Best of the Week on The Herd

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – "Best of the Week" Release Date: April 5, 2025

Introduction "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," hosted by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, offers a vibrant and opinionated exploration of the week's top sports stories. In the "Best of the Week" episode released on April 5, 2025, Colin Cowherd, alongside co-host Jorge Ham, dives deep into major developments across college basketball's March Madness, the NBA playoffs, Major League Baseball innovations, and the NFL Draft outlook. This summary encapsulates the episode's key discussions, insights, and predictions, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. March Madness 2025: College Basketball Predictions

Colin and Jorge extensively analyze the ongoing NCAA tournament, offering predictions and dissecting team performances.

• Final Four Outlook

  • Colin Cowherd [03:38]: Emphasizes the dominance of SEC teams, highlighting Florida as potentially the best team due to conference depth.
  • Jorge Ham [52:13]: Predicts Duke to win the national championship, expressing confidence in Cooper Flag's leadership and Duke's consistent performance.

• Notable Predictions

  • Final Four Teams: Florida vs. Auburn and Duke vs. Houston.
  • National Championship Favorite: Duke, driven by Cooper Flag's exceptional play and the team's strategic prowess.

• Key Insights

  • SEC Dominance: Colin underscores the SEC's superior basketball quality compared to the ACC, mentioning, "It's a deeper, better conference. We've been saying this since early January on this show" ([03:38]).
  • Duke's Strength: Jorge praises Duke's defensive capabilities and depth, stating, "Cooper Flagg is too good. You can't hold him down that long" ([52:32]).

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2. NBA Playoffs: Lakers vs. Warriors Analysis

The discussion pivots to the NBA playoffs, focusing on the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors' prospects.

• Lakers' Strategy and Performance

  • Colin Cowherd [16:28]: Highlights the Lakers' improved defensive efforts, noting their recent win against Houston: "When they play defense, it's a real team they've got now. And I've been very critical of the Lakers front office. But right now, offensively, they can match up with anybody in the league" ([16:28]).
  • Jorge Ham [54:46]: Predicts the Lakers will reach the Western Conference Finals, emphasizing their home court advantage and defensive improvements.

• Warriors' Dynamics

  • Colin Cowherd [29:55]: Discusses the Warriors' deep bench and the impact of players like Looney and Post: "The warriors have one of the better benches, like the Boston Celtics in the NBA" ([29:55]).
  • Prediction: Both hosts foresee the Lakers and Warriors making significant playoff runs, potentially meeting in the Western Conference Finals.

• Key Insights

  • Lakers' Home Advantage: The Lakers' stellar home record (29-9) versus their subpar road performance is a critical factor in their playoff success ([16:28]).
  • Warriors' Bench Depth: The Warriors' versatility and bench strength are seen as pivotal for their continued competitiveness ([29:55]).

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3. Major League Baseball: Dodgers' Unprecedented Season

The conversation shifts to MLB, with a focus on the Los Angeles Dodgers' historic performance.

• Dodgers' Record-Breaking Stats

  • Colin Cowherd [04:30]: Applauds the Dodgers for their flawless season metrics, stating, "The Dodgers are the first team in baseball history to go 50 with 30 plus runs scored, 20 plus walks drawn, 10 plus home runs, 55 strikeout and 0 errors committed" ([04:30]).

• Innovations in Equipment: Torpedo Bats

  • Colin Cowherd [12:56]: Discusses the introduction of torpedo bats and their impact on the game: "They've just redistributed the bulk of the bat toward the label for a couple of batters. And it is working wonders" ([12:56]).
  • Quote: "It's like Harry Potter. The wand is choosing the Wizard" ([21:40]).

• Key Insights

  • Performance Without Star Players: Despite missing key players like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, the Dodgers maintain top-tier performance, illustrating their depth and talent.
  • Legal Enhancements vs. Steroids: Colin differentiates between innovative equipment like torpedo bats and performance-enhancing drugs, emphasizing the former's legitimacy and positive impact on the game ([04:30]).

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4. NFL Draft 2025: Focus on Running Backs and Defensive Line

A segment featuring NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay provides insights into this year's draft prospects.

• Top Position Groups

  • Calvin Sampson [33:19]: Identifies running backs and defensive linemen as the strongest prospects: "Running backs and defensive line. Colin. I mean, I was looking at it the other day" ([33:19]).
  • Todd McShay [34:44]: Echoes the sentiment, highlighting the depth of talent in these positions: "I just, I love this class of running backs" ([34:44]).

• Notable Prospects

  • Running Backs: Ashton Jinty, Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, Omarion Hampton, Travion Henderson, Judd Kunchon Judkins, Caleb Johnson, Cam Scatterbo, RJ Harvey, DJ Giddens.
  • Defensive Linemen: A record number of interior and edge defenders projected to be drafted in the first three rounds.

• Key Insights

  • Market Dynamics: Calvin emphasizes the cyclical nature of NFL needs, pointing out the resurgence of running backs due to evolving defensive strategies: "You got to have a running back now to counter it, who's explosive" ([35:00]).
  • Quarterback Evaluations: Discussion on quarterbacks like Jackson Dart and Shador Sanders, with Calvin advocating for their respective strengths despite differing opinions on their athleticism and arm strength ([37:07]).

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5. Additional Highlights

• Innovations and Trends

  • Torpid Bats in MLB: Colin explores how innovations like torpedo bats are reshaping offensive strategies and game dynamics.
  • Instagram Teen Accounts: Brief promotion of Instagram's new safety features for teens, emphasizing automatic protections for contact and content ([09:30]).

• Promotional Segments

  • Wendy's Partnership: Multiple mentions of Wendy's as the official hamburger of March Madness, offering special deals on their app ([00:00], [10:41], [25:04]).
  • Other Shows: Promotions for "Mind the Business" podcast, "Dropping Diamonds" with AJ Andrews, and "Levittown" podcast by Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope.

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Conclusion

In this episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," listeners are treated to a comprehensive analysis of major sports events and trends. From the anticipated excitement of March Madness and the strategic depth of the NBA playoffs to MLB's groundbreaking season with the Dodgers and insightful NFL Draft projections, Colin and Jorge provide authoritative and engaging commentary. Notable quotes and strategic predictions offer valuable perspectives for sports enthusiasts navigating this dynamic week in sports.

Notable Quotes:

• Colin Cowherd [03:38]: "It's a deeper, better conference. We've been saying this since early January on this show."
• Jorge Ham [52:32]: "Cooper Flagg is too good. You can't hold him down that long."
• Colin Cowherd [04:30]: "The Dodgers are the first team in baseball history to go 50 with 30 plus runs scored, 20 plus walks drawn, 10 plus home runs, 55 strikeout and 0 errors committed."

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For More Information: Stay updated with "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" by tuning in live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio from noon to 3 PM Eastern, or stream the podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Jeff T]

Wendy's is the official hamburger of March Manners, 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 a 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.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Colin Coward from the Herd. Are you a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one? Then check out season three Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeart's Ruby Studio and Inuit QuickBooks hosts Austin Henkewicz and Jenice Torres as they talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their businesses. You don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they always have their seatbelt on. Alright, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.

[Jorge Ham]

Or ring the bell on their bike.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay kid, give it a try. Nice. Or remember their elbow pads. Knees too. Okay. Yep, there you go. New Instagram Teen Accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.

[Jorge Ham]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my.

[Colin Cowherd]

Cat not here and I go in and she's eating my lunch?

[Jorge Ham]

Or if hypnotism is real, you will use this suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive controls. But what's inside a black hole? Black holes could be a consequence of the way that we understand the universe. Well, we have answers for you in the new I Heart Original podcast Science Stuff. Join me, Jorge Ham as we answer questions about animals, space, our brains and our bodies. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every Weekday on Fox Sports Radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now, let's get this party started. You're listening to FOX Sports rad. Welcome in live. It's the Herd, wherever you may be. However you may be listening. Calvin Sampson, great coach of the Houston Cougars, is going to be joining us in one hour from now. That team is. That team is a handful and they've had a road. Gonzaga, Purdue, they have had a road. Tennessee got spanked. That game was not competitive. And Tennessee, by the way, didn't do a lot once they fell down. They didn't. Didn't have like a second gear. Not a lot of college basketball teams shoot well. So if you get now like Michigan State, you can be a little bit of trou. I think it's been a fun tournament. I cannot wait for Duke and Houston. Cannot wait.

[Jorge Ham]

I cannot wait for you to give us a bracket update. That's what I'm very excited about. Anything over there? No, no, nothing. Because I got a little chalky with it, as the kids like to say. And you know, what do we. We got four number one seeds, but they're the best teams by so far. It's not even close.

[Colin Cowherd]

Feels like it. Here we go. Colin, right? Colin wrong. On a Monday where Colin was right. Two SEC teams in the Final Four, four in the Final Eight. It's not close. Outside of Duke, nobody ACC really did much. The acc, I mean, the sec, the athletes, the length. I picked Auburn as my number one. Florida, maybe the best team. It's just a deeper, better conference. We've been saying this since early January on this show. Are you watching SEC basketball? Because it looks like the ACC about six years ago. And here's Bruce Pearl, Auburn coach on the conference.

[Calvin Sampson]

Everybody in the SEC is invested. It just means more. And I said this at the beginning of the season. The teams at the bottom of our league are investing very similarly to the teams in the middle and the top of the league. There's just not that much difference.

[Colin Cowherd]

There isn't. Where Colin was wrong, I started thinking too much. I did not have Duke in the final four because three freshmen play over 20 minutes and I thought they were too young. Well, they're also great. They're favored by four and a half over a great Houston team. Their average winning margin. This is much like UConn last year. They're winning by 23 points a game. So they've got athleticism, coaching, length, depth and the best player easily in Cooper. Flag where Colin was right. I said the Dodgers and this is without Freeman, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts being 100% and without Ohtani pitching yet. I think this is the best roster I've ever seen. And according to baseball stats, the Dodgers are the first team in baseball history to go 50 with 30 plus runs scored, 20 plus walks drawn, 10 plus home runs, 55 strikeout and 0 errors committed. They do not have a hole. It is a virtual All Star team. And again, depth of talent, pitching, bullpen. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Where Colin was wrong. You know, I thought the Yankees would pull back a little without Garrett Cole. Who knew they would revolutionize the torpedo bat. They have 15 home runs in three games. It's Babe Ruth on Babe Ruth. Multiply. And for the record, Aaron Judge isn't using them. But they have legally. The dimensions of the bat haven't changed. The length hasn't changed, the weight hasn't changed. They've just redistributed the bulk of the bat toward the label for a couple of batters. And it is working wonders where Colin was right. I've said this Cowboy team is top heavy and in trouble. And Stephen Jones admitted this weekend that, yeah, free agency got a little more expensive than we could Ford. And again in February I was quoted saying this is the big brand in the country that is reeling and reeling fast and they went cheap on a head coach. They've slowly been dying for a couple of years. I know the 12 win thing, but if they pay Micah, that'll be Micah. Dak and CD Lamb have produced one playoff win and that was over that sub 500 Tampa team where Colin was. The minute I started supporting John Calipari, he blew a 16 point lead and lost in the tournament the minute I put my arms around him. It is hard to blow a big lead late in college basketball simply because there are not a lot of potent offenses in the sport. And Arkansas got outscored 27:11 down the stretch. They probably should have called a timeout to slow it down. They didn't and the rest is history. Where Colin was right. I said Aaron Rodgers has all the leverage with the Steelers. He should take his dear sweet time. And he is. Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf had a throwing session at UCLA and Aaron's telling you, maybe I'll take it, maybe I won't. I'm leaning toward he's going to take it now. But this is what I said. If you don't have urgency with the quarterback position, this is what happened to Washington with Sam Howell and it's what's happened with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers. They just don't take quarterback and offense seriously enough. Where Colin was wrong, I hated this story. That receiver who I loved at Arizona tmac, was quoted as saying this weekend, I'm not a big fan of watching film. I'm not. I don't watch football. That's not what you want to say. That, that, that's, that that's got Johnny Manziel vibes all over it, bro. The great ones, the Larry Fitzgerald's, the Jerry Rice. It's. You got to care. It's prep. It's not just hanging out with your receiver group if you want to separate in any position. This is a sport where cognitive function and commitment is really big. I, I love this kid out of college, but this, this is a, I mean, this is a if I need a receiver, I may wait till the next round kind of comment where Colin was right. I've said wide receivers, the convertible sports car of football. It's fun, it's flashy, doesn't produce a lot of playoff wins. Tyreek Hill this weekend wants out of Miami. Hinted at multiple trades and multiple posts on X. Kansas City's been to three Super Bowls since he's left Miami has produced zero playoff wins since he arrived. I like him. I think he's a good player. I'd love to have him on my team. But there is something about this position that, that just creates personality. Plus and it's just as wife said, watch out with DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh. I don't know what it is with the position, but it this is something that is way too common and a bit of a nuisance for Miami. Make you answer questions you don't have to deal with. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

[Jorge Ham]

Introducing Instagram teen accounts.

[Colin Cowherd]

A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they've got the right gear for writing. Knee pads, shack and helmet. Done. See you, dad. New Instagram teen accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your.

[Jorge Ham]

Teen and the content they can see.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Colin Coward from the Herd. For many, the American dream means starting your own business and working for yourself. If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Inuit QuickBooks. In every episode, hosts Austin Henkwitz and Jenice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackle the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own boss. From tracking money in and out to cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff T]

Yo, what's good? It's Jeff T from Club 520 podcast here with my latest fresh take on 2025 NCAA tournament brought to you by Wendy's, the official hamburger of March Madness. What a weekend. Easily my two favorite games from the Elite 8 were Duke beating Alabama, Florida beating Texas Tech, Duke beat Alabama with their defense being able to attack and transition and getting out on the open floor, finding Cooper Flag and all their talented players, and Florida beating Texas Tech. What a win by them coming up big in the end. Now with my Final Four is set. I like Florida beating Auburn because of the way they play. They got a closer in Clayton Jr. And I got Duke playing Houston and I got Houston being my championship in a 2025 NCAA tournament. It should be a good game, should be exciting weekend. I'm looking forward to it. We'll see if I'm right. But while you watching the games in the meantime, remember the freshest deal in fast food's gotta be Wendy's right now. You can get a junior bacon cheeseburger or a double stack for $1 with an in app offer and a purchase. Again, head to Wendy's app to grab a $1 junior bacon cheeseburger, a $1 double stack with an in app offer and a purchase for the freshest hamburgers around. Gotta be Wendy's, the official hamburger of March Madness.

[Colin Cowherd]

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.

[Jorge Ham]

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.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the middle.

[Calvin Sampson]

Thanks for having me.

[Colin Cowherd]

Jeremy, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle. Thanks for having me.

[Jorge Ham]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues. Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week.

[Jorge Ham]

Called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Calvin Sampson]

We should be examining what our government.

[Jeff T]

Spends its money on and are these.

[Calvin Sampson]

Jobs necessary and what are we doing here?

[Colin Cowherd]

But that doesn't seem to be what.

[Calvin Sampson]

We'Re doing in this situation.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or.

[Jorge Ham]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

So we talked about this yesterday. Our leadoff hitter again today is baseball.

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

So Ellie De La Cruz plays for the Cincinnati Reds and he's one of the great players in baseball that doesn't play for the Yankees or the Mets or the Dodgers or the Phillies or the Atlanta Braves or the Houston Astros. Ellie De La Cruz, couple of home runs, seven RBIs. Last night he used the Torpedo bat. And now listen, the Minnesota Twins used the Torpedo bat this weekend and got swept and scored six runs. So it's like Harry Potter. The wand is choosing the Wizard. All right, but it's another win for baseball. More runs, more action, more baserunners. 10 teams now are averaging six runs. So I last week I had Rob Manford, the commissioner of baseball, and I said, you've got parity. The only problem is the pitchers are dominating hitters. You have too many teams hitting 240 like half the league. This morning you got seven teams hitting over.290 and it's not slowing the game down. Last night Cincinnati scored 14 runs. It took 2 hours and 25 minutes. So unlike when pitching dominates and pitching changes and you go to the bullpen and you bring on the fifth guy, those games get into three hours and 15 minutes. It's a Tuesday, Wednesday night. Nobody has that time. Takes you 40 minutes to get to the ballpark, 55 minutes to get home. People have lives. 81 home games. You got to create urgency. So we're now getting more offense, more hitting. And again, not everybody is using the bats. And you know, steroids was different. This is like legal hgh. Steroids would take guys that were non home run hitters. And I don't even need to mention names. And suddenly they were in the race for the American League mvp. Now it also helped guys like Barry Bonds. Alleged. Allegedly. Right. Or other guys. But they, you felt like A lot of times you were taking like AAA players and they were making the big leagues because of hgh. This is totally legal. And it's amazing when you embrace innovation and don't fight it as a sport. And baseball, man, baseball is on a heater. Increase the size of the bases, you know, end extra inning games faster, speed the game up, defensive shift, torpedo bats, more offense, more guys stealing bases, more action. And, you know, it's like grandpa got a sports car. Baseball decided, you know what we're gonna get? We're gonna join a Pilates class and be hip. And of all the sports, baseball now is doing more stuff, right? And again, Ellie De La Cruz is great, but if you give Gordon Ramsay fresher seafood and better ingredients, you get a five star meal and that's what you're getting here. So, I mean, I, Aaron Judge and Ohtani are not using it yet, and I'm not sure they have to. But this, this is not creating greatness. That was the illegal stuff, you know, this is just kind of enhancing greatness. Ellie De La Cruz is amazing. Like now. He's amazing. Plus, and the Yankees led baseball last year in home runs, and they're going to lead it with home runs. Plus, they're not making something again, there is clear magic in these bats, but it's helping Gordon Ramsay more than the guy at Applebee's. It's not making the Applebee's guy, you know, a Michelin chef, but it's taken the really good players and they are just harder to get out. But it's not extending the length of the game so far. And here's Terry Francona after. I think it's more of the player than the bat. I really meant that before the game.

[Jorge Ham]

I still do.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, yeah, I know it is, but it's for real and you better embrace it. I don't care if it's the one and done, the transfer portal, I don't care if it's three point shots. Don't get rigid on this stuff. It works. Order the bats now. So the Lakers won last night, but it was very unconventional. So the Lakers don't play defense a lot. Luke is not good at it. Austin reeves is okay. LeBron picks and chooses ones. He wants to play defense. So the Lakers last night, they beat Memphis the other night. And the reason it's a big deal is they just beat Houston last night, a two seed. And they beat Memphis a five seed. And why that's a big deal, because the Lakers really pick and choose one of them. They want to play defense. LeBron's old Luca doesn't like it and Austin Reaves is limited. So they pick and choose when they play defense. And here comes Houston last night, and Houston is fast, they're young, they're twitchy, and they're the kind of team that would give the Lakers fits. And the Lakers held him under 100 points. And this Laker team, when they decide to play defense is good. They're 10 and 1. They just don't play it a lot. And when you watch this game last night, Dorian Vinnie Smith is on the floor and you only got 36 points total from LeBron and Luka. So this was one of those games where guys, where the guys aren't humming at the top. We got to play defense. And I will say this about the Lakers is they need home court advantage. So The Lakers are 29 and 9 at home. They're a very good home team. They're not the best in the league, but they're very good. They're surprisingly awful on the road. They're sub 500. Generally top six or seven teams in the NBA can be 500 or better on the road. Boston Celtics, by the way, often play better on the road than at home. That's when the warriors were great. Remember when they went into that final against the Celtics? They played their best game in Boston cross country. Tired, older players. So the Lakers are not, not a very good road team. I'm not exactly sure why, but this is the way it's sizing up. So the Lakers need a few things. They need to be. They need to have a home court series in the playoffs. They are also, and they know it. These games against Houston, like last night in Memphis, are important because it'll give them a week off with an older roster. LeBron is an older player. It'll give them a week off to watch the play and stuff. But when they play defense, it's a real team they've got now. And I've been very critical of the Lakers front office. But right now, offensively, they can match up with anybody in the league, maybe except Boston. That's probably about it. Boston is so deep, so many shooters, but the Lakers have three playmakers, I think four guys I would trust to take a big shot, two defensive specialists and an excellent coach. And last night, when you watch them play defense, and this is probably the effort you will get in the playoffs. Pretty good team. Here's JJ Redick after.

[Calvin Sampson]

I think the, the competitive spirit and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Togetherness, we'd have played really hard tonight to put Ourselves in a position to win the basketball game.

[Calvin Sampson]

You know, we weathered some missed shots, did a good job of taking care of the basketball.

[Colin Cowherd]

They emptied the tank on the defensive end. It was fantastic. For the record, just for fun, we're going to make some assumptions here, but the playoffs, if they were to end today, and we're making a couple of plan assumptions, kind of work in the Lakers favor. Okay, so there are teams that match up with the Lakers. Clippers are actually a pretty good matchup with. They've got a legit big. They've got a great coach. Well, the Clippers would open up with a Thunder that series. That's not going to work for them. Also, Lakers would open up with the Grizzlies, a team that's got kind of a mess right now. The coaching staff, they just fired their coach. You don't trust. I mean, John Morant's not having a good year shooting Memphis right now. You want to peak at the end of a year. They're a mess at the end of the year. That's great for the Lakers. Nuggets, Warriors Nuggets going to win that series. That's a bad matchup for the Warriors. But you know what? I wouldn't want to face Steph and Jimmy Butler either. That would be one of the few teams the Lakers could face that has as much playoff experience. The warriors are going to get knocked out by the Nuggets. They cannot stop Jokic. They just do not match up at all. Draymond Green's great. He acknowledges it. We can't do anything. And then Rockets and T Wolves. I don't know who I would take there. That's a go either. I may take the T Wolves. That's a close one. That. That's a go either way. Series based on health, but it works out. You get the Clippers out, they've got experience. You get the warriors out, they've got experience. And then it's potentially the young Rockets, young okc and a Denver team, which, by the way, the Lakers have beaten this year. They've always played even when Denver was clearly better Pre Luca. The Lakers always played Denver close. Now they have the offensive firepower. So it's just some assumptions here, but that defensive effort last night felt a little bit like a playoff game. Dorian Finney Smith playing a real defense. You know, you're not getting a perfect night from Luke and LeBron, although they gave you 36 points. Austin Reeves was good, but you needed other elements. They were at home. Close game. Held the team under 100 very playoff feel for the Lakers. I can't get over the torpedo batch. J. Mac. I can't get over it. The whole thing's crazy. It's just. It is.

[Jorge Ham]

Can we get one on set this week? Can you put a special order in? I'd love to feel it and swing it just to see what it's like.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's, you know, people are, I've said this, if, if the Twins or Orioles were using them and that was it, nobody would care. Some of this is the Yankees. It's like the tush push. If Jacksonville was doing the tush push, nobody would really care. It's the Eagles. They're dominating. Nobody can stop it. There's, you know, we all know this. Everybody roots against Duke, yet everybody watches Duke. Everybody hates the tush push. But the ratings for the super bowl set a record. We know how the world works. Sports fans in America work. But it is, it is crazy what it's doing.

[Jorge Ham]

Well, it's weird. There is a gambling parallel. You know, sometimes you'll find a slight edge in gambling for a little while and you'll beat the market and then everybody will piggyback. For instance, Lakers first quarter bets. Well, guess what? Then the teams adjust. I'm curious how the pitchers will adjust to the torpedo bats if this keeps up. Like, are there radical adjustments to be made? I don't know.

[Colin Cowherd]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, 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 on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. 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 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 show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino Enriched 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 live show, just search Ko, Vino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts. A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they always have their seatbelt on. Alright, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.

[Jorge Ham]

Or ring the bell on their bike.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay kid, give it a try. Nice. Or remember their elbow pads. Knees too. Okay. Yep, there you go. New Instagram Teen Accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see. I'm Colin Coward from the Herd for many, the American dream means starting your own business and working for yourself. If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Inuit QuickBooks. In every episode, hosts Austin Henkewicz and Jenice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackled the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own boss. From tracking money in and out to cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff T]

Yo, what's good? It's Jeff T from Club 520 podcast here with my latest fresh take on 2025 NCAA tournament brought to you by Wendy's, the official hamburger of March Madness. What a weekend. Easily my two favorite games from the Elite 8 were Duke beating Alabama, Florida beating Texas Tech. Duke beat Alabama with their defense being able to attack and transition and getting out on the open floor, finding Cooper Flag and all their talented players and Florida beating Texas Tech. What a win by them coming up big in the end. Now with my Final Four is set. I like Florida beating Auburn because of the way they play. They got a closer and Clayton Jr. And I got Duke playing Houston and I got Houston being my championship in a 2025 NCAA tournament. It should be a good game, should be exciting weekend. I'm looking forward to it. We'll see if I'm right. But while you watching the games in the meantime, remember the freshest deal in fast food's gotta be Wendy's right now you can get a junior bacon cheeseburger or a double stack for $1 with an in app offer and a purchase. Again, head to Wendy's app to grab a $1 Junior bacon cheeseburger, a $1 double stack with an in App offer and a purchase for the freshest hamburgers around. Gotta be Wendy's, the official hamburger of March Madness.

[Colin Cowherd]

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.

[Jorge Ham]

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.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Calvin Sampson]

Thanks for having me, Jeremy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[Calvin Sampson]

Thanks for having me.

[Jorge Ham]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all.

[Colin Cowherd]

Over the country on the most important issues.

[Jorge Ham]

Hi, my name is Venkat.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia. And when you subscribe to the Middle.

[Jorge Ham]

You also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Calvin Sampson]

We should be examining what our government.

[Jeff T]

Spends its money on and are these.

[Calvin Sampson]

Jobs necessary and what are we doing here?

[Colin Cowherd]

But that doesn't seem to be what.

[Calvin Sampson]

We'Re doing in this situation.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So the NFL draft is obviously. And we'll touch on that with McShay here in five minutes. It's coming up in three weeks. So Steph Curry overshadowed by Jokic having 61. Steph Curry had 52 last night, hit a dozen three pointers. Warriors beat the fading Grizzlies. So I always think about this, we've talked about this, how certain players in the NBA are great. Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, they're not influential. Shaq was great. He wasn't that influential. Magic Bird, LeBron, Steph Curry are influential. It's like in Jeff Bezos is rich and influential. He ended malls. He changed retail in America. That's influential. Elon Musk, even before Doge. You know, politics aside, automotive industry, space industry, like that, that Larry Ellison is really rich. 192 billion. He owns half of Hawaii. He doesn't, he doesn't feel half as influential as, like, Steve Jobs did, like, like, brought art into tech. Larry Ellison, just a really smart guy. That and super rich. And that's kind of the difference is Steph Curry, you know, Tim Duncan and Wilt, great, influential. Just great. Steph's just different. I mean, change basketball overseas, AU basketball. And we always knew he would be a guy that would age well. Smart athletes age well. They take care of their body. You know, guys that are still going to nightclubs or don't eat right or they're not intentional, you know, with their training. They. They age very quickly. I always said Cam Newton and Big Ben age very quickly. Brady really intentional with his diet. Pilates training aged incredibly well. And Steph falls into that class. But it's just, it's. It's really remarkable what he's done. He is, and he's not athletically a force of nature. Shaq was. But the second best part of Steph is he just works well with everybody. Right. You don't get a lot of ego. And I've said international soccer in the NBA, you know, listen, it's about the star as much as the team. See, you gotta battle some of the ego stuff. I mean, LeBron's got an ego, but LeBron plays well with others. D. Wade has an ego. He played well with others. Carmelo, not so much. He kind of wanted to be the guy. He was threatened by Jeremy Lynn at one point. So I think Steph's aging well and Steve Kerr's talking about it.

[Calvin Sampson]

Can't believe he's still. Still doing this at this age.

[Colin Cowherd]

But he's put the work in and.

[Calvin Sampson]

He still got it. How much do you think that week.

[Colin Cowherd]

Off he just had maybe boosted up a little bit?

[Jorge Ham]

I think it helped.

[Calvin Sampson]

And I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped.

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah, I'm not.

[Calvin Sampson]

I'm only half joking.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, he.

[Calvin Sampson]

But yeah, the week off was helpful for him. I think he looks recharged, rejuvenated.

[Colin Cowherd]

How about this? Lakers warriors, if the playoffs started today, would meet. Now, that's not what you want. You want those to advance, you want the story to be expanded. You'd love the Lakers and Warriors to win and, and then meet in the second or the third round, but that's where it is today. I will tell you, I was thinking about this. Lakers warriors, the warriors have a really deep bench, and the bench gives you looney and post give you size, Buddy Heel gives you shooting. Kaminga gives you athleticism. The warriors have one of the better benches, like the Boston Celtics in the NBA. In the playoffs, though, are you going to trust Santos? Are you. Are you going to play him a lot? I'm not sure if you are. Are you going to play post a lot? You know, the guy from the Netherlands. Are you going to play him a lot in the postseason? Maybe not. You'll play Looney more so. But it's getting real interesting now. The, the Thunder in the Rockets, especially the Thunder have pulled away from everybody. Man, it is really, really how good? I mean, the Timberwolves are seven. That is a good team. That, that is, that is an all time great number seven seed. Do we have the Eastern Conference standings for us? Because think about this. Like, you could get Kawhi Leonard, you can get depth, Zubots, the center. Like the Clippers are a good team. They're not a great team and you never know who's going to actually play, but it's a good team. Timberwolves as a seven seed compared to a seven seed in the East. Like the, and I've said this, I don't know exactly why this is, but the Western Conference, like, I understand why the SEC is better in college football. The footprint. There's all these unbelievable athletes, these totally addicted high school football programs. Like, I get why high school football is good in Dallas or Georgia or Florida. Like, I get it. The Western Conference has been so much deeper and better than the Eastern Conference. Now. I do think the Celtics and the Cavs are the two best teams, but the Orlando Magic are three games under.500. They're a seven seed in the East. And the T Wolves, that just beat the Nuggets with a great staff, they're a seven seed in the West. So the, the gap is significant. Well, a buddy, NFL draft college analyst, now he's at the ringer. Good for him. Todd McShay, haven't talked in a while. Joining us live in the herd. Todd, how are you? Great to have you on. Congrats on your success and congrats on going to the ringer, man.

[Calvin Sampson]

Thanks, man. It's good to talk to you. It's been a minute. You, you were always supportive of me at our, during our last adventure, if you will adventure, certainly at espn. And it's great to catch up with you.

[Colin Cowherd]

So it's all I keep hearing from my people in the league is this is not a great draft. And I'm like, okay, there's got to be a couple areas that you like it. So if I said to you, give me two position groups, Todd, that you'll go to the well on and you'll say, okay, it's a good year for what in this draft?

[Calvin Sampson]

Running backs and defensive line. Colin. I mean, I was looking at it the other day. I went back 30 years and then I kind of got, I kind of got bored. In the last 30 years, I think it was 26 defensive linemen. That was the highest number we've seen. And talking interior defensive lineman and edge. And this year I've got 35 players along the interior and at edge that could get drafted in the first three rounds. So even if I'm off by like eight, if my evaluation's too high on eight of these guys, it still will be a record number of interior defensive linemen and edge defenders that come off the board. And then at running back, this is, this is the best group I've ever evaluated. I've been doing it 25 years. And it starts with Ashton Jinty, right? Who's going to be a worst case. He goes 10 to Chicago. We could see him go six to the Raiders. I mean, he, he's. If you, when I'm talking to guys in the league, it's like, yeah, he's a running back, but I've got a grade on him that's like just a tick below the top two guys that everyone's talking about in, in Abdul Carter, the edge rusher from Penn State, and Travis Hunter, the generational talent both sides of the ball from Colorado. And then beyond just Genti, you've got Omarion Hampton, who's like 220 plus, light on his feet, powerful, best missed tackles, force of any running back after the catch is a receiver. So he got that combination?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Calvin Sampson]

Oh, he's unbelievable. I've got 18 guys, Colin and at the running back position the first four rounds with grades, the three year average is 10. We're talking about almost twice as much talent in the first four. Yeah, it's crazy. And you go down the list of these guys and it's beyond Jinty and Hampton, it's Travion Henderson and Judd and Kunchon Judkins from Ohio State, who are just, first of all, nasty blockers, both explosive, Judkins more powerful, Henderson faster and more dangerous in the, in the passing game. Then you've got Caleb Johnson from, from Iowa, who is great in that zone blocking scheme. Cam Scatterbo, who was, who was like, he was awesome when you watched him on TV and then putting on the tape. I actually even liked him more. I know he's gonna, he runs in the four sixes and all of that, but he's a phenomenal back. And then even beyond that, you've got RJ Harvey from ucf, DJ Giddens from Kansas State, lesser known guys who are going to come board in the first few rounds, I just, I love this class of running backs. And you've seen it, Colin. Right. Like with COVID 2 defenses and everyone in the league spreading things out, everything's cyclical, right? You spread these, these defenses out. The passing game heavy in the last decade of the NFL. Now teams are trying to figure out, all right, how do we counter that? And it's not. We've seen a resurgence at running back and yes, this talent is outstanding and a lot of these guys would go regardless, irregardless of the year. But with the NFL and defenses playing that cover two making you kind of drive the ball down the field trying to avoid the big plays from the Patrick Mahomes and the Josh Allens and all these big arm quarterbacks. You've got to have a running back now to counter it, who's explosive. And that's why you saw, that's why you saw Detroit. Everyone was yelling at Brad Holmes, the GM for the Lions a couple years. Jameer Gibbs can't draft a running back that high. You already got a running back. Well, look at what that did to that offense. And when the starter get goes out a few weeks and when you've got both of them healthy, it just elevated things. I think that's what we're seeing in the NFL right now.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, so Cam Ward, the playmaker, got a little Caleb Williams. I see it, I get it. Better arm than Shador. If I said to you, and you're hearing stories about this Shador Sanders Jackson dart, are there people you believe that Gray Jackson darts ahead of Shador Sanders?

[Calvin Sampson]

I know of one team that does. I can tell you that there's, there's 31 other teams and that team may not draft either of these, these quarterbacks, but I can tell you that at least one team in the league has a slightly higher grade on Jackson Dart than they do on, on Shador Sanders. And so to me, I have identical grades on them. I watch Jackson Dart and listen, I like Shador Sanders a lot. Doesn't have a huge arm, does not have mobility. I think that's the biggest mistake in the evaluation, at least early in the process. Well, he's, he's Coach prime, son. He's fast. He's, he's not fast at all. I bet you he'd run like a, I don't know, 4, 8 in the 40 if he ever ran one. And he's never going to. But what I do love about him is I think he's the fastest processor of all these quarterbacks in the passing game. Now his instincts in terms of the pocket and kind of extending and drifting and always looking for the home run and not taking the, the short change, those sorts of things he'll manage through. And if people don't like him, what they say is he has some of the bad habits that Caleb Williams had that cause and problems as a rookie, but he doesn't have the arm or any, is a fraction of the athleticism. But the people who love him love the fact that he's the best pure passer in terms of touch timing, layering the football and he's the fastest processor in this class. Now you go to Jackson Dart, bigger arms, bigger kid, more mobile. I think accuracy is, is good, but it's not quite at the level of Shador. Yeah, but the thing that made me fall in love with him and listen, the detractors will say, well Lane Kiffin, that offense, they run that same sale route concept and they'll run it three, four times a game and they do things over and over again, predetermined reads. And yeah, that's true. It doesn't mean he can't do it. It's a matter of getting with him and figuring out how he learns. Can he, can he go through NFL reads and all things. But when I fell in love with Jackson Dart, there's. When you have the tape access, we have like the PFF ultimate combined with like the, the catapult, this whole system, you can go in and do cut ups, go in and watch his cutups on his intermediate throws 10 to 25 yards and watch his accuracy compared to a lot of other guys in this class. And then the thing that really jumped out to me, I watched over 1200 snaps in like a five day span of these quarterbacks versus pressure. His was so significantly better. And I saw a lot of, I know he's not the size and he doesn't have the arm, but a lot of the same things that makes Josh Allen special in terms of avoiding quickly alluding but calm this presence about him as he's rolling out and seeing the field. He was so much better in those versus pressure moments throughout that 161 clip reel that I went through than all of these other quarterbacks were that that to me spoke volumes because that in the NFL you've got to, you have got to make intermediate throw and you've got to be able to work under pressure. And he did both of those at Ole Miss at a very high level.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, Travis Hunter, first of all, I think he's going to be good at Whatever he does. But if I was a coach, I'd be like, I'd rather have 12 targets than chasing the other team's best receiver around. I can get a corner in the fifth round. There is no more lockdown corner. As good as Patrick Zirtan is. There's so much motion, so many sets, the great offensive coaches making it virtually impossible to get your hands on anybody. If I'm New England and I can get 12 targets for this kid, fly sweeps, bubble screens, I don't know. To me, I think he's an offensive player in the NFL if we want to put him in a nickel because we love his athletic ability. But don't you see him as an offensive guy in an offensive league?

[Calvin Sampson]

You know what's funny? Like there's, there's two trains of thoughts thought here. The first is cornerback. It's hard to play wide receiver full time and then kind of moonlight or minor at the cornerback position. Right, right. And so, so coaches get involved in this process and, and they're like, yeah, I understand it, but we can put in installs every week and have like a 20 play package for, for, for Travis on the offensive side. And so from a coaching standpoint, that makes more sense. Let's keep him in the cornerback room. He can do some things and work with wide receivers and work with the quarterback on the field and, and we can meet separately with those. But let's make him a corner and then do the install and some packages for him on offense.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay.

[Calvin Sampson]

But the talent and what you're saying, those two factors, I think he's actually a better wide receiver. I think he's at his best with the ball in his hand. And the thing that goes like, we all get so caught up in, in what we're showing the highlights. Right?

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[Calvin Sampson]

How quick he is, how sudden he is. He's a dynamic athlete. I'm telling you, Colin, he's up there in like the top five of wide receivers in terms of ball skills in like the past decade that I've evaluated. It goes so and so. While that's great at corner, how many interceptions is he really going to have? So the average guy would get three, maybe he gets five in a year. But if I can have that weapon, who's that reliable and refine him a little bit as a route runner, and I already think he's a little bit more refined as a receiver than a corner, I tend to agree. If he falls to New England at four, you're telling me that they're looking at that and saying well, sorry, sorry. Drake May, we're going to play him at corner, but we'll give you like 20 snaps. No chance man. It will come down to the team that drafts him and what they need from him and then the kind of the load management, NBA stuff with him and trying to keep him healthy. But ultimately I want to get the ball in this guy's hands and I think, you know, we all know that offense is the way to do that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Todd McShay now at the ringer. One last question on this because when I was a kid, I mean I can remember the top two or three tight ends. Dave Casper, for the Raiders. There were so few of them. Kellen Winslow. Well, I always had this theory is that as people got bigger, as athletes got bigger and we've just got more 6 foot 5, 240 pound men playing sports and they've got good hands because they played on their high school basketball team. And so you know, mo humans are getting a little bigger. But what's interesting about the tight end is we just have so many great 6 5, 235 pound high school athletes all over the country and it's like, well, let's put them at tight end. Some can block, some can't. But I look at the tight end position now and I never thought tight end was a first round position. Brock Bowers, total outlier. Best college tight end I've ever seen. Kyle Pitts, not as good as I thought. But I, but I do look at Tyler Warren at Penn State and I was, I watched that USC game and I'm sitting there and I'm like, dude, if I had to do, I could, could he throw the ball? Could I put him in the backfield? What do you make of him as a prospect? Because I keep hearing it's a weak draft and I'm like, if you told me one guy went in this draft and we look five years later and went, we just didn't get how good this guy was. He is different. What do you make of him historically as comp and the Penn State tight end?

[Calvin Sampson]

He is different. I mean he's, he's six, five and two thirds and he's 256 pounds. And when you see him like break tackles and rumbling after the catch, you're like yeah, he's every bit of that. Then you see him as a, as a route runner, as an athlete. I mean he snapped the ball in that game and went and caught a touchdown pass in usc. So like he could just kind of, he's, he's kind of different in that you can. And people are like, well, he's not a great blocker. Like, yeah, no kidding. Like, he was doing everything else. And yeah, he's got to improve in that area. I think he's so good after the catch. I think he knows how to get open, even though he. He doesn't separate. Like Colston Loveland. If you want a wide receiver at tight end, that's your guy. Yeah, he doesn't block. Like, he's terrible at blocking. Let's just call it what it is. Colston Loveland's a wide and he's. He's a little bit more like Brock Bowers, just a tick behind him in terms of talent. Warren is different, man. Like, you're watching the highlights here. He reminds me more of Gronk. If Loveland is. Is Bowers or Kelsey in that mode, this guy's Gronk in that. He's. He's going to become a serviceable blocker. But what he does so well is he's gonna find a way to get open versus zone boxing guys out, catch the ball. And then after the catch, he. He creates so many yards with his combination of his athleticism and then the fact that. That he's just barreling through guys, so. And then also there's this guy named Elijah Arroyo, who's 6 5, 251 pounds from Miami.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Calvin Sampson]

Who looks like he's about 230 the way he carries his weight. He had one year of great production at Miami this past year, had some injuries, but if he stays healthy, he's got a chance to be a star. And then Jason Taylor's son, Mason Taylor wasn't even utilized all that well at lsu. A lot of underneath didn't like really stretch the seam and do those sorts of things. He's a. He's the same guy, six, four and a half, 251 pounds as arroyo and. And has an unbelievable skill set across the board. I. Those four tight ends have a chance to make a significant mark early in their careers and throughout their careers. And I think all four of them are going to be off the. Off the board, probably in the top 40 to 45 picks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Todd, you look great. You sound great. Happy for you. You landed in a great spot. Say hi to Bill and the fellas. What a Crush, my man. 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, folks. It's that time. The old crystal Ball arrives on set usually on Fridays, Thursdays, because we're doing best of the Herd tomorrow. We got the final four NBA playoffs around the corner.

[Jorge Ham]

By the way, are you perturbed by the chalky final four?

[Colin Cowherd]

No, I think it's great.

[Jorge Ham]

A lot of outrage, faux outrage, you know that nonsense.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, there's no great games. You have to be careful about confirmation bias. I, There's a kind of a legendary college basketball sports better and he just got crushed in this tournament.

[Jorge Ham]

Oh, Alan Boston. Yeah, I'm familiar with his word. Yeah, crushed, crazy. But he's, he was a good gambler.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. But he loves mid majors. He loves the little guy. And I think that sometimes it's confirmation bias. You're like, ah, the little guy. The little guy. Never forget in America, everybody it wants to eat the rich. Why do people play the lottery? They want to be rich. Let's not pretend like, you know, it's so. It's a lot of, it's just envy. And the same thing is for mid majors is, you know those coaches at mid majors privately, they'd rather coach at Kentucky and play with better coach better.

[Jorge Ham]

Players, bigger nil budget, of course.

[Colin Cowherd]

So the mid major's always been overstated. They, they're a little undervalued historically. But the NIL has changed that. It, you know, the mid major guy gets good and here, you know, from Dayton or something and then all of a sudden, you know, Syracuse or Yukon are like, you know what? You could be our third best starter or second best starter. So that's the way society works. People, talented people have options. I, I saw something the other day on Tick Tock where they were talking about an average looking man has to swipe 200 times on. What's that site?

[Jorge Ham]

Tinder.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tinder. To get one cup of coffee with a date.

[Jorge Ham]

What does a woman have to do?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, it's, I didn't, I don't know that but they said and of the four of the five times they get coffee, they won't get a second coffee. So I mean just things are easier when you have certain height, looks, talent. Well, the coaches want to coach the best players and players want to play with the best players. And so, you know, the NIL is a long time coming. So if you are a believer in paying college athletes, the same people that are upset about mid majors disappearing in March are also the same people that want athletes to get paid. Here's the way it works in America. The minute you pay college athletes, you're going to have a hierarchy very quickly. And people are going to separate. You're going to find out your market value. And so you know that all the people that were fighting for the little guy to get paid, he getting paid now a lot by Kentucky, not Dayton. So that's just the market speaking.

[Jorge Ham]

It's like in Major League baseball, a lot of these lower end teams, the owners that don't want to spend, they're essentially farm systems for the Yankees and the Dodgers and the Red. That's how it's working in baseball. That's definitely what's happening in college football and basketball.

[Colin Cowherd]

All these small market baseball teams for years were propped up by the regional networks, which was the Fox business. When Fox sold it and other people couldn't run it like Fox, it dried up and it's hurt Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and Kansas City and the Mariners. So it's like the truth eventually comes out. The big gobble up the small. And that's all that's happening with nil. The big and. And the, the bigger bankrolls are smallering, swallowing up the smaller bankroll. You see it in tech, you see it in every industry. All right, let's do it. Tomorrow's headlines today, what's the headline for Florida and Auburn? Two SEC hotbeds for hoops these days.

[Jorge Ham]

Two great SEC teams. Got some good news for Auburn. I'll report that just came out out. The headline will be Join us for Crocktail hour. Gator shots go down easy. I have Florida taking down Auburn. However, it just was revealed that Auburn star Broom, the big fella who has just been getting double doubles in like the first half, he practiced fully today. He will play Saturday in the Final Four. He missed practice the last two days, so there was some concern. Remember the elbow and the knee?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Jorge Ham]

Now, Broom is an excellent player. I think he's like 23 years old. However, Florida has the depth, I think to handle. They got four guys that they can throw at the big fella from Auburn. And I give a slight edge to Florida, the backcourt. But I will say my favorite player in this game is Pettiford, the lefty backup point guard, the freshman for Auburn. He is so smooth. I've been saying he's a lottery pick. A lot of people are like, no, no, you watch if he plays Clayton toe to toe. Clayton's a great Florida point guard. I think we'll hear Pettiford as a lottery pick. I think Florida narrowly is games.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, here's the. Here's a game that's going to be great. Tomorrow's headlines today Houston and Duke defense against offense. What say you?

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah, remember after we did the Calcutta, I came on, I said, we got Duke. I'm a Duke Blue Devils fan. I want a Cooper flag jersey. The headline, well, hey, the Dukes of Hazard Cougars wave the white flag and that is flag. I got Cooper flag and Duke advancing. However, Colin, some of these analytics guys have put this in front of me. You got a stat. I don't know if it's out there.

[Calvin Sampson]

There.

[Jorge Ham]

The top 25 defenses Duke has faced in the last month. Zero. You have to go back to the Clemson game in early February for a top 25 defense. Duke lost that game, so they haven't played a good defense. Alabama don't play defense. Baylor does not play defense. Houston's the number one defense in the country.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, it's going to be a close game.

[Jorge Ham]

This will be a test. There's a big divide. The spread is five.

[Colin Cowherd]

Colin, take the points.

[Jorge Ham]

However, Ken Palm, the number one analytics site, says this is a two point game game. And there's another analytic site that says it as Houston by one. So there is a divide. The public.

[Colin Cowherd]

This will be potentially the best college basketball game, men or women, of the year.

[Jorge Ham]

Yes, I think it will be absolutely phenomenal. I think Duke wins. I don't trust Houston in like clutch situations. They've played some, some tough games. They have an edge in the backcourt. But how you not riding with Cooper flag? Give me Duke.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tomorrow's headlines today. So who do you like the national championship?

[Jorge Ham]

Duke. Florida in the Natty. A lot of people had this. You probably had it. Oh, no, you didn't have it in your brat because you didn't go chalky. The headline will be courtesy flush. Duke cleans the rim and cuts down the nets. Listen, John Shire has done a tremendous job. They have an awesome team. They got three guys who could go in the top 20. The big seven footer in the middle, Cooper flag. And then of course, Kipple, who's very good. I like Proctor, the guard. Colin. This is just a great basketball team. The one interesting thing is they are one of the youngest teams.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, that's why I didn't pick them to win it.

[Jorge Ham]

A lot of freshmen and sophomores and it's like, oh, that's tough going up against the grown men of Florida and the grown men of Houston. But I think Duke prevails. I just think Cooper Flagg is too good. You can't hold him down that long.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, so big one tonight. Lakers, warriors, let's go. What's the headline? Gonna be for the Western Conference. Tomorrow's headlines today, the deep loaded Western Conference of the National Basketball Association.

[Jorge Ham]

So next couple weeks on the show are going to be wacky and I figured we'd get our NF NBA prediction out of the way in the West. OKC's one what, 63 games. How many is Denver? One. Don't know. The headline for the Western Conference will be Luca tick fringe. Lakers going off the rails on a crazy trade. I, I, I'm sorry. I think they're going to the Western Conference finals, Colin. I don't think anybody's standing in their way. Remember how they had like a 22 game sample size where they were the best defense in the league and then they kind of cratered and all of a sudden what? They're not that good folks. They played eight games in 12 days. They were exhausted due to the Back to backs. LeBron was hurt, Reeves was hurt. Everybody's healthy now, Colin, and I'm just telling you this Lakers team, totally complete. We're having discussions during the commercial break about who's going to defend Austin Reeves like tonight and in the playoffs he is a tough matchup. You got Luca, Obviously you have LeBron. This is a great litmus test tonight against the warriors, apparently. Tickets, it's a tough, tough ticket to get in tonight. You probably could if you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I'm an influencer.

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah. So Lakers to the Western Conference finals for sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

Finally, tomorrow's headlines. Today, the more predictable Eastern Conference.

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah, it's, it was supposed to be Celtics and Knicks, but then the Cavs have come out of nowhere and they're a challenger. The headline in the east will me. I'd rather be a rich zingus than a poor zingus. Boston breaks bank back to back. I, I just, I like Boston too much.

[Colin Cowherd]

Too much.

[Jorge Ham]

I think they've gone through the, the motions a little bit at times this season. You know, like hey, we just won the title. And I think that's enabled Cleveland to look better than they are. My Knicks. Brunson still not, he's not, not back yet. Yet they haven't matched up great with the Celtics. So I think Boston's the team to beat in the east and I think they cut down the nets again this year.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean it's, they have a couple of really, really sharp GMs, Danny Ainge to Brad Stevens and they just haven't been a lot of misses. I mean when, when, when, you know, some of this is Giannis, Giannis wanted a better running make with more offensive Firepower. And they moved Drew Holiday. Milwaukee loved him for Dame. And Dame's defensive liability. He's getting older, breaking down. And so they got Drew Holiday, which was an upgrade over Marcus Smart. They were good with Marcus Smart, Brown and Tatum. Now they're better than Porzingis. Had a great year in Washington. Nobody paid attention. Brad Stevens brings him over. He's a. He's a character issue. He breaks down. All I know is when he's on the floor and Horford's been slinging it for years. And now Peyton Pritchard.

[Jorge Ham]

Don't forget Derrick White. What a heist that was.

[Colin Cowherd]

They are just. They are. And I'll say it again. They. They've got a Spurs feel where we're not going to pay a ton of attention because they're not a flashy team. We love our Kobe Shack. We love our, you know, we love our Michael Jordan. Showtime. Lakers. Jordan. We like our NBA champ to be flashy. In the 70s, the sonics were good. Washington, Golden State, they weren't flashy. Portland was great. That's it. And that's okay. It's not a criticism. In the NFL, we don't care if you're tough and physical like Baltimore, Pittsburgh, well, you could be a Super bowl champ. NBA, we like a little flash. Or we don't give you the credit you deserve. I think. I think Boston stacked the fact that they are. They can go into any NBA arena. They could go into OKC in the final and win by 18. They are. They. Not many teams in the league can do that. All right, J. Mac, our. Now, you have tomorrow off, and I have tomorrow off. Well, what do you. What do you got planned for the big weekend? You got three there.

[Jorge Ham]

I don't. You know, I gotta prepare for next week. I gotta put some takes in the holster, get them ready, ready for action. Already cooking up some stuff. We'll see.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'll tell you what. Duke, Houston. That is one for the age.

[Jorge Ham]

Should be good. If Duke loses, I'll be kind of sort of devastated. Then it loses. Luster. Like, are you fired up about a Houston. Auburn final or. Houston.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I picked Auburn to win, so I would be.

[Jorge Ham]

Would be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, yeah. You know, it's the thing about Florida and Auburn. Florida, as good as they are, they're one of those teams that can go to come down and give you four or five minutes of wasted possession. You know, and college teams do that a lot. Duke doesn't. Duke doesn't give you wasted possessions where, you know, Duke. They know what they are. They Lean into what they are, and they've got a sensational player. And that's what. That's really the difference of having a superstar in the NBA is. And that's what Milwaukee struggles with. Yes, Giannis is their star, but he's a liability at the free throw line. So do you always go to him late?

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, the Shaq without Kobe or D. Wade is. Is really a force, but you didn't want him at the free throw line. And. And so. And that's why Duncan was great when he had Mano and to Tony Parker because they could hit the free throws and so that. That in college, Duke has the. Okay, let's let. We need three straight great possessions. You just give the ball to Cooper Flag and get out of the way. And even Auburn I like, but they have fewer of them because they have two guys that can get a bucket.

[Jorge Ham]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Is a lot of these college teams, like, even. Even the good teams like Florida or Houston, you can get into a little bit of man, we've gone four straight possessions. We have not gotten a good look at all.

[Jorge Ham]

The other concern with Duke is they haven't played a close game in a while. They haven't had, like, down to the wire. They had some earlier this year when Cooper flag was 18, and they ended up losing a couple of those. I think Kansas was one, but I don't really have concerns. I think. Think they shoot free throws. Great. One of the best free throw shooting teams in the country. Like, should be fine.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. My. My guess is I'm gonna go Duke Auburn.

[Jorge Ham]

I'll go Duke Florida.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right.

[Jorge Ham]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my.

[Colin Cowherd]

Cat not here and I go in and she's eating my lunch?

[Jorge Ham]

Or if hypnotism is real, you will use this suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive controls. But what's inside a black hole? Black holes could be a consequence of the way that we understand the universe. Well, we have answers for you in the news. New iHeart original podcast, Science Stuff. Join me, Jorge Ham, as we answer questions about animals, space, our brains, and our bodies. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

What's up, y'all?

[Jorge Ham]

I'm A.J.

[Colin Cowherd]

Andrews, pro softball player, sports analyst, and the first woman to win a Rawlings gold Glove. On my new podcast, Dropping Diamonds. We dive headfirst into the women of softball by sharing powerful stories, insights, and conversations that inspire and empower it's time to drop bombs and Diamonds.

[Jorge Ham]

Dropping diamonds with AJ Andrews is an.

[Colin Cowherd]

Iheart women's sports production in partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.

[Jorge Ham]

Listen to dropping diamonds with AJ Andrews.

[Colin Cowherd]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Hey, all you women's hoops fans and folks who just don't know yet that.

[Jorge Ham]

They'Re women's hoops fans.

[Colin Cowherd]

We've got a big week over at Good Game with Sarah Spain as we near the end of one of the most exciting women's college basketball seasons ever. The most parody we've seen in years, with games coming down to the wire and everyone wondering which team will be crowned national champions this weekend in Tampa. Listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2020, a group of young women found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare.

[Calvin Sampson]

Someone was posting photos.

[Colin Cowherd]

It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body part. This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope about the rise of deep fate pornography and the.

[Jorge Ham]

Battle to stop it. It.

[Colin Cowherd]

Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.