← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 2 - How good is Cooper Flagg?, Michigan simply was the better team last night
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This is an iHeart podcast.
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Your favorite flavors like strawberry acai or pink drink now have an extra kick for the perfect midday reset. So when a little lift sounds good today, try the new Energy Refreshers at Starbucks or order one right now on the Starbucks app. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two. Welcome in. Congrats to the Michigan Wolverines and the women's team at ucla. Great weekend for the Big Ten. I remember about two years ago, I'm at a gym and a guy comes up to me and he goes, ah, I hate watching Yoke. It's so boring and awkward. I'm like, I know it's not MJ and Dr. J and Kobe. It doesn't remind you every other night how gifted they are. And my take is just consider Jokic. Last night he went 35, 13 and 13, overcame a 16 point deficit to win. He's basically the waste management billionaire in your city. Doesn't get invited to the cool parties, but probably has the second biggest house in your city. He's the index fund. Nobody does movies about index funds. They do them about day trading. Boiler room. This guy leads the league in rebounds and assists, which should be in conflict with each other. He is so insanely talented. I said this yesterday, is that I love Kareem, but he couldn't shoot outside like that or pass like that. I love Shaq. He had power. He couldn't shoot from the outside. Even the centers I love, they couldn't do that. Not even close. The guy's gonna lead the NBA in assists and rebounding, and they've won nine straight games. I watched him the other night, afternoon against Wemby, and it's the only time I've ever seen anybody go right at Wemby this year. And five or six times I'm going to go right at him. And he made it look easy. He's just an insane. And I know in the NBA being cool in the aesthetic, he's the best player in the NBA, I think by I mean by a stretch. And yet he's the worst guy to watch at an All Star game. It's a lot of fundamentals, it's a lot of angles. I think he's remarkable. He talked about the ninth straight win last night. Not difficult here, but an inconsistent year with the injuries, with the lineups, with everything, and we still managed to be one of the top teams. And I think that's something telling about this team and the group that we have in the locker room. But I will say this, we've always had a yic. It was Moses Malone. I didn't like watching Moses Malone play. He was great. Alex English led the NBA in scoring in the 80s. There's always been players in this association who are unbelievable hall of Fame talents, but they don't, you know, they don't have the handles of Steph or they're not Dominique Wilkins. I think you have to appreciate, I mean Scotty Scheffler, he doesn't have. He's not as dynamic as Tiger. He doesn't have the flair of Mickelson. I love watching Bryson Dechambeau could be obnoxious years ago, but I can't take my eyes off him. I love Brooks Koepka and sometimes you got Lee Westwood out there. Just he and Scotty Scheffler may not be as memorable. I think you got to appreciate greatness and that's probably a cliche, but God, Jokic is insane. Nick Wright, who's pretty darn good himself. First things first, let's start with Jokic. I don't want to make this a Jokic hour, but I mean I grew up on Kareem and I love Kareem and my favorite player was Dr. J and we all loved MJ and then LeBron and Steph and I said he's like he owns the waste management company with a big house on the hill. Where will history allot him?
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Oh wow, what a great question. So you mentioned Moses. I think he over the last couple years has jumped past Moses. Moses who won three MVPs. Moses who with respect to Dr. J was the final piece on what I believe to be the greatest team in NBA history. That Sixers team that couldn't get over the hump until Moses got there. So he is right now up against the Shaq, Akeem, Steph group. I think he's right on the outside there. I think Akeem is a little underrated. Akeem was averaging 37 a game in the playoffs as a young player got to the finals in year 2 Best defensive players for arguably post Bill Russell until Wimby. More on him maybe later in the in this spot. I do think however Joker just to be fair has maxed out how high he can get if he stays at only one championship. I don't think another. I don't, I don't think winning MVP this year or next year it moves him actually because every guy if you talk about the 12 greatest players ever Bron, Kareem, Michael, Russell, Magic, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, Akeem, Shaq staff, the the all of them are multi title guys and all. Wilt has two, Akeem only has two, everyone else has three or more. So I don't think Joker can elbow any of those guys out of there sitting on one ring but he might get his second this year. And the other thing on It. And I don't think it's being unfair. He is clearly the best player in the world. He did remind everyone that while Wemby can say defense is half the game for 100 years of basketball, the best defense, defensive player against the best offensive player, the best offensive player is going to get his. Bill Russell's the greatest defensive player ever. Wilt. In 140 career games against, Russell averaged 30 and 25. You're going to get yours if you're a great offensive player. But Joker, I just don't think the fact that he's only been to two conference finals, only been to one finals, one. One championship. I think right outside the top 12 is the ceiling, unless he gets another ring.
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So I was telling. I said this the other day. Sometimes you just need clarity. I mean, the hardest thing for a lot of sports teams to do is admit not what they are, but what they aren't, and when. Obviously, we don't want to see Luka and Austin hurt, but the inability to compete for five minutes with OKC was actually really important because the new Laker owners watch that and go, oh, we're four players away and you start in March. You're like, oh, all we need is Jaden McDaniels. That's not it. You watch OKC, and OKC is a champion. So we know how it works in the NBA, Nick. Once you win a championship the regular season, you pick about five games that matter. Oklahoma City decided, oh, Luca, you're the mvp. They annihilated them. And I think it was an. I think the new owners needed to see that. Or do you look at it and think, Lucas hurt, Austin's hurt, they're in big trouble. I think even LeBron needed to see that to note, bro, you either take a pay cutter, we can't bring you back.
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All right, so there's a lot to unpack here. It is worth noting that a year ago this week, OKC played the Lakers. I think it was on Easter. And the Lakers annihilated okc. They then played again a couple weeks later. The Lakers were, I think, in position to win that game. And that's when Luka got thrown out for yelling at a fan with six minutes left. And OKC went on to win the championship, and the Lakers went out in round one. I wouldn't read quite as much as you're reading into the one game against OKC last week. I also think it is wildly unfair for anyone to every single team in the league if they lost their two leading scorers. Headed into the playoffs are sunk. Every single team, whether the Thunder without Shea and another great player, the Nuggets without Jokic and another great player, they'd all be sunk. With that said, this was always a very mismatched roster. It didn't have the depth or youth or athleticism of other teams. The reason some of us, myself, maybe most notably, were holding out hope for the Lakers is we have seen Luka, multiple times in his career take mismatched rosters on deep playoff runs, upset the number one seed Suns with the team that he took to the conference finals, Colin, against the Suns. There's only two guys that were in that rotation that are still in the league. He took them to the conference finals. That map seemed he took to the finals was not a perfect team. So I thought the strength of Luka gave them more than a puncher's chance. But obviously you need shooters and defenders around Luka just like you need it around LeBron. And the Lakers had done a very mediocre job at building out that roster. I think that is correct.
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You know, sometimes I've always defended the media. I've always said, we're the irs. Sometimes you get a check, sometimes you get an audit. We're not built or constructed to be your friend, you know, we're built and constructed to be as honest and without agendas as we can be, which we often fail at. But we're not your ally, necessarily, although it may feel like it on some days. And so in the media, I've always tried to remember it's not about being liked, it's about being honest. And strong opinions get blowback. You know that more than anybody.
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C
Yeah.
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And I remember when Cooper, if I watch Cooper Flag, I watched a lot of Duke games and I watched it and I'm like, he's not going to be as good as Jason Tatum in year one. He may be in year two. We're looking at this kid doesn't have a flaw in college. He defends, he slashes. So he comes into the NBA, he's still a teenager and he's got. I didn't know he had a left hand. Well, I didn't know he could post catch and shoot spacing. I would argue today I would choose him over Jayson Tatum. If I had to make a choice on two, and I don't know, over the course of a series, Tatum probably would be more consistent. He's just older, more mature. I think Cooper Flag has a chance to be outside of Wemby, the best player in the league. I Think he's that.
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So I agree with the last piece that he, he has league MVP potential. Upside, he is showing that he's 19 years old. He's really should be a college freshman this year. He reclassified up. He is there. They're doing with him what they did with young LeBron which is have him play point even though he's not a point just to get the. Pardon me. The reps are doing a bit of everything.
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Yeah.
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So I do think he is a future superstar. I also think he is the rookie of the year. With respect to con knipple for rookie of the year. I don't so much care about team success. That's the one award. I don't care about team success. It's rookie of the year. I do not agree with you that I do not think he is going to be better than Jason Tatum at any point in the next. Call it three seasons.
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Wow.
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C
I think if you, if you're sitting now, if you want to say like right now, this moment, Tatum coming off the Achilles where he's not fully. But if we're saying Jason Tatum at full strength next season walks into next season one of the seven best players in the sport, Cooper Flag, in my opinion does not approach that until probably year four, I think that's fair.
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Closer than you. Wow.
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Oh, I mean, well, that is where I do need to see what it looks like when you're playing competitive basketball, what it looks like when you're on a competitive team. I think he has all the whole toolkit. And if you're saying is his. Is Cooper flag ceiling higher than Tatum's ceiling? I don't know if you probably because I don't think Tatum's ever going to win league mvp and I think Cooper could, but I don't think, I don't think anytime soon Cooper Flagg is going to be a consensus top eight player in the league. And I think Tatum, when he is fully recovered from his Achilles, he will be. I also think the Celtics might win the title this year and that will be in large part because of Tatum's miraculous recovery and coming back as quickly as he has.
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So I believe this is that one of the things I, I used to. This used to be a topic with my buddies. They're like, if you could coach football in the NFL or college, which would you choose? And I always said I don't want to grovel to 16 year olds in small towns and spend 300 hours on them. And then not one of the things I like about the nil is. And Mike Malone takes the UNC job. Belichick goes to college. It's administrative. It's truer. Hey, let's. Let's not beat around the bush. Here's what we can pay. We have a really good coach. Okay, I'll sign. That's why college basketball, the old guys are flourishing. You have to go to high schools in grovel. It's not an energy game anymore. It's an administrative game. And the NBA coaches are getting younger to deal with, you know, the younger NBA, it kind of goes in reverse that maybe 20 years ago. So I look at the nil. The other thing I like about it, players get paid. They deserve to. The other thing I like about it is that academics now matter. Vanderbilt, an academic powerhouse, top 10 in football and basketball, at least at some point last year. These are universities. And I'm not saying your footprint shouldn't matter. If you're in Georgia or Texas or la, you've got more good players. I'm not saying that. But these are universities. And what you're seeing with the Big Ten is affluent alumni matters. Sure, yeah. And I think it's better for the player. It's more administrative and no more groveling. And the truth is, there was always this feeling about, like, college sports. It was like, are they going to care? Is it now? It's like, yes, the alumni matter, the school matters, the quality of academics matter to some degree. I love Nil. What do you think about what wins in college sports?
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So listen, I think the way it used to be done was abhorrent. And I think there is, you know, there literally have been books written about it. It's not time to discuss it here. But there was something highly uncomfortable for me always that the two sports that generated all the money, men's football and men's basketball, were vast majority. The players were vast majority black kids from majority poor communities. They got none of the spoils. And then non rev sports and administrators, most of whom are not Black people from P.O. communities, got all the spoils. I hated that. I thought it was unfair and exploitive. So it needed to be changed. It feels to me like we went from one extreme to another extreme where the only kid in Michigan's top seven rotation that started at Michigan is the freshman. And there is there. There are. No, there isn't. The story like what the UCLA women's team had with those seniors growing together and winning and then losing together and then finally overcoming. That's gone in the men's game. So I wish there was something of A happy medium where the players can get the money they deserve. But there can also be some continuity of the teams. Now I don't have the solution. I know the president unveiled a 79 page potential solution. I'll take the under on that working. But I think there are potential ideas that need to be implemented to where the players can make money and there can still be a little more continuity of teams. With that said, Colin, it feels like the college football game, the actual product has gotten better because of it. There are better matchups that probably is not. The players are older, right? It's gotten better. I do not feel that way about college basketball. You and Danny Parkins promised me. Oh, no. Cinderellas. Just wait for how great the Elite Eight and Final Four will be. We had one good game. Duke Yukon was good. Everything else was a blowout. Last night's a rock fight. You guys promised me that. As long as we didn't have FAMU mucking it up for everyone. We were gonna get, you know, Blue Devils, Rebels, back from the 90s again. 95, 94, highly played. Instead, a team that was 2 for 20 from three wins the title and no games close. So I, I. College basketball to me is in a state of flux. It's not that it's bad, but it doesn't have as much depth of character as I was used to. College football doesn't either. But the games are so good and the matchups are so amazing. I don't care as much, but I don't feel exactly the same way about college hoops.
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All right, well, it was a bit of a rock fight. You know, it's.
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It was either rock fights or blowouts, all for three weeks. You're like, screw you, little guy. Who needs Butler? And then we see it's 95, 72 Arizona in the elite eight. I'm like, sweet. You told me these games are going to be great.
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You're complaining about that? Did you watch the NBA last Friday? That was a.
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Well, I mean, no. This is a whole nother problem. That's a whole nother story though. What's going on in the association now? 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.
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All right, Nick. Great stuff, buddy.
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You too. Good to see you, Colin.
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All right, Nick Wright. First things first. Eric Musselman, the USC basketball coach is going to be joining us. He has a very, you know, for years when he was in his, when he's a younger guy, you know, you young guys out there, you're getting in fights and you're all feisty and then you get gray hair and you're like, man, what am I doing? Anybody got a golf club? Musselman was a fiery guy. Maybe not Hurley level, but he's going to come on later. I like, I think Danny Hurley's intensity was validated the entire tournament. I honestly, I've watched a lot of UConn basketball because I lived in Connecticut for 10 years. That's the least talented national championship game UConn team I've ever seen. And that's not a knock on him. They have some players, but I mean Yukon's had some teams. I mean they, they, they, they have had some teams. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
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Fox Sports Radio is taking over YouTube
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and you can be a part of it. Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio. Hit that subscribe button and smash that notification bell and catch all the videos from your favorite shows. Two pros and a cup of Joe. Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, Stu Gotz and company Live. Covino and Rich couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington. The Jason Smith show with Mike Harmon and the Ben Maller Show. Fox sports radio on YouTube. Subscribe hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. Hey heard. Listen up. Sports and steaks go hand in hand and True Nature Meats is delivering an incredible offer. They're pre cooked. New York strip steaks are insanely tender, juicy and packed with rich beefy flavor that melts in every bite. Ready in just four minutes in a warm skillet, buy 10 New York strip steaks and get 10 free sirloin steaks. 20 steaks total up to 80% less than what high end steakhouses charge for these same premium cuts. And here's the best part. It comes out to about $7.40 per steak. Incredible value. With over 30 years supplying top restaurants, True Nature Meats delivers restaurant quality flavor straight to your kitchen, fast and easy. Only 250 promo codes will work, so this is extremely limited. Head to True Nature meats.com right now. Use the promo code Free steak. That's true. N naturemeats.com free steak. Don't miss out. This is a real deal. Service opens doors and at the American Military University. It can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn more@amu.apus.edu Military open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University. Most people think their insurance will cover them if disaster strikes. But here's the truth. Many are wrong. You pay your premiums. You assume you're protected. Then the fine print hits. Exclusions, loopholes, limits. Suddenly that coverage you counted on isn't really coverage at all. That's why I like my policy advocate. They take your actual policies home, Life, Auto, break them down in plain English. They show you what's really covered and what isn't. Cost 27 cents a day. That's it. Less than a cup of coffee. Before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com let them review your policy. You might be shocked at what you'll find. MyPolicyAdvocate.com Some people have a Starbucks order depending on their mood. Morning coffee weekend, Something iced and fun. But now afternoons have a new go to because Starbucks just launched their new energy refreshers. They're the Starbucks refreshers flavors everybody already loves, like the Strawberry Acai Pink Drink and Dragon Drink, now with an added boost of caffeine to power you through the rest of your day. Plus you can try new flavors like Mango Strawberry Energy Refresher or the Mango Dream Energy Drink. They're bright, fruity, super refreshing. When that afternoon slump hits, whatever flavor you like, Starbucks Energy refreshers are exactly what you need to take on the moments that matter. So next time the afternoon slowdown kicks in, head to your nearest Starbucks and try one of the new energy refreshers. Or order one right now on the Starbucks app. Good to have you back in on a Tuesday. Without further ado, John Middle off with the news. No, no, no, Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.
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Let's head to the Big Apple, Colin where Jalen Brunson and Cat led the Knicks. They combined for 51 points. Third straight win. You know the Knicks are a year removed from playing in that awesome Eastern Conference finals against the Pacers. A little Throwback to the 90s, James Dolan put out a public finals or bust message back in January. Obviously the pressure's really high. They fired their coach this offseason, brought in Mike Brown. How far do you Think the Knicks can go in the East, Colin, because let's face it now the Lakers are in in trouble. Steph Curry probably out and they need these big brands, especially in the east which I not great.
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I think it's matchup based. I Kade Cunningham is back. I think Detroit is a tough matchup for New York because they're super physical and New York's not. I still like their starting five. I don't their bench scoring doesn't do much for me. But I mean they have, they have a couple of issues that will limit their chances to win the championship. But I would not be shocked if the Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals. It'll be matchup based. I think Boston is my pick to win the East. I Detroit can struggle in the half court offense They've got. They're a little bit like Yukon. They've got a way they've got to play to win. The Knicks if they didn't, their two best players weren't a defensive liability. I don't trust Cat sometimes in big situations though. He's gifted. I just don't think the Knicks have a complete team to win a title but they're certainly good enough to get to a conference championship, especially in the East. Yeah.
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I think the hard part is, you know, Tibbs was just, you know, I thought he kind of got a raw deal. I get sometimes you got to make a change but if they don't make it back to the conference finals that's a step back.
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Yeah.
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Now granted if they play the Celtics in the second round, they beat them last year so it's not like they wouldn't be confident going into that that series and Celtics aren't as good, you know, I mean Tatum still coming back from injury so I hope the Knicks make a run. It's more interesting from where I'm standing. Here's one of your favorite topics Colin. Aaron Rodgers a lot of rumblings out there. A few weeks ago Charlie Batt speculated the hold up on this potential return comeback, however you want to phrase it is due to money. He wants $30 million and now a Steelers insider is admitting to that claim saying the Steelers anticipating Rogers wanting a race. Listen, I got to take Rogers side on same same if he wants $30 million, he took 10 last year. That's two years 40 mil. That's what Justin Fields got last year. Look at what quarterbacks make now. How many guys are making over 30? Aaron Rodgers last year, you know, statistically 24 touchdowns. He played injured. It sounds a little crazy at first because My first was like $30 million. But if you do the aggregate over the two years, like you need me more than I need you.
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Well, I don't think there's any doubt. You can say whatever you want about Aaron Rodgers. They were a dysfunctional offense that were bad in the red zone and they became a very, very good red zone offense. They were situationally a much smarter team. I, I think Aaron, this is one of those. I'll back him. He, he, he did, he did Pittsburgh a solid. Well, Pittsburgh fired their coach or whatever the transactions called. Now you've got Aaron's old coach. So Aaron's like, listen, I came here and a big chunk of it was Tomlin and I took a team friendly deal. I'm not giving you both. You change the coach and you want me to go cheap again. I'm totally team Aaron here. You know, we said when he went to Pittsburgh it wasn't a great fit. Part of it was he respected Mike, so might think, well, Mike's gone, so I don't get Mike or the contract. You gotta be fair. Aaron deserves closer to 30.
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Well, and here's the other thing the Steelers ownership has said over and over. We're not doing the Miami Dolphins, we're not doing the jets, we're not punning on it. We want to win. Well, McCarthy can talk up Will Howard all he wants at the owners meetings. Their best chance to win in 2026, right, is Aaron Rodgers. So. And the going rate for $10 million. We saw cousins got that more than likely Cousin's going to be the backup. A going rate for a backup quarterback is five to $12 million. That's what Aaron Rodgers did for them last year and they made the playoffs. So I think Aaron could kind of draw a hard line. What else are the Steelers going to do? Yeah, sticking with the NFL. You know, LeFlore had some comments last week about internally in the locker room. People with their roles, obviously they extended them. Reports surfaced about, you know, all these players. They got rid of a bunch of guys with all that said. He did end up getting a contract extension and he talked about how he plans to change a lot of things this offseason.
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C
I think you're always evaluating and trying to make the decisions that are best for your football team. Makes what you believe are to be
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best for your football team.
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C
So yeah, I mean that, that you always look at ways you can improve.
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B
And I thought the best way for
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us to get reward is we just
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gotta, we gotta strip everything down, start
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C
like it's, it's year one all over again.
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A
I don't know, Colin. I mean, that's. The packers got a lot of moving parts. They don't have a first round pick because they made this mica trade and now they're in transition. You can't be in transition. Once you do the mica trade, you're
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C
kind of all in.
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B
Right. You know, it's really. I think about this all the time that there's so many. Like baseball made a complete pivot with rule changes. Stuff that was legal is not legal. College football, the death penalty used to be paying players. Now it's promoted. Yeah. The NFL, it's just. Have you noticed in recent years, last couple years, GMs are just giving up draft picks to go spend money in free agency. And my take on that is it doesn't help the packers because it's not an attractive free agent market. And here's why I believe GMs are doing this, John. It's twofold. Number one is owners are more impulsive. They don't want to see draft and develop. They want you to go get that guy from the Ravens, you know, like in Las Vegas, go get Linderbaum. I want good players. So the owners are running through GMs and coaches faster than ever. And coaches and GMs are on the clock by the first Thanksgiving. People are making judgments. So people are now just giving up. I mean, I love Jaden Wall is a good player. A first and a third and wasn't there a fifth? I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It feels like five years ago. You don't make that move. And so I wonder about now. All of a sudden, Caleb's in Chicago with Ben Johnson. Kevin o', Connell, if he gets the quarterback, is going to be great. Detroit's got a great front office. This is not a knock on Green Bay, but cultures change. I think free agency. I mean, the Chiefs, look what they spent on a running back. You've got to solve things. Even if you're Andy Reid and Spags and Brett Veach is I wonder about the future of Green Bay.
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A
You know, I had a GM tell me recently, he's like, you know, one thing you guys get wrong. He didn't say it like that, but he was kind of laughing. He said there's a big difference between the salary cap and the cash spending. And when you look at the cash spending for this upcoming year, it's a lot of Niners, Broncos, Eagles, right. The bill spend a lot of these big time owners. That's not really how the packers operate. So just because the cap is 300 doesn't mean you can't spend 400. And the big the Chiefs are now spending a lot of money this upcoming season. So you can have. You know, everyone says that every. There's parity in their salary cap.
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B
That is true.
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But you can manipulate it. Jeffrey Lurie's done this with Howie Roseman for close to a decade now. Right. Is in. The Rams are making a living off this. So that's where the packers getting aggressive. They did that with Micah Parsons.
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C
But you can't just stop there.
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A
You know, the Rams, they make a trade for Micah Parsons. They're looking to do something else.
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B
Look at this.
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C
They trade for Trent McDuffie.
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A
How do we get A.J.
- [34:19]
C
brown? It's like, geez.
- [34:20]
B
But that's.
- [34:21]
A
They have unlimited. The Broncos, they have this huge cash windfall behind them. It's going to be the one thing the packers have going for them. Gudekens, LaFleur, they're well run. Uticins came up. But your margin for error now as the cash gets bigger is much smaller.
- [34:37]
B
Yeah, I, I really feel like it's becoming more of a free agency league. You know, the NBA is doing the opposite. Baseball and football feel like we don't care if there's dynasties. We don't have a tanking issue. And we like big trades. Yeah, the, the NBA has gotten, you know, the NBA's become like your friends that used to be cool and then they got really rigid and maybe they had kids and they don't go out and party anymore. And you're like, you can't make big trades. We're paralyzed by dynasty. We want everybody to have the same amount of money. Sports socialism doesn't work. You got to let the big spender spend because the winner and all that is the consumer. People like trades. They like big swings. I, I don't know. I think the NFL is getting to be a bigger swing free agency league, bigger trade league. And I'm not sure it's built for Green Bay.
- [35:27]
A
Yeah, they're going to have to adapt. I think they tried last year with Micah, but that's just big picture. Can they do two or three of those? You know, is that all they have? So packers are going to be fascinating this upcoming year because they're pretty well invested in this team. They extended the floor. But your Bears, Colin, they are. They're going to try to defend that division.
- [35:43]
B
That's for sure. John, with the news.
- [35:46]
A
Well, that's the news.
- [35:47]
B
And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. You know, I thought Dan Hurley's intensity was rewarded last night. Michigan had scored 90 points in like five straight games. They finished in the 60s. Michigan was held to its worst field goal percentage and its worst 3 point percentage all season. Last night is, is it a coincidence that it was against dan Hurley and UConn is that I thought this year validated everything that Dan Hurley preaches. Intensity, volume. He yells overwhelmingly at refs, not the players. Hurley had a team I think it was three years ago that had Stefan Castle, Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer. Alex Carabine was a freshman. I thought that was the best basketball team I had seen since the back to back Gator Billy Donovan title team. That team would have trounced UConn last night. That team was stacked. I mean that was the best defensive team I have seen since the Donovan teams. They just put handcuffs on people. They were incredible. That team three years ago, I mean they were just long and physical. They could beat you three different ways. They could shoot, they could defend. They just took teams apart. That's not what UConn was last night. They were about intensity, toughness, not skill. And so to me, Alex Caraban, by the way, he was a sophomore on that team. I forget he's been in college so long, he's like Jerry McNamara at Syracuse for a while. I'm like, is he taking master's courses? Is he there for the hot lunch program? How long can Jerry McNamara stay at Syracuse? So it's just that team was unbelievable. UConn last night went in as a big dog for a reason. Like this is what coaching is about. And I mean that team years ago went to the natty Zach edie had like 37 points and they just undressed an excellent Purdue team. That team was unbelievable. Last night's team was all gut and guile and toughness and coaching. And so you know you can, you can argue and scream and yell and the calls. This team just lives, you know, it's an off ball road, off ball movement offense. They don't initiate contract, they try to find jumpers. And I think fans forget this. They always go to the box score. Well, we shot 12 fewer free throws. The warriors with KD never got to the line. They lived on jumpers. UConn didn't have the skill to attack. They didn't have the individual ISO star. It was set up jumpers and try to hit them and they didn't hit enough of them. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the iHeartradio radio app. Hey Heard Sports and steak a perfect combo. True Nature Meats is offering an incredible deal. They're pre cooked New York Strip insanely tender, juicy, rich beefy flavor that melts in every bite. Ready in just four minutes. In a skillet, buy 10 New York strip steaks and get 10 free sirloin steaks. 20 restaurant grade steaks for about 7:40 per steak. Incredible value only 250 promo codes available. Head to trunaturemeats.com and use the promo code. Free Steak Hurry. This won't last. Service opens doors and at the American Military University, it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn more@amu.apus.edu Military open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University. Here's something that'll freak you out. Most people think their insurance will cover them if disaster strikes. But here's the truth. Many are wrong. You pay your premiums. You assume you're protected. Then the fine print hits. Exclusions, loopholes, limits. Suddenly that coverage you counted on isn't really coverage at all. It's not your agent's fault. Their job is to sell policies. You need somebody in your corner who protects you, not the insurance company. That's why I like my policy advocate. I like what they're doing. They take your actual policies. Home, life, auto, break them down in plain English. They show you what's really covered and what isn't. Here's the best part. Cost 27 cents a day. That's it. Less than a cup of coffee for peace of mind to make sure your family's protected when it matters most. When disaster hits, you don't want surprises. You want certainty. Before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com let them review your policy. You might be shocked at what you'll find. MyPolicyAdvocate.com Some people have a Starbucks order depending on their mood. Morning coffee weekend. Something iced and fun. But now afternoons have a new go to because Starbucks just launched their new energy refreshers. They're the Starbucks refreshers flavors everybody already loves, like the Strawberry Acai Pink Drink and Dragon Drink, now with an added boost of caffeine to power you through the rest of your day. Plus you can try new flavors Like Mango Strawberry Energy Refresher or the Mango Dream Energy Drink. They're bright, fruity, super refreshing. When that afternoon slump hits, whatever flavor you like, Starbucks Energy Refreshers are exactly what you need to take on the moments that matter. So next time the afternoon slowdown kicks in, head to your nearest Starbucks and try one of the new energy refreshers or order one right now on the Starbucks app.
- [41:33]
A
Saturday Night Baseball night on Fox. This week we've got Roman Anthony and the Red Sox versus the Cardinals. Raphael Devers and the Giants against the Orioles. Baseball night in America, Saturday at 7 Eastern only on Fox.
- [41:48]
B
Red Sox struggling. So I had Nick Wright on. I think Jokic is the most unique center I've ever seen. He'll lead the NBA this year in assists and rebounding. And they're kind of a competition. They're in conflict with each other generally. You know, your point guard, who's got the ball all the time, kind of runs point, runs the offense. He's a big assist guy, your Chris Paul and you're Steve Nash, you're Jason Kidd and then your big guy's a rebounder. Well, he's both and points and just screen setting. And this year is the first year for Jokic that he has an All Star. He's never played with an All Star. Jamal Murray made the All Star team. He and Murray have been together forever. They really fit. They're both just intellectual players. They, they really totally understand each other. Hand a glove, it's, it's great. And when Gordon plays and is healthy, I think they can beat anybody, including okc. I find myself rooting for him. And this is the one thing about being a pro athlete. Like, I know they make a bunch of money, but number one for pro athletes is that you don't get to choose where you go to work. The rest of us mostly do, right? Especially talented people have options. It doesn't matter. You can get stuck with a terrible franchise. The second thing is, if you're an all time great franchise, what if you have a lousy owner? What if you have a lousy GM? I mean, LeBron's like, I'm going to Miami. People are like, how outrageous. He'd been there seven years. They couldn't get, they couldn't draft one other all Star. Like, see, you don't have a choice of where you go and you can get, you know, you can be the $10 million chandelier in a cruddy house. And so, and I'm not saying Denver's not well run, but this is his first all Star. I did like the Gordon move, but Nick says there's kind of a ceiling if he doesn't win another ring, which is a shame of how great he can be.
- [43:43]
C
He is right now up against the Shaq Akeem, Steph group. I think he's right on the outside there. I don't think winning MVP this year or next year, it moves him. Actually I. Because every guy, if you talk about the 12 greatest players ever, Bron, Kareem, Michael, Russell, Magic, Wilt, Duncan, Kobe, Bird, Akeem, Shaq, Steph, the, the. All of them are multi title guys.
- [44:17]
B
Well, a lot of them had great owners and great teammates and great general managers. I will say this. When Aaron Gordon plays Denver's 26 and 9, so you generally need three high end players. So San Antonio's got great players, but none of them have played any playoff games except de' Aaron Fox. Oklahoma City's had, you know, one great playoff run. I got Jokic, I got Murray, Murray's having a great year and Gordon's coming back. I think if you're a gambling person, Denver winning it is a pretty good bet. And if they got to the finals, good luck Boston, because I, Jokic is, you know, I know it's. And this is the reality of basketball. Like the Basketball hall of Fame has all sorts of characters in it. And I mean, they have officials in it, members of the Globetrotters. It's always been like, you know, a little bit of a optics league. If you got a flashy, fun game, you're gonna, you know, and, and you were productive. You didn't have to be a winning player, you didn't have to be, you know, the, the shame in Jokic if he never wins a second title. He really is a winning player. He'll do the dirty work. And a lot of guys, you know, I don't even need to mention certain guys, Luka, they don't want to play defense. They don't even want to get in great shape. I mean, Jokic will do all the ugly dirty work. He'll set the screens, he'll do the rebounding. He's got to bang the body of the other big guy. So like he, he plays basketball the way it should be played. And I just never, you know, I grew up with Kareem and Kareem was a great defensive player and had an unstoppable shot, but the game was different. He was not a perimeter player. Yoko can do all of it. I mean, if you watch that game Saturday and I watched about half of it against Wemby. I was watching all sorts of stuff. Is the only guy in the league that goes right at Wemby. Right at him like six, seven times. Just right at him and scores and makes it look easy. Remember Denver last year, took OKC to seven games. And Aaron Gordon was hurt. He played through it. So if Aaron Gordon's back and healthy. Aaron Gordon plays hard, like. And I mean, he is. He. He is one of those guys that sacrifices his body. I don't know. I'm kind of rooting for Denver in the playoffs, I gotta be honest. Between Sean Payton and the Broncos and Jokic. Kind of a Denver homer on this show. John, so you took UConn last night. You covered, if I. If I recall, did you not?
- [46:48]
A
I did. Because as the game went on, did it have football field? There was a guy on the floor every single possession. I mean, Yukon, that's the hardest I've ever seen any level of basketball team play. I think if Michigan plays the. I mean, we saw him play Arizona. The other top 15 teams, they win that game by 30. But Yukon, I mean, you talk about
- [47:08]
C
a gritty, tough group.
- [47:09]
A
That was really impressive. They had no business being in it.
- [47:11]
B
No. There was a moment last night, I was telling the staff when the cameras, some. A Yukon player fell to the ground, and the camera, they immediately. The director cut to a shot of like a low camera at the baseline. And it looked like this Yukon player on the floor was surrounded by redwoods. I'm like, man, Michigan is for a college team. Their front line is. It feels unprecedented.
- [47:40]
A
You know, one of the cool part about sports is, you know, when you're a champion and you destroy people. Hurley got a lot of credit. I actually think he. He, like, almost earned more credibility with the team that had no business being this far.
- [47:53]
B
Yes.
- [47:53]
A
And doing what he did, I. I think it. It clearly upped his legendary status and took a guy with multiple titles kind of do another level. I mean, that was these last two games. I mean, they worked Illinois. But last night, because every moment you're like, oh, Michigan's about to blow this thing out. They just couldn't. And they just. I mean, they fouled them. It looked like every play, it was a physical game.
- [48:16]
B
Duke led them by 15. I think it was 19, 19. And Duke had much more talent, but Duke didn't have the experience and they folded. Michigan does not have as much talent as Duke, but much more size and physicality and toughness. And to beat UConn, you needed a combination of both. Duke proved it's not just five star kids. You weren't beaten. This UConn team with freshmen, I mean, you had to have some, you had to have a little gray in the beard you had, you had to be older. This, this UConn team, so much toughness and metal. Hour three on a Tuesday night. Hi, it's Colin Coward. If you want your outdoor space to really stand out, Deckorator Surestone technology is where you should start. Decking with surestone technology is made through a patented process that uses crushed rock, not wood fiber like other composites, which gives every board incredible strength and durability. And it's engineered with a unique surface design for better traction when things get wet. It's comfortable, it's safe, it's durable. And that just looks great too. Build season is coming fast, so order a sample today. Visit decorators.com herd to get your free sample. That's decorators with A K again. Decorators.com herd service opens doors. And at the American Military University, it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward. Forward wherever life takes you. Learn more at AMU Apus Edu Military Open doors to the future for you and your family with the help of American Military University. Everybody hits that mid morning moment where a little boost would really help. That's where the new Starbucks energy refreshers come in. They're great. If you already love Starbucks refreshers. These have the same taste now with an added boost of caffeine. Your favorite flavors like strawberry, acai or pink drink now have an extra kick for the perfect midday reset. So when a little lift sounds good today, try the new energy refreshers at Starbucks or order one right now on the Starbucks app. Here's something that'll freak you out. Most people think their insurance will cover them if disaster strikes. But here's the truth. Many are wrong. You pay your premiums, you assume you're protected. Then the fine print hits. Exclusions, loopholes, limits. Suddenly that coverage you counted on isn't really coverage at all. It's not your agent's fault. Their job is to sell policies. You need somebody in your corner who protects you, not the insurance company. That's why I like my policy advocate. I like what they're doing. They take your actual policies. Home, life, auto, break them down in plain English. They show you what's really covered and what isn't. Here's the best part. Cost 27 cents a day. That's it. Less than a cup of coffee for peace of mind to make sure your family's protected when it matters most. When disaster hits, you don't want surprises. You want certainty. Before you assume you're covered, go to my policy advocate.com let them review your policy. You might be shocked at what you'll find. MyPolicyAdvocate.com this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.