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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. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's Friday. It is great to be in. We're live in Chicago. It's the Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening or watching. Busy week Free agency, World Baseball Classic, NBA, NBA March Madness, Selection Sunday is coming up. John Middelkoff sitting in for Jason McIntyre today from the Volume. So John, I'm going to start today with a Kyler Murray topic. Because you live in Arizona, you've seen a lot of Kyler Murray. I used to live in la, so I watched a lot of NFC West. So Kyler Murray assigned a one year deal with the great Kevin o'. Connell. Great coach, great offensive coach. This is where Sam Darnold's career was reborn. They sign him for a year. And what does that mean for JJ McCarthy? I think we all know JJ McCarthy and I'm not saying it's easy to figure out first round, second round quarterbacks. I know it's hard. But JJ McCarthy is a cautionary tale for every general manager in the NFL. Beware of two things, the game manager at the college level and beware of when the number one trait for a college quarterback is he's a winner. That's what they said about Tebow. That doesn't mean anything. Okay, These game managing college quarterbacks usually come from Alabama or Ohio State, Georgia. These football factories where they can turn and hand it off, throw 23 times a game. J.J. mcCarthy, he came from the best Michigan team probably ever. 13 guys were drafted, stacked roster and he only threw for 22 touchdowns. Joe Burrow played on a stacked roster at LSU. He threw for 60. If you're going to play in a roster like that, you don't have to carry the team. But I better see like 45 touchdowns, 55 touchdowns. Every quarterback in J.J. mcCarthy's class, everyone. Bo Nix, Jaden Daniels, Michael Penix, Drake May, Caleb Williams, every other first round quarterback, every other one, USC, Oregon, North Carolina, LSU, some good programs. They had to throw for over 300 yards a game. J.J. mcCarthy threw for under 200 yards a game. That's the first warning sign and the second and I, you know, Pat in the back time I said he is the one quarterback coming in this first round draft class. I don't think it's going to work. The other thing was, first of all he didn't have any great wow traits. Caleb Williams, wow. Horsepower. Bo Nicks, toughness, durability, athletic ability. Jaden Daniels, kind of a Lamar Jackson type player. Drake May, big size, big arm. Pennock's good arm. J.J. mcCarthy's a winner. A winner is how you should describe a poker player or a lawyer. If you tell me a lawyer, the guy's a winner. It's kind of all I need to know. Poker player, guy's a winner, sits down at the table, that's Phil Hellmuth. That's all I need to know. We don't talk about any other athlete and say he's a winner. We don't draft cornerbacks, left tackles, guards, running backs and say, well, you know, production was so, so. But he is a winner. It doesn't mean anything. Same with college basketball players. Nobody's drafting Darren Peterson, number one because he's a winner. They're looking at his talent and his traits. So I just, I don't buy the he's a winner thing. Now you could say Fernando Mendoza, Colin. Yeah, he, he won because he's a killer, because he's great late because he beat Miami almost single handedly in the fourth quarter. He did the same with Penn State on the road. That's different. He was asked to carry a good roster. That JJ McCarthy Michigan roster wasn't a good roster. It's the best Michigan roster ever. Thirteen guys drafted. That's an Ohio State, Bama, Georgia, LSU level roster. And did he carry it? Yeah, at times he did. He did against Miami late. He did against, you know, Oregon fourth quarter. So there's a difference. And you know, you can say what you want about Connor Murray again, he and Sam Darnold have been the two quarterbacks that I have always liked more than the market because they have wow traits. His elusiveness a plus. Wow. His deep ball, excellent. And for the record since he was drafted, Kyler Murray among active quarterbacks, top 10 and touchdown passes. So he's actually productive with experience and elusive and a great deep ball, he's going to win this job. But it's a cautionary tale. Be Very careful about he's a winner or game manager at college. It just doesn't translate to Sunday football. Okay, so Luke had 51 last night and the Lakers beat the Bulls, but that wasn't the story. And this is a real story and it's actually asking a lot of LeBron James. So we talked a lot before the season. I said, this is going to be the strangest year in LeBron James life. Every offense, even last year with heavy Luka and Luka off an injury, LeBron needed the ball in his hands for the offense to be effective. I said, this year is going to be different. The difference between in shape, skinny Luka, stillness, Prime and LeBron. The gap's going to be huge. And LeBron's going to have to learn for the first time in his career to play off the ball all the time. Now he's having a bad shooting year off the ball because his, let's be honest, his jump shot has always been streaky and inconsistent. But what really happened this year that makes it Even tougher for LeBron is that Austin Reaves has popped and now LeBron should probably have the ball as a third offensive option on the Lakers. So to ask a guy that was face of the NBA for 20 years, hey, we not only need you to be off the ball with Luka, but Austin Reaves as well. It is a big ask. I don't think Michael Jordan would have done that. I don't think most all time players are going to do that. And the fact that LeBron's always been about winning and he has and I've defended him early when he used to not take the big shot like MJ or Kobe. And I'd say he's a winning player, he makes the right basketball play. So this is a big ask. And LeBron's entire career was the opposite. He had to ask Dwyane Wade, you're the two he had to go to Chris Bosh, hey, get out of the paint, go in the corner. He had to tell Kyrie Irving, bro, I'm going to carry the ball. You have to play off ball. So everybody has sacrificed for LeBron and should have his entire career, even Luke a little bit last year. But this LeBron's different. His usage rate, lowest of his career by a wide margin. You know, field goals taken per game, lowest of his career, wide margin. So this is what we talked about all preseason. This is going to be a weird year for LeBron. Face the league to not only the second option, but net rating tells you the third option. He's going to have to set screens, he's going to have to rebound a little more, he's going to have to do the dirty work. And, you know, this year, when LeBron shoots more than 20 times, Lakers are on three. When he shoots under 20 times, they're 27 and 15. The numbers don't lie. But I do think it's a big ask. I don't think MJ would have done it. I don't think a lot of stars that can still play at LeBron's level individually would do it. But LeBron's always been a winning player. I just think he deserves credit for committing to this kind of basketball when he could score 24 a night for half the teams in the league or more. And here was JJ Redick after the win. LeBron and I, we talk. We had a. We had a great conversation over the last couple days. I think, again, he wants to do everything possible to help this team win. And he. He understands the importance of. Of making sure Luka and AR can be at their best. And, you know, that's. That's. That's incredible of him. The team is most important. You know, everybody's successful when we win. So, yeah, it is some sacrifice. I know what I'm capable of still doing as an individual, but what's important for this team, I'm able to adapt to what's important for this team. And that's. That's the only thing that matters. And the win is the only thing that matters. It was interesting. I was reading an article yesterday, and they were talking about LeBron. I've never seen this before with any LeBron article. JJ Redick was talking about. I'm going to need him to set some screens. I've never seen screens and LeBron in the same sentence before. Not that he's not capable of doing it, But I'm defending LeBron here. This is a big ask. At some point on a show, I'm going to be the third voice, and I don't know if I'll be as good as LeBron. I don't know if I'll pass it, but LeBron deserves credit. Lakers playing well, and Austin Reaves has blossomed, by the way, with Luca. And I think everybody sees it, and fortunately, right now, LeBron sees it. Okay, there's a couple of things. First of all, the Kyler Murray situation, what's happening in the NFL is. And, boy, you're seeing it. I, I said this yesterday. I think Kyler Murray is going to be our Sam Darnold I don't think he's going to be that good. I don't think he's going to go to a Super Bowl. I don't think he's going to win 14 games with Minnesota, but I think he's going to be really successful. But the other thing is over the last several years I have taken two teams every year and I'm on a four year heater. Eight for eight. I want to go 10 for 10. So last year I took Seattle and New England. Seattle was my already pretty good. Going to be much better than everybody thinks team got to a Super bowl and then I always pick my double your win total at minimum team that was New England. So last year was pretty good. I have officially picked my two NFL teams on a four year streak. I have picked them as of this morning and I'll give you that next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio Apple Stugats 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 Stigaci 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. I love you guys show. It's one of my favorites. A lot of interactions, guys not taking themselves too seriously. Those are just some of the things that you can expect from Stugouts Co. And Stegotson Co. LIVE. So listen to Stew Gots Co. LIVE and our original podcast. Please subscribe, rate and review Stugatson 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. All right, Two Truths and a Lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true. Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your AT and T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that AT and T or T Mobile Build to your local Verizon store today. Get a better deal and start saving based on root metrics. Best overall Mobile Network Performance US Second Half 2025 all rights reserve must provide recent consumer Mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. 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And your medication is delivered directly to your home in discreet packaging so your experience stays private from start to finish. Do your research, ask the right questions, then visit orderlymeds.com podcast for an exclusive offer. Again, that's orderlymeds.com podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice. Eligibility required. See Cite for details. You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge well most people drive about 40 miles a day which means you can do all daily stuff no problem. Go to work, grab the kids at school, get the groceries and still have enough charge to visit your in laws in the next county. But they don't need to know that. And the best part, you won't have to buy gas at all. The way forward is electric. Explore EVs that fit your life at electricforall.org this is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Most dog food is marketing, not nutrition. That is why Biggie and Smalls eat just food for dogs. Real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize. And yes I do see the difference. Better digestion, healthier skin, more energy, dogs that feel better. My babies, if you've been on the fence about switching, stop overthinking it. What's more important than your furry babies and their health? Go to justfood for dogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code needed. Just try it. So Minnesota won nine games last year and they were offensively they were kind of a mess. They had the fourth fewest touchdown passes in the sport. So they're over under going into this year according to DraftKings is eight and a half. So they won nine games last year and they led the NFL in giveaways. They were one of the worst third down offenses and a bottom five total offense. And so it's official. The New York Giants. I take two teams every year. The New York Giants are my double your win total team hiring John Harbaugh. Last year my double your win total team was New England with Vrabel and all that money in free agency and we got, we got pretty fortunate they made the Super Bowl. I didn't think they would make the super bowl but I thought they would be an automatic double your win total team last year. And then every year I pick a team that I think is already pretty good but is going to go into next year and be much better than everybody thinks. I'm going to do that with Minnesota. So they're over under eight and a half. I think they have a chance to be an 11 win team. And you think it's crazy. But their defense last year with Brian Flores I think is exceptional. I think their offensive line was banged up. It's very good. So this, this goes back to Kyler Murray like Sam Darnold. Bad organization. You keep asking who's the next Sam. I think it's Kyler with Kevin o' Connell Great weapons, legit left tackle, tight ends, a star. There's no reason why a guy with a better owner and a better coach and a better O line and supporting cast can't take a team that won nine last year and was a mess offensively in an offensive league. Here's Albert Brear this week on Kyle fitting in with the Vikings. And I think if you're Kyler Murray, you look at that situation, the opportunity to work with Kevin o', Connell, an offensive line that they've invested in Jordan Jefferson or Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson, I mean, you start to add up the pieces that you've got in Minnesota. And even though they didn't play very well last year, a lot of those same elements that put Sam Darnold in position to resurrect his career would still be there for Kyler Murray. Yep. So there we go. Giants, double your win total. Vikings, my Seahawks of next year. And John Middelkoff, former NFL scout, Volume 3 and out podcast with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herdline news. Well, Colin, let's start with the World Baseball Classic. And it got a little dicey for us, but we've advanced. And tonight on Fox at 8pm Eastern, we take on Canada. Yeah, well, the last time Colin, Team USA took on Canada, it went pretty well for us. And one of those Olympic stars called in and gave a little pep talk for the baseball team. Here's Mark DeRosa. Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little fire up little message that I put out on their group chat. And I know there's talks of some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during bp. Yeah, this thing's actually been a big hit and I think what it feels like, you know, when you get buy in from pro athletes on international competitions, it's just an easy sell. You wrap great stars in these infrequent events and you wrap the flag around it. And this has gotten incredible relevance and numbers more than it's ever, you know, Fox put it front and center and it started back in 2006. It was good, but in a crowded network at ESPN, it kind of got buried. Nobody's fault. They just have, you know, they just had a lot of games. So this thing has been undervalued for years. We said it when it started. This is one of the smarter pickups by Fox and it has been a home run event. Yeah, it does feel like our two biggest American stars, Harper and Judge are all in. They feel like the hockey guys Like Jack Hughes. This is not going to be easy. We're the betting favorites right now. But if we take care of Canada, I think we will. Then we probably got the Dominican and then potentially the Japanese. I mean, this is. We're going to have to earn this. And the thing in these World Baseball Classic. Colin, none of these pitchers are going seven or eight. That's right. So you got to mix and match that. You. You need the guys to hit. Yeah, no question. Have to hit your way to this championship. Okay. I. I know this is a favorite topic of yours. The USC Trojans. Colin. Yes. Mai Lemon. Yeah. He had a pro day. And your guy Les need flies under the radar in the offseason. Doesn't attend the combine, doesn't usually attend pro days. But this being in his backyard, he attended. And he said this about Lemon. He is a guy who makes watching football fun. The Rams, while they traded one of their first round picks. Remember they got the 13th overall pick. Yeah. Puka Nukua's contract is lingering. Lemon, the Rams, could you see that happening? Colin? Yeah. Okay. So you know, Ohio State's been a football factory and Marvin Harrison's son got all the publicity. But JSN in Emeka Ibuka, route runners have become better NFL receivers. So Makai Lemon reminds me of that Jacoby Lane played for USC this year. A couple years ago. Deuce Robinson did it. Tight end. They are massive athletes. Huge hands. Makai Lemon is just more productive. He. And I'm not saying he's not. He's not the prospect of JSN or Emeka Ibuka, but he. In that line. It's route running. It's quicker than you think. It's great if you throw the ball in the air and he gets his hand on it. He's got strong hands, highly productive. We have a little bit of a trend in the NFL now because so many people play zone, as you know. Is Puka Nukua a burner? No. But in a zone, he's usually very good catching the ball, strong hands, good after contact. Lemon. That is what Lemon is. He is a modern receiver. He is a quarterback's friend. You don't have to worry about ego. You don't have to worry about running the wrong route. He's not going to beat many people down the field. But I. He's as good a USC wide receiver they've had probably since Keyshawn Johnson, honestly. I agree. He's a really good player. My question is for the Rams, how often are. I mean, they never have first round Picks, let alone draft this high, the opportunity to potentially get alignment. Last time they drafted relatively high, they took Jared Verse. That, that worked out pretty well. Yeah. But I do say this. If they take Lemon with the 13th overall pick, does that signal, you know, Puka Nakua, what are we talking, 140, $150 million guaranteed? Could that be big picture? Maybe. Puka's not long for the team, which sounds crazy because he's such a great player, but he gets dinged up. Yeah. And his style, not like Jefferson, not like some of these players. He is a very physical player, right? Yep. So can that ustain over a 10 year career? Historically, it can be very hit or miss. Another one of your of your favorite teams, Colin, the Chicago Bears. Yeah, they were obviously a smashing success under Ben Johnson and they just signed receiver Khalif Raymond who comes from the Lions and knows Ben Johnson well. Here's what he had to say about his former offensive coordinator and new head coach. And I never forget the first day he had everybody saying it and everybody, you know, it's good, better, best, you know, you know, you're not used to doing like chance, stuff like that. And then we started winning and then he started doing it here and everybody's winning. So I'm like, well, we better be good, better, best then. So. No, it's, it's a testament to who he is, man. He's not taking his shirt off because he wants the looks, man. He's taking his shirt off probably because he probably slept three hours that week and they to go put all the work in to go win the game. So it's a testament to who he is and I'm proud of him. For the record, I do like the Lions new offensive coordinator Drew Pretty, who they got from Arizona. But I will say this at the top of the hour because all the coaching hires are done and all the relevant free agent signings are done. I'm going to give you my top 10 teams. Now, the draft may tweak the order. I mean, Raiders are obviously better with Fernando Mendoza than without, but they're not a top 10 team. The draft won't change my order much unless somebody really knocks it out of the park. And I doubt most of the teams at the top, the Clevelands, the Jets, they're not going to make the top 10. But I'll have my top 10 post free agency. And I will say the Bears feel like to me, they may not have the Rams roster, but they are missing one thing, a rush end. Outside of that, a corner maybe in the draft a rush end. I think Chicago looks really good. Well, I'm all in like you on Ben Johnson. If you tell me that Caleb Williams just has a slight improvement with accuracy and becomes a more consistent player, I think this team could be the number one seed. Colin, obviously they got a huge home field advantage. Here's the other thing. Now they got the Bills pick for DJ Moore. Yeah, they could take one of those seconds and move up into the first round and get aggressive and listen, we think Max Crosby's coming back, but we know these things are fluid. Ryan Poles has already said we were sniffing around, we were having dialogue. I would never count them out. I would say they are still going to monitor that situation. Don't you feel, leading up to the draft with the Max Crosby. Yo. Yeah, absolutely. And again they have a first and two twos. So they're. They're going to solve their corner issue late first round they probably get a corner. There's two or three really good corners late. Bears probably get one of them there. They solve their corner issue. My guess is they go rush end next. They don't have an offensive need now they got Brad Barry from the Patriots at center. They really don't need to draft anybody. Offensively it's one of the more complete offenses along with the Rams in the sport Eagles. So they have to lean defense this point forward and I think their first three picks will probably all be defensive picks. It's amazing when you nail the coach how bright the future is. Colin in the NFL. I mean, this isn't a complicated strategy. If not John Middelkopf with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd line news. So last night, OKC, the defending champs, beats Boston and SGA eclipses Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA's longest 20 point streak. So listen there, everybody loves beating up on sga. There are a lot of different ways to score. I've used this stat forever. The leading scorer in the NBA in the 80s was not Michael Jordan. It was Alex English who reminds me, honestly, a little of sga. Couldn't jump over a folded newspaper. I don't remember any dunks. Not highly vertical. There's a lot of guys. Kiki Vandaway scored a lot of points. He wasn't jumping over people. So SGA is smooth, fluid, efficient, crazy consistent. Now everybody calls him a free throw merchant. He had no free throws in the fourth quarter last night. He had eight total in the game and Jaylen Brown had 14. So 11 people in the NBA had more free throws last night than SGA, including Josh Minow, whoever that is. Okay, so he's averaging 32 and gets eight made free throws on the 32 points. That. That's not. That's not outrageous to me. And there's been players like this in the NBA. Karl Malone drew a lot of fouls. Michael Jordan, James Harden drew a lot of fouls. I think when I look at sga, you know who I think of? Tim Duncan and Tom Brady. Like, bizarre efficiency, crazy consistency, no drama to their personality. They win a lot more than their peers. Duncan Brady, sga. It's not highly dynamic. It's not dramatic. I mean, Luca and Ant are far more fun to watch, but they'll have three for 12 nights from three point land. They're more inconsistent shooting the ball. SGA, he's the train that's always on time. So again, Sean Camp, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, way more fun to watch. Those three guys combined, no titles. And I mean, this whole thing about he's a free throw merchant. The league is not privately rigging it so that their smallest market, kind of bland superstar runs the league. He is a really smart player who manipulates defenders and gets to the line. Last night, though, fourth quarter, didn't shoot a free throw and they still won. He leads the NBA in clutch scoring, but he is driving people. And I've said this about the NBA for years. Among players, players love Russell Westbrook. A lot of players were always cool on Steph Curry because Russell Westbrook had the hops and the vertical and he was forceful and he was just like, he's a basketball player. Russell Westbrook in his prime. Other basketball players like, oh, dude, you gotta watch this guy. This guy's got crazy hops. And in the NBA, that matters. Like style matters. SGA is way more Karl Malone and guys like that get criticized because it's not as much fun to watch. Sean Kemp, beloved. Was he a winning player? Clyde Drexler, beloved. They don't want to really practice or play defense. So I'm. I mean, Listen, in the fourth quarter, SGA shot nearly 90%, didn't have a free throw, and they beat an excellent team. I'm on team sga. Here's Jalen Brown apparently still taking shots on SGA and all the free throw attempts. I don't foul bait. I'm not looking to, you know, flop or anything like that, but it's almost like you got to. It's almost like there's a couple of plays in the fourth quarter where I feel like I drove Strong, went up strong and I didn't get the benefit of the doubt, but maybe if I were to flop, maybe I was able to sell that call. And those decide games we commend players for, you know, playing the game the right way, but you know, we give the benefit to those who, you know, who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game into their advantage. I just don't think it's basketball. Well, it is basketball and I would argue most great players. What do you consider manipulation? So I mean Charles Barkley was great at using his big butt to get angles and positioning. Dennis Rodman's an all time great manipulator of body, leverage, shoulders, butt. I mean Rodman was one of the smartest manipulators of body and angles. He used to let, there's stories about Rodman used to sit and watch the Bulls practice even if he wasn't practicing that day to just watch where the missed shots came off the rim from Jordan and Pippen. And that is manipulation. There are guys, coaches do this, they manipulate college basketball coaches manipulate officials. They bark, they bark, they bark and they get that late game call. So I think basket. A lot of basketball's manipulation. It's, it's trying to get a defense that you can manipulate to one side of the floor, swing it around, skip it around and get better looking jumpers. So I, I mean I. SGA's game isn't the most dynamic. It's a Duncan Brady feel to it. Like it's just crazy efficient, crazy consistency. Here's SGA on passing. Wilt's record. We've won throughout the streak, most importantly. And then I just had so much fun playing basketball in the last like year and a half probably because I've done a lot of winning. But just like the group of guys, they always make losing light hearted and winning super fun. And when you stay in the right mind frame, when you stay together, when you're connected as a unit and just have fun throughout the whole process, you get the best out of things and that's what this group is. Yeah, he's not the first player to get pushback on his style. James Harden did for years. In fact, the NBA stepped in. NBA has not stepped in here. They don't feel it's the manipulation or the skirting of rules like they did with James Harden. So I mean for the record, I'm as big a Magic Johnson fan as anybody. Magic Johnson palm the ball his entire career. Ref just kind of stepped back. You can go look at the YouTube Magic Johnson highlights and you're like, I don't know. It feels like he's getting an extra step. That's, that's, you know, his game is his game. I'm going to defend him to the end. I think. I think he's a credit to the sport. It's just not overly dynamic. There's been a lot of guys in this league that have scored a lot of points that aren't necessarily fun to watch. Kiki Vandaway is not something anybody emulated. Alex English Tons of points. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. All right, two truths and a Lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play by play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years. Okay, I lied. All three are true. Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your ATT or T Mobile bill to a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming and phone deals. So take that AT and T or T Mobile bill to your local Verizon store today. 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Do your research, ask questions, then visit orderlymeds.com podcast for an exclusive offer. That's orderlymeds.com podcast. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice eligibility required. See site for details. You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge? Well, most people drive about 40 miles a day, which means you can do all daily stuff no problem. Go to work, grab the kids at school, get the groceries and still have enough charge to visit your in laws in the next county. But they don't need to know that. And the best part? You won't have to buy gas at all. The way forward is electric. Explore EVs that fit your life at electricforall.org this is Bethany Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Most dog food is marketing, not nutrition. That is why Biggie and Smalls eat just food for dogs. Real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize. And yes, I do see the difference. Better digestion, healthier skin, more energy, dogs that feel better. My babies, if you've been on the fence about switching, stop overthinking it. What's more important than your furry babies and their health? Go to justfoodfordogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code needed. Just try it. So the Raiders are now telling teams we're not trading Max Crosby. We know we did. We got him back. We're not going to trade him. And I got no problem with it at all. Really it does. But I'll tell you when Fernando Mendoza with now Max Crosby joins this team in late April. This is why it's the League of Hope. The Raiders in terms of point differential since 2003, that's almost 25 years. The Raiders, by a long shot, have the worst point differential in the league. Cleveland second, jets third. It's a bad franchise for two decades. I think they're going to turn it around. I think there's a chance. The Raiders are really interesting next year and you can't do that in baseball or the NBA. The Houston Astros had to lose 100 games three years in a row to build up a great team. Even with Wemby going to the Spurs. The best prospect since probably LeBron back to back losing seasons. Cooper flag Mavericks, they're worse than last year. He's an unbelievable player. It took the Rockets, I mean post Kobe. It took the, the Lakers what, six years to make the playoffs. It took the Rockets, post Harden five years to make the playoffs. It does not work that way in the NFL. Pathetic to playoffs very quickly. So there's a lot of instant gratification. I think the fans are the winners and it's all about if you can get the right quarterback. Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, Fernando Mendoza, and you can put him often with a really good offensive coach. I mean, when the NBA was less restrictive to owners and GMs, you could do this. LeBron went back from Miami to Cleveland. They traded for Kevin Love and they dominated the east for like half a decade. The NBA used to allow you to go from pathetic to playoffs. Adam Silver is terrified of dynasty. So they've shut all that down. And I think it's a problem. I think one of the great gifts of the NFL is like outside of the jets where you just don't think the head coach is capable like that. Take them off. Even in Cleveland right now, I don't agree with this, but even in Cleveland they're thinking we got a shot. I mean, Joe Burrow can't make the playoffs. So, you know, in the NFL, players, players have limited power. Trades are easy. College football is a great farm system. We had Johnny Manziel on yesterday and he sees in Fernando Mendoza what the Raiders see in Fernando Mendoza. I think he's going to continue to get better. I think he throws as I was watching him at the national championship game, throws a really good ball, has a lot of zip on his passes, reads coverage very well. He obviously had some good help at the receiver point and the team that they had last year at Indiana. The situation he's going into is going to call for a lot of patience. Brock Bowers, you know, genty rebuild some of the offensive line, get a defense. You keep Max Crosby, like, have some patience with it. And I feel like this kid is going to be very good. He more than impressed me being around him at the Heisman and they're still in touch. So. Kyler Murray, for the record, I'm going to let you listen to him in a second here. He looks good in purple. It has been suggested to me that purple is a fast color. He looks good in purple. I've got to be honest. He grew up, I mean he grew up a Vikings fan. So I think this is going to work. I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be like Darnold to Seattle where you're like good team. Oh, this is the juice we needed at quarterback. So what's funny is what Darnold did, what Baker did and what Kyler's going to do. You used to not get second chances. Tim Couch was a number one pick of the Cleveland Browns. It didn't work. He never played for another team. Akili Smith was a number three pick. He failed. He never got another chance for another team. It doesn't work that way. Mac Jones, Daniel Jones, Darnold Baker, Kyler Murray, Jared Goff. Why? Well, what do all those reclamation guys, including Kyler Murray to Minnesota, what do they have in common? Kyle Shanahan, Clint Kubiak, Liam Cohen. What do they have in common? Ben Johnson for Jared Goff. There are so many more smart young offensive coaches. We always say we have an. We have a quarterback problem in the NFL. No, we had a coaching problem. You had general managers in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s that were risk averse, that didn't want to make trades and help. Quarterbacks were struggling and frankly a lot of coaches in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s coached not to lose. It was more conservative coaching, very risk adverse GMs. Now if a quarterback struggled somewhere, you bring Sam Nornal to Minnesota, you give him an offensive coach you can make easily make trades in this league. So Kyler Murray was impressive yesterday at the press conference in Minnesota. I'm telling you this is going to work here was Kyler. Never in a million years did I think that this was going to come around full circle. Not even a thought in my head. But the opportunity presented itself. You know, again, just watching from afar what KOC has been able to do with quarterbacks offense, the guys in place here be flowing the defense. I think that it's a great fit and like I said, I'm thankful, thankful for the opportunity and I can't wait to get to work. Okay, three quarterback acquisitions and they all have one thing in common that I love. This off season. Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, Tyler Murray to the Vikings and Malik Willis to the Dolphins. What do they have in common? They're cheap. Fernando Mendoza, rookie contract, Malik Willis, 22 large a year and Kyler Murray's contract will be 54th highest paid quarterback in the league. He's free. So who ended up in the Super Bowl? Darnold team friendly contract was going to be Bo Nix. Instead it's Drake May rookie contracts Most improved team Chicago Bears quarterback rookie contract so I think Malik Willis is going to mostly work in Miami, although they've still got that dead cap to a contract hanging over their heads. I think Kyler is going to work here and I think Fernando Mendoza is going to work in Vegas. I know just crazy to think Vegas could have a good football team, but I absolutely believe it. Top of the hour. I'm going to do my post coaching post free agency top 10. I'll just tell you right now free agency is not just about what you gain, it's what you lose. I don't have Baltimore in my top 10 and I think they're an incredibly well run franchise. I think the Tyler Lindemau loss at center for the Ravens and specifically for Lamar Jackson is not good. They lost their tight end to the Giants. They lost their second best running back to the Chargers. Of all these teams adding pieces in I said yesterday I like what the Rams have added. The Bears have added. There's some real Cowboys have added in the last six months. There's some really nice pieces picked up. New England, Buffalo getting Bradley Chubb and D.J. moore. I like both those pickups. Baltimore loses the second best center, a valuable speedback kind of a a change up to Derrick Henry. They lose the tight end again. They don't have a dominant number one. Zay Flowers is a solid one, a great two or a low end one. I Baltimore is well run. Do not like what has happened between losing Harbaugh, the tight end, the running back. The center don't love what's happened to the Ravens over the last several months. John Middelkoff who worked in this league with Andy Reid for a long time. Where are you on Kansas City, a team you usually defend but but like the Ravens I think they were forced to get Walker running back. I don't know if they loved it. I think they were fourth to get forced to get Kenneth Walker. I do think they're going to lean in more to the running game this year. Right. They have a pretty good chance at pick nine to take an offensive lineman. They would have two young stud offensive linemen then last year Simmons. Now if they get a right tackle at nine they got a good interior offensive line. What if the way to extend Mahomes career because last year, the last couple years they got very Mahomes dependent. Well now he tore his acl. You take the pressure off him, lean into Kenneth Walker, maybe draft another running back somewhere in the mid rounds. And you know, one thing Andy's done very well over the course of his career is pivot, change his offense, do things. One thing he's never really done is just hammer the run game. He involves the running back a lot in the passing game and Kenneth Walker can do that. Yeah, I do wonder if they try to become like a top six or seven rushing attempt team in the league. Listen, they got a lot of moving parts on defense, lost a bunch of DBs. That's why you pay five, six million dollars respects. So they have an excellent coaching staff. They're going to be motivated. We'll see. You know how much Kelsey has, has left that. That to me is a pretty big. They're paying $12 million. Last year he was not good, you know, for his hall of Fame standards. But yeah, I mean I, I think that division, I mean I think the Chargers have a chance to be, I mean a powerhouse next year. To me they would be as we sit here right now, as the pick to win that division and potentially be the number one seed in the afc. Now I feel the same way. So it's, it's, you know, we talk about this all the time, that windows close very quickly. That Seahawk window felt like it was going to be seven years and it was. They lost that second super bowl and it was never the same. And you like you look at the Seahawks, I mean, this is one of the great things about the NFL. One, you can go from bad to good really quickly. But you, when you think you're really good and are going to great, go ask the Eagles, go ask the Chiefs. Stuff closes really fast. When you got to sign that quarterback to a big deal, all of a sudden you get a right tackle that retires. You know, even Mahomes has been blown out twice in Super Bowls. When they can't get past protection. So you can build quickly, you fall quickly in this league. That's why I think John Schneider, Kenneth Walker, Kobe Bryant, you know, I think he learned his lesson a decade ago. And you gotta be very careful with how you allocate your funds. And I'm with you. It's tough. Think Verizon is expensive? Think again. Anyone can bring their AT&T or T mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal. So bring us your bill. Walk in, run in, Hogo stickin' teleport if you can ride on the back of a rollerblading yak or flyin on the wings of a majestic falcon. Any way you can Bring your AT and T or T Mobile bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal on the best network based on RootMetric's best overall mobile network performance. US second half 2025 all rights reserved. Must provide very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions and restrictions apply. Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T Mobile is in US cellular stores. Savings versus Comparable Verizon plan plus the cost of optional benefits plan features in Texas and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required At CVS it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. After the Big Game. Like most people, I kept thinking about the commercials, and there was one that stayed with me. It was from the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. And it wasn't loud or flashy. It showed a Jewish kid being targeted at school and another student who chose not to ignore it. As someone who was Jewish, that moment felt very real to me. Not dramatic, just familiar. And what struck me was how clearly it showed that hate doesn't always announce itself, but the impact is still huge. If you saw the Blue Square spot during the Big Game, it's worth thinking about. And if you want to show support, sharing the blue square is one small way to do that. You ever wonder how far an EV can take you on one charge? Well, most people drive about 40 miles a day, which means you can do all daily stuff no problem. Go to work, grab the kids at school, get the groceries and still have enough charge to visit your in laws in the next county, but they don't need to know that. And the best part? You won't have to buy gas at all. The way forward is Electric. Explore EVs that fit your life at Electric for All All Org. This is an iHeart podcast. 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Main Theme:
A wide-ranging discussion of top NFL and NBA storylines, focusing on Kyler Murray’s new opportunity with the Vikings, LeBron James adjusting to a third-option role on the Lakers, and the evolving nature of team-building in pro football.
Colin Cowherd, with guest John Middlekauff, dives into:
[02:00 - 13:00]
[13:00 - 25:00]
[25:00 - 37:00]
[44:00 - 53:00]
[37:00 - 44:00]
[54:00 - 59:00]
On QBs and labels:
On LeBron’s role switch:
On SGA:
| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:00 | Kyler Murray’s opportunity in Minnesota; why it works for both sides | | 04:10 | Colin’s warning to NFL GMs about “winner” QBs, using JJ McCarthy as a cautionary tale | | 11:12 | The importance of “wow” traits in NFL QBs; Kyler/Darnold examples | | 13:00 | Luka’s 51-point night and its meaning for Lakers’ hierarchy | | 16:13 | LeBron’s biggest-ever sacrifice; possible historical comparison | | 18:40 | Lakers’ team record splits by LeBron’s shot attempts | | 19:15 | JJ Redick on LeBron’s willingness to adapt | | 25:00 | Colin’s annual NFL team predictions: Giants & Vikings | | 32:40 | Minnesota’s upside as a double-digit win team | | 33:45 | Albert Breer on why Kyler fits with the Vikings | | 37:00 | World Baseball Classic: USA’s path and player buy-in | | 40:00 | Makai Lemon and Rams’ draft discussion | | 42:27 | Bears’ potential, praise for Ben Johnson and team build | | 44:00 | OKC’s SGA breaks Wilt’s record; free throw critiques and Colin’s defense | | 49:35 | Jalen Brown’s critique of SGA; debate over “manipulation” in basketball | | 53:10 | League of Hope: NFL transition stories, parity, QB reclamation projects |
This summary covers major arguments, recaps vivid moments, and highlights core lessons from Colin Cowherd’s fast-moving, debate-driven sports analysis.