← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Bam Adebayo’s 83 Point Game, LeBron + Luka Doesn’t Work, Bears Win Total, Best American Actor?
00:40:17
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Danny Parkins
Guaranteed Human today's podcast brought to you by Ferguson Home where it all comes together. Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where you'll find top products by brands like LG. Visit your local showroom or visit FergusonHome.com
- [00:21]
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- [02:25]
Colin Cowherd
the volume.
- [02:27]
Danny Parkins
Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, American Beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab At a barbecue, the ones you raise to celebrate your team, that have been part of your story for decades. Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi. There's something people don't always think about. The companies behind those brands are still making their drinks right here in the US While there's a lot of talk about bringing manual manufacturing back, America's beverage companies never left. They're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometown. So 275,000 men and women across all 50 states. Real jobs, good paying jobs, the kind of jobs you can raise a family on. So more than 100 years, those brands have been part of everyday lives. And they're still here, still investing, still operating in communities around the country. So if you care about strong local economies and companies that walk the walk, check out the good work and what they're doing it. We deliver for America.org. All right, Danny Parkins, you know him, you love him. I want to start because I'm, I'm making my summer vacation plans and stuff, you know, and, you know, because both of us, we can't take any time off during the football season, so you got to take all your vacation time in the summer, which is harder because that's when most people take time off, so it's harder to find good flights. So you know how I always, I always talk about this, like with my wife, you know, there's always this debate, is the economy good? Is it bad? How do you, what's the indicators? Is it inflation? Is it the stock market? Is it the housing market? And I've always kind of. I remember years and years ago when I would come to Chicago, somebody at ESPN gave me a driver, gave me a number for a driver. It was Bernie Mac, the late comedian's driver. So he used to tell me just hilarious Bernie Mac stories.
- [04:20]
Clayton Eckerd
Who?
- [04:20]
Danny Parkins
I love Bernie Mac.
- [04:21]
Clayton Eckerd
Wow, that's awesome.
- [04:23]
Danny Parkins
Yeah, he was just, he just told, Because I love Bernie. And Ocean's Eleven at the time had come out and I just, I couldn't get enough Bernie Mac stories. And, and I remember talking to him one time and I said, how are things in Chicago? And he said, well, the traffic's getting bad again. That means the economy is good. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. He goes, yeah, yeah, yeah, in Chicago. He goes, I can tell you what the economy is when the traffic's lousy, people are going and coming home from work, right? Coming. And so I thought, oh, so I have always thought about that. And I tend to use airlines. If the airlines are full, I don't care what the economic indicators tell me, or people are flying and there's kids on the plane. That means you're like, literally talking your wife into, let's fly the kids down to see Grandma. That's expensive. That costs a lot of money. So I'm making some travel plans this summer. And so I want to take my. My son is doing some schooling in. He. Every year he goes, in the summer or late spring, he goes to Europe and does a couple of weeks of, you know, classes through his school. So he's in Madrid. And I said, hey, why don't I. Why don't we go a week early and you and I can hang out and then I'll leave and you just stay and do your classes for a couple of weeks so you have a long Spanish, you know, summer. Just. Dad will just hop on early and we'll hang out together. And so I'm booking because he's going to go with me. He's going to fly into Chicago and go with me. And here's my test of the economy. So I said, let's go. Yeah, let's do business class one way, just in Madrid, because I'm going to get my own way home. He's going to come home in this class, late night, sleeping, most of it. Business class, one way, two people, $17,000. And I went, okay, the economy's good. So I said, jack, I'm going to buy some gummies. We're going to sit in economy and either get stoned or something, but we're going to sleep and we're going to sit in the back of the plane because Dad's not going to spend it. $17,000. Economy is like 2,300. Business is 17 grand. And I said, I like sleep. I don't like it. $15,000 worth for seven and a half hours to Madrid. So as I'm doing this, I'm thinking to myself, and there were only two seats left in business class. Who are these people? It's a huge plane. There's 60 business seats. They're awful. The first class are double that. They're all full. And I'm like, this is just one flight out of Chicago to Madrid. And so. And at night. And so my takeaway is, how do you judge the economy? I just. I said to my son, I said. And we were laughing about it. I'm like, you can't tell me the economy's not rolling for somebody because the whole damn plane. So if that flight's full, how many of New York, Philly Boston are full first.
- [07:31]
Clayton Eckerd
So first of all, can we do gummies together? I didn't know that was. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't know that was on the table and how. So that opens up a whole new world of possibilities for Danny and Uncle Colin. Second of all, it'll be hilarious for anyone to see colin cowherd in 31C all zonked out on 10 milligrams, like, so that they're going to be like, is that Colin Coward? He's riding in coach. Yeah. You know, he saw it was the sign of the economy. So that's phenomenal. Madrid's great in Spain's great. You guys will have an amazing time. How do I judge the economy?
- [08:16]
Danny Parkins
Well,
- [08:19]
Clayton Eckerd
I will say, like, I don't think it's the stock market. That's not a good. That's not a good indicator because, you know, there's like the Fortune 500 companies, but then there's like the big seven, and, like, are the big seven carrying everything else? And the AI boom. And, like, all these stocks just go up, up, up, up, up. To me, it's not the stock market. Groceries feeling expensive is something for me that, like, if I'm noticing that our grocery bill feels expensive, and we definitely, you know, it's not all organic, but we shop at a nicer grocery store, try to eat healthy. We have the what fruit do you want today? For the kids? They have multiple options in the house. You know what I mean? So if I feel like groceries are not something, I'm very fortunate. Not something that I have to budget for. But if I am noticing that, it's like that we spent how much on groceries this week? If it does, even if I'm noticing it, I'm thinking that someone who is significantly less privileged than me must be hurting from it. And so when people say the economy's ripping, I'm not positive that because if you're going to fly to Europe, flying overnight's not a bad way to do it because you can sleep on the plane, not have jet lag and go. And between two major, major hubs and business class, it's like company travel. It's business travel. Like, so, you know, I do get the sense that, like, inflation is hurting people who make normal money. Like, if you're. If you're. If you're right, if you're the breadwinner of your home and you're making $60,000, life is hard right now and expensive. I think that there is just a spread between, you know, the, the wealth gap is growing, the number of billionaires is growing. And so like wealth inequality is growing. And so in terms of like a single indicator, I don't think that there, I think you have to go a little smaller than business class to Europe because I just think that like there's a lot of people I know someone who just got, she makes pretty good money, not six figure but like she's in her mid-20s, lives in New York and makes nearly six figures, we'll say. So it's you know, a salary that a lot of people would be happy to make at 26 years old. But when you're in the most expensive city in the world, it's a lot. She, she just won what they call the housing lottery out here. Where she gets to, they, they have, they have every building that comes up and I don't know all the details of it, but every building that comes up, every place where you, they have to have a certain number of like rent controlled apartments. And she gets to move into a one bedroom for 2,300 bucks. But like in an amenities building, in a building that has a pool and a gym and an elevator. And so, and she is talking about it, about it like it's like winning the actual lottery because of the relief of she will be spending less money on a nicer place than she spends on her current studio apartment to grind it out making whatever 90 grand a year in New York. So I think that the economy be like doing well. I think you just have to, I think you have to scale it down a little bit more in terms of like the things that you look at, on whether or not people are spending the money on things like that.
- [11:56]
Danny Parkins
I have, my stepson and his fiance are moving to Brooklyn. They're at our house tonight and then tomorrow they drive the rest of the way. They've moved from LA to Brooklyn and they're paying 4600 for a two bedroom in Brooklyn. It's a beautiful cool building with a beautiful gym, like a real gym and a rooftop like bar for young people. It's very young hipster place. And I actually told them, I said for the quality here you're not going to get anything in California that nice. And like they can, it's Brooklyn. So they next to a park, they can walk everywhere. And I'm like, God, I said I economically I'm maybe in a bubble but God, that feels reasonable.
- [12:40]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, well I mean yeah, Brooklyn is super popular and I wish that's the thing that I need to like explore more In New York. I just, I'm in the northern, I'm in the burbs north of New York, so I never get down there. But like, all of the people, like the foodies here and the restaurant scene, everyone says, like, all the best spots are opening up in Brooklyn. And yeah, it's, it's obviously all relative. Sometimes we're. You're detached from my level of earning. I'm detached from some other level of earning.
- [13:05]
Danny Parkins
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I know I'm living in a bubble. I, I, so I live through my kids. I ask my kids all the time what, I look at them, what's rent? I, you know, I asked my studies in college, how's the money situation? He's like, I'm getting by. He likes to cook.
- [13:17]
Clayton Eckerd
That helps.
- [13:18]
Danny Parkins
So he, you know, that helps him out. And, but it's, I just, when I heard that business class, I was just like. And they're like, and there's like four flights a day. And I'm like, well, I'm going on the least desirable one and that's the price. I was just floored by it.
- [13:35]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, no, I mean, Nick's in Japan right now. And I was like, so you fly in first class? It's a long flight. He's like, not for 30k. I'm like, $30,000 to fly to Japan. It's like, it's crazy. You could buy my car. Like, what are, what are you talking about?
- [14:00]
Danny Parkins
So I defended Bam Adebayou. And, and here, here's what my two things is. First of all, if John Morant scored 83, far less of a player than Bam out of bayou. Not even the same stratosphere. Bam's just bigger, more mature, more reliable, two time Olympian, five time all defense. But if Ja Morant scored 83, people would celebrate it because he's cool. Aesthetically, he's appealing. It would look cool. There'd be at least like four unbelievable spinning plays. Bam scores 83. And it's like, what? My neighbor in waste management has a nicer house than I do. This, I don't like this at all. Be one thing if it was Ben Affleck. It's like, you know, I tend to think in the NBA, style matters. And I think it's off putting for Bam to shoot 43 free throws when he averages five. And I mean, Kobe Bryant stayed in a game against an awful Raptors team and scored in the last four and a half minutes 11 points in a route. He was in the 70s. He was high 60s, 70s and he just kept going and people celebrated it. There was no pushback. I mean, in the fourth quarter, he's one of only the, one of the only Lakers that took a shot. He was like, he shot like 14 of the 17 shots and nobody batted an eye. But Bam does it. And I think, I just don't think stylistically we feel like he's the guy that should do it. So that's why, that's why I defended it.
- [15:39]
Clayton Eckerd
Could not disagree more. I don't personally think it has much to do with Bam or his style. I definitely think it has some to do with Kobe. But you brought up Kobe. Let's just go back to the 81. It. It became a blowout, but I just pulled it up. So I have it exactly correct. They were down seven after the first. They were down 14 at half and they were up six going into the fourth quarter. That game, that game was a real game. Now was Kobe going for the record? Yes. Did Kobe take all of the shots late? No doubt about it. But Kobe did that all the time. Like Kobe could be a bit of a ball hog. I mean, that was literally at one point in the fourth quarter, six point game. I think that Bam is a great story. A very, very, very good player, all star Olympian. He worshiped Kobe Bryant. He clearly has friends in the league, respect in the league. I mean, Durant came out and supported him immediately. Giannis Lebron, he's. He's a well liked pros pro who's one of the best defensive players of his era. I thought it was cool that Asia Wilson was there. I have a group chat of people who like really care about the NBA. And Bam having 43 at halftime hit the group chat. My wife was out to dinner. I was watching Wemby against the Celtics. So when Bam has 43 at halftime, like, oh, that's interesting. I'll throw it on the second TV on the League Pass. Then Bam has over 60 through three and I'm like, okay, something's clearly happening here. Let's main TV it with volume. Jaylen Brown had been ejected by this point from Celtics. Let's flip the screen situation. I'm going to lock in on this. So I did not watch like highlights of it or box score it. I watched the second half of that basketball game. Sometimes the story is the record. And I know it's not the Wilts is the record, but it's the modern scoring record. Sometimes the story is the record, other times the story is how you got the record, how Michael Strahan got the Single season sack record. It became more about how he got it than the record. Doesn't mean he wasn't a great player. Doesn't mean it wasn't a great season. But getting the last one against far when Favre laid down, you're like, that doesn't sit right. Doesn't look right. Don't love it. When David Robinson won the scoring title over Shaq, the Clippers sat all the starters. After five minutes he was clearly gunning for it. He got 71. We don't talk about it as an all time great scoring accomplishment. We talk about it as kind of game, the system a little bit. But okay, he's the scoring champion. The last six or seven minutes of that basketball game last night, it was just not basketball. They are intentionally fouling to maximize possessions. Up 25 in the fourth quarter against the Wizards. Spoils.
- [18:46]
Danny Parkins
Yeah, it's.
- [18:47]
Clayton Eckerd
Dr. Spoelstra is challenging offensive fouls on bam. On a charge with four minutes left in a 20 point game to try to get him extra free throws. His teammates are intentionally missing free throws to try to get him extra possessions. Like I have. It was a great game. I have no problem with them going for the record. I have no problem. But when you are manipulating possessions in order to do it and Kobe's, yes, he shot all the shots, but it was at least a competitive game. Minutes into the fourth quarter, it became a blowout because of his dominance. I just, I didn't like how he got the record. It doesn't mean it wasn't an all time great performance. When Klay Thompson scored 62 on 29 minutes, he sat the fourth when Kobe had 65, I think against the Mavericks and they were blowing him out, he sat the fourth. There's just like there was something about it that just didn't sit right if you were watching it because he didn't get it by playing real basketball.
- [19:57]
Danny Parkins
If he'd have scored, he had 62 at the end of three. If he'd. If he just ended with 71 and they didn't do that. You're saying if he just scored 68 and didn't do that, it sits much better.
- [20:08]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, of course. I mean we've. Booker, Lillard, Luca, they all have 70 point games. Like it's scoring is going up, teams are tanking, teams are bad. Like, like all of those.
- [20:20]
Danny Parkins
It.
- [20:21]
Clayton Eckerd
When David Robinson did it, it hadn't happened since David Thompson and there were three guys ever to do it. Then after David Robinson did it, there was a long gap until Kobe did it. Then there's It. It's happening more regularly. Like, I. I was going back and forth on sound. Tirico and Reggie during the Celtics game are talking about what Bam did. And Reggie's like, openly opining that someone's going to get 100. And he's. I mean, he's. He's right. If what happened last night is immediately celebrated when it's not basketball, like, someone's going to get hot. A team is going to decide to game it and go for it, and that guy will be hot from three. I mean, Bam took a bunch of threes. He only hit, like, seven of them. He shot. He shot. He shot less than 50% from the floor. So, like, And I know people have been in my mentions and comments all day. Like, all you do. All you guys do is you just want to complain about basketball. Like, I promise, I love basketball. I was watching two games by myself on a weeknight in the regular season. I love the sport. I just don't like how he got it. And here's a take or a theory that I haven't said publicly. I wanted to save it for you, I think, because he. Kobe was his favorite player. I think if he would have tied him at 81, no complaints. I think if he would have. I think if he would have done it as a tribute to Kobe, it would have been like, oh, my God, how cool. And like, yeah, the Wizards and yeah, they were gunning for it, but there is something about Kobe's 81 in the flow of a game and Bam's 83 when he is being triple teamed and his teammates are passing up layups and they're intentionally following guys and challenges, challenging calls and missing free throws.
- [22:15]
Danny Parkins
It.
- [22:16]
Clayton Eckerd
It wasn't basketball. I have no other way to describe it other than it wasn't basketball. And so I just. It. I don't want it to take away from Bam because it was cool. But I can't sit here and celebrate it in the same way as Kobe Bryant's. I can't. I can't do it. Reasonable minds can disagree.
- [22:41]
Danny Parkins
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- [23:52]
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- [24:21]
Danny Parkins
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- [26:17]
Colin Cowherd
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- [27:23]
Danny Parkins
Here's another take I had I said through LeBron's career, you know, it's. It's almost like I use the example of David Schwimmer on Friends. He could be a mobster in his next 10 roles. To me, he's Ross on Friends. He's been typecast. Yeah, kind of the white, whiny kind of. He was such a strong character on Friends and he played it for so long. That's what and who he is. And so similarly, LeBron has been typecast is that LeBron makes everything work. He and Dwyane Wade were not a perfect fit. Neither was really a great catch and shoot guy. The team had no center or no true point, but they worked because of sheer athleticism. He and Kyrie Irving shouldn't have worked. Kyrie needs the ball. Kyrie plays no defense. And yet LeBron made that work. LeBron made Ilgunas Zelguskas work in Cleveland got him to a Finals. He made him suddenly. We talked about this guy as this energy guy without much touch. It's just unbelievable. Anthony Davis had a label as a soft player, didn't fight through injuries. Not in great shape. Nope. He wins with him too. And it's perfect. So Every Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. smith was a broken player. Everything. For 20 years, LeBron had been tight cast. It just works. So then when he plays with Luca, it's like, well, of course this is the easy one. And it's the. It's the one that doesn't because neither wants to be off ball. Luke is so much better at this point than LeBron is. So LeBron has to play off ball. He's having a bad jump shooting season. And if you play with Luka, you have to be good defensively to cover up his flaws. That's why the one time he went to the finals with Dallas, big, athletic, they acquire that trade deadline. P.J. washington, rim protectors. Suddenly you're like, oh, Lucas stinks on defense. It doesn't matter. He just pushes people to this, then takes off, pushes people, runs them off the three point line. So there's a way to build around bad defensive players. Stephen Kyrie, well, Lebron never was that. And so there's this belief that LeBron and Luka, it will eventually work. It's over a year in the net rating, the defensive rating. It's atrocious when LeBron and Luka are together. In fact, when Luka and Austin are together, it's fantastic. And nobody wants to hear this. Luca and Austin are great. Luca without Austin and no, LeBron's great. Austin. Just take LeBron out of all the plus minuses. Everything works unless you put LeBron in it on the Lakers. And nobody quite knows what to make of it because he's still a very good player.
- [30:29]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, LeBron is still a very good player. It's the Lakers fault in terms of the roster construction because to your point, they were together last year and we've watched LeBron and Luka Long enough. We should know. But I think there's a time when LeBron and Luka could have worked, but not when LeBron's 41 because I mean LeBron was first team all defense, I think 2009 to 2013. Like he's not. He doesn't have as many. He doesn't have as many as Jordan did.
- [31:06]
Danny Parkins
Yeah, six times, all in his 20s. But there are no great defensive players in the NBA in their mid-30s on. They're just not.
- [31:14]
Clayton Eckerd
And so. So that's the thing. Like, there was a point in time when LeBron and Luka obviously could have worked, but it is not when LeBron is in his 40s, and everybody should know that. So, you know, they haven't played a ton of minutes together this year, relatively speaking, but we. We want to make them a story because they're good for ratings. It's the lakers. It's celebrity. LeBron matters a lot to the league.
- [31:44]
Danny Parkins
And, like, it's a good offensive team. They're fun.
- [31:47]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, exactly. Right? And you. And you, like, when they walk onto the court,
- [31:54]
Danny Parkins
feel.
- [31:54]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, it feels big. And it's like. And I'll admit, like, I'm like, damn, that's an impressive fight. Like, you know, like, when you.
- [32:01]
Lavar Arrington
Like when they.
- [32:02]
Clayton Eckerd
When they walk out of the court, you're like, well, on any given night, it feels like they could score 125 points and just. And just outscore you. But the west is too good, and, like, the Thunder are too good defensively, and the Rockets are too good defensively, and the spurs are way too good defensively, and the Wolves are too athletic. Like, they're drawing dead.
- [32:22]
Danny Parkins
They're.
- [32:23]
Clayton Eckerd
They're. They are. They are. They'll make the playoffs, and they are drawing dead. But they have so much star power and brand power that people like us almost feel compelled, frankly, to talk about them because it's good for business. But, like, I can't tell you how many times I've seen, like, Lakers contender or pretender? I've been on shows where the question is, like, Lakers, and they are not a contender. They're not a contender. No, it's. It's very obvious. And, like. And so, like, they're worse with LeBron. Is that LeBron's fault if, like, if he is still very good and he's 41, he's like, well, you guys want me to be Scotty Pippen? Like, I'm not that anymore. Like, so I just. I guess it's a criticism of LeBron, but at 41 years old, I don't expect him to be a lockdown defensive player, given that that's never happened in the history of the sport.
- [33:15]
Danny Parkins
Bears, nine and a half. Is that the easiest bet of the offseason? Bears have added Kobe Bryant, Devin Bush, Bradley, the center. Caleb's going to get better second year. They. By the way, they play the NFC south and the AFC east, so, you know, they're beating the Dolphins, Jets, Bears, nine. And listen, I love.
- [33:42]
Clayton Eckerd
I Love, I love it. The, the regression case is simple. They had seven comeback wins, they led the league in takeaways. And left guard, center, right guard, right tackle, all played over 90% of your snaps. So you're going to have some offensive line injuries and obviously the Dalman injury, you already, you've already lost your center out of that equation. So there's going to be, it's going to be a different offensive line even if they're bringing the other, you know, three pieces back. You know, that's, that's the three pronged case for regression is what I just said. Offensive line won't be as healthy as it was. You won't lead the league in takeaways, and you're not going to have seven fourth quarter comebacks. But Caleb is going to be better. He's just, he is going to be better.
- [34:29]
Danny Parkins
And the, well, Colston Loveland and Luther Burton at the end of the year were accelerating. They became like, like, like Colston Loveland became. Is he like the second best tight end?
- [34:38]
Clayton Eckerd
Correct. And I think so, yeah. I think the Bears have an in, incredibly high offensive ceiling this year. Like, I think they're going into the year thinking that they can be the best offense in football. Now probably a third of the league believes that. Dallas believes it, the Rams believe it. The Jaguars believe it. The, you know, the Niners believe it. So I'm not saying, I'm not saying I'm picking them to be the number one offense in football, but like, they absolutely are going to go into the year thinking that they can be. The schedule point that you made is a good one. And that's the, like Caleb's improvement in year two under Ben Johnson, Year three in the league, like it's the year for the leap. And he got better every month during the season last year as he was learning the system. So I cannot even imagine how big of a leap he can take from year two to year three. So yeah, you're not going to hear me coming on here and being like, I think the Bears are an eight win team. No shot.
- [35:31]
Danny Parkins
Okay, So I just watched one battle after another. Twice I watched, watched it and then I flew back from Florida and I watched it again. I think it's an exceptional movie.
- [35:42]
Clayton Eckerd
I've only seen it once, but yeah, I saw it in theaters. It was great. I just watched Marty supreme the other night. But go ahead.
- [35:49]
Danny Parkins
How's that?
- [35:51]
Clayton Eckerd
Shalom. I was incredible. Incredible. Sorry, go ahead.
- [35:58]
Danny Parkins
So I watched that movie and after it was done, I said to my wife, I said, I Think Christian Bale is the best European actor. Russell Crowe is the best actor in Australia. And I said, I think Sean Penn is our greatest domestic actor. I think he is our greatest. I think he's the greatest actor in our country. And I watched that movie. First of all, part of being a great actor is I cannot take my eyes off you. When you enter a scene, it doesn't matter who else is in the scene. If you're in the scene, my eyes go right to you. The second thing I judge is if you don't talk a lot and you still have power. Anthony Hopkins in Silence with Lambs. He's only on screen 11 minutes. He has very little dialogue. Literally dominates, dominates the movie. It's one of the greatest performances in the history of acting. 11 minutes dominates. And also, that movie was released very early in the year, so. Which is, like, not a recipe to win Oscars. Like, you usually want it to be released right before the Oscars. That came out long before. But I'm watching that movie, and Leonardo DiCaprio is obviously brilliant, and yet Sean Penn, when you juxtapose him, when you put them on the screen together, I'm like, no, Sean Penn dwarfs Leonardo DiCaprio. And I, I, I just came out of that movie, and I'm like, I'm not sure there's a lot of great actors. And I'm not. It's not a short list. It's a long.
- [37:41]
Clayton Eckerd
Right. There's a Denzel. There's a Denzel argument. There's a Tom Hanks argument. There's a Leo Art.
- [37:46]
Danny Parkins
And sure, there's a. Yeah, there's, there's just brilliant people everywhere. You know, in my lifetime, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, like, there are people that, I mean, Meryl Streep just doesn't make sure. I, I can't get over the performance. God, in the, in fact, before, I won't, you know, I won't give too much away. But before the demise of Colonel Lockjaw, Sean Penn, even the last two scenes, you're like, I don't know how they did it. This is the greatest makeup artist in the history of the industry. I, I. And by the way, I want my artists, I don't want them to look like Jon Hamm. I don't, I don't want my artists to look like Denzel. I want them to look like artists and be off and different and unique. And that's why I think it's so effective when you get, like, you know, it's, it's Robin Williams could play. He just. He was just different. Robin's brain was functioning in a million. He could do Mrs. Doubtfire. He could do Good Will Hunting. He was just. He was a different human being from Stand up to his humanity to his. I mean, just this cavernous ability to do. Reservoir of different characters and voices. I think Sean Penn's the best actor in this country.
- [39:13]
Clayton Eckerd
Let me listen. It's a great. It's a great take. It's obviously super subjective. He's got a real good shot at winning Best Supporting Actor.
- [39:23]
Danny Parkins
Oh.
- [39:24]
Clayton Eckerd
You know, but like, Benicio was incredible, too, in that movie. Also, as a nominated Best Supporting Actor, he was funnier. Right. I think Sean Penn's character stole so many scenes in that movie because I
- [39:38]
Danny Parkins
think it's the best movie I've seen. I think it was my favorite movie I've seen. When I watched it a second time, I liked it more. I think it's my favorite movie I've probably seen in 12 months.
- [39:50]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah. I mean, listen, it's a really good year. Sinners was great. One battle after another. Marty supreme. Like those. It's a. It's a fun Best actor and a fun Best Picture race this year. And the odds seem to suggest that it's pretty wide open. And the. I don't remember which one won it, what, but I know that, like, SAG, AFTRA, Golden Globes, the BAFTAs. Like, I. It's been kind of split. Like it had, like, one person hasn't won all of the awards leading up to it. So there's a lot of debate on who's gonna, you know, take home. Take home the hardware at the. At the Academy Awards. And what a spot for Conan. I know you and I have talked about Conan, but, like, what a hosting spot for. For Conan next week with the Rob Reiner tribute and trying to balance everything that's going on with, like, the industry and that. And that's just an. I can't wait to see how he handles it because I, you know, it's more of my generation than yours, but I think he's brilliant. What I would say about DiCaprio's case that I like for the best. For the Best actor, and I guess maybe it's more of a chalk opinion than Sean Penn is. Has never done a franchise and has been crushing it since he was little. And, like, he won the best actor for the. For the Revenant, and I'm like, is that even one of his five best performances?
- [41:19]
Danny Parkins
He barely spoke.
- [41:20]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, yeah. Like, it was just, you know, like Gilbert Grape incredible. A scene stealer in a huge ensemble cast in the Departed, you know, going blow for blow with Jack Nicholson. Obviously. You know,
- [41:41]
Danny Parkins
he's a very good. He plays a great, strained human.
- [41:44]
Clayton Eckerd
Yeah, but it's. It's just. They're all. You know, they're all singular characters, and they're. Like, I said, no franchises, lot of original ideas. Big movies, small movies. Like, he's just. He's spectacular. Hank's doing all of the biopic work that he can do is pretty incredible. Like, he actually plays people, you know, and they're just like, oh, wow, you're. You're now Sully. Like, okay, yeah, I believe it. You know what I mean? I believe it. But I think Sean Penn, why he stole the scenes in that movie. It was like. It was like the most. It felt like he was the most unlike Sean Penn because he was, like, such an evil, vile person, and he
- [42:26]
Danny Parkins
was such an inappropriate.
- [42:28]
Clayton Eckerd
That's what I'm saying. He was so.
- [42:30]
Danny Parkins
Scene was inappropriate.
- [42:31]
Clayton Eckerd
Oh, Leonardo. Leonardo DiCaprio was kind of a weird stoner.
- [42:36]
Danny Parkins
Like, I buy it.
- [42:37]
Clayton Eckerd
Like, you know, like, how much. How much work did you do? Like, when he. He would tell the story. It's a great story of how he, like, prepped for the Quaalude scene in Wolf of Wall street. And he's like, I watched a video of a guy who was really messed up on YouTube. It's like, okay, like, yeah, you've also done a lot of drugs, so. So you can. You can get in the game. Like, yeah, that was a pretty incredible performance by Sean Penn. And I. Listen, I'm not like, a death of Hollywood, like, totally fatalistic person about it, but I see why every actor is like, I want to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. Because, like, that is such a. Yes, there's a source material of a book, but, like, you've been working on it for decades. It's a huge, epic piece. It's shot in all these different locations. It's like a totally original. It's a totally original take. Like, I would just imagine all these actors that are getting like, oh, I could be the fourth person to be the Hulk or the sixth person to be Batman or Spider Man. Like, it's just like, you get a script like that, it has to just be so refreshing because, like, what a singular movie that might be a defining. Sean, he did Mystic River. He's done these unbelievable things, and it's like, oh, that's the defining thing for Sean Penn. It's pretty cool.
- [43:55]
Danny Parkins
I thought it was fascinating. The Road scene that lasted about 15 minutes at the end. You could write that down in a script, and it's not captivating, but when you watched it and the move and the music they used under that, that intense music that went like 12 minutes of watching cars drive up and down a desert road could not take your eyes off it. The second time, I'm like, God, oh, it's good.
- [44:22]
Clayton Eckerd
It was great. And, like, you know, it's a longer movie, but it didn't feel long at all. Like, that. That is a great test of a movie. Like, did you think it should be shorter? If you thought it should be shorter, it's not a great movie. It can be a good movie. It could be a movie that you would like and recommend to somebody, but it's not a great movie. Like, if you have a long movie that you're like, it's great, and I wouldn't cut a thing. It's like, that's. That's a great film because that movie was a. It was an epic. It was. It was. It was just like. And there's not. There's not that many anymore that, like, you were like, I have to see it in the theater. I have to see it how the filmmaker intended. You know, the Tom Cruise movies are like that because of the special effects. Yeah, I want Christopher Nolan movies are like that because of the scola. You had to see Oppenheimer in a theater. I can't wait to see Odyssey in a theater. But, yeah, Paul Thomas Anderson doing a movie with that cast. I was happy to fork over the money for the popcorn. Oh, my God. This is a great podcast.
- [45:25]
Danny Parkins
I was all over the map.
- [45:26]
Clayton Eckerd
You were, you were. But it was fun. I like it. I like just bouncing around, hanging out these hours. Fly by, man the volume, shoot your shot.
- [45:38]
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Clayton Eckerd
He shoots, he scores.
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- [45:52]
Danny Parkins
He's on fire now.
- [45:54]
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- [46:07]
Stephanie Young
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 stickin' 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 RouteMetric's best overall mobile network performance US 2nd half 2025. All rights reserved. Must provide a very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply.
- [46:37]
Clayton Eckerd
I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's the Bachelor.
- [46:42]
Stephanie Young
But here's the Bachelor. Fans hated him.
- [46:45]
Clayton Eckerd
If I could press a button and rewind it all, I would.
- [46:48]
Stephanie Young
That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here.
- [46:56]
Clayton Eckerd
This case has gone viral. The Dating Contract Agree to date me,
- [47:01]
Danny Parkins
but I'm also suing you.
- [47:02]
Clayton Eckerd
This is unlike anything I've ever seen before.
- [47:05]
Stephanie Young
I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love trapped on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [47:13]
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- [47:46]
Colin Cowherd
Guaranteed human.