← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Can Luka Power Lakers To A Title, LeBron Is LOCKED IN, David Ross On Cubs Magical World Series Win
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Today's podcast brought to you by Ferguson Home where it all comes together. Whether you're a homeowner working on a remodel or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where great ideas become stunning spaces. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by top brands like LG firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations. Or browse their extended selection of products online@FergusonHome.com we all want the best without having to pay the most. That's where Verizon comes in. Get this now you can take your AT&T or T mobile bill into any Verizon store. They'll look at what you're paying and give you a better deal, period. You get the amazing coverage you want while keeping more cash in your pocket. Visit your local Verizon store to start saving today. Must provide recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms and conditions apply. Well, in sports and in life, timing is just about everything. You can have all the right talent, right mindset, even have the right team. But if you don't act at the right moment, opportunity slips away. True on the field. And it's true when it comes to your health. Two words for you right now. Prostate exam. I did mine a year ago. Yeah. Are you imagining that finger right now? Relax. Prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger free blood test. Around one in eight men in the US going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re clench when caught early at localized or even regional stage, prostate cancer has a 99% five year relative survival rate. So did your tight end. Just relax. Good. If you're 40 or older, have a prostate, go to Relax, it's a blood test dot com. Relax, it's a blood test dot com to find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening. So talk to your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested and discuss screening options and the next steps. It's easy.
- [02:07]
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- [03:14]
Colin Cowherd
show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, American Beverage. If you think about some of the most iconic drinks in the country, the ones you grab at a barbecue, the ones you raise to celebrate your team, that have been part of your story for decades, Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, there's something people don't always think about. The companies behind those brands are still making their drinks right here in the US While there's a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing back, America's beverage companies never left. They're American companies making American products with American workers in America's hometown. So 275,000 men and women across all 50 states. Real jobs, good paying jobs, the kind of jobs you can raise a family on. So more than 100 years those brands have been part of everyday lives and they're still here, still investing, still operating in communities around the country. So if you care about strong local economies and companies that walk the walk, check out the good work and what they're doing@wedeliver for America.org. Let's start with the NBA, the Lakers. And I think a lot of when a team is losing, they listen to their coach, right? And the Lakers had lost a couple of straight, had some bad late game possessions and Luka was for the first time as a Laker getting heat. And I was one of the many people saying I think LeBron's still great but I don't think he fits with Luka and Austin reeves and they LeBron's got rabbit ears. He reacted to it. He has played unbelievable. I think Lucas scored 30 plus and all of their wins, which I think is an NBA record is that's what the Laker account said. And so I think you and I would agree with this. We know they're a great half Court offense. They have multiple ball creators. Outside of Marcus Smart, everybody's an offensive player. They have length, they have shot creators, they have excellent passing. Austin Reaves has established himself. It's no longer he's a nice number four. Like, he's a real good playmaker. The question for us has always been okay in the NBA playoffs. It's the only professional league in this country where it's officiated differently. You don't get the whistle. You have to play collective defense almost every possession of second halves. And I don't know if they can do it, do you? And I think we've agreed on that, that they're a tremendously offensive gifted team. The rules in football and basketball over the last decade have moved to offense for both smartly to make the game more appealing. Does this Laker team gifted offensively? Do we feel differently today? Does it translate to the playoffs? Are they maybe a little more profound offensively than maybe we thought three weeks ago?
- [05:57]
Jason
Yeah, I think there's been improvement on both ends of the floor. I want to start with jj because I think the work that he's done has been really important. I mean, this was a team at one point, Colin, they had lost 12 out of 13 times against teams that had at least a 60% win percentage. Like they could not beat good teams. And they were just rolling over and getting killed in those games. Now they've won five of those in a row. They've won seven straight against playoff level teams because they just beat Miami and Orlando, both of which are feisty teams. And it really comes down to a handful of complete reversals. First of all, JJ has them completely bought in. When we last talked about the Lakers, Colin, we were talking about how they cannot win in any way other than winning with their offense. They are now generating margin in several key areas. Now pre All Star Break, 23rd in defense, post All Star 12th. Nothing to write home about, but considering their personnel, that's pretty good. They're just.
- [06:51]
Colin Cowherd
Denver won a title in that space. Remember that Jokic team? They were like 13. You don't have to be a great defensive team to win a title. You have to be competent situationally.
- [07:01]
Jason
That's the formula. If you have an unbelievable, unguardable offense, then you just have to be pretty good on defense. And they've established that over the last few weeks. Secondly, and this is the big one that's been shocking to me, they are generating a lot of margin, scoring off of turnovers. JJ's been way more aggressive. And this is what I think has been really smart because like say you're a coach and you're trying to figure out how to get a team to play defense. When you don't have good defensive personnel, you have to like track down, okay, what is the thing that we have that is a strength for our defense. And what it is is their basketball iq. They have a lot of really smart players, including Marcus Smart, LeBron James, Austin Reeves, Luka Doncic. They have a lot of really smart players. And so JJ's been way more aggressive with their coverages. They're putting two on the ball more than ever. This has put an emphasis on their defensive IQ because in the four on threes that ensue after that, it's a lot of anticipating what happens next. And they're jumping a lot of those passing lanes and they're forcing turnovers. They were 17th in steals pre all star break, 11th post ulcer break. Then you have this incredibly fast attack and transition, something LeBron has been a huge part of. Pre All Star break. The Lakers were losing the points off of Turnovers battle by 1.6 per game post all star. They're plus 6.2. That is a huge margin in points off of turnovers that now is helping them build lots of margin for error in every single game. They were negative in overall fast break points pre all star. Now they're positive post all star. So JJ deserves a lot of credit for just getting a very offensive minded group to buy into finding ways to win games outside of their offense. But also their offense is amazing now in large part because one, Luka has finally ascended to that best player in the world level of basketball when he, when he has it going from three especially, he just brings this combination of like the Steph curry, I'm taking 12, 13 threes and what if I make seven of them kind of thing that he brings to the table while also being as physically imposing as Jokic, as good of a passer as Jokic, and having the mid range shot making piece that Shea goes Alexander brings to the table. So Luke has been unbelievable. Austin has found his rhythm finally. He's struggled a little bit with athleticism, but table that because that's where LeBron comes in. And as, as Austin and Luka have taken so much more of the offensive load that has finally allowed LeBron to slot into that like evolutionary Draymond Green role that we've all thought he would do at this phase in his career. But he just needed the right amount of ball handling around him to slot into that role to Lebron's credit for all the talk about him not doing enough of that stuff. Austin was hurt most of the season. He had no choice but to step into that role. And by the way, like in the Houston games, Austin can get a little overwhelmed against some of these athletes. Amento question. Did a number against Austin and those two Houston games?
- [09:56]
Colin Cowherd
Yep.
- [09:57]
Jason
But then here comes LeBron. I can give you 30 against a smaller, athletic team because he's so big and strong. That's where he can become more Carl Maloney and he can do his. Do his physical bully ball.
- [10:09]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. I mean, the downside to being gifted offensively, and there's not a lot of them, but the Warrior Team was a great example. When they had Clay and Durant and Steph the first year, they were all in every game. I mean, they just blew through the second and third years. It's like, there's nights like we'll get our points and you get caught into a cycle of, you know, defense, even if you're Draymond Green. Defense is hard. It's hard for great defensive players. And to be great defensively collectively is rare. That's usually teams that don't have offense. That's why Oklahoma City is such a pain in the ass. They're good offensively, and collectively, they give you such an effort. That's rare. Right. Usually, even the great spurs teams, Duncan and Bruce Bowen, gave you defense to get six, seven guys in rotation to care. But offense is different. It's easy for the great players. Offense is easy for Luka and Austin. I mean, even Rui LeBron still like beating people off the dribble. LeBron's just a bully. And so I think the downside to being as gifted as the Lakers are is that it is easy to lull yourself into. Hang around and it's tied at 88 and we'll go on a spurt. I think this is my interpretation of what Reddick has done. He has forced them to be really focused early. They don't fall into holes. He's taken these gifted offensive players, and JJ was talented. I think they're a much more motivated team. Some of it is probably the criticism, And I'm sure JJ has reminded them that LeBron, you don't fit, Luke. But when I watch them play, there's real. They're very intentional. The possessions really like, they come out of the half. That's my take on the Lakers. JJ These are stars. Two of the biggest stars in the game. Maybe two. The two biggest stars, Luke and LeBron, and they're complimentary. LeBron's been a great. I mean, Luke Canard the other night, he races over to him and I do think that's the art of coaching. Phil Jackson, the art of coaching superstars. Joe Torrey with the Yankees when he had a rod and Jeter, being able to ride them, you know, to the, you know, just enough push the buttons. And I think JJ's, you know, it's that, it's that Duke education, whatever it is. JJ is really good with stars. He's a really good. That's, that's how I. He's great at pushing buttons. I think this is as good as Lucas played in three years. I think the last eight games, that's the best LeBron's been in two years. Three years. I think there, I mean, to me, Jason, there's an art to coaching stars and not every coach can do it.
- [13:00]
Jason
Yeah, absolutely. I think, I think JJ has found a way to kind of resonate with each player on an individual level. Like, JJ obviously built rapport with LeBron through the podcast that they did together. JJ was Luca's teammate for a little while in Dallas. So, like, they have a little rapport from their locker room time spent together. JJ and Austin have clicked from the very beginning. I, I love that you brought up the criticism because I think that's an important part of this. Like, it has pushed all of them to another level because all of them are sick of it. They're all sick of all the stuff that's been being said. And all the criticism was valid. Maybe not all of it, but a lot of the criticism was valid. There was, there were real areas of opportunity that needed to be brought up. And so Luca, you're getting this unbelievable. Not just his own kind of individual peak. This recent last couple of weeks is like an all time NBA regular season run. He's averaging 40 over the nine game win streak. Colin, like 100 point and 200 points in two games. Like, he's been absolutely unbelievable.
- [13:56]
Colin Cowherd
And so, and you know it. You, you know, he's also, as you've pointed out, he's trash talking fans.
- [14:01]
Jason
Yes.
- [14:02]
Colin Cowherd
So Luca is so gifted. He's moved off officials to some degree. He's moved into opponents and fans. And by the way, that's just part of basketball culture. Like, Michael did it, everybody did it, Bird did it. I mean, it's just, you know, it's, it. You can't complain about that. I mean, everybody, most of our stars. Kobe Bryant chats with fans. I think, I think JJ Redick has Told Luca, I don't mind the trash talk, just direct it to other people.
- [14:32]
Jason
Oh, absolutely. Like, it's actually crazy because his relationship with refs was getting borderline toxic. I actually dug into the numbers because I was curious. There was a 12 game stretch around November, December where Luca was attempting 13 free throw attempts per game, because that was what he was doing every game. It was like entirely a ref game. Every play was a ref, like a foul baiting type of. He was just along the lane line trying to draw contact and jawing with officials. And it was like producing a lot of free throw attempts, but it wasn't producing a lot of impact in terms of what he was bringing to the game. Now he's focused on making shots and talking shit, which has been amazing because not only is it way more entertaining to watch because he's got this, like, energy to him that's almost infectious, but it's also causing him to focus on all the right things because now you got to back up your trash talk, right? And so he's like, even when Luke Canard hit that game winner last night, everyone's mobbing Luke. And Luka Dodge is literally blowing a kiss to the crowd because he's having a moment at the crowd's expense. It's so funny. But which takes me to LeBron, because I think the LeBron thing is fascinating here because LeBron, there's an energy I see with him that I think stems in a lot, in a lot of ways from the Luca piece. LeBron has won four championships, and in every single one of his four championships, maybe AD was close to his level in 2020, but LeBron was the best player in the world in 2020. He should have won MVP that year. Giannis robbed him of it. So LeBron knows you've got to be one of the guys. Like, you've got to be at a special level to hoist the trophy. I think LeBron looks over and goes, this is the Luka I can win with. This is the Luca that I am actually capable of reaching this dreamed fifth ring that he wants so bad. Right? And so I'm seeing a level of focus and engagement from LeBron because I think he believes that this group has a shot now in a way that he probably hasn't felt since 2021, because he's known that either he didn't have the juice, or AD didn't have the juice because he was old and because AD had been kind of underwhelming as he entered that phase of his prime. So you have a LeBron that is doing things defensively, fighting through. Like, even that late play last night, he forced the turnover on Palo Bunchero that led to the eventual game winner. And it's like, I haven't seen LeBron flying around, denying the basketball on an inbounds play like that in forever. Some of the rotations he's making at the rim on defense, the effort that he's putting in, possession to possession, LeBron is locked in. I don't know if you saw the quote from the Miami game early. Second quarter, they're down 15. JJ calls a timeout. He gets in the huddle and he's like, hey, guys, I know we're tired. And LeBron steps up and goes, I'm not tired. And all of a sudden, like, everyone's looking around like, well, if this dude's not tired, like, we've got to meet this level. There's a level of engagement with LeBron that I haven't seen in a half decade. And so it's just made this team like, this team. Colin, this team was such a chore to watch a month ago, and now it's like, I can't wait for the Monday night game against Detroit. Like, it's just. There's so much more fun to watch now because there's an energy that is coming from the top down that is making them play with a very entertaining brand of basketball.
- [17:36]
Colin Cowherd
Well, and I think, you know, LeBron is always, and I say this respectfully, is that LeBron's very aware of the media. He listens, he reads. He's one of the smartest players of my lifetime. I mean, he may be the smartest player. Magic Johnson had the ability to not be a little bit of a part time psychologist. You know, Magic had to deal with the stoicism of Kareem and, you know, the Norm Nixon stuff. Byron Scott, there was a lot of stuff. Jerry Buss, the playboy owner. You know, Magic's coming into his own, feeling his oats. Like, you know, the fabulous form, the women, the Magic kind of balanced it all. It kind of showed his layered ability to be great at several factors as a teammate, Right. As a player, as a spokesman. A lot of egos back then in Los Angeles with the Lakers and West and Riley and Kareem and Magic and Jerry Buss, the owner. And LeBron has that ability. LeBron understands the world's watching. The Lakers are the biggest. He didn't move to LA because they had the best ownership group and the best front office. He moved here because it was great. For business. And he figured he could power through it and move Anthony Davis here. So what I find interesting about this streak is that we're all pointing to Luca, but in large part it's LeBron. His IQ is understanding. I bet you, I mean, I, I don't know this, But I bet LeBron's been unbelievable at practice. I bet he's been unbelievable on the team plane. I bet he's been unbelievable at dinner. Like, I think LeBron understands. He's like a, he's like the old Justin Verlander is a pitcher he didn't have to pitch to have value in the locker room in a playoff series. Like he'd seen every batter, every moment. And I think there's, there's a greatness. One of the things LeBron was criticized early in his career and I thought it was totally unfair. He always did the right basketball thing. He always made the right pass. It was always about winning the game. And over this nine game winning streak, you don't have to necessarily see all of it. I guarantee you. LeBron behind the scenes has been magical. Coaching practice, you know, communication dinners. Well, today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock BET Florida Sportsbook. How much fun has this tournament been? If your bracket's already busted, I'm still hanging in. I got Florida, Michigan in the natty. But if yours is busted, don't worry, you can still call the next big upset. Turn your picks into payday and Hard Rock Bet all tournament long. Hard Rock Bet is rolling out daily dancing boosts featuring a live profit boost and a parlay profit boost every single day. That's more ways to shoot your shot and cash in with the boosted odds. And you know those heart stopping zero on the clock moments. Now they pay Hard Rock bets giving out $25 bonus bets throughout the tourney. 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If you or somebody you know has a Problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia Today's podcast brought to you by Ferguson Home Whether you're a homeowner creating your dream space or a pro managing multiple projects, Ferguson Home is where it all comes together. Ferguson Home is designed for the way you want to shop. Experience today's top products by brands like Monogram firsthand by visiting a Ferguson Home showroom, where you'll explore stunning displays featuring today's latest products and innovations, or browse their extended selection of products online. Ferguson Home understands that every project is made up of countless decisions, and that's why their expert consultants are committed to helping homeowners, builders, contractors and designers bring all the details together. You can count on support from start to finish, from choosing the right products to coordinating deliveries with your project schedule. Book a one on one consultation at your local Ferguson Home showroom or shop online@fergusonhome.com whether you're working on a new kitchen, a new bathroom or a whole home remodel, you'll find the latest designs and technologies from the brands you trust at Ferguson Home. Well, in sports and in life, timing is just about everything. You can have all the right talent, right mindset, even have the right team. But if you don't act at the right moment, opportunity slips away. True on the field. And it's true when it comes to your health. Two words for you right now. Prostate exam. I did mine a year ago. Yeah, are you imagining that finger right now? Relax. Prostate cancer screening starts with a simple finger free blood test. Around one in eight men in the US going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. But that's no reason to re clench when caught early. At localized or even regional stage, prostate cancer has a 99% five year relative survival rate. So did your tight end. Just relax. Good. If you're 40 or older have a prostate, go to relaxit's a blood test.com, relax. It's a blood test.com to find out if a PSA blood test is right for you. The PSA blood test can be the first step in screening, so talk to your doctor to evaluate your risk, determine when to get tested, and discuss screening options and the next steps.
- [23:33]
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Jason
Huh.
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- [24:44]
Colin Cowherd
plumbing or H Vac company isn't easy. You're driving revenue, managing payroll, coordinating marketing, juggling projects, and keeping customers satisfied all at once. You need software that keeps up. It's time to upgrade Service Titan, the all in one solution built to help companies like yours run smarter, grow faster, and scale with confidence. See how the most successful contractors are doing it today with Service Titan. Visit servicetitan.com to learn more. That's servicetitan.com. All right. So I started the volume over four years ago and you know, we went heavy because when it first happened it was around Covid and we got sports gambling was legalized so that that kind of funded it and we did a lot of NFL and football because that's the sport Americans bet. And it was a natural way to open our our company. And over the course of years, and I had said this before is that I thought I grew up my first job out of college was I got very lucky doing one inning of play by play for the Las Vegas Stars. So I'm a baseball guy at heart. I used to like baseball. America was my bible out of college. But then I got opportunities in TV and other things and I became very much a pro football guy and a football guy. I've always loved college football. Then a couple years ago I thought Rob Manfred made a couple of really necessary changes and I think baseball's had a three year renaissance Where, And I never try to overthink it in my business. Just what does it feel for you? I have watched more baseball in the last three years. I feel like when I came out of college, the game is faster, the big markets are fun, the Cubs, the Phillies, the Dodgers, the Yankees. There's also Milwaukee, Seattle, smaller markets. And there's more personality. Baseball had a weird, kind of a weird run for a while where, thank God for the Cubs, that had personality because, you know, the way to play the game stuff kind of wears fans out. Like people just want personality. So about a year and a half ago, I went to this team at the Volume and I said, we gotta have a baseball podcast. And I want it to have personality. I don't want to, you know, I want smart guys who can just talk the game bullshit, have fun, buddies laugh. And it was pitched to me. Somebody said, you know, it's going to be in like a year, a 10 year anniversary of the Cubs World Series. And I'm like, what are you thinking? And they just threw the names out. They said, Ross and Rizzo. I went, there's no way we're going to get that as our first baseball podcast. I said, no way. And so of the many names that were throw, people were throwing actors at me that like baseball and players. And then David Ross, the former 15 year career Cubs manager for three years he was just the bullpen coach for Team USA and one of the most beloved Cubs ever. So he and Anthony Rizzo, our first baseball podcast, it's going to be called the Lovable Reunion and it debuts in a week and they're going to look back, not only are they going to talk baseball, they're going to look back at the 10 year reunion of probably the most memorable World Series. I'm trying to think of my lifetime. I grew up with a 75, 76 Cincinnati Reds. You know, we are family. Pirates, World Series, the Yankees. Now, Ohtani, I don't think anything surpasses the Cubs. And David Ross is joining us. Anthony Rizzo's doing the baseball and Netflix stuff. So he was going to join us. He's not today. So first of all, David, we've never met. Obviously I know you. Multiple Red Sox, World Series, Cubs World Series. So let's start with this because I didn't want us to talk before we did this. I wanted us to kind of meet each other as we're doing this. I want the audience to be along for it. When, when did you and Anthony Rizzo, when, when did the idea come up? Because it Was pitched to me a while ago. When did this come up for you guys? This ten year anniversary thing?
- [29:10]
David Ross
Yeah, well, first of all, we're pumped to be on this, right? Like, we're, we're so excited. This has been a journey that's taken on a life of its own already with the guys. But we started talk. We had the same agents playing, and so we started talking about this after I was done a little bit. And what was baseball gonna be like for us or life after us after baseball and, you know, him just retiring two years ago. We started talking about this probably around that time of. We've got such a great relationship and we, we work well together and we're just good friends. And so us having a little bit of like, we should do some. The podcast world has taken off, obviously, right. And with our history and how we met and just how we like to be around each other and we're very different in our thoughts about baseball. So it's been really fun to kind of banter a little bit with some of our old teammates and talk about some of these stories we had. But this has been in the works with us for a little bit. And then when you guys, you know, we kind of met with your group and how excited Logan and the team were, it just, it just was such a. They were so excited. There's so many.
- [30:25]
Colin Cowherd
Oh, God.
- [30:27]
David Ross
It was, it was, it was like a. No. We got off that call with you guys and it was like, that's the group. That's the group we've got to be with. They're. They're one. How professional you guys are on top of your stuff. But my goodness, the excitement are in the room. When we had those conversations were. Were at the top, they were. There was nobody more excited and kind of on board with whatever we wanted to do and our vision. And so we're, we're super pumped. This thing, we, we've been. We've kept it under wraps for a long time. We're so pumped to break this thing week.
- [30:59]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. I told, I went to dinner with Tom Ricketts about six weeks ago and I said, listen, you got to keep this under wraps, but we're doing a baseball podcast. And I said, and I told him about it. He goes, oh, shit, you guys got that? He's like, that's like a can't miss prospect. He goes, so I want to go, I want to go back to this, to the World Series team. So you had this 108 year drought and listen, baseball superstitious and you can Say nobody's talking about it, but it's one of the only times in my life, the country, even outside of Chicago, the country was rooting for Chicago. So that's even as popular as MJ was. They didn't like him in Detroit, they didn't like him in la. There were a lot of non MJ guys, you know, a lot. The Celtics didn't like him. Everybody wanted the Cubs to win. Beyond Chicago, there's never been a championship in any sport in my life. I mean, there's Olympic stuff obviously. So I always felt like, oh, God, that's the most pressure ever. The country. It was almost Olympic feeling. At what point in that season did you guys. And let's just talk specifically you and Anthony Rizzo.
- [32:11]
David Ross
Yeah.
- [32:12]
Colin Cowherd
Did you guys start talking about shit? We're, you know, you sweep a couple series, you know, you, you got the bullf in, right? You're sitting there, you're hitting for power, well managed. When did you start thinking, God, this, this could be it?
- [32:28]
David Ross
Well, it goes back to 2015. That's what's kind of cool about this podcast, the Journey. And we had, you know, got Joe Madden signed, John Lester. I came aboard in 15. You know, Chicago had been through a lot of losing, had some young guys, Jake Ariana, the trade, Pedro Stro Strobe with Baltimore the year before. And you start to look at the season in 15. And we came together, we asked a lot of guys in this podcast, they all got the same answer. When did you think we were good? And there was a turning point in a. In a series in San Francisco or we played San Francisco at home late in the year.
- [33:10]
Colin Cowherd
I think it was in August 2050. 2015.
- [33:14]
David Ross
2015. And we went on a run. They were, the defending champs, were good, Baumgartner, Posey, they had all the dudes and we started. Everybody kind of points to that time of back end of the season. All the young guys kind of coming up. Schwaber, Addison Russell. Javi was kind of getting. Javi Baez starting to get his feet wet. Kb, Chris Bryant, obviously, like, I mean, these guys were coming along and young and we had some veteran guys and we just took off, obviously making the playoffs and going deep and getting beaten by the Mets in the championship series in 15. And then when we went into spring training the next year, we knew we were good. They added, we brought Dexter Fowler back, which is amazing. Added guys like Ben Zobris, Jason Hayward, John Lackey. I mean, we added some pieces in 16. Theo went out and did his part and we got the spring training. I remember Miguel Montero tweeting out, like, we are good. The hashtag, we are good. And that was like, the whole. We started off so darn good, Then we lose Schwarber early on in 16. So you're like, wait a minute. How are we gonna. How are we gonna navigate that? But we were. We had the pitching staff. Our guys stayed healthy. I think we want the defense. Best defensive teams that year, number one. I mean, we were. We were really good. But it started in 15. A lot of people, we really hit that momentum. And I thought it was so important the way Joe handled the group and for our young guys to get a taste going deep in the playoffs. Whenever you get that, you get so hungry in the off season that you knew going in the target was on our back. But Joe did a great job of messaging and the expectations and how that's a good thing, and just embrace the target was our slogan going into 16. And we took off. It was amazing. It was amazing. But I think it started in 15.
- [35:03]
Colin Cowherd
Let's go to the final game. Three outs is what the Chicago Cubs need. I want you as closely as you can remember. I don't even know if it's goosebumps, anxiety. Three outs to go. What is that dugout like?
- [35:23]
David Ross
It's tense. I mean, we brought in CJ Edwards to start the first of all. Like, Chappie had gotten us through. You know, he went back out after giving up the home run and gives us a clean inning. Obviously, the rain delay. We come out, we score two. Nobody, you know, everybody talks about Ben Zobra's hit. And then Miguel Montero got another base hit to add a. Add a run, which we actually needed. So C.J. edwards come in, we get a quick out or two, and then a run's given up, and Rajay Davis gets on first. Two outs, and you're thinking, okay, Rajay's gonna steal.
- [36:01]
Jason
He.
- [36:02]
David Ross
I think he was topping the league that year in stolen bases. So you're kind of playing through like manager, or at least I was manager in your brain of like, okay, we've. How are we gonna navigate this? And they bring in Mike Montgomery. Another one where you're like, we had Pedro stroke down there. Hedge Rondon. We had. I mean, Arietta was down there lagging. We had all kind of bullets in the bullpen. And Joe pulled out, you know, turned these young guys, which, as a veteran guy and even as a manager, I. You don't lean on the young guys in the biggest moments. So you're super nervous about that. And then knowing the scouting report I did and, and, and Miggy, we're going to flip a bunch of breaking balls in and you're just nervous. You know, you're hoping Rashi doesn't steal. You don't want anybody in scoring position. And then that swinging bunt to kb, obviously he slips. He talks about that in the, in the pod and Rizzo catches that ball. And then it just, all the anxiety, all the, you know, the tension that you hold, just the relief that you have of, you know, we did it because it was such a back and forth game and how we came back down three one. And there's so many stories within that that everybody's thinking and sitting there on the bench watching this all play out. And I've already played my role. I don't have any control over it. So you're just rooting for everybody super hard and that ball's hit and you're just, you're just praying that it's hit to somebody. And kb, nice and easy, throws it to Riz and, and off we go to celebrate. But yeah, you're definitely, you're definitely nervous when things start going. You've got young guys when the young guys on the mound too. You never know how that's gonna, how they're gonna handle those biggest moments of their career. And they did it. We did it.
- [37:41]
Colin Cowherd
10 years later. What does the Cub championship mean to you, man?
- [37:50]
David Ross
Well, I mean, me personally, those guys and how they've, how they lifted me up in that, I mean, I got carried off the field. Game seven, like, who's that happening to? You know, like, I, I'm so thankful I got to do so many things off the field. After that, I'm working for espn. Getting back to. They put me on this platform to be on here talking to you and to start this thing with Riz and just baseball is a part of my life and, and a lot of that has to do with my two championships, but especially at the end, the way those guys, you know, I tell people all the time. I wasn't telling the media I'm this leader or I'm this guy or that guy. Just my teammates were saying nice things about me. And the thing about doing this pod and reminiscing about these stories is it just, I mean, there's, there's laughter, there's tears, there's, everybody's getting emotional at certain times, just talking about what a special group we had. And me personally, my, my career backup catcher, most of my career career 220 hitter. Got to, got to go and do so many great things and represent that group on so many different platforms and talk baseball and my, my life has taken off since that championship and a lot of that has to do with the, the people there, the front office, the, the staff and obviously the players in that, that city. It's meant, it's meant so much to me and I'm just so happy to be able to get on here and share these moments with, behind the scene moments with all these fans. I'm, I'm so thankful and grateful for so much. But yeah, it's, it's a big one. That's, that's the only thing anybody knows me for. Walking through the airport is my, my World Series with Chicago and Dancing with the Stars. That's the only, that's the only two things I get
- [39:40]
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Colin Cowherd
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Jason
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Colin Cowherd
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David Ross
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Jason
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Colin Cowherd
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Colin Cowherd
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