Deandre Ayton Joins Lakers, Will Giannis Stay With Bucks? NFL Snow Games, NBA West WAY Better Than East

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Deandre Ayton Joins Lakers, Will Giannis Stay With Bucks? NFL Snow Games, NBA West WAY Better Than East"

Release Date: July 3, 2025
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Host: Colin Cowherd
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Deandre Ayton Joins the Lakers

Timestamp: 07:50 – 14:05

Colin Cowherd opens the episode by addressing the Los Angeles Lakers' recent acquisition of Deandre Ayton. He characterizes the move as a "complete desperation move," highlighting the Lakers' apparent need to add size to their roster. Cowherd expresses skepticism about Ayton's fit with the team, noting his underwhelming performances in Portland and Phoenix.

Key Points:

• Ayton's Fit: Ayton's previous stints in Portland and Phoenix didn't yield significant results, raising doubts about his compatibility with the Lakers.
• Financial Implications: Ayton has already earned $137 million in his career, leading to questions about the Lakers' return on investment.
• Team Dynamics: With stars like LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the roster, there's concern that Ayton might not receive ample playing time, potentially stifling his development.

Notable Quotes:

• Colin Cowherd (08:14): "The Lakers are literally trapped. [...] They really just have to do something."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (08:35): "Deandre Ayton feels like a guy who is never going to max out and reach his full potential."

2. Will Giannis Stay With the Bucks?

Timestamp: 16:19 – 33:23

The discussion shifts to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the future of the Milwaukee Bucks. Colin and his co-host delve into whether Giannis intends to remain with the Bucks amidst the increasing competitiveness of the Western Conference.

Key Points:

• Giannis's Commitment: Giannis has expressed a strong commitment to Milwaukee, aiming to build a lasting legacy with the franchise.
• Eastern vs. Western Conference: The Western Conference is currently seen as superior to the Eastern Conference, which faces challenges like poor ownership and management.
• Future Prospects: Even with challenges, Giannis could achieve multiple MVPs and lead the Bucks to further success, although doubts remain about sustained championship contention.

Notable Quotes:

• Unnamed Sports Analyst (16:19): "We've got the best player in the history of the franchise at the peak of his powers."
• Danny Parkins (31:48): "He was a skinny kid from Greece [...] I think there's something pure about him staying in Milwaukee."

3. NFL Snow Games

Timestamp: 34:30 – 38:14

The hosts explore the relevance and impact of NFL games played in snowy conditions. They debate whether snow truly offers a strategic advantage or if it's merely a romanticized aspect of the sport.

Key Points:

• Historical Perspective: Snow games were once seen as advantageous for teams with strong running games and stout defenses.
• Modern NFL Dynamics: Today's quarterback-centric game reduces the impact of weather conditions, making snow games less significant than in the past.
• Fan Perception: While some fans cherish the tradition and challenge of snow games, others view them as overrated distractions from the sport's core elements.

Notable Quotes:

• Danny Parkins (35:28): "It's the most overrated thing in American sports, the snow football game."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (35:36): "I want my games to be played like they are supposed to be played."

4. NBA West Way Better Than East

Timestamp: 13:15 – 33:23

A comprehensive analysis of the NBA's Western and Eastern Conferences reveals a significant shift in competitiveness, with the West now dominating the landscape.

Key Points:

• Western Conference Strength: Teams like Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Lakers, Warriors, and Clippers showcase superior management, talent, and ownership.
• Eastern Conference Struggles: Eastern teams suffer from poor ownership, lack of strategic management, and less competitive rosters.
• Lottery and Draft Mechanics: The West benefits from strategic draft picks and player acquisitions, further widening the gap between conferences.

Notable Quotes:

• Danny Parkins (16:19): "The NBA west is now so much better than the East. It has been for 30 years."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (16:56): "Some of it is blind luck, some of it is weather. And Dallas has Kyrie, Anthony, Davis, and Cooper."

5. Future of NBA Coaching: Female Coaches

Timestamp: 49:14 – 56:32

The conversation takes an inspiring turn as the hosts discuss the potential for female head coaches in the NBA, highlighting the progress and challenges in this area.

Key Points:

• Current Landscape: While women frequently coach in the WNBA and college sports, the NBA has yet to see a female head coach.
• Potential Candidates: Figures like Dawn Staley and Becky Hammond are mentioned as capable candidates who could break the gender barrier in NBA coaching.
• Cultural Shift: The progressive nature of the NBA makes it a suitable environment for such advancements, though institutional resistance remains a hurdle.

Notable Quotes:

• Danny Parkins (55:12): "Do you believe there will be a female NBA coach eventually? I do."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (56:32): "The NBA is a more progressive league, so if any league was going to do it, it would be the NBA."

6. Transfer Portals and NIL in College Sports

Timestamp: 56:32 – 71:50

The hosts briefly touch upon the evolving landscape of college sports, particularly focusing on the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) regulations.

Key Points:

• Impact of NIL: The introduction of NIL has revolutionized player mobility and compensation, allowing athletes to monetize their personal brands.
• Transfer Portal Concerns: There's debate over the frequency and reasons behind player transfers, with calls for more regulation to maintain team stability.
• Transparency Issues: The lack of transparency in NIL deals and transfers complicates fan understanding and overall fairness in college sports.

Notable Quotes:

• Danny Parkins (69:43): "I think players should be able to transfer two or three times, but not constantly."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (70:14): "They went from guys getting suspended for selling their Sugar Bowl jersey to players getting multi-million dollar NIL deals."

Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Colin Cowherd and his co-host Danny Parkins provide an engaging and critical examination of current sports topics. From high-profile NBA transactions and conference dynamics to the evolving roles in coaching and college sports reforms, the discussion is both comprehensive and insightful. Notable interactions with sports analysts add depth to the analysis, making the episode a valuable listen for sports enthusiasts seeking a thorough understanding of today's sports landscape.

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Notable Final Quotes:

• Danny Parkins (71:50): "We landed on a couple of topics. I liked it. It was fun."
• Unnamed Sports Analyst (71:58): "Congratulations again, Colin. Seriously."

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Katie Couric]

Episode of Next Question with Me Katie Couric I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic representative of Texas. She's holding down the fort for her party in one of the most conservative states in the union.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think that ultimately who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you like they will punch back.

[Katie Couric]

Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Rosenthal]

Who are the 25 greatest football players to grace the gridiron since the year 2000? Introducing NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and an all star cast of media personalities including Mina Kimes, Steve Wise, Kevin Harlan and more for a look at Phil Football's best since the turn of the century. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

I also wanna address the Tonys. On a recent episode of Checking in with Michelle Williams, I open up about feeling snubbed by the Tony Awards. Do I? I was never mad. I was disappointed because I had high hopes to hear on disappointment and protecting your peace. Listen to Checking in with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the I Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Parkins]

The Volume Liv Golf Dallas just wrapped up with a bang. Local heroes Bryson DeChambeau and his Crushers GC team celebrated victory on Bryson's home turf in front of a record crowd of over 50,000 fans for the weekend. So next live golf returns. So one of the world's most revered courses at SP Real Club Valderrama, from the 11th to the 13th of July. So it's another chance to see 54 of the world's best golfers competing for individual and team glory. So last year, DeChambeau and his Crushers Golf Club suffered a heartbreaking playoff defeat to Sergio Garcia's Fireballs. So Bryson will be looking to claim his first ever win at Valderrama, but he'll have to contend with the passionate Spanish crowd cheering on their countrymen. So there's another factor at play. John Rahm, another Spanish superstar, is chasing his own first ever win at Valderram. Liv Golf Andalusia promises to be a thrilling competition beneath the Spanish sun. So if you want to catch all the drama in Valderrama, you can follow every shot live on Fox Sports. All right, one of my favorite guys, Danny Parkins, Breakfast Ball FS1, as I've told the story before, tried to recruit him to the Volume, but he was very pricey. The free agent market was very competitive and we couldn't land him years ago. So he's a teammate now. So let's go into what deandre Ayton, who I don't think necessarily is a good fit. Laker fans are banging on the table. You've got to do something. You've got to do something. You've got to do something. And they do want to do something. They want to sign Luca this summer. Yeah, but they don't. They. They really. The Lakers are literally trapped. So they signed deandre Ayton. Buyout. Blazers bought him out. It didn't work in Portland. It did not work in Phoenix. Distracted? Not necessarily. Like, if there was an NFL comp, it'd be Kyler Murray. You know, it's like, you know, you see some talent, but you're like, are you really in. Didn't get along with Phoenix. I think he views himself as a much. This is why I don't think it'll be great for the Lakers. He views himself as a much more important offensive piece than any coaching staff has viewed him. And between Austin, Luke and LeBron, he ain't getting many shots. I mean, he wasn't getting them in Portland. And Portland's got a bunch of kids who needed his offense. So this to me is a complete desperation move that they just. But, but here's the thing. In The West, Jokic, OKC's got two bigs. Minnesota's got size. Like you start looking around. Dallas has a four different players on their front line. You can't be small. The warriors know this the last three years. You can't be a small team out West. You can get away with it a little bit. You know, Giannis obviously is big, but you can lose Porzingis. If you're Boston, you can survive, you can lose Miles Turner. I think Indiana, with your pace and survive in the west if you don't have a big, you are a playing team at best. So I think they almost. It's not a great fit. It will last a year or two. But I think they had to do something.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, I mean this is buying low, right? That's what, that's what this is. I mean Deandre Ayton guy's made $137 million in his career already. He's 26 years old. There's something to height, size, talent. And so he probably. Because the thing is, why hasn't deandre Ayton gotten better? Why doesn't he have more attention to detail? Why is he not more disciplined? And it's like well, doing it his way through just natural talent and physical gifts. The guy's had seasons where he's averaged 18 and 10. He's had multiple years in a row where he's averaged double digit rebounds. Like he's 55, 58% from the floor and he's making 30 plus million dollars a year. He's like, I don't know. The way I'm doing it seems like it's working out pretty well. You know, honestly like we sometimes we just see like I, I also always used to talk about Javi Baez that way in baseball. He was like, why should I learn to hit the slider low? In a way, my way has gotten me $200 million. Like yeah, sometimes you can be paid a lot of money and be really successful while having a fatal flaw. And yeah, deandre Ayton feels like a guy who is never going to like max out and reach his full potential. But 80% of his full potential is still a really lucrative basketball player. I will say that not needing to be the focal point of the offense might bring out like a best version of deandre Ayton. If I was going to try to be optimistic about it because It's a pretty good gig to be a big and play with Luka Doncic because Luka's superpower is collapsing a defense, and then he can throw that lob pass. Like, he might remember, like DeAndre Jordan on. On Lob City when he would play with Chris.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And it was just like, oh, my God. Yeah. Like, sky would hit nine shots a game and eight of them were dunks right at the. Like, it's the easiest. Easy.

[Danny Parkins]

Right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Easiest 20 points you ever got in your life. Like, I could. That. They tried to trade for Mark Williams, then they failed his physical. Mark Williams, flawed player, but huge. But he's huge. I think that was all they wanted to your point. It was like they tried to trade for size, then they flunked him on his physical, and now they're like, okay, LeBron opted in. We don't want to trade Austin Reeves. We need. We just need size for a year. Let's go get the former number one overall pick and see if LeBron and Luca can get something out of him. So this is just classic buy low and it's, you know, you take a lottery ticket on it and see if it works.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, yeah. It's never really got. You know, when Clint Capella goes back to Houston and Lopez goes to the Clippers, you're like, okay. I mean, I listen, if you'd asked them a week ago if they wanted deandre Ayton, there would have been a, you know, like a warning sign in front of deandre Ayton.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah. This is not option A, B or C. Right. Like Dallas. I mean, Dallas is going to hold on to all of their bigs, which was surprise. I know. Like, some people thought that like, either live or like Lively or Gafford was going to be available, you know, so like, so that. That one's a little surprising. But they're clearly holding on to everybody, at least for now. So there's no. There's no way deandre Ayton was. Was option A. And again, we still don't know exactly what LeBron will do, but catching lob passes from Luka Donches. Deandre Ayton can do that. Just don't draw up offense for him, and you're going to be very disappointed with him. Defensive.

[Danny Parkins]

Well, and I also think we have to be so that Walter group comes in. One of the things they've done with the Dodgers is they've made the games as the world's becoming events. The Olympics do well. Caitlin Clark games do well. The World cup does well. The Gold Cup's done. Well, if you can make stuff feel like an event. NFL college football events work in a distracted nation. I mean, everybody's on their phone, right? Yeah, of course. And the truth is, if I said it to you out loud, LeBron Luca, Ayton Reeves, J.J. redick's coach, it does. The Dodgers have done this. They've made their Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night games at Dodger Stadium, like, feel big. I mean, I'm home in la, when I was in la, and if the Dodgers are on, I'm like, ohtani's batting, There's Mookie and Freddie Freeman and Max Muncie. You're like, is this an All Star game? They feel huge. From the sound of LeBron, Luka Reeves, DeAndre JJ Reddit coaching, it feels big. It may be the sixth best team in the west, but it feels like it's the goodbye for the championship.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Be honest, can't you just stop at LeBron and Luca and L. A?

[Danny Parkins]

Like, if I don't think so anymore, I don't really.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

So, like. So you're telling me movie stars, Courtside, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, you think Austin Reeves and Deandre Ayton is tipping some sort of scale?

[Danny Parkins]

I think, I think they're. I think they're. JJ Redick felt like a star. I think JJ Reddick got that job.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I'll buy that.

[Danny Parkins]

Yep.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

But I don't. I don't know that. I think that, like, all of a sudden, like, Timothy Chalamet is like, God, I gotta be courtside to see DeAndre. Aidan.

[Danny Parkins]

Well, in my. In my time in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have completely separated from the Lakers as the biggest show in town. Like, it's not. It's not close. Everybody, all you see in LA is Dodger hats. Everybody in LA is a Dodger fan. I mean, it's really an incredible separation. Like, Chicago has always been like Bears Cups. It feels big, right? And it's like. And it just depends on the season, the off season for the Dodgers because they get the best players in the world. I mean, there's like, multiple blogs that have succeeded on Dodger talk. So I think, I think they have to get back to feeling big. And I think the other thing is Los Angeles is a very savvy basketball market. You got two teams. The fans really know, like, I said this years and years ago when I was out east, you would go to a Boston and Yankee game in New York. The fans knew the lineup, like, they would be. I mean, they knew, you know, if Joe Torre went To the panto. What are you doing?

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

He's hanging the curveball. He's out. Get him out. Yeah, of course.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah. There's a lot of fan bases, Charlotte and the NFL where they're there for the cheap beers and the good son or something, you know, like LA is a smart basketball market if you don't have a center. Oh, we have 41 year old LeBron and Luka who's finally working out. That's not. Fans there know Jackson, Hayes, JJ Redick, can't stand him, he doesn't want him on the floor. So I think Ayton makes them feel like athletic and big and viable. It feels bigger because I think Lake, our fans are smart. I really do. I think it's one of the smarter fan bases in the country where like they know the difference between, you know, influencers don't care. But real basketball fans and there are many in LA get you can't compete in the west without a big camp.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

But we're also immediately having a reaction to this news by saying that this was option C or D for them and it probably isn't going to work. So.

[Danny Parkins]

But he is, Ayton is entertaining. He feels, I mean he is. If I told you on a nightly basis, oh, you've got to see this Ayton dunk or this, you'd be like, oh yeah. I mean he does feel at times offensively like, like a star.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

No, he hasn't. Yeah, he, listen, he has his moments. He's very talented and again, he's not as bad as people have made him out to be. Like, the guy can, if you can be an 18 and 10 guy and go 58% from the floor, that's, that's, that's, that's something. Now it's not Luca, but it's something.

[Danny Parkins]

No, his problem has always been he views himself as a 26 and a half point a game guy. Like, he sees himself as like a, like he feels like he's, he's never been given the respect he deserves. But the truth is his coaches and teammates think he's getting more than he deserves.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Right. Well, there was. I always love the story of Mario Chalmers on The Dwyane Wade, LeBron, Miami Heat and there was like, you know, not confirmed. It was like urban legend that he was like, hey, why do you never draw up the final play or the final shot? For me, he's like, you know, I've hit one of, I've hit a big shot or two in my career and it's like, buddy, a Shot for Kansas. We got LeBron. You know, there can't be like an overinflated sense of self. But I would hope that when deandre Ayton looks around the huddle and he sees Luka and LeBron, he's not going to be busting JJ Redick like, hey, why aren't you drawing up to play for me?

[Danny Parkins]

Coach, I do think what is interesting and we got a lot of things to talk about, but I was talking to the staff before we did is most of the time if there's a sort of a trend in sports, I love decoding it. It's one of my favorite things to do. Like I've got my theories and beliefs. The NBA west is now so much better than the East. It has been for 30 years. And a lot of it's just because bad ownership in Charlotte and Chicago and Atlanta and Washington, it's like the all bad owner front office teams are all mostly out East. The West, Denver and Houston now are capable of winning the title. OKC just did. San Antonio is going to make a huge leap. Minnesota's really, really good. The Lakers have Austin, Reeves, LeBron and Luka. Golden State has Butler, Draynon and staff. And the Clippers are viable. You could argue all of those teams. I mean the warriors were a playing team last year. All of them could compete for the Eastern Conference finals. I'm not sure they could win it. I don't, I don't think the Clippers could win it, but it is interesting. The only thing I can account for, the dominance. It's like SEC times two. Like the SEC had a 20 year run, but now the Big Ten feels as good or better. The west is pulling away. Some of it's just Tatum and Halliburton's injuries. My guess is its ownership stinks out East. That's, I mean the Knicks firing Tibbs. I mean any thoughts on the domination? It's a winter league and the weather's better out West.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I think that's actually a piece of it, right? I think like some of it is. People want to go to la. That's two of the teams. The warriors became a juggernaut. World class organization, Silicon Valley business. That that's out. All these guys now have podcast companies and media companies and all of that. Your, your, your ownership point out east is luck of the draw. Some of it is lottery too, right? Like the spurs won the lottery in the Wembanyama year West. Dallas wins the lottery in the Cooper flag year West. You didn't mention Dallas. Dallas has Kyrie, Anthony, Davis and Cooper. Flag.

[Danny Parkins]

No, you're right. I forgot to put Dallas. And there's six teams I love.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Right, Exactly. So like. So some of it is blind luck, some of it is. Some of it is weather. And Miami has been an attractive destination and they're just a little down right now. They easily could have gotten kd and I would not have loved the Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Durant, Big 3 as an NBA champion contender. But we certainly would have talked about them as being viable in the Eastern Conference. And this isn't what your main point was, but I'm going to bring it up anyway because I'm fascinated by it. I think that what Milwaukee did made sense. I know they're getting killed for it, but they were just the five seed in the East. You are as much of an NBA fan and historian as I am. Can you think of. Because I have a period of time that I'm thinking of where the gap between the best player in a conference and the second best player in a conference has been larger than what it will be next year between Giannis and the second best player in the east without Jayson Tatum. Because like, second best player in the east next year, Kate Cunningham, Jalen Bankero. Bankero, sure. Jalen Brunson, like Giannis, is 3012 and 6 and still a top 15 to 20 defensive player in the league. And the only reason he's not top five defensively is because he's doing so much damn work on offense. Like they were just the five seed. They absolutely believe that they can win and they might be dead ass wrong. And you know, they gave up everything for Dame and Drew and then Dame got hurt and you not like Miles Turner's game. But Milwaukee is saying Giannis gave us everything, including a title. And he wants to be Kobe, he wants to be Tim Duncan, he wants to be here forever. So in the east, why can't he grind us to 50 wins and the four seed and his third MVP, which would be. There's only nine guys in NBA history who won three or more MVPs. And like that season, even if it doesn't end in a title, that's a season that Bucks fans would love. Like that. That's a worthwhile exercise and professional sports entertainment. I think if, I think if the Bucks, with Giannis and the Dame injury and the salary cap situation and the lack of draft picks, if they were New Orleans, if they were in the west, they would trade Giannis. But they look at it and they say, we've got the best player in the history of the franchise at the peak of his powers. Who wants to be here. He's not looking for Miami or LA or movie stardom or anything like that. Like, okay, fine, we'll stretch Dame and we're going to just try to grind out as many wins as possible. I think there's something admirable in it, even if it won't end in a championship.

[Danny Parkins]

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[Greg Rosenthal]

25 years, 25 players. Before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know, Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick Mahomes?

[Danny Parkins]

Kansas City.

[Greg Rosenthal]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Danny Parkins]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dirt back and forth. Oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[Greg Rosenthal]

You are going to have to listen to find out, listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June, June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, so I have the opposite take, which is it is so hard. First of all, dynasty dynasties mostly come in certain NBA cities or when you have a transformational player and he has a great coach like Duncan and Pop Kerr, KD Curry, you know Magic and Riley, you know LeBron, Wade, Spoelstra. And so Milwaukee has never gotten the coach right. And it's also not a desirable area. And in my life and we're seeing it now in the 70s and now we're seeing it over the last seven years. It's just one. There's no great teams with the new CBA and aprons. There won't be. You just can't do it. I mean, even a team I like next year a lot, Orlando, they may never win a title, just have a bunch of one A player and a bunch of B plus A minus guys. But in NBA history, that sometimes one is enough. Think about how good the Shaq Penny, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott teams were. No titles. Think how good the Sacramento Kings were. They couldn't get through the Lakers. No titles. Is that Lu Al Cinder got one, Jokic got one. My take is OKC won't win it next year. They're too inconsistent offensively. And Houston now and Denver and all these teams in the west, they're just going to chip away at everybody. Is that if you win one and you have Giannis and you win one and you still have a wildly productive player, but you can't get the coach right and you get old really fast. Which happened in Milwaukee three years ago. Middleton, lower body injuries, you're like, yeah, this is getting old fast. Is that when you watch the Rudy Gobert trade? I would have gone, oh, we can get six uncontested first round picks, an all Star and two rotational players. But I do think smaller markets, the Orlandos and the Sacramentos, they hold on to stuff because it's the big show in town. It's of mice and men. Lenny squeezing. They can't let go. And it's like, guys, you have been so old and such a bad matchup against younger, athletic teams like Boston for three years. I mean, I think people are forgetting they were favored over Indiana. Indiana destroyed them. The games were competitive.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, I mean, listen, I think there is some truth to that, but there's also like, they've had bad injuries at bad times. Like I was at game one Bucks Heat and it was the one seed v the eight seed and they lose to Miami. Giannis falls on his back in the playoffs, gets hurt, isn't the same guy the rest of the season. Dame hurt in the playoffs, doesn't play this whole series. Middleton has gotten hurt in the playoffs. Like, I think they, like they got one and then they haven't won playoff series since. And we're. The national response is like, oh, well, so then they haven't been close since in Milwaukee, they're like, well, we've also had bad injury luck to go along with it. And you're definitely right. They want to hold on to it and it's the big game in town. But has Utah won the Rudy Gobert trade, like the team that trades the superstar for the four or five or six assets, there's not a lot of examples of it working out. It worked out in Oklahoma City. They traded Paul George and they get SGA and a draft pick that becomes Jalen Williams. But they also had Sam Presti doing the trading and the drafting and there aren't many of those guys out there, like, what's a trade for Giannis where you're going to turn around and be like, yup, the Bucks are going to be back in the NBA Finals in three years.

[Danny Parkins]

Okay, this is the one. So kd, Shen Goon, Aman Thompson don't win. They don't even get to the finals. And KD's one year older. And then Houston says, Fertitta says, okay, we're going for it. Okay, we're going to go for it. Shen Goon, an all Star for Giannis, Jabari Smith, who's going to back up Katie this year.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Sure.

[Danny Parkins]

And five unprotected first round picks and maybe a deep bench rotational player. Now it's kd, Amen, Thompson, Giannis and other young guys.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Oh, I get it. You want it.

[Danny Parkins]

But out if I'm Milwaukee, I get. I mean, Shen Goon is going to be a 24 point a game guy for next eight years. He's really a beautiful player.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, so is Demonte. What, has he won?

[Danny Parkins]

Well, no, no. Okay, okay, that's fair. It's fair. Then I get Jabari.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

It's hard. My point. My point is it's. I think you're always going to lose on that trade. And even if your point is, okay, well, 80 cents on the dollar is better than 50 cents on the dollar. There's something too. And you. I think we can be a little national remove fandom, live in a bunch of different places. There's something to Giannis loving Milwaukee and Milwaukee loving Giannis. He was. Yes, he was the 15th pick in the draft. He was a skinny kid from Greece. And when he came to Milwaukee, you can Google the stories. The NBA was buying the arena back from the Bucks because they were like, yes, I remember. They're like, you need to get public financing for your stadium or we are going to move your team. And they got the financing. They opened the building. Ownership says this is a commitment to show that we can build around and win. With Giannis, they built a new practice facility, a beautiful new arena, and then he delivers a championship. And this is just a silly anecdote that I happen to know just from being in Chicago. But like Giannis, whenever he would come and play the Bulls, he would go to. You probably know the rest. You know Avli, the Greek restaurant? There's one in.

[Danny Parkins]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah. So the guy who owns it is Lou Canellis, the local sports anchor on the Fox affiliate in Chicago. He's a restaurateur also. It's probably his main business by now. There's one in. There's like five locations, four or five locations in and around Chicago. And there's one in Milwaukee that Giannis. Everyone was like, oh, Giannis is going to leave Milwaukee and go to the Bulls because he wants to, like, have all the good Greek restaurants in Chicago. And he's like, no, I'm just going to open a good Greek restaurant in Milwaukee. Like, he, he brought the Greek food to Milwaukee. Like, the guy, it's a throwback man. Like, we like. Steph Curry is the warriors it would be weird if he played somewhere else. Tim Duncan was the Spurs, Kobe was the Lakers. Like, there's. I am just rooting for the purity of the 15th pick in the draft who delivers the title to the small market and is like, I'm happy. I'm happy. I'm not messing with happy. I don't think it could. I don't think. I think you're. You like moving. You like la. You're like. You're like, I like London and LA and Europe and backpacking and biking and like, you like moving around and I get it. But this guy, I think he just likes Milwaukee. I think we. Last night, we project onto Giannis, would we. We want Giannis to play for a championship again.

[Danny Parkins]

And he's like, that's right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And he. And I. And I'm like. And he's like, why can't I play for a championship here? And he's probably wrong.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, but.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

He's probably wrong. But I think there's something admirable in, like, the effort, like the. The trial.

[Danny Parkins]

Okay, so you're more of a sports romantic. I think you have that part.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I can be.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, absolutely. I can be.

[Danny Parkins]

So. So let's then segue to a topic I saw this week. So this is something that I've never understood. I don't understand the advantage of it. Back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, when the NFL, you literally could be average at quarterback and win your division regularly. You ran the ball, you played defense. The NFL allowed all sorts of clutching and grabbing and hitting late. I mean, there's videos of Joe Montana being slammed to the turf, which would get you thrown out for, like, six games now. So I never understood snow games, but I do think there was an era in which, if you were built right, run game weren't great at quarterback defense. Snow games were a little bit of an advantage.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Okay.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah. But Cleveland, the Cleveland Browns come out over the last week, and they're like, we're coming out with a new stadium. And people are like, oh, my God, there goes the home field advantage. I'm like, you have a horrible home record over the last three decades. First. But my takeaway is it's a quarterback league. Snow. Brady is an exception that I would watch him and Manning play in snow. And I'm like, oh, Tom's winning the game. I could tell in pregame. They take that shot on cbs and Manning would be freezing in Fox, probably. Tom's winning. It's over. Is that the snow game today? There's not many of them, it feels like. But I think it's always been completely overrated. There's a reason we play ball games in better weather. I don't want my football screwed with by ice storms and sleet. And I think it remains the most overrated thing in American sports, the snow football game.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I want my games to be played like they are supposed to be played. So I'm glad the super bowl is in a dome.

[Danny Parkins]

Right?

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I do. But I like December regular season games in snow. I think there is something to like Lamb. Like, there's like some stadiums that should just be grandfathered in. Like, Fenway is like a little bit of a pain in the ass, but you'd be bummed if they changed Fenway, Wrigley, they've renovated Wrigley and they've made it better with video boards and accessibility and all of that. But, like, that is still a brick wall out there covered by ivy. It's not like the most practical thing in the world, right? Like, if Pete Crowe Armstrong, who's going to be the starting center fielder for the National League, ran into the brick wall and broke his shoulder, we would do the topic of like, should there be a brick wall in center field? That's pretty. That's pretty dangerous. That's pretty archaic. But there's a charm to it. It doesn't have to make sense. Lambo. Like, if the. So you'd say that the packers should put a roof on Lambeau Field?

[Danny Parkins]

No, I think.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah. I mean, I think Green Bay is what Green Bay is. I think it's. I think it's history is the frozen tundra and Vince Lombardi.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Because it doesn't make any sense for an NFL team to be in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Right. If we were starting.

[Danny Parkins]

That's right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

If we were starting the league tomorrow from scratch and you picked 32 cities, we wouldn't pick Green Bay. But we.

[Danny Parkins]

Well, it's. It's.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

But we all agree the NFL is better with Green Bay existing.

[Danny Parkins]

What is laughable about the Bears is Green Bay is always drafted. Quarterbacks. Favre, Aaron and Love with above average arms. And the Buffalo Bills with Jim Kelly and Josh Allen understand the value of a whip in northern climates. That's why it was always indefensible when Mitch Trubisky, whose ball died 24 yards down the field, was drafted by the Bears. It's like, is there a dome stadium that was just agreed to that I'm not aware. Like, there's some teams that don't even understand their. The weather advantage is this Dome team draft tua. Warm weather tua. If you draft them in cold, you're idiotic and should be fired as general manager. Right?

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Right. Like. Like the Yankees are going to be in the market for every lefty slugger because they have a short porch and.

[Danny Parkins]

Right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

You know what I mean? There's something to it, but so I hear what you're saying about outdoor stadiums, but it's like if we don't want Arrowhead to go away and we don't want Lambo to go away, then like I understand Cleveland fans bitching and moaning about the Dome too.

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So in the last month, the Midas Touch Network beat Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro all combined.

[Katie Couric]

Conservative podcasts can have a major political impact, but the Meisellas brothers, three siblings with a serious media strategy, are building an alternative to that. On the latest episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, I sat down with the brothers behind the Midas Touch Network to talk about how they built a progressive media powerhouse from the ground up, why audience interaction is the key to political influence, and what it takes to fight disinformation at scale. One download at a time.

[Unnamed Advertiser]

We should be focusing on the issues that actually occupy a lot of the mental space in Americans minds but are filled with conspiracies and we should fill it with the truth and solutions.

[Katie Couric]

Listen to Next Question with me, Katie couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Greg Rosenthal]

25 years, 25 players before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily is going to look back. It is a special six episode series where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player. We're taking a look at look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. So who made the list? You know, Tom Brady's on it. Where's Patrick Mahomes is into the end zone.

[Danny Parkins]

Touchdown Kansas City.

[Greg Rosenthal]

He's on it. How about Lamar Jackson?

[Danny Parkins]

Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dart back and forth. Oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[Greg Rosenthal]

You are going to have to to listen to find out, listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Danny Parkins]

So the, there's, there's a lot of different topics I think.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Can I do a topic column? We do a topic. I want to do a topic.

[Danny Parkins]

All right, go ahead.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

It's your podcast but I'll do a topic.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Congratulations on making it to the Radio hall of Fame.

[Danny Parkins]

Thank you.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And you can put this at the end or you can scrub it out entirely. I don't know, but I hope you don't. But you have started and developed A very successful business. You are a legend in the industry. You have conquered multiple mediums. And I know that hall of Fame talk on talk shows. Is Pete Rose a hall of famer? Is it a museum? Is he a first ballot guy? Is he overrated? Is he snubbed? Will you admit that it meant something to you?

[Danny Parkins]

Oh, God, sure. Yes.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Because the radio purist in me, because I will always consider myself a radio guy. And I know you're the same.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, I'm the same.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

It's so cool. It's so.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, it is.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Congratulations.

[Danny Parkins]

But you know what? Oh, thank you very much. So it's weird because as my staff knows, I take so much pride in topic selection. And I know the audience doesn't care. You do? Nick does. I got some of the nicest notes. Joe Fortenbaugh, Old bosses, people that love radio sent me the sweetest, kindest notes. Listen, I was seven years old, rural. My mom got me a transistor radio. This was 1972, 73. There weren't that many games on TV. ESPN wasn't a thing. And radio was my friend. I'm rural. I was eight miles from the closest friend. And I would sit in our Frank Lloyd Wright house on the 2nd. There was a picnic table in the back patio. I'd get on it, go to the second floor, and for some reason there was this weird vortex where all these AM radio signals came in. And I would sit there listening to baseball games. And I heard Vin Scully when I was 8, on a scratch. It was KFI or something in LA, whatever it was. And it was scratchy. I would take notes, I would write down, I would get names. I was. You know, radio's always been something I love. Now once I went to simulcast, I have to play the TV a lot. That's the reality of it. TV's bigger. Yeah, it's, it's. It's a huge deal. I don't get terribly emotional about stuff. I've seen everything now at this point, but my wife knows how much it means, you know, my friends know how much it means. It's a big deal for me. And I. I don't want to be self congratulatory, but. Yeah, for. In my life, it's been one of my goals.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Really? Really. Okay. See, I wasn't sure. Yeah, I wasn't sure.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And the reason I didn't send you a. A text, because I knew I was already booked for this when the news came out. I wanted to do it face to face. But like you inspired so many People of like Nick and my generation to do radio. And then Nick and I would always joke, and I think he said it to you, and I'm not sure if I had. But then you also kind of like ruined the next generation of radio hosts because people would try to be you and like, try to do. But your brain is so singular in terms of the analogies and the comparisons and like, it was an amazing thing. And then you would hear people try to be you and it was like, no, man, this is like a one of one talent that you've crushed it in podcasting and TV and all that. But like it was made for radio. Because the beauty of radio is that you've got the long Runway. You've got the Runway to tell the story, to be personable, to be vulnerable to. To be circuitous if you want to. To talk about the fandom in LA of a LA person and then relate that to why they can be savvy with basketball but still care about star. Like, it's like, it's perfect for radio. It's also perfect for podcasting. I understand how podcast has kind of replaced radio, but it's. You really deserve it and you. I don't know how many more people in generations after you, if any, will have a big impact on the genre of radio just because it's changed. Like it's. You know what I mean? Like, there was gonna have to be like a podcasting hall of fame, like people younger than Colin Cowherd that made a real impact in radio. It's a short list, man, because it's just. It's not as influential anymore, sadly. And so like, you are probably one of the last, like truly radio titans. Other people will get in, like, they'll keep inducting people, but in terms of people who meant more to the medium than you, there's not. There will be some who meant as much or like were on your level. Because I'm just not thinking of the like Ryan Seacrest. I don't know if he's in. He meant a lot to.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah, right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

You know what I mean? I don't know. There's probably a few more, but like, you're one of the last ones, man. Like, you meant a ton to radio. So I just wanted to say congratulations.

[Danny Parkins]

Well, I appreciate that. I think sometimes I've told people before. Growing up, divorced by myself, my sister was five years old, older. I wrote about it in my first book. I was actually lucky. I had all the things needed to tell good stories on the radio. I was by Myself rurally, all the time I can remember playing. And I know I'm going on and on about this.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

People love this and we can cut.

[Danny Parkins]

It, but don't, okay? So when I was a little kid like 8, 9, 10 years old, that kind of thing in the mid-70s, the Cincinnati Reds were a great team and I loved them. And I can still give you the entire roster of the Reds and the Dodgers and I mean the infield were legendary. Garvey and Lopes and Russell and Ron say against, you know, it's like, you know, Tony Perez and Joe Morgan and Dave Concepcion and Pete Rose at third. And I would do lineups and I would play wiffle ball by myself. So I would throw the ball up, hit it. And I do remember there was a moment, and I wrote about this in the book, that I was obviously bored because we had these trees in right field and I had Cesar Geronimo, who I never saw hit a home run, hit a home run in my mind in wiffle ball. And I remember thinking I went and got the ball and I didn't have the self awareness before this. I was probably 9 or 10. And I thought, man, I'm alone a lot. I'm alone a lot. And it really hit me that I was talking to myself all the time and like out loud in the yard, like just talking to myself, doing the games. And so when people have ever asked me, you kind of talk to yourself a lot. And I'm like Larry King, the late Larry King once came up and he goes, how do you talk to yourself three hours a day? I said, you should hear the other 14. I said, Larry, this is just what I've been doing since I've been six or seven because I grew up rarely by myself. My sister was five years older, so she's out of high school by the time I get into it. 14 year old girls don't want to hang out with 9 year old boys.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

9 year old boys are down to hang out with 14 year old girls. Yeah, yeah, but not the other.

[Danny Parkins]

So a lot of the things in my life growing up in the middle of nowhere, I think probably just manufactured this kind of odd talking to yourself personality. That works.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, well, no, and that makes perfect sense too, why you've never really, I mean obviously J. Mac and whatever, but like also why you been a solo act? It's hard to do, you know what I mean? I take a lot of pride in being able to do it solo. Radio is hard. It's a hard thing to do.

[Danny Parkins]

So here's an interesting one. I'll throw this at you. So if you took. I think there's 360 Division 1 men's programs, as far as I can tell, men's basketball programs, a woman's never coached them. In the history of the NBA, there's never been a head coach of an NBA team. I guess if you went and found the top 25 boys basketball teams, they'd probably be coached by guys. Now, obviously, men coach women all the time. We see that wnba, we see it in college, high school, whatever. But it doesn't go the other way. The door doesn't open the other way. So when Don Staley got talked about for the Knicks, and I've thought about this before, I've thought about. I think it would actually potentially work Now. New York's not easy. It's a relentless media that just ran Tibbs out of the building. It's like, I think New York wouldn't. I wouldn't want that to make the test case for it. Can we go to, you know, can we go to Orlando? Can we go somewhere where the media is not as loud and relentless and brutal? But when I thought about Dom's Daily, I thought, well, Tibbs just. They've just had the best season in 25 years going to Don Staley. It's a little odd for that situation in this organization. But I do think, like, Becky Hammond has been discussed. And I think about it because. And one of the reasons being is, like, if you picked a sport in the world and you said, like soccer and women's basketball, Caitlin Clark can make shots that NBA players cannot make consistently. She is a better shooter than half the NBA. I'm absolutely sure of it. And I do think when you watch women's soccer, not as good as the men, but we've had so much success in the country. But I do think that there's something about basketball and that you are seeing. I remember watching Maya Moore and thinking, she can make a Division 1 team. Maya Moore, Cheryl Miller, they make a Division 1 team. Do you believe? I do think there will be a female NBA coach eventually. And I think part of it is that women's basketball. Caitlin Clark's a great example. She's doing things I have never seen. I mean, would you want Miles Turner taking a 33 foot shot?

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

No. Yeah.

[Danny Parkins]

She's a better shooter than half the NBA.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah. So, okay, I think these are two separate points. When I was reporting Pipeline to the Pros, the book that I wrote about the D3 coaches and players who made their way to NBA coaches and executives. You talked to a lot of coaches and executives, both the D3 people, and then the people who hired them and helped them kind of break in. And one of the lines of questioning that I would ask the Jeff Van Gundys, the Stan Van Gundys of the world, was like, what's it like being you, the five foot, nothing, 100 and nothing, you know, white schlub and trying to get Patrick Ewing's respect. Like, what's that like? And there are. There were some great stories of being tested and being doubted, but almost universally there was just a through line was even if you were doubted or if you were tested or if, you know, Ty Lue didn't have to clear that hurdle because they knew that he knew it because he had played. All these players wanted you to be able to prove to them was, can you help them get better?

[Danny Parkins]

Yep.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

That simple. It was because that can get them their next contract, it can extend their career, it can help their. Get them a ring, it can get them a legacy, it can get them to have their jersey retired. It can get them a media career. Like, whatever it is. Right. Like, it can. A good coach can level you up a little bit. And so I don't think it's ridiculous at all. And if Don Staley got the Knicks job, I completely agree with you. There would have just been an extra level of the circus because of.

[Danny Parkins]

Right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

James Dolan. James Dolan, Tibbs, the first woman, New York, the media market, the whole thing.

[Danny Parkins]

But that may be the toughest job in the league, honestly.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

No, no, no doubt. I completely agree with you. But I also don't think that Dawn Staley is the only woman who is capable of doing it. So, like, say it did happen and then say she failed. I don't think that would, like, set back the idea of it 20 years. Like, there's more than 30 competent coaches who could coach NBA teams.

[Danny Parkins]

Right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

You know, there just is. And so some of it is opportunity. Some of it's, you host a podcast with LeBron. Some of it's just like, these owners lack creativity and they keep hiring Doc Rivers. And like, you know what? Like, whatever it is, there's a lot of different reasons why the people who get the jobs get the jobs. But someone will do it.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And then it will work. And then five or six women will be coaching in the NBA and someone will write the. Wow, there's all these D3 people coaching in the NBA. How the hell did that happen? And then someone will write that book. You know, I don't think it is going to be. It hasn't happened, and it's a little ridiculous that it hasn't, but it's going to happen because there's also really talented female assistant coaches on not every step in the league, but a huge percentage of, like, shooting coaches. Advanced scouts, like, most teams have a woman somewhere in the first or second row of their bench at this point. So, yeah, basketball is so much closer to it than football.

[Danny Parkins]

Well, and all. And also. And I. And I know there'll be somebody listening to this thinking, oh, it's woke. The truth is, the NBA is a more progressive league, so if any league was going to do it, it would be the NBA.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah.

[Danny Parkins]

And they talk more politics than any league. That's just the history of the league.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah. And I also. I'm just. I'm so sick and tired of being policed by people being like, oh, that's a woke thought. Like, it's. It's not a pejorative. Shut up. I don't. I don't care. I don't care. Like, okay, fine, fine. Make your comment on your. On your blog. Oh, it's a woke thought that a woman could teach about the. The drop coverage in a. I'm not asking her to do a 360 dunk. Like, I'm not asking her to guard LeBron. Like, like, have you seen, again, like, Stan Van Dundee? There's this crazy video, people should watch it, of him doing, like, a little dribble combo move. And he, like, goes between the legs, between the legs and behind the back. And, you know, and he's just, like, messing around before a practice. And it went viral and it got, like, millions of views. And they were like, how does the, like, short, fat white guy know how to dribble a basketball? And it's like, well, he played D3 ball like he can. His mind is a better teacher of basketball than his athleticism allowed him to do it. But he crossed a threshold where, like, he could play at a high enough level to know enough about the game to be able to speak to players clearly. There are the same thing.

[Danny Parkins]

How many great players in any sport have been great coaches? The truth of the matter, it's often somebody who has played the sport a little, men or women. But have this sort of. They were a utility infielder in baseball. They were. You know, I mean, it's like, the truth is coaches usually have to. You have to get respect from players because, like, Larry Bird is the rare legend who coaches. And you're like, oh, he's competent. That's rare. So you always have to get buy in from players in all sports. Like Mike Vrabel. Physical, you get buy in. One of the smartest players looks like he could beat up half the team. Like, there's a physical presence with Vrabel. Like, he gets immediate buy in. Mike McDaniel, though. I'll argue this all day. Mike McDaniel had to convince those guys he looks like a sports writer. He's snarky and funny like a writer. Like, he doesn't walk into a room of 55 alpha male and there's like complete buy in. I guarantee you he thought a lot about that in football, especially because it's a size league. Yeah, of course.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And, but like in basket, like, you're the only comment in here that I was like, I'm not even sure. Like, like, I don't know what Maya Moore's level would have been because you don't see, like, Caitlin Clark playing in pickup games with Kevin Durant in the off season. Right. Like, like, we're not, we're not anywhere close to a woman playing in the NBA.

[Danny Parkins]

Right.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

But coaching, yeah, that's not that. That's not a leap to me in any way. Like, it. They already do. Like, they already coach in the NBA right now. So, like, to be the head coach is not some sort of crazy thing for me to wrap my mind around. And my understanding is it's not a crazy thing for players to wrap their mind around either, as long as you can have one assistant coach described it to me as like, they just want to know that you have the answer to the test.

[Danny Parkins]

Yep.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah. Like, like they. There was like a hand signal that a point guard was calling out. And LeBron looked to this assistant coach and the assistant coach didn't have it. And he said it ruined like, his month because he felt like he had, like, let LeBron down. He didn't have the scout, the signal and the scouting report, and he was a new coach on the staff and he felt like he had to like, earn his trust back. And like, they talked about it afterwards and it was this whole big thing and he's like, I felt like he was testing me. He wasn't. He was just asking what the call was from the other team in the scouting report. But, like, there's no doubt that that's going to happen in basketball because of course a woman could pass that test, no question.

[Danny Parkins]

You know what's funny? Maybe we can end it here because I've always thought this funny. Like sports is always trying to kind of manufacture parody. You know, you win. You, you, you. When you win, you know, you get the last draft pick. And there's limitations. You know, the lottery is set up to, you know, even though the number one team doesn't win, it's usually like the fourth or fifth best odds win. A bad team gets good players. I think a lot of times the media. The two things the media does that I kind of roll my eyes at, they make everything feel like the end of the world. I mean, people have to remember. I'm old enough. I don't remember this, but I remember my dad and mom, and people talked about this. In the 60s, our president was assassinated. So was his brother, so was MLK. Middle of a Vietnam War, and by 72, we're in Watergate. You think we have chaos now with tariffs? Like folks, the media tends to make every current bit of turbulence seem like. I mean, I thought our Covid coverage, it was okay for about two months because it was new. We didn't know what was happening. But it did get to a point after about six months, we're not all going to die. There was pretty obvious stuff that we were seeing that kids were safe, you could go to school. It was mostly 75 and older in the media for about two years. The stories were. It was relentless. Run for your life. So that's my first thing that drives me nuts. It's that we have to be a little less hyperbolic. And I think about this all the time as a sports guy. The second thing is we can be naive a little bit. And so I remember when these. The media can be like, guys, you're being idealistic. And I understand the media's young and hopeful, but when the NIL came out, I can remember a lot of these stories, and I can remember fans doing this. You know what? Finally, Purdue can compete now because everybody said anybody can transfer. You won't have to sit behind Ohio State's left tackle. You can go. And I look at today, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia. Is that. I think the NIL and transfer portal are fascinating. One, players needed to be paid. And two, I think the transfer portal. I think you should have to wait 18 months to transfer. Like, I think you should be able to transfer two or three times. You can't keep transferring. Don't tell me coaches do power. Five, coaches don't transfer every six weeks. That's not the way it works. But. But I. I guess my point is, do you. Do you love college sports less now that money is Involved. Because I have friends who are like, I hate the Nil. And my take is. Yeah, when the Huskies end up in the playoff, you'll be watching when Washington's facing Notre Dame. Don't tell me that, but I hear this all the time. Nil. Transfer portals ruined it for me. Yeah.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I don't know. I don't. I mean, they were getting paid before. They were just like. I remember the point guard of the Syracuse basketball team when I was there, driving, like, a Dodge Charger that was all souped up, and I was like, how. Where'd that come from? You know what I mean? Like, how did that happen? And so, you know, it's just. That part never bothered me. I think what is dumb about it is that we went from guys getting suspended for selling their Sugar bowl jersey, and that was the biggest. Terrell Pryor. It was the biggest story in the world.

[Danny Parkins]

Remember that?

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

And right. And now it's like, oh, this guy got $4 million to transfer. And it's like, well, wait, what? And I have no problem. Go get. Go get your money. But I. They. Because they had their head in the sand for so long, and they just let it be the Wild west for so long, and they fought against unionization and they fought against revenue sharing, and they fought against the video game. And, like, all of the things that just, like, wait, I can. I can buy a Syracuse 15 jersey, but it can't say Anthony on the back. And so, like, Mello doesn't get a piece of the cut. Like, what? Like, it was just so stupid for so long that now the only thing that bothers me about it is that it's not that it's so far the other way, but it's like, people are like, oh, that Cooper Flagg made $20 million in name, image and likeness last year. And it's like, can you prove that? Like, I wish. I wish there was, like, a. I like that I know what Aaron Rodgers signed for. I like that I know what LeBron gets paid. Like, I. There's a salary gap. It makes it easy to find and follow. And you can play GM and fantasy football and trades and Dynasty Mode in Madden. A lot of us like following sports from the GM perspective of it because we never had any chance to be the quarterback of the team. And now it's just like, who's paying for the point guard? It's Under Armour or it's Nike or it's a car dealership. It's just. Just. I wish that there was more transparency in how it all worked. As opposed to like, oh, Arch Manning has a reported $6 million nil deal, and it's like, well, who's reporting it from where? Is it a booster? Is it a sponsor? I just wish that it was more transparent so that we could follow it and understand it more. Georgia has $50 million in their fund. Purdue has 6 million in theirs. That's really impressive that Purdue is able to be the Billy Bean Oakland Athletics of the Big Ten and punch above their weight class and compete with Ohio State. But we're just in the dark on all of the money of it, like we always were, frankly. But it's like they're trying to tell us, oh, yeah, now they're getting paid and it's all above board, but it's clearly still not. And I don't know if I'm rambling here a little bit or if you're following what I'm saying.

[Danny Parkins]

No, no, no.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

But it's like, we need to have a happy medium. There's clearly billions of dollars and more of it is going to the players. And that's good, but it's not regulated in any way that makes sense. And it's not regulated in any way that a fan can realistically follow. And so I think that. That it doesn't make me like it less, but it makes me understand it less. Like, why did this player transfer there? Why are they leaving after one year? How much money are they getting? Oh, I would transfer there, too, if they were giving me $4 million and this place is only giving me $1 million. But I want that to be above board and reported with some level of accuracy. And I feel like it's not at all.

[Danny Parkins]

Yeah. The thing about the one thing I'll say about the transfer portal, I think Jay Bilis is a really smart guy. I think he's really wrong on one thing when he says, well, coaches can. Why can't players? And my take is, because Eric Shanks is responsible for all of Fox Sports. I'm just responsible for my show. A coach isn't a player. A coach is responsible for the staff, the brand, the name, the players, responsible for himself. So in the end, if a coach gets bought out, if the athletic department makes him pay some money back and he leaves, that's not a player leaving. I mean, and people, bosses I've had at the big companies I've worked at have pensions that I'm not allowed to get. I'm just an employee. They're management. So the only thing I hear about, well, players, Coaches do that. Coaches are Management. Management's different. Management has things they will never let you see. There are documents that management has at Fox Sports. I don't get to see where they're going, what they're doing, what corner's coming up, the contract negotiations. Players don't get to see everything coaches do. You don't get all the information. You don't have to balance the budget. You don't have to be a capologist. So that my thing on. I don't believe players should be able to just transfer constantly. I think, like every 18 months. That'll give you two transfers. Basically, if you stay for four or five years, you get two transfers outside of your initial signing. I think there's.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, I think that's reasonable. I think that if you. If you're a kid who's going to a college because the coach recruited you and then the coach leaves, I also think that should open you up. So if I sign on to play college football, Clemson and dabo. And dabo. And then dabo decides to leave. Like, I think that. I think that that is a reasonable thing for a kid to be able to say, well, wait, I signed on to play for this coach and now this coach is not there anymore. So I want to be able to move. But also, kids should be able to go to college where they want to for the most part. Right? Yeah.

[Danny Parkins]

I think, again, I think you have to have guardrails on everything. Yeah, I think just everything needs guardrail. AI.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Sure, sure.

[Danny Parkins]

AI needs it. The Internet needs it. I don't think it's crazy. I've said this before. Canada's got certain restrictions. Like you have to, on a Canadian. Canadian radio station, play Canadian artists a percentage of the time. I've never thought it's crazy to restrict some of the things allowed on the Internet. Every other country does like to just say, hey, listen, we're not going to allow like blank, blank, blank, like heavy violence on it. We're not going to allow that. I don't think I'm punitive or ultra conservative. Like, there's crap in the Internet kids shouldn't see. And if we can't tell, you know, parents. Some parents at 6 let their kids get on the Internet, well, then we shouldn't. We should have things that are completely, absolutely restricted.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, reasonable restrictions for the. Right. There's. There's a reason why there are seatbelt laws. Because it's a good idea. Right? It's a. It's a good idea to. Right. To protect people from themselves, et cetera. No, I got no problem with that. But I just like the you asked, like, does it make me like it less? It doesn't make me like it less. It makes me resent the leadership a little bit more because I feel like this could have been done 20 years ago, like in partnership with the players. Oh, you guys want to be in a video game and have your name in there and get a little bit of money and we could have eased into this as opposed to going from nothing to everything all at once. And now it's just very messy and very confusing and, and high school kids have agents and it just, you know, it went so far so fast that I feel like it needs to come back a little bit. Not in terms of, like, make less money, but in terms of, to your point, regulation. It needs to just make a little bit more sense as a system for the betterment of everybody.

[Danny Parkins]

Danny Parkins. Okay, we rambled for an hour. We landed on a couple of topics. I liked it. It was fun.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Yeah, I never know. I don't prep these at all. Can't you tell? You don't tell me what's going to happen. You just talk for an hour.

[Danny Parkins]

Clearly, I don't either.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

Congratulations again, Colin. Seriously.

[Danny Parkins]

All right, thanks, Danny. Thanks, buddy.

[Trust and Will Advertiser]

Love all you.

[Katie Couric]

On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic representative of Texas. She's holding down the fork for her party in one of the most conservative states in the union.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think that ultimately who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you like they will punch back.

[Katie Couric]

Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Greg Rosenthal]

Who are the 25 greatest football players to grace the gridiron since the year 2000? Introducing NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and an all star cast of media personalities, including Mina Kimes, Steve Wych, Kevin Harlan, and more, for a look at football's best since the turn of the century. Listen to NFL Daily Top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Parkins]

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season one, Tay's Taser Incorporated.

[Trust and Will Advertiser]

I get right back there and it's bad.

[Danny Parkins]

Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Jemele Hill, host of the sports and politics podcast Spolitics. On this week's episode, I'm joined by all time great Hooper and basketball analyst Candace Parker, who gives insight into her candid new book, including why she waited two years into marriage to come out.

[Unnamed Sports Analyst]

I never envisioned being with a woman. I'll just be honest. Like when I close my eyes at night every night I was like, I need to find my prince Charming.

[Trust and Will Advertiser]

Like it was never a princess.

[Colin Cowherd]

Make sure you listen to this episode of Spolitics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast.