things are going, things can change that fast. So I think that's the difference between these two teams in particular. And it's the reason why I think that the Knicks will ultimately win this series.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

So listen, in baseball, if you got fired four times, you'd never be a manager again, probably. And in football, similarly. But Mike Brown has been around Popovich, Carlisle, Steve Kerr, all these systems. He'd been let go four times, but yet he wasn't the first choice. But when he was hired, there was a feeling that he's good offensively, he's a good listener. The guys will like him and the players have bought into it. Doesn't matter what's happened on his resume. Do you know Mike Brown and what do you make of his sort of career resurgence here in the last month and a half?

[Al Harrington]

So to your point, like, I played with Mike. I played for Mike Brown when I was in Indiana, when he was there under Carlisle. And I think two of the names that you mentioned to me are two of the brightest offensive minds in the game of basketball, and that's Rick Carlisle, who I feel like was the best offensive coach I ever played for. And then Steve. Kirk Kerr. Right, he was. And Steve Kerr, obviously has turned, you know, what he's doing into, you know, multiple championships. And I think with Mike Brown being around those guys, he's learned so much. And with the Knicks, the problem was that we felt like Thibodeau just couldn't get us over the hump on the offensive end. Defensively, we were there, but we just wasn't creative enough on the offensive end to incorporate guys like Karl Anthony Towns and get Bridges going and get OG going. So that's why they brought Mike Brown in. And when Mike Brown, the fact that he's had that much experience and played with those, excuse me. And coached under those coaches, he was just the perfect fit at the right time for this team. And you see that we're clicking at all cylinders. And you look at this season, right in the beginning of the season, it was kind of some question marks. Even in the beginning of the playoffs in the Atlanta Series, right? We're like, oh, does Mike Brown know what he's doing? And if he lose, you know, this is the wrong pick. But look at what it's become, right? And I think that he's a really good coach. You know, he really deserves it. You know, you think about it when he, you know, I think he led, I think, the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Finals, I think at one point. No. Maybe. No, he didn't. But, you know, he's been around the game for a long time, been around a lot of highly talented players. And I think that his time in Golden State is definitely what is allowing him to have this type of success here in New York with all these type of players.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

You know, I said this about Wemby. First of all, he's not having a terrible series. He's averaging 27 a game. But he's young, young. And I said a lot of the bigs in the history of basketball, Moses Malone, Yokich Shaq, Bill Russell, Akeem Olajuwon, they were big, thick men. They moved people. Wimby's a little bit more Sam Buoy, Ralph Sampson, where he's really long and he's. He's pretty thin. Is it possible, Al, that this is going to be a react. What the Nick Knicks are doing is a playbook. And if he doesn't gain 25 pounds, which he may never, that this is always going to be the liability, the hole in Wemby's game, which is, you know, it's hard to put on a lot of weight and be fluid at 7 4, is that he's going to be a thin player who you may be able to push around if you have the right personnel, you know what.

[Al Harrington]

So, I mean, I play with Reggie Miller, who was a thin player, and, you know, I just think that with age you kind of get. You start to gain your grown man strength, as we call it, right? You look at even Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant's another guy that's small. And people, you know, in the beginning of his career could push him around. I think with this kid, over time, you know, I think he's going to put the work in. When you look at like his off season last year, I mean, he went to the Shaolin Monks to get better, to look for a mental edge, right? He worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon. I think that this summer, you know, he needs to, you know, continue to work with some of the greats. You know, one of the guys that I would specifically think that he should go work out with is a guy like Dirk Nowitzki to kind of help him figure out a post shot that he can guarantee. Know that 100 out of 100 times, when he gets to this spot and get the ball right here, he's going to score that basketball. You know, at the end of the day, the kid is very raw offensively. And that's just, that's just the reality that we all kind of have to deal with. And it's because he's young. He's 20 years old. Wait till, like, I heard you talking about the gambling thing. Wait till he's 25 when he's 25. Oh, my God. I don't think anybody's going to want to see him. And I don't care how much he weighs, he's just going to continue to get better year after year. And I think with this. This playoff run this summer, it allow him to sit down with whoever he works out with and whoever's responsible for helping him become a better player. They're going to have so many different things that they're going to be able to figure out where he can get better. And I expect him next season to be a better version of the player that we've seen this year, by the

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

way, like the Spurs. You should stop doubting yourself. Mike Brown did lead the Cavs to the finals once, so. Al, you did okay.

[Al Harrington]

I'm sorry. Right now, he's a good coach, man. Like, and he was always a great guy. Like, you know, he's a guy that you wanted to play for. You know, he's like. He was always motivational. Now he was an offensive, you know, coordinator, even though Rick was obviously running the offense. But, you know, he was just always one of the guys that, you know, when guys were down, he was the first coach coming, putting his arm around you and saying, like, look, we're going to figure this out together. We're going to figure out how to get you more involved. We're going to figure out how to get you back on track. And I know, as a head coach, exuding that kind of confidence into these guys, pouring into these guys constantly, is definitely the difference, as always.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Al, good seeing you again.

[Al Harrington]

Good seeing you, too, Colin, man.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

All right, Al Harrington's gonna be on. First things first today. I tell you, we had Taj Gibson. Last week, we had Al Harrington. There's something about guys who have been around the league for 15 years, and they've been on all those turbulent flights and turbulent teams and coaching changes, and it's something else. Look at that. Any news there? Breaking news.

[Al Harrington]

Hold on.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

I'm going to see if J. Mac was right. Hold on. All right. I don't think my take is controversial, you could say, for the quarterback who's really good, by the way, he has a chance to be. He may drop a little bit second, third round because of the gambling stuff, but the Supreme Court said you can gamble, and the disturbance rate on gambling is lower than alcohol. It should be noted. It's less addictive than alcohol. And I'm for alcohol. And. And my take is he made a huge mistake and you can throw him out.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Well, look at what wasn't one mistake.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Colin. Again, look at, look at in, in. He had a gambling problem.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Yes. Addiction.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Just before you judge him. My take is ask yourself if you're the bleeding heart. Look at what. Where there's real victims beyond, you know, like the perpetrator. Like there's real victims. Assault. I mean, when I see people driving 120 miles an hour and get tickets, I think that's incredibly irresponsible. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Or you're drunk driving and you go out of a stadium, you know, six, you know, natty, lights out and you're driving around home. It's like you can ruin other families. This is something he did, which is now shameful. He'll wear it forever. It's embarrassing and he's gonna miss games. But I, my question is, what do we do to young people who make really big mistakes? Okay, so what do we do?

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Let me ask you, Colin. Maybe I'll adjust it this way. Is the two game suspension enough for him to quote, unquote, learn his lesson?

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

Okay, let's say, let's say this for me. I would think the suspension would be longer. So let me wrap a bow around it. Let's say, listen, he can't play this year, but he can play going forward. But we're going to move off him for a year. I wouldn't be outraged by that.

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Well, he would just go to college football and go to the supplemental draft.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

What year is he?

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Is he a. I think he's a senior, but he hasn't. Might have another year left. I'd have to double check that. But he, if you said you're out for the year, he just say, screw this, I'm going on the supplemental draft. Someone will take me in the second or third round.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

By the way, he's talented enough if he had a good season to be a first rounder. Oh, so if they. Let's say the judge says you're out, no more college football. He would, in somebody, supplemental draft, he would get picked up. Absolutely. He's too talented. Go on YouTube, watch him. He's too talented. And that would cost him eight figures because he would get drafted in the sixth round because of the stigma. That's real. Instead of being drafted in the first round. So there is punishment societally being doled out. Right? There is punishment here. It's not what people want. People want blood and I think a lot of the opinions are based on how do you feel about gambling. A lot of people don't like it and that's going to tilt in my opinion. Their view, let's say the judge. I mean, listen, this comes down to a Texas judge, and this is not necessarily how it would be ruled in New Hampshire or New York or New Haven, Connecticut. But this is how it was ruled and that's why we have our courts. Judges sometimes lean left, right, permissive, rigid. All judges are different. Well, let's see. Sorsby will miss games versus Abilene Christian and Oregon State. So those were going to be big, easy, productive. W's where he throws for 300 yards. He's out on those. I mean, I imagine the Internet is probably what, 80% against him?

[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

Yes. Maybe 90.

[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

All right. And again, I'm okay. I'm comfortable with those opinions. I'm also comfortable him playing an abbreviated schedule. I'm comfortable he has to go directly to the supplemental draft. I'm okay with that. I don't, I don't, you know, no real dogma here. It's like he made a huge mistake. He's going to pay for it one way or another. People are looking for suspensions, but there are some societal punishments that will be doled out. Hi, it's Colin Coward. If you're looking for the best blend of durability and affordability and decking, trust Summit Decking from Deckorators Summit features Deckorators patented Surestone technology so the boards won't splinter, sag, chalk or crack over time. And the colors. Three great options that really capture the rich textures of natural wood. Honestly, it's the best decking you didn't know you could afford. Order a sample before peak build season. Order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's Decorators with a K. Again, decorators.com

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

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[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

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[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

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[Colin Cowherd (Main Host)]

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[Alexi Lalas]

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[Colin's Co-host (Likely Fox Sports Analyst)]

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