Mark Stein (2:30)

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

Ben Maller (2:37)

Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. 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.

Jason Stewart (2:57)

Now, let's get party started.

Chris Burfet (2:59)

You're listening to FOX Sports Radio.

Doug Gottlieb (3:04)

What up? Welcome in. This is the Herd. Wherever you maybe be, wherever you may be and however you may be making this part of your day, thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottman in for Colin Cowherd, and for the next hour, I want to talk sports with you. Yes, that's my, that's my accent. I can do a little the Colin. That's about all I got. Happy 4th of July to you. It's weird, you know, the crew is in Southern California. I'm in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And the, the difference it, like, we got to have a fireworks discussion at some point because if you grew up in California or you spend lots of time in California, you know, because of fire hazard, like, and what's crazy about fire hazard is fourth of July in Southern California. It's. Everyone seems to have illegal fireworks. Everyone, but generally frowned upon and not sold at your. The fireworks you can get at the local fireworks stand is like those little roses, you know, like, you can line up like 10 of them at once and they spin around. It's kind of cool. I, I do think that there's a, there's a cottage industry of making fireworks that I would love to know the developmental things because some of the things are the same as they've been less like, well, you see one fireworks thing, you've seen them all. They do some cool stuff. But, like, what I was watching, I was at my country club, Oneida Country Club in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It's actually in Howard. And we're watching a fireworks show last night. The fireworks go off and there's some of them where they have like a second and third act. They blow up and then they go into, you know, all this and there's like, hearts or then there's other little things. The, the trail comes down and I just, I like, I want to know who's developing these things. Where are they developing? Who comes up with it? How are the substances Put together what goes. Because for all these things to go right, this actually feels like a Jason Stewart one on one thing. Right. J. Stu, you know this. In order for those fireworks to go right now, they had to have gone wrong a thousand times over in trying to develop a firework fair.

Unnamed Producer (5:41)

Oh, you would think so. You think that's a lot of trial and error. Got to be in a controlled area. Sure, yeah.

Doug Gottlieb (5:47)

So where are these things developed? Who are these people who are developing them? You know, it's a lot. There's that Seinfeld bit where he talks about seedless watermelon, you know, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit where he's like, not cure for cancer, but somebody thought that is just too much to take. If you can develop, however they develop these fireworks to where they shoot off, they explode in a multitude of colors, but the colors are perfectly controlled. And then they can explode again and form hearts in the sky. You have an amazing talent with your use of chemistry. To use that on fireworks seems like a bit of a waste. But again, I don't know. I don't know how much these fireworks shows cost. I'm fascinated by the fireworks industry and I also wonder if the people who work at those fireworks stores, if they're the same people who work at the pumpkin patch, the same people who work at the Christmas tree stores. You know, the pop up Christmas trees where you can go and go get your Christmas tree. The Halloween costs. What are those Halloween stores that, that pop up usually in spirit balls.

Chris Burfet (7:07)

Spirit Halloween.

Doug Gottlieb (7:08)

Yes.

Chris Burfet (7:08)

Yeah. Those are everywhere.

Doug Gottlieb (7:09)

Yeah. Yes. But they're only around Halloween, right?

Chris Burfet (7:13)

I think, I think they are. Now they change their business model. I think they're trying to stay open year round now.

Doug Gottlieb (7:18)

How's that working out?

Chris Burfet (7:19)

I. I do not give out financial advice.

Unnamed Producer (7:25)

I'll always say this, that Instagram was amazing for the costume industry and costume parties and everything else. Instagram, basically. I want to see the. I want to see the financial breakdown of how much that has impacted costume salespeople.

Jason Stewart (7:45)

Yeah.

Chris Burfet (7:46)

Usually if I see like a picture of like a costume from Spirit Halloween on, like social media, someone's just mocking it for being really low quality.

Doug Gottlieb (7:55)

Yet these stores pop up everywhere, so people must be going to them. Right.

Chris Burfet (7:59)

But they're also, they're also getting a lot of lots that are basically taken over, taking over from other businesses. They're going out of business.

Doug Gottlieb (8:07)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bed Bath and Beyond. All the Bed Bath and Beyonds that went out are now Spirit Halloween stores.

Unnamed Producer (8:13)

I was trying to do A quick search on how these things are made, and I'm not getting anywhere, but I will say this. Fireworks are crafted by professionals called pyrotechnicians. A pyrotechnician is a professional that handles safe storage, handling, and function of fireworks. I don't know. I don't know how many jobs are available like that, but that's a pretty badass name just to, you know, name for a job. Just like, drop at a bar or something when you're meeting people.

Doug Gottlieb (8:42)

My. My son is like, he's legit gone. Like, what does it take to be a pyrotechnician? That sounds like fun. That's kind of every. I would say, of. If you ask teenage boys. Right. You did a breakdown of, like, what would the coolest jobs be? They're like, you know, professional athlete, rocker, rap star. Probably somebody on tv.

Chris Burfet (9:04)

Do we still do astronaut? Is that still a no, no, no, no.

Doug Gottlieb (9:09)

Nope. Nope. Because then they find out, like, you got a lot of math and science. Like, nah, I'm good. Now. There's probably a lot of math and. And chemistry to being a pyrotechnician. But if you say, like, well, I'm a pyrotechnician, like, that's a cool name. And then they say, like, what is that? I blow stuff up. Like, well, that's kind of awesome when you get paid for that. Yeah.

Chris Burfet (9:41)

You were asking earlier, like, what they do when it's not, you know, fireworks season. And I've got to imagine, like, I don't know what was. Who was the band who, like, burned the. They had. But they had a pirate. They burned the bulls banners at the United Center. But they had. But that was from pyrotechnics. So I imagine when it's not 4th of July season, you're just going around with, like, you know, concerts, rock bands, and, like, kind of. Yeah. Those kind of big pyrotechnic displays which aren't really, like, you know, full fields of fireworks, but it's kind of the same stuff. You're just kind of, you know, setting on fire. Setting stuff on fire and whatnot.

Doug Gottlieb (10:15)

Yeah. Has. Here's another question which I think we know the answer to. It's like, AI is going to take people's jobs, have drone shows, taking pyrotechnicians jobs.

Chris Burfet (10:26)

Not yet. But as someone who owns a cat here in Los Angeles, I kind of wish they'd be a little more popular just because people keep setting them off right off. Across from the city park I'm near. I Know that won't stop with drone shows, but I've seen some video of drone shows from, like, China, and they look. They look very impressive to, like, align that many drones and make shapes in the sky.

Doug Gottlieb (10:48)

No, they have them here. They're. They're incredible. There is something still about blowing stuff up that we, like, as Americans, right? It's like, yeah, it's the same thing, but does something actually explode?

Chris Burfet (11:00)

Oh, yeah.

Jason Stewart (11:00)

No.

Chris Burfet (11:01)

When I was younger, could we.

Doug Gottlieb (11:02)

Could we. And. And there's also the. Could we die? And could we. Could it all burn up, like, now? Like, yeah, I'm not really into it. It's like, no, it looks way better. It's visually incredibly impressive. You have these. All these thousands of drones, you know, spelling out people's name in cursive and looking, like, in a 3D light show. You're like, that's great. Could we die? No, I don't know. I can't. This is the time of year. There's nothing more American than something that technologically is so unbelievably advanced and, like. Yeah, but it doesn't blow stuff up. So, like, I kind of like to blow stuff up. Guy.

Chris Burfet (11:41)

As a. As a coach, because I keep thinking about this in the context of the NFL after, like, Jason Pierre Paul, and I know there was an incident with.

Doug Gottlieb (11:48)

Yes.

Chris Burfet (11:49)

A couple other players. Yeah. I was going to say, is this. Is this the time of year where, like, every coach has to just really enforce, you know, personal safety on everyone out there?

Doug Gottlieb (11:59)

My guys weren't really in. My guys. Like, I was like, how many guys, like, ever, you know, mess with fireworks? Like, none of them were really into it. But I just, you know, we. Yes, you have to pay attention, but you also pay attention to, hey, wherever you're going tonight, like, just stay there. Because people on the road, you got to make the assumption people are drinking and driving. So, yeah, I mean, by. We sent them home for a couple days for like a week. And, you know, their marching orders are, you're not blowing anything up. Like, just don't do it.

Chris Burfet (12:31)

No Roman Campbell candles. Absolutely.

Doug Gottlieb (12:33)

Just none of them. It's just not worth. Not worth any of it. And, you know, if. If you need a ride, wherever you are, you call me, tell me, drop a pin, I'll send you an Uber and get you home. I don't care. But we're not. We're not getting behind the wheel and we're not driving with anybody's been drinking. And after, you know, 11 o', clock, honestly, probably shouldn't be out in the road, believe it or not. So that's just how we, how we handle it. But yeah, you have to have those conversations because at the end of the day, I'm responsible for him. You know, I have a 28 year old, gonna be 29 year old, sophomore, but I'm still responsible for him. So he's still my guy. Anyway. Yeah, I just, I, I think it's a bit of an underserved industry that we don't know anything about. Right. And then every year we call in these people and here they have just these explosive devices. I don't know how they set them off. I don't know how much it costs. I don't know what's in these things. I don't know how they're developed. I'm actually kind of fascinated by it. Maybe we don't know these things because it's not fascinating and it's really simple. Or they're all made in China and we can't get any information. Doug Gallaghan for Colin, this is the Herd. Yeah, let's do this. Let's. Let's talk some LeBron with, with Mark Stein because there's a lot of. Just some of the stuff doesn't make sense. I just like things that make sense. Maybe that's why I'm interested in the pyrotechnics. Just make it make sense to me. Tell me what the process is between how it goes up and explodes. How many different, like I don't know what they're even called entails. There are how it all works. I just like things to make sense. LeBron James and the whole messaging from Rich Paul doesn't really make sense. Like it makes sense to want to compete for a championship. It doesn't make sense to sign, you know, pick up your player option and then complain that your team doesn't have good enough players around you when you could have taken less money or not pick up your player option and then become a free agent. Go over you want. Doesn't make sense. So we'll have Mark Stein join us and he'll help us get to the bottom of what's really going on with LeBron. And is there a world in which he's traded this offseason or next season? That's next in the Herd.

Chris Burfet (15:11)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

Ben Maller (15:20)

Hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller. Would mean a lot to have you.

Unnamed Producer (15:24)

Join us on our weekly auditory journey.

Ben Maller (15:27)

You're asking what in God's name is the fifth Hour?

Doug Gottlieb (15:29)

I'll tell you.

Unnamed Producer (15:30)

It's a spin off of the Ben.

Ben Maller (15:31)

Mather Show, a cult hit overnights on fsr. Why should you listen?

Doug Gottlieb (15:36)

Picture if you will, a world where.

Ben Maller (15:37)

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Katie Couric (17:53)

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Chris Burfet (19:50)

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Doug Gottlieb (20:19)

See DKNG Co Audio Doug Alleman for calling this is the herd. Fox Sports radio on the iHeartradio app, was reading an article by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports where he talks about, you know, 2010 free, and see everybody clearing space. They won. LeBron James, 2014, 2018. All these times which LeBron was a free agent. And yeah, now it's, now it's go time. Let's go get LeBron. LeBron James. Fast forward to this year and he signs his player option or picks up his player option. And then, of course, Rich Paul comes out, says LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance at winning it all. So the first thing is, okay, if. If you don't like being in la, why did you pick up your option? And if you don't think you can win a championship with Luca, and I think we would all say Luca's a top five player in the league, right? Worst case, top 10. You wanna. You want to get the. Well, this. I like this. Oh, okay. Top 10. LeBron was second team all NBA last year, whether he should have been or not. Should have, shouldn't, shouldn't have been. That's. We can debate it. How can you not think you can compete for a championship if you have those two guys on the floor at once? Now, reality is, neither of them guard a soul, so you know, you're not beating anybody. Deandre Ayton, also not a particularly good defender. I don't really understand that part of the plan, but who else in the NBA has two top 10 players in the NBA and doesn't think they can compete? So the first part is he obviously is not down with that plan. But second part Is they're admitting LeBron's not a top 10, top 15 player, which is reasonable. He's 40 years old. But look, this is just me guessing, talking to people. A guy who knows so much more about what's going on in the NBA is Mark Stein, of course. Longtime NBA writer, writes a substack called the Stein Line, joins us now in the herd on Fox Sports Radio. Okay, so help me out. I just. LeBron has said one thing and done another for a long time. That's not surprising. Lots of people do it. Okay. But if you want to win a championship and that's the sole focus of your last couple years, like heck even go back to, why did you make him draft Ronnie? Why. Why did they do lots of things, but now, why pick up your option when you could have been free to choose whatever team you wanted to join?

Jason Stewart (23:17)

Well, I think deep down, you know the reason you're not going to say no to $53 million. I mean, that's really what it comes down to. And there obviously is a comfort level that LeBron and his family clearly have in L. A. This is. This season will be year eight, the longest he's been with one team in a continuous stretch in his career. I got to be honest, I'm just not putting a lot of stock or expending a lot of energy trying to make sense of the statement. You know, it was great for talk show fodder and, you know, had a news cycle of its own. But, like, I don't put, like, trying to decipher the statement to me is just at this point, I think you are. You are spending too much of your energy on it to. To worry about the statement too much. I mean, the reality is they don't have control. It's the first time since LeBron has been a Laker, and it's really the first time anywhere he's been that he is not in control of the situation. And I think that's really what led to that statement, to give it an appearance of control. But the minute the Lakers made that trade, this became Luka Doncic his team. The Lakers are looking at everything through a Luka doncic lens. And look, the statement even did acknowledge that. And I think deep down, LeBron does understand that he is going to turn 41 this season, and he's heading for year 23, which we've never seen. So I think. I think deep down he understands those things, you know, better than we do. But it's. It's a different. He's in a different position than he's ever been because he's now on an expiring deal. You know, this is the first time. I think he's done nine NBA contracts, something like that, maybe more. First time that he hasn't. You know, he hasn't had control. He. He's on. He's on an expiring contract now, and this is new territory for him.

Doug Gottlieb (25:26)

What's the likelihood he plays somewhere other than the Lakers next year?

Jason Stewart (25:34)

It's really hard to do a trade for him because a. That contract is so big it's a 53 million dollar contract. And so pretty much any trade that you propose is going to include long term money that we know the Lakers don't want to take back. The reason Dorian Finney Smith is no longer a Laker is because the Lakers only wanted to give him two years. They didn't want to do a longer term deal than that and the Rockets were willing to give him a four year deal. And so when we're talk and then you also have to factor in, don't forget LeBron is one of only two players in the NBA who has a full no trade clause. The list is LeBron James and Bradley Beal. So you can't trade LeBron unless he chooses the team. And to come up with a trade that would satisfy the Lakers long term wishes again is really hard to do because the number is so large. But so there's been talk that why can't LeBron just seek a buyout now so he could have his free agency. The Lakers are not just going to buy him out as a thank you even though they are grateful for what he's done for that franchise. I mean they, you know, before LeBron got there was probably the worst six or seven year period in Lakers history and they won a championship in this in his second season. And they, they do greatly value everything he's brought to that franchise over the past seven seasons. But they're not just going to buy him out and let him walk out the door and choose his next team. Especially when as you said last season he was second team all NBA. He is still one of the top 10 or 15 players, however you want to rank it. Even at his age, he is still one of the 10 or 15 best players in the league. The Lakers are not just going to say here we're buying you out. Thank you for everything you've done. Go walk to Dallas or walk to Golden State and join that team for a minimum. I would be very surprised if that happens. All that being said, is there a chance he could go somewhere else? Yes, there is always a chance in the NBA. I'm not going to say anything is impossible anymore. We learned that lesson in the loudest way on February. In the wee hours of February 2nd when the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers in the middle of the season and the middle of the night. And then we just saw it this week when nobody woke up. Was it Tuesday or Wednesday? I'm already losing track now. Maybe it was Wednesday. Nobody woke up that day thinking that the Milwaukee Bucks were going to wave and stretch the contract of Damian Lillard to sign Miles Turner. Miles Turner going back to Indiana was regarded as a near certainty. And it just shows you again that in the NBA, anything is possible. So I'm not going to sit here and say it absolutely cannot happen, but there are a lot of factors that make it complicated.

Doug Gottlieb (28:44)

Okay, Giannis, what's the likelihood he plays for the Bucks next year?

Jason Stewart (28:50)

It will all depend on, does this move to bring in Miles Turner satisfy him and make him happy enough? And, you know, my good friend Chris Haynes, my former podcast partner, I mean, he. He reported earlier this week that Giannis was not thrilled about the way that this was all handled, which involved the stunning decision to wave and stretch and let Damian Lillard go on the day that Damian Lillard's contract extension that he originally signed in Portland was kicking in. It's. It's actually great for Dame because he's going to get all his money and he now has free agency and optionality. So it looks very cold and heartless on paper, but I don't think Game is heartbroken about the situation. But, look, we don't know. We still don't know where Giannis stands. Teams around the league have approached it as they think he's staying in Milwaukee. The Bucks are certainly operating with the belief that he will stay, and they're doing everything they can to make the team better. They went out and signed Miles Turner away from the Pacers, which no one saw coming. They've tried to talk Chris Paul into joining them to fill a backcourt need. You know, I don't love their chances of making that happen, but at least they've tried. So the Bucks are trying, but I think Giannis has also shown us that he's going to do this on his timetable, you know, and he's going to. He is not. While he is not. He is not asked for a trade, and it's very clear he is. You know, the Bucks last played a game, I think it was April 29th. So we've been waiting, you know, more than. More than a couple months now. He has not said, I want to be traded, but he has also not come out and said, I am definitely staying here. I am a Buck for the foreseeable future. Now, he also doesn't have to do that. He's under contract. He's under no obligation to do it. But I still think there is a wait and see kind of approach that people are taking to see how. See how he reacts to this move and to the buck Summer.

Doug Gottlieb (31:02)

Doug Gotley been for Collins to hurt on foxport trailer. That's the voice of Mark Stein, of course. Mark writes a substack called the Stein line. You need to pick it up. He's covered the NBA for quarter century really. He joins us here on Fox Sports radio in the iHeartradio app. Brad Beal and Damian Lillard strike me as, as, as warnings to other teams on acquiring the best player on bad teams and assuming that the numbers will translate not only directly over but to success. We, we know that's not how it works but who's the guy who is most likely to be the next Damien Lillard or Brad Beal? Great player moved and again we're going to try it again which is we'll see if it translates on one of the elite teams.

Jason Stewart (32:03)

Well look, I think those situations are, I would say a little bit different because the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard because Giannis wanted to play with Damian Lillard and that was very much out of the playbook of look, John Horst, the Bucks gm twice he traded for Jrue Holiday. Giannis immediately did a contract extension in response to that trade and the Bucs went out and won 1A championship. They did it again. He trades for Damian Lillard. Giannis signs another contract extension in response to that move. Obviously the Lillard gamble did not work out so well on the Beal situation. The Suns were, you know, as that deal was coming together there was great skepticism that that could work. So the Suns I think did that more out of, you know, that was, you know, Matt Isbia just as he went all in for Kevin Durant. And again the Suns were able to trade Kevin Durant to Houston. But compare what they got for what to what they gave up. The Suns gave up four first round picks, a first round pick swap and Cam Johnson and Mikhail Bridges to get Durant. They didn't get nearly they get half back of what they gave up and then they doubled down by bringing in Beal to join Durant and Devin Booker. When a lot of people said these are three offensive minded players who all like to operate in the mid range don't do this well, the Suns did it anyway. So I don't really compare those two moves because like I said, I think Milwaukee had ample justification to roll the dice on the Dane Lillard move and it just, it just didn't work. And going for Jrue Holiday did work. So I mean and now with Miles Turner, this is the third big swing from the Bucs. John Horse led front office and we'll see how it turns out. I mean there's no shortage of skepticism this time too in terms of who's next. I think you also have to factor in, in the new NBA with these luxury tax aprons, like it's really hard to like just those kind of salaries in general. You don't want to have more than two. I mean you're, it's really hard to have three high salaried players and build any kind of team around them because of what the second apron does in terms of taking away your team building tools. You know, when the, when the Mavs, when, you know, if I go back to February, there was all this talk that oh, now the Mavs are going to try to get Durant to play with Kyrie and Anthony Davis. They were never going after Kevin Durant. They didn't want a three star construction because they know it's not sustainable. What's what makes their construction now? Because you're getting Cooper Flag to be that third star but he's going to be on a rookie deal for the next three plus years. So that makes it that, that's where the difference is. I mean it's just, it's really hard to build an NBA team with three very expensive contracts.

Doug Gottlieb (35:15)

Last thing here, Mike Brown with the New York Knicks. What's the league's reaction to the higher.

Jason Stewart (35:22)

I think it's somewhat been muted because it's happening in the throes of free agency and as we move away from free agency and as the whole league gets ready to gather in Vegas that it will generate more discussion. But it really, the reaction hasn't changed. The shock in New York was not that they made a coaching change. I mean, discontent with Tom Thibodeau. There were rumblings about that, you know, before this season. I mean it's not a new thing. What shocked everybody is they didn't appear to have a succession plan in place. You figure if you're going to fire the most successful coach you've had in the 21st century, you know exactly who you're going to get. And yeah, I cannot wait for the ultimate press conference because they're going to have to answer that question. Even if Mike Brown wowed them in the interview process, even if Mike Brown is the right guy because of what the Knicks did, because they went after five other coaches who were not available. It just gives the impression that at best Mike Brown was your sixth choice and he's going to have to live with that. But also by the time the camp comes around and the season starts does it really matter? I mean if he can get the job done, that will gradually fade. But of course, you know, Mike Brown is also known as a defensive minded coach like Tibbs. So is he really bringing a different approach to what the Knicks have done than Thibodeau has? And we'll only know that and see that with time. But yeah, I mean I don't, you know, the Knicks are not being celebrated and, and lauded here because their process was just so weird.

Doug Gottlieb (37:09)

Mark Stein. Check out the substack called the Stein line. Mark, you're the best man. Happy 4th. Be safe and thanks for joining us.

Jason Stewart (37:15)

Happy 4th to all of you guys. Be good.

Doug Gottlieb (37:17)

This is the, this is the Herd. I'm Doug Alabin for calling. Let's get to Jason Stewart with the news. No, no, no, no.

Jason Stewart (37:26)

Turn on the news.

Chris Burfet (37:27)

This is the Herd line news.

Unnamed Producer (37:30)

Hey Doug, let's pick up right where you two left off. Let's pick up where you left off. The news on the Mike Brown situation is this. I know the whole thing is going to happen, but the news is I saw a report today where they've agreed verbally only and that the contractor will be signed officially next week where I presume there will be a press conference. I want to know your opinion on this. We just got Mark Stein's opinion on this. But what's your opinion on them landing on Mike Brown after as Mike, as Mark Stein just said, a awkward, strange process that alienated a bunch of trade partners.

Doug Gottlieb (38:12)

Listen, I, I think my, I consider Mike a friend. I like Mike a lot. I thought he did a really good job in Sacramento. I thought they actually remember they played really fast, which will be a change obviously from how they played and played slow in New York, but hasn't been an emphasis on, on playing fast. You know, so much of the NBA is about respect in the locker room. You can't get inspector locker room unless you win. You can't win unless you have the respect of the locker room. He's the guy who's, he coached LeBron to an NBA finals, to a West Eastern Conference finals as well. Obviously got the kings of the playoffs. And you know what I've heard with the Knicks is one of the bigger issues is Rick Brunson is that, you know, there's a feeling that he wields too much power. And even though his son's the best player on that team, the leader of that team, it doesn't necessarily work well with some of those, some of those guys. So how Mike works with Rick, because Rick is not Leaving that staff despite the coaching change, I think is probably the most interesting part. But, yeah, I mean, like I said initially, you cannot fire Tom Thibodeau unless you're going to hire somebody who's been to the point and maybe beyond where Tibbs has been in the playoffs. Mike fits that. So I actually think it's pretty good hire. He's coach for the Lakers. That didn't work. But you know, with you, either when you fail at something, you either blame everybody else or you learn from it and improve. I thought he learned from it. He's a better coach in Sacramento than he was in la.

Unnamed Producer (39:49)

Doug. For those who have not heard, Joey chestnut won his 17th Nathan's hot dog eating contest earlier today after skipping a year. Remember, he was banned last year over some controversy over fake hot dogs. The details on the win today are he ate actually 70 and a half hot dogs. Don't allow people out there to tell you that he ate 71. It's 70 and a half, which is five and a half short of his own record of 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. And our guy, Patrick Bertoletti, which we just don't hear enough about, this guy came in second place. He finished with 46 and a half. So Joey Chestnut just. Just completely dominating the field today, and this is what he had to say. As his digestive system went to work on 70 and a half hot dogs, he did an interview on ESPN. Oh, my gosh.

Doug Gottlieb (40:48)

Oh, yeah. I was nervous. First couple hot dogs. I was fumbling a little bit, but I found a pretty good rhythm. My goal was 70 to 77. I really wanted a little bit more. But you know what, dude? It was next year and I'm just.

Jason Stewart (41:00)

Happy I'm here and happy 4th of July.

Doug Gottlieb (41:02)

It took physically being here, and sometimes it's hard showing up as the hardest part sometimes and. But I. I love being here. And as soon as I found out.

Unnamed Producer (41:11)

I was coming, I.

Doug Gottlieb (41:12)

My body, it was easy to train.

Unnamed Producer (41:14)

And I love doing it, and I.

Doug Gottlieb (41:16)

Love pushing myself and beating the heck out of people. What does training look like?

Unnamed Producer (41:22)

I don't want to know.

Doug Gottlieb (41:23)

Right? I mean, what. What does that actually look like? I don't know. Faster. Anyway, Sorry, what was that? Was there a question there or what do I think of it? You know? You know what I don't want. I don't want somebody to go like, 17 championships. Where does this rank all time in sports? Is. Is this better than UCLA's championships under John Wynn? Like, please don't do that. I'm begging People in sports radiant sports media. Don't compare them to the Yankees, the Celtics, the Lakers, the Chiefs, the Patriots, UCLA basketball, Alabama football, Notre Dame football, and Johnny Lujak. Now don't do that, okay? It's a made up competition where dude has somehow cracked the code on how to stuff his gullet with 70 and a half hot dogs in I know what is five minutes. It's not a sport. It's cool, but let's just not compare the two.

Unnamed Producer (42:23)

Well, our technical producer Chris Burfet today had a hot take earlier off the air. I'll let him, let him explain his take on the air. But it's go something like this. No Joey Chestnut championship is without an asterisk because Kobayashi is no longer doing it is something like that. Chris?

Chris Burfet (42:42)

Yeah, I don't have a lot of deep thoughts to this. I just, I feel like without seeing Kobayashi, who is arguably kind of up there with Joey Chestnut, I, I feel like we were just deprived of seeing these two going back and forth as long as we are. And now with Joey Chestnut missing the year and everything, like there's, there's, there's daylight here. I, I find the departure of Kobayashi kind of a little bull. And yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's like, hey, we've got two of the greatest to ever do it, but you know, we're going to arbitrarily keep this one guy out.

Doug Gottlieb (43:18)

Wait, so Kobayashi is not. Can't be in.

Unnamed Producer (43:20)

He's been banned since, since 2010. He's been banned?

Doug Gottlieb (43:25)

Yeah. For what? Was he gambling on himself? Did he throw a first pitch that was way, way, way outside and there was betting irregularities. Like, do we have any idea what he's been banned for? I just thought he fell off.

Unnamed Producer (43:41)

It's some violation of a contract or something. And they had bad blood. Remember he showed up at the, he, he got banned from the 2010 event, showed up at the 2011 event, and then went up on stage to congratulate the winner. And like they had police escort him away.

Chris Burfet (43:56)

Yeah, it's, it was literally just because it's a contractual ban between him and Nathan's Hot dogs. It's not like he cheated or gambled or anything. It's just, it's, it's. He, he did, I think he did some sort of eating contest that wasn't sanctioned by Nathan's.

Doug Gottlieb (44:12)

Does he. So they're like the ncaa. Like, you're not sanctioned. You can't do it. So does he perform in other eating competitions?

Unnamed Producer (44:19)

He does. He has, yes.

Doug Gottlieb (44:21)

And is he. Is he as good as Joey Chestnut?

Chris Burfet (44:24)

I. That's the problem. The world will never know.

Doug Gottlieb (44:27)

We'll never know. Okay, I don't think that's much of a hot take. That's a. That's. I had no idea. I. It's. I felt like that was Ben Kenobi. Say the joke. Say the joke. Jason, say the joke. It's so good.

Unnamed Producer (44:42)

Well, I would like to take ownership over the joke, but Seth MacFarwin, through his. His movie about Star wars, made the joke that, like, remember that scene when Luke and R2 watch Princess Leia? Say, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope. And Luke says, I wonder if she means old Ben kenobi. And Seth MacFarlane's joke is the the Imperial Forces are trying to rid the universe of Jedis. They almost did it. Ben Kenobi's hiding in a cave in Tatooine, and he decides not to change his last name, just his first name. They'll never find him.

Doug Gottlieb (45:27)

Well, when I heard Kobayashi, I thought, that's a name I have not heard.

Chris Burfet (45:31)

A long, long time.

Doug Gottlieb (45:32)

Long, long time. Yes. What else you got? J. Stu.

Unnamed Producer (45:38)

That's it.

Doug Gottlieb (45:40)

All right. Well, that's the news.

Chris Burfet (45:43)

And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news.

Doug Gottlieb (45:47)

I'm Doug Gottlieb in for Colin Cowherd. Coming up next, best for last, what do we save? You'll have to tune in next in the Herd.

Chris Burfet (45:55)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

Ben Maller (46:00)

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Mark Stein (47:04)

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Katie Couric (48:03)

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Ben Maller (49:03)

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Doug Gottlieb (49:50)

Doug Alleman for Collins the Herd, fox Sports Radio iHeartradio app Doodle doot doot doot doot doodle. Oh, I love this time of year. Really kind of, this is a good sports reset time of year. You know, it's like we just kind of end of the sports year. I know you're like, well, it's the middle of baseball season. Like, yeah, I mean, it's, it's still the end of the sports year, but hope you have a great, safe fourth July. And calling back on Monday before we get there though, gets get to the best for last.

Chris Burfet (50:33)

It's almost the end of the show, but that doesn't mean we're phoning it in.

Doug Gottlieb (50:37)

Nope.

Chris Burfet (50:37)

We grind to the very last segment. It's time for best for last.

Doug Gottlieb (50:43)

Okay, so for best for last, J2, I thought the very easiest thing to do was, you know, we saw your boy KB and he was on social media today and he was, he was helping people understand the difference between a cookout and barbecue. Right? I thought it was. That's Kyle Brandt, by the way, for people don't know. And I thought it was, it was great stuff. But I do think that people need to, need to understand that in prioritizing the plate today on a cookout or a barbecue or a get together, lake, beach, whatever, like, you only have so much space, right? Only have so much space. So if you're going to, you know, break it down, then you need to understand there's a pecking order for what requires and what gets right of first refusal on your plate. Okay. Which brings us to the best for last. Okay, I got five things that have to be on your plate, the order of which they are. So again, Prophet, if you can. Usually we do number five. Number four. Number three. No, no, I want you to do it in opposite because number one is most important.

Chris Burfet (52:04)

Number one.

Doug Gottlieb (52:05)

Number five. There you go. Number one is the protein. Number one is the protein. More specifically. Okay. Whatever comes off the barbecue or, excuse me, the smoker. You know, again, I always, I think These are the days in which you have. It's not a day when you go, hey, man, I'm watching my weight. Hey, man, I just. Keto. Keto. You could be keto. So again, in number one, ribs, any sort of pork product. Today is the day. If you imbibe on swine, and I do. Number one is pork. Pork ribs, pulled pork. And I. I will allow beef ribs, but any sort of fatty meat gets the. Gets the right of first refusal and should get the biggest pie, if you will, on your plate.

Chris Burfet (52:58)

Number two. Number one.

Doug Gottlieb (53:00)

Okay, number two, again, for me, it has to be something that blends with that. That's where the mashed potatoes or potato salad or macaroni and cheese go. Because the truth is that, say you have ribs or you have burnt ends and a little piece of them break off and then they mix with macaroni and cheese. That's delicious as well. Okay? So it's. It acts as more than just a food. It's a barrier, but it also can combine. That's number two.

Chris Burfet (53:32)

Number three.

Doug Gottlieb (53:34)

Okay, so now you have your meat. You probably have your carb. Okay, this is where you throw in some sort of vegetable. Okay, some sort of vegetable. It can be a salad. But again, part of the genius to it is you probably get a bite with the meat, you'll probably get a bite with the carb as well, and it still all works together. Okay, number four. Number four. But the fruit can only really be watermelon. Other fruits just don't work. Fruit salad just doesn't work. And number five. Number five. Okay, I'm okay with adding dessert on top of whatever else you're eating because it's still delicious. There's your breakdown and importance of the plate. That's your best. For last. Have a happy and safe fourth. We'll talk to you Monday. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is the Herd.

Ben Maller (54:26)

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Doug Gottlieb (54:59)

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

Mark Stein (55:07)

What happens when three brothers take on right wing media and start winning? I find out on the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric.

Doug Gottlieb (55:16)

We just want people to live their lives and be happy and be able to enjoy it without some, you know, lunatic screaming in their face every three seconds.

Mark Stein (55:24)

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

Doug Gottlieb (55:31)

Who are the 25 greatest football players to grace the gridiron since the year 2000?

Jason Stewart (55:37)

Introducing NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years.

Doug Gottlieb (55:43)

Join me, Greg Rosenthal and an all star cast of media personalities including Mina.

Jason Stewart (55:48)

Kimes, Steve Wise, Kevin Hart and more.

Doug Gottlieb (55:51)

For a look at football's best since the turn of the century.

Jason Stewart (55:55)

Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mark Stein (56:06)

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