THE HERD - Hour 1 - Rory goes back to back at The Masters, NBA playoff matchups

Summary

THE HERD with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 (April 13, 2026)

Overview

In this episode, Colin Cowherd dives into two major sports stories: Rory McIlroy’s back-to-back Masters victories and the revealing matchups for the upcoming NBA playoffs. The show explores Rory’s evolving golf legacy, the psychology and drama of champions, key NBA playoff teams, the Lakers and Bucks coaching drama, and upcoming NFL Draft prospects. Throughout the hour, authentic reactions, debate, and trademark Cowherd analysis make for a dynamic broadcast.

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Rory McIlroy Makes Masters History

Rory’s Champion Aura and Stage of Career

• Colin opens by contextualizing Rory’s career arc: from prodigy to rock star, then a decade-long major drought, and now into the “legendary stage.”
  • “I feel like we’re seeing the fourth stage of Rory’s career. There was the prodigy stage, there was the rock star stage, there was the 10, 11 year major drought, and now this is the legendary stage, the confidence of a champion.” (03:52)
• Notes Rory’s tenacity and the fact that he won without flawless play:
  • “He couldn’t find the fairway all week… that’s the lowest ever for a champion… He did not play great golf throughout.” (03:35)
  • “Even on 18, two shot lead, one hole to play…it’s like, bro, bring out a five wood. Let’s just get it right in the middle of the fairway. Nope, brings out the driver and maybe at his worst shot over four days, and that is Rory. Only Rory…” (04:47)
• Cowherd compares Rory’s unpredictable intensity to past superstars:
  • “He can be wild, kind of ad lib, be overly aggressive, which was often a Phil Mickelson tendency.” (04:23)
  • “He lets you back in. I mean, he could have easily lost that yesterday.” (04:43)
• Rory’s impact goes beyond numbers: he brings the “juice” and charisma that captivates viewers.

Notable Quotes

• Rory McIlroy, on Masters pressure:
  • “It’s hard, it’s hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here… it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course. So I think it’s the nature of the golf course, it’s the nature of what’s at stake.” (06:52)
• On Rory’s course specific approach:
  • “I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event. I’d rather come up here… I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt like that was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio again.” (12:54)

Rory’s Uniqueness, Charisma, and Controversy

• Colin argues why Rory is magnetic for fans, comparing his draw to actors and other athletes:
  • “You can’t fake interesting… Michael Jordan had the persona and the style and the fashion and the coolness. I’ve always said Michael will always be more beloved than LeBron because he was cooler than LeBron.” (19:43)
  • “For years, I’ve been told this guy is going to be the next guy. And there’s just certain golfers… Arnold Palmer had it, you know, Phil had it, Rory’s got it, Tiger obviously did.” (21:53)
• Debates whether Rory is now ahead of Phil Mickelson historically:
  • “Rory’s got the Grand Slam, and Phil never won a U.S. Open… Rory’s been number one for 122 weeks… I tend to put Rory inches ahead because of his number one ranking, and he’s got the Grand Slam.” (47:11, 49:26)
• Notable Rory quote on joining Nick Faldo in Masters greatness:
  • “Today, I tie Nick… It took me 10 years to win my fifth major and then my sixth one’s come pretty soon after it… I certainly don’t want to stop here.” (22:11)

Memorable Moments & Analysis

• Colin projects Rory’s continued stardom, noting his athleticism and emotional displays:
  • “If you care, I care… When Rory’s on a golf course, it feels like the most important thing for him. He’s screaming and yelling and that matters. He lets you in. You see the highs and lows.” (22:40)
  • “You just get a little bit of everything with Rory McIlroy and I, I think it’s fascinating.” (23:10)
  • On the tournament drama: “He gave us the incredible burst early and then he falls out of the lead. Then he comes roaring back and fitting on 18 when he probably just should have played it safe. He didn’t… He recovers like he did all day yesterday.” (48:35)

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NBA Playoff Picture & Key Matchups

State of the NBA

• Colin critiques the regular season and sets expectations for the playoffs:
  • “Been a rough year for the NBA… too many three point shots, stars missing games, an embarrassing tanking epidemic… I’m just hoping the playoffs can deliver something because the regular season delivered a whole lot of nothing.” (07:14, 10:17)
  • “Most of the great playoff action could come in the west again.” (11:39)

Who Can Win the Championship?

• Colin lists his contenders: Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and possibly Denver Nuggets.
  • “There’s always, I think really only three teams that can win a championship. Celtics and OKC are the easy ones. Who’s the third team? … I like Denver, but they’ve been banged up all year.” (07:35)
  • “If I had to say, is there a fourth team or maybe this is the third team, it would be Denver and not San Antonio. San Antonio is historically way too young to win a championship.” (08:47)

Nuggets vs. Spurs, Jokic vs. Wemby

• Rob Parker highlights Denver’s experience against a young Spurs team:
  • “Jokic was taking it to Wemy in overtime, which was true. But what I took from it is… this is where you see the experience of the Denver Nuggets versus the inexperience, the naivety… of the Spurs.” (09:52)

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NBA Team Drama and Analysis

Bucks and Giannis Uncertainty

• Jason McIntyre and Colin discuss Doc Rivers stepping down and the ripple effect on Giannis’ future:
  • “Doc Rivers is, quote, stepping down as the Bucks coach. It’s really unclear why… Everything the Bucks have done to try to keep Giannis has been a disaster.” (23:54, 24:39, McIntyre)
  • “When people mention retirement, they’re thinking of it, they’re retired… It’s the same thing when people talk about unhappy with a contract. You got to make moves fast because the longer you wait, the less leverage you’ll have.” (24:50)

Lakers’ Injury Plight & Playoff Outlook

• J.J. Redick’s reality check on the shorthanded Lakers:
  • “I’m sure everybody wants to play us. Let’s get that out there, like everyone wants to play us… We can’t be concerned with all of that.” (28:00)
• Colin summarizes the Lakers’ abrupt fall:
  • “I do not remember…a team went from hottest in the league…to can’t compete in the first round, which I think right now they can.” (28:24)

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NFL Draft Talk: Overlooked Prospects

Cowboys’ Draft Strategy and Player Debate

• Jason and Colin agree Dallas should focus on value picks rather than trading up:
  • “I, to me, I, I, why move up?… Dallas spends a lot of money on their D line, their quarterback and their star receiver. Like they need to get inexpensive and talented on the back end of their defense.” (30:48)

Fernando Mendoza: Underrated QB Prospect

• Cowherd spotlights Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza:
  • “I think Mendoza is the difference here… I think Kurt Signetti is an excellent coach. But just go back a year and change. We were crushing inappropriately… I really don’t get it. I mean, versus ranked opponents last year…In the College Football Playoff, 75% completion percentage. I think his ball placement, accuracy, toughness, size, arm…” (32:14, 36:38)
• Greg Cosell on Mendoza’s NFL prospects:
  • “Being highly efficient playing the position, being an outstanding ball distributor and an executor of a well-schemed offense is a good thing, Colin. And we’ve lost the ability to celebrate that because more and more quarterbacks are great athletes than ever before. But Mendoza just to me plays the position the right way.” (37:22)

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Memorable Quotes & Takeaways

• “He’s great theater, he’s great for the sport, he’s magnificent for the Masters…” – Colin on Rory (06:15)
• “It took me ten years to win my fifth major and then my sixth one’s come pretty soon after it. So, yeah, I’m not putting a number on it, but I certainly don’t want to stop here.” – Rory McIlroy (22:11)
• “If you care, I care. And Scotty Schaefer at one point won a golf major and said, ‘It’s not the most important thing to me.’ When Rory’s on a golf course, it feels like the most important thing for him.” – Colin (22:40)
• “Colin, I can’t think of a professional sports coach who’s done less with more than Doc Rivers.” – Jason McIntyre on Rivers’ legacy (26:10)
• “I think Mendoza goes the other way. It’s like I, I don’t get the critics.” – Colin on Fernando Mendoza’s undervalued draft stock (37:57)

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 03:03 – Show opens; Masters & NBA Playoff setups
• 04:47 – Rory McIlroy’s unpredictable playing style
• 06:52 – Rory McIlroy discusses the pressures of Masters Sunday
• 07:14 – NBA playoff preview; contender debate
• 12:54 – Rory McIlroy on skipping Texas tournaments for Augusta prep
• 14:41 – Jason McIntyre returns, NBA/NFL roundtable
• 19:43 – The star power “aura” in sports: Rory, Tiger, Jordan, Tatum
• 22:11 – Rory on tying Nick Faldo and his career perspective
• 23:54 – Bucks drama, Doc Rivers steps down, Giannis’ future
• 28:00 – J.J. Redick on teams wanting to face the depleted Lakers
• 32:14 – NFL Draft: Why the Cowboys shouldn’t trade up
• 36:38 – Fernando Mendoza as a draft sleeper
• 37:22 – Greg Cosell on Mendoza’s pro-readiness

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Conclusion

Colin masterfully weaves together the weekend’s biggest sports stories by focusing on star power, the pressure-cooker environments of elite competition, and the evolving narratives in both golf and basketball. Through candid player analysis, insider insight, and a blend of humor and gravitas, this episode gives fans an engaging, multidimensional look into the heartbeat of major sports as spring 2026 unfolds.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Julian Edelman]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Rob Parker]

Now, let's get this party started.

[Jason McIntyre]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Colin Cowherd]

Here we go. It is a Monday. We are live. It is the Herd, wherever you may be. NBA playoffs are set. Thanks for making us part of your day on a Monday. Colin right. Colin Wrong. One hour from now, J. Mac is back. And I want to talk about what everybody watched and what everybody was talking about yesterday. And this happens all the time. We've seen it with the superstars in our sports. Otani, John Elway, Michael Jordan, Rory McElroy. You see this incredibly audacious talent and you're waiting for the first title, the first cup, the first ring, the first major, right? Or the first Masters. And you're just waiting and waiting. And then when they break through like Rory did last year, it seems to give you this confidence of a champion. I thought the entire weekend, especially yesterday, was about recovery shots and Rory McElroy over 16 now two for his last two at the Masters. He couldn't find the fairway all week 31. That's all the fairways he hit. That's the lowest ever for a champion. His putting yesterday missed multiple birdie opportunities on the par fives over four days, he was minus 10. He did not play great golf throughout. I mean, through six holes he was two over and lost the lead. And then the birdie started piling up. He attacked 12, 13, 12 is a brutal hole. Birdie, birdie, and this is often what it takes. You could see it with an Elway who went to many Super Bowls and got blown out. And he finally gets the run game, he gets the first and everything kind of changes. Rory has never been Tiger. If Tiger went into a a major with a lead on Sunday, seven strokes, he may win by 12. He suffocated the field. He didn't let people back in. That is not Rory. I mean, Rory can be wild, he can kind of ad lib, be overly aggressive, which was often a Phil Mickelson tendency. And he lets you back in, he lets the field back in. I mean, he could have easily lost that yesterday. Even on 18, two shot lead, one hole to play. It's like, bro, bring out a five wood. Let's just get it right in the middle of the fairway. Nope, brings out the driver and maybe at his worst shot over four days, and that is Rory. Only Rory can lead by largest lead through certificate six holes. And you tune in yesterday and you're like, they're going to crown him with another one. And you look up an hour and a half in and you're like, oh, nope, lost the lead. And then gets it back. And then almost, almost comfortably wins back to back. I mean, he entered the back nine three back and it felt like an hour 15 later. You're like, oh no. He's got a comfortable lead. He opened the door. Others had opportunities. Scottie Scheffler, rose, Cam Young, but they couldn't close it. And I feel like we're seeing the fourth stage of Rory's career. There was the prodigy stage, there was the rock star stage, there was the 10, 11 year major drought stage. And now this is the legendary stage, the confidence of a champion. Recovery shots. He's entering that. Is he greater than Phil Mickelson, who Never won a U.S. open? Rory's got the Grand Slam. Only a handful of golfers have won back to back at Augusta. He's great theater, he's great for the sport, he's magnificent for the Masters, which had some challenges, the network covering it on 18, but here was Rory after.

[Rory McIlroy]

It's hard, it's hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here. Like it's, you know, you've had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course. So I think it's the nature of the golf course, it's the nature of what's at stake.

[Colin Cowherd]

But I, I, I really wonder, had he not won last year where he had to go to a playoff hole, would he have all those great recovery shots yesterday? I don't know. Rory, Tiger, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicholas, back to back Masters champions. And he is absolutely great for the sport. All right, not counting playing games, the notable NBA playoff matchups are set. Been a rough year for the NBA. I know it has too many three point shots, stars missing games, an embarrassing tanking epidemic. Do they love the game or their legacies? I'm not sure in my life, as we head into the playoffs, I've said this a couple weeks ago, there's always, I think really only three teams that can win a championship. Celtics and OKC are the easy ones. Who's the third team? San Antonio would be historically young, but they've got a transformational player. I like Denver, but they've been banged up all year. Jokic has never been and missed this many games. Minnesota's talented. Why are they a six seed? And the Knicks are a fun story. And it's always cool when you have a big, popular New York team in the playoffs in any sport. But let's be honest, no bench can't defend the three. Two best players are defensive liabilities. Every single champion the last 30 years has been a top three seed. So, yeah, I know you want the underdogs to win, but it's probably going to be Boston or Oklahoma City. My question is, do I like Denver or do I like San Antonio? Jokic is the best player. Aaron Gordon, however, has missed half the year. Murray's been healthy, but Jokic hasn't always been healthy. I think the one thing I like about Denver is there's one player in this league that can attack Wemby, go right at him and succeed, and that is Jokic. So if I had to say, is there a fourth team or maybe this is the third team, it would be Denver and not San Antonio. San Antonio is historically way too young to win a championship. These two teams, Denver and San Antonio, met a couple Saturdays ago. It was a fantastic game. It went to overtime. And if you watch the game, couple of things were clear. Jokic is not intimidated by Wemby. And between Murray and YIC and Gordon and their age, they're going to be a really tough out for either the Thunder or the Spurs. And Chris Bruce, Ard and I, after watching that game, felt the same way.

[Rob Parker]

Jokic was taking it to Wimy in overtime, which was true. But what I took from it is what you were saying. Like I was watching that game, like, oh, man, this is where you see the experience of the Denver Nuggets versus the inexperience, the naivety just. Just never having been there of the Spurs. And it showed up late in that game.

[Colin Cowherd]

So we've had seven different champions in seven years. With the new aprons and collective bargaining, it's really hard to repeat. I'm just hoping the playoffs can deliver something because the regular season delivered a whole lot of nothing. Between the tanking epidemic and stars missing 73 or 75% of marquee television games and an overload on threes where it's homogeneous and repetitive, they could really, really go for a great playoff stretch. We just watched March Madness, and what makes it so amazing is that it's sudden death that is the opposite of the NBA playoffs. Seven games. Seven games. So there's not as much urgency. You're. I think most of the great playoff action could come in the west again. I'm going to take okc, Boston and San Antonio as my three teams. If I had to pick a fourth, it would be Denver. A lot of stuff going on, you know, the Masters. You know, golf purists are a lot like soccer snobs that. You know how soccer fans are soccer snobs. Well, we watch. We watch the Spanish League regularly and the Euro Championships. All right, Ethan, you knock yourself out. I show up for the World Cup. Golf guy can be a little like that. Well, I've got a four handicap and I watched the Valero Open twice. Well, I have a social life. Congratulations. But I will say the pushback on Rory McElroy is really interesting to me. So one of the, one of the pushbacks on him is, and I've said this my entire career, I don't root for underdogs. I like favorites. I like stars. I've got a life. You do, too. I got a family. I got stuff I'm doing. I like stuff to suck me in and bring me in. And one of the criticisms of Rory McElroy is that he didn't want to play in the Texas tournaments. He had no interest. And he's like, you know, I'm going to practice, and this other players are eligible to do this. He went to Augusta, flew his Gulf Stream into Augusta, would play a couple practice rounds, he'd fly back, have, you know, dinner with the kids. And apparently that just golf purists don't like it. And my take that, you know, success begets success. I have no problem with that. Here's Rory McElroy addressing how well he knows this course. He zoned in on this course and decided, I'm not going to waste my time. His words on the Texas stuff.

[Rory McIlroy]

I honestly just don't like the three tournaments leading up to this event. I'd rather come up here. I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her or had dinner with Eric and Poppy. Like, I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt like that was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio again.

[Colin Cowherd]

I love the authenticity. He's from Northern Ireland. The Texas tournaments don't work for him. And what he did at Augusta, the many practice rounds, others can do it as well. So I think, you know, that quote by him will undoubtedly rankle some. I don't get it. I'm not a golf purist. I love the sport. I love watching the majors. I sat in front of a TV for five and a half straight hours like many of you yesterday. But I think what makes him unique is, you know, he like Tiger, prodigy, rock star, 11 year major drought. And now we're getting into the legendary stage. I mean, it feels like to me we've got a ton of Runway left. He's 36. He's in unbelievable shape. I, I really like the guy. I don't know how to explain it other than some people have that sticky quality where I just can't turn the TV off. I just can't wait for the last shot again on 18. We didn't necessarily see all of his shots, but I loved it. So J. Mac is back from some island far away. We are, you know, a little more than a week from the NFL draft. Great story this morning. I read on Fernando Mendoza. Colin right? Colin wrong. In about 45 minutes from now, J. Mac, you feeling rested and ready to go?

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, just got a bit of a head cold. I'll power through it, you know, like the lights come on and I'm ready for action.

[Colin Cowherd]

Can't wait.

[Jason McIntyre]

I was following you on social media. Instagram? No, Twitter. But it seems like you had a great, great week without me, man. Hopefully you weren't getting too used to it.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, no, John. Middle cough as always, does a great job.

[Jason McIntyre]

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

[Colin Cowherd]

Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.

[Rob Parker]

And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right, you can now watch the Odd couple live on YouTube every day.

[Rob Parker]

All you got to do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube. Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

You know, you see it with actors. Some people may be great actors, but there's no aura. You know, Killian Murphy, somebody that's on the screen. Like, my eyes are immediately drawn to him. It's just. He's got a unique look, a unique intensity. And I feel that you can't fake interesting. Like Michael Jordan had the Persona and the style and the fashion and the coolness. I've always said Michael will always be more beloved than LeBron because he was cooler than LeBron. LeBron's great. Amazing. Michael was great and amazing and cool. And people say, oh, Jayson Tatum's the face of the NBA. And he's like. I'm like, he's not that interesting and he doesn't have an aura. I'm not saying he's not a great kid. It's just I don't see the aura. And for years and years, I've been told, this is the next tiger and this is the next tiger. And I just don't feel it. Rory's the only one that kind of feels like it. So, I mean, Scotty Scheffler's amazing. So is Jordan Spieth. But they've got kind of a Mike Trout feel to them. I respect them. They're amazing. Purists love them. And there's just. I just don't feel the juice. I'm sorry. I mean, Scotty Scheffler once got arrested at a golf tournament. Three days later, nobody cared. You know, I mean, that would. That would be a story around Rory McElroy. Seven years later we'd be referencing. It just disappeared. So I think Rory's very. Maybe it's because Rory is jacked or he's wild or he's emotional or he's vulnerable or he Let you back in. Or like Phil Mickelson, you think he's got the tournament wrapped up and suddenly he trails. I don't know. He can be combative, he's assertive, he's got some leadership qualities. He was, you know, on the forefront of the live PGA debate. Good for him. But I, for years I've been told this guy is going to be the next guy. And there's just certain golfers. Arnold Palmer had it, you know, Phil had it, Rory's got it. Tiger obviously did. The Bear did it. Reminds me a little bit of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Pete Sampras had the Grand Slams, Agassi had the star power. You know, Magus McEnroe had the star power. You know, I never felt Boris Becker was just great. So we've seen it in golf. David Duvall at his height, unbelievable. Didn't get me to a tv. I know I'm not a purist, I don't have a three handicap, but Nick Faldo had a little bit of that. And Rory was asked about the comparisons now winning back to, back to Faldo

[Rory McIlroy]

today, I tie Nick. So, yeah, there's obviously going to be that conversation and that debate is going to be hard, but it's a cool conversation to be a part of. But again, it took me 10 years to win my fifth major and then my sixth one's come pretty soon after it. So, yeah, I'm not putting a number on it, but I certainly don't want to stop here.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I've said for years, if you care, I care. And Scotty Schaefer at one point won a golf major and said, you know, it's, it's not the most important thing to me when Rory's on a golf course, it feels like the most important thing for him. He's screaming and yelling and that matters. He lets you in. You see the highs and lows. Anybody who's ever golfed, I don't care if you're a scratch golfer, has, you know, had money on the line, had dinner on the line and just hit his worst shot at the worst time, that's Rory. And to be this dominant and have the occasional bad shots and miss birdie Potts and have a lead and blow it, and then he can be majestic for a 7, 8, 9 hole stretch. You just get a little bit of everything with Rory McElroy and I, I think it's fascinating. Not that many golfer. I mean, I've been watching the Masters, like all of you forever and I Love the US Open, especially on certain courses like Pebble Beach. Always love the British. But, I mean, look at. There's a great example of Rory McElroy, Arms in the air. You could just know how much it means to him and his family. If you care. I care. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no.

[Rob Parker]

Heard on the news.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is the Herd line news.

[Jason McIntyre]

All right, Colin, let's start with something I care deeply about. Giannis and the Bucks. And the storylines continue. Doc Rivers is, quote, stepping down as the Bucks coach. It's really unclear why he would step down. A lot of money coming his way. Maybe he knows Giannis is gone, but Doc Rivers is done. Apparently, there were some locker room issues late in the season, according to Sam Amick. Yeah, the first name being floated. Wait for it. Taylor Jenkins, who was last seen feuding with Ja Morant back in the day in Memphis. Yeah, get excited, Colin. Everything the Bucks have done to try to keep Giannis has been a disaster. They tried for Dame Lillard. Did not work. They did the Miles Turner thing. I don't know if you saw his numbers this season.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, total bust.

[Jason McIntyre]

And then the Doc Rivers. Nothing's working. And now we begin the summer of Giannis. I don't know. Do you think this has any impact on. On. On the Big Guy?

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, it's. It's interesting because when Doc Rivers got the job, my take is, okay, he's going to be a little bit like a Joe Tory with the Yankees, kind of a senior statesman. Been around. I mean, Joe Tory had been fired multiple times before the Yankees, but he comes into New York, he can handle the media. The Giannis thing felt kind of combustible with ownership. He's been around the block, and I mean, there's. He's always been knocked by not being a great in series, in game coach. That's criticism forever. But I figured he'd just kind of handle the dysfunction. And he. And I'm not sure if it's his fault or not. He hasn't. It's festered, it's gotten worse. And this goes back to something John and I talked about last week, is when a star. When people mention retirement, they're thinking of it, they're retired, they haven't. Aaron Rodgers has talked about it so much. Four years ago, he was talking about retirement. That's about the time he stopped working out in the off season regularly. And it's the same thing when people talk about unhappy with a contract. You got to make moves fast because the longer you wait in this league, the less leverage you'll have. And now the sport. Jason has changed. He's not a perimeter player. There's more threes than ever. He's had multiple lower body injuries. I mean, I think he'd be a great fit with a Knicks. But how much, I mean, if you put him on the market, I don't know how much he gets now.

[Jason McIntyre]

No, you're right. That's a good point. I don't think he's going to get what he could have got a year ago before all the injuries. Listen, I don't want to hammer Doc Rivers. He's had a really good career. We're not going to call it great, but I will say Colin, I can't think of a professional sports coach who's done less with more than Doc Rivers. He had those stacked Clippers teams, he had loaded Sixers teams, he had Giannis. Colin, he's got, you know, he had a great run in Boston with Hall of Fame players. I don't know, I just, I can't put him in the elite class. All time coaches. Obviously a really good coach, but to me, he's not elite.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, I don't think anybody was arguing that. I mean he's, he's, I mean, listen, he gets along with people. Social, you know, very social.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yes.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like he's very, very well liked. But the criticisms that have haunted him is he's blown a lot of series leads and he's not great X's and O's guy. And in the end, the one thing we thought he would be really good at is kind of, you know, just like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul kind of making it all work, you know, creating sort of a unchaotic atmosphere. It's just festered. It's worse than ever.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, definitely. All right, let's move on to the Lakers. Colin. And the NBA playoffs in the West. Listen, I did miss a lot of this being out last week, but things have gone downhill for the Lakers. Bad. Yet they still have home court advantage. They will host the Rockets in the playoffs thanks to a wacky Nuggets win over the spurs on the is the season finale. J.J. redick had an interesting comment. He was honest without Luca and Reeves. And by the way, there's no updates on those guys. We don't know if it's going to be two weeks, three weeks. Anyways, Luca definitely gonna miss game one. JJ Redick said everybody wants to play us.

[J.J. Redick]

I'm sure everybody wants to play us. Let's, let's get that out There, like everyone wants to play us. There's probably teams that are in a position where they can start looking forward to potential second round matchups as well. We've seen some of those teams, you know, rest their entire lineup, basically, so we can't be concerned with all of that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, I think the reason they're not mentioning Luca or Austin Reeves is because they're not going to play in this series at all. And if they were, it would be a hot topic. But they're. They're done. I mean, it's actually this was, this was the perfect matchup. If even Luca or Austin, if you didn't get both back, you got one back. It's a really good matchup because Houston's a flawed team with no true point guard and they don't force Luca and Austin Reaves to defend like, like a Minnesota would with Ant or Oklahoma City would with sga. Houston was the perfect matchup. I mean, I do not remember, honestly. Try to think back to the NBA and I don't have some encyclopedic knowledge of the league, but I don't remember a singular game. The Lakers were the hottest team in the league before Denver got hot. In the last three weeks, they were the hottest team in the league. They were 15 and two in March. They go to Oklahoma City, their first and third best player get hurt, and the season's over in one game. It literally ended. March might as well have not happened because we were looking at the playoffs and going, oh God, Houston's in big trouble. Lakers would be favored. I don't remember a regular season NBA game where a team went from hottest in the league. People were saying they're absolutely a Western Conference finals team too. Can't compete in the first round, which I think right now they can.

[Jason McIntyre]

We would agree. Listen, I hyped that game as one of the games of the year. It was over within five minutes. And I did see your take afterward calling them a fake Louis Vuitton bag, which is not very nice. But I would say their two best players are out. Austin Reaves. LeBron's been awesome. Austin Reaves is a better player. He can create more right now. So, Colin, the Rockets are just going to put Amand Thompson on LeBron and say, who else is going to initiate offense?

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[Jason McIntyre]

What are we doing? Luke Kennard here? I think Lakers are cooked unless those guys come back. Final story Con. Let's go to the NFL draft. We are less than two weeks away. Some drama trying to get manufactured in what's kind of a dull draft at the top, but Tom Pelissaro claims the Cowboys are the team most likely to make a move up, targeting someone like Ruben Bane Jr. There's some stuff floating around about him or Sonny C. Styles, possibly if either of those guys drop out of the top five. The problem with this draft at the top is there's not a lot of juice. After Mendoza, there's no quarterback. Right. You got a couple skill position guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Dallas is expensive and talented in their defensive front. Rashan Gary, now Kenny Clark, Quinn and Williams overshone. Why would they move up? I mean there's, there's two good corners that'll both be available. Well, one will be available for sure with Dallas's 12th pick. And I, I mean I, to me, I, I, why move up? I, I don't think, I mean I think the best player. There's an argument Fernando Mendoza is my favorite player in the draft. I would argue Jeremiah Love at running back is another can't miss. I think the most underrated players, probably that LSU corner, but I don't see the value in moving up. Dallas needs two to three players in the back end of their defense and they can get two if the Cowboys get lucky. I don't think he'll be available, but Caleb Downs is moving down these mock draft boards. But to me, Dallas spends a lot of money on their D line, their quarterback and their star receiver. Like they need to get inexpensive and talented on the back end of their defense.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, there's going to be guys available. Caleb Downs would be amazing, but I think his floor is like the Cincinnati Bengals. There's no way the Bengals are letting him go. Their back end is maybe the worst in the league. But yeah, I'm not buying this. Trade up Cowboys. I don't see it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, J. Mac with the news.

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[Colin Cowherd]

stopping by the Herd lie news. So Nate Tice used to be on the Athletic Robert Mays football podcast did a really deep dive on Fernando Mendoza who at this point I think has entered a space where he's undervalued. He talked about how he basically his ability on out routes may be the best he's ever seen. At college they talk about his toughness that he doesn't play hero ball. He just hangs in, either throws the ball away or takes a shot. He's effective on the move. He goes through a series of numbers and he notes that Tyler Linderbaum, the second best center in the league, was also acquired. What I find fascinating about Fernando Mendoza is. Again, I'm constantly told this new dual threat quarterback coming out of Blank University is going to change the game. And they never do. Or this Alabama quarterback is the next Drew Brees and he never is. Or that this cocky, undersized quarterback has the moxie of a Super bowl champion. And it never transpires like I keep being told, dual threat guys gonna change the league. Or real cocky confident small guy is gonna change the league. Or this Alabama quarterback is Drew Brees. And I don't buy any of them. And yet we've got a 6, 5 guy who on a couple of different NFL routes is about as accurate as a college quarterback's ever been. Good arm obsessed, kind of a Brady, Tom Brady level obsessed. Humility, grateful. I mean, Indiana, my entire life was just an awful football program. And last year they go 160 in maybe the toughest, I mean, of the college football playoffs we've had. It was as tough as any. His red zone numbers don't even make sense. His red zone numbers in 2024 and 2025, 49 total touchdowns, no turnovers. The kid completes 75% of his throws. Think about this. In the College Football Playoff, Ohio State defense, Miami defense, nine touchdowns, no turnovers. I don't get it. And you know, a lot of people, I think some of this is, well, Kurt Signetti. Go back a year when Kurt Signetti punted, you know, like the 47 yard line trailing late in the game against Notre Dame and we were all going, what a fraud. Give me a break. Why are you playing not to lose big. And then the following year I'm supposed to believe Kurt Signetti is Nick Saban times Bill Belichick. I think Kurt Signetti is excellent. But if you go back to this team, they could have lost if, if Mendoza is not the quarterback. I think they lose to Miami, they lose to Ohio State, they lose to Penn State, the game you're watching and could have lost to Iowa and Oregon, they probably win those games. So I think Kurt Signetti is an excellent coach. Excellent. I'm not arguing that at all. But just go back a year and change. We were crushing inappropriately. So Kurt Signetti, because he was punting near midfield, losing big to Notre Dame, as if he was protecting sort of, hey, we're going to get beat. We don't go. We don't want to get embarrassed. He was getting clobbered. So I really don't get it. I mean, versus ranked opponents last year, and not just ranked opponents, Miami and Ohio State defenses were stellar against ranked opponents 74% completion percentage in the College Football Playoff, 75% completion percentage. I think his ball placement, accuracy, toughness, size, arm. People say, well, you know, he's a little, he's a little mechanical. That's what they said about Peyton Manning and Justin Herbert. That doesn't feel like a legitimate criticism. Yeah, it's Kurt Signetti Punnett from the Notre Dame 48 trailing 23 in the fourth quarter. We were crushing him and the next year he's better than Saban. I think Mendoza is the difference here and I, and I think Signetti is an excellent coach, but I think all coaches look better when they have Brady. I mean we've seen Belichick in Cleveland, pre Brady in New England, the Matt Castle year. And when Brady left, I mean Belichick was considered way up here the smartest coach ever. He, Tom Brady leaves and he makes Matt Patricia the offensive coordinator. I mean at pre Mendoza, Signetti against Notre Dame we were like what a boring, uncreative game plan that is. Non competitive punting at the 48, trailing by 17. I don't know. Here's Greg Cosell on Mendoza.

[Greg Cosell]

I think being highly efficient playing the position, being an outstanding ball distributor and an executor of a well schemed offense is a good thing, Colin. And we've lost the ability to celebrate that because more and more quarterbacks are great athletes than ever before. But Mendoza just to me plays the position the right way. He plays the position the way you have to play it to be consistent, not, not to be flashy, not to be on highlight shows, but you know, to play it the right way, snap after snap after snap. And by the way, that's a trait too.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's interesting. The writer, when talking about Mendoza, he went, you know, back to several games and, and this person was doing the Athletic football podcast, he said he has the most accurate out route thrower he ever remembers in college. The thing I like about him, he's already got the Raider playbook, that kid. The kid's obsessed and grateful and humble. All the qualities that gave us, you know, a lot of those same qualities gave us Joe Montana and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. So it's just weird. We live in a world where the quarterback is often overvalued or overhyped. I think Mendoza goes the other way. It's like I, I don't get the critics. I mean I liked Indiana's talent a lot. Omar Cooper's a really good player. Omar Cooper is going to probably go in the second round. You know, he didn't have a Devonte Smith in college. He didn't have, you know, an A.J. brown in college. You know, Omar Cooper's a really good player. I like him a lot. He's probably going to go top of the second round in a weak draft, right? Like he could be the fifth receiver taken. There you go.

[Jason McIntyre]

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

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

Coming up tonight on FS1, we've got a good one in the NL east when Pete Crow Armstrong and the Cubs take on Bryce Harper in The Phillies tonight, 6 Eastern on FS1.

[Colin Cowherd]

What's interesting, I guess as we get ready for a Rockets Lakers series, it's really boiled down because of the Luca and Austin reeves injuries to LeBron. Old LeBron against old Kevin Durant, one of them is going to lose in the first round. If LeBron loses, we will not question his resume. We'll be like, we get it. At this age, he can't carry him. I don't think we'll question LeBron. The only thing we'll question, if LeBron loses his future with the Lakers. He could still play next year and be a, you know, a very effective top 20 player in the league that we don't question can still beat people off the dribble. He just can't play 43 minutes a night in a series like this with Amend Thompson guarding him. Can't do it. So if LeBron loses, it is a. It's a bummer. I wanted to see him against Houston with Luca Austin Reeves and LeBron. If Kevin Durant loses, don't just sort of. And I love Durant, but don't you sort of look at the resume and go, when did he win big without Steph Curry? I mean, think about this. The Rockets were second in the west last year. They add kd, and this year they're fifth. Well, Fred Van Vliet. Don't want to hear it. Not interested in listening to that debate about the loss of Fred Van Vliet. Undrafted, good player, good player. So to me, Kevin Durant, not that his resume or legacy is on the line, but I mean, he did something at one point in his career that's kind of unprecedented. I'm going to leave a dynasty and one of the great teammates in the sports history staff to go to Brooklyn and play with kooky Kyrie. It did not work out well in any other sport. If Aaron Judge said, I'm going to leave the Yankees, let's say this Ohtani is like, you know what? Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, you know what? I got a buddy that plays for the Royals. We'd be like, yeah, visit him in the off season. If Mahomes is like, you know what? My best friend's right tackle for the New York Jets. Good vacation in the Cayman Islands in the off season. I mean, he left Katie, left a dynasty and Steph Curry and Steve Kerr to go to Brooklyn in that, you know what show. So I. This was going to be a really interesting series. It's. It's a little interesting because either LeBron or KD are going to be shown the door. Here's Nick Wright last week on how important it is that at least a couple of these playoff series in the NBA go the distance or are captivating the NBA definitively. These playoffs better be nothing but six and seven game epics because we have the last two months of the regular season have been teams trying against teams trying to lose and 30 point spreads. So the playoffs better be cinema for the NBA. I think they might be, but they need to be. So back to Rory. In the last 40 years, Tiger woods has won the most majors at 15. So everybody else is battling for second place. Rory, Phil Mickelson and Faldo are at six. And I think there's a real debate now. Rory or Phil Mickelson? Now, Phil took him a while, you know, to win some of those majors. He had kind of a fun, crazy life. I tend to think Rory with this win, kind of surpasses Phil. Was a couple reasons, and I love Phil Mickelson. A couple of reasons. Rory's got the Grand Slam, and Phil never won a U.S. open. Now, and. And some of it was Phil Mickelson's doing. Phil finished second at the US Open six times. And I mean, we were all. I mean, anybody with a soul, a heart, was rooting for Phil. But, you know, Phil's career was maddening. Unbelievable lefty, unbelievable talent. But he doesn't have that US Open. Rory does. The second thing is, and you know, this is the reality of sports. Mickelson was never the number one golfer. Tiger was forever. He was number two. Mickelson was number two. I looked it up this morning. For 270 weeks, there was a guy named Tiger that was number one. So Rory's been number one for 122 weeks. I don't know if he's currently number one. He's not, but he's got a long Runway. And so I also think Rory, who's in impeccable shape. Phil got into better shape really late. Rory is an impeccable shape. I think since he broke through at the Masters last year, he's just playing with a different level of confidence, which is what happens. It could be John Elway, it could be Michael Jordan. There's just a different level of confidence. But I tend to put Rory inches ahead because of his number one ranking, and he's got the Grand Slam. He and Mickelson share something in common. Really aggressive sometimes. Oftentimes to their benefit. Sometimes you're shaking your head at the decisions they make on a golf course. He talked about it yesterday. If you watch the, you know, that perspective piece for an hour before the Masters. The Masters has historically rewarded really aggressive golfers on Sunday, so, you know, for the criticisms. Well, Mickelson, you know, he couldn't win US Opens. There was Tiger. I would argue Rory. The depth of golf talent right now, globally, is about as good as it's ever been. So that's just the reality of eras. You don't get a lot of credit for seconds. Tom Kite and Mickelson finished second in a lot of big tournaments, many times. Here was. Here was Rory on Saturday, heading into the pivotal final round.

[Rory McIlroy]

I'd like to think that I'll play a little bit freer and I'll play, you know, play like I've already got a green jacket, which I do sometimes. I maybe just have to remind myself of that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, Rickie Fowler is another guy that. A lot of top 10 finishes, a lot of almost really close. But I think. I think Rory feels like to me by inches has kind of moved ahead of Phil Mickelson, who is next to Tiger, as popular as any golfer. I love that Brooks Koepka had a good weekend. Five under. I love that. So it is, it's just fascinating. I, you know, I, when live, the live tour came out, my take was I always root for the golfer. I root for the individual. And, you know, our government has, you know, been in relationships with Middle Eastern oil. I'm, I'm okay if individual golfers. I've always watched for the golfer, not the course. The exception is Augusta. I didn't think it was the most lively weekend. And think about this. What if you'd have taken Rory out of the weekend? I think it would have felt like an incredibly flat tournament. He gave us the incredible burst early and then he falls out of the lead. Then he comes roaring back and fitting on 18 when he probably just should have played it safe. He didn't. Into the woods it goes. He recovers like he did all day yesterday. All right. Colin, right? Colin wrong. Hour two on Monday.

[Jason McIntyre]

Next.

[Colin Cowherd]

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