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- [00:00]
Jason McIntyre
The finals are here, and the only thing for sure it's the last time to bet on college basketball this season. Bet the unexpected with DraftKings sportsbook. You download the Sportsbook app. The code is heard. That's me. H E R D for new customers get 150 bucks in bonus bets. All you have to do is bet five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER in New York, call 877-8-HOPENY or text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas 21 Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio. Wendy's is the official hamburger of March Madness, which means more deals for you and more burgers for your face. It also means we got a junior bacon cheeseburger or a double stack for $1 with an in app offer and a purchase. It's hard not to get excited when there's an offer of two of the freshest hot off the grill burgers that Wendy's makes. The Junior Bacon Cheeseburger with the fresh beef, applewood, smoked bacon, cheese, crispy lettuce, tomato and mayo and the hot and juicy Double Stack with two patties of fresh never frozen beef with cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion. The real champions of March Madness. Head to Wendy's app and grab a $1 junior bacon cheeseburger or a $1 double stack with an in app offer and a purchase for the freshest deal in fast food. Gotta be Wendy's. Wasabi Technologies is purpose built to free businesses from skyrocketing storage costs and unpredictable egress fees from those old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams around the world. From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals. Wasabi is driving innovation in data storage, all for up to 80% less than the other guys. Triumph for free@wasabi.com Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Proud partner of the Voluum Podcast Network, the herd is brought to you by Grainger. If you work as a maintenance manager, your facility is your home turf and Your home field advantage is having a partner like Grainger. They offer trusted professional grade products for every industry from lighting and electrical to safety and everything in between, plus next day delivery. Which is why they always come through in the clutch. Just like you. Call 1-800-granger click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Thanks for listening to the Best of 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 herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Go. Welcome into the herd. Happy Monday. It's me, Jason McIntyre, in for Colin Cowherd, who is fishing in parts unknown. I will not give away his location, but if you follow him online, you've seen the fishing video. That's hysterical. Joined today by Alex Curry. Alex, how are you? We're back. J back. It's been a while. It's been a minute. But you know, what a fun weekend to come back like it was. I know you were doing like your own sports stuff, but can we just like yesterday was like such a. An incredible TV day for sports. You got to have breakfast with baseball, lunch with the NCAA women's championship, Yukon. Just like absolute domination. And then you had dinner with. Are you a White Lotus fan? Listen, no spoilers. I'm not spoiling. Not spoiling, but it was just like. It was amazing. Okay. Yeah, I was in Salt Lake City over the weekend. Alex and her Dodger Blue Dodgers had a rough weekend. We'll talk about that. I was in Salt Lake City. Youth sports, a lot of fun. Salt Lake City is a beautiful town. I'd never been, but I was asked this past weekend, jason, what's the scariest movie you've ever seen? I said, well, that's easy. The final eight minutes of Duke against Houston. Because Saturday night, folks, I was a wreck, a total train wreck, which is what the Duke offense was down the stretch, folks. Listen, we're going to talk Ovechkin, we're going to talk Lakers, but we have to open with a devastating Duke loss over the weekend at the final four. Duke in total control of Houston and just blows it down the stretch in unforgettable fashion. One of those games where you just left scratching your head. I'm at a bar with some dads watching it and I could tell things were not trending well, even though Duke was up 14 with like eight minutes left. Yeah, they got Cooper Flag, the best freshman on the planet. And yes, I will be glazing Cooper Flag later. Despite all the hate we're seeing online. I asked for the, the check from the bartender. I was like, I got to get out of here. I don't. This does not look good. And folks, Houston shocks Duke and I mean stuns them. And it's shouldn't be that much of a surprise to some of us because like all college basketball season, what have we talked about? It's the veteran teams using the transfer portal to bring 22, 23, 24 year olds onto the court. And those are the teams that have thrived. But not Duke. Duke rode three freshmen in the starting lineup all the way to the final four. And their youth showed, folks, on Saturday night. Now Fox Sports asked me to do a mock draft and I did one. And I had three Duke freshmen in the top 20. They've got a great team. But what did we see win Saturday night? The veterans, the KG Houston veterans, they lean on 23 year old LJ Cryer who had just an unbelievable six point play during that comeback. Who did they lean on? A 23 year old Roberts, who hits two clutch free throws. And the Duke youth showed, folks, I'm sure you've seen the numbers of the meltdown. It was, oh my gosh, we're up nine with three minutes left. We're good. Cooper flag. Hit that three from the baseline and I'm going crazy. Jay's like, we're going to the title game. And then it just fell apart. The youth show. Look, they can't inbound the basketball. Folks, you guys remember, the greatest singular play of the NCAA tournament so far was Houston. Purdue, 2.8 seconds left and Kelvin Sampson, the veteran older coach, ds up. An amazing play. They get the dunk and Houston prevails over Purdue. Fast forward to the final four Saturday night, young coach John Shire. And we'll get to John Shire in a moment because if you want to blame anybody, you can blame him. He couldn't inbound the basketball. It was painful to watch anybody who's coached basketball at any level or played basketball, you know, inbounds, hey, you got some stuff dialed up. You know, even now they're going with the football play where you just have four players running down the court. Duke had nothing. It was painful to watch. Here's Kelvin Sampson, the great Houston coach, talking about culture and veterans in the victory. There's Something to be said about having a culture that's based on how you win. You know, there's some nights when the ball goes in and teams don't have defensive players like Duke does or don't have defensive players like this team does or that team does. But our team is. They think they're going to win every game they play, you know, irregardless of what other people think or say, they think they're going to win. Yeah, listen. Kelvin Sampson with a master class down the stretch, never quitting. Now I do. Listen, you never want to crush anybody when they're. They're young. And John Shire, AKA White Mike. Yes, that was his nickname in high school because he was in Chicago and he was honestly getting buckets like Michael Jordan. Sh. Just had a brutal season, and our staff dug up an incredible stat I had not seen all weekend until this morning. So in close games this season, Duke was 1 and 3. Close games are 5 points or less. They were 1 and 3, folks. Duke lost four games all season, so in the close games, they kind of sort of melted. Now, some of that is due to three freshmen in the starting lineup. I watch college basketball all season, unlike some people. And I remember in November, they gave it to flag down the stretch. Now, I think at the time, he was still technically 17 and flag. Kind of struggled against Kansas, couldn't get the bucket and they lose. But in since John Shire took over in 2022, in games five points or less, John Shire just 11 and 12. Now, I know what you're going to say, Jay. You crushed Lamar Jackson. Why can't you crush John Shire? And listen, if you want to blame somebody, you got to blame Shire. And I don't want to nitpick, but scion James, number 14 on Duke, good player. He hit his head on the hardwood. It looked brutal. He goes down and you're like, oh, that guy's definitely concussed. You got to get him out. He barely sits out. And what happens a couple minutes later? Dribbling baseline, dribbles it off his leg, out of bounds, turnover. And then Shire had him inbounding the ball. And he looked so rattled, like he didn't know what to do. And. And it was just like, Shire, some situational awareness plan, please. Now, I know there's a segment of Houston fans out there upset that I have not really talked about the Cougars. I've been focusing on Duke, and that's because Duke lost the game. Houston didn't win it. That's really what happened. And we'll get to Houston, because they play Florida tonight. Little preface. I'm on Florida. I like the Gators tonight. It's going to be a great game. Houston, obviously a tough team, but folks, when you take down Duke and then you got to go play two nights later, you've just slayed the dragon. I think there will be a little bit of a letdown. And I will kind of close out on this note because I know that people want. Jason, you got a bag on Cooper flag. Why is he fading away like Anthony Davis? Let me just remind you guys, Coach K had RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, okay? Two top five picks just a few years ago, and they lose in the Elite Eight to Michigan State, okay? So it happens. These young guys struggle in March. Barrett and Zion were freshmen. Cooper flag, Cannipal, by the way, was Kippo in the second half. They were young. They vanished. Congrats to Houston. Now let's get to a positive basketball story from the weekend. And you know, I gotta talk about the LA Lakers. Oh, my gosh. So I was at Lakers Warriors Thursday, and it was a bit of a. A funeral at. At the Crypt. It felt sad. The Lakers just looked out of sorts. Luka had his worst game with the Lakers Thursday night. And all of a sudden it's like, oh, here come the Warriors. We'll get to the Warriors. Had the Lakers bounce back. They beat the Pelicans Friday. Nobody cares. Irrelevant game. So Sunday they go to OKC. Mighty OKC. Everybody's favorite. They got the MVP. They're going to win like 65, 68 games. And what did the Lakers do if you guys were watching, if you switched over when Yukon started destroying South Carolina? You watch the Lakers, they put on a clinic. And I know everybody loves to talk about Lou Dort in the Dorture chamber. Well, he tried to guard Luca yesterday, and Luca was getting basically a deep tissue massage at a day spa. He roasted Lou Dort. Chet Holmgren had no chance. Look at that. Step back three over the seven footer plot out. I mean, folks, the Lakers had one of the great three point shooting days in franchise history. I think they tied a franchise record for threes. At one point in the first half, they were 12 of 15. But why was that happening? Because Luka Doncic owns the OKC Thunder. He does. I'm sorry, I hate to admit it, but Luca with Dallas last year, extinguished okc. It was a masterful series for Luca and he did the same yesterday. They tried the hard doubles. Luca made the right pass. They tried the big guys step back Three just in their face. Lou Dort, one on one. I know. Hey, Cowherd's buddy Bill Simmons is like, lou Dort, defensive player of the year. You show that Lakers tape, he didn't do a damn thing. He could not stop Luca. Now few can. But I don't want to hear about OKC going, what is that, like 22 and one against the east. Who cares? Show me what he's doing against Luca. And again, in these highlights, you put anybody on Luca Doncic, and it was game over. Now, at some point, we're going to have to talk about sga. I don't. Again, I don't want to be in the business of Monday morning filling in for Coward, and I'm out here hammering players. Okay? But folks, a year ago, I saw one of these AI Internet videos where somebody had sliced, like, you know, fake voice over Anthony Edwards talking about okc. And in the video, they were like, yeah, free throw Merchant, sga. And I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. So I started using it on the show. Cowherd loved it, he laughed, and it became a running thing. I would say it all the time. Now, I'm not saying I started free throw Merchant, but it's out there now, and everybody calls SGA a free throw merchant. Well, JJ Redick, who is a young coach with the Lakers, made it a point. We're not letting SGA get to the free throw line. Okay? For the first time in three years, the presumptive mvp. I would give it to Jokic, but that's just me. The presumptive mvp, SGA did not shoot a free throw. And here's the best part. You had to be watching closely. So at one point, SGA takes Luca baseline and does that fade away thing where he kicks his leg out and the ref blows the whistle. And then Luca's like, no, no, no. Replay, replay. Begging JJ Redick. Reddick's like, all right, we'll replay it. What does the replay show? SGA was not touched. He stuck his leg out and drew the foul. Luka Dante to victory. And I. And I know it's a small point, and it's one data point in a huge game in a big season. But that proved to me that SGA is the kind of guy who gets all the calls. And if you watch closely, he kept driving all game long, and he would miss his shot. I think he was like 12 or 25. He would miss his shot and look to the refs, where's the whistle? What's Going on. He got no free throw attempts. The Lakers sent a message, and I know everybody's, Jay, who cares about this game? Okay, fair enough. If you want to say it doesn't matter, it doesn't count, that's fine. Here's the reality. The Lakers want to avoid the play in. They've almost done that. They needed a split against okc. They match up again tonight. They needed a split. Now the Lakers got their victory. They were probably out celebrating. I wouldn't be shocked if we saw like the Lakers backups play or a lot of minutes for Bronnie and, you know, the end of the bench. Guys, maybe they get a lot of effort tonight. Lakers sent notice to okc. Hey, guys, we're not afraid of you. Now, some of us have been saying that for months. Okc, really, really good regular season team. But I, I don't know if they can do it in the playoffs. Folks. We've seen James Harden dominate a regular season. They had to change rules so that James Harden couldn't do that, pull through and keep getting to the line. And what would happen every postseason, inevitably there would be a James Harden meltdown game where he couldn't get to the line, wasn't getting the whistle. It got in his head. I saw that from OKC yesterday. This is a really good regular season team. I don't know if they can do it in the playoffs. And that's why I like the Lakers, who everything, well, went in their favor yesterday, right? The warriors lose. We'll do them soon. The Nuggets lose. Lakers win. Lakers headed for the three seed, headed for the Western Conference finals. Sorry, Houston, I hate to do it. And it's just going to be a glorious postseason run for la. Here we got the standings on the screen. If the Lakers get the three, they would, well, hopefully not face the warriors in the first round. Hopefully it'll be Minnesota. Anybody but the Warriors. And then it's Houston and then they're on to the conference finals. But a great, great Sunday for the Lakers. Alex, I don't want to get too excited, but listen, it's Monday. It's the Lakers. It was a great win. I like that we get excited because there's so many doubters on the Lakers. And I like to remind people this is a Lakers team that has one of the greatest players of all time in LeBron James with more experience than anybody on that court. And then you have the future of the NBA in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Like, they have a Power 3. And everyone was like, whatever. Like washed. No, they're not. LeBron is not. He is one of the best players on that court, if not the best, especially late in the game. Fear the Lakers, because if you're facing them in a series, in the playoffs, they are the team to be total. I'm so glad you mentioned LeBron. I have it in my notes. I didn't even mention it. LeBron didn't attempt a free throw yesterday. He didn't even have to attack the basket at all. That was beautiful for him, though, so he could rest it and play a lot tonight, folks. LeBron, I did look this up. It's only the second time this season he did not attempt a free throw. The other was in a blowout over the Spurs. So LeBron not driving. He's rested, folks. Lakers are dangerous. Alex all right, coming up next here on the Herd, folks, the Golden State warriors picked up a few awesome wins last week. Everybody excited. I was starting to fall victim. And then last night at home against Houston. Oh wait, Steph Curry did what? It went that badly? We'll talk about that next year on the Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays in Noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. The finals are and the only thing for sure, it's the last time to.
- [17:14]
Alex Curry
Bet on college basketball.
- [17:15]
Jason McIntyre
This season been an amazing ride full of unexpected happenings. Maybe there'll be more. So get in on the action expected and unexpected with DraftKings sportsbook. Live betting promos, exclusive content parlays. I love those. DraftKings is the ultimate college basketball destination for March. So are you ready to make your first bet? Check out the matchups and pick a team to win. It's that simple. First time here's something special just for you. New DraftKings customers bet 5 bucks to get 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly. So bet the unexpected with DraftKings sportsbook. You download the Sportsbook app, the code is heard. That's me. H E R D for new customers, get 150 bucks in bonus bets. All you have to do is bet five bucks. That's it. Only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas 21. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio. We live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all kinds of different people. You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices, not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas. Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle. Thanks for having me. Jereby, Neil, Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle. Thanks for having me. And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary? And what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, this Is Working can help with that. Here's some advice from Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on standing out from the leadership crowd. Develop your eq.
- [19:48]
Alex Curry
A lot of people have plenty of.
- [19:49]
Jason McIntyre
Brains, but EQ is. Do you trust me? Do I communicate? Communicate well, you know, when you walk in a room, do people feel good you're there? Are you responsive to people? Do people know you have a heart? Develop the team.
- [19:59]
Alex Curry
Develop the people.
- [20:01]
Jason McIntyre
Create a system of trust. And it works over time. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief. On my podcast, this Is Working, leaders like Jamie Dimon, Mark Cuban, and Richard Branson share strategies for success and the real lessons that have shaped them. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Are your ears bored? Yeah. Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn and say, que? Yeah. Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today. Okay. I'm Diosa. I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novella which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast we're launching this season with a miniseries, totally nostalgic, a four part series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early 2000s. It's Lala checking in with all things Y2K 2000s. My favorite memory, honestly was us having our own media platforms like Mundo's and MTV Tres. You could turn on the tv, you see Thalia, you see jlo, Nina Skye, Evie Queen. All the girlies doing their things, all of the beauty reflected right back at us. It was everything. Tune in to locatora radio season 10. Now that's what I call a podcast. Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Our number two here on the herd. Yes, it's a beautiful Monday morning and Colin Cowherd is fishing somewhere beautiful blue water as Jason McIntyre in joined by Alex Curry. Alex wearing her Dodger blue. Even though it wasn't a great weekend for the Dodgers, it was all around. It's okay, though. It's going to be fun. It was great, you know, and you got to put mad respect. We talked about it last hour. Bryce Harper's comment on only losers complain about what the Dodgers doing. And then they came out and they took the series against the Dodgers. That's what real competitors do. So respect. Yeah. We got Jordan Schultz coming up soon, folks. This was a first for me in the morning. Morning meeting. You know, we got the great morning meeting with our staff and I said, guys, do we have any Cowboys material? Because I have some. I have what I think in my head. It's an amazing line about the Cowboys, but. But we don't have any Cowboys talk today. Well, it's fine. Jordan Schultz coming up. A lot of Shador Sanders stuff. It is smokescreen season in the NFL draft. I'll just preface it with that. Some Jalen Milroe news. Yeah, my guy. I see you out there, Bear. Felica, I know you don't love him. That's fine. We'll do that coming up. But first, we need to start this hour with a quick, brief Cooper flag discussion. Okay, I'll preface this. I am extremely bullish on Cooper flags and NBA prospects. I think he's going to be a superstar. Okay, not everybody on staff feels the same way. And I saw a lot of weird dislike for Cooper flags Saturday night online and in person. Guys, I'm hanging out with Cooper. He's a little overrated. Okay, so let's start with Saturday night flag. 27 points, seven boards, five assists, three blocks. He leads Duke in practically every single statistical category that matters. He's a 6, 9, 18 year old freshman. And if you remember a few weeks ago on the show, you know, Cowherd keeps pushing this. I see Jayson Tatum in Cooper Flag and I get that it's not a bad comparison. Duke guys, people love the cross cultural, you know, black, white, com. I, I get all that and I see the Tatum. I see a little bit of Tatum. Other people I've seen AK47, Andre Kirolenko. I'm sure people are scoffing at that but like a five tool guy who can do it all. So remember I asked Chat GPT what's a. What's the best comp for Cooper Flag? Given size, length, measurements, scoring, blah blah, blah, blah blah. And Chat GPT, which is according to Michael Scott. You know, if Chat GPT existed when the office did. Never wrong. Kevin Garnett is the best comparison for Cooper Flag. And I love that comparison personally. But remember when KG came out, he was wiry. He was a straight high school to, I think it was Farragut Academy in Chicago to the pros. And Kevin Garnett was like a young skinny guy, kind of like one of those animals that's just born and is like struggling to find its footing. And it took him a couple years and then he was a beast. I think Cooper Flag is going to have a more stronger impact in his rookie year for sure than kg. I do believe the ceiling is massive for Cooper Flag. Now, interesting question. I'm going to pose to you the audience. Okay, if I told you over under one and a half career MVPs for Cooper Flag. You going over, Are you going under one and a half. Steve Nash has two. Shaq I think has one. Kobe should have more. I'm going the over on Cooper flag, guys. Over one and a half MVPs. I, I'm probably going irrational here, but I want to remind you, you could go find this on YouTube last summer USA Basketball Camp. Yes, J. Mac, it was a scrimmage. Settle down. Okay, Cooper Flag's leading like the B team against the starters. And here, oh, we got the footage here. So if you that play that we just read. Gosh, the staff is good. Okay, Cooper Flag brings the ball up the court, six, nine. And he's being guarded full court by Drew Holiday, an elite defender, a superstar in the NBA. Drew Holiday is a superstar. Wins the title with the Bucks, goes to the Celtics, wins the title. Like he's really, really good. Cooper Flack brings it up Against Drew Holiday's pressure. He gets the switch onto Anthony Davis. Okay? Anthony Davis, a great defender. Look at ad. Here we go. Pull up what, three right in his eye. That's Kevin Garnett types. I'm sorry, Kevin Durant type stuff. Guys, don't sleep on this Cooper Flag because of one loss. I need to remind you again, Zion Williamson, who was a freak coming out of Duke, generational talent, okay? He ain't sniffing no mvp. He can't. He's eating his way out of the league. He cannot handle New Orleans. He can't stay healthy. Cooper Flag's going to be a better pro than Zion. Now. Zion's had some immense highs where he was scoring at a shack like rate in the paint. Just can't sustain it. I think Cooper Flag's going to be better. He's 18 years old. He was 17 earlier in the season when he was dropping 20 on folks at 17. And I guess I'll we got a John Shire bite from the loss. Don't let this loss for Cooper Flag define him. You go from some of the most special moments in the tournament to the most heartbreaking loss. And I'm not about to feel sorry for one second. These guys have done an incredible job. It's heartbreaking. It's incredibly disappointing. There's a lot of pain that comes with this. That's what the tournament is all about. I didn't like that he faded away. He did that a couple times in the final 10 minutes against the Houston pressure. That's fine. I'll leave you with two notes. Okay. Last week I floated the idea. If the Charlotte Hornets win the lottery, you draft Cooper Flag and you trade Lamelo ball. I'm getting murdered on YouTube all weekend in the comment section. This guy don't know ball. Lamelo's amazing. I'm just telling you that's an oil and water mix. Lamelo's I got to get mine kind of guy. He's a great passer, but he don't like to pass. He's like a Monta Ellis, right? Just a bucket getter. Now he's a bigger version. I think you got to move off him and make Cooper Flag your guy. And the final note as to why I think we're feeling some pushback and I'm going to just wedge this one in. Cooper Flag's the best white American basketball prospect since Larry Bird. It's been about 40 years, okay? All the Euros dominating. They're not Americans. Cooper Flag isn't American. We're in an ERA right now. Very divisive in this country. A lot of people don't like the NBA for a certain reason. I think Cooper Fly is going to have that kind of positive impact on the NBA next season. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
- [28:06]
Alex Curry
Hey, Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific.
- [28:15]
Jason McIntyre
On Fox Sports Radio and of course, the iHeartRadio app.
- [28:19]
Alex Curry
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture, stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We, we like to get you involved, too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive.
- [28:47]
Jason McIntyre
Show on planet Earth.
- [28:48]
Alex Curry
Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the.
- [28:56]
Jason McIntyre
Live show, just search Covino and Rich.
- [28:58]
Alex Curry
Wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich.
- [29:04]
Jason McIntyre
We live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all kinds of different people. You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas. Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle. Thanks for having me. Jeremy, Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle. Thanks for having me. And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation. Listen to the middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, this Is Working can help with that. Here's some advice from Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on standing out from the leadership crowd. Develop your eq. A lot of people have plenty of brains, but EQ is, do you trust me? Do I communicate well? You know, when you walk in a room, do people feel good you're there? Are you responsive to people? Do people know you have a heart?
- [30:28]
Alex Curry
Develop the team, develop the people.
- [30:30]
Jason McIntyre
Create a system of trust. And it works over time. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief. On my podcast, this Is Working, leaders like Jamie Dimon, Mark Cuban, and Richard Branson share strategies for success and the real lessons that have shaped them. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On November 5, 2018 at 6:33am, a red Volkswagen Golf was found abandoned in.
- [30:59]
Alex Curry
A ditch out in Sleep Hole Valley.
- [31:03]
Jason McIntyre
The driver's seat door was open. No traces of footsteps leaving the vehicle. No belongings were found, except for a.
- [31:12]
Alex Curry
Cassette tape lodged in the player.
- [31:16]
Jason McIntyre
On that tape were 10 vile. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Grotesque. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
- [31:28]
Alex Curry
Horrific stories that to this day have been kept restricted from the public until now. You feeling this, too?
- [31:42]
Jason McIntyre
A horror anthology podcast. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You have to be very careful with tradition, because sometimes tradition is just dead people's baggage. I'm Jemele Hill, host of the sports and politics podcast Spolitics. On this week's episode, I talk with comedian and CNN host Roy Wood Jr. About the lack of African American star power in Major League Baseball. Baseball needs an Anthony Edwards, and I don't know who that could be. Mookie Betts is Steph Curry. He's exceptional and likable. Million Dollar Smile, that's important. But you also need chaos Negro. You need. So you think Anthony Edwards is a chaos agent? He told.
- [32:30]
Alex Curry
He talked.
- [32:31]
Jason McIntyre
Did you saw the clip of him talking to Obama? He was talking to Obama like that was his little brother. Oh, yeah.
- [32:35]
Alex Curry
You what you did?
- [32:36]
Jason McIntyre
You killed Bin Laden. That's what's up. Listen to Politics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All right. One of the great NBA analysts out there, Rick Buer, Fox Sports NBA superstar Rick Nice little win for the Lakers in LeBron. It's crazy. I did the whole opening ramp. Oh, I know. I heard LeBron.
- [32:59]
Alex Curry
Trust me, I heard it.
- [33:00]
Jason McIntyre
And then Alex is like, oh, yeah, LeBron didn't even do anything. I was like, that's right. He didn't go to the free throw line. I don't want to say too much great stuff about the Lakers, but go ahead.
- [33:08]
Alex Curry
What do you mean it's too late?
- [33:11]
Jason McIntyre
Go for it. Your thoughts on the Lakers smashing okc?
- [33:14]
Alex Curry
Well, look, I always thought that they were legit in terms of being able to face them. There's still a lot of questions to be asked. It's just hard for me to know how much to take from this game because as I watched it, first of all, I saw the score before I watched it. I didn't watch it live. I saw the score and I was like, wow, now I have to watch it. And then as I'm watching it, I'm like, oh, they made eight of their first 10 threes. And you're talking about Oklahoma City Thunder, the best defense in the league. They're not making any adjustments. They go down by 16, 18. They stay with the regular rotation. They're not closing out. They're not defending, they're not doing. They're not making any adjustments. Now, I don't want to take anything away from what the Lakers did, but it was a clear reflection of one team that is locked into its position and the other one that is still fighting tooth and nail to stay out of the play in and for the seating. So I think that's a lot of what you saw in terms of it being lopsided, but there are some elements that the Lakers present. Their size on the perimeter and how you're going to match up. How are you going to match up with Jokic and LeBron, size wise? Yeah, Luca, and that remains to be seen. So I think there are some issues that, that Oklahoma City has to resolve, but they also, like, they didn't throw their best pitch at the Lakers defense either. And when guys did go, I'm like, oh, wow, like, he just went by Luka, he just went by Austin, he.
- [34:52]
Jason McIntyre
Just went by LeBron.
- [34:53]
Alex Curry
And so that all of that is going to play out.
- [34:56]
Jason McIntyre
So Thursday, Lakers lose to the Warriors. Pod Zemski hits 8 of 10 3. So is that similar in that, hey, man, that ain't happening in the playoffs. He's not hitting anything. Sorry.
- [35:05]
Alex Curry
Yeah, no, look, once you get to the playoffs and you can really kind of drill down and you can say, okay, this is the thing this guy doesn't like to do. We're going to make him do it as opposed to. And then I. Part of it too is like, I don't know how serious it was a meaningful game. I just didn't get the sense that the Lakers were like, we can win this game against the Wolves. We don't have to give them our A game. Like we can give them our A minus game and we still might get this done. And the warriors are on one right now. So it's taking something from these regular season matchups at this point and taking them as a referendum on how a seven game series is going to go, I think is very dangerous.
- [35:54]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah, I'm fairly certain last year the Suns beat up the Wolves in the regular season. I fell for it and then Minnesota smashed him and eliminated them. So I don't want to overreact. I will say I like Luca's accountability in that warriors loss. He was terrible defensively, offensively, I mean. And afterward he's like, that is an unacceptable performance. And I applaud that. That being said, this whole Lou Dort defensive player of the year, he couldn't check Luca yesterday. Chet had no chance. Sga J Dub. I mean if Luka, I think, I don't want to say Luca owns them, but he kind of sort of dominated them last year in the playoffs.
- [36:27]
Alex Curry
Yeah. Yeah. Well, the, the trick for Oklahoma City and this is going to go to matchups is it's not about like just stopping the Lakers on. When they're on offense. It's exposing their defense, it's making them play. Play fast so that they don't have the same energy on the offensive side of the ball. That's your, your offense being part of your defense and we didn't see that in this game. But you got to make Luka work so that he's not just coming down and feeling as comfortable as he did. And then look, there's. With a great player, I, I'm sure he felt like he lost that warriors game because he was so off and everybody else was relatively on. I still, when it comes down to it, when, when we're talking about long series in the playoffs and we're asking luka, Austin and LeBron to play hard at both ends of the floor, are they physically going to be able to stand up to that? That's my given what they are. Health wise. One game I can, I would take them against almost anybody in multiple seven game series with those three guys having to play as hard as they're going to have to play at both ends, that's where I think that physically they could start to break down. And if they lose any one of those guys, it's curtains.
- [37:51]
Jason McIntyre
All right, let's get one Thunder question out of the way. The free throw merchant, sga, no free throws. Did you see when he went baseline on Luka, Kicked his leg out, got the whistle. Lakers challenged it and no foul. And SGA looked. Listen, Rick, at least three times he drove, but we don't have that highlight. But he missed the shot and is, like, looking at the ref like, where's the call? Zero free throws. Redick made it a point. Yeah, I see you smiling. I see you smiling. Rick, Come on.
- [38:16]
Alex Curry
This is not. Look, Nikola Jokic is my mvp far and away.
- [38:20]
Jason McIntyre
Agreed.
- [38:20]
Alex Curry
All right, but that said, we were making way too much of this free throw merchant thing. Like, that's his. That's the only trick in his bag. He is a phenomenal player. And the fact that he didn't get to the free throw line, he still, what, had 26.
- [38:38]
Jason McIntyre
I think 25 on 25 shots or something.
- [38:39]
Alex Curry
Okay, all right, look. Shot wasn't on. He's missing. Missing shots that he normally makes. I'm not. I'm not. Again, I'm not taking anything on his performance in this game as a reflection of what he'll do in the postseason.
- [38:52]
Jason McIntyre
All right, let's finally move on from the Lakers. We have to audience. Sorry. I know you want more Lakers content. Hey, what's going on with Russell Westbrook and the Nuggets? A lot of saltiness from Russ. He's hurting them. No, Jamal Murray matters. Okay, go ahead.
- [39:05]
Alex Curry
Wait. Russ is no different than he's been all along, and particularly when it comes to the media. Like, look, he could not have screwed up more ways the other night in whether it's fumbling the ball out of bounds with. And then that was against the Warriors. He looked awful. And then the previous game where he's missing the layup, he's fouling on the three, like just a series of errors. And then he goes. He ghosts the media. And he takes great pleasure out of doing that. Like, you can tell he's. It's a game for him. And I. And I. Look, I. This goes way back. Like, I remember being in the locker room and he had. Remember, like, he started the crazy outfits. I think he was the first guy that started doing really wild fits and going to the podium. Right? And I Was, for whatever reason, I was in the locker room early and he was going to the podium late. And I can't remember now who it was that was next to him in the locker, but he goes watch them react to this. And he was going out in some crazy outfit. And so it's a game for him. And you know, the reality is with the Denver Nuggets, you would think that when Jamal Murray is out, that Russell Westbrook is your point guard, he's your ball handler. They do not have anyone that I can completely trust with the ball other than Nikola Jokic when Jamal Murray is out. And that is the great Achilles heel of the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is playing the best basketball of his life, without a question, the best player in the league right now. Right. And you see where the Denver Nuggets are, because the rest of that team has either flat flatlined or they're playing below what we've seen them play before.
- [40:57]
Jason McIntyre
All right, your Mr. Bay Area, you know the warriors as well as anybody. They had an amazing week.
- [41:01]
Alex Curry
Yes.
- [41:02]
Jason McIntyre
Memphis Curry goes off. They went over the Lakers. Then they beat the Nuggets on the road. I saw some of that Friday night. Impressive. And then last night they go home and get body bagged by Amen Thompson. Ime Udoka, who was chirping at Curry. I'm sure you saw that. Listen, I don't. I'm not worried about the Rockets, but they put on a clinic last night. Curry 1 of 10, shooting three points.
- [41:21]
Alex Curry
This is the best Jason McIntyre Day ever. Because everything in the present is like, oh, my God, hair on fire. I can't believe it went this direction.
- [41:33]
Jason McIntyre
Right.
- [41:34]
Alex Curry
Look, they just beat Memphis, the Lakers in Denver, three wins, three big wins, three big emotional wins in four days. And now they're playing the Houston Rockets at home. They were so ready to take a step down. And you're playing again against a young team, athletic team, physical team. They took advantage of that. But I'm not like, again, I'm not going to take this as a referendum on either team. Love the Houston Rockets. Love IME Udoka. Love that he chirps at guys like he's still. He's still the same as he was as a player. Yeah, I mean, he's done this with LeBron, he does it with Steph. If you just. I swear, if a reporter came in to the press conference and was acting soft, he'd probably say something. That's just the way IME Odoka is.
- [42:33]
Jason McIntyre
So listen, I know there's a lot happening in the league with the west and the jumbled standings. Alex broke it down earlier. You had a good take during the commercial break. Like, I'm like, maybe the Lakers should be nervous about the Warriors. Should the warriors be nervous about.
- [42:47]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [42:47]
Jason McIntyre
Houston.
- [42:48]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [42:48]
Jason McIntyre
You know, should OKC worry about the Lakers? Like. And your take was. I don't want to steal it, but.
- [42:53]
Alex Curry
I don't think anybody should be worried about anybody. Like, I feel like it's wide open and it really comes down to matchups and you've got what I mean we're talking about. I'd throw the Clippers and the Timberwolves in not necessarily as title contenders, but teams that could pull an upset. You look at that and I mean, compared to the east, the east feels like a foregone conclusion. Never mind that you've got some teams with losing records that are probably going to make the playoffs in the east and you're going to have some teams with some really impressive records that are potentially not ultimately going to get there. And that's where I. I just feel like you go down the board and it really is a matter of who is going to see who, when they're going to see them. Every single team has some sort of flaw or Achilles heel that if they get up against the wrong opponent is going to get exposed.
- [43:49]
Jason McIntyre
We saw the Phoenix Suns on the outside looking in. They're not mathematically eliminated, but they've lost six in a row. Katie's hurt, blah, blah, blah. I know it's speculative, but this is gonna be the summer of Kevin Durant again. Yeah, it's early. There's Houston as a potential landing spot. Some people are floating the Knicks. I think cowherd is. I don't know. You want to give us an outside the box take on kd. I know it's tough to project what he's going to do because he's kind of a crazy person, but he could go anywhere. I don't know.
- [44:15]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [44:16]
Jason McIntyre
Unite with Kyrie in Dallas. I. I don't know.
- [44:18]
Alex Curry
Honestly, I don't know that I would bring him into Houston. Seems like a natural fit. Yeah, right.
- [44:23]
Jason McIntyre
They got the picks.
- [44:25]
Alex Curry
They have the picks and they need like a real bonafide go to score. I don't like. I like Jalen Green. I think if your aspirations are to play for a title, you might need to. And you want to do it sooner than later than you need to upgrade. I just the. His committed lack of relate leadership. His committed. I just want to hoop.
- [44:49]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah.
- [44:50]
Alex Curry
And you play. You take a player of that talent and bring him into your team, it just. It screws up the dynamic. And I love this dynamic of the Rockets. And yes, I do think they need to upgrade there, but I wouldn't sacrifice that for a roll of the dice on a Kevin Durant.
- [45:08]
Jason McIntyre
That's a great point. We'll wrap up with Cooper Flag. I am irrationally high on him. Yeah.
- [45:13]
Alex Curry
What does that mean? The irrational part I totally get.
- [45:16]
Jason McIntyre
Yeah. Because I'm irrational. But the. I. I don't mind the Kevin Garnett comparisons. He's going to be better as a rookie than Kevin Garnett was, which is not saying much. He won high school to the pros. Cooper Flag of the year at Duke. That being said, over under one and a half MVP awards in the NBA for Cooper Flag. What? What?
- [45:34]
Alex Curry
Come on, slow down.
- [45:37]
Jason McIntyre
I go over. Oh.
- [45:38]
Alex Curry
What?
- [45:39]
Jason McIntyre
I think you can win two mvp. Wow. You'll get. Check around. Pick Scott.
- [45:43]
Alex Curry
I need to look. Where's the producer? I need to be prepped when he's.
- [45:47]
Jason McIntyre
Gonna come with any NBA comps for Cooper Flag. And I'm just extending the question. Come on. What's wrong? What?
- [45:57]
Alex Curry
Look, I love. I love everything about Cooper Flag. My concerns about us internationally in terms of the way we play basketball and having guys that we can count on to still make us competitive in the international game. He answers a lot of that because he is. My comps for him are international because he has. Because he has. It's sort of a cross between Kirilenko and Tony Kuko. He can play on the ball, he can play off the ball. He's got some grit.
- [46:29]
Jason McIntyre
He's.
- [46:30]
Alex Curry
His. His basketball IQ is huge. But, like, I don't know if he has the individual game or he has that. Like, I don't think he's the scorer that KD is. Kd.
- [46:44]
Jason McIntyre
Kd coming out of Texas. Kd. Yeah.
- [46:47]
Alex Curry
No, like, I mean, I just. The thing that kind of scared me a little bit is when I see him go one on one with certain matchups at the collegiate level. He has to work really hard. You're talking about a guy who is. Is usually longer and a little more athletic than most of the guys that he's going up.
- [47:05]
Jason McIntyre
Just reminder, Rick, he should be a high school senior. He's 18. He's not even, like, close to 19. He's like 18 and a half.
- [47:11]
Alex Curry
I know, but here's the thing. When you have a guy that has the basketball IQ that he has and he already has, like, the fundamentals that he has, then the growth isn't the same as when you take, like, a Giannis Antetokounmpa who is wildly athletic but really not developed, and you bring him in at 19, and you're like, oh, like, if he learns how to play the game, he's just gonna skyrocket. Like, Cooper's already one of those guys that he's sort of a made man already coming in. So I don't, like, he's going to get better. No question he's going to get better, but how much better is he going to get?
- [47:51]
Jason McIntyre
He could be maxed out or interesting.
- [47:52]
Alex Curry
Now, listen, I'm not saying max. I'm not saying maxed out. I'm just saying, like, multiple mvp.
- [48:00]
Jason McIntyre
I just think two. That's really. Wow.
- [48:02]
Alex Curry
So you are on one today.
- [48:05]
Jason McIntyre
So I didn't. I. I just thought of this on the fly. I don't want anybody to freak out. But, like, there were stories about Kobe as a young guy going toe to toe with pros. We saw the video Cooper flag at USA Basketball camp. Drew Holiday, Anthony Davis going at them. And the quotes coming out of there were like, this guy can play now in the league. He was 17. Here's a video. Like, let's face it up, A.D. yeah, let me splash a three in your eye. Just unafraid.
- [48:29]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [48:29]
Jason McIntyre
I mean, the kid could do everything. Rick. I got to just say, when you hear about these high school guys doing this, torching NBA players, it's like, oh, snap. Okay. I mean, pull up three. Look at this transition. Look at that. Just yamming on, folks. That bam. Out of bio. He's soaring over Was there. Was there in the post against Holiday Mouse in the house.
- [48:48]
Alex Curry
So I'm watching this and I'm watching the level of intensity from the national team, and I'm not quite seeing what I need to see. That's a lazy, slow closeout in the corner. Okay, so look, you're putting me in this position. I hate this. I love everything about Cooper flag, and I hope you're right. I hope it is. But if I'm looking at what I'm seeing right now, I think he's going to be really, really good. I'm excited to see him play. Just. What are you doing? You put the bar that high and then it's a disappointment. He can be a really, really good player. And he's like, yeah, but he's not a league mvp, I'm afraid.
- [49:31]
Jason McIntyre
We got a Michigan guy on staff, Martin. And I was like, you know you. I know you are a C. Webb guy. I love Weber coming out of college.
- [49:36]
Alex Curry
But speaking of guys who played well against the national team once upon a time in those scrimmages, Webber, phenomenal. Yeah.
- [49:42]
Jason McIntyre
Didn't win an mvp.
- [49:43]
Alex Curry
Nope.
- [49:44]
Jason McIntyre
I mean, I, I love C. Webb. I think Cooper fly skill sets, like, at least Chris Weber may be better. I mean, he's bringing the ball up against pressure.
- [49:51]
Alex Curry
Yeah.
- [49:51]
Jason McIntyre
Like, I. I don't know. I.
- [49:53]
Alex Curry
No, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. I love his. I love his skill set.
- [49:56]
Jason McIntyre
Can we do Rick every day? I just love chopping it up. We love going at it. We might have to revisit a Dame Lillard debate we had like two years ago. Probably not, but anyways. All right, Rick Bucher. Hi, everybody. This message is brought to you by the official Whiskey of the Herd with Colin Coward podcast, Green River Whiskey. As you know, we've been having some fun getting to know Green river, and we just learned they've launched their first advertising campaign in more than 100 years. You see, it seems the team from Green river in reviving the whiskey have accidentally also revived its resident ghost. So if you want to see the ghost of Green river come to Life, check out greenriverwhiskey on their YouTube channel or head on over to greenriverwhisky.com here's to green River Whiskey. Raise your spirits. Product of Green River Distilling Company, Owensboro, Kentucky. Alcohol by volume varies by product. Greenriverwhiskey.com Please drink responsibly. We live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news. Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 1978, Roger Caron's first book was published and he was unlike any first time author Canada had ever seen. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted, has spent 24 of those years in jail, 12 years in solitary. He went from an ex con to.
- [51:35]
Alex Curry
A literary darling almost overnight.
- [51:38]
Jason McIntyre
He was instantly a celebrity, he was an adrenaline junkie and he was the star of the show.
- [51:46]
Alex Curry
Goboy is the gritty true story of.
- [51:48]
Jason McIntyre
How one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places. Imaginable I had a knife go in my stomach, puncture my spleen, break my rib. I had my guts all in my hands only to find himself back where he started. Roger's saying is, I've never hurt anybody but myself. And I said, oh, you're so wrong. You're so wrong that one. Rod from Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to GoBoy starting on April 9th on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or.
- [52:18]
Alex Curry
Wherever you get your podcasts.
- [52:22]
Jason McIntyre
Are you hungry? Colleen Witt here and Eating While Broke is back for season four every Thursday on the Black Effect Podcast Network. This season we've got a legendary lineup serving up broke dishes and even better stories on the menu. We have Tony Baker, Nick Cannon, Melissa Ford, October London and Carrie Harper. Howie turning Big Macs into big moves. Catch Eating While Broke every Thursday on the Black Effect Podcast Network iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts. Wherever you get your favorite shows, come hungry for season.