Colin Cowherd Podcast - NFL Playoff Predictions, Mike McCarthy To Bears? Unruly Fans, NBA Desperately Needs Changes

Summary

Summary of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd"
Episode: NFL Playoff Predictions, Mike McCarthy To Bears? Unruly Fans, NBA Desperately Needs Changes
Release Date: January 15, 2025

In the January 15, 2025 episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd", host Colin Cowherd delves into a multifaceted discussion encompassing NFL playoff predictions, the Chicago Bears' coaching dilemma, fan misconduct at sporting events, and pressing changes needed within the NBA. Throughout the episode, Cowherd engages with an unnamed co-host, offering insightful analysis and spirited debate on each topic.

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1. NFL Playoff Predictions

Colin Cowherd kicks off the discussion with his observations on the upcoming NFL playoffs. He emphasizes the significance of team ownership and its impact on team performance.

Cowherd [06:38]: "People think there's a salary cap, so everybody's playing by the same rules. They are not. Kroenke's rich."

He argues that financial disparities among team owners, particularly highlighting Stan Kroenke’s wealth, provide significant advantages that influence playoff outcomes.

The conversation further explores specific team strategies and player performances. Cowherd praises the Los Angeles Rams for their consistent defensive draft picks and strategic hiring decisions, contrasting them with the Chicago Bears' less effective drafting choices.

Cowherd [10:16]: "We have good owners. Stan Kroenke's second, first, third richest owner in the league."

2. Mike McCarthy’s Potential Hire as Bears’ Head Coach

A substantial portion of the episode focuses on the Chicago Bears' consideration of Mike McCarthy as their head coach. Cowherd expresses his skepticism about the Bears' ability to make bold, young coaching hires.

Cowherd [04:13]: "Mike McCarthy is safe. This is a tricky one for me because I've spent the better part of a decade calling Mike McCarthy an overrated fraud."

The co-host counters Cowherd’s cautious stance by defending McCarthy’s experience and playoff presence, albeit questioning his ceiling for greatness.

Co-host [04:13]: "At least he's in the playoffs. At least he's good enough to be a favorite and then lose the game."

Cowherd maintains his preference for the stability McCarthy offers over the Bears potentially taking a gamble on a younger, less proven coach.

Cowherd [10:16]: "I think when you have good owners, like Stan Kroenke... By and large, Chicago sports... feels a little sketchy."

3. Unruly Fans and Consequences

The hosts transition to discussing a recent incident involving an unruly Philadelphia Eagles fan who verbally assaulted a Packers supporter. Cowherd condemns the behavior and discusses the repercussions faced by the fan, including job termination.

Cowherd [48:16]: "You could be a UFC fighter, you could be a drunk, you could have a knife in your pocket. You don't know what you're getting into at a stadium."

The co-host agrees, stressing that actions have consequences regardless of the circumstances, and expresses no sympathy for the fan's loss of employment.

Co-host [50:45]: "I will not spend one minute feeling sorry for that guy."

They debate the balance between personal accountability and the appropriate response to such behavior in public settings.

4. NBA Needs Desperate Changes

Shifting focus to the NBA, Cowherd critiques the current state of the league, particularly the overreliance on three-point shooting and the diminishing importance of the regular season compared to the playoffs.

Cowherd [29:17]: "The fundamental issue facing the NBA is that the regular season doesn't mean anything."

He proposes several changes to revive the league's competitiveness and viewer engagement, such as altering playoff series lengths to introduce more urgency and experimenting with rule modifications to balance offensive strategies.

Cowherd [40:35]: "A lot less threes, but that would that feel."

The co-host supports the idea, suggesting that redefining the value of different types of scoring could enhance the game's strategic depth.

Co-host [37:20]: "It's a math issue. Three is 50% more than two."

They explore innovative ideas, including variable three-point lines and single-elimination formats, to make the regular season more consequential and exciting for fans.

Cowherd [43:54]: "It's a sport of parody. It's a sport with a salary cap and a salary floor and worst of first teams and the bad team."

5. Acting Talent and Performance Arts

In an unexpected pivot, Cowherd and his co-host engage in a discussion about acting talent, drawing parallels between sports personalities and actors. They debate the skill required for successful performances and the collaborative nature of acting versus the solitary efforts of athletes.

Cowherd [58:55]: "I always think it's also funny when, like, sports commentators... become American Idol judges."

The conversation highlights the differing perceptions of talent in various performance domains, ultimately acknowledging that while all forms require skill, the metrics for greatness vary.

6. Natural Disasters and Political Commentary

The hosts touch upon recent wildfires in Los Angeles, examining the interplay between environmental factors, firefighting capabilities, and political decisions. Cowherd critiques the role of California politics in impeding effective disaster response.

Cowherd [61:00]: "But almost everything is fair game politically. Do you?"

The co-host concurs, emphasizing that large-scale disasters often become politicized when evaluating governmental response and policies.

Co-host [63:56]: "That is just gross and an oversimplification of a disaster."

They argue for the necessity of political accountability in addressing and preventing such calamities, despite the complexities involved.

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Conclusion

This episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" masterfully intertwines sports analysis with broader societal issues, offering listeners a comprehensive look at the current landscape of professional sports and its intersection with politics and public behavior. Cowherd's candid commentary, supported by his co-host's perspectives, provides a thought-provoking narrative that challenges conventional viewpoints and encourages deeper consideration of the factors influencing today's sports environment.

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Notable Quotes:

• Cowherd [06:38]: "People think there's a salary cap, so everybody's playing by the same rules. They are not. Kroenke's rich."
• Cowherd [04:13]: "Mike McCarthy is safe. This is a tricky one for me because I've spent the better part of a decade calling Mike McCarthy an overrated fraud."
• Cowherd [29:17]: "The fundamental issue facing the NBA is that the regular season doesn't mean anything."
• Co-host [50:45]: "I will not spend one minute feeling sorry for that guy."
• Cowherd [58:55]: "I always think it's also funny when, like, sports commentators... become American Idol judges."

These quotes encapsulate the critical and analytical tone that Cowherd brings to the episode, emphasizing his focus on accountability, strategic decision-making in sports management, and the broader implications of fan behavior and league policies.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Cardiff Garcia]

The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Colin Cowherd]

Workers have been feeling the sting of.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Inflation so as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest.

[Bobby Bones]

Post election day spike ever.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Adnan Virk]

Make America affordable again.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartrade Heart Radio app or wherever.

[Bobby Bones]

You get Podcasts hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirrorball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else you can find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything. Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jon Stewart]

Podcasts Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is a second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Katie Couric]

Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next question. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also gonna have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee and Charlamagne. Tha God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

The volume. Well, I get Danny Parkins about, I think about once every five or six weeks. Like to have him more co host of Breakfast Ball on FS1. And you know, he's a former Chicago radio guy, so he is really tied into that. So today I had, I'll give you the idea I threw out. I said, listen, parents love their kids the same, but they will make one of their children the executor of their will. That's the one they probably trust more. And so even parents have to make decisions on trust. And I trust Pat Riley when he says Eric Spoelstra, that's a really young guy, younger than the league average by five or six years, but he's smart. I trust Stan Kroenke when he says I'm going to hire a 30 year old head coach. The Chicago Bears with Marcus Freeman. I think Freeman could be the Sean McVay. I don't trust the Bears to make that call. Mike McCarthy is safe. We'll right the ship. We'll make you viable. A lot of owners, Cleveland Browns thought Freddy Kitchens was the next thing. I don't trust the Bears on a young whiz kid hire. So McCarthy to me feels safe. I don't trust them with the will. Just, just, just basically, you know. So there's my take on the Bears. Am I nuts?

[Unknown Speaker]

No, you're not nuts. McCarthy is safe. This is a tricky one for me because I've spent the better part of a decade calling Mike McCarthy an overrated fraud. Like if the Bears turn over the keys to the Caleb kingdom to a guy who, it really bothers me. Like he only won one super bowl with Aaron Rodgers and he got gifted Aaron Rodgers his prime. And I know winning Super Bowls is hard, but I remember these games like I remember an NFC championship game at Lambeau against Seattle when he was giving the ball to Eddie Lacy instead of letting Aaron Rodgers throw and then settling for field goals inside the five yard line. I remember Greg Jennings talking about how when they got a lead, them knowing that their coach stopped being aggressive and was just playing the clock instead of playing the game in front of him. I watched him be a touchdown favorite at home against Green Bay last year and get blown out. The flip side of this is at least he's in the playoffs. At least he's good enough to be a favorite and then lose the game. But I, I think that you should dare to be Great. Could you do worse than Mike McCarthy? Obviously, of course. But it feels like the John Fox hire to me, which the Bears did. Yeah, yeah, like that. Restore credibility. He's got a ring. He will bring in a culture. There aren't many coaches who have even gotten three opportunities in the NFL, much less been successful on their third opportunity in the NFL. So I find the higher. If that is what happens to be very, very uninspiring, I would much rather roll the dice with Ben Johnson for the upside. Even while I completely agree with you, the Bears deserve no benefit of the doubt.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. You know, it's funny. I was talking about this to a friend the other day and I said, chicago's got bad teams. And I said, my take is LA has got good teams. And the reason is we have good owners. Stan Kroenke's second, first, third richest owner in the league.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

People think there's a salary cap, so everybody's playing by the same rules. They are not. Kroenke's rich. Michael Bidwell isn't as rich. It's an advantage. We also have Steve Ballmer, who is worth More than 27 of the NBA owners combined. We also have the Dodgers ownership group, which is richer than the Cubs and White Sox combined. By and large, Chicago sports, like the politics, feels a little suboptimal at times, a little sketchy.

[Unknown Speaker]

You're being a little kind. You're being a little.

[Colin Cowherd]

Do you think the McCaskeys would ever sell?

[Unknown Speaker]

So that is such a loaded question. So the history of. The. Right. So McCaskey's Virginia McCaskey is 102 years old and still the matriarch of the family. There are like 90 kids and grandkids and they've. She's put George McCaskey in charge. And George McCaskey is a nice guy who is by all accounts well intentioned and well meaning. But he is a simple guy who happens to be born to the family that owns the Bears. Like the stories of him are, he will. He's a big Cubs fan. And of course the Cubs will give him a suite or invite him into Tom Ricketts his booth or whatever. And he's like, no, I just want to sit in section 120 with my 1984 Cubs jacket and have a beer and a hot dog. Like, he's just a guy. He very proudly says, like, I'm not a football guy. I'm just a fan, like all of you. The problem is you own the team. And so somehow he hasn't learned and Empowered people and he gets taken advantage of. And they are cheap around the margins because they are not independently wealthy. To your point, in the NFL, you do have a salary cap and a salary floor, but there's no limit on what you can spend on coaches. There's no limit on what you could spend on airplanes or facilities. And the Bears facilities have gotten a lot better. But like, very recently they were terrible. And so would they sell. There are McCaskeys who want to sell. They want to cash out, they want to liquidate because they have zero interest in football. But they have this matriarch of A family, Virginia McCaskey, that goes back to the houses, the godfather of football that is like, we're not selling. So when Ms. McCaskey passes, there is at least a thought that maybe. But beyond that, no, like for now and for the foreseeable future, not 102 year old lady, obviously on borrowed time. But their public stances were not selling. They're funding this stadium. They think it's going to be on the lakefront. It'll probably be in Arlington Heights. They hired Kevin Warren, the former commissioner of the Big Ten. Everything that they are doing publicly suggests they're going to keep this family business running. And I agree with you. It's a huge detriment. You know, it starts at the top. And Chicago ownership is a huge problem. If Jerry Reinsdorf didn't lock into Michael Jordan, he would have one White Sox World Series and that's it. Yeah, you know, it's. It's really, really bad. And I know I'm rambling here, but that question that you asked about whether or not the McCaskeys would sell is at the heart of all issues facing the Bears. And nobody knows because there's just too many of them. Like, no one. It is not consolidated power.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So, I mean, this is something. I know Stan Kroenke a little bit. I've been to a couple parties with Stan and he's a very stately guy, but. But kind of relatable. Like, if you're at a party and you go up, he's drinking a beer and he's asking you questions. And you know, I was talking about this today with the Rams. They do not miss on defensive draft picks and they run through coordinators. So it's not like Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh who. It's the same scheme. I mean, they just run through coordinators they don't miss. They find undrafted free agents at safety from Tennessee who get four picks. Like, they don't miss. They've missed on occasional offensive picks, but I think offensive players especially like offensive linemen, everybody's missed on offensive lineman. Great GMs have missed on offensive linemen. There are often weight issues. They often dominate weak competition. But a great example of ownership is that the Rams draft department is spectacular. And like last year, the Bears had four picks. They took a punter and then like an Ivy League tackle who was a major prospect project, excuse me, who never really play the game. I mean to me I'm not taking one of the hardest positions to play in football from the Ivy League. I may take a linebacker, I may, I may take a guard. I'm not taking a left tackle from the Ivy League. I want him to have played against 7 SEC NFL edge rushers. So, and this is nothing against Ryan poll specifically, but I just, I don't think, I think when you touch on that, I know Steve Keim well, Steve Keim obviously have Michael Bidwell as an agent and as gracious as he was to the NFL hosting the Vikings Rams, you know, again, on the margins the Rams just hire better people. And so it's interesting because I'm going to spend more time in Chicago and I look at the Bears and I, I, that's why I think McCarthy works because he has dealt with a dysfunctional organization, he's dealt with a prickly quarterback, he's dealt with two high profile teams. Ben Johnson could go there and like in an hour be like the hell did I get myself into?

[Unknown Speaker]

There's this, there's no doubt about that. McCarthy has a high floor. I just personally think he has a low ceiling. Yeah. And attaching that to Caleb's rookie contract is uninspiring to me personally. Like he leaves Green Bay, Matt leflore comes in, modernizes the offense. Aaron Rodgers, who had been declining immediately, wins back to back mvp. Like I just, I don't think he is of the now. I think that he is, he, he, he does what he does. He is a solid coach. You know that he can do the job. So there's that. But to me that is just damning with faint praise. So, but here's what I've also been saying. You can fail with an offensive guy, you can fail with a defensive guy, you can fail with a retread. So at least he's an offensive retread. If they hire, if they hired Brian Flores or Anthony Weaver. There was a report that Ryan polls was smitten with the defensive coordinator of the Dolphins. Like at least Mike McCarthy is an offensive head coach who has had success with multiple quarterbacks who, whether he's calling the plays or not, has his own system that he knows there would be stability for Caleb Williams. In my opinion, you cannot hire a defensive head coach when your quarterback isn't proven. And I know not everyone agrees with that. Hire a CEO, hire a leader of men type. But to me it's just too risky to have that much instability for Caleb, who clearly is craving structure and stability right now.

[Colin Cowherd]

The Rams at the Eagles, Ravens at the Bills. Here we go are the highlight. Those are the Sunday games.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

And so you know, Texans, Chiefs. Nobody thinks Houston's going to win in 8 degree weather. Commanders at Lions. I think commanders are fascinating. Jaden Daniels as Andrew Luck. Maybe even better as a rookie, but the Lions have much better players. Ben Johnson with extra time to prepare, they'll bring out the stop all the stops. Rams, Eagles, Ravens, Bills. You've had a remarkable year picking games. So I'm going to give you. Thank you. I'm going to give you. Of all four games, I'm going to give you my strongest take. No team plays perfect back to back. And the rams played about 75% of that game, played perfect football like they did against Buffalo at home. Go to the Buffalo game the following week. How they play less than perfect. The Eagles meanwhile played very poorly in one which you can really coach a team hard. When you win and play poorly. You can really kick ass that week at practice. That Philadelphia will not play that poorly. Hurts. Jalen hurts separates more from his concussion. Remember, historically players off concussions generally struggle in the first game. Game and a half is that the Eagles actually at minus six is one of the better bets of the weekend because we're in love with the standalone Rams performance. And go to the Bills game earlier. They offensively have really bad halves a lot. They are really puka Nakua centric. I like the Eagles a lot this weekend, even though today that sounds outrageous.

[Unknown Speaker]

So it's funny, in my gambling group chat we were having this exact conversation. It's like, okay, sick five. No, that's not a bet on the Rams. Oh wow. It's five and a half. It's six. It hit six and a half for a minute and then went back down and some of the guys jumped on at six and a half. Like Rams plus six and a half. Being like this number is just crazy. But I think it's what you're talking about. It's Philly still. They played an awful game offensively.

[Colin Cowherd]

Awful, awful, awful.

[Unknown Speaker]

And they won by 12. They are really really good. And the last time we saw Stafford in the rain, he looked terrible. And the weather does not sound like it's going to be excellent conditions for this game. As opposed to the Rams, who, you know, the Rams were a great matchup for Minnesota. I bet the Rams is one of my biggest bets of the year. Like the Vikings were a great matchup for the Rams is how I meant to say it. All Brian Flores does is blitz. Matt Stafford is a 10 plus year veteran who has maybe the two best blitz beating receivers like cup and Nakua get open instantly. So yeah. And then Flores just kept blitzing and blitzing and blitzing and the game is in a dome on a fast track. That was just the guy. He was 14. Stafford was 14 for 18 against the blitz with a pass rating of 144, his highest of the year. It was like he could do anything he wanted. I was like, maybe don't blitz. But I was glad he did because I hammered the Rams in that spot. So I agree with you. I think that Philly is going to play a much better game. Their defense is really good. Like nobody get. Everyone talks about their offense. Their defense is really good. So I like Philly in that spot. I'm going to go down with the ship with Josh Allen. Baltimore's already favored in Buffalo. Like they're playing the best football of anyone the last five weeks. But that's.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's, you know. Right.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's a little disrespectful.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I've had my worst betting year of my career. A lot of it. I think Jason McIntyre has pointed out that the new kickoff rules are giving good quarterbacks even more of an advantage. I mean, last night, the first play of the game, Rams completed to Puka Nakua. They're like in field goal range. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

By the way, another take of mine from early in the year on breakfast ball that I feel like aging kind of well. Arena League goal posts, they're 18 yards wide. Make them nine yards wide. More fourth down attempts. I want to see less field goal attempts. You get the ball at the 30, you get two passes, you're in field goal range for Brandon Aubrey. Not interested. Sorry. Go ahead.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah. This is the best version of the Bills. And though we think of Baltimore as a cold weather operation, Lamar doesn't love playing in the cold. And I think they've become very Derrick Henry and Lamar dominant. This Bills team now is a top five back, a top two left tackle, a top two quarterback, one of the Better now that the rookie from Florida State has emerged, the slot receiver. Like, it's a real receiving core. Two capable tight ends. This is their best offensive line. And Sean McDermott, to his credit, I think, is a better coach than two years ago. I think he has gotten better. I mean, it's so funny that you're not allowed to get. They even say you can increase your IQ in your 30s and 40s. Like you can. I'm. I'm not betting against Buffalo in every game that has mattered this year at home, they have crushed everybody.

[Unknown Speaker]

Well, I don't like this. I don't like us agreeing on these picks. Your.

[Colin Cowherd]

Your.

[Unknown Speaker]

Your record's been terrible.

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[Unknown Speaker]

You look around and all of a sudden the company you're keeping isn't where you want to be. You're like, oh, maybe I. Maybe change. Maybe I better parlay Baltimore and the Rams.

[Colin Cowherd]

How about this, though? But I did say it this year, so, you know, you and Nick are very good at this gambling stuff, and you're both kind of mathy. That's why Nick's so good at poker. And I would presume you've done a little bit of poker in your life.

[Unknown Speaker]

Him and I have played a lot of poker.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So I think one of the things I do that I really enjoy doing, and I don't know if I do it well, but I think I'm pretty good at it, is seeing cultural changes in sports and theorizing what is happening in sports. And I was on this three years ago. I said, watch out. As the sport becomes more offensive, there will be only one way to win, and it will be by quarterback. And this year, the winner of each division had the quarterback that played the best all year for the longest period. Lamar played better for a longer period than Burrow, who got scorching hot at the end. And if you look at last weekend, every team that won the quarterback that played better won the game.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

And the NFL is becoming a little like the NBA. A very small elite, four or five teams, a very tiny middle and Drac in the bottom 12 to 14 teams. And I think this is going to continue because as the league has become virtually quarterback and offensive head coach centric, there's one way to win in this league now. One. That's it.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's so funny you bring this up because Nick would make fun of my picks, even though I kept winning and winning and winning. And I was saying it's the year of the favorites. And so traditionally, like sharp betters who bet underdogs, I Love dogs.

[Colin Cowherd]

I love my whole life.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of course, so do I. Of course you should. It's a sport of parody. It's a sport with a salary cap and a salary floor and worst of first teams and the bad team. This isn't college football. Like a big underdog is eight points, nine points. You can win outright in that situation all the time. Of course, everyone, you should love underdogs historically, but not if what you just said is true. If there's a few teams at the top that are awesome and then there's a bunch of really bad teams, I think I trust that those teams at the top, when they're favored by six over a really bad team, it's like they're going to take care of business and cover those spreads. Favorites crushed this year and they really crushed in December as teams were out of it, as teams were thinking about Cabo, as teams were firing coaches and the really good teams were gearing up for super bowl runs. So I don't know if that will continue or if we'll just start to see bigger point spreads in the NFL. You know, like, I mean that game, week 18, like Baltimore was a 20 point favorite against Cleveland. I didn't, I didn't like it. They didn't, they didn't cover. But it was close. Like, you know what I mean? Like I, it was, it was, it wasn't like they won by three. So I do think that there is, it'll be very interesting to see if that trend continues or if it's a one year outlier. My guess is it's an outlier because of just how the league is designed and a team that is a normally would be a three point favorite. They'll just make a four point favorite and that'll be the difference and it'll get back to being dogs. But I think that that's what happened to this year in gambling is that favorites just started covering spreads because there are a few really, really good teams and then the bad teams are just, we're just awful this year.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Cardiff Garcia]

The indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Colin Cowherd]

Workers have been feeling the sting of.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Inflation, so as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest.

[Bobby Bones]

Post election day spike ever.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Adnan Virk]

Make America affordable again.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition Podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, population, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast in the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers.

[H]

Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst, and boy oh boy, does Daddy have a lot to say.

[Adnan Virk]

I love you, by the way, on NHL Network. We're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love. Right?

[H]

Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture. And you know what? Tons of back and forth on all things NHL.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you're soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We get all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear in NHL.

[H]

Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts, Ferkie.

[Adnan Virk]

That's sure to cause a ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Burke and demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I have pivoting to the NBA, I have Adam Silver on my show tomorrow. Many of you will be listening to this today as of Wednesday as we shoot this in the late afternoon on Tuesday. And I have a series of questions I'm going to ask Adam Silver. If you could ask him one, what would it be.

[Unknown Speaker]

Such a great interview spot for you? To me, all of the quote unquote problems with the NBA boil down to the fundamental issue that the regular season doesn't mean anything. 81 of 82 just doesn't matter. And if you watch the regular season and you then watch the postseason, they are different sports.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

How can you fundamentally change it? Because the three point issue is an offshoot of that. To me the 60 game minimum for the star player, that's a band aid on a gunshot wound. The all star game, that's one thing. That's an event. How can you fundamentally change when these guys have hundreds of millions of dollars that they've earned, fully guaranteed. It's been proven that you don't need to have home court advantage to win a finals. You don't need to be the one seed. How can you get. Why should fans care about your regular season when your players clearly don't like that? To me is that is the fundamental issue facing the NBA. Because they could. They would say hey, they get. They just signed $75 billion worth of television contracts. There is no issue. But the NBA no longer feels like an event. It's just a game. I can miss it. I don't have to watch when Jokic and Wemby have a great game. I can just see the highlights on my phone. I don't need to watch it start to finish. And I love the NBA. I love it. So it pains me to say it but the fundamental issue and what I would want I could spend the whole 20 minutes or 15 minutes however long you have with him on what realistically can be done to get not just superstars, everybody, every player to care about the regular season like they do the postseason.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, think about basketball, international high school and college. There's a sudden death reality to the end of seasons. Except the NBA.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yes.

[Colin Cowherd]

Where even in the first round it's sometimes seven game series where you're just waiting, you know, three nothing lead favorite underdog goes to overtime, wins game four. Game five is a blowout. And I think Daryl Moria suggested sudden death. I don't think that's the answer because it is a star driven league and I don't want to star on a bad referee call bout from the playoffs. But I would go three games first round, five games, second five game, conference final, seven final. And I think, I think that creates some urgency. That means if a guy gets banged up and is going to miss two games and you're the favorite, like Jaylen. Jaylen Brown gets banged up and you're like at half of one game, okay, he's not coming back until game four. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. That could be an elimination game. I feel like now you can literally, there are games in the NBA playoffs. Like game three for the team trailing zero and two is just perfunctory. It's the obligatory, okay, home team will hold serve, they'll win a close one or even a blowout. And then by game four, the favorite then Hammers and. And I. And I think anytime sports has games that I feel like I know the outcome going in. That's why the 12 team college football Playoff, one of the things to be concerned about is the first round when you get a Boise State going to Ohio State, that's just like a game in September. That doesn't get me to a tv. And I think a lot of this is just the greed of owners and the expansion of sports. The NFL has no reason to extend. I could argue you could shrink it. I mean, there's the revenues from television alone. You don't even need stadium attendance now. But I think this is the reality is you've got arena contracts, you've got owners who just don't want to give up the capital.

[Unknown Speaker]

No. Well, that's the thing. No one will give up the inventory. But you say they wouldn't do single elimination. And it's the same thing, right? Because seven games on TV is more valuable than one game on tv. And you say you don't want to have a bad call, bounce a team. Why, like, it happens in March Madness. It happens in the NFL playoffs, it happens in the best tournaments, the College Football Playoff. It just, it doesn't happen in baseball, basketball and hockey and college football. March Madness and the super bowl are more popular than all three of those sports postseasons. So I would be very interested if they said, like, all right, 2029, everyone's got plenty of time to adjust and prepare TV networks, figure it out, charge your ad rates, whatever. It's a single elimination postseason. Because what would happen, I honestly don't know would. If you got 10 million people for an NBA Finals game, but it was a single elimination NBA Finals, would 35 million people watch? I don't know the answer to that. Like, I, I gotta think more people would watch Fewer games. And I'd be interested to know what the economics of it would be and I know it would get people talking and it would be interesting. But the other thing, it's such a cool spot that you have. Silver is, he is a, he is clearly like a progressive player friendly commissioner. And the, the players trust the owners in the NBA more than any other league. Right. They've got a true partnership. I feel like they should exploit it more. And exploit has a negative connotation but it took baseball a lot to do the pitch clock and to make some rules changes. Just change some rules. Don't change the court. In the in season tournament, let's try. In season tournament games we're playing with international rules. In season tournament games we're playing with no corner. Three in season tournament games we're playing with 30 foot three point line. Like if, if 1 of 82 doesn't matter. Let's experiment with regular season games and tinker with some rules. Let's say for the month of January. You know the Kirk Goldsberry idea. Like each team gets to draw their own three point line. So the warriors three point line is one thing. The Nuggets is another one. Portland's is another one. Chicago's is another one. Maybe one team has no three point line altogether. If they're a bad three point shooting team. Like yeah, like experiment a little bit more with your product to see what you can change to maximize it. Because I feel like some of the things that they do is like we're going to change the All Star game format. That's.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Nobody cares.

[Unknown Speaker]

Nobody cares. Nobody cares. Like how do you change the game to make it so that like I get the math. I get it. Well, three is more than two. I understand it's 50% more than two. But you, your sport has a fundamental viewership problem. If it's not a good idea for Anthony Edwards to try to dunk. He's one of the greatest athletes in the world and he'll take 10, 15 threes a game like it's nothing. You want him attacking the basket. So I just, I would really love to talk to him about how radical of ideas are you willing to try for a product that economically is not broken. But I feel like for those of us who love the sport would say that it is.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Aesthetically again I don't start really diving into the NBA until I would say almost after this weekend and you get down to a couple of games Now I'll watch 20 minutes. I watched 30 minutes the other day. On a treadmill. I do a lot of that stuff. But a lot of times when I get home, starting in about a week at 4:00, 4:30, I'll turn on an NBA game and I'll make dinner and eat dinner and I'll watch the first half of an NBA game. I'll try to pick a different team or good teams every night. So that's kind of how I start. Then the NFL season ends and now I start watching games. But that 4:30 window West Coast I'll watch an NBA game. By the way as I have a place in Chicago. I'm a bull season ticket holder. So you know it's, I like going to the events. I like it too. I, I, I think the other thing that some of these things no league is perfect. I do think the NFL baseball is a bit burdened by its past. It's very much about history and lore and the NBA isn't. I mean the truth is it, it's, you know when Jackie Moon the movie was made, I mean that's kind of a realistic, funny look at the old aba. It was like colorful and weird and it's not something that anybody really cares about. Spencer Haywood's stats right with the Sonics so you can experiment like baseball freaks out about the golden at bat. And I understand the purist that says it screws up with all the numbers but my take is you had cattle steroids for 10 years. Let's get over the numbers. Steroids in a weird way allows you to be more progressive today with your rules. But I don't think the NBA is burdened by that at all. I don't think the NFL or hockey is, is that, you know, just change stuff and make it better. And I also think that of all the sports that are in connect have some connectivity with tech and maybe it's the warriors popularity in the Bay Area. There's just tech people everywhere. Is that that Silicon Valley is almost notable, almost proud of the fact that you know, angel investors bat 20%. They might as well be Babe Ruth. Like you take big swings and you miss on a lot. That's just, that's built into the cake of angel investing. So I do think the NBA is not burdened by any of the history in the records. Nobody cares. I don't know how many points Michael Jordan scored and I don't care.

[Unknown Speaker]

So do you, so do you think it's on the board that because this would fundamentally solve it because the three point issue is a math issue. It's boring. But It's a math issue. Right. Three is 50% more than two. So if you shoot 33% from three, that is the EV expected value equivalent of shooting 50% from two. And they can train a lot of guys to shoot 35% from three. Right. That's the very basic simplified version of the math. So if you made threes worth four and twos worth three, the math changes. Like the three. The four pointer would not be 50% more valuable than the three pointer. It would be 33% more valuable than the three pointer dot you would see.

[Colin Cowherd]

A lot less threes, but that would that feel. So there's, there are lines where you don't want to feel like you don't want to annihilate or erase all your history.

[Unknown Speaker]

But you just said that they're not burdened by it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, they're not burdened by it, but there is a top 10 all time scoring list that does matter. That's the one we all know. It's like, oh, okay, it's LeBron and it's. And it's Kareem and it's Malone and yeah, there are. I don't want to annihilate history, but I'm not paralyzed by it. I think that would annihilate history.

[Unknown Speaker]

It, it would, but it's a, it's like a catch 22, right? Like, do you want to solve the problem? That solves the problem.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I don't. You know, there's, there's so many lines in the sand. It's like, it's like anything else. It's like, let's say you had an ex wife. It would be one thing to, if she got, if she won the lottery, to text her and go, hey, congratulations. It'd be another thing to text her if you were married and say, I was just thinking about you, I'm going out Friday. It's like, well, it's texts and you obviously thought about her. With both texts, one feels a little over the line.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

So like, yeah, so it's like, you know, it's one of those things where I am for new stuff. I am, I am Mr. Move Bulldoze History. But there are lines in sports and I think the top 10 all time scoring list is a line that should be protected.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay. Yeah. And I, and I, by the way, like, I don't even, I, I don't fundamentally disagree with that. I just, then I want to know what the smartest people are doing to solve it. Right? Like the first step of admitting the first step of solving any Problem is admitting you have one. Like I could understand why 30 billionaires just signed record, just locked in record setting stupid 10 figure revenue for the next decade for their business. And they're like, what are you guys talking about? Problem with the NBA? You know, I could, I think that would be a totally reasonable stance for Jerry Reinsdorf or who? Steve Ballmer or whomever. Good owner, bad owner, young, old tech, old money, inherited, business savant, whatever. To be like, buddy, this is a business. My franchise just goes up and up and up in value. I get offers every day for it. There are more people that you know, more billionaires than teams. It's a vanity thing. It makes me cool. It gives me an identity. What are you talking about? That there's an issue with my sport because they look at it like a business. So yeah, I don't know if the NBA agrees with me that they have a problem like so, then they're not going to do anything radical to solve it.

[Cardiff Garcia]

The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. And we're guessing most days that's money.

[Colin Cowherd]

Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation.

[Cardiff Garcia]

So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post.

[Bobby Bones]

Election Day spike ever.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Follow all the big changes and what they mean for you.

[Adnan Virk]

Make America affordable again.

[Cardiff Garcia]

Listen to the Indicator from NPR on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. The Daily show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture. You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors. The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else, like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Adnan Virk]

What's up everybody? Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast from iHeart podcast and the National Hockey League. It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers.

[H]

Hey, I'm Jason Demers, former 700 game NHL defenseman turned NHL Network analyst, and boy oh boy, does daddy have a lot to say.

[Adnan Virk]

I love you, by the way. On NHL Network, we're looking forward to getting together each week to chat and chirp about the sport and all the other things surrounding it that we love Right.

[H]

Yeah, I just met you today, but we're going to have a ton of guests from the colliding worlds of hockey, entertainment and pop culture. And you know what, tons of back and forth on all things NHL.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you're going to soon going to find out we're not just hockey talk. We got all kinds of random stuff on this podcast. Movies, television, food, wrestling, even the stuff that you wear on NHL.

[H]

Now you wish you could pull off my short shorts, Ferkie.

[Adnan Virk]

That's sure to cause a ruckus. Listen to NHL Unscripted with Burke and Demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Katie Couric]

Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted, but turns out the end is near. Right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha bee, Roy Wood Jr. And Charlemagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirror ball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else are you gonna find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? Based in Nashville, we're more than just your basic NFL show. We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything because we got lots to say. I. I texted you and you texted me back. Now, I don't know if you have the update, but like, all the little thumbs up and heart and stuff, like, it's all colored. They changed it and the. The heart's a little pink. It Felt like, I told you I loved you. I'm gonna be honest. It was a little pink.

[Unknown Speaker]

There was something sentimental when you, when.

[Colin Cowherd]

You send it, it's like, do I.

[Unknown Speaker]

Send the heart now?

[Bobby Bones]

I don't like the color edition.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's extremely pink.

[Bobby Bones]

Listen to lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

One of the stories this week that is interesting. So at the Eagles packers game, a very obnoxious Eagles fan said some vile things to a woman who was a Packer fan sitting below. The vile Eagle fan is not the sharpest tool in the shed. There was somebody by her filming him and he didn't recognize that. That didn't resonate with him. Which is if somebody's filming you at a game and you're punching somebody or you're saying horrible things to somebody and you have a really good corporate job, may want to scale back. I mean, that he couldn't identify that speaks to his sort of lack of self awareness. But the Internet, as it's prone to do, and I don't have a problem with the Internet doing this, highlighted his really bad behavior, repugnant behavior. Well, his company saw it and fired him. And I just wanted to see the remarks from fans and fans said, well, why didn't you confront him instead of taking a picture? To which I would say, he could be a UFC fighter, he could be a drunk, he could have a knife in his pocket. You don't know what you're getting into at a stadium. You have no idea. A lot of these guys that are, they're drunk and they want to get into a fight. And it's like, I'm with my wife. I don't want you to disrupt me. Your bad behavior is not going to change my behavior. I'll just make sure you get in trouble. So I don't have a problem just saying, quit being a jerk. Security here, you take care. I'm not a security guard. Stadiums have them, you know, and a lot of people push back, well, he shouldn't lose his job. And I had this belief and I still kind of believe it, but I used to talk about it all the time. I think I wrote about it in my first book. There are two types of guys, job guy and career guy. Career guy, it's a stigma to get into a fight. You're a law partner, you're an executive. You do something that's public. Usually you have things to protect. Job guy is like, you could go into the warehouse and go, hey, I got into a fight at the Eagles game and deck this guy. It'd be a badge of honor to some job guy. So it's always remarkable to me when it's a corporate guy doing it. And I do feel bad that he would lose his job, but for some reason, for whatever reason, I don't feel too bad that if you're a schmuck and you're taped and people don't want to confront you in the moment and you lose your job, even if you're married with kids, should I feel worse about it than I do? Because I'm kind of glad he lost his job.

[Unknown Speaker]

I will not spend one minute feeling sorry for that guy. Sorry. Like, no. What I. Should he lose his job?

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[Unknown Speaker]

But is it okay that he did? Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know what I mean? Like, actions have consequences. And by the way, he didn't look hammered. He didn't sound hammered.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was just a jerk.

[Unknown Speaker]

Very calmly saying horrible, disgusting, vile things to a woman on camera, unapologetically, because she was rooting for a different set of laundry. Like, it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous behavior. So, no, I don't, like, celebrate that he lost his job.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I'm not celebrating.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. No, not at all. Not at all. I wouldn't try to pile on of the losing of his job, but what I felt about that video was that it is so much worse than a fight at a sporting event.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

I can kind of unders. Like, I don't condone fighting at sporting events, obviously, but, like, you root for the Red Sox, you root for the Yankees. It's $17 beer night, and we've had a dozen of them. And you say something, and I say something in machismo and testosterone, and you get into a fight like, it's not good. But sports are primal. I say, less hate in the world, more hate in sports. So, like, sometimes that sports hate that I condone and, like, and it leads to rivalries and trash talk and spinning a ball in a guy's face and taunting penalties and pushing and shoving. Like, I can't then be completely offended when a fan does it. So, like, a sports fight among fans, I don't love it, but it doesn't really bother me that it happens. It's just, like, cost of doing business. That is just subhuman.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. You know what I mean?

[Unknown Speaker]

It's just. It's just overt cruelty.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

So I don't feel bad for that guy at all. If he would have been 12 shots deep, slurring his words punched someone that gets caught on camera and he gets fired for that, I would honestly feel way worse for him than he did. And maybe that is completely logically inconsistent. But that video was appalling. And sorry, man. You've got to live with the consequences of your actions. We're not imprisoning you for it. A private company fired you because they were embarrassed to employ you because you acted like a jackass. That's. That's life.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, here's another curveball.

[Unknown Speaker]

All right?

[Colin Cowherd]

Jerry Jones, yeah, goes on a very popular show called Landman. It's very good. Billy Bob Thornton.

[Unknown Speaker]

I haven't seen the show, but I saw the clip.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's. It's a little like Yellowstone, I think. It's. Sometimes it's a little overwritten. Like nobody's that clever. Ad libbing, you know. Remember the movie? Yeah, you remember the movie? Juno? You know, this like, young kid, sounds like, you know, Stephen Colbert riffing off one liners. And I'm like, yeah, it's a little over the top. So Landman's a little overwritten, but Billy Bob Thornton sells the hell out of it and it's good. So Jerry Jones makes an appearance on it and does a remarkable job. And it goes back to something years ago. I was at a party and I don't go to a lot of these parties. I've probably been to three and eight years in la and there were some writers and Hollywood people, and one of them was an acting coach. And I just asked him about it. I said, on average, how talented are they? He goes, never forget the stars of Stranger Things are kids. It's just make believe. It doesn't take extraordinary amounts of talent to act. And I thought, whoa, he's an acting coach?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

And I'm like, I don't think I'd be a good actor. But when Jerry Jones did it, it took me back to that conversation where he's like, yeah, seven year olds are literally gripping on tv. Cause they're good pretenders. A lot of people play in the world of fantasy and pretending and dress up. And so I want to just ask you this. Chicago's known for second City. A lot of really quality actors. Could you act, do you think? It takes extraordinary skill. Like for instance, an 8 year old couldn't be an astronaut or a mayor. An 8 year old couldn't be a civil engineer. They can act. How much talent does it take to act?

[Unknown Speaker]

It takes an extraordinary amount of talent to be great. You know, like Daniel Day Lewis has an Extraordinary amount of talent.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Like, I do believe that. I believe that people who can make you buy wide ranging characters over a long period of time that do a lot of different things and they're successful in a lot of different avenues and venues and then you can see them do like, Jamie Foxx has an incredible amount of talent.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, and now it's not just acting. Right. It's. It's music, it's comedy, it's dance, it's everything.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, he's. He is hyper talented. But he sings.

[Unknown Speaker]

Correct.

[Colin Cowherd]

Does stand up. Like, I've argued this for years. Of all performers, comedians are underrated. I mean, for sure, Dave.

[Unknown Speaker]

For sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

Dave Chappelle gets one take, writes his own stuff and I mean.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Performs it. One take.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. No, no, no question. I think like anything, the best of the best are incredibly talented, but really good material. That's why you listen to any podcast or interview with these actors that are like, they're like, what do you judge it on? The script, the writing, the director. There's. There's no doubt. Now could. I don't want to be too unfair, but like, could Luke Wilson have done Castaway? Like, no, Like, I don't. I think Tom Hanks has like a certain amount of skill and gravitas to carry a 2 hour and 15 minute epic where he's alone on an island, you know, I think so.

[Colin Cowherd]

You don't think Paulie Shore could have done the Irishman?

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't, Yeah. I don't. Like, I think that there is definitely some skill, but I think that there. But most of it is. It's a, it's a very collaborative job that feels individualized. Like, to be a great actor, you have to have a great script, a great. So a great writer, a great director. You have to have producers. It has to be well lit, it has to be well shot, it has to be well budgeted. It has to be. There's a lot of things that have to happen to make you look good and for you to get the $20 million paycheck. Whereas the standup comedian, the pen, the microphone, the venue. Like, you're the talent, the songwriter, the pen, the guitar, the microphone, the venue. Like, you are mostly like, I think that it is among the performing arts, it probably is the one that requires the least amount of talent, but the best are still great. Did that make sense?

[Colin Cowherd]

Musical talent? Musical talent is. It's pretty extraordinary to me when you see it. Like, is it John Batiste, the pianist?

[Unknown Speaker]

Amazing.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, you see it, it's amazing. Like, I watch him and I'm like, this is AI. This can't be real.

[Unknown Speaker]

Well, listen, I know nothing. Like, I know nothing about music. I will joke that, like, I like 100% of the concerts I've been to, because every single. Because every single time I'm blown away that they're doing it. I'm like, oh, my God, this is unbelievable. Like, I did the recorder, then the clarinet, and then I was like, just good enough at the clarinet to qualify in to do saxophone in seventh grade. And at the. The performance or the band recital or whatever, I was just like, oh, these kids are just, like, way too good. And I was just, like, pantomiming, playing the saxophone, and I stopped and I was just like, you know, no one could tell I don't have any musical ability whatsoever. So it always blows my mind, like, good, bad. Oh, that was a terrible show. I'm like, really? That was, like, one of the most incredible things I've ever heard. So I always think it's also funny when, like, sports commentators or something all of a sudden become American Idol judges whenever we. Oh, that was a terrible rendition of God Bless America. You have no idea if that was a C flat or a B minor or whatever the hell it is. So I am not qualified to grade music.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, so we do sort of a broad, sweeping podcast on anything we want to talk about. So obviously, the fires in Los Angeles has been. I mean, I lived in Washington state during Mount St. Helens, but a couple hours away, and this is the closest natural disaster. And it's interesting. I have several opinions, and I think two or three things can be true. I don't think politics and California politics has helped firefighters, in my opinion. I do think the environmental mafia up in Sacramento can be a roadblock to common sense. But I also think when you have hurricane force winds and instead of rain, there's fire in it, there's nothing firefighters can do. It would have burned 500 homes or 1,500 homes. There was nothing you can do. If you go online with a video, and I know Palisades very well, narrow roads, windy roads, wild topography, canyons, stuff just bounced canyon to canyon. There's nothing you could have done. And people say, well, you shouldn't politicize it. But it is interesting. And I think to myself, why not? Because in order to get things done, powerful entities like Sacramento, for instance, or a powerful governor are rarely vulnerable. And there are these moments in time when their policy or their direction makes citizens vulnerable or at risk, and people are uncomfortable. You hear this all the time. I can't believe you make that political. And I would argue almost everything is up for political discussion in a very tribal country. So I wasn't necessarily put off by the politics. I just didn't agree with a lot of the takes. I thought it was a tsunami, historically, four wildfires at once. You could have had a hundred more fire trucks, planes couldn't go in the air for a day and a half because of the wind, so you couldn't fight it. I think almost everything is fair game politically. Do you?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yes, of course. Of course. I am not an expert on firefighting. I am not an expert on California. I am not, you know, so I. All of those caveats aside. But there are problems that are too big for a person or group of people to address and solve. And at some, like, baseline, overly simplified level, that's what government and politics is like. People are like, oh, there was no water in the fire hydrants. I'm like, okay, I don't know everything that led to that. But I also know that when I see a fire hydrant on the side of the road, my expectation isn't that that can put out a wildfire. It's that it can stop a house from burning down.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know, so, like, I think that some of the grandstanding and the like. See, I told you so, and I was right. And it is this person's fault. Like, that is just gross and an oversimplification, clearly, of a disaster. But if we can't talk about, hey, this happened, we clearly didn't do a great job. You know what I mean? This happened, and we were not able to stop it.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it happens regularly on an almost annual basis.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's my point. This happened. We couldn't stop it. It's going to happen again. No individual is capable of stopping it. If an individual is incapable of stopping it, the next thing that you would turn to is the government. So then it's politics. And that, by the way, is a totally apolitical observation. Left, right, pro Newsom, anti Trump, pro Trump. That observation right there. I feel like people on both sides of the aisle should just obviously agree with how if this isn't a thing that government and tax dollars are supposed to go towards solving. Yeah, then why, why do we have government again? Like, what are you talking about? Like, of course this is political. Of course.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. Don't, don't. Don't buy a house in Juneau if you don't like chilly weather. And don't buy a house in Phoenix if you're bothered by hot weather. Don't be a politician. If you want it to always be civil and above board, it's gonna get. It's gonna go sideways. You're gonna be attacked. It's called politics. Right, like that. If you had a friend and I said, you know, I like Danny, but he's very political, right? That would be like a stigma. It's like, yeah, Danny's the political one. It's politics. This is what it is. So as everybody was. And I don't even consider this a political conversation. And because whenever political people talk sports, I always think, oh, they sound so rudimentary and so pedestrian. And so I know I don't have, you know, I read like everybody else, but I think this is the time to attack a governor. This is a time to attack a mayor. This is a time to say, okay, this is a real crisis. Why weren't your policies better?

[Unknown Speaker]

Well, and by the way, I don't know the answer. I'm totally fine with independent review. Let some experts tell us if they did a good job or not, or if this could have been prevented with different policies that were suggested and you got cheap on and voted down or dismissed or whatever. Like, I don't know. I don't know who was at fault. But I think it's crazy to suggest that politic politicians shouldn't be criticized or questioned when really bad things happen, whether or not they are directly responsible for it or not. And I mean, maybe this makes it more political than you want to make it, but, like, I feel the same way about mass shootings. Of course we should talk about that in a political sense when it comes to gun laws or how about this.

[Colin Cowherd]

This isn't perfectly analogous, but if somebody, a sports figure, was a bully or did bad things and he dies, and people say Bobby Knight dies and people are critical of him the day he dies and people say, that's disrespectful. And I'm like, well, timeout. Are you producing my show? Should I talk about it six days from now? What's the timeline on when I can talk about Bobby Knight's bad behavior to me, we produce a show, the only way to accumulate an audience is talk about stuff people are talking about.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I'm not going to have. I always said this. I don't mind if callers, when I used to take them, disagree with me. Don't try to produce my show. I'm good at it. I know what I'm doing. I don't try to produce your mortgage. You know, Your, your title company. I'm not here to tell you how to do it. And my take has always been Bobby Knight dies. That's the day to be critical that holds all of us somewhat accountable to being better human beings.

[Unknown Speaker]

I agree completely. Yeah. The idea of like, don't speak ill of the dead. Like, okay, I mean, if you want to treat your aunt that way, fine. But if it's a public figure and that's, that's what eulogies are for. Like, like that that's what their family is for. Like, the obituary is going to tell the life story. So I completely agree with you. Now, I think that obviously there is good taste. You know, I don't, I didn't love the President Elect tweeting or truth socialing. The Hollywood Hills burning with the Hollywood signs saying Trump was right. Like, I didn't, I didn't. I didn't think that was in particularly good taste. I thought that was a bit of a troll when thousands of people were fleeing their homes. On the flip side, just to like go to the other side of it, like, do you remember when Hurricane Sandy obviously hit the Northeast and Chris Christie got crushed for greeting Obama with a hug and a handshake and he was like, wait a minute, this doesn't have to be like, he's coming here to like visit victims and give federal dollars to help rebuild. Like, we can disagree politically. We're going to try to agree on how to help people after a hurricane. Like, so I'm not saying that there is no room for taste and decorum, but, and this is callous, four months from now, if they're like, you gotta wait four months until we can talk about it. Something else will be dominating the news cycle by that point. You know, like, unfortunately not for the people that lost their homes like that. This will be something that impacts them for years and years and years. Not that it still won't be a news story or relevant and the government will still be investigating and all that insurance claims, all the things. But, like, this is when our attention is on it. So of course this is when we should have at least the preliminary conversation on what to do about it. I don't find it offensive at all.

[Colin Cowherd]

The volume, whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza. There's something about football that makes me want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals for me on game day. Food, no matter what I'm craving from two for one pizza to buy one, get one wings. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. I'm in Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. Consider this is a daily news podcast and lately the news is about a big question.

[Unknown Speaker]

How much can one guy change? They want change.

[Colin Cowherd]

What will change look like for energy?

[Unknown Speaker]

Drill baby Drill schools.

[Colin Cowherd]

Take the Department of Education. Close it.

[Adnan Virk]

Health care better and less expensive.

[Colin Cowherd]

Follow coverage of a changing country. Promises made, promises kept.

[Adnan Virk]

We're going to keep our promises on.

[Unknown Speaker]

Consider this from NPR. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or wherever.

[Colin Cowherd]

You get your podcasts.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirrorball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else you're going to find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything. Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily show, which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend Jon Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now, this is the second term we can all get behind. Listen to the Daily Show Ears edition on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Katie Couric]

Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch, right in time for a new season of my podcast. Next question. I'm bringing in some foks friends of Katie's to help me out like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Asted Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.