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Erin Andrews
This is an I Heart Podcast.
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Erin Andrews
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Colin Cowherd
Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio at noon to 3 Eastern 9am to no find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Here we go. It is World cup week. Tingly goosebumps. Very excited Live in Chicago not hosting a World cup event, but a great scene over the weekend. Valiant effort by the United States men's national team. So listen, for most of my career I try not to be a fan. You're a fan, you're emotional. I have a friend that she's always like saying, you always say don't get emotional. Well, we're fans, we're supposed to be emotional. That's what sports is. And I allow myself one team to just be a little fan ish United States soccer. With that said, I mean my genetic makeup is reasonable so I don't go crazy. But I really like this team. And every day this week at this time, top of the second hour, we're going to give you what I would call our Super Six. So the World cup starts on Fox and FS1 this week. It is going to be absolutely glorious for the next month. And so we are going to give you what we call the Super 6. And every day it will change. And we're going to start this week with, I think, a creative playmaker. I think in terms of overall skill, as good a player as we've ever had in the States. Christian Pulisic. These are his, in our opinion, six greatest goals. Representing the United States, number six. Scores. It's Captain America to the rescue for the United States. And he runs right into the goalkeeper at the end of this, but lays it all on the line for his team and for his country. Number five, Corona. This is weah for the US And Weah does well. Christian Pulisic on the pitch for a matter of moment with that Innate and perfect sense of timing. What a huge goal for Christian Pulisic. Christian Pulisic with a potentially decisive moment against the old enemy in a World cup qualifier. Number four, Robinson will hook that cross in Pulisic. Oh, lovely hat trick. What a night. You see a guy tonight that is determined to get this team back. The World cup and just his performance. And that is filth. Number three, Christian Pulisic standing over the free kick. Pulisic. Christian Pulisic with the goal to level it up. He won the free kick. He scores the free kick. Number two. Six goals in his last seven international games. Pulisic. It's spectacular from Christian Pulisic. What a strike. What a beautiful finish from Christian Pulisic. Number one. Pulisic has it back now through the traffic. Pulisic.
Alexi Lalas
What a goal.
Colin Cowherd
Wow, look at this. This car gets a slight touch on it. But that's in the top corner. That's your captain, that's your best player setting the tone from the very first minute. How about that for a finish? Our Super Six every day at this time, Monday through Friday. And with that, Alexi Lawless, who will be Thursday on Fox and FS1. The World Cup 26 begins Friday against Paraguay. So let's go back to this weekend where Pulisic wasn't the goal scorer, but there were several things I really liked. Let's start however, with the early laps defensively to fall behind as an elite defender, a hall of Famer. Is that lack of communication, was that you? Tell me, what did your eyes see?
Alexi Lalas
Well, what I saw was, you know, the kids call it vibes nowadays and this window, both the win against Senegal and then the loss the other day against Germany, much more positive vibes relative to this team going into this, this World Cup. Still some, some, some concerns. You let in a, a goal right off the bat off of a set piece which is just, you gotta, you gotta mark and I think a goalkeeper, in this case it's Matt Freese, should be coming out and cleaning house there. If you're gonna do it, do it in the friendly before the World cup starts. So it's just a reminder. But I think ultimately this game in particular against Germany, this is not for nothing, but this is Germany. The US had wonderful possession, they created all sorts of opportunities, something like 10 corner kicks. So that was good. And by the way, the six goals that we just saw from Christian Pulisic who was playing much better right now, and you're just gonna be fan ish relative to this U.S. men's National Team in the World Cup. Yes. As a fan, you have to be emotional, all right? You have to be crazy when you see something like this. I want you full on fandom, not fan ish. Be irrational. Be proudly irrational this summer when you are watching this game, when you are watching this World cup, when you are watching this US Team.
Colin Cowherd
Well, I. One of the things I noticed against Germany was more shots, far more corner kicks, more attacking, less counter attacking, and for instance, 54 to 46 time of possession. To the novice watching, I say that's a little bit like time of possession in football. It doesn't always mean you win, but it does show an aggressive nature, which in my lifetime, when we played Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, we don't win. Time of possession, explain to me. I thought that was important.
Alexi Lalas
Yeah, I hit the nail on the head. I mean, this is a evolution, if you will, when it comes to the way that we played. Now, I'm not saying in the past we haven't had possession, but again, this is against a German team that's, you know, one of the elites in the world and we're pinging it around and this comes with time. And I think it doesn't always, like you say, equate to goals or winning, but there is an association with possession as to a maturity and an evolution. And so I think when you can't just have possession, right, possession with purpose, they talk about oftentimes. And I think the other day against Germany, there was possession with purpose and it resulted, like you said, in a lot of opportunities, a lot of goal scoring chances and not just, you know, half ch. Real goal scoring chances. I mentioned the corner kicks. I think set pieces are going to be important for this team. So I think Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of this team after this window, goes back in and says, all right, it's not perfect, but it's much better off than it was after the previous window and going into a World Cup. I think they have to feel buoyed and confident.
Colin Cowherd
What do we need from Pulisic to get out of the group stage? Because my prediction is we'll get out of the group stage. I think we're going to win two games in the knockout. We've added teams to this World cup and they're not powerhouse teams. We didn't add Spain, we didn't add England. There are some wins here potentially on the docket. What do you believe we need from Pulisic in terms of production?
Alexi Lalas
Yeah, Christian Pulisic is never going to be the personality that many want him to be the leader. That many want him to be. He's going to lead by example, all right? He's not particularly gregarious or, you know, larger than life when you see him interviewed or anything. He doesn't need to be that. He just needs to go on the field, take players on one on one. In doing so, he's going to draw plenty of defenders, he's going to open up space for others, and then he's going to do what he is so good at doing, which is beating players and then providing the assist or finishing off the goal. He needs to be a star in the sense that he needs to dominate games, and I think he can in this World Cup. You know, ultimately, when it comes to this team, we should expect more from this US Team than we ever have in the past. Right? And I don't think that that's irrational or unfair to. But again, not grumpy old man in this. But this is a generation that's been given absolutely everything from a very young age. And with that comes higher expectations. America, you should expect your team to win this group. And as you said, Colin, now you're in this round of 32, at which point you'll be playing a team that you're better than. Never been in a World Cup, a men's World cup, where we're playing a team in a knockout game that we're better than. You take care of business there. And now you're back to the old round of 16. You need a little help from the soccer gods. There's but this team, especially with the magic of a World cup, nothing better than a World cup except a home World Cup. And then you're into some rarefied air.
Colin Cowherd
Give me the home environment. How much does it matter?
Alexi Lalas
I think it matters if you look at it as opportunity as opposed to pressure. You know, I think back, you know, a long time ago in 1994, yeah, there was a pressure, but I didn't. I didn't feel that it was oppressive or detrimental to the team. I think we looked at it as, yeah, we don't want to screw this up and we don't want to hurt our sport. And this is an opportunity to make sure that people come into the tent. It's interesting, too. You know, nowadays the kids call, you know, they talk about their brands, right? We didn't call it that back then. But for a guy like Christian Pulisic or anybody else, it's one thing to star over in Europe and in different places, it's another thing to star at a home World cup for them and their brand, their lives will never be the same.
Colin Cowherd
Anthony Robinson's goal, I said to the staff here, I said in previous World cup teams, it was just a beautiful international feeling. One timer. It's just a great. And again, for a casual, you know, these are not easy goals. I watched that and I thought, okay, I don't know if we do that in previous teams. That was a. That felt like something Spain, England, France, historically can do. Take us through the goals.
Alexi Lalas
Yeah. It's a special moment from a special player, Anthony Robinson. He plays on the left hand side. You'll see him going up and down, but he loves to get into the attack. And he's just hanging out at the top of the box here, as you can see, and he just hits it absolutely perfectly. I'm sure there's plenty of your viewers that play golf and you know, most of the time it goes off here, it goes off there, but when you hit it right, it's. It's effortless. And you look at this ball here, it's past the goalkeeper before the goalkeeper even reacts. So he. You could not hit the ball any more pure in that instance. And to add everything go perfectly and obviously to score the goal, not to mention flip after, it was pretty awesome. I hope that he saved a little for the World cup because this is still just a friendly but a wonderful moment and a wonderful strike.
Colin Cowherd
If you take your best teams, they had a personality or a toughness or a grittiness. What is the. What's been developed? What is our personality? What is our essence?
Alexi Lalas
Yeah, I mean, I think we have evolved in terms of the way that we play. I just hope we haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater. And that's why I think Mauricio Pochettino has been really important because he's come in, he doesn't suffer fools. He has, I think, rebalanced this team in that, you know, even you even saw where he's not calling players to tell him that he didn't make the World cup team. And I know that that sounds ruthless and mean.
Colin Cowherd
Right.
Alexi Lalas
But this is a group that needed it. Keep in mind, last World cup, they were the second youngest team at the World Cup. Now they are that much older. They're men, they need to be treated as such and there need to be higher expectations. So I think Mauricio Pochettino got it right here and kind of some tough love that this team needed.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, the five times as many corner kicks as Germany feels substantial. To me, I mean, it really does.
Alexi Lalas
It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's often a measure, an indication of the attack that you have, the possession that you have and the opportunities that you're creating.
Colin Cowherd
So the first World cup game,
Alexi Lalas
Paraguay, this Friday, baby.
Colin Cowherd
Well, Mexico takes on South Africa and Mexico City, which is a, as you know, one of the great. One of the great cities, one of the great food cities.
Alexi Lalas
Oh, yeah.
Colin Cowherd
Oh, man. Do you remember your first World cup game?
Alexi Lalas
So the first World cup game I ever watched, I was 16 years old. I was at the Pikes Peak Invitational soccer tournament with my. With my team, you know, playing like 100 games in three days or something like that. They pulled the television into the lobby of the Holiday Inn where we were staying, and in between the games, we would sit there and watch the World cup at that. That World cup was in 86. It was in Mexico. So I watched Diego Maradona and everything. Four years later, I had my face painted. I was bumming around with a bunch of high school buddies, drinking too much and chasing girls and watching the World cup in Italy, not even thinking that four years after that I would be representing my country, as you can see here on the screen. So, you know, the world and the soccer gods work in mysterious ways.
Colin Cowherd
Is there. But we'll let you go. But one more. Is there a player for this club, the United States national team, that doesn't get a lot? I mean, we talk Weston, McKinney, Robinson. I mean, there's a handful of players that even a casual discusses or is looking forward to. Is there a hidden gem here or an undervalued part of this team?
Alexi Lalas
So two things I'd say one, Chris Richards, who's a center back, I think he's going to be really, really important. Now he has a little ankle injury. So interesting to see. If he plays. I think he will play. And if he does, out of Alabama, you can see him right there finishing off both sides. Can't miss him. Big old hair. And listen, I can tell you that hair is very, very important in soccer, especially in a World Cup. So I think. I love. Speaking of ruthlessness, a ruthlessness that has crept into his game, but he hasn't lost his joy. He's got a wonderful smile in that. I think he takes what he does seriously, doesn't take himself too seriously. I think he has a chance of emerging here as one of the stars as he gets introduced to America.
Colin Cowherd
Oh, wait. Do we know for certain who's going to be in goal Friday.
Alexi Lalas
I think it's going to be Matt Fries, by the way, if that happens, he would be the first Harvard man to start for the US So we'll see what happens. Ultimately, it doesn't matter where you go to school or where you're from, just save the ball. We've had great goalkeepers in the past. He's got to, he doesn't have to make the saves that he needs to make. He needs to meet the saves that people think he can't make. And he hasn't quite done that. But listen, this is the platform to do.
Colin Cowherd
It starts Friday. It's all over. Fox and FS1 former defender for the US National Team, the Hall of Famer, two time World cup appearances Alexi as always, my friend, good luck, good fortune. I'll be watching every minute of it.
Alexi Lalas
Not fanish my friend. You are a full on full fledged American fan, baby. Let's go, let's light this candle.
Colin Cowherd
You know what, you're right. What am I holding back here? Let's just go for it. You know, J, Mac and I, you know, we, you know, we try to be America's honesty brokers and journalists and ah, the hell with that. Let's just go. Team usa. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio. And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right, you can now watch the Odd couple live on YouTube every day. All you got to do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.
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Colin Cowherd
I hate to say it, but I
Jay Onrait
don't trust much of anything.
Alexi Lalas
It's the rage bait.
Erin Andrews
It feels like it's trying to divide people.
Jay Onrait
We got clear facts.
Colin Cowherd
Maybe we could calm down a little.
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NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts.
Colin Cowherd
Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. It plays well. But, you know, you hear this all the time. Why can't Jalen Brunson be given the respect he deserves? Well, he made all NBA second team team. He's in the Finals. He's adored and beloved in New York. He's been given all sorts of respect. Now you say, well, this year he failed to get an MVP vote. Okay? Russell Wilson never got an MVP vote ever. Russell Wilson's probably going to make the Football hall of Fame. So. And it's interesting, Jalen Brunson does remind me a little bit of Russell Wilson. So they weren't first round draft picks. They were viewed as a little small, little unconventional, not hyper, you know, a little thick. Both, by the way, great in the clutch in the fourth quarter. And the NBA and the NFL. Most legends are not picked in the second round in the NBA or the third round of the NFL. I know Brady's an outlier. Most are not undersized. You know, they're a little bit more traditional. By the way, you know who's going to win MVP in this series if the Knicks win? Number one pick, Carl Anthony Towns. The only, you know, number one pick on the team. He's the most talented guy and he's got that requisite legendary size. So, you know, fans love to, you know, New York fans. I told you so. Well, let me ask a New York fan, last 27 years, Knicks fan, were you also sure you weren't going to be very good? You were going to underachieve? I just want to remind you, you've been telling us for years this was going to happen. This is the first time it is. So Jalen Brunson is not being disrespected. Based on the history of the NBA, he is an exception. He has been reasonably questioned as a smallish, not hyper, athletic guard. It's like when Steph Curry for years was questioned. He came out of Davidson. He was slender. I mean, think about this. He was raised in North Carolina next to UNC and Duke. His dad was a former NBA star. And Mike Krzyzewski in the Tar Heels said, no, thanks, not interested. That's not being disrespected. Mike Krzyzewski in North Carolina through the years, pretty good eye for talent. And they were like, no, thanks. People grow at different speeds. People mature, people grow. You know, it's. People have growth spurts and maturity spurts. And now that's something that Brunson didn't have to worry about. But he's not super athletic, little bit of a defensive liability. Super smart, maybe that was undervalued. But he was asked recently about sort of the disrespect, which I don't think is disrespect. It's. I mean, listen, ask yourself this. What did the Knicks do this postseason? They were struggling against Atlanta. What did they do to click? They took the ball out of Jalen's hands, right? That's not a knock. He's amenable to it. He's a team guy. But they kind of took the ball out of his hand. So he wasn't always the lead distributor and gave it to Karl Anthony Towns, who's going to win MVP if the series goes four. Look, him, he's out playing Wemby. So it's not. I don't think it's disrespect. It just, historically speaking, like, Russell Wilson is not how most hall of Fame quarterbacks play or look. I remember for years I would have Greg Cosell on, and he used to call it planned ad libs. He could never quite wrap his brain around, like, what is it? He's like, well, they're not ad libs. They're kind of planned ad libs. He was different. Brunson's a little different than most legends in NBA history. And here's Jalen. When a guy like you falls into the second round of the draft, a lot of people miss something about you. When you think back on your draft process, what do you think it was that was just underestimated, not seen in you at that time?
Jay Onrait
Everything.
Colin Cowherd
I mean, Jokic, Draymond Green. Draymond Green was a tremendous college player. He was never a big scorer. He was great for years and years at Michigan State, second round. I mean, Jokic not only went second round, but you talked to former NBAers who were in Denver his first couple years at practice, and they were like, yeah, this. This guy should not have been a second rounder. He's the best player at practice. Like, what. What is going on here? That with his size and skill, that's like, whoa, what did we miss? You know, Brunson was a Villanova guy, stayed in school a while, and then, you know, you end up on a team with Luka, and Luka's got the ball in his hand so much. It was a weird fit. So here's Mikhail Bridges on sort of Brunson being underrated.
Alexi Lalas
I don't know how much more he has to do, you know, winning, you know, player of the year, national Player of the year, you know, leading his team to the championship. So I don't know. I just. I don't know. I'm not a GM or anything, but, you know, I think I wouldn't make him wait all the way till the second round.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean, I don't think a single executive in the league, and maybe even including Red Auerbach and Pat Riley and Jerry west would have looked at him out of Villanova, and you'd say he's the best closer in the NBA in the fourth. I mean, that's kind of what he's been in the playoffs. I don't think. I don't think Jerry west would have said. I mean, Jerry west fought for Steph Curry. Remember, they were thinking about Monta Ellis, Steph Curry. Jerry west, like, go with Steph Curry. He fought for Klay Thompson. A lot of people I Mean, I've got two scouts I talked to. People thought Brunson was talented. They didn't foresee this. And believe me, when Russell Wilson, I've told the story before. I'm on my couch. Russell Wilson first start for NC State and it's a Saturday morning game. It's a true story. And I'm watching him play and I text Kirk Herbstreit. I'm like, who, who's this guy for NC State? This was like 20 years ago, but who is this guy? I remember I was on Steel Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. I'm pretty sure that's where I was. And I'm like, did I think he was going to go in to the NFL and have a decade run and make back to back Super Bowls, should have won two? No, I don't think anybody. He got drafted in the third round. Third round. And that's after going his college coach. Russell Wilson's college coach in North Carolina. State's like, we're going to start Mike Glennon. He had to transfer to Wisconsin, put up insane numbers at Wisconsin. Still nobody took him because he didn't kind of look. He wasn't the classic physical specimen that we want our quarterbacks to be. Now Brunson did win a couple of natties at Villanova. He was a great leader. You all watched him. If you watch college basketball, the first title, this is interesting. His first title at Villanova, he was fifth in scoring on the team. Oh, I'm sure Nick fan had it all figured out. His second title, Dante DiVincenzo was named the most outstanding player of the tournament. So in college and for the record, college basketball during those years, it's much better now with nil, it's much older. College basketball back then if you were good, you lasted an hour in college, you were out, you went to the NBA. It wasn't like college basketball was stacked back then. Now you look at Michigan and they're like that's, that's, that could compete with the Christian Laettner teams like that or Connecticut couple years ago you're like, oh, that could go, that can compete with one of the those Florida teams that won back to back titles. That wasn't the case. Some people just develop more slowly. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no. Heard on the news. This is the Herdline news.
Jay Onrait
Speaking of folks who miss on stars, how about the Timberwolves? Colin? They had Karl Anthony Towns in their grasp and they let him go for DiVincenzo, Randle and whatever else. And now Anthony Edwards is asking Questions about said roster in Minnesota. And Brian Winhorst says expect some changes for the Timberwolves this offseason. Now, Colin, this. This part's interesting. They went conference finals, conference finals, and then backslid to the semifinals. And now you're looking around, you're like, well, spurs, they're not going anywhere. Thunder are really good. Denver's still there. And you start to wonder Anthony Edwards. Woods doesn't seem thrilled in Minnesota. I'm not saying he's gonna ask out.
Colin Cowherd
In fairness, let's be fair. When Cat was in Minnesota, what was his reputation? Really gifted offensively, but could disappear. Weird fouls, not mature. And then he goes to the Knicks. And even with the Knicks, it was defensive liability. Do you remember, was it last year they played the Pacers in the playoffs?
Alexi Lalas
Yeah.
Jay Onrait
He kept getting a foul play trouble,
Colin Cowherd
and he kept getting in foul trouble. Like you were like, oh. I mean, the whole narrative of that series was you can't. You can't trust Cat. So let's be fair about this. When a guy exits, it's not like people in Minnesota were outraged by them, and they were kind of worn out.
Alexi Lalas
Yeah.
Colin Cowherd
From Cat.
Jay Onrait
The problem, of course, is Colin. And this. This is my draft philosophy after going to a couple NFL combines. It's not what you are, it's what you can be. Nobody could see Brunson coming. And listen, we love Chris Finch. I don't think he could have envisioned Karl Anthony Towns becoming a point forward, averaging almost six assists a game in the playoffs.
Colin Cowherd
He's a totally different player in this playoff run than last year.
Jay Onrait
It's not even. I mean, it's really night and day. And if you're Anthony Edwards, Colin Ant is one of the best players in the league. He's got to look around. How did we not do this with Kat? We had him space the floor because of Gobert, and he was shooting corner threes, and that's all he was doing.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I mean, we. This happens in sports where teams are lightning in a bottle. Teams get hot. We talked about this last week. What's happened in the NBA now? There are no great teams. There are situationally excellent teams.
Jay Onrait
That's not bad.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Denver, for a year, they were healthy. Jokic was the best player in the world. They were getting good enough bench play, and it was like everybody was just. Gordon was playing out of his mind. All of a sudden you look up and you're like, oh, this is gonna. They're gonna win three finals, and then you lose a guy off the bench. Yeah, you're not. You miss that corner three guy and you look up and you're like, Denver's good. They're not very good. We've had eight. This will be the eighth straight year where we've had a situationally excellent team. But I mean,
Jay Onrait
you see that look at our staff sandbagging and Edwards there minus 80 in the post postseason. I, I didn't realize it was that bad. And they got smoked by the, by the Spurs. Let's be real. And they're not going to be better than them next year. I don't know what the path is to success. Like Julius Randall is not going to have a big market.
Colin Cowherd
Well, they're going to move off Julius Randall. He will not be a T wolf
Jay Onrait
divincenzo out for the next season with the Achilles. Tough times for Minnesota. All right, Colin, let's move to a story that's just emerging here in the last hour. The GM Sam Presti of the OKC Thunder met with the media and Colin, this listen, Sam Presti's smart. He knows how to build a roster. To me, this was the most tone deaf quote I've seen this month in the NBA. Here's what Sam Presti had to say about SGA relative to Shay and the narrative on that.
Colin Cowherd
You know, he's, he's playing against six people, he's got five defenders and the sixth defender of social media.
Jay Onrait
And you know that's a reality and he's not going to be the last
Colin Cowherd
player that the machine decides to target.
Jay Onrait
But no one's going to handle this
Colin Cowherd
gracefully because when they turn it on somebody else, they're not going to step up there every night and not acknowledge it. I'm floored.
Jay Onrait
I don't know if you want to take this one first, Colin. I cannot believe Presti said this. I know he was trying to be cool and tongue in cheek and this is probably going to get a million views because it, it sounds, I don't
Colin Cowherd
think he cares about the views. I think he's defending his player.
Jay Onrait
I mean, that's possible. But Colin, we saw the data that shows SGA is flopping more than anybody. And I'm not just saying Colin Faust, he's literally falling to the ground more than James Harden, Jalen Brunson, anybody on plays that he should not be falling to the ground on like the data shows. This isn't social media coming after your guy. This is your guy inviting the criticism because of his style of play. I mean, Colin, we talked about this for two weeks on the show. He's Acting like this is a non issue. I'm assuming you don't agree with him, do you?
Colin Cowherd
No, I mean, I don't. I mean when Adam Silver said our my players are unhappy because of social media, you don't hear Roger Goodell saying that. I mean, give me a break.
Jay Onrait
It's a good point.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Rob Manfred's not too worried about X, you know, or ig, Snapchat, whatever. You know, my take is it's always been a players league and GMs and coaches, you know, race to protect their guys. That's fine. Sam Presti, I don't think he cares about clicks. I think he has a aesthetic, I think he has a style that's not terribly fun to watch. I never liked all the James Harden step back stuff. I didn't think that was any fun to watch. I think he's a really, really great mid range player. And he's a credit. I mean his work ethic, his maturity, he's a, he's a great player. But not all players are fascinating to watch. You know, it just, you know, I think sometimes we, I mean if you told me the 10 players in my life that you literally can't take your eyes off of, I would start with David Thompson, who very few you people saw. Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Magic Bird, Curry, Steph Curry, I mean LeBron, obviously MJ, Shaq, Shaq in his prime. But I would, I would say there's a lot of Jokic, Moses Malone, there's a lot of great players. You know, Alex English led the NBA for a decade, the 80s in scoring. He wasn't highly vertical. He's a great man and a great ambassador for basketball. Wasn't fascinating. So I used to love as a kid a guy named World B Free who was not a winning player. He was a gunner. But I loved, I loved Downtown Freddie Brown. But there's been a lot of Jack Sigmas. I mean if you're from the Pacific Northwest, Jack Sigma, you know, with the Sonics and Bucks. Yeah, I mean he was an Illinois Wesleyan, unbelievable player. I love watching him play. The step back was unblockable. But the NBA's got a lot more great players. John Havilchek, who again not somebody jamming over people than it does like Elgin Baylor, who was a physical specimen. Like there's just a lot of players aren't fascinating but you know, so SGA is not the first guy to drop 30. And it's not wizardry, it's just, it's like workmanlike, like masonry. Excellent.
Jay Onrait
It's Weird, because for a couple years on the show, I called him the free throw merchant and people said, jay, you're being too harsh. Colin, when the spotlight was biggest, What? They have 13 million people watching this series.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Jay Onrait
SGA got exposed badly for being a free throw merchant flopper. I know you kind of disagree, but he had an awful series and he got destroyed on social media. Now his GM's defending him.
Colin Cowherd
Now let's slow down. An awful series. People are saying Wemby's having an awful series. He's averaging 27 and he's the best defensive player in this series. Let's contextualize. Awful series. It wasn't to the standard of sga, but J Dub was hurt, so they didn't have their number two score. So you can play differently when you don't have Jalen Williams play. Chet Holmgren basically disintegrated. So it was a lot of SGA against the Spurs. Yeah, I mean, listen, Gary Payton didn't stop MJ and nor did Utah, but they made it work for him. Yeah, he wasn't as pretty. So, you know, let's. SGA is going to be a first ballot hall of Famer. He's a credit to the game. He averaged 26 points against the Spurs.
Jay Onrait
But the volume, efficiency. Yeah. All right, we'll go to final story. Colin, I don't know what's happening. This guy, Brandon Ayuk, 49ers receiver for now. He went online this weekend and, you know, released some cryptic video. He actually said the phrase that he wants the Niners to quote, stop running from the belt. I don't even. I don't know what that means. The connotation in my head is not a good one, but it doesn't really jive with what's going on. Colin, this guy, since he signed that contract, has been an unmitigated disaster.
Colin Cowherd
They've had so much noise at wide receiver. And that's why I love Juwan Jennings. He just goes in. Productive, good guy. Just. You just get great catches.
Jay Onrait
And they lost him, I think, in free agency. Yeah, I don't even know where he
Colin Cowherd
is, but he's on the Vikings now. He's a great get, by the way. One of the quiet great gets of the entire off season was Joanne Jennings. Huge catching radius to Kyler Murray. Huge. I mean, like one of those things you don't talk about and all of a sudden you look up and he's got 70 catches and seven touchdowns. But I mean, if anybody can be noisy, it should be Christian McCaffrey. Kittle, Trent Williams, you know, but they just, they just had, it's been an odd several years at wide receiver. I think they've sometimes overdrafted it, over compensated it and you know, this is where they're at.
Jay Onrait
Yeah, I don't, I don't know how you fix this problem. He got a four year, $120 million extension and he's basically been a ghost in the facility since that moment. Yeah, I don't want to say career over, but like apparently Washington's being linked to him. And if you look at Washington fans, they see this video, they're like, yeah, no thanks, I'm out on this guy. He just sounds like he's kind of lost it. I hope he gets whatever help he needs, but he's right now is just an unhinged disaster.
Colin Cowherd
J Mac with the news.
Alexi Lalas
Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by.
Colin Cowherd
The herd lie news that World cup, it just, it's just magical. Every day this week, our number two top of it. We'll give you our super six. Six great saves. Today was the six best pulisic goals of all time. Six greatest moments for the United States men's national team at the World Cup. And it all starts Fox and FS1 on Wednesday. It's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.
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Alexi Lalas
I turned off news altogether.
Colin Cowherd
I hate to say it, but I
Jay Onrait
don't trust much of anything.
Alexi Lalas
It's the rage bait.
Erin Andrews
It feels like it's trying to divide people.
Colin Cowherd
We got clear facts. Maybe we can calm down a little.
OnNicotine Advertisement Voice
NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts.
Colin Cowherd
Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.
Jay Onrait
Tonight on FS1, we've got two of the American League's heavyweights going head to head. It's Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and a Bronx Bomber facing Jose Ramirez and the guardians tomorrow 6:30 Eastern on FS1.
Colin Cowherd
You know, it's interesting, college basketball coaches do not do well historically in the NBA. And that's because you have to be so flexible in a player's league. College basketball is about the coach. Bill Self gets the final say. That's not the way it works. In fact, part of the reason, a big part of the reason the Knicks are playing this well is Karl Anthony Towns. And you know, with Tibbs a little bit more rigid. It was always like Jaylen Brown, ISO ball centric. Mike Brown's like, that's not his personality. He's more of a listener, a more amenable to change. Mike Brown's been fired four times. But actually when you watch this team, you're like, oh, his personality matches this team. And Mike Brown talks about how he has pulled so much out of Karl Anthony Towns. I come in with a plan. Maybe the plan doesn't work. Who adjusts, him or me? Me. I adjust. The adjustment's not enough. You know, every once in a while we're not on the same page. We finally got to a point where he was comfortable, I was comfortable, Jalen was comfortable, OG was comfortable, Mikhail was comfortable. And to me, that's what the regular season's about. Yeah, that's not college basketball, baseball, similarly, you just don't see the Giants hired a college baseball coach to manage the Giants. I mean, it was a major pushback. I mean the Giants had, had not been viable for years. They're not that good this year. Play the Dodgers well, but not very good this year. Everybody's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yet it works in football. So why wouldn't it work in baseball? Why wouldn't it work very much in basketball, but it works in football. College guy can go to the pros and be effective. Why is that? Well, because in baseball, 10 year contracts, you know, it's a, it's a front office and players league managers really considering the, you know, if you consider how many games Aaron Boone manages, you know, per game, the Boise State football coach makes more. It's not a manager sport. Right. And in basketball, you know, even though coaching matters, it's not considered necessarily a coach's sport. Right. It was like, oh, Durant's to the warriors with Steph. It's the players. Football remains the coach's sport. So if you're viewed analytically, if you're viewed as a really sharp offensive or defensive coach, you can transition college to pro football and you have credibility. Didn't take that very long. I mean, Jim Harbaugh can pivot back and forth, college to pro, it doesn't matter. You know, I just think, you know, Pete Carroll was a college guy then he went to, you know, back to back Super Bowls with Seattle and is closer to his prime. It doesn't necessarily matter. But in the NBA it is a players league and in baseball, you know, it is a player sport and an analytic front office sport. So four out of the last seven head coaches to win the NBA title were fired by their team. Mike Malone with Denver, Budenholzer, Bucks, Frank Vogel, Lakers, Nick Nurse, Raptors. I mean, it's just, it's like getting fired in the NBA is not like a death sentence. It's like. Yeah, it just happens. I mean that's like Popovich doesn't, you know, Spoilstra, Popovich, Kerr. That's not really the way it works. And then a lot of times, like Phil Jackson, you can be a legend, but you may struggle with your gm, Jerry Krause, or you may have some Fishers in the building with somebody else with the Lakers. So it's the NBA is. Somebody once said this to me, it's the worst great job in sports being an NBA coach. It's awful, but there's only 30 of them and it's pretty cool. Like Billy Donovan was a dominant coach in college. He built a semi dynasty in Florida. But coaching a mediocre Bulls team is a much better job. The quality of travel, the quality of jet, the quality of action, just the quality overall of the NBA is really, really high. But it's, it's tough work. I mean it's just, it is a thankless job. You know, 82 games players have the power. You just hope that you get a star like a Steph Curry or a Tim Duncan or a Jalen Brunson who is very coachable. That's not always the case. Sometimes it's the exact opposite. So, all right, our three Al Harrington, 16 year NBA veteran, he knows all about that. Oh, by the way, one of the sweetest guys in the NBA for years, Stacy King passed away yesterday. Former great Oklahoma Sooner, dominant scorer in college, three rings with the world champion Chicago Bulls and a broadcaster with the Chicago Bulls and a friend of our show he was on a couple times a year. Just a really, really sweet guy. Passed away yesterday. We just had him on the show a month ago. So kind of a gut punch. Beloved in Chicago by all the organizations, great sense of humor. Really attacked the job at the right way with authenticity and a sincerity. So that one, a lot of people left gutted. That one hurts. Stacy King passed away rest in peace. Way too soon. At 59 years of age and a really sweet, sweet guy. Al Harrington, our number three World cup week here at the Herd, as we are as always, live in Chicago. Hi, it's Colin Coward. If you want your outdoor space to really stand out, Deckorator Surestone technology is where you should start. Decking with surestone technology is made through a patented process that uses crushed rock, not wood fiber like other composites, which gives every board incredible strength and durability. And it's engineered with a unique surface design for better traction when things get wet. It's comfortable, it's safe, it's durable and that just looks great too. Build season is coming fast, so order a sample today. Visit deckorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's decorators with a k again. Decorators.com herd onplus nicotine pouches present comfort
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Colin Cowherd
I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The sound of a seatbelt. It's one of the most important sounds in our car. It means everyone is ready and everyone is safe. Make it a priority. Buckle up every time. Hear the sound.
Alexi Lalas
Make it a habit.
Colin Cowherd
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Jay Onrait
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Colin Cowherd
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Jay Onrait
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Colin Cowherd
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Alexi Lalas
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Jay Onrait
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Alexi Lalas
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Jay Onrait
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Erin Andrews
Guaranteed human.
Date: June 8, 2026
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (iHeartPodcasts and The Volume)
This episode is a spirited kickoff to World Cup week, with Colin Cowherd focusing on the US Men’s National Team’s hopes and evolution ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Colin dives deep into why there’s genuine optimism about the USMNT, highlights Christian Pulisic’s impact, and hosts an insightful conversation with Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas to break down recent friendlies, discuss the squad’s mentality, and forecast what to expect on home soil. The hour then shifts to NBA and NFL news, comparing undervalued stars across sports, dissecting NBA playoff narratives, and addressing player management challenges.
[03:09] – [06:53]
Notable Quotes:
[06:53] – [18:28]
[07:44] – [09:04]
Alexi Lalas [07:44]:
“This window… much more positive vibes relative to this team going into this World Cup. Still some concerns… but this is Germany. The US had wonderful possession, they created all sorts of opportunities… something like 10 corner kicks.”
[09:04] – [10:37]
Alexi Lalas [09:37]:
“There is an association with possession as to a maturity and an evolution… There was possession with purpose and it resulted… in a lot of opportunities, a lot of goal scoring chances.”
[10:37] – [12:23]
Alexi Lalas [11:01]:
“Christian Pulisic is never going to be the personality many want him to be… he just needs to go on the field, take players on one on one… America, you should expect your team to win this group.”
[12:23] – [13:11]
Alexi Lalas [12:27]:
“For a guy like Christian Pulisic… it's one thing to star over in Europe… it's another thing to star at a home World Cup … their lives will never be the same.”
[13:11] – [14:59]
Colin Cowherd [13:11]:
“That felt like something Spain, England, France, historically can do.”
Alexi Lalas [14:34]:
“I just hope we haven’t thrown the baby out with the bathwater. That’s why I think Mauricio Pochettino has been really important… he’s kind of some tough love that this team needed.”
[15:16] – [15:32]
[16:39] – [17:38]
Alexi Lalas [17:01]:
“Chris Richards… has a chance of emerging here as one of the stars as he gets introduced to America.”
Alexi Lalas [17:42]:
“If [Matt Freese] happens, he would be the first Harvard man to start for the US… he needs to make the saves people think he can’t make.”
Notable Closing Exchange:
Alexi Lalas [18:19]: “Not fanish my friend. You are a full on full fledged American fan, baby. Let's go, let's light this candle.”
Colin Cowherd: “You know what, you're right. What am I holding back here? … Let's just go. Team USA.”
[21:35] – [27:09]
Jay Onrait [26:03]:
“Everything.” (Brunson, on what was missed about him in his draft process)
[30:05] – [33:13]
[33:13] – [38:34]
This hour captures the growing sense that US Soccer can—and should—do more at this World Cup. There’s recognition of real evolution in playing style, expectations, and talent, anchored by standout players and a demanding coach. Alexi Lalas’s optimism is infectious, with the challenge issued: be all-in, expect more, and enjoy the “magic” of a home tournament. The rest of the episode rounds up topical NBA and NFL storylines, drawing parallels between undervalued stars across leagues and how team and player perceptions are shaped by both performance and narrative.
Perfect for:
Listeners eager for a punchy, passionate primer on USMNT as World Cup fever kicks in—plus those who appreciate candid sports talk connecting soccer, basketball, and beyond.