THE HERD - Hour 1 - Yankees opening season win, where Ty Simpson might land in the draft, Dan Hurley

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 Summary

Date: March 26, 2026
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (iHeartPodcasts & The Volume)
Episode Theme:
This episode dives into the New York Yankees’ opening season win and how it defied their usual formula, the intrigue and strategy around where Alabama QB Ty Simpson might land in the NFL draft, and a deep conversation with UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley ahead of a Sweet 16 clash with Michigan State. Colin also examines the real NBA championship contenders, trades stats and takes on Luka Dončić, and reacts to ongoing NBA and NFL storylines.

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1. Yankees’ Season Opener: New Signs of Balance

[03:04–06:14]

• Main Point:
  Colin opens by analyzing the Yankees’ win, highlighting how they bucked trends of being home-run and Judge-dependent, winning with balance, singles, and bottom-of-the-lineup production—despite Aaron Judge striking out four times.

• Key Insights:

  • The Yankees’ offense has long been power-centric and too reliant on Aaron Judge.
  • In this game, Judge went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, yet the team won convincingly with nine singles by eight different hitters.
  • Yankees scored without home runs, indicating a more balanced attack.
  • Colin notes, “Balance is going to win you trophies, not winning home run titles.” (05:37)

• Notable Quote:

  • “No team is more home run dependent. Yankees scored 50% of the runs on home runs, tops in baseball...” – Colin Cowherd (04:08)
  • “Five through nine hitters hit .412. So it was what they don’t normally do.” – Colin Cowherd (04:44)

• Manager’s Perspective:

  • Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised his team’s approach:

    “Webb’s one of the best and to put up a five spot there in the second with just a lot of really good at bats... I thought all night, you know, we were able to do that against a really good one.” – Aaron Boone (05:55)

---

2. NFL Draft Strategy: Where Could Ty Simpson Land?

[06:14–14:49]

• Main Point:
  Colin discusses the nuanced draft strategy around Alabama QB Ty Simpson, dissecting why only one NFL GM (Bears’ Ryan Poles) attended Simpson's pro day, interpreting this as a deliberate smokescreen and evidence of strategic gamesmanship.

• Key Insights:

  • Lack of GM attendance is by design: teams hide their intentions to maintain leverage.
  • Colin suspects Simpson is a late first- or early second-round prospect, similar to previous QBs like Jackson Dart.
  • Teams possibly targeting him: Jets (picks 16 and second pick), Panthers (19), Steelers (21), suggesting a narrow window.
  • Next year’s QB draft class is projected as “big game hunting,” with teams like the Jets, Dolphins, Cardinals potentially waiting for prospects like Arch Manning.
  • The risk for GMs on picking a QB is high—misses often cost jobs.

• Notable Quotes:

  “If you really like him, you don’t want to go to the pro day ... if you want to get this kid, you got to get to 15 and beat the Jets. ... You don’t want to give him (Bucs GM) leverage and know you’re desperate. So this is a decoy move.” – Colin Cowherd (07:34)

  “I do think he’s a franchise quarterback ... You can get video of it. GMs don’t want you to know they’re interested so they have maybe a little leverage.” – Colin Cowherd (11:12–11:18)

• Expert Analysis:

  • ESPN’s Todd McShay on Simpson’s pro-readiness:

    “It’s transferable. It’s NFL stuff. ... Everything’s clockwork, the decision making, it’s precise. I know he has the mind.” – Todd McShay (10:44)

• Ty Simpson’s Self-Assessment:

  “I’m tough, I’m resilient, I love football and I want to make other people better ... if you draft me ... I’m looking after the whole team.” – Ty Simpson (09:12)

• J Mac’s (Jason McIntyre) Take:

  • There’s more value in seeing a QB in person, but analytics and tanking for next year’s loaded draft is real:

    “We’re seeing a tanking going on in the NFL this season... This is different, Colin. If Arch Manning were in this draft, he would go ahead of Mendoza...” (12:21–13:07)

---

3. Real NBA Title Contenders & Celtics/OKC Recap

[19:14–23:43]

• Main Point:
  Colin recaps the Celtics’ intense win over the OKC Thunder, framing it as a possible preview of the NBA Finals and narrowing the true contenders to Boston, OKC, and San Antonio.

• Key Insights:

  • Celtics-OKC had a playoff feel; only about three teams can realistically win the title this year.
  • Other teams (Lakers, Pistons, Nuggets, Knicks) have serious flaws—athleticism, defense, overreliance on stars, etc.
  • The Celtics’ roster depth, defense, coaching, and low turnover count set them apart.
  • Jaylen Brown’s performance and team-first attitude highlighted.

• Notable Quotes:

  “Let’s be totally honest, there’s three teams that can win the championship and the Celtics and the OKC Thunder ... The other is the Spurs.” – Colin Cowherd (19:32–19:45)

  “The Celtics had six guys in double figures ... They don’t turn the ball over ... They’re top five in everything this year, and most of that’s without Jayson Tatum.” – Colin Cowherd (20:48–21:19)

  • Jaylen Brown reflects:

    “I think that game was awesome. The intensity level ... was very high. Felt like a playoff game ... that was a step in the right direction.” – Jaylen Brown (23:11)

---

4. NBA Headlines: Luka-MVP Debate & Playoff Chaos

[23:51–27:51]

• Main Point:
  The crew debates Luka Dončić’s historic run and the unpredictable shape of the Western Conference playoff race.

• Key Insights:

  • Luka posts another historic stretch, but Colin pushes back on comparisons to Michael Jordan due to tanking teams lowering the bar.
  • Lakers currently third in the West—well positioned for playoff success.
  • Rockets are a good first-round matchup for L.A., while the Spurs’ youth may limit their Finals prospects.
  • SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and the MVP race discussed.

• Notable Quotes:

  “Luka becomes the first player since Michael Jordan with six straight road games averaging over 40 ... He’s an unbelievable scorer right now.” – J Mac (24:24–24:42)

  “Jaylen Brown doesn’t get nearly the love. He’s been a great player ... He’s going to be a Hall of Famer.” – Colin Cowherd (27:00 –27:42)

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5. NBA Rule Change: Cade Cunningham & Awards Eligibility

[27:51–30:32]

• Main Point:
  Discussion of the 65-game minimum for eligibility for all-NBA awards, with Adam Silver defending the rule despite Cade Cunningham losing out due to injury.

• Key Insights:

  • Adam Silver acknowledges the rule’s unintended casualties, but stresses its effectiveness.
  • Colin agrees, saying it's a fair trade-off and necessary to combat load management.

• Notable Quotes:

  “We always knew when there’s a line you draw that somebody’s going to fall on the other side ... but having said that ... some other player will then be all NBA.” – Adam Silver (28:16)

  “Rules are rules. No candy before dinner. Tell my kids rules are rules.” – Colin Cowherd (30:11)

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6. Cowboys’ Draft Strategy & Team Building Trends

[30:32–35:46]

• Main Point:
  The conversation turns to NFL draft strategies, especially for the Dallas Cowboys, and which prospects would be worth a trade-up or aggressive move.

• Key Insights:

  • Cowboys aim to draft “natural and pure,” not reach for positions.
  • Safety, corner, linebacker, and O-line depth discussed as potential priorities.
  • Dolphins seen as a candidate to package picks and try to move up for much-needed talent.
  • The crew speculates on the value of certain prospects (Caleb Downs, Ruben Bane, Sonny Styles, Carnell Tate).
  • Draft class overall regarded as lacking in blue-chip talent to justify blockbuster trades.

• Notable Quotes:

  “You don’t want to have to be forced to reach for a player. That’s when you make mistakes.” – Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys OC (30:58)

  “I don’t think there are a lot of guys I’d move up for ... Miami Dolphins are fascinating because they’ve got two ones and four threes.” – Colin Cowherd (32:39/34:17)

---

7. March Madness: UConn’s Dan Hurley Previews Sweet 16

[39:40–51:28]

• Main Point:
  Colin hosts UConn head coach Dan Hurley ahead of the Sweet 16 showdown with Michigan State, offering insights on the tournament, the state of college basketball, and the pressure of “win-or-go-home” March coaching.

• Key Insights:

  • Hurley feels UConn’s record and performance make them a “dangerous” two-seed.
  • Michigan State’s physicality and Cohen Carr’s explosive style will make officiating challenging.
  • College hoops has more talent than ever thanks to international influx and NIL deals that allow borderline NBA talent to stay in college.
  • Hurley reflects on his decision to stay in college over NBA offers, cherishing the control and culture-building aspects of college jobs.
  • The coaching fraternity, notably with mentors like Tom Izzo, helps build the sport.
  • Hurley is more relaxed in March’s “kill-or-be-killed” setting, but points out officials are under increased scrutiny in the tournament.
  • Personal anecdotes add color, such as recalling his pivotal Wagner upset over Pitt—with the same official working the current games.
  • Hurley credits the “men’s contest” nature of Big East basketball for preparing his team.

• Notable Quotes:

  “We feel like we’re as dangerous as any team in the country. We know that Michigan State, that is going to be a war. It’s a real manly contest.” – Dan Hurley (41:13)

  “[College basketball] could now get the same amount of money...but you’re also, you’re going to get develop[ed] better, live better, travel better.” – Dan Hurley (44:31)

  “I just, I love the control you still have in college...you really do control your own destiny as a college coach. That’s something I would never want to give up.” – Dan Hurley (46:15)

  “If you go down, you don’t have to worry about picking the pieces up with your team the next day. There are no pieces. It’s over.” – Dan Hurley, on March tournament pressure (49:20)

---

Key Takeaways

• The Yankees won with rare offensive balance, potentially signaling a new path to success.
• NFL teams are playing “draft poker” around Ty Simpson, with GMs using subterfuge to hide their true intentions; speculation swirls about where Simpson fits in a QB-thirsty league.
• In the NBA, the Celtics and OKC Thunder look like top Finals contenders, with the Lakers surging up the West.
• NBA’s new awards eligibility rule has teeth, and league brass are standing by it.
• NFL draft strategy this year focuses on pragmatism in a down year for transcendent talent.
• Dan Hurley, prepared for a physical Sweet 16 showdown, champions college basketball’s new talent-rich era and the satisfaction of coaching at the college level.

---

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “Balance is going to win you trophies, not winning home run titles.” – Colin Cowherd (05:37)
• “If you draft me ... I’m looking after the whole team.” – Ty Simpson (09:12)
• “We’re seeing a tanking going on in the NFL this season... this is different, Colin.” – J Mac (12:21)
• “Jaylen Brown doesn’t get nearly the love. He’s been a great player ... Hall of Famer.” – Colin Cowherd (27:00)
• “If you go down, there are no pieces ... It’s over.” – Dan Hurley (49:20)

---

For detailed sports context and smart, opinionated discussion, this episode is chock-full of informed analysis and inside stories for baseball, NFL draft, NBA playoffs, and college basketball fans alike.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon

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[Colin Cowherd]

Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Thursday. We're packed. Dan Hurley, UConn coach, Dodger manager Dave Roberts, Carlos Boozer, whose son's going to be a top three or four pick in the NBA draft. Sweet 16 starts tomorrow. It's great to be here on a Thursday. Live in Chicago, it's the Herd. So Yankees have been unbalanced for years and they didn't really do anything in the offseason. They added like a number four start and a lot of good teams were upgrading, elevating, acquiring, and the Yankees didn't. And if I would have told you last night, opening up on the road, Aaron Judge struck out four times. Only Yankee not to reach base. Logan Webb is pitching for the Giants. Led the National League in strikeouts. You just said oh. Yet they rolled on the road. Nine singles. Eight different Yankees got hits, all except Aaron Judge. Balance. They attacked Logan Webb and no team is more home run dependent. Yankees scored 50% of the runs on home runs, tops in baseball. They're unbalanced. Nobody relies in the home run and and they're very Aaron Judge reliant. I mean, the Phillies have Bryce Harper and other stars. Dodgers have Ohtani and other stars. They add Kyle Tucker. The Padres have Machado and other stars. The Yankees are Aaron Judge Reliant and he didn't do anything last night. And they're an unbalanced offense and they didn't hit any home runs last night. So this is, I know it's one of 62. Judge had a really bad opener. But I mean last night it was singles, it was good at bats. It was the bottom of the lineup. Five through nine hitters hit.412. So it was what they don't normally do. They got a bad night from Aaron Judge against a great pitcher Logan Webb's an all star. They roughed him up in the second inning. Max Freed was home free. And this is, this is, I know it's one of 62, but this is not what the Yankees do. They don't always get good at bats, right? They don't, they don't move guys along. They're not great always. Situationally they got good starting pitching, but last night they got great pitching. Lot of singles, different guys, bottom of the order. That was a nice win. Balance is going to win you trophies, not winning home run titles. Here was Aaron Boone after, obviously Logan

[Aaron Boone]

Webb's one of the best and to put up a five spot there in the second with just a lot of really good at bats. You know, I thought we, I thought we pressured him. Even in the first he went 1, 2, 3. But you know, every at B tough and it was a battle. And I thought all night, you know, we were able to do that against a really good one.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, so yesterday at the end of the show, Ty Simpson, Bama quarterback, had a pro day and JMA said one GM is there Ryan Poles of the Bears. And I suggested it's a smoke screen because if you really like him, you don't want to go to the pro day. Well, I had two execs text me after our show yesterday and said we got it right. Is that you can get film from this without being there. Hey, the Rams have crushed the draft. They don't even go to the combine. So also Ohio State had a pro day. A lot of people want to see the Buckeyes. They've got multiple first and second rounders. Also, the jets are going to do a private workout with Ty Simpson. But this is what I think is happening and why nobody showed up. I think it was absolutely intentional. I do think he's sort of the Jackson Dart, late first, early second sphere. But every year there's seven teams that need a quarterback. And remember next year's draft, it's big game hunting. But you're going to have to give up multiple ones, multiple twos and threes to get an arch Manning to potentially get a star quarterback. So if you can get somebody of value who you see as a franchise quarterback, that's interesting. So let's look at the picks because I think he's going to go somewhere between 15 and 21. Even though I, I, you know, I didn't think Jackson Dart was a first rounder. He had a very good rookie season when he was out of the blue tent. So if you look at who is picking 16 to 21. 16 is the Jet second pick. They could take him. Panthers at 19, would they consider it? Steelers at 21, would they consider it? So what does this mean? It means. It means if you want to get this kid, you got to get to 15 and beat the Jets. And who is at 15? The Buccaneers, who have Baker Mayfield. I presume they're not taking a quarterback, but Jason Light is a longtime general manager. You don't want to give the 15th GM Jason Light at 15. You don't want to give him leverage and know you're desperate. So this is a decoy move. This to me ensures I'll go the opposite. I think this ensures that Ty Simpson is going to in the middle to late first round. And I do, I do think he's a franchise quarterback. I, I do. But when nobody showed up except the one team you know is not drafting a quarterback, there's about five, six, seven teams aren't drafting a quarterback. Ryan Pole shows up. That tells you it's a smoke screen. Here was Ty Simpson after his pro day.

[Ty Simpson]

I'm tough, I'm resilient, I love football and I want to make other people better. You know, when I come in their program, I'm program trained. You know, I, I don't just make you better and make other people better. So if you draft me and you want me to be your franchise quarterback, I'm not just coming in to look after myself. I'm looking after the whole team and making sure that I leave it better than where I left it.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, he, he's his traits, he's not very big, he's not hyper athletic, but I do think he's got a good arm, he's athletic enough. I think he's a franchise quarterback. What's interesting about the Steelers is they draft the quarterback in the late first round. Rolled the dice on Kenny Pickett, and it didn't work, like, at all. Ty Simpson's better than Kenny Pickett. I don't think he's as talented as Malik Willis who went in the picket draft. I think Malik Willis is really, really special. And I think Dolphin fans and the rest of us will see that very quickly. But Todd McShay was on yesterday. The great thing about Simpson is that Kalyn DeBoer does a lot of NFL things with his offense. So it's not a really difficult evaluation. And as much as everybody says, well, quarterbacks are random. You never know where they come from. Most good ones come in the first round, go look at history, most don't go look at Brady or Montana. Overwhelmingly, GM's evaluations gotten better and better and better. Ty Simpson that pro day, nobody shows up. I think he's a first round guy. Here is McShay on the offense at Alabama. That actually does him a favor.

[Todd McShay]

It's transferable. It's NFL stuff. You know Ryan Grubbs there and they're doing the pre snap motion, deciphering what the coverage is. He's on schedule. He's like everything's clockwork, the decision making, it's precise. I know he has the mind. I know he's got a dad who was a, who's been a coach, a head coach in college football for 20 years. He grew up with a football in his hand. He's been around ball and you see it in his play.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So J. Mac is the reason I put that in the top of the show today, because we talked about it yesterday. It seems strange and there were headlines today. Whoa. What is going on? Total smoke screen. You can get video of it. GMs don't want you to know they're interested. So they have maybe a little leverage if they call Jason Light at 15 of the Bucks and want to move up. I think it's all gamesmanship and I, and I think that's fine. I think, yeah, we, we see games on the field. There's a lot of games being played off the field and I'm putting on the screen for our TV audience 16 through 21. I think both the jets and the Steelers are live to get him.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

That that's, it's not, it's a fair take. I like it. I largely agree that yeah, you can see the film on him throwing. It's more about like if you're drafting a quarterback, Colin, that's how you get fired as a gm. If you whiff on the quarterback that you don't get fired if you miss on a linebacker or an edge rusher, at least not as likelihood of getting canned. You miss on a quarterback, especially in the first round early, there's a good chance in a couple of years you're going.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, you don't know how to identify. I think Joe Douglas was pretty good for the jets, but he missed on Zach Wilson. I mean he drafted a lot of good players and he missed on him.

Yeah.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

As, as a result, you want as much information. I want to be around Ty Simpson, see what he's like. I personally believe, and I know this isn't going to be popular in NFL circles. We've seen other sports go so heavy analytics NFL is kind of the last one to the game. Baseball and basketball are all analytics. You've bashed them. And you're kind of right. You know, that's. It's home runs, it's threes, it's layups. I believe we're seeing a tanking going on in the NFL this season, Colin, where we know next year's quarterback class is loaded. And we do say this every year. Oh, it's always going to be. No, no, no. This is different, Colin. If Arch Banning were in this draft, he would go ahead of Mendoza. Talk to any draft analyst. Even though Arch wasn't great, his traits, the lineage, he would go ahead of Mendoza. I think teams, Jets, Dolphins, Cardinals, I don't even think they're interested in a quarterback. I think it's a race to the bottom for next year's quarterback.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, we, you know, you and I have discussed this, that the basketball and football cultures in America are divergent. They're totally different. And the football culture is better. Their, their minor league system is better than, you know, the NBA G League system. Although NBA is smartly now kind of leaning into college basketball. But I would say this, I said this two years ago, the last two years in the NFL. I have said it reminds me of the bottom of the NBA. It's really unwatchable by like Thanksgiving. It used to be there'd be two awful teams this year. Miami could be tanking. I'm not going to use tanking. Miami, Cleveland, Arizona. I think the Raiders will be interesting, so I'm not going to put them there. But there's a lot of junk at the bottom. I. Yeah, and I don't think because of the physicality you can tank in football. I think you can play backups, but your rosters are what they are. And there's so many injuries that sometimes, you know, you got to play who's healthy.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Look at the Seattle model, Colin. Seattle built all the infrastructure. They rolled the dice with Geno Smith. Did not work. Then they went Sam Darnold and the infrastructure was loaded. Like you say, the best roster in the league and they win the Super Bowl. Why can't the Jets, Cardinals and Browns say, hey, we're not going to go for a quarterback. We're going to load up on defensive end trenches, everything.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

And then we get our quarterback next year. I don't want to draft Ty Simpson in the first round. Why? He's not that great. I could sooner get a good player who's going to be a starter, round out my roster and then plug and play Arch Manning Carr from Notre Dame or whoever pops next year like Cam Ward or Fernando Mendoza.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, good stuff. By the way, nobody wants to hear this, especially in Los Angeles, but I think there's three teams that can win the title and the Celtics, one of those teams. We'll talk about that next. Live in Chicago, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

[Ty Simpson]

Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Paulie and Tony Fusco Show. Usually in these promos they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who have the dumbest takes on sports imaginable. Don't listen to this show so it can get canceled.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Daniel Cormier]

What the hell are you doing in our studio?

[Colin Cowherd]

Get him, Paulie.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Ignore that fool. Listen to the Paulie and Tony Fusco

[Colin Cowherd]

show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Daniel Cormier]

He's still moving.

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Great rate.

[Colin Cowherd]

None of the bull Celtics met OKC last night. Very playoff feel. Celtic fans know it was a playoff feel. Jaylen Brown was great down the stretch. It felt like you were watching, you know, very much a potential NBA championship. You get about a half dozen regular season games a year and this Was one of them where it's like, oh, that feels like a conference final or an NBA final. The fans were into it, the players were into it. It was very intense. And let's be totally honest, there's three teams that can win the championship and the Celtics and the OKC Thunder. You watched two of them last night. The other is the Spurs. The Lakers don't have the athletes or the defense. The Pistons don't have the offense. Denver on most nights, way too Jokic, Reliant. Houston doesn't have a true point guard. Forget about that. They're struggling. And the Knicks are interesting, but they're not as good as Boston. And frankly, Brunson and Cat are their two best players. And they're major defensive liabilities. You can hunt both in big playoff games. The Celtics had six guys in double figures. Now that Peyton Pritchard, with Tatum back, is going to go to the bench. He's a killer off the bench. So they've got the bench. They don't turn the ball over. I mean, they're very. Joe Missoula's ended up being an unbelievable coach. We didn't. I mean, the first year you're like, I don't know if that guy's a head coach. He's really good. Players totally respond to him. Tatum, whose shot was kind of clunky first several games back, they're now 7 and 2 with Tatum. So their bigs are young. They've moved off some old guys like Horford and Porzingis. Their bigs are young, they're athletic, they're healthier, they've got a real guy on the bench. This is a real team. And they're top five and everything this year. And most of that's without Jayson Tatum. So. And you say to yourself, Colin, there's more than three teams every year. Take out the 1970s where it was like eight. In the 70s it was like the Warriors, Elvin Hayes and the Bullets, the Sonics, the Portland trailblazers, oh yeah, Dr. J and the Sixers. There were a lot of teams and they were all kind of good. The Celtics on their best nights are excellent. They take a lot of threes and they hit a lot and they can defend and they're well coached and they don't turn it over. And that was a playoff game last night. So most of my life there's three teams that can win it, sometimes two. If you go back to the warriors dynasty, it was the Warriors Cavs for a five year stretch. You can say, well, what about the Dallas Mavericks during the Heatles. That's the most shocking final finish of my Life. You know, LeBron was struggling to post up JJ Barea. It was like an outlier. It was crazy. Shaq and Kobe. It was basically the Lakers and Spurs. For five years, those were the two best teams in the league. And I mean, I grew up in the Bird Magic era. There were two teams. So you know, they're just. Most of my life there's been, there's been a couple of teams. The Shaq, Shaq, Kobe years. You go back to the Shaq, Kobe years. Everybody knew Lakers, spurs are the two best teams. Whoever wins that's going to win the finals, right? So I look at Boston defense, two stars, well coached, star off the bench. And then I look at, you know, Wemby. You could argue that was the finals last night. You can argue that was the Finals. I don't believe this. I don't believe it. But a lot of people think San Antonio was way too young. Celtics and OKC have guys who have been in the playoffs, guys who have been in the finals. Wemby and those guys. It's regular season stuff. I don't, I think Wemby changes the, the, the cat, you know, the geometry of the whole league. Even offensively, you have to double him. There's guys open in the corner. He changes everything. So I mean, LeBron got, who changed the geometry for a long time. He got to a finals with a bad starting five. They got swept by the spurs, but they got there. So here's Jaylen Brown on the win last night.

[Jaylen Brown]

I think that game was awesome. I think that one, the intensity level of the game was very high. Felt like a playoff game. The crowd was into the game and I felt like that was a great, encouraging game for jt like high level intensity, physical team. And it felt like, you know, that was a step in the right direction. You know, we still encouraging them to get back to that level of aggression that we, we know and are used to. But I think Tene was a great game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Sure was. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Well, we're going to start with a team that I think has a better shot to get to the finals than the Thunder. And that's the Los Angeles Lakers. Colin. Yes, Lakers with a spectacular win last night against tanking Indiana. The story is Luka Doncic. Colin, I'm going to hit you with some stats here, even if you're not buying the Luka MVP candidacy. Listen up 21 points in the first quarter. Colin 21. That's his eighth 20 point quarter of this year.

[Colin Cowherd]

He was good.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

It's eight times he scored over 20 points in a quarter. Yeah, that's the Most in the NBA. Okay. He finished with 43.

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[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

And he becomes the first player Luka. Since Michael Jordan with six straight road games averaging over 40. Colin, take a gander at that. I don't want to hear about some oh SGA scoring 20 points points every game for 100 games. Who cares? Look what he did. Michael Jordan. Colin, some context.

[Colin Cowherd]

There weren't as many bad teams during Jordan's era. The Pacers are the worst team in the league. They're tanking and I mean Jordan was playing with expansion Toronto, but even they

[Wasabi Sponsor]

beat the Bulls once.

[Colin Cowherd]

The bottom of this league right now is Tank of palooza. So I mean the Pacers are awful. They won't be when Halliburton comes back. But I mean I, I mean it's a nice win. A win is a win. But I wouldn't compare him to Michael Jordan.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

So as a scorer he's going to, he's going to probably pass Michael Jordan all time. I mean the guy's an unbelievable scorer right now. Lakers are third in the West.

[Colin Cowherd]

They are, they are.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Here's the interesting thing. So OKC's lost the spurs one. So the Lakers have two more games with OKC. There is a world where the Lakers, if they are able to win one or two of those, the spurs could pass OKC in the west for the number one seed. So the Lakers, I know they got Brooklyn on Friday, they should win by a million. But they are comfortably third right now. Right. If the season ended now, they would face the Houston Rockets in the first round.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's maybe they, they match up very well with the Rockets because the Rockets don't have a pure point. They miss Fred Van Vliet. Been hurt all year. And the Lakers have several guys who can initiate offense. LeBron Austin. Hell, Marcus Smart could Luca. The Lakers are a bad, bad matchup for Houston. That's a, that's a w. That's who you want. If you're the Lakers, you want Houston. They, they can't. These teams that don't have a pure point. The Clippers battled this for years with Kawhi is getting you into your offense. Houston right now, I know championships don't go through points, point guards, but when you're struggling to figure out how to initiate offense, Lakers never have that problem. They're, they're as good as Anybody in the league at getting into a good shot. So that. That would be a great matchup for the Lakers.

[Daniel Cormier]

Yeah.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

By the way, for all the. Luka is fat. Luka can't dunk. He's slow. He's averaging 33.6 points per game, most in the season. He has 1440 point games. It's fair to say, like, Wemby's the most dominant. Luke is the best scorer. I don't know what SGA is. I don't know why he's the MVP favorite. Why? Because the spurs have the best record in the league. Well, get out of here with that.

[Colin Cowherd]

He's the leader. He's also a willing defender.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Luka's no turnstile. By the way, did you see Jaylen Brown attack SGA last night? SGA couldn't stop him.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, Jaylen Brown's stronger than sga and Jaylen Brown's a all NBA player. I think he's made the all NBA once or twice. I mean, Jaylen Brown's a. How many times? I mean, he's a Jaylen Brown. Because of Tatum and because the Celtics are kind of considered team and roster, we talk about the GM and they've had a coaching change. Jaylen Brown doesn't get nearly the love. He's been a great player for the last six or seven years. He's not dramatic, he's not seeking attention. He's just kind of a cerebral, intense, you know, and everybody and I do think Tatum is a more natural, fluid scorer. It looks like it comes easier for Tatum than Brown. Jalen Brown's a great. Going to go. He's going to be a Hall of Famer.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Yeah. Jaylen Brown's also not a free throw merchant like sga. So listen, I'm not bashing. I'm just saying Luka is a better overall player than sga.

[Colin Cowherd]

Look at.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Why are you laughing?

[Colin Cowherd]

Come on.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

All right, let's move on to the next story. Colin, yesterday we talked about this Cade Cunningham situation. He's not going to get to play 65 games, meaning he won't be first team all NBA or even second or be up for any awards. Well, Adam Silver, I guess, took note. Maybe he was watching the segment. And Adam Silver is pushing back against the Players association for this. Here we go.

[Adam Silver]

We always knew when there's a line you draw that somebody's going to fall on the other side of that line. And it may feel unfair in that particular instance. You know, let's see what happens at the end of this year. So by the way, To Kate Cunningham, he's an incredible player and I'm sorry that he's injured and, you know, can't wait to see him back on the floor. But, but, but having said that, you know, we also have to remember that the extent that one player is no longer eligible, some other player will then be all NBA. Yes, into that spot. So I'm not ready to standing here saying I don't think it's working. I think it is working.

[Colin Cowherd]

I totally, 100% agree. It's. Listen, you know, somebody's, you know that you knew this was going to happen. As Adam Silver said, when you set this up, there was going to be a really good player who just, you know, rips a knee up or whatever and can't play. But then somebody else steps in and gets an opportunity. The NBA, nbpa, or National Basketball Players Association. Guys, this was created because of load management. Look in the mirror. It's effective. I think it is working and it's not perfect. That's why, I mean, we've changed the constitution before. Like, nothing's perfect. You have to be amenable to change. This was not. Don't, don't go precious and idealistic. This was created for a reason. The reason was legitimate. It is absolutely worked. And Cade Cunningham is a great player. He doesn't need a piece of paper or an award to validate it. He's a great player and every guy in the league knows it.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Yeah, I think both things are true. It is working. Like you said, like Silver said. And also, we could feel bad that Cade Cunningham is getting screwed by this rule, but more players are playing. I don't know if there's like a, a happy medium where you're able to say, you know what, we'll make an exception. He played 61 games and missed the last three weeks.

[Colin Cowherd]

No exceptions.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

No exceptions.

[Colin Cowherd]

Rules are rules. No candy before dinner. Tell my kids rules are rules.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

What if. What if I got straight A's ace the midterm finals and I have straight A 4.0? I can't have some candy before dinner.

[Colin Cowherd]

I want a 4.4. Take some AP classes.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

You know what that does? That drives kids to do stuff behind your back. I don't know how that applies to my kids.

[Colin Cowherd]

My. My kids are angels.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Yeah, of course they are. Mine are mostly. Final story. Let's go to the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys draft strategy, which basically is Jerry Jones just does whatever he wants. But Brian Schottenheimer said something interesting. He was at the Texas pro day. Another guy who skipped The Ty Simpson workout, and I don't know, he said, we've had an awesome off season. And here we go. Here's what we're going to do in the draft.

[Brian Schottenheimer]

I think we did a really good job setting ourselves up to be able to draft natural and draft pure, which is what you want to do. You don't want to have to be forced to reach for a player. That's when you make mistakes. We've added some really good pieces. We've got some good depth. There's still a few positions that we need to address. That's all part of the process. Like I say all the time, not my line. I think it's Steven's or Jerry's, but it's 24 7, 365 and it never stops. But we're never stopping to look. We're always open for business.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

I mean, I don't know where. I mean, if I was them, I would go Caleb Downs in the back end. I think Dallas about 12 has a chance to. I would go corner or safety. The best safety may not be available. Caleb Downs, I think will be off the board.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

But I think the best corner to get out of LSU may be available. I would go secondary. I tend to think you're going to pay Dakota and CD Lamb for the foreseeable future and Pickens for one year. I think the old lines young. You don't have to pay them for a couple of years. Mostly I. And you're also paying Kenny Clark his salary cap. Hit goes up. Quinn and Williams, Rashawn Gary, you need to get cheap on the back end of that defense. Talent. You got to get more talented and more inexpensive on the back end of the defense.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

So don't rule out, as you see, Dallas has the 20th pick as well as 12. Don't rule out Jerry getting impatient and seeing Ruben Bane drop and be like, let's go grab Ruben.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, this is what he does.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

So in my mock, I have Sonny Styles going to the Cowboys and all these people like Stoney Styles is never going to fall that far. I'm just going to point to Shador Sanders last year who dropped to the fifth round. Anything can happen at the draft, and Sunny Styles is a linebacker.

[Colin Cowherd]

I don't think there's a lot of players I would move to up for.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

I agree.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think. I do think. I mean, I'm. I'm trying to think of somebody I would absolutely move up for.

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

I mean, listen, if Jeremiah Love somehow falls, is that somebody. Would you move up for running back again?

[Colin Cowherd]

The rule is no, It's an, it's a good offensive tackle draft if, if, like, if funnel the right tackle from Utah and I need, like, I think Kansas City is desperate for a right tackle. I, I think there's two or three teams that I think the New York Giants desperately need a right tackle. I contend the Giants should take the tackle. And, and he doesn't. You know, he doesn't. He's not Jonathan Ogden, but he was an impeachable player for Utah and Utah plays a big boy schedule. I don't, I just don't think there are a lot of guys I'd move up for like, if I was Cleveland and I. Cleveland should go and get Carnell Tate at wide receiver. So I don't think they'll have to move up. I think he's an absolute number one physically, but there's not a lot of guys. In fact, in fact, my. An interesting team to me is the Miami. Go to the show the picks again. The Miami Dolphins are fascinating because they've got two ones and four threes. I could see the Miami Dolphins using one of their three. Maybe go three and a five. They've got two ones. I could see the Dolphins saying, listen, we got two ones. We're not going to move up for the second one. But I could see the Dolphins, they don't need a running back either, but they don't have a weapon and they got to fix that old line. I could see the Dolphins going from 11 to like eight and say, we'll give you a third. And I don't think you're going to get a ton in this draft. Everybody knows it's not a great draft. Keep your eye on the Dolphins. I could see the Giants going backwards. I could see the Dolphins going up because there are. They have enough picks in the. Between the first pick and the end of the third. They have four fives. They have seven picks. I would give one of those up to get Carnell Tate from Malik Willis or get the best right tackle that my guess is. And these guys the Dolphins have running the ship now are from Green Bay, a team that drafts and develops well. They know the value of the draft. Also with them because of the two, a contract that's still hovering over. They need star players who they don't have to pay a lot to. I keep your eye on the Dolphins being one of the few teams that move and they're not going to move up to two. But man, Malik Willis does not have a weapon. I mean, they're, they're and and they they need perhaps

[J Mac (Jason McIntyre)]

maybe they're one of the teams by the way to go to the Cowboys for a sec. You saw that screen. We had an image they they got two safeties and a cornerback in this off season. So I'm not saying that takes downs off the board because he's obviously, you know, has huge upside. I I would just keep an eye on linebacker and in the trenches on the defensive side, you know.

[Colin Cowherd]

J Mac with the news well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by. The Herd line may be the best game of the weekend. UConn Michigan State tomorrow Dan Hurley is leaned on Tom Izzo as one of his mentors. They collide tomorrow in a classic Sweet 16 matchup. Coach Hurley next Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific craving bold, authentic

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[Colin Cowherd]

All right, welcome back. All right, it starts tonight. Let's look at the schedule tonight. The Sweet 16. There's a lot of good teams. They're all major conference teams now. So the first one up tonight is Purdue in Texas. I like Purdue. Purdue's a very interesting with Matt Painter is they don't. They don't do a lot of portal guys. They pay their own guys. They remind me a little bit of the Villanova way to do it. They recruit high school guys. I like Purdue tonight. I like Iowa to shock Nebraska a little bit. I don't know if it's shocking. Arizona may be the best team left. I like Arizona tonight I would take Calvin Sampson In Houston, I'm not sure. I watched Illinois play two or three times. Michigan kind of pushed them around, but Michigan pushed a lot of people around. So I'm not sure. All right, Tomorrow night it's UConn in Michigan State. That may be the best game of the weekend. It's Dan Hurley against Tom Izzo and Coach Hurley is now joining us live. All right, this is going to be, you know, it's funny, you know, it's funny about this is that you started the year 22 and 1. Your only loss was close to Arizona. And Arizona, there's an argument it's the best team in the tournament. They're hell of a team and you get a two seed. I would argue you could be a one seed, but the sport is thicker, the sport is better. Do you feel you're more of a one seed or do you think to yourself, coach, you know, we're not quite as athletic. We don't have a Stefan Castle. How do you view your team as a great two or maybe should be a one?

[Dan Hurley]

I think it was close. I mean, you know, if it's great being on Colin and I loved your breakdown and we played a couple of those teams, you know, and I mean Illinois is excellent and you know, they have as good a chance as anyone to get to a final four. And we were able to beat those guys, you know, Florida, who, you know, I think was a lot of people's pick to, you know, to get back to the final Four, maybe go back to back. You know, we beat those guys in the non conference this year. So, you know, our high end wins, you know, the performance against St. John's at home, you know, we've showed an ability to, to be as good as anyone in the country. We haven't always come through in the championship moments, you know, but you know, the reality is we're 31 win team. We had as good a non conference performance as anyone in the country and then we went 19 and three in the Big east in 22 Big east games. So yeah, we feel like we're as dangerous as any team in the country. We know that Michigan State, that is going to be a war. It's a real manly contest. And you know, there's a reason why they're called Spartans. They're very physical. It's going to be a battle.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, I watched the UCLA game and I really like UCLA's guard play. But when you got hot before the half, my take was the second half. It was UConn basketball. It was physical. It was tough. Michigan State's fascinating. They have one of my favorite players in the tournament, Cohen Carr. He is a relentless player. He just jumps through the television screen. And I want you to talk a little bit about him because I do think you and you in Michigan State, Carr makes it a very interesting matchup. It's going to be very physical. It's going to be hard to officiate. Does Cohen Carr jump off to you? I think it's going to be a hard game to officiate. Tell me about Cohen Carr. What do you see with him?

[Dan Hurley]

Well, we saw him and obviously it wasn't a regular season game. It didn't count. But in the exhibition we played these guys in October, so we shared the court. And unless you've seen his athleticism and physicality and the way he runs the court, how to fast, he gets down that left lane and when it's takeoff time, it's like, it's like, it's, watch out. So as a cutter on the baseline, the lobs, the offensive rebounds and driving his left hand, the getting out transition, if you're not dialed into those things, he's gonna, he's gonna put you on a highlight reel. And you know, those are, those are things that are controllable. And now he's made, he's made some threes the last couple games too.

[Colin Cowherd]

So, you know, I love where college basketball's at. I said there was about a 20 year period where it just didn't have enough good players. And then I said a couple years ago, I'm watching your title team. And I said, okay, they can compete against Billy Donovan's Gators. You got four or five. You had NBA length, physicality, coaching. That was the precipice to me. That was the beginning of all the international guys are coming over, all the nil's keeping guys. I feel like right now, Dan, the sports got so much damn talent. When I watch these games, they don't shoot quite like the NBA. But do you feel, do you notice that you've been there eight years over the last four years, there's just more, there's more dudes, there's more, there's more pros. Do you feel it?

[Dan Hurley]

Yeah, you're 1,000% correct. We're getting more of those high level international players are coming over, those younger players that, that you know, aren't quite at the top division over there making the real money. It's more appealing to come play, play college basketball. And then, yeah, I mean you're getting. Players are now staying Longer. Those guys that are fringe first round picks, those guys that non lottery players that aren't guaranteed to go in the go in the lottery or in the first 20 picks. Most of those guys, you know, are making the smartest, a smart decision of staying in college where basically they could now get the same amount of money. But you're also, you're going to get develop better at the, at college than you will in the G League. You're also going to live better, you're also going to live better, you're going to travel better, you're going to stay in nicer hotels.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Dan Hurley]

You're going to, you know, you're going to, you're going to be in the actual 40 million dollar practice facility as opposed to being in the practicing in community colleges in the G League.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So you have 20, 23, UConn, five NBA guys, 2024, four NBA guys. Castle was on that team. Lakers made you an offer, you turned it down. The story is now that Izzo came and you talked to Tom Izzo. I. One of the things I like about college basketball now, the old guys are crushing Calipari's Izzo, Patino, Rick Barnes. The NBA has gotten very young. Actually there's a bunch of young guys. But I said at the time, I said no, I think you're a college coach and that's not that you couldn't coach. I think Billy Donovan and you could both coach go either way. When you look back at it now, the decision to stay is it. Was there ever one second of regret?

[Dan Hurley]

Yeah, definitely. Well, I don't know about regret, but I mean second guessing. I don't think that there's, you know, many people that would honestly say that you don't second guess decisions that you make in your life. Huge decisions, you know, beyond just career decisions, but marital. I mean people make, you know, all types of second guessing on things that they've chosen. Especially when you, when you see how well the Lakers are playing right now or you know, you see the trade, you know, or you see the trade for Luca and, and you watch LeBron playing at the level he's playing at, you know, you definitely do at different times. But I just, I love the control you still have in college. You know, like the college coach and college football and college basketball coaches still has the control to really run the organization up to his standard and his level accountability. And I, I think that's. So you really do control your own destiny as a college coach. And that's something I would never want to give Up.

[Colin Cowherd]

So Izzo barks. I've been, I'm defending guys that use volume as coaching this week. I've been saying guys, you know, obviously Bobby and I went over the line a few times. But you bark at officials more than you bark at players. You're probably tough one of those guys that's tough at practice. But you, you're really on the officials. When I wonder because you have the highest winning percentage of any active coach. You've won almost 80% of your tournament games. That's insane. Do you, do you coach a little differently in the tournament? For instance, if I was an official, I would run you out of an arena in November. I'm not running you out now. Do you think you get a little more leeway in March? You can raise the volume a little to the striped shirts. You have a little more, little more leeway.

[Dan Hurley]

I actually flip it. I think, I think, I think I picked up a couple of technicals this year that I really didn't deserve because not a lot of attention is drawn to some of those regular season games on a Tuesday night. Some, you know, the 12th conference game of the year on a Tuesday at Providence or whatever the situation is. You know, I think there's more eyes on everybody this time of year. So if you hand out a weak technical foul, you're going to get called out on social media. You may not ref the next round of the tournament. So I think, and then I also feel for myself, I'm more relaxed this time of year. I think you work so hard to put yourself in position where you're in contention. Now you find yourself with a team that's in contention. You got, you're more relaxed this time of year. When you're coaching in December or January, you're really uptight, man. It's like if things start going bad in December, now you're looking at that staring down the barrel of man, I got two or three more months of hell with this group. If we get on a two game losing streak where you don't worry about picking the pieces up this time of year, if you go down, it's kill or be killed this time of year. If you go down, you don't have to worry about picking the pieces up with your team the next day. There are no pieces. It's over.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, that Marquette game was that. You were uptight. End of that games. Yeah, I remember.

[Dan Hurley]

Oh, yeah, yeah. That, that was crushing. I mean, that was, I mean that was crushing. And I was literally breathing down the neck of, of my guy John who's an excellent official. Who. Who ref me going back to Wagner College, I think, you know, John was. When John was on my game where I really, really started to believe I could have a career as a college coach, I took my Wagner team. We won at Pitt. I think Pitt was ranked top 10 in the country. And it was second year of Wagner College and we went and won a road game at Pittsburgh and John was on that game. So anytime I see John out there, I actually feel really good. Just not, not. Not that day in Milwaukee.

[Colin Cowherd]

It was your only bad loss of the season. You lost Arizona and St. John's those are good losses. You're fun. Creighton's good. All right, good luck. You're coaching against your mentor. You're a little ner. Just a little nervous going up against Izzo. Little tricks from Izzo. You're a little nervous.

[Dan Hurley]

I think you're. As you get closer to the game. I mean, you. The film doesn't lie. Like when you coach against the best coaches, you know, their teams are so hard to just. So I first got here and Jay Wright was at Nova and you start watching his team and you just say they don't give you a lot. You know, they don't give you anything free. Like they just. They make you earn it. You have to, you know, you have to play. You have to win the street fight. And you also have to outplay him at basketball. So, you know, you just know that you're going to have to earn it. And yeah, Coach Izzo's, you know, he's a. He's a great friend and a great mentor, you know. But again, for both of us, tomorrow night, it's. It's kill or be killed.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good senior. Great seeing you. Good luck to you, Kyle.

[Dan Hurley]

Great seeing you, brother. You're the man.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right. Dan Hurley, eight seasons at UConn. Won 77% of his tournament games. That is just one of those. You can win a free beer at a. At the bar with that trivia. That's. That's an unbelievable number. And yeah, they had a real bad loss. He got ejected really late in the game. I think there's only a couple seconds left against Marquette. They had a meltdown. That was a really bad game. Game lost the St. John's Arizona, Creighton. Creighton's always. I think Creighton's been pretty good. That Coach is retiring. McDermott's retiring. So you can look at the schedule one more time. Purdue. Keep your eye. They're not a dark horse or what are they a two seed? Purdue? They don't bring in a lot of transfers. They pay their guys in the nil. They go high school. Purdue is a tough out. I like, I mean one of my, one of the things I really like tonight is Purdue. All right, hour two Coming up, the hurt Whether you want to maximize your performance or form healthier habits this year, knowing what your body needs can help put you on the right path. With Quest, you can buy your own lab tests [e-mail] no doctor visit required for purchase. Quest has a huge selection of tests including the new Elite Health Profile, a panel made for men and women and tracks 85 plus health markers affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, hormones, metabolism and immune system, delivering a ton of insights in one snapshot. For a limited time, save on select lab [e-mail] with code herd10. That's herd10 at checkout. Terms apply.

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