THE HERD - Hour 1 - Knicks win their first championship in 53 years

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 – Knicks Win First Championship in 53 Years

Date: June 15, 2026
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Episode Theme: Celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA Championship, the evolution of the team, the significance of the win after 53 years, and analysis of the ongoing World Cup and American soccer.

---

Episode Overview

In this hour, Colin Cowherd breaks down the New York Knicks' historic first NBA championship since 1973, examining their underdog journey, pivotal player development (particularly Jalen Brunson), culture-building, and how their approach differed from typical NBA contenders. The episode also turns attention to the rise of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, breaking down their promising World Cup performances, as well as covering early NBA offseason rumors and upcoming NBA draft buzz.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Knicks’ Championship Journey and Team Construction

[03:03–08:40]

• Colin dives into why the Knicks were such an appealing story for basketball fans.
• Instead of buying established superstars, their roster build was repeatedly questioned:
  • Firing Tom Thibodeau: “I didn’t like the Tibbs move. I’m like, he just got to the conference finals. What are you doing?” — Colin (08:40)
  • Trading for Karl-Anthony Towns (“Cat”) and giving up Dante DiVincenzo.
  • Paying Jalen Brunson in free agency, which many considered an overpay.
  • Acquiring Mikal Bridges for five first-round picks: “That is a haul for Mikal Bridges.”
  • Concerns about OG Anunoby’s health.
• Every major move was doubted. “It created an underdog mentality… The ‘never give up Knicks’ is not just a slogan, it really is their reality.” — Colin (04:30)
• They benefited from good fortune (healthy roster, opponents coming off grueling series), but their identity came from hard work and culture— “not a boring, analytic-led, three-point shooting contest.”
• The Knicks stood out for grit, humility, and adaptability, making strategic pivots throughout the playoffs.

2. The Culture and Grit of the New York Knicks

[04:20–08:06]

• The team’s success went beyond analytics or star power.
• Focus on the Villanova “core” (Brunson, Bridges, Hart), defensive cohesion, and multi-layered adjustments in the playoffs.
• “This championship was about culture… about grit, hard work, and the Villanova guys.” — Colin (05:40)
• Defied expectations by being “the number one defensive team in the entire playoffs.”
• Offensive adaptability, switching dependence from Brunson to Towns and back.
• Despite chemistry and rotation issues near the regular season end, all internal doubts “vanished.”

3. Jalen Brunson’s Emergence as MVP and Franchise Leader

[08:06–08:40; 25:25–26:45]

• Brunson’s Finals MVP performance—joined an elite group with a 45-point game in the NBA Finals.
• Clip: Jalen Brunson on what it took to win:
  • “Everything. I was just trying to go out there, just will us to win. Wasn’t focused on anything else besides trying to win the game… We just, we won’t give up.” — Jalen Brunson (08:15)
• Colin and Jason reflect on the media’s skepticism about Brunson’s ceiling and his “exceeding all expectations.”
• “I always thought he was a very good player, but you could attack him defensively… There’s a lot that he is, and it’s pretty clear.” — Colin (25:53)
• Referencing Brunson’s winning pedigree in high school, college, and now the NBA.
• “Is Jalen Brunson the second-best domestic player now?” — Colin considers Brunson’s skills, durability, and clutch factor in the context of top American stars (Ant Edwards, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, Cade Cunningham, etc.). (21:47–25:53)
• “If you’re going to be wrong on somebody, be wrong on a Villanova guy that’s easily embraceable. I’ll be wrong on that all day.” — Colin (26:46)

4. U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team Impresses at World Cup

[08:40–17:08; 41:45–50:22]

• A “transformative” group stage win over Paraguay, marking the team’s smoothest, most creative half ever at a World Cup.
• “If you’d taken our jerseys off and put on Argentina or Spain, you would have said, oh, that’s what they look like… That’s what Germany has looked like through the years.” — Colin (11:03)
• Emphasis that this USMNT is no longer dependent on just counter-attacks and set pieces; now capable of controlling possession and creating threatening open-play chances.
• Folarin Balogun (“Baligan”) cited as a game-changing striker:
  • “Baligan had two goals. We haven’t had a multiple World Cup goal scorer since 1930.” — Colin (10:46)
• Alexi Lalas’ analysis: “There’s such a good connection between us right now… Baligan, the way he’s fighting, holding up the ball, getting fouls… Malik had a really good performance. They all deserve a lot of credit.” (13:15)
• Stadium atmosphere described as “electric” after Balogun’s second goal:
  • “Once you put three on the board in a half, it wasn’t like, oh, maybe we can hold them off. It’s like, oh, damn, we got a squad.” — Jason McIntyre (14:28)
• Colin notes “respect” being paid by top teams to the U.S. now:
  • “That is the advantage of respect being paid. When you are gifted, you can’t cheat, you can’t be overly aggressive.” (15:04)
• The U.S. is expected to beat Australia next (“That’s a lock. We’re winning that game. Hey, quarterfinals or bust.” — Jason McIntyre, 14:56).
• Praise for manager Pochettino’s tactical adjustments.

5. NBA Offseason Rumors & Upcoming NBA Draft

[29:54–35:04]

• Bill Simmons reports the Celtics offered a trade package for Giannis—discussing the viability depending on involving Jaylen Brown, as Tatum is deemed “untouchable.” (29:54)
• Colin: “When I watch the Knicks… I could not stop thinking about the Celtics, who are absolutely dependent on the three. Their two stars don’t necessarily fit together perfectly.” (31:44)
• Suggestion that Boston may have reached its limit with the Brown-Tatum duo.
• Miami rumored as another suitor for Giannis, but lacking pieces to offer (32:51).
• The upcoming NBA draft is described as “top-heavy” and unusually loaded in talent, with potential for teams to reposition quickly.
• Shams reports potential Wizards’ draft intentions—Darren Peterson only working out for Washington, hints at possible draft posturing (33:51–35:04).

6. Analysis of NBA’s Center Position and Wembanyama’s Path

[43:26–47:54]

• Stat about Spurs leading more game minutes than the Knicks, but Colin dismisses “time led” stats, focusing on clutch and fourth quarter performance.
• Contrasts Wembanyama’s skill set with the type of centers who have led NBA champions, emphasizing Jokic as the lone true center to win a title in the last eight years.
• “Wemby is never going to be that… He is a finesse player… You could see it throughout this series with the officiating. He just could not get his spot. Knicks just pushed him out of the way.” — Colin (47:21)
• Discusses the evolution of the NBA to a guard/wing league over classic big men.

7. Revisiting U.S. Soccer’s Evolution and Athlete Debate

[50:22–52:35]

• Colin refutes the old trope: “I wish our best athletes played soccer,” arguing the U.S. has always been athletic in soccer, but lacked skill and on-ball ability.
• “It’s been the lack of skill, on-ball skill… But we’ve always been athletic.” — Colin (50:22)
• “When I watch, I don’t see [a lack of athleticism]. I think actually our speed is way above average.” (51:25)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The ‘never give up Knicks’ is not just a slogan, it really is their reality.” — Colin Cowherd (04:30)
• “Everything. I was just trying to go out there, just, just will us to win.” — Jalen Brunson, Finals MVP (08:15)
• “If you’re going to be wrong on somebody, be wrong on a Villanova guy that’s easily embraceable. I’ll be wrong on that all day.” — Colin Cowherd (26:46)
• “Had you taken our jerseys off and put on Argentina or Spain, you would have said, oh, that’s what they look like.” — Colin Cowherd on USMNT’s progress (11:03)
• “That was about as good—well, it was the best half—of soccer by the United States men’s national team ever.” — Colin Cowherd (14:21)
• “I think we can seize this World Cup. Doesn’t mean we necessarily win it, but we take advantage of opportunities, US soil, and that’s what it looks like.” — Colin Cowherd (13:43)
• “Wemby is never going to be that [classic center]… He is a finesse player.” — Colin Cowherd (47:21)
• “It’s been the lack of skill, on-ball skill… But we’ve always been athletic.” — Colin Cowherd (50:22)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 03:03 | Transition from ad/content to main show start | | 03:15 | Recap Knicks’ journey, team-building philosophy | | 04:30 | Exploring why the Knicks were doubted | | 05:40 | Knicks’ underdog mentality and cultural identity | | 08:06 | Jalen Brunson post-Finals MVP comments (plus quote) | | 08:40 | Reflection on scrutinized Knicks’ moves | | 09:10 | U.S. Men’s Soccer analysis begins | | 11:03 | Colin’s “jerseys off” analogy re: USMNT vs. world elite| | 13:15 | Alexi Lalas on USMNT team connection and chemistry | | 14:21 | Colin: best half ever by USMNT | | 14:28 | Jason McIntyre: Sofi Stadium atmosphere | | 21:47 | Is Jalen Brunson the second-best American player? | | 25:25 | Brunson on leading NYK to a title (clip/quote) | | 26:46 | Colin: “If you’re going to be wrong…” | | 29:54 | NBA offseason rumors – Celtics and Giannis | | 33:51 | NBA draft strategy & buzz | | 41:45 | Spurs leading Knicks in Finals – Colin’s analysis | | 47:21 | Wemby’s future as an NBA center | | 50:22 | Colin: Debunking the ‘athlete problem’ in US soccer | | 52:35 | Teaser for next hour, Wide World of Sports athlete chat |

---

Overall Tone

Colin is opinionated and reflective but also celebratory and somewhat sentimental about the Knicks’ journey, displaying admiration for grit, cohesion, and adaptability. His soccer takes are optimistic and energized, seeing parallels with the Knicks in overcoming old limitations through tactical evolution and player development.

---

This summary covers all the major themes, debates, and highlights. It is rich in analysis, staying true to the engaging, conversational style of Colin Cowherd and his guests.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human Service opens doors and at the American Military University, it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn [e-mail] Military open doors to the future for you and your family. With the help of American Military University, Wasabi is purpose built to free your business from skyrocketing storage costs and fees

[Commercial Announcer]

from the big guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Wasabi is the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams around the world. Check out Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals. Wasabi driving innovation in data storage for up to 80% less than the other guys Trust Try for [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network hi, it's Colin Coward. If you're looking for the best blend of durability and affordability in decking, trust Summit Decking from Deckorators Summit features Deckorators patented Surestone technology so the boards won't splinter, sag, chalk or crack over time, and the colors three great options that really capture the rich textures of natural wood. Honestly, it's the best decking you didn't know you could afford. Order a sample before peak build season. Order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's decorators with A K again. Decorators.com herd being there for those we

[Commercial Announcer]

love can be so hard for people with chronic migraine. Fifteen or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. But Botox Onobotulinum toxin A prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It prevents on average 8 to 9 headache days a month versus 6, 7 for placebo. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Botox effects may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as Trouble swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Those with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions like rash, breathing problems, dizziness, neck and injection site pain and headache. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions like als, Myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome and medicines like botulinum toxins, which may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor about Botox. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844botox thanks for

[Colin Cowherd]

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 [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening, FOX Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Monday World cup underway. The United States men's national team get to that in a second. Are they just gonna breeze through their group? It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now, Colin right? Colin Wrong. Plenty of both. So let's, let's wrap a bow around the NBA season and what the New York Knicks did. And I think one of the reasons they were a pretty likable team and the ratings were so big, they weren't your classic, we're going to go buy stars. Virtually every move the New York Knicks made to build this team was questioned. I mean obviously they fired, they fired Tibbs. People weren't sure about that. Go back and look at the columns. The Carl Anthony T.R. towns trade, well, they had to give up Dante DiVincenzo. That didn't go over well. Jalen Brunson, free agency. Most people thought why overpaid Mikhail Bridges. Remember they gave away five first round picks. I mean I remember saying I like it. That is a haul for Mikhail Bridges. I mean OG people liked it but he'd been banged up in Toronto, you weren't quite sure and you put this team together and everything had been questioned. And so even though you had like, you know, Cat was a former lottery pick and Bridges was a top 10 pick, it was mostly doubted. Eye rolled people, moves, trades, even the head coach, Mike Brown, nobody liked it and it created an underdog mentality. So you know, the never give up Knicks is not just a slogan, it really is their reality. A lot of that guys, these that were doubted on this roster. Now did they get some breaks? Yeah, they played three teams in the playoffs coming out of a grueling seven game series. They stayed away from injuries, they remained very, very healthy. They gained some momentum in the atrocious Eastern Conference and, and it, it should be noted San Antonio, as I said before, the series, was a. Was a better matchup for the Knicks than okc. OKC had been to a championship final. OKC had more depth, more experience. All that youth really came unraveled, especially in fourth quarters in this series. But another thing I really liked about the Knicks is this championship. And this team was about culture. Not a boring, analytic, led, repetitive three point shooting contest. This was about grit and it was about hard work and culture and the Villanova guys. I mean, the NBA regular season becomes so formulaic and so repetitive. I mean, the Celtics a few years ago got to the finals and the ratings weren't necessarily that great the year they won the championship. It's just the same offense, follow the leader, small ball, three point shooting. The Knicks are not that. The Knicks are their own team. They're led by a small guy, not a center, not a wing, an undersized guy. You know, we thought they had defensive liabilities and instead, I mean, they were the number one defensive team in the entire playoffs. Is that crazy? Better than Oklahoma City, better than Detroit, better than San Antonio. We looked at the Knicks and we're like, I said this all year, like, if Cat and Brunson are on the floor at the same time, you're like, yeah, I don't know. Also, this team pivoted multiple times. They came into the playoffs very Jalen Brunson dependent. And then they pivoted early in the Atlanta series to having Cat initiate more offense. And then the spurs sort of figured that out. And then they went back in the last two games of the series late to being Jalen Brunson dependent. So offensively, defensively, they made all sorts of adjustments. Coaching adjustment. In the off season, there were chemistry issues. There were reports late in the regular season like defense and chemistry and the rotation and all of it vanished. So I just like the humility. I like the hard work. I like a group of guys. I mean, even Brunson and his dad. Easy to wrap your arms around that. Here's Jalen Brunson, the MVP on winning the title.

[Jason McIntyre]

Eleven players in NBA history have a 45 point game in the NBA Finals

[Colin Cowherd]

and you're one of them.

[Jason McIntyre]

What did it take to get that done tonight?

[Jalen Brunson]

Everything. I was just trying to go out there, just, just will us to win. Wasn't focused on anything else besides trying to win the game. Getting stops, getting out and running, just figuring out how to cut that lead or to gain it. When we got it, really exciting moment, knowing that we just, we won't give up.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, the reality of being a columnist or a talk show host is you have a show the next day or a column the next day. But it is interesting. Those Knicks moves, all of them by at least some of us were panned. Like, I didn't like the Tibbs move. I'm like, he just got to the conference finals. What are you doing? Like, like what? Mike Brown's been fired multiple times. Mike Brown was the first choice. I did like the Mikhail Bridges move, but five first round picks is a ton. Jalen Brunson, Nobody thought he would be this. Other than his dad, you know, Dante DiVincenzo. They lost him. I remember when Hartenstein left OKC, I remember being on the errand saying, oh, man, that's a big loss. That is gutting. So doubted the entire time. They were only a third seed in the east. So not all championships look the same. Good for the Knicks. All right, let's talk the United States men's national team. By now, you know we won, but it isn't that we won. Okay? We said Friday on the show we think we'll win. It was how we won that was the smoothest first half, the slickest, the best aesthetic, the most creative. I mean, until Friday, I always thought we labored to score goals even when we won, right? We wouldn't get that many great looks. Certainly an open play, highly dependent on counter attacking and set pieces and corner kicks, but the ability to dominate possession, get great looks. You know, I always felt when I watched soccer United States, we had some athletes, but we were sort of wooden really, where we were a little rigid and we'd get opportunities and we wouldn't take advantage of them. And Paraguay, by the way, beat Argentina and Brazil in qualifying. So they're more than capable. Not a dynamic offense, but more than capable, but great athletes. Here's what they have in common. You, you can go to Mike Trout in his prime, Mookie Betts, mj, Dirk Nowitzki. Scoring great athletes, make plays look easy. It's like, man. And that's practice and repetition and skill. And you can also tell from our attacking style that our coach believes in us. For years and years, everybody wanted to blame Klinsman. You can Burr Halter. The truth is our coaches did not employ an attacking style because we couldn't. We'd get burned. We had to play counterattack. Conservative rock fight, win one, nothing. Set up pieces. That's not what this team is. Fowler and Baligan is a remarkable striker. And then you have Pulisic splitting. The defense has always Been really playmaker and goal scorer, but primarily a great point guard who needs a guy that he can set up and depend on. Baligan had two goals. We haven't had a multiple World cup goal scorer since 1930. So if you thought to yourself, watching this, man, it looks smooth. It looked different. You are right. We didn't look this creative. We weren't filled with this many playmakers. I know you said and felt and talked with friends, man, that first half, that's as good as we've looked. Your eyes aren't fooling you. Baligan was a very good youth player, a striker, a goal scorer, and he chose us over England because he would have probably been there second or third. He is our one. And I mean, I just thought it was a thing of beauty. It's not that we won. It looked, had you taken our jerseys off and put on Argentina or Spain, you would have said, oh, that's what they look like. Overwhelming Paraguay. That's what Germany has looked like through the years. That's what England will look like in some of their matches. That's what Argentina has looked like, where you're like, oh, dominating possession, man, when they get opportunities, they nail. Do you realize Pulisic? How many shots did Pulisic have in that? Zero. Pulisic had zero shots on goal. We had four goals. That tells you the depth of talent. Depth of talent. Alexi Lyles, Pulisic after. I mean, I think that's the greatest half of group play from a men's team at a World cup in history. Everything went right. Total dominance from top to bottom.

[Alexi Lalas]

It's pretty special to watch. It's fun to look around and know that there's different guys that can get. Can pull off these different skills and moves and things going on. It's great. It's great. But more, you know, than just that, I feel like there's such a good connection between us right now. I really like the way even Balogun, I mean, the way you'll, you know, everyone will look at the goals, but the way he's fighting against these center backs, holding up the ball, getting fouls, you know, Surge, all these guys. Malik had a really good performance as well, so they all deserve a lot of credit.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, they call it the beautiful game, but be really honest. Ours wasn't that beautiful. It wasn't. We won by Rock Fight Counterattack. You know, one nothing. Cross your fingers. We said that Friday. That was the beautiful game. That's what it looks like. The passing, the fluidity, the open play. Opportunities seized it's what I said in an essay about a week ago, like, I think we can seize this World cup. Doesn't mean we necessarily win it, but we take advantage of opportunities, US Soil, and that's what it looks like. Jma, that was fun. We were texting during that thing. That was about as good. Well, it was the best half of soccer by the United States men's national team ever. Not just offensively, just fluidity, the way it looked. It was absolutely beautiful.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, the scenes in the stadium, Colin, were unbelievable. I mean, just an absolutely electric performance. I've never heard Sofi that loud for sports. On that second Balakan goal, it was just like, holy cow. Once you put three on the board and a half, it wasn't like, oh, maybe we can hold them off. It's like, oh, damn, we got a squad. We might.

[Wembanyama]

We.

[Jason McIntyre]

We might make a run here. Colin, I'm already looking at tickets for the round of 32. I will let you know because we're winning the group, by the way, on Friday against Australia.

[Colin Cowherd]

That.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's a lock. We're winning that game. Hey, quarterfinals are bust.

[Commercial Announcer]

We.

[Jason McIntyre]

We look like a legitimately awesome contender.

[Colin Cowherd]

And it's also. I noticed this against Germany. So let's say, let's. Let's talk boxing. So, you know, when Mike Tyson's in his prime is that you had to be very careful, even if you thought you had a length advantage and an experienced advantage. You know, Larry Holmes and old Larry Holmes fought him and stayed at bay for rounds and rounds, and then Larry got greedy and Tyson knocked him out. Like you paid respect to Mike by your style against Mike, is that you always just. You had to kind of, even if you had late length advantages, you always sort of kept yourself at bay a little bit attacked, move away from Mike, or if you did, you clenched him, you got really close because you knew of his power. Watch Germany. When we tied it against Germany and you go back, they're not as aggressive against us. And that is the advantage of the respect being paid. When you are gifted, you can't cheat, you can't be overly aggressive. When we would play before this World cup, when we would play a Netherlands or a Brazil, a Spain, when we would play them, why weren't we super aggressive? That's respect that they have better talent, they have better personnel, and that's what the great players do. It's not just that you play them, it's how you play them. How do you formulate your game plan? You could watch our dominant time of possession, not only against Paraguay, but also the corner kick advantage and the time of possession advantage against Germany and and countries. Now watch them play us a little bit differently, not as aggressively because they know in open space we can burn them. We have that skill level.

[Jason McIntyre]

I mean Dest was unbelievable. Pulisic was unstoppable. Colin did you hear the comments the Paraguay coach made about Pochettino? He was like dude, we we got embarrassed. Pochettino watched their earlier meeting. I think they met in November and adjusted everything and Paraguay was just caught flat footed. They had no answers. Colin it was just relentless from our offense and we, like you said, we've never seen that before from a USA team.

[Colin Cowherd]

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

[Stugotz]

Stugatz here I have a podcast empire. It continues to grow and I have brought it here to iHeart. I'm also doing a live radio show from 3 to 5pm Eastern because my wife wanted to kick me out of the house. It's called Stigots and company Live, which is available in podcast form right when the show finishes every single day. Some of the biggest names in sports, a lot of phone calls.

[Colin Cowherd]

I love you guys show. It's one of my favorites.

[Stugotz]

A lot of interaction, guys not taking themselves too serious. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugots Co. And Stugots Co. Live. So listen to Stugouts Co. Live and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugats Co. And God bless football. Taylor's livelihood depends on it. Do it today and you can check all of those out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[Colin Cowherd]

Service opens doors and at the American Military University it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn more at AMU Apus Edu Military Open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University Being there for those

[Commercial Announcer]

we love can be so hard. For people with chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox Onobotulinum toxin a prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It Prevents on average 8 to 9 Headache days a month vs 6 to 7 for placebo Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Botox effects may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as trouble swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Those with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions like rash, breathing problems, dizziness, neck and injection site pain and headache. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions like als, Myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton Syndrome and medicines like Botulinum toxins which may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor About Botox, visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844botox Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues and

[Colin Cowherd]

Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world.

[Commercial Announcer]

And here's why.

[Colin Cowherd]

Innovation from Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service. With triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network hi, it's Colin Coward. If you want your outdoor space to really stand out, Deckorator Surestone technology is where you should start when you build your deck with Decorators decking made with surestone technology, you're getting something totally different from the typical wood fiber composites out there. Decking with surestone technology is made through a patented process that uses crushed rock which gives every board incredible strength and durability. And Deckorators engineered it with a unique surface design that increases traction in wet conditions. So if you live in a rainy area or you've got kids running around outside, it's a safer, more comfortable surface. Plus, there are more than 40 different color and size combos so you can design a customized outdoor space that actually fits your home and your style. It's durable, it's safe, it looks Great. And it's going to stand out. Build seasons right around the corner. Order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's decorators with A K again. Decorators.com herd yeah, think about Jalen Brunson. It's interesting. The Dallas Mavericks have moved off Brunson and Luca. They don't have much to show for it. My takeaway in the playoffs and the league overall as the NBA season now we look forward to a very stacked draft is the best players are the international players. They've won eight straight MVPs, especially the bigs. Wemby, Jokic, Giannis. Giannis. There's a lot of rumors about where he's going. They dominate the bigs. They're more skilled, they're more mature. I mean, we have players like Zion and John Morant that just can't get their act together. They don't. You don't deal with a lot of that with international players. My question now is if you, you consider everything fourth quarter efficiency, overall efficiency, leadership, durability and shot making. Is Jalen Brunson the second best domestic player now? Ant is a better defender, more athletic, similarly clutch, very efficient. I think he's harder to coach. I think there's some baggage with him, but I think Ant's our best domestic player. I think if you ask GMs 32, 30 of 30 would take, you know, not the Knicks, but everybody else would take Ant. But if you start going to the second best player, well, what about Jalen Brown? He's not that efficient. He's not. And he's not a great clutch scorer as well. Jason Tatum. Tatum is strangely passive. And now I have durability issues. I love Cade Cunningham, but I have to admit Brunson is a much better personal shot creator. Cunningham can create for others. I love Cunningham. He is a big, strong body. He's going to wear well and play for a long time. But if you, if I need a bucket in the fourth quarter and I don't have a screen, I'm taking Brunson and used to, I mean, Donovan Mitchell, awful defender. And I mean Donovan Mitchell, efficiency mid. Fourth quarter, clutch mid. So you start, you start looking around and I mean, one of the ways the Knicks made me really reevaluate basketball is look at how unathletic the Celtics look in their front line compared to the Knicks. Oh, gee, Catskill. Robinson's toughness. Even Josh Hart plays much bigger than he is. The Celtics are like Tatum and Brown. They gobble the cap up and then you're left wondering, do we, do we got to go get Giannis? So I just think, I look at Brunson and we know the international players are the best in the league, but again, what makes a good basketball player? To me, durability. I've said this about Luka. Well, I would take Luka over Brunson, right? Well, when he's available. And at least Brunson, although not a plus defender, gives you effort. Like Brunson's thick, it's hard to move him. He gives you effort like Luka doesn't. And Luka's less durable and less available. And, you know, and again, we know Luka is not a domestic player, but you start looking at the entire package. Brunson won in high school. He won an addie in college three of the four years he was in Dallas. The Mavericks won. He wins a title with the Knicks. He is a winning basketball player. I think a lot of it's just iq. I think he's smart. I covered his dad briefly. Dad was smart, low key, chill. Work hard. I mean, you start looking at people that have a Finals mvp, an NCAA title, and a college player of the year, and not a lot of them. Kareem Walton, M.J. brunson. Here he is on leading New York to a title.

[Jalen Brunson]

Word's gonna describe it, but I'll say I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can be to try and help a team win. Just really thankful I have the organization, the coaching staff, my teammates to have my back every single day. I think that means the most to me.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's interesting. The most fourth quarter points in the playoffs since 2023. That's, you know, that's when Brunson joined the Knicks. Not only does Brunson have the most, he's double half the field. I mean, look at the people. He's ahead of Jokic and Tatum. Sga. Ant Edwards. Yeah, and I've always, I always thought he was a very good player, but you could attack him defensively, but I thought he played pretty good defense in the playoffs. The Knicks as a whole play had a certain fabric that was hard to tear. They just kind of played collectively. And remember, that's getting rid of Tibbs, the defensive mastermind. So, you know, I, I, Joe, I, I joined the chorus of people who always like Jalen Brunson. But I always thought, well, he's not Tatum. He's not. He's not, he's not Ant. He's not. There's A lot that he is, and it's pretty clear. J. Mack with the news.

[Wembanyama]

No, no, no.

[Colin Cowherd]

Turn on the news. This is the Herdline news. There's a lot of times being wrong is okay. And it's like with Jalen Brunson, I'm wrong. He's a great guy, makes me happy. Like, right. He's a. If you're going to be wrong on somebody, be wrong on a Villanova guy that's easily embraceable. I'll be wrong on that all day.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, a lot of people were wrong on. On Brunson. I mean, you've seen the clips they cut up on the Internet about how bad the signing was. Like, Brunson out exceeded all expectations.

[Alexi Lalas]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, let's go to the World Cup. Hey, I don't know if you were up for this super late on Saturday night, but Australia, one of the biggest upsets so far in the World cup, takes down Turkey a2 nothing in what I thought was a thriller. Australia plays a weird brand of soccer. We'll talk about it in a moment. But here is the game winner in the 75th minute to ice it. Here's the call from Fox's Jackie Oatley

[Colin Cowherd]

now. Now it's opened up a little bit for Aussie Australia to go for number two. And Australia are in green and gone heaven at the World Cup. What a moment for Connor Metcalf.

[Jason McIntyre]

Now, listen, Colin, this was a shocker. A lot of people had Turkey a being a major challenge to the US and the group. Now it's Australia that sets up Australia U.S. friday, 3pm Eastern from Seattle. Fun fact. We had tickets to that game. We were gonna go, but something else came up so we're unable to go. But that the tickets very tough to get in Seattle, Colin. I don't know. Australia plays like a 5, 4, 1. They just hunker down defensively and are like, come on, penetrate us, Turkey. I saw one thing. Turkey had 30 shots on goal by one metric, 30, 20 in the second half because they were desperate for the equalizer. I've been doing some homework here. Any early pick for you from you on usa Australia.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I think the way Australia plays, they know they have certain limitations, and I think we have more overall skill and talent.

[Jason McIntyre]

And I.

[Colin Cowherd]

And I think this is big, and I think it played out Friday. I think playing on your home soil gives you an energy boost and a confidence boost. I mean, you don't want to go out in your home soil and be passive. I thought we were super aggressive against Paraguay. I've Never seen us be that aggressive against anybody. And I think a large part of that is the confidence Pochettino has in us. And the second part is we're at home. You know, we're not going to come out. I mean, it's. It was. It was like Conor McGregor fight, not waiting for round two. Like, I'm coming out and establishing I have more talent. I'm. I'm more physical. And I think some of that, it is easier to do that at home. The home crowd energizes you. And I think against Australia, similarly, will be very aggressive.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, Australia plays like a heavy defense similar to, like a Japan, kind of similar to Paraguay. But Pochettino adjusted against Paraguay. I think he'll make adjustments here. There are some interesting advanced stats that say bet the under as the U.S. like, nobody expected us to score four goals. Nobody had Australia scoring two goals. So I bet the under, under two and a half goals. I'll be on the U.S. side, obviously.

[Colin Cowherd]

Obviously.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, let's move to the NBA and a questionable report here from your buddy Bill Simmons. He's claiming that the Celtics have made an offer for Giannis. No, nobody else is reporting this, but, you know, Simmons is a Boston guy. We'll see. They say Tatum's untouchable, so that would mean it would have to include Jaylen Brown. You're not getting Giannis for, like, Derrick White and Platter and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, it would be Jayson Tatum and Giannis. And I think two things make this possible. Number one, when they moved off of Porzingis, I thought they lost some athletic ability in their front line. Boston does not look athletic enough to me. Outside of Brown and Tatum, it's very cap heavy, top heavy. They've got to get more athletic. And the Jaylen Brown, Tatum thing, I mean, they moved off Marcus Smart. Remember this? When they moved off Marcus Smart, they like Marcus Smart, but he was taking shots away from Tatum. Well, now Brown is taking shots away from Tatum. At some point, you'll look at Tatum and go, tatum is strangely passive. And Jaylen Brown's a really good player. I mean, I would have a hard time moving off him. I would for Giannis, but Jalen Brown is an excellent player. But when he came out and said this year was the most fun he had, and he didn't play with Tatum and he got to run the offense, that's not ideal. So a lot of times you got to see around corners, nip stuff in the bud before it gets big. I think the Brown Tatum combo, it got your title it's time to move on. And I don't think Milwaukee can get anything better than Jaylen Brown. That's a nice. That was a great question.

[Jason McIntyre]

So you just saw the Knicks build around Jalen Brunson. Hey, we have a weaker defensive guard. We need Bridges next to him. We need og, a great defensive wing. They built around him wisely. Do you think the Bucs can build around Jaylen Brown who's going to be making like 60 some odd million? He's not taking a hometown discount like Brunson.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. But the reality is you'll get draft picks. That's what you'll get. And I think their big problem is they've taken a couple of swings. They waited too long. Khris Middleton got old fast. Dame was a big swing, but they had to give up Jrue Holiday. And I think it works for Boston. When you. When I watch the Knicks and I said this last week and the week before, I could not stop thinking about the Celtics who are absolutely dependent on the three. They're two stars don't necessarily fit together perfectly. Tatum is strangely passive. So Brown, like Marcus Smart, takes shots from him. And I also thought when they lost Porzingis. Say what you want about Porzingis and his history of health issues. When he's on the floor, he's seven one, seven two, can, can shoot, is a striking figure, is imposing like Porzingis, is a real player. He's had a kind of a troubled, underwhelming career. But when he's on the floor, he's dangerous. I think Giannis and Tatum, you jump a level with that.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, probably you need to round out the roster. But let me ask you, the only other team being rumored in the mix for Giannis is the Miami Heat. They have nobody to offer.

[Colin Cowherd]

Colin.

[Jason McIntyre]

I'm sorry, Tyler Herro is not enough for me in a package. They don't have that many picks. Colin, I'm telling you, there's a mystery team out there. I don't know who it is. Well, but this is not adding up that it's the Heat or Celtics, I don't know.

[Colin Cowherd]

Remember, this is not a typical draft. Jason, this is a great draft. So getting an extra draft pick or two in this draft is substantial. Who's got a couple of first round picks?

[Jason McIntyre]

Your Bulls.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's what's interesting to me. So what that because this is a draft where you will get two starters and guys that can play immediately out of this draft. The first 10 picks, first nine picks, those are all day one starters and really Good players with. With several potential star players. So I think look at teams that got a couple of picks or can because next year's draft is awful. They're saying it's like an awful draft. Now, I think if you kind of look at. I don't think it'll be that bad, but this year's is great. So I mean, Giannis, when you watch Wemby play, it does enhance Giannis's market.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, for sure. All right, let's go to the final story and it is the NBA draft. Colin, fascinating stuff here. According to Shams, the NBA reporter recently this morning, he said Darren Peterson's only working out for one team and that's the Washington Wizards who pick first. Darren Peterson will not meet with other teams. Now the favorite to go first is AJ DeBonsa who has already met with the Wizards and the Jazz who picked second. Now, I don't know if that was a favorite of the Jazz. He's a BYU guy. But this is interesting that Peterson's saying I'm only working out for the Wizards. Does somebody know something? Because our staff is saying debons is minus 500 to go first. Something is going on. I don't know if this is posturing. Listen, I told you, Darren Peterson head to head has cooked AJ DeBonson. Now, obviously the draft head to head shouldn't mean everything, but I wonder if the Wizards are saying we want Peterson and debons against to go to Utah. Nothing about Carlos Boozer yet. Remember the draft numbers. The analytics guys all love Boozer. So this is like you said, a top heavy draft. But what do you make of Peterson given the stiff arm to the jazz, grizzlies, bulls, etc.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't know. I think Peterson's got the highest ceiling. I mean, I think he's the most exhilarating watch. But there's concerns I have with health and plays very much individually. Debon is good. Not a great shooter yet, catch and shoot guy. He's a very good player. Is he a takeover the league guy? I don't think so. I think he's a very good player. That'll be an allstar Cam. Boozer is not super athletic, but I do think he'll end up being an 1810 guy and a winning player. Boozer will be a winning player. I've told you, the kid out of Illinois, the guard I think is just. Oh, I think he's just bogglers the in. I really, really like him. I have a feeling like I could see a really good team moving up to get him and then eventually moving off one of their expensive guards. I think Mara the center is fascinating. Caleb Wilson we've talked about out of Carolina, who is crazy springy and I think we've seen about 60% of his game. So there's a lot of guys to like in this draft. Totally J Mac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. What did you guys make of it? Because English is his second language. When Wemby said appreciate y', all, see ya never. That did not go over well with a lot of people. Some thoughts on Wemby? I don't want to be too harsh. Second language, I don't know. See you never. Maybe in France it means love you deeply. I don't know. I don't. I just when he said it, I'm like, that was clunky and he seems like a nice kid. I want to talk about Wemby. Calling right Calling wrong. Top of next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific service opens doors and at the American Military University, it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn more at AMU Apus Edu Military Open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University.

[Commercial Announcer]

Being there for those we love can be so hard for people with chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox Onobotulinum toxin a prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It Prevents on average 8 to 9 headache days a month versus 6 to 7 for placebo. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Botox effects may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as trouble swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Those with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions like rash, breathing problems, dizziness, neck and injection site pain and headache. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions like als, myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome, and medicines like botulinum toxins, which may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor about botox. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844botox Innovation is

[Colin Cowherd]

what gets your business to the big leagues and Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition break free from skyrocketing storage costs, unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why.

[Commercial Announcer]

Innovation.

[Colin Cowherd]

From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage. Remember, Wasabi is up to 80% less than the other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi is another championship story. Check them out [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Proud partner of the Voluum Podcast Network hi, it's Colin Coward. If you want your outdoor space to really stand out, Deckorator surestone technology is where you should start. When you build your deck with Deckorators decking made with surestone technology, you're getting something totally different from the typical wood fiber composites out there. Decking with surestone technology is made through a patented process that uses crushed rock, which gives every board incredible strength and durability. And Deckorators engineered it with a unique surface design that increases traction in wet conditions. So if you live in a rainy area or you've got kids running around outside, it's a safer, more comfortable surface. Plus, there are more than 40 different color and size combos, so you can design a customized outdoor space that actually fits your home and your style. It's durable, it's safe, it looks great and it's going to stand out. Build seasons right around the corner. Order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's Decorators with A K again. Decorators.com herd the FIFA World cup on

[Jason McIntyre]

Fox is rolling on today. Three more matches. Belgium, Egypt at 3 Eastern on Fox, followed by Saudi Arabia, Arabia, Uruguay and Iran New Zealand on FS1.

[Colin Cowherd]

So the spurs did lead for three times longer than the Knicks in the finals. I mean, they led by double figures in the fourth quarter twice and lost both games. I I don't think there are certain stats that sound more impressive than they are. Like in the NFL to say, well, our quarterback had passed for the most yards. So you trailed a lot late in games is what you're telling me, right? You know, or completion percentage for a quarterback. Well, our guy completed 69%. So your quarterback doesn't throw the ball down the field. He doesn't throw people open. It's a lot of underneath stuff. The other thing with the NBA stuff, well, leads. We led for a lot of this game. I don't care. Leads evaporate now in minutes. It's like a boxer talking about winning the punch stats, who knocked down who.

[Jason McIntyre]

Like I.

[Colin Cowherd]

There are things that I think do matter in the NFL. Time of possession generally tells you your offensive line is controlling their defensive line. Time of possession can really matter. Most good teams have a strong time of possession. Most teams are very good on third down. But the whole thing about. Well, the spurs led for a lot of this series. These are long games, young, youthful team. Our only question about San Antonio and the whole series was their youth and decision making. What did we say before the series? You knew this Knicks are a great fourth quarter team. You do not want to be tied if you're San Antonio with your youth in the fourth quarter. That is not a winning formula. You got to have big leads against the Knicks. They are the best fourth quarter team and they got tons of experience. So here Wemby said this and to a lot of Nick fans and a lot of fans, this was a little off putting.

[Wembanyama]

One of many things I learned is the margin of error is very, very thin. Our domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominate it for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes are punished so hard that we can't have ups and downs like this. So, so much. You know, the ups are okay. The downs, it's is the reason we lost again.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't want to hear about your punch percentage. I don't want to hear about that. If the other guy knocks you down three times, you won the fight. Even in soccer, time of possession matters. But I don't care about it if they're scoring quickly, which a lot of great players and great teams do. Here's what I know. In the final two minutes of this series, Wemby hit one basket. Jalen Brunson 17 points over 50% field goal rate. One was dominant, one was a no show. Here's the other question about Wemby and he was my mvp. I think he's the greatest defensive shot alter ever. Not even close. But there's so much physicality now allowed in the NBA Finals. I mean the games are really go to the first quarter of game one, you could have, you could have blown the whistle 35 times. It was brutal. In fact, you could argue the officials really at times were less responsible than they should have been. In the fourth quarter, they really. A couple of times, even announcers noted. Guys, you're shirking your responsibilities. You have to call some of these fouls. It's brutal. But if you look right now, go to the last eight NBA champs. How many are led by centers And Giannis isn't the center. He's got the ball in his hands too much. He's more of a wing player. He's a forward. Tim Duncan was a big, you know, Giannis is long, but he's ball centric. The only center to win a title in the last eight years, a team led by a center is Jokic. And again, Jokic isn't your classic back to the basket. Big like an Akeem or a Ewing or a Shaq or a Moses Malone. That's not what he is. Jokic has the ball in his hands. He's facing the basket. High pick and rolls, shooting jumpers, offensive hub, great distributor. So Wemby is never going to be that. And it kind of runs counter to what we like our bigs to be. One of the reasons Shaq is so beloved, he was so powerful. The dominating backboard breaking dunks, that's not what Wemby is. He is going to face the basket, high pick and rolls a lot of threes. One of our last eight NBA champs is led by a center. And he's, he's an international, non traditional center. In Jokic, I covered Sabonis, he was a center, much less athletic because we got an old Arvidus Sabonis in Portland. When I covered him, he was old and didn't move particularly well. But he was the best passer on the team. Sabonis was. He was the best three point shooter on the team. I'm not kidding. So it was like I didn't even look at him. Now he matched up with Shaq pretty well and because he was slow footed, he was a kind of a classic center. But Wemby's never going to be that guy of establish the low block. The NBA is almost officiating as if they don't want that. They want a wing guard, ball handler, league. That's the way it feels like it's officiated. The forceful player, the forceful big. And I'd argue this, the game is so fast now that older Shaq would not have been as dominant. I'm not sure if young Shaq Orlando Shaq could have kept up with his pace. But this pace right now is not built for slow footed heavy back to the basket bigs. That's not the NBA. Now the pacing is incredible. It's why you got all these soft tissue injury injuries. So I don't think Wemby's ever going to quite be what we're used to or what we want necessarily. He is a finesse player and you could see it throughout this series with the officiating. He just could not get his spot. He could not solidify consistently his spot. Nick's just pushed him out of the way. So I was thinking about this with the United States men's national team and we've got Alexi Lawless coming up in a couple of hours. Brian Scalabrini, those are Yanis rumors to the Celtics are out there. We put so much emphasis on Christian Pulisic, on not only being our setup guy, our playmaker, but our goal scorer. And he's been able to do it. And when he scores, we win. But we need him to do both. I think the thing that really jumped out to me, and I'm sure Jason has pointed this out, Baligan really is a difference maker. So he played as a youth for England and us and he was up. Nigeria wanted him, England wanted him. He chose us. He would be our number one striker. And what's that mean? He's our goal scorer. He really is a natural goal scorer. Pulisic can score goals, but he's actually, if you look at Pulisic style, he's a creator. And so we got 16 shots in the game. Pulisic had none of them and we scored four goals. So that's really the difference to me. Even if you go over to AC Milan, if you really look at what I mean, the numbers, he had the second most assists in the Italian League over the last three years. He didn't. He had a. He had a scoring drought. He didn't have an assist or setup or playmaking drought. So Pulisic has always been able to score because we've needed it so greatly from him. But Ballerin, now this adds a dimension. This is our cleanup hitter. This is our striker that we've never truly had again. Clint Dempsey could score. Pulisic can score. But it doesn't feel like it's. It's his natural inclination. He's a great setup guy. I always said this about Magic Johnson. Magic could give you 42 in the finals, but Magic's, what was his career average 1819 points. Magic needed worthy to seal the break. He needed Kareem at the low post. Magic could score but he was never a great jump shooter. He could finish on the break but if you made the game a half court game, Magic wasn't as valuable. Yeah, he was 1819 a game as a score. Kareem for the longest time was the all time scoring leader. So it's like Pulisic can but I to me my takeaway Friday is oh this is, this is a different and a perfect ideal setup for Pulisic. Here's the coach Pochettino on us Fan support.

[Jalen Brunson]

Friday was a great match. Was, was amazing for our fans

[Alexi Lalas]

to

[Jalen Brunson]

see or to watch this type of game. And today I think we I am so proud and we are so proud all because I think we are winning a lot of fans, adding fans in that sport here in America.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know I hear this a lot from American sports fans. I heard it this morning and he said I wish our best athletes played soccer. Actually if you did cone drills and vertical jumping. Our American teams have always been athletic. That's never been our issue. Skilled, not as much. I mean if soccer was a long drive contest we'd be fine, right? It was our putting and chipping that wasn't very good. It's been the lack of skill on ball skill. But we've always been athletic. We've always had guys. Dempsey was super athletic. I've never worried about that. Josie Altidore I always thought was kind of stiff. He wasn't a fluid athlete. He was a big strong athlete. Our goalies have always been hyper athletic. Tim Howard. So that's not it. You know, people say, well, what if our NBA guys played soccer? Well, I mean, I mean when I was a kid I always thought much more athletic. People fought. I always think like how many great heavyweights have we had? How many great tennis players? When I was a kid I always felt we had more. You know, it ebbs and flows. But I don't think by any stretch we're unathletic. When I watch, I don't see that. I think actually our speed is way above average. I think we're a team that can really move. That's not what I worry about. We're not old, brittle, unathletic. I don't believe that at all. J. Mac. I'm so into this stuff now. I just turned on the TV this weekend and it didn't matter who was on. Germany scored seven goals. They look dominant.

[Jason McIntyre]

The over under for that game was four and a half. But the Sweden game last night, Sweden's offense looked remarkable. Morocco Brazil was a phenomenal affair.

[Colin Cowherd]

If Messi is the greatest soccer player ever, is he a great athlete? He's small.

[Jason McIntyre]

Of course he's a great athlete.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, again, he's a great soccer player. When I was a kid growing up, they used to have this wide world of sports. Used to have? They put all these athletes together. I'll talk about it next hour.

[Commercial Announcer]

Onplus nicotine pouches present comfort chronicles a 10 o' clock tee time. How comfortable you show up in stretchy shorts, a breathable tee and maybe no socks. Let the dogs breathe while other sweat and pleated khakis. You're in your comfort zone. Bombing drives and in your pocket. On nicotine pouches the softest pouch on the planet. Buy a [e-mail] Products for tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Colin Cowherd]

Hi, it's Colin Coward. If you're looking for the best blend of durability and affordability in decking, trust Summit Decking from Deckorators. Summit features Deckorators patented Surestone technology so the boards won't splinter, sag, chalk or crack over time, and the colors three great options that really capture the rich textures of natural wood. Honestly, it's the best decking you didn't know you could afford. Order a sample before peak build season. Order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's Decorators with A K again. Decorators.com herd service opens doors and at the American Military University it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn [e-mail] Military open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University, Wasabi is purpose built to free your business from skyrocketing storage costs and fees from the big guys. Wasabi is the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams around the world. Check out Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals. Wasabi driving innovation in data storage for up to 80% less than the other guys. Try for free at wasabi.com, wasabi hot cloud Storage Proud partner of the Volume Podcast network. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.