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Colin Cowherd
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J. Mac
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Colin Cowherd
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Rob Manfred
Now let's get this party started.
Colin Cowherd
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Here we go on a Wednesday. Baseball commish, Rob Manfred in one hour is the Major League Baseball season. Obviously started in Tokyo with the Dodgers Cubs, but it starts tomorrow as well. Major League Baseball. The team's operating going forward starting tomorrow. And Rob Manfred stops by in Los Angeles. It is the Herd. J. Mac. It was interesting. So, you know, you can, you can add new members. One of my favorite bands of all time was the Eagles. Right, right. And that you can, you can add people to the band, but you know, Don Henley had the voice. Like in the end you can add a lot of bad members. And the warriors can add Jimmy Butler. And Jimmy Butler makes them better. But it is Steph's team. And last night was a great example because Jimmy Butler returned to Miami, to the Heat, where he got him to the finals. And he has been great. He has been great. When Butler and Steph play together, warriors are 15 and three. But last night's the difference between the two. Steph didn't play, Jimmy did. And the offense dried up. The starters for the warriors at half had 10 total points. And LeBron and Steph are transformational all time players, top 10 players. Luka got traded for a reason. Remember, LeBron left Miami on his terms. Jimmy was traded out of town. Right. So Luka's a great scorer, but the team's not as good defensively because he doesn't share the ball as much. And in the NBA, if I don't touch it, I'm. I'm not playing. D on the other end. And Steph between iq, eq, off ball, on ball, scoring culture, building leadership. I love Jimmy Butler, but he's combative. He's a bounce around the league guy. He's a super grinder. He's a more offensively skilled Draymond Green. But Steph's the entire package. LeBron's the entire package. You can love Keith Richards, it's Mick's band. You can love Butler, it's Steph's band. You can love Luca, it's LeBron's band. And you saw it last night is that without Steph, this looked like the team pre Butler, nobody could score. The movement's not as good. They're not talking as much. And the Heat in the Mavs, listen, both got to finals, right? The Heat got to the finals. But when they did with Jimmy Butler, Jimmy was overwhelmed. And Luca got to a finals. But do you remember that Finals? He was out of shape. He was gassed. LeBron James with Matthew Della Badova can lose the finals. He's not out of shape, he's not gassed. He just doesn't have enough combatants on his side. So it's, it's. I can, I can absolutely love Jimmy Butler. And you can add players to teams, even like B plus, A minus guys. I've said this. Everybody's got this. Hey, Luca guarantees this. Luca gets worked on the defensive end. We talked about this with Rick Bucher yesterday. When LeBron sat out and he didn't play with Luka, they not only lost, they were getting boat raced by bad teams. Because Luka sort of reverts back to who Luka is and why it wasn't always great chemistry with the Mavericks. Guys are sitting around watching, they don't touch the ball. And this was Buker yesterday Talking about the LeBron, Luka Dynamic. When LeBron stepped out, it became the Luca show. Yes. And it looked like Dallas. And the reason that you had everybody defending as hard as they were, because they were touching the ball. They knew that if they ran the floor, the ball is going to be passed ahead and I might get a fast break layup. And that doesn't happen much when LeBron's out. So here it's interesting. I had said this. I gave baseball about 15 years off. I didn't talk much about it. The game got really slow. There was no urgency. The emergence of the iPhone, people are distracted. And the stars were not in the right places. Ohtani was down with the Angels, who feel, you know, invisible here in LA county, which neighbors Orange County. And then Bryce Harper goes to the Nats and Aaron Judge becomes a star and Ohtani is now a Dodger. And all of a sudden you look up and baseball speeds the game up. The defensive shift is eliminated. The bases are bigger, there's more base run runners, more stolen bases. And baseball the last two years, ratings up, attendance up. So Rob Manfred as a commissioner of baseball on in one hour. He's always got a battle, the purists. Baseball is like half amusement park, half museum. And, and the museum crowd, the old school people, they're grumpy. The sky is falling with any change. So yesterday was a great example of that. So Jeff Passon was on, he's very popular baseball writer for the Other Place. He was on a podcast and he said, you know, baseball's in an incredible place right now. They cannot have a work stoppage and all the seam heads come out of the woodwork. Nobody can compete. Oh, good Lord. The minute the Dodgers, Yankees make a World Series, the sky is falling crowd. Nobody can compete. We need a salary Cap. Baseball's never going to have a salary cap. Union's too strong. And do you know, nobody is repeated in baseball to win the World series since 2000. That is the longest streak of any pro league in America and the longest streak in baseball history. In fact, last year I looked it up this morning. The Guardians, Orioles, Royals, Tigers and Brewers all made the playoffs. In fact, Detroit won the playoffs. There's. They're all in the bottom half of the league in payroll. The leagues never had more parity. Never. But speed up the game of the pitch clock. The purists didn't like it. The change in extra innings, the larger bases. Good God. They suggested the Goldknit bat used once. A game where a star can bat out of order. People freaked out. Baseball's in an incredibly, incredibly healthy place. But no sport has more ninnies and whiners than baseball. I looked it up this morning. So you had last year you had six guys sign 100 plus million dollar contract. Six guys. They must have been all Dodgers. Nope. One was a Yankee, one was a Dodger, one was a Diamondback, one was a Met, one was a Red Sox, one was San Francisco. Six different places they haven't had a repeat champ. But the minute the Dodgers and the Yankees get in, the sky is falling. The purists are outraged. You have parody all over the sport now. I will say this Dodger team is insane. But we've all had somebody in our social circle. Hopefully you've eliminated them. Where, you know, you go up and say, man, what a beautiful day. And they say, well, it could rain tomorrow. That is baseball purist. The sport's great. There's all sorts of bottom payroll team. I mean in the NBA you have eight teams that feel like perpetually the Wizards, they're just not watchable. They had John Wall and they weren't watchable. They can't compete. They had Beal and Wall in their prime. They can't compete in the East. So I mean, yeah, the A's situation's ugly. But the NFL several years ago had the Raiders change where they were playing. The Chargers moved, they had three. St. Louis moved out to LA. There was a real bumpy two year stretch in the NFL where like franchises were moving all over the country. Yes, the A situation's a mess, but this idea, it is just, you know, look, I gave baseball 15 years off. The first eight years here and the last eight at the other place. I just didn't talk it much last year and a half. Baseball has been unbelievable. All the stars in the right place, the game is faster. More base runners, more stolen bases, more activity. In fact, one of my questions now is I think there's parody in baseball. The place where you lack parity is pitcher and hitter. Not enough teams can hit 265 to 270 as a team because the mound, pitchers are bigger, stronger, faster, throwing 100 miles an hour. And batters, even good ones, can be overwhelmed in this sport. That's where you lack parity. The pitchers against the hitters, the sports fine. And as I've said, who pays 40% of baseball's bills? TV networks, they don't care about parity. They want six really good teams, preferably in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, L.A. and Philadelphia and maybe Houston. That's where they want the good teams and that's where they are right now. So, J. Mac, we got a lot of stuff, you know, it's, it's interesting. People are pins and needles on what Aaron Rodgers is going to do. And, and I've said he's a slightly better version of Russell Wilson. So Russell Wilson signed with the Giants yesterday and it landed with an absolute nothing burger. Well, I don't think I. That is a third to fourth place team, right?
Rob Manfred
Well, certainly. But is it possible that the Giants got wind that, hey, Shador, Sanders ain't going to be there with three guys? He's not. He's going to be gone. You better grab a quarterback before you get nothing. Right. What if Russell Wilson went to, I don't know, another team? Then they would have no quarterback at all. So I think some draft stuff leaked out and that's why the Patriots went and got digs. Is Travis Hunter going to be there at 4? Colin? I don't know.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. So the Patriots probably heard Travis Hunter is gone at 4 because the Giants are going to have to select him because the Browns are taking a quarterback. Yeah. So, you know, there, there's nobody can keep a secret. I mean, let's be honest, in the NFL, you get close to the draft, you got, you got scouts that have worked for multiple teams. You got people who have been fired. Right. Like, so you can't keep secrets anywhere. If you want to keep a secret, don't say anything to anybody. So I think what happened yesterday is a bit of a domino. The Giants find out Cleveland's taking a quarterback. The Patriots find out, oh, we better than sign Stefan Diggs because we're not getting Travis Hunter.
Rob Manfred
Right.
Colin Cowherd
That, that's probably what's happening.
Rob Manfred
And neighbors and Travis Hunter is kind of spicy on the outside. For the New York Giants. They got a quarterback who just throws deep balls. That's all Russ does. He doesn't want to go over the middle. He just wants to throw the the go routes to Pickens and Pittsburgh, remember? Yeah, and it worked. Now you get neighbors and Hunter. That's moderately interesting with Brian Dable as your head coach.
Colin Cowherd
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Rob Manfred
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J. Mac
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Colin Cowherd
On T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile, keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com Keep and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption. Required card has no cash access and expires in six months. This podcast is brought to you by Pfizer. Lets Talk health. You may not know about pneumococcal disease, but if you're 50 or older or 19 or older with certain medical conditions like diabetes, you're at risk. And it could turn your plans, big or small, into a hospital visit. So get vaccinated. It's one action you can take to help protect against pneumococcal pneumonia, an invasive pneumococcal disease. Keep enjoying everything you're looking forward to, even if it's just a podcast. Schedule a shot@vax assist.com welcome back Rob man for Baseball Commish at the top of next hour. So Russell Wilson signed yesterday with the Giants. He's had some success in MetLife as a Seahawk, and Jameis Winston had just signed with the Giants. And you know, what are they doing here? It's kind of a Donald Trump thing. Flood the zone, see if anything sticks. My takeaway is what J. Mac and I talked about earlier. It does appear Cleveland, and I think this is a good fit, is going to take Shadow Sanders. So Cam Ward going to go number one. Shador Sanders, Cleveland's going to go number two. The Giants got wind of it and they signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and they're probably in the Travis Hunter, who's the best pure athlete in the draft ballpark. And I was thinking about this this morning. The Giants have really become the Cleveland Browns, where I I'm dead serious. Where I like the offensive head Coach Stefanski won 11 games, rotated four quarterbacks and got to the playoffs. That's all I've ever needed to see. He's a good coach. Brian Dabel won a playoff game with with Daniel Jones. That's all I need to know. The rest of the organizations are trouble. I like the coach. They've got some good defensive players and they are a sideshow at quarterback. The difference is this morning Cleveland's going to get Chadur Sanders. The Giants are stuck with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. So Cleveland is now a better version of the Giants. The last time Cleveland was legitimate and stable at quarterback was Bernie Kosar, mid-80s. Won five straight. We got five straight playoff appearances, total stability, never been stable since the last time the Giants were stable. Eli Manning wins two Super Bowls in a five year period. It's been a mess. And if you look at Cleveland, it's been impulsive reactions from the owner. And if you look at the Giants, they've had patience. They're not Cleveland. They've had patience. They've just made horrible decisions. Joe Judge, Dave Gettleman, Daniel Jones, then the extension letting Saquon go. So there's a lot of different ways to get bad Cleveland. It's mostly been an ownership thing. The Giants owner has not helped. It's been a bad GM thing. Joe Shane, Dave Gettleman just to me are. They're not elite guys. And so, but the difference is this morning is Cleveland's going to get a quarterback who's a pocket guy, Shador Sanders, who I like more than the critics. Remember about a month ago when some of these mock draft guys were saying, hey, Shador may fall to the second round. J. Mac first, me following up said, you're out of your mind. These guys are nice quarterback prospects. Far less talented quarterbacks have gone in the top five than Shador Sanders and Cam Ward. Cam Ward's going one. What this says today, signing Russell Wilson is the Browns are taking Shador Sanders and Stefanski is a very good pocket quarterback. Very good with Flacco, very good with Baker. That's what he does. Guys that sit in the pocket and throw. That's why desean Watson's been iffy. Desean doesn't throw great from the pocket. He moves a lot and he's not the athlete he once was. So you think I'm, you know, listen, the Giants have the worst record in the league since 2017. So when I say they're the Cleveland Browns that are worse and they have the fewest touchdown passes in the NFL since Eli Manning retired. But the difference is the Browns this morning are going to get their future quarterback and the Giants are stuck with two guys past their prime. And, and by the way, you couldn't get two more unique guys. I mean, here is goofy, weird, funny, authentic Jameis Winston, and then sort of stoic, corporate, some would say inauthentic Russell Wilson. It's a weird combination. But this morning when I say the Giants or the Cleveland Browns, you snicker. The Browns are actually in the next month in better shape. They've got the best total player, Miles Garrett. They may have a better coach, Kevin Stefanski, and they've got their future quarterback, which they don't have to Pay a fortune for. For the next four years. J. Mack with the news.
Rob Manfred
No, no, no.
Colin Cowherd
Turn on the news. This is the Herdline news.
Rob Manfred
All right, Colin, let's start with some crummy news in the NBA. Bucks guard Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a blood clot that's going to keep him out of the lineup indefinitely. This is terrible news for the Bucks, for Dame, Lillard, for NBA fans everywhere. We know the blood clot, that sideline Wemby put him out for the year. I don't know how Dame is able to play in the playoffs, which, which would be really crippling, but this is just really bad for just for everyone. There's no winners here. I don't know, Colin. My, my instant take is forget about the Bucs this year.
Colin Cowherd
Right? Yeah.
Rob Manfred
Stinks for Dave.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Rob Manfred
What about the superstar in Milwaukee? Does he look around and say, oh, yeah, it's been. This isn't working and this is his summer.
Colin Cowherd
He asks out again. When you're. When you're. Milwaukee and you can win a title. They did it in 71. They did it a few years ago. That feels like enough like you love, like the Denver Nuggets win a title with Jokic, you'd like to get one more. If you were in LA or Boston and you win a title early with a superstar, you think you got four coming, maybe five. And so I think Milwaukee's settled the last several years for a team that's not as it's not capable of winning and the media is more friendly. It's a smaller market if you know. The reality is this team's needed reworking. They took a huge swing on Dame because Giannis had basically threatened the franchise. You got to make a move. But in the process of letting Jrue Holiday go, they're not nearly as good defensively in the backcourt. So I just feel like we just Milwaukee fans wonder why everybody always says it's time to break up the band. And the reason is it's time to break up the band. Like you're done making hits.
Rob Manfred
Yeah.
Colin Cowherd
You got no number one albums coming. So, like it should have happened three years ago. And also what's worrisome is that Giannis isn't aging particularly well because he has no mid range game. And so you can get the points. But literally he's much easier to defend than Jokic. Draymond Green can shut him down. Greymond will acknowledge he can't stop yoking. He can't stop Wemby. There's nothing he can do. He can stop Giannis, and he did last week. So I think the organization needs to take a big, like a big market swing.
Rob Manfred
Okay, well, you know, this is what we do. We do it here on the hot take Happy hour.
Colin Cowherd
Right.
Rob Manfred
We started out, everybody's gonna say new York Knicks, right? Giannis go to the Knicks. Okay, that's obvious. Let's not go there. The Clippers, we know, have a lot of money. Colin, I have just listening to you just now, this crystallized. I have not run it by anybody on staff. Okay, I'm gonna float this. So the Boston Celtics have a lot of guys they gotta pay. We know they don't want to go into the luxury tax. They've got two guys who are similar in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. We just saw Dallas say, give us Anthony Davis. It'll give us a chance. We get a star, we lose one. We don't want like six first round picks. What if the Boston Celtics said, we'll give you Jaylen Brown and Derrick White Holiday and a pick, give us Giannis. And then the Celtics going forward would have a Giannis, Jason Tatum nucleus.
Colin Cowherd
First of all, I think that's great because Porzingis is now which was his, his brand is not available a lot. Jrue Holiday again past his prime and you're not going to get much better on the market than Jalen Brown and Derek White and draft picks. So that to me is a great move and I would do it if I was Boston and Brad Stevens again. If you win it this year, okay, don't pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. Don't get, don't get greedy on this lineup like you got got Drew's past his prime.
Rob Manfred
He's still really, really good.
Colin Cowherd
Good. Porzingis physically past his prime. Derrick White, this is as good as it gets. So I, I, I would do that in a second if I was Brad Story.
Rob Manfred
We didn't talk about last week, but the Celtics are going to be under new ownership. They were sold for what, $6 billion. Does the new ownership group say, hey, you guys did great, we're going to break this up and prolong the Jason Tatum era.
Colin Cowherd
Tatum's also having his best season, so he does look more like a clear one this year than any year in his previous.
Rob Manfred
And you're not giving up everything. You still got Peyton Pritchard, who's one of the best six men in the league.
Colin Cowherd
And you have Jason Tatum, you have.
Rob Manfred
Tatum and I don't think you give up White and Holiday. You give up one or the other. And Jaylen Brown. And all of a sudden Boston's got this Runway where, I don't know, you talk three Pete Giannis and Tatum together. Colin, there might be something there.
Colin Cowherd
I would absolutely pull the trigger on it.
Rob Manfred
Okay, next story. Let's go to baseball. And the Dodgers won the World Series last year. Yay. That was fun. But my Yankees also blew it. Well, LA pitcher Joe Kelly said it was, quote, a mismatch from the get go. If we had a playoff re ranking, they would have been 8th or the 9th best playoff team. And outfielder Chris Taylor said, quote, they kind of bleeped down their leg. Lot of trash talk last year from the Dodgers. Well, New York manager Aaron Boone was on Breakfast Ball and here's what he said about the trash talk. I think it's annoying. I'll say that thinking annoyed some guys. But at the end of the day, if we want to not hear it.
Colin Cowherd
We got to play better and we.
Rob Manfred
Got to be the team standing. So I don't know about motivation. You know, if you need that to motivate you going into 162 game season.
Colin Cowherd
You know, I don't, I don't really.
Rob Manfred
Think that's what should be motivating us. It should be to be the best we can possibly be. And that's what you go to spring training to start that. And hopefully we can get back there and punch through this time and hopefully have some more respectful comments when we do it.
Colin Cowherd
I mean, the Yankees biggest issue is no Garrett Cole this year because the two games in the World Series where it looked like they were the Dodgers equal he started and when he didn't, they were not the equal. And that's what I'll say they did look like about the fourth best team in baseball because they weren't. I didn't think they were a very. They weren't as athletic as the Dodgers. They weren't as deep, their staff wasn't as deep. And the Dodgers just ran better, fielded better. And of course, there was that disastrous fifth inning with the Aaron drop, which we're showing, but it did it. I don't think that the Yankees are. I mean, they're probably a playoff team.
Rob Manfred
Stop it.
Colin Cowherd
But I probably. Well, Garrett Cole's the game changer. You're not winning big playoff series without it.
Rob Manfred
Well, that's a different thing than being a playoff team. They're going to the postseason, that's for sure. I will just say this budding rivalry of trash talk, Boone saying this, Yankees, Dodgers, Colin, that's really good for the sport. As you head into the season, two. Two behemoths on each coast that spend a lot of money or now lobbing some barbs back and forth. I like that.
Colin Cowherd
So do I.
Rob Manfred
Aren't you good for the sport? All right, final story. Colin. As Adam Schefter reported yesterday, the Titans were going to have another private workout with Cam Ward. But he also reported, this is interesting. It would take a substantial package for another team to trade up to one to grab Cam Ward. Now just a few moments ago, news broke that the Browns have a private workout with Cam Ward and present will be owner Jimmy Haslam, GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. So the Browns all of a sudden want to look see at Cam Ward. What's your read on this? Is this that, hey, we've got Shador in the bag if we want him. Let's just take one more look at Cam Ward to see if we want to bump up and. And maybe we part with a. I.
Colin Cowherd
Don'T think these quarterbacks are transformational, so I'm not giving up multiple picks to get them. If they fall to me, I'll take them. But I wouldn't give up multiple first picks for either one of them.
Rob Manfred
100% agree.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, they're good players, good prospects. I think both can succeed. Listen, last year the top quarterbacks mostly went to defensive coaches. Panicks to Raheem Morris, Caleb to Eberflus, Jaden to Dan Quinn. Okay, who, what was the one that surprised us? Bo Nix was Sean Payton. So this year, you know, your number one pick, the Titans, that's an offensive coach. Number two pick, offensive coach. Number three pick, offensive coach. So I do think these quarterbacks are less talented than last year, but they're going to go to offensive coaches. That is a huge, I mean, Bo Nicks, a lot of people in the media, not us, a lot of people are like, Bo Nix is a second round quarterback. He made the playoffs with an average roster. That's the power of an offensive coach. A good one in Sean Pate.
Rob Manfred
100. Colin. It's interesting. Listen, we like Bryce Young as a person, we know him. But that deal is going to look historically bad giving up DJ Moore and whatever else to move up. I'm going to go ahead on record and say I don't see teams trading up for a quarterback unless it's like a guaranteed lock, that the guy's going to be a superstar, like a Caleb Williams. I think that Bryce Young really reset the market. I don't think anybody's trading up for Shador we like him. But I'm not, I'm not mortgaging.
Colin Cowherd
No, I don't, I don't think there's a player, I'm dead serious. I don't think there's a player in this draft in the first round worth trading up for. I'll say one player I like that fits the tight end from Penn State. If you were like, let's say if you were the jets and you're like, we, you know, we're not great at quarterback, we could really use. Because the jets are like, we got our running back, we've got our receiver of the future and our left tackle.
Rob Manfred
Right.
Colin Cowherd
You could have your four cornerstones back, receiver, left tackle for the quarterback that comes in eventually to take over the franchise. The great quarterback. I could see the jets moving up for a, a team that wants to get their cornerstone of skilled people in left tackle for next year's draft.
Rob Manfred
Yeah, and listen, I, this is a longer discussion, but next year's draft, this whole Arch Manning stuff, some people, some fans are going to be like, let's keep our powder dry for next year. We got to go get Arch. Colin, can we just go on record and say we don't know if Arch Manning is going to be a very good quarter? He's hasn't started at all. He's got the last name, he, he's got, you know, he's playing pretty well, he moves pretty well. We just haven't seen enough. Right. Like, I don't want to pump the brakes too much on Arch Manning, like, but nobody knows if he's even a first round quarterback at this point. Is, do we think that, how many games has he started at Texas?
Colin Cowherd
Well, next year the quarterback class I think is better at the top. It may not be as deep, but there's, there's four or five guys that look like they'll be first rounders. Arch is one of them. But it's, it's next year's class is not the one that had like Tua Herbert Burrow. It's not that, it's not that class.
Rob Manfred
Remember last year we were talking, well, Carson Beck, he's gonna be big.
Colin Cowherd
No, whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, slow down.
Rob Manfred
Carson Beck had another year. We got another year of tape. It's like, nah, he's still in college.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, J. Mac with the news.
Rob Manfred
Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by.
Colin Cowherd
The third line news. You know, I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but I, I, it was funny. I was reading some politics yesterday. There was no, outside of the Miami Heat Warrior game, there wasn't a games I want to watch. So I watched a live, listened to three or four podcasts. I listened to an LA Times Patty Hearst podcast. I was listening to podcasts all day yesterday and watching shows and I. And I was sitting there thinking, you know, there used to be a term that was used a lot. It's not used much anymore in sports. Hot take politics. The hot takes are insane. There's a 40 a day. I mean everybody exaggerates everything. It's like folks go look up the Patty Hearst story, the Pentagon Papers. You have no idea what was happening in this country in the 60s and the 70s and the radicals like take a deep breath and so like today's show. And maybe that got me in the mood watching all the hot takes in politics. But when I saw people attacking Jeff Passon for saying baseball's in a great space, do just Google who made the playoffs last year. It was like a bunch of low payroll teams. You haven't had a World Series repeat champs. It's like 22,000 or 2020 or whenever it was. It's like forever longer than any other sport. The Patriots and Chiefs have overwhelmingly dominated the last 25 years in the NFL. Nobody in baseball has. Nobody. And so the other thing I've been pushing back on is this hot take that. I saw this headline yesterday. The nil and the transfer portal are sucking the madness out of March again. TV ratings illustrate that we're not watching for madness. We're watching for Duke. We're watching for favorites. Memories. We know this, that lawyers can poke holes in eyewitness testimony because memories fade and change over time. It's called partial recall. You remember something 20 years ago, but your brain fills in the rest. And that's why good attorneys will poke hole in eyewitnesses. And you start talk, talking yourself into circles and misremembering stuff. And you know, you talk about all this mad madness and all these upsets. I'll give an example. The three biggest memories for most people watching college basketball. Number one is the Christian Laitner shot he played for Duke. They beat Kentucky. No Cinderella. In that moment, two massive brands. That's the most memorable shot in my opinion in the history of the tournament. Second, you could, you could argue. Second is young Michael Jordan hitting the basket against Georgetown. UNC against the Hoyas. No Cinderella. John Thompson and Dean Smith, two huge brands. Now we can go back to the Volvano play, but I would say Chris Jenkins of Villanova, a number two or Three seed beating North Carolina, a number one seed. Those are three semi recent memories of college basketball. You name me, remember a couple years ago. My point is there's so much mythology about Cinderella. Never forget Cinderella. That was a moment. But she was a house cleaner for the other 360 days a year. Okay, right. You've made Cinderella into O. That was a night, that was a ball. That's it. Right, that's that. That wasn't the profession. And my takeaway is it's all mythology is that remember a few years ago there was an upset? What was the upset we had? Oh yeah, UMBC, the number 16 seed beat number one Virginia. Do you remember the next game for UMBC? Oh, you don't either because that was the greatest Cinderella and you forgot what they did in the next game. So this, this whole March madness is done. We don't watch for the madness, we watch for big brands. That's why this, this weekend's going to be great because one of your upsets was John Calipari beating Rick Matino. And that's about the best upset you could have. Calipari winning as a polarizing head coach. This is just more mythology. And it's like people, a lot of people say they're gonna work out, they're gonna go on a diet and instead they go on Ozempic. They don't go to the gym and they don't eat right, they don't eat at all. They use Ozempic. And you're not watching for these small brands. You can't name two players on vcu, Ashaka, Smart or George Mason, unless you're a college basketball coach. You don't remember it. So the nil helps college basketball. It keeps stars in for another year. Some guys will say a lot of these college basketball programs can pay a million dollars for a great player. They step up. Or I can make $300,000 in the G League. I'd rather play in the Big ten and rather play at Duke, Carolina, Michigan State, Michigan. I'd rather play there. So that's where it helps. And it also cherry picks mid major guys, which nobody watches anyway. So again, take a deep breath. We're watching, we're watching for March and brands, not the madness. And if you want to talk madness, it's late in our hitting the shot over Kentucky. That was nuts. I watched that live. That was crazy. Duke against Kentucky.
Rob Manfred
I'm sure you saw the ratings, Colin, or 30 plus year high. So they had to go back to 1993 when the ratings were this high. For the first two rounds, do you want to guess who was playing in 1993? The Fab Five.
Colin Cowherd
Okay, there you go.
Rob Manfred
When they went up against UNC, historically great team, hugely popular, culturally relevant, that's when the ratings were massive.
Colin Cowherd
Okay. I mean, in my life, the most popular college basketball teams have been the Laitner Duke team, the Patrick Ewing Georgetown team, the Jordan Worthy Carolina teams, unlv, UNLV with Tark, which I. Larry Johnson's day. And that was, by the way, it may have been a. Vegas was an emerging city, but that was a big brand. Those are the most popular.
Rob Manfred
Fab Five have to be close.
Colin Cowherd
And I'll argue this forever. There is this total false narrative that Villanova beating Georgetown when they were both in the Big east was shocking. I did the Rolly Massimino show years later. He said, we matched up great with Georgetown. We got annihilated twice against Chris Mullen, Mark Jackson and St. John's our staff was like, we were hoping. We had Ed Pinkney, they had Ewing. Pinckney could defend. He goes. We loved our chances against Georgetown. We could play him anywhere. We matched up. So that was seen as a massive upset. If you remember back then, you could slow the game down. Yeah. You didn't have to shoot. And so. But. But it's like baseball's got parody. Take a deep breath. It's fine. And March Madness. The ratings are telling you, people are into everywhere I went this past weekend. I was in Chicago this past. Everywhere you went, the games were on everywhere. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Hey, Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis, and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything. Life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved, to take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. You know, buying a home used to be a huge headache. You had to go to different places for listings, pre approval financing it was exhausting and confusing. But now Rocket is putting everything you need in one place. Rocket.com, a single seamless home ownership platform to help you find, buy, sell, finance, even refinance your home. You'll find smarter tools, personalized dashboards, real time insights and more. All the things you need to make the kind of informed decisions that can make a big difference for you and your family. So whether you're buying your first home, managing home ownership tasks or unlocking equity for future opportunities, there's only one destination that has everything you need all under one roof. Every home at one address. Rocket.com the new home for all things home ownership, whether you're buying or refinancing. You have to just give a look because it's all there. Rocket Own the dream.
J. Mac
It's the last game of the season and with Amex you can save time with card member entrances at select venues and go straight to the action so you can catch every moment. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more@american express.com With AmEx, you can.
Colin Cowherd
Count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com Keep and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months. This podcast is brought to you by Pfizer. Let's talk health. You may not know about pneumococcal disease, but if you're 50 or older or 19 or older with certain medical conditions like diabetes, you're at risk. And it could turn your plans, big or small, into a hospital visit. So get vaccinated. It's one action you can take to help protect against pneumococcal pneumonia, an invasive pneumococcal disease. Keep enjoying everything you're looking forward to, even if it's just a podcast. Schedule a shot@vaxassist.com Saturday night, it's baseball night.
Rob Manfred
Catch New York's newly minted superstar Juan Soto as he leads the Met. Jose Altuve and the Astros or the Braves take on the Padres. Baseball Night in America returns Saturday at 7 Eastern on Fox. Check local listings for the game in your area.
Colin Cowherd
By the way, J. Max making fun of me because I said during the break, he said, are you watching any streaming things? And I said, I the only thing that gets me, the only thing that gets me to a theater is not actors, outside of Tom Cruise, it's directors. I'll go to watch a Christopher Nolan, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese. Those four. Those four will get me to a theater and Tom Cruise. That's it.
Rob Manfred
So it's official. You're not only an airport snob, but you are a movie snob now.
Colin Cowherd
Well, I'm, I am not a movie. I you to get me to a theater. And I have one walking distance from where I live to get me to a theater. It's based on Tom Cruise or the director.
Rob Manfred
But don't you love the theater? You're not on your phone, Nobody's bothering you.
Colin Cowherd
No asks.
Rob Manfred
I mean, just chilling, watching a movie.
Colin Cowherd
The one by my house is amazing. Yeah, they got food. It's, it's fantastic. But I, I would say that's what now gets me in. The writers and the directors. I don't know a lot of these movie stars, they're political, they're weird, they're precious, they're off putting. It's like, I'm not interested. Give me old School Cruise. I know I sound like an old guy, but there's just. You saw what happened to Snow White. You get political like America's, like, not interested.
Rob Manfred
Wait, did you see Snow White?
Colin Cowherd
Have you seen the numbers?
Rob Manfred
No.
Colin Cowherd
Disaster.
Rob Manfred
I know Nothing.
Colin Cowherd
All time, 3,400 million dollar loss disaster.
Rob Manfred
Well, who, who was the actress? Snow. Well, so that matters if it was Sydney Sweeney, I'm in the theater opening night. You know, I'm not gonna lie. But I don't know who the actress was, so I didn't check it out.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Cindy, Sydney. Sweetie would be Snow, right?
Rob Manfred
Yeah. There we go.
Colin Cowherd
Okay, so here's a move I didn't like. Stefan Diggs, three year deal, 70 million with the Patriots. What is that about coming off an ACL, wrong side of 30 getting. He has my worst quality as any. The worst quality a man can have is needy. And he's getting needier and crankier. And I'm not anti Stefan Diggs. But we're talking about now a second major injury. I would not saddle Drake May with that. I just wouldn't do it. And best available option doesn't mean it's a good fit. And you know, I think happened is what J. Mac and I have talked about this morning. What you are basically seeing. The Russell Wilson move is a domino move by the Giants. Getting Russell. That is telling you Cleveland is taking Shador Sanders. That is telling you the Giants are taking Travis Hunter. And The Patriots at 4 are trapped. And Mike Vrabel, why did he get fired In Tennessee, he lost A.J. brown, they couldn't score and he kind of felt like an outdated guy. In Tennessee, they got rid of him. So his take is, I'm not doing that again. I got to have some receivers because when he inherited this team, Vrabel is going to figure out the toughness and the physicality and the run game. That's what Vrabel does. But there's only so much Vrabel can do to the perimeter and they don't have any weapons. And so my take on Stefan Diggs is they don't love this move. They don't want to pay him half this. But now they think the Giants are going for Travis Hunter because the Browns are getting Shadow or Sanders and the Titans are taking Cam Ward. So you're seeing the dominoes play at that Russell Wilson move is not really about the Giants. It's about Shador Sanders. And I think that they're kind of trapped and their take is okay, all right. I mean, the last. The Patriots are desperate at wide receiver. The last receiver they had that had 10 plus touchdowns is Randy Moss. And so I can see a lot of downside with this. I don't see a lot of upside. And it's super expensive. So I don't get it. Here's another NFL move. And I saw this. The Some Steeler fans think that Aaron Rodgers won't fit in Pittsburgh. Okay? Aaron Rodgers doesn't fit into any football culture. Okay? He's. He's a really talented guy who is unapologetically independent. And, and it's very clear since about 2020, Aaron is. Here's his brand. I'm going to say what I want, when I want. I'm going to do podcasts. I'm going to talk politics, I'm going to talk government. I am what I am, and you can shape around me. And by the way, if you get me, I want you to bring in some of my buddies. So that's what he Is that's, that's not a football culture. That's an Aaron culture, and that's fine. He is unapologetically independent and aloof, and it's his nature to go against the grain. I don't have a problem with it. But that's why the market's so small for him. But it's not about fitting Pittsburgh's culture. He doesn't really fit. I mean, Tom Brady, the ultimate team quarterback, he had issues. He talked about those yesterday. He and Belichick had so much tension because, like, he didn't think. He kept taking pay cuts. And Tom's like, I'm taking pay cuts, yet I don't have any wide receivers. So you. You're not, you're not using the money to get me guys that can play. And so at the end, Tom didn't feel Belichick was holding up his end of the bargain. And Tom Brady was right. So football, when it, when you lose collaboration, even Belichick and Brady don't work. And they dominated the sport. So, by the way, Patrick Mahomes is probably saying to his front office, get me a left tackle. It's not a receiver I can win without. Great, get me a left tackle. Because that, that's why it said Joe Tunney leaving the Chiefs is problematic. Best offensive lineman. Mahomes has been humiliated twice in Super Bowls. Why? O line failed, Left tackle failed. So that, that's what could disrupt a dynasty in Kansas City. If they can't protect them, guys get guys. I mean, that's what Brady and Belichick had broken up. It was no longer collaborative. Tom felt like, I'm taking pay cuts. You can't get me any skill players. Once Edelman, you know, got to the end of his career and left. So, you know, I mean, Aaron's not going to Pittsburgh and he and mean Joe Green aren't showing up at a bowling alley in a car wash. He's not going to be a parents guy. He doesn't fit in Pittsburgh. He's not, he's not a culture guy at this point. There are stories out there. You know, back in 2019, Tyler Dunn wrote an article and had a source inside the Packer building. And the source told Tyler Dunn that the packers told Aaron in 2019, don't be the problem. Well, since that time, Aaron's now seeking his third team. So he. His, you know, the, the packers viewed it as, dude, all this independent sort of passive aggressive stuff. It's a problem. It's not really the way our league works. You can do it in the NBA. That sport is about the player. I mean, it's all you have to do. Pittsburgh, I don't know if Pittsburgh gets Netflix. Do they get it there? Look at Netflix. Aaron Rodgers, Doc Ayahuasca, Darkness Retreats. He's not a Pittsburgh guy, but it's okay. He wasn't really a New York guy. That. That's Aaron Glenn. And I have this sourced. Aaron Glenn basically said to either Aaron or his agent, it's not just the quarterback, it's the guy. We don't want it. So, you know, and my thing is at this point, you know, it's like companies, if you're going to hire somebody, do your homework and vet them. If you bring in somebody that has an established brand and then you push back on it, that's the company's fault. Like, it's Pittsburgh's fault. At this point, Aaron's not subtle or nuanced or hiding who he is. He's. He's. Hey, I'm going to Egypt. I'm not. I'm off season. You get some of me. You don't get all of me. And Aaron's telling you up front who he is. He's not lying. He's not like, hey, I'm totally committed. It's not. He's going to do music festivals, Egypt, podcast. He's going to do all of it. He's very upfront with it. He's unapologetically independent and aloof at times. It's your. Your issue. If you bring him in and expect him to fit into your culture, it's not what he is anymore. He's not a fit into it. Your culture guy, Rob Manfred. Next. This is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser podcast. Have you guys seen this new commercial from Stand up to All Hate? It's basically Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady going back and forth with reasons that they hate each other. But then when you really listen to them, the reasons for the hate are just so stupid. I don't know. This. This commercial really got me. It's a strong reminder that hate in our country continues to be out of control. So join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up, call it out. Your voice is a powerful tool in this fight. You can learn more by following oupwith hate. Okay, so we all need to get.
Rob Manfred
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Colin Cowherd
Murano, you don't even have to go anywhere.
Rob Manfred
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Colin Cowherd
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Rob Manfred
Drive the all new 2025 Nissan Murano today.
Colin Cowherd
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Rob Manfred
Optional features we live in a divided country and our media couldn't be more polarizing. That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation. Each week we hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country. And when you subscribe to the Middle, you also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on on just one item from the avalanche of news.
Colin Cowherd
Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or.
Rob Manfred
Wherever you get your podcasts.
Colin Cowherd
What's up everyone?
J. Mac
Julius Rippinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
Colin Cowherd
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go. The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb. Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right? Big Exactly.
J. Mac
And you'll never know who will drop.
Colin Cowherd
By to join us. Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe. Listen to Energy Line with Nate and.
J. Mac
Jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.
Colin Cowherd
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Episode: Hour 1 - The Warriors without Steph Curry
Release Date: March 26, 2025
Introduction and Episode Overview
In the episode titled "Hour 1 - The Warriors without Steph Curry," hosted by Colin Cowherd from iHeartPodcasts and The Volume, the discussion primarily revolves around the Golden State Warriors' performance in the absence of their star player, Steph Curry. The conversation delves into the dynamics of team composition, player contributions, and broader implications for the NBA landscape.
Impact of Steph Curry's Absence on the Warriors
Colin Cowherd initiates the discussion by highlighting the critical role Steph Curry plays in the Warriors' success. He emphasizes that while the team can incorporate versatile players like Jimmy Butler, Curry's presence is irreplaceable:
"But the Warriors can add Jimmy Butler. And Jimmy Butler makes them better. But it is Steph's team... without Steph, this looked like the team pre Butler, nobody could score."
— Colin Cowherd [02:48]
Cowherd points out that the Warriors' offense significantly diminished when Curry was sidelined, noting that the starting players scored only 10 points in the first half of a recent game. This underscores Curry's pivotal role in orchestrating the team's offensive strategies and maintaining high scoring efficiency.
Jimmy Butler’s Role and Team Dynamics
The conversation shifts to Jimmy Butler's influence on the team. Cowherd acknowledges Butler's skill and competitiveness but contrasts his style with that of Steph Curry and LeBron James:
"I love Jimmy Butler, but he's combative. He's a bounce around the league guy. He's a super grinder."
— Colin Cowherd [05:15]
Cowherd appreciates Butler's work ethic and offensive skills but suggests that Curry's combination of intelligence, emotional quotient (EQ), leadership, and scoring versatility makes him a more comprehensive asset to the team.
Comparisons with Other NBA Stars: LeBron James and Luka Doncic
Further comparisons are drawn between Curry, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic, analyzing how each player's unique abilities contribute to their respective teams:
"Steph's the entire package. LeBron's the entire package... you can love Luka, it's LeBron's band."
— Colin Cowherd [07:30]
Cowherd argues that while Luka Doncic is an exceptional scorer, his defensive prowess and team-oriented play are not on par with Curry and LeBron. This comparison highlights the significance of multifaceted players in fostering team success beyond individual statistics.
Team Chemistry and Performance Without Key Players
The discussion highlights the importance of team chemistry and the detrimental effects of losing key players. Cowherd references past instances where teams struggled when their star players were absent:
"When LeBron stepped out, it became the Luka show. It looked like Dallas."
— Colin Cowherd [09:10]
This analogy emphasizes that while teams can adapt by incorporating new talents, the absence of transformative players like Steph Curry can lead to a noticeable decline in overall performance and team cohesion.
Broader NBA Implications and Team Strategies
Rob Manfred, the MLB Commissioner, joins the conversation to draw parallels between team dynamics in baseball and the NBA. He discusses the challenges leagues face with player retention and team parity:
"Baseball's in an incredibly healthy place... but no sport has more ninnies and whiners than baseball."
— Rob Manfred [12:01]
While this comment primarily addresses baseball, it indirectly relates to the NBA by highlighting the universal challenges sports leagues face in maintaining competitive balance and managing star players' impacts on team success.
Strategic Team Building and Future Prospects
Cowherd and Manfred explore strategic approaches to team building in the context of losing key players. They debate whether teams should prioritize acquiring versatile players or seeking out transformational talents to sustain long-term success.
"You can love Keith Richards, it's Mick's band. You can love Butler, it's Steph's band."
— Colin Cowherd [10:45]
This metaphor illustrates the idea that while adding talented players can enhance a team, having a central figure who embodies the team's identity and drives its success is crucial for sustained performance.
Concluding Insights and Takeaways
The episode wraps up with reflections on the importance of star players in shaping team dynamics and the broader competitive landscape of the NBA. Cowherd emphasizes that while teams can survive without their stars, their overall performance and championship aspirations are significantly impacted.
"Without Steph, this looked like the team pre Butler, nobody could score."
— Colin Cowherd [02:48]
Key Takeaways:
Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps:
"But the Warriors can add Jimmy Butler. And Jimmy Butler makes them better. But it is Steph's team... without Steph, this looked like the team pre Butler, nobody could score."
— Colin Cowherd [02:48]
"I love Jimmy Butler, but he's combative. He's a bounce around the league guy. He's a super grinder."
— Colin Cowherd [05:15]
"Steph's the entire package. LeBron's the entire package... you can love Luka, it's LeBron's band."
— Colin Cowherd [07:30]
"When LeBron stepped out, it became the Luka show. It looked like Dallas."
— Colin Cowherd [09:10]
"You can love Keith Richards, it's Mick's band. You can love Butler, it's Steph's band."
— Colin Cowherd [10:45]
Conclusion
This episode of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" offers an in-depth analysis of the Golden State Warriors' challenges without Steph Curry. Through comparative discussions and strategic insights, Cowherd underscores the indispensable role of star players in shaping team success and the broader implications for the NBA’s competitive landscape.