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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human security usually means extra steps and complications, but with Apple Pay, secure payments are simple. Your transactions are authenticated with face id, touch ID or passcode, so security is built in when you check out. Plus, your name isn't shared with merchants and they don't see your actual card number. Whether you're shopping in store online or an app, protecting your money should be simple. Pay the Apple way Terms apply. We all want the best without having to pay the most. That's where Verizon comes in. Get this now you can take your AT and T or T mobile bill into any Verizon store. They'll look at what you're paying and give you a better deal. Period. You get the amazing coverage you want while keeping more cash in your pocket. Visit your local Verizon store to start saving today. Must provide recent Consumer Mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms and conditions apply Whether you want to maximize your performance or form healthier habits this year, knowing what your body needs can help put you on the right path. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests online at questhealth.com, no doctor visit required for purchase. Quest has a huge selection of tests, including the new Elite Health Profile, a panel made for men and women and tracks 85 plus health markers affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, hormones, metabolism and immune system, delivering a ton of insights in one snapshot. For a limited time, save on select lab tests@questhealth.com with code herd10. That's herd10 at checkout. Terms apply well, in sports and in life, timing is just about everything. You can have all the right talent, right mindset, even have the right team. But if you don't act at the right moment, opportunity slips away. True on the field. And it's true when it comes to your health. Two words for you right now. Prostate exam. I did mine a year ago. Yeah, are you imagining that finger right now? Relax. Prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger free blood test. Around one in eight men in the US going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re clench when caught early at localized or even regional stage, prostate cancer has a 99% five year relative survival rate. So did your tight end just relax? Good. If you're 40 or older have a prostate, go to relaxitabloodtest.com, relaxit's a blood test.com to find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening. So talk to your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested, and discuss screening options and the next steps. It's easy. This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Okay, Arby's just casually pulled up with a deal that feels a little too good. They've got this new meat in three box for $7.99 and honestly, it's stacked with Arby's quality favorites in a way that feels kind of ridiculous. For that price, here's what you're getting inside. You pick one sandwich, the classic roast beef, the crispy chicken sandwich or the crispy fish sandwich. Then it just keeps going because also comes with melty mozzarella sticks, crispy curly fries, and a peach cobbler roll, which is a little sweet treat and so good. And you get a small drink to round it all out. So yeah, it's called Meat and Three, but you're actually getting five items all for only $7.99. Pick the sandwich you want. Make it your own. Available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your meat in three box at any Arby's near you today. 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 herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio. Here we go, our number two conference tournaments ramping up. Selection Sunday is around the corner. Next week the tournament begins. Duke, Arizona, Michigan state, Michigan, Florida, UConn, Gonzaga. So there's still a few moves being made. Bradley Chubb got picked up by the Bills. I thought that was a decent and he's going to get you about nine, ten sacks a year. I thought that was a pretty good get by Brandon Bean, the gm. They got DJ Moore, Bradley Chubb. Those are good. Those are good pickups, especially D.J. moore. So I thought I would give you these are my five favorite moves of free agency. These are the five that jump out to me that are like game altering. Number one, I think Tyler Linderbaum and Jalen Naylor, the wide receiver from Minnesota. I think the Raiders nailed it. I think Linderbaum is second best center in the sport. This is what the Bears did. Go get your young quarterback an elite center. I also think Jalen Naylor is was the fastest Vikings wide receiver last year under the radar signing to go along with the Brock Bowers, Ashton Genty. I thought the Raiders nailed it. Number two, the Rams getting two corners, including Trent McDuffie made them literally in Vegas. Super bowl favorites. So Jalen Watson's a good solid corner, arguably better than anybody. But McDuffie now on the Rams. But the Rams are not paying anybody on that defense for another year or two. They've drafted so well, they're very young. So they get a veteran that can match up with the top niner, Arizona and Seattle receivers in division and beyond. I love that move. Number three, Malik Willis. I know it's only six starts, but last season he was 30 of 35 with five touchdowns and no picks. Really accurate. Jeff Halfley, the head coach at Miami, was the defensive coordinator in Green Bay. He watched him for two years. 22 million makes him the 17th highest paid quarterback in the NFL. I think it's very realistic that at some point next year you will feel like Malik Willis is at least the 17th best quarterback in the NFL. I feel very confident saying that. The number four team. I think DJ Moore is a good get. I think he's a very good player. Never misses starts. Five years. Really durable, smart guy. I think sometimes late in the year with the explosion of Luther Burden for the Bears and Colston Loveland, he felt a little lost and overlooked. He will not feel that way in Buffalo. So he's going to get 12 targets a game. He can go over the top. Josh Allen, like Caleb Williams, strong arm quarterback. He can get free deep. Thought it was a great move by Brandon Bean and I like Tariq Woollen. To the Eagles on a one year deal. Listen, they've already got two great corners. No other team in the NFL can say they have three elite trait corners except the Philadelphia Eagles. He joins Cooper Dejan and Quinnian Mitchell. So this is a stacked secondary for the Eagles. I loved all five of these moves. Those were as good as it gets to me. And I will say this, I do think Bradley Chubb coming in late. Trey Hendricks into the Ravens, solid. Bradley Chubb to the Bills, solid. Those are good plays as well. So you know if you're struggling as a business and I don't know if the NBA is struggling, but it's always hard whether you're a football team or a business, you have to identify your problems and I think the NFL has been very good at that. I think baseball recently, baseball a couple years ago Rob Manfred said the game's not fast enough and we're Losing young viewers who are on their phones. We cannot have three hour and 20 minute games. So they instituted a pitch clock. And baseball also had another issue. Analytics told them, hey, home runs over everything. Well, the problem is strikeouts went up because of a defensive shift. There were fewer baserunners and the game was boring. There weren't enough guys on base, stealing bases, second at home, play at the plate. So baseball made moves. So I think the NBA is struggling to figure out what their real problem is. They think it's tanking and I don't. They've been tanking forever. They think it's dynasties. I don't. The Heels were popular, the Bulls were popular, Kobe and Shaq were popular. I don't think dynasties or tanking are the problem. I think the game's gotten boring and repetitive with too many threes. So I would eliminate the corner three and make it easier to defend the arc threes, the perimeter threes and forcing players to move inside the line, body on body, more physicality, more collisions at the rim. Get rid of the corner 3. Darryl Morey, who was Mr. Analytics, who was a proponent of the threes, has now said, you know what? We've overcorrected. Here's Darrell Morey. I could not agree more. Change the three point line. I don't have the exact remedy. I would move the line back. Even that won't fix it.
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Stugotz
I would get rid of the corner three.
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Colin Cowherd
I would move the line back will help, but I wouldn't get rid of it.
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Stugotz
For example, I believe something needs to be done. I think it's more urgent than tanking. As much as people talk about the different ways people get to threes and think that's all true, the reality is 50% more is too much for that shot. The game is unbalanced for sure. 3 is too much for that shot.
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Colin Cowherd
So it used to be the three point shot was featured on All Star Weekend. Now it's called Tuesday Night Hawks against Hornets. So last season. Here's something I just want you to think about. So most NBA teams shoot about 35% from threes. 35%. So let me ask you, if you're only succeeding at 35% of anything, it could be five foot putts at the Masters. What if Major League baseball pitchers only threw strikes 35% of the time? It would slow the game down. Your hit rate for anything in sports has to be higher than 35%. If the NFL decided summarily, the league decided no more screens, no more drag routes, no more rollouts, no more underneath Stuff everything has to be 20 yards plus down the field. Do you know what the completion percentage in the NFL was last year for throws? 20 plus down the field, 35%. Do you think the game would be better if quarterbacks were completing 35% of their throws? It would be unwatchable. It would be awful. It's excellent when it's at 65 to 68%. Right? We want offense to succeed. It's great that baseball pitchers, half the time or more, throw strikes, speed the game up, force batters to swing. So listen to these numbers. So last year, 396 games, there were at least 80 threes. Again at a 35% hit clip. That gives you on average 52 bricks a game. Do you believe watching an NBA basketball game? Oh, I watched 52 Clanks. If you have any more bricks, you can join a union. I mean, at some point it's not good sports. That's why Roger Goodell cleaned up the catch and Roger Goodell changed the pat. Because the NFL's always understood aesthetics matter. I've said it many times on this show. When you go to a nice restaurant, they want to make sure it looks appealing, not just tastes appealing. Because you eat with your eyes first. That's why there's no blue food. You don't eat with your mouth, you eat with your eyes. So if you go to a Bobby Flay restaurant, if you go to an emerald, you go to any nice restaurant, where I live in Chicago, anywhere in the country, it looks appetizing. The problem with the NBA, you watch these games, it's not aesthetically pleasing. You have the greatest athletes in the world shooting 35% on the shot they shoot the most. You know what's beautiful? Michael Jordan's mid range game. That's beautiful. The sound of the swish, the aesthetics of the swish. It looks cool. So we don't talk about this at all. Baseball had this issue too. Home runs were everything. Well, it was home runs or strikeouts. Launch angle. The problem is there's no base runners. Part of the beauty of baseball is first to third, second to home, stealing bases. Athletes on the base pass, you eliminate that. It's not the same game. And Rob Manfred got it. And the catch and moving the kickoffs. NFL got it. Forget the math. May work on the three, but you're asking teams to launch 52 bricks a night. You go to basketball game. You ever once driven home after a basketball game? And I got to tell you that that eight out of nine bricks in the third quarter was riveting it's bad aesthetics. It's boring and bad to watch. So I don't buy for a second that tanking's the end of the world. Teams were tanking during Jordan's era and magic and birds and I don't think dynasties are a problem. If they happen, they happen. I mean, in college, I mean, college basketball, if I told you Michigan wins the next three national championships in college basketball, it give you somebody to hate, right? Give you somebody to root for and somebody to root against. So, I mean, here's another one. Wemby, 7 foot 6. Wemby took 4033 point shots last season. Do you really think that's aesthetically pleasing? But if you cut off the corner three, okay, now it's easier to defend the wing three, forcing guys in. And I. And I'm also a believer of that. I think basketball is better. You'll see this in March Madness and you'll see it in the NBA playoffs. I think basketball is better when there's physicality and there's bumping and tempers flare. And I think physical basketball is more fun to watch than just up and down the floor. Ymca, pick and roll, jack of three. I don't think it's that compelling. And what's Amazing, Wemby took 403 three point shots and he missed half the year with blood clots. I mean, at some point, guys, it's just the same. Everybody's playing the same game. The other thing I've always thought about basketball, it's our most artistic sport. I mean, Magic didn't play like Bob Cousy didn't play like Allen Iverson didn't play like Steph Curry. Dr. J didn't play like anybody. And Michael and the tongue out and the switching hands and it's artistry. Like there's a real artistry to basketball. Why would you SAP and reduce the artistry by asking everybody to shoot threes? I want Ant driving to the basket. I want Kobe and mj. I want them being artists. Go look at them. Go look at Dr. J's highlights. I watched Vince Carter and Dr. J highlights last night. Just go look up Vince Carter dunks and Dr. J highlights. Not a three. But it's incredibly. The artistry is insane. And I think the threes are formulaic. I do. I just watched a great movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn. It was the opposite of formulaic. I didn't know what I was getting that when you watched MJ and Dr. J, you didn't know what you Were getting every time down the floor. It's like I got no idea what MJ's doing. I know exactly what I'm getting from everybody every possession now. 52 bricks a game. Yeah. So guys like J. Mac who like to jack them up, love it. Yeah. I mean, you said a lot there, Colin. You seem a little combative on this NBA. First it was tanking everybody's outrage. I'm not. I'm not out. And now it's like, well, too many threes. I mean, artists, art changes over time. It evolves. Right. What was awesome art wise in the 15th century changed by the 17th century. I would argue 1970s NBA. I would argue that's not true. Picasso today was worth more than Picasso then. Great art endures. Yeah, but nobody's painting like Picasso did. They're painting in different ways. And now modern art is different, but still beautiful. I would just say that the dunks are still happening and the threes are artistry. I've never seen a 7 foot 7 guy. How tall is what? He's 7, 5, 7, 6. Whatever he is, he's a giant. He looks like a praying mantis shooting threes. And it's fluid and clean. And to me, that's art. I don't. I love threes. I'm a little disappointed in Daryl Morey. I guess he's upset that he just was never able to break through with all his strategies and numbers and process. He's seeing the same thing. Everybody else's World baseball classic ratings, Olympic ratings, World cup ratings, NFL ratings, college baseball, all these ratings are up, up, up. And there's this, you know, there's a little bit of a malaise with the NBA where people are like, even like die hard NBA people are like, the regular season, let's cut games. Why you got to cut games? Hockey guys aren't cutting games. Baseball aren't cutting games. NFL's that everybody's adding games. Basketball is like, we got to have fewer games. How about work on your products? Well, the counter is World Baseball classic is like two weeks. Okay. Baseball season is long. And their ratings were not great last year in the regular season. NHL ratings were down last year in the regular season. So let's compare apples to apples. NBA games don't compare to NFL or college football. Major league Baseball, three years in a row, ratings through the roof. Yeah, but they're not significantly like above the NBA or anything. I mean, their regular season games are fine. World Series amazing. Those ratings are massive. NBA playoffs are going to be fine. We're going to shelve all this talk as soon as the playoffs hit. You're going to love the artistry of Anthony Edwards three pointers. Oh Colin. Geez. Austin Reeves, no artistry there again. His I don't think he's a three shooter. I think he drives to the basket, creates contact. I like watching Austin. He's a contact creator. He's not a three point shooter. I mean I don't think of I don't think of Austin Reeves as a three point shooter. I think he's a contact creator. I love a Dwayne Wade contact creator. I love those games. I I'm guys jacking them from the corner doesn't do a thing for me. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartradio
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Stugotz
Stugats here.
- [19:00]
Colin Cowherd
I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to Ivar. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stugats Co. Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls. I love you guys show. It's one of my favorites. A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugots Co. And Stug Co. Live. So listen to Stugats Co. Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugots Co. And God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily
- [20:08]
Stugotz
cash on just about anything, like a
- [20:11]
Colin Cowherd
slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more@applecard.com all right, two truths and a Lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your AT and T or T Mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most waste to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that AT and T or T Mobile build to your local Verizon store today, get a better deal and start saving based on root metrics Best Overall Mobile Network Performance US Second Half 2025 all rights reserve must provide reason Consumer Mobile Bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Well, in sports and in life, timing is just about everything. You can have all the right talent, right mindset, even have the right team. But if you don't act at the right moment, opportunity slips way true on the field. And it's true when it comes to your health. Two words for you right now. Prostate exam. I did mine a year ago. Yeah, are you imagining that finger right now? Relax. Prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger free blood test. Around one in eight men in the US going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re clench when caught early. At localized or even regional stage, prostate cancer has a 99% five year relative survival rate. So did your tight end. Just relax. Good. If you're 40 or older, have a prostate, go to Relax. It's a blood test.com, relax. It's a blood test.com to find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening, so talk to your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested, and discuss screening options and the next steps. It's easy. Security usually means extra steps and complications. But with Apple Pay Secure payments are simple. Your transactions are authenticated with face id, touch ID or passcode, so security is built in when you check out. Plus, your name isn't shared with merchants and they don't see your actual card number. Whether you're shopping in store, online or an app, protecting your money should be simple. Pay the Apple way terms apply. Let me talk to the guys for a second. If you're over 40, you still work out, compete, still expect results. But your energy isn't what it used to be and the weight's harder to move. You're not imagining it. Energy drops, metabolism slows, fat sticks around. Even when your habits haven't changed. That's not you losing discipline. That's Your body changing and needing better support. MDrive products for years. I trust them every day. Boost and burn one of their supplements built specifically for men over 40 struggling with energy and weight. With support for healthy T levels designed for everyday use, not extreme dieting, not crash fat burners, just smarter daily support. It combines clinically tested ingredients with measured stimulants supporting metabolism and fat burn without extremes. MDrive is the number one men's health brand at Sprouts. Support your body the smart way. Go to m drive for men.com the code is heard. H e r d for 25% off your first order. Mdrive4men.com code h e r d I I like the nil. And like anything that's new, it, you know, people don't know quite how to get their arms around it. So everybody complains about the Nil and the transfer portal. But I'm kind of like, I like the idea of college kids getting a little scratch, a little lettuce before pros because we used to do documentaries on athletes go broke and you don't see that as much because kids, they got a little bit of money. I like the Nil as a kid that was around some money. Do you worry about the Nil and what it provides, or are you comfortable with it and think it helps young athletes?
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Stugotz
I talked to Marcel Reed about this on my podcast last week and I asked him, are the schools and the programs having financial people come in and talk to you? Are they making sure your guys are being smart about money? You have a private jet deal right now. Marcel Reed, how are you keeping from spending 40,000 to take the boys and to go on a trip and do stuff? And he said they do have people come in. I believe there's probably people in College Station and in these towns that are bankers that are, you know, people that are managing their money, that are trying the best to make sure these when these kids get early, early money, you know, if you're a high school kid and you're coming out, you could get a million dollars dropped in your bank account by the time and first day that you get on campus. That's crazy. I obviously had an experience with money very early on and it took me a long time to learn about it because I didn't educate myself. So it still has the ability to go both ways. It is of money. We're seeing points right now where there's a round table discussion about what's happening with college football and the playoff. I know at the end of this month As a group of Heisman winners, we're all going to a location, we're sitting down. They're updating us on where the Heisman Trophy ceremony fits into this playoff. You know, where does it fit into the end of the year. Now, I think it's something that we are all very much concerned because as a former winner, we love this event. We love being back. I love being around the guys and seeing everybody who comes back. It's a special thing in the history of college football. I don't want to see that go away. But there are things that are constantly changing. It shouldn't be pay for play. Guys should get paid to do a commercial or nil deal or this. Right now, it's just a wild, wild west. You need some regulations, and you need some things for these college kids to not just have all the power and run over the game that is college football right now. It's ridiculous. I think a lot of coaches are sticking up about it. You've seen Calipari talk about it. You've seen Dabo, you've seen Elko. You've seen, you know, Signetti. A lot of these guys be like, yo, this is crazy. What's going on with tampering and this or that. And college football right now is run by agents that may not have a lot of experience, but they're friends or family friends of somebody who's got with these guys. And I don't think they're always getting the best advice. The thing that you can't do as a college athlete is transfer or get into the transfer portal and then not find a new home. And then you're back at home where you started this whole journey. Without a team, you may never get back. So it's tread lightly in this. And really, it's really benefiting. Benefiting the top guys of college football.
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Colin Cowherd
The you. You went to Texas A and M, but you're right now in Austin. I've always said I think there's three programs in college football that I love when they're good. Miami, Texas, and USC. Because I think they feel like almost like 30% NFL. They're big. A lot of college programs are rural towns, small towns. That's great, too. But I love that Miami's good. I like that Texas is good. But I've always said Texas, for all the resources, actually underachieves. They should have like nine natties. And I said this years ago. I said, I think it's too distracting. Austin's too fun. There's the scene, there's the Food. There's the women, there's the. It's just this wild, fun town. Is it possible that there's too many good things going on in Austin to be as good all time as Alabama or Ohio State?
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Stugotz
Well, to be honest, it all kind of started in the 2010 and 2011 recruiting class. 2008, 2009 recruiting class, recruiting class. Texas made some iffy decisions on who they were going to give the keys to for their team, and they really, really messed up by not offering this quarterback out of Kerrville Tyvey a scholarship. They went through their downhill slide and we got to watch it from a Texas A and M point of view with a big smile on our faces as they ate it on Saturdays every year for four or five years. But look, I understand that USC is the Miami's, the Texas is. They should be better this and that. I am a bigger fan football right now of the Texas A and M's, the Vanderbilts, the Indiana's, the teams who haven't been good in the past. But the NIL landscape has allowed them an opportunity to change their program very, very fast. With the right coach, the right leadership, the right money of boosters, you can have Vandy have a season like they had. You can have Indiana come back and win a national championship. Get a quarterback in a team like Mendoza, and you go and you knock off a Miami team who's been dying to get back to that since the early 2000. So I like the parody of college football. Look, we'll always have the history of the Texas, usc, Rose Bowl. We'll always have the history of, you know, the Miami Hurricanes, teams that are some of the best ever. I said this on a podcast a couple of weeks ago. The Big Ten is kind of running the show in college football right now. It's taken a lot of power from the sec and we'll see if that continues to shift.
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Colin Cowherd
I gotta end with this. It's a personal question, so you don't have to answer it, but you sound so much more mature than 10 years ago. And by the way, you're older, obviously, but in your journey, how did you get there? Was it therapy? Parenting? Looking in the mirror, you sound like a different guy. You've got a different perspective. That is really hard to do because you not only had some missteps, you were public. It's much harder to do when you're public and people are reminding you of your mistakes. How did you get to today?
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Stugotz
Look, I think I've accepted the fact that I'm human. I make Mistakes. I'm really hard on myself if you guys don't think. I was really hard on myself about things that were going on in the past that embarrass myself, embarrassed my school, embarrassed my family. I was always raised by a great group of parents who did a lot for me, who instilled great values. I went to amazing coaches in my life that instilled good morals, values, good things in me. And now I've done a lot of work on myself. I've spent a lot of time with therapists. I've worked through a lot of trauma that we all have in our life, from the way that we grew up, from things that may have happened with your parents, from instances in life that you couldn't always control. You know, I couldn't control certain things that happened to me in my life, and there was a lot of things that I could that I didn't do right. So from there, I've taken an honest assessment and an honest look at my life and what's transpired, what I did to myself, what other people. People did to me. And I look at it through a very honest lens. And to be honest, I look at situations now in life from not only my perspective, but from how this may affect somebody else or if this decision is made, what does it mean for this or that? And look, I hold myself to my own own standard. I was raised in a church. I feel like I have more religion in my life. I have better friends that surround me. I have a passion and a purpose in my life of things that I want to do moving forward, that get me out of bed every day, and that move me. I'm in a great place in every sense of the way. Work wise, family wise, where I live, what I have going on in my life. And I'm proud of those things. And there's one thing about me is I appreciate Hasselback and what he had to say that got me here last week. I appreciate you for having the perspective that you had on things. And I'm a writer for my friends. You have always been good to me. I appreciate you having me come on the show. And more than anything, like I said, I want to spread a great message of when you come into my life and you have me on your show, I want you to feel like, man, that guy is doing better in life. He has grown up. And if you come into into my life and interact with me in the streets, I want you to leave with a, you know, interaction with me. That was funny, that was fun, and that made you feel good and have a good time, and that's what I'm going to continue to do for the rest of my life.
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Colin Cowherd
Wow. Great perspective. Good for you. Hey, you know what? Let me ask you a football question before we go. Fernando Mendoza, not a great athlete. People say he's a little dorky. Whatever. So was Andrew Luck. What do you make of him? Just as a player. What do you make of him?
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Stugotz
Yeah, I think he's going to continue to get better. I think he throws as I was watching him at the national championship game, throws a really good ball, has a lot of zip on his passes, reads coverage very well. He obviously had some good help at the receiver point and the team that they had last year at Indiana. The situation he's going into is going to call for a lot of patience. But Brock Bowers, you know, genty rebuild some of the offensive line, get a defense, you keep Max Crosby, like, have some patience with it. And I feel like this kid is going to be very good. He more than impressed me being around him at the Heisman. We have continued our relationship since then, and I've talked to him, you know, a lot through this period of the NFL draft. He's a great kid. I wish him nothing but the best.
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Colin Cowherd
Yeah, good stuff, Johnny. Really appreciate it. You gave us 20 minutes. You didn't have to. And Godspeed. Good luck to you. You're always welcome on the show. If you want to promote something, call us, we'll put you on. I'd love to have you on during the season. You got great insight. For sure.
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Stugotz
For sure. Yeah, anytime. Thank you, guys. Thank you to your staff, everybody. Thanks for letting me come on the Herd. Much love.
- [33:50]
Colin Cowherd
You bet. Johnny Mantell, Johnny Football, who has really turned his life around. And good for him. Him. Good for. You know, it was funny when I reached out, I thought, you know, we've been critical of him. You know, this is. I talk. He's an athlete. I talk. I try to be fair. And I thought, yeah, he probably not going to be comfortable. And boom, he said, you absolutely. I want to talk about it. So good for him. Kind of transformational to listen to him from 10 years ago, right? Like, wow, you know, put his head down, got some therapy, looked in the mirror. Different dude. He'd be, you know, he'd be, I'm telling you, if you didn't see him play at Texas A and M like he was. I mean, there's been a handful of college quarterbacks. Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, Tommy Frazier at Nebraska, you know, Tim Tebow that you're just watching them and you're not sure it's going to work at the next level, but it really works at the college level. And I mean, he was just, dude, he was just different. He was one of the first quarterbacks that Nick Saban put his hands in the air is like, yeah, I can't, I can't stop this guy. Johnny Football. That is a great nickname. Of all the, of all the football nicknames. Johnny Football's pretty damn strong. We'll take a break. J. Mac Herdline next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. All right, two truths and a lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true. Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your ATT or T mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that at and T or T mobile builder local Verizon store today get a better deal and start saving based on root metrics. Best overall Mobile Network Performance U.S. 2nd Half 2025 All Rights Reserve must provide recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Pay around the corner and around the globe. Apple Pay is accepted at millions of places worldwide. Wherever you see the contactless symbol in stores or the Apple Pay button online and in apps, whether you're checking out on iPhone or Apple watch, just double click pay and be on your way. Add your debit or credit card to wallet and you're good to go. Pay the Apple way Terms apply. Well, in sports and in life, timing is just about everything. You can have all the right talent, right mindset, even have the right team. But if you don't act at the right moment, opportunity slips away. True on the field. And it's true when it comes to your health. 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MyPolicyAdvocate.com Here we go. It's hour two. It's a Friday. We got good stuff. World Baseball Classic's been amazing. I'm still going to defend Bam out of Bayou got. Did that guy get ripped apart by the NBA fraternity? I don't get it at all. And he's got a hysterical bite on that. Bam out of Bay is. You know, he reminds me a little bit of another former Miami Heat player, Udonis Haslam. Good guys, low profile, work their butt off. Just perfect Miami Heat culture, guys. And I mean just the NBA savagely went after him and I don't buy any of it. I'm going to get to that in about five minutes. I'm going to support Bama to Bayou's 83 point spectacle in a couple of minutes, but all right, the drafts coming up in April, a draft can absolutely change a franchise if you get the right quarterback. So the Raiders getting Fernando Mendoza, that's going to be a big deal. Okay. But I think really, when I look at teams after a season ends, I look at the coaching hires, I look at free agency, and that's about 75 to 80% of what the new league is going to look like. And maybe I'm being optimistic on some of these free agent signings, but a lot of GMs made moves. I agree with so many. So here's my top 10 pre draft. Draft may tweak a spot or two, but I doubt it does a lot. And here we go. Number 10. Number 10. I would say Detroit. I thought they had a coordinator issue last year, not a personnel issue. Drew Petzing, new OC I think is going to be fantastic. Listen, they've had a top five offense in four straight seasons and last year they had a coordinator issue or Dan Campbell had a takeover play calling. And they were still viable 9 and 8. So I think they're going to improve by two or three wins. I love their front office. You know, I like Jared Goff. Respect Dan Campbell. Lions at 10. Number nine, Patriots. Now, why do I bring him down? Well, they go from the historically easiest NFL schedule in 50 years to the sixth toughest. They lose to Fond Diggs, they add Romeo Dobs. That's kind of a wash to me. They add Kevin Byard in the back end of their defense who's an interception machine. I love the Coaching the owner, the culture. I just think the AFC had a down year. Lamar's back, right? Like Mahomes won't get hurt again. The Chargers will be better. Denver B, Knicks, another healthy offseason. So I think New England at nine, number eight. I think Sean Manion, the new OC is gonna work. I thought Tariq Woolen grabbing him at corner. I didn't think it was a position of need. The Eagles now have the best cornerback troika trio in the league by a lot. So it's not like they didn't need, didn't have enough talent defensively. Now they added an elite Pro bowl level corner. I think Manion. Listen, Nick Sirian is very coordinator dependent, okay? That's just the reality. He needs a Kellen Moore. He needs a Shane Steichen. I think Manion could be good. I have Philly at 8. Number 7. Listen, the smart bet, take the Houston Texans to win their division again. They added David Montgomery, the running back. I think that is a sneaky addition. So David Montgomery and Woody Martin, that is a above average running back tandem and they just couldn't, they couldn't produce consistent run totals last year. Yeah, it's worrisome that CJ Stroud has regressed, but they're still winning their division. AFC south, they're favored to win it for a fourth year. They won 12 games last year. I think they'll be around that this coming year. Number six, probably lower than a lot of people think. I like the Chargers. Listen, they had the worst O line of the league due to injuries and won 11 games in a good division. They're going to win 11 plus this year. They get Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt back at tackle. They have a ton of cap space, so they've addressed the interior O line. They also added Mike McDaniel who I think is one of those coordinators like Detroit's Drew Petig. That's going to be worth a win or three. And they, they got a couple, kind of a sneaky Keaton Mitchell, the running back, the speed back from Baltimore comes over with Amarian Hampton. So I, I like what I see. I think this is going to be a team that's offense leads the way unlike last year where defense had to lead the way. I have the Chargers at 6, number 5, Broncos. People may forget this, but in that divisional round loss to the Patriots, they were missing Bo nicks, their number one back, J.K. dobbins, and their number two and three wide receivers. They were banged up at the end of the year. The NFL, as you well know, is a league of attrition. And they just picked a bad week to be playing in the divisional round. Team won 14 games. They don't allow sacks, and yet they led the NFL in sacks. I don't think that changes. Great head coaching, great line play. Den Denver at five, number four. I'll put Josh Allen an inch ahead because he's Josh Allen. I think Bradley Chub again, kind of a sneaky, smart signing. Gonna give you about 9, 10, 11 sacks. And DJ Moore, because the Colston Loveland and Luther Burden exploded last year. At the end of the year for the Bears, people think, well, DJ Moore's numbers drop. DJ Moore is still a number one. Never misses starts, tough player. So Chubb and DJ Moore, to me, are some really nice B plus added elements. Buffalo at four, number three, the Seahawks. I think it's almost impossible to win back to back. I think Kenneth Walker leaving is a real thing now. If it was a great running back draft, I wouldn't worry much. It's not. Zach Charbonnet comes back. They've got kind of a running back by committee after Charbonnet. Listen, JSN Mike McDonald, Sam Darnold, Gray Zable, Nick Amenwori, they've got really good leadership on this team and really good players. But they had to move off some really nice football players. That's what happens when you win a Super Bowl. Guys want to eat. Beat Seattle. I have met three. Number two, the Bears. To me, first round picks, gonna be a corner. Second round picks, they're gonna go and get a pass rush. I like what I see. Again, a really sneaky stat with the Bears. They were the third best rushing team in the league last year. And you think it's about Caleb in the aerial circus. They ran the ball really well. Now they have to replace Drew Dolman at center. They did with Garrett Bradbury. Berry from New England, not as good as Dolman, but a good solid pro in the middle. Anchoring your O line again. They're probably not going to lead the league in takeaways like they did last year. They'll probably drop to somewhere in the upper half in the NFL. But I have the Bears at number two. Number one, the Rams, they solve their dilemma. Corner Trent McDuffie, top five corner teammate Jalen Watson was an argument. The Rams were the best team last year, but in the NFL you don't have to be great anywhere. You can't be bad anywhere. And last year the Rams really had issues in their secondary. So they've Gone out, solved it. Trent McDuffie is an elite corner. And there you go, there's my post coaching hires post free agency. Top 10, Baltimore 11, Jennings, Jacksonville 12. Jacksonville lost a couple of key pieces. Don't love that etn the running back who'd been there with Trevor Lawrence forever. So I got Baltimore 11, I got Jacksonville 12. And that's where we stand today. Okay, so I gotta defend Bam Adebayou. So Bam Adebayou is a pros pro, all NBA defense five times, two time Olympian, very much a Heat culture guy, plays on both ends, excellent pro. And a couple nights ago he drops 83. And I defended him. I said, okay, got a little doctored at the end. But he had 31 points in the first quarter. He had 62 after three. If he just played a normal fourth, he scores 71. But he scored 83. That surpassed Kobe and people didn't like it. And the pitchforks and the knives came out and I'm like, guys, this is not a. This is not a random guy that, you know, he scores, he defends, he's an Olympian, he's a legitimate player. And Spoelstra is not a guy that doctors stuff up. Here was Bam on his critics after an 83 point performance. First of all, y' all are blaming me. You should be blaming the head coach. Get that first.
- [48:37]
Stugotz
I was not the one letting me
- [48:39]
Colin Cowherd
go one on one the whole game until I started, until I had 70. Then you started to send a double. At that point I got 70 with like what, nine minutes left to go in the game. You think I'm not going for it? I mean, seriously, you got 71 points, nine minutes. Everybody knows the Kobe number. I'm gonna go after the Kobe number. I don't have any problem. SPO could be my favorite coach in the NBA. Spo's like, get over it, people. I apologize to absolutely no one, period.
- [49:14]
Stugotz
I'm not losing any sleep over what
- [49:16]
Colin Cowherd
other people are saying about it. What's ethical, what's not.
- [49:18]
Stugotz
All this stuff happened under two minutes.
- [49:21]
Colin Cowherd
Like I said, like he had already broken a bunch of records and we're going to go for was just an amazing moment, you know, to be a part of that. And I would do it 10 times out of 10. By the way, when people say that's not basketball. Was hack a shack not basketball. Of course it was. Shaq was a bad free throw shooter. Mike Dunleby, I was in that arena when he began the hack a shack with his Portland Trailblazer team. They couldn't stop him. They started fouling him. Fans hated it. It's real basketball, okay. When I was a kid growing up, Dean Smith used to get a lead in North Carolina and they would run four corners offense, and they would freeze out the other team's offense. There was no shot clock. Was that basketball? It was allowed. There's a lot of stuff in sports that it's almost like being an accountant. You're always looking for loopholes and how to manipulate. I have. I mean, you see sometimes in the NFL you bring in like a third tackle and he's an eligible receiver. That's not real football. Yes, under the rules it is. What they did in the last couple of minutes of the game is legal, by the way. Right now, I've defended. Tanking. Tanking. Today. You can say it. It's not allowed. I watched it all year with Indiana. I watched it with Utah. It's allowed. So you can try to shut off accountants. They're going to find loopholes. And I just don't have any problem with a pros pro, a great organization, a great coach saying, okay, we got nine minutes left. He's at 70. We're going for the Kobe number. I'm not losing any sleep over that. I mean, James Harden for years was falling down, taking threes. The NBA had to step in and go, okay, that, that's not going to work. I can guarantee Adam Silber is not sitting there thinking, hey, listen, the next time a Guy gets to 70 with nine minutes left, we've got to outlaw what they did. Nobody cares. I was reading this the other thing because I said I watched it on YouTube. I didn't watch it live. Tyler Herro and Norman Powell, the Heat's other two leading scorers, were out of the game. So who's going to shoot? I don't know. The guy was 70. I'm going to probably give him the ball. I love Bam's reaction and I love SPO's even more. Think Verizon is expensive, Think again. Anyone can bring their AT&T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal. So bring us your bill. Walk in, run in, pogo sticking, teleport. If you can ride on the back of a rollerblading yak or fly in on the wings of a majestic falcon. Any way you can bring your AT&T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store today, and we'll give you a better deal on the best network based on RootMetric's best overall mobile network performance US 2nd half 2025. All rights reserved. Must provide a very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill and the name of the plan person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Whether you want to maximize your performance or form healthier habits this year, knowing what your body needs can help put you on the right path. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests online@questhealth.com no doctor visit required for purchase. Quest has a huge selection of tests, including the new Elite Health Profile, a panel made for men and women and tracks 85 plus health markers affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, hormones, metabolism and immune system system delivering a ton of insights in one snapshot. For a limited time, save on select lab tests@questhealth.com with code herd10. That's herd10 at checkout. Terms apply. I'll say it up front. I don't usually endorse supplements. Most promise shortcuts. Anybody who's done real work knows shortcuts fail. But I like EmDrives. Every morning I put that protein powder in my coffee. It's practical. As you get older, energy dips and weight comes easier. That's biology. M Drive, boost and burn support steady energy metabolism and fat burning, so effort actually counts. Clinically tested ingredients find that it sprouts. Amazon or mdrive4men.com mdrive for men who still show up. Most people think their insurance will cover them if disaster strikes. But here's the truth. Many are wrong. You pay your premiums, you assume you're protected. Then the fine print hits. Exclusions, loopholes, limits. Suddenly that coverage you counted on isn't really coverage at all. That's why I like my policy advocate. They take your actual policies Home, life, auto, break them down in plain English. They show you what's really covered and what isn't. Cost 27 cents a day. That's it. Less than a cup of coffee. Before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com let them review your policy. You might be shocked at what you'll find. MyPolicyAdvocate.com this is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Okay, Arby's just casually pulled up with a deal that feels a little too good. Good. They've got this new meat in three box for $7.99, and honestly, it's stacked with Arby's Quality Favorites in a way that feels kind of ridiculous. For that price, here's what you're getting inside. Do you pick one sandwich? The classic roast beef, the crispy chicken sandwich, or the crispy fish sandwich. Then it just keeps going because also comes with melty mozzarella sticks, crispy curly fries, and a peach cobbler roll, which is a little sweet treat and so good. And you get a small drink to round it all out. So yeah, it's called Meat and Three, but you're actually getting five items all for only $7.99. Pick the sandwich you want. Make it your way available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your meat in three box at any Arby's near you today. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.