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Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
turned off news altogether.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.
Colin Cowherd
It's the rage bait.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
It feels like it's trying to divide people.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
We got clear facts. Maybe we can calm down a little.
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NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Catch the red eye or take the
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6am Make a new hire or promote internally.
Colin Cowherd
Celebrate a win with the toast at the gate or unwind at the lounge.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Big props to this team.
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio at 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. Well, The World Cup, FIFA World Cup 26 begins Thursday. Fox and FS1 USA and Paraguay Friday, 9 Eastern on Fox. And John Strong is the play by play voice for our network. He and Stu Holden do a remarkable job. And he, he was a, he went to Lake Oswego High School and I'll pay tribute to a great high school. And John was a young student and by the time he was 25 he was the voice of the Portland Timbers. So he's like a Bob Costas trajectory when he was a young kid. And he is joining us, they're at the team's at Irvine right now and just wrapped up practice. I've always wanted to talk to John Strong. So I'm so excited to have you on. It's interesting. You know, we were just talking about the Knicks that at the end of the regular season everybody said the Knicks had bad chemistry and Mike Brown was going to get fired. And then you watch them in the playoffs and it's all nonsense. And you know, I looked at this team, they were had, they had a scoring drought and Pulisic was struggling even over internationally. People were talking about chemistry. And then I watched them against Senegal and I watched them against Germany and I'm like, oh, what a joyful group. They look great. So where are, let's talk, let's talk just what we've seen Senegal and what we've seen against Germany. It's a very talented group. We knew that. We have concerns with goalkeeping. Where are they now emotionally now, health wise? They're in a pretty good spot, John, but where are they emotionally on this journey to Friday?
Colin Cowherd
So Colin, we were just a few minutes ago finishing up our meeting with Mauricio Pochettino in the stadium where they're practicing down here in Orange County. And that was most of what he wanted to talk with us about was the emotional and mental side of this team right now. And it was kind of the point, you know, the tactics and the lineups and the formations and this stuff. Yeah, sure. But the mental side and the emotional side of getting this team ready. And I think the biggest thing that he was kind of getting across to us was this was a very difficult year and a half for Mauricio and for his staff to come into a team that required a coaching change, that had a disastrous Copa America and kind of diagnose, assess and then fix whatever was going on. And that work has been done. And in talking to multiple people around this team, even just this morning, there's a clear sense that the feeling of the team, the emotions, the momentum from the roster reveal in New York, the opening of training camp in Atlanta, and as you mentioned, the two games against Senegal in Germany, it couldn't be any better. This team really is in the best possible place, mentally and emotionally and momentum wise, that they could be going into this game Friday night, which is not necessarily what a lot of us would have thought, because it has been a very difficult two years. But that's what's really exciting, is it's. There's a switch that's been flipped on very clearly in the last two weeks. And as Marisa said to us, like, that was the hard part, this is the easy part, is going out and playing and performing. The hard work's already been done.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I said the other day, I said Monday, I said, you know, soccer fans usually fall into two groups. American soccer fans, sky is the limit or sky is falling. And I've always tried to be, you know, cautiously optimistic, but I do. I am more optimistic. I just think in terms of creative playmakers, we have more. In fact, our strength was always goalkeeping. Now it's a little tenuous, say Pulisic scores. We are very good. You can look at the numbers. I put them up this morning. If he has a goal, we win. If he has a goal or an assist, we usually win. He will be attacked. I thought the last World cup people went after him physically. They tried to intimidate him. If I said to you, we've got to have a second goal scorer to really compete at the highest level, who is that going to be, in your opinion?
Colin Cowherd
I think the easiest answer is to say Fuller and Baligun up front. He's coming off a terrific season. He looks like he's going to be the starting center forward. He's a physical presence, which Mauricio Pochettino and his staff really value, that you can occupy defenders. But I would actually say it's whoever's on the other side of the field from Pulisic. And is that indeed going to be Serginho Dest? And I think that's Where Christian Pulisic can in fact be at his best. If you can focus all your attention and energy on him and anytime he gets the ball he's got two, three defenders around him, he's got no space and time, it's going to be hard for him to show what he can do. But if all of a sudden and this was exactly like what happened in the game against Senegal, if Pulisic can put a cross in and here's Sergino Dest popping up at the back post unmarked and he taps it in, well now all of a sudden we got to put effort and energy on that other side and now there's more space for Pulisic. And so I would say whoever's going to be on the other side of the field Friday night, whoever's going to be the other threat opposite to Pulisic, not only is he going to have then opportunities, but that reduces the pressure on Christian significantly. And that was what was exciting is I think we were seeing a lot of that in the two warm up games of it wasn't just Christian, there were attacks and opportunities coming from all over the field. That's going to be really important on Friday night.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
We were the youngest team, I believe second youngest team in the World cup last year we played and by the way we got a draw with England and I said at the time, I'm like, guys, we got to be realistic here. That in itself was a win. I do think we're the strongest team
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Through your years of covering this team and covering World Cups, you know, we always look at Messi or Ronaldo and we look at stars, we don't, you know, Tim Howard was our really most formidable player in one of our World Cups. Are you concerned about the back end? I thought we gave up a really sloppy goal against Germany. Really discouraging look, kind of disconnected. And then there's worries about, you know, what we're like in the nets. Are you concerned about that?
Colin Cowherd
I think you're always concerned from the standpoint of not knowing for sure. I think that's been the challenge for Matt Fries is he's getting all of these experiences for the first time. But I think we forget that Matt Turner was in exactly the same boat at the last World Cup. Matt Turner had only been playing for the US for a year and a half. Matt Turner had been not playing at all in the months leading into the World Cup. He had moved to Arsenal in the Premier League. He was the backup there. And Matt Turner had a terrific World Cup But I think until we see it, it's just hard to believe. And it's absolutely true. The point you're making, the goalkeepers have been the star players for the U.S. historically, this is unique. We've not since 1990 had a goalkeeper. Assuming it's Matt Fries with as little experience at the international level going into a World Cup. He's not a big time established professional playing in Europe, but it doesn't mean that he can't rise to that occasion. The other thing I would say, and this is true at any level of soccer, I talk to my kids about this as well. It's never just the goalkeeper, it's never just the defenders, it's everyone. And that I think has been a big theme as well from Mauricio Pochettino is defending has to be a team wide commitment. If we lose the ball, if it's a misplayed pass, if it's a turnover, it's a sprint, it's an urgency to defend as a team and get it back. So that if you are concerned about Tim Ream, who's going to be the oldest man ever to play at a World cup for the US at the back, well then don't let him get isolated. If you're going to be concerned about defending those counterattack moments, well, then collectively get bodies behind the ball and put your newer, less experienced players in better positions to succeed. So is that going to be a concern Friday? Absolutely. Is Paraguay looking at this going? We can get this team on the break, we can catch them on a counter, we can have success, no doubt. But I think that's where these guys just have to be able to rise to the moment. And that I think is what been with the hope and the feeling has been here in camp. Is there ready to do that?
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Well, I think playing on American soil matters. I think it's good for like Alexi Lawless said yesterday, it's good for, you know, Weston McKinney and Pulisic's brand. There is, I think there's a very healthy pressure to perform. You go back to high school, if your parents are at the game, you want to perform. I don't think it's necessarily pressure. It's the reality of I want to represent myself well. This is your third World Cup. You were at practice today. What is the vibe?
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Did you.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
What did you sense today? I know, but you've been, you've been at dozens of these practices. This is your third World Cup. There's nobody more experienced than being in these venues before these matches. What Was the vibe today?
Colin Cowherd
Well, I think it was actually really notable what happened here yesterday. They had an open practice for the public. And, you know, this stadium here in Orange county seats about 5,500 people. And from what we were told, there were about 30,000 applicants to get a ticket to sit into the public practice session. And that seemed to really. I think that combined with the great crowds in Charlotte and Chicago, I think that really started to hit home for the coaches and for the players. Not just we're at the World cup, not just we're at home, but, you know, as we all understand, there are moments where the US Plays home games in soccer, and it doesn't feel like a home game either because the stadium isn't packed or because it's packed with fans of the other team. And I think what we've seen in the last 10 days has been really helpful to get these guys to understand what this is, and this is real. And to the other point, though, that was actually something that Pochettino brought up with us is that added pressure of, my family's here, my friends are here, the whole country's watching. I hope I don't screw this up. And trying to remove some of that pressure from these guys and say, hey, you're here for a reason. You belong in this moment. Just go do what you have to do. Go do what you know you can do and try to bring that pressure off. I think that'll be a big thing as well for Friday night is. And that's where I say the ability for the US to score the first goal of the game, to do it in the first half, I think would be huge. Just to allow everyone to kind of go, okay, we know who we are. We know we can do. Let's just get down to business.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Well, there's Burr Halter. There's been Steve Arena. There's Steve Bruce Arena. There's been, you know, Klindman, who I really liked. And now we're tough on our coaches. We are tough on our United States men's national team coaches. Pochettino came in with a reputation. He's very good with young players. He and Pulisic early again. The media kind of inflamed it. It doesn't work. And my take is it's hard. He was over in Europe. He's flourishing. How do you think the relationship finally is with Christian and Mauricio?
Colin Cowherd
I think it's a lot better than it was. And I think there was a common understanding. I think it's important to understand the things that Greg Burhalter did was what he needed to do with a very young team. As you rightly said, that was the youngest team that qualified at the last World cup and they were by a decimal point the second oldest roster at the tournament just because Tim Ream unexpectedly came into the team at the end. And a lot of what Greg Burhalter was doing was getting a group of young kids to believe that they could do these things, that they could qualify, that they could compete at the World Cup. The challenge was then once they became grown men, a lot of them are dads now. They're established professionals. They clearly needed to be pushed in a different way. And I think the big misnomer about Mauricio Pochettino is that he's this sort of hard taskmaster, that he's not as emotionally connected. I think that was the criticism with how he announced to the players the roster that's the opposite of what we've seen. What we saw last summer at the Gold cup is a coach and a staff who deeply care about the players, who deeply create emotional connections. But you have to earn it first. You have to kind of pass their test and you have to do what they're asking. Once you do that, you're in and let's go fight together. And I think that was a part of this year and a half process that we're now seeing come to fruition in the last week and a half.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
John Strong voice, Fox Sports soccer. Stu Holden and him, you're going to see him for weeks. They're fantastic and it's absolutely great talking to you for the first time. And I just admire your trajectory and your work. You're just terrific at it. Thank you so much.
Colin Cowherd
Appreciate that very much, Colin.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Thank you. All right, John Strong and tip of the cap to Lake of sw. Go High voice of the Portland Timbers. In his early 20s, he has just risen through the ranks. He's terrific. JMAC getting all fired up now. I'm getting all worked up here. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeart radio app. Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.
Colin Cowherd
And in addition to hearing us live
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right.
Colin Cowherd
You can now watch the Odd couple
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
live on YouTube every day. All you got to do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again YouTube just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.
Colin Cowherd
It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.
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NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Catch the red eye or take the
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6am, make a new hire or promote internally.
Colin Cowherd
Celebrate a win with the toast at the gate or unwind at the lounge.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Big props to this team.
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
J. Mac with the news.
Colin Cowherd
No, no, no, no, no.
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Turn on the news.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
This is the Herdline news. You know, the NBA draft is coming up. We haven't talked about it in a minute, but AJ DeBonsa was at Knicks spurs, game three. And interestingly, he was asked about his chances of being, you know, one of these guys who makes an instant impact the way all these young spurs players have. And DeBonsa actually said it won't take that long, especially with my adaptability and my work ethic. Love the confidence. He is minus 450 to go first overall. I'm a little surprised by that large number, but I don't know, what do you think DeBonsa is. Can he, can he be like a Castle or a Harper come in and just.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Oh, he's a better offensive. He's a better offensive player than Stefan Castle.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yes.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Yeah. And I think he's a bigger athlete than Dylan Harper. I don't. I mean, the bottom line is there is no. I mean, Darren Peterson you worry about a little bit about. He plays in a silo. The hamstring stuff, the cramping. You worry about Boozer, not a hyper athletic guy. Caleb Wilson, Caleb Wilson, still young, tremendous ceiling, but he's still probably a couple of years away. I mean, Devonts is like plug and play, 22 a night. He's just a big, strong kid who can score. I mean, his weakness is kind of catch and shoot like that. You can't worry about that when a guy is like 20 years old. They get better over time. They don't have to go to college. I mean, again, I just, I don't think there's. He's about as close to. Can't miss. I don't know if he's going to be hoisting trophies, but he's not going to miss. He's a strong, athletic kid who's going to get better and better. And the stuff that he has to work on, the catch and shoot, he'll get better.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yeah. I do just wonder, are Castle and Harper elevated by playing next to Wemby? Obviously, yes. Because if Castle and Harper were in Memphis. Okay, are we going crazy for those two? Like, I like Castle a lot.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Well, I think, I think Castle jumps out with his physicality and he's a very aggressive player. I think Castle would be good anywhere. I just think we watch him more in San Antonio.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Right. So by that I, I think he could be onto something, that he could adjust and adapt quickly. I don't know. 22 is a bit much right out of the gate, but could he be an 18 point a game guy as a rookie for. For the Wizards?
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Oh, absolutely.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Well, playing alongside Trey Young might make it difficult. You know, Trey Young likes to hog a lot of the shots. We'll see what happens with Anthony Davis. But I. You think, well, we'll get back to the draft soon. But you think Debunce is a lock to go? 1 minus 4. 50 is. Feels like a lock.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Yeah, I think he's going to go again. A year ago it was Peterson, but I think the concerns are legit. And anytime we've had concerns about sort of the apathetic Ben Simmons workout kind of apathetic, Not a great teammate. Well, over time that was proven. Right. Or Markel Fultz, Royce White, when he, you know, there was that.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yeah.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I mean, I mean, when you look at people that have come into a draft and you're like, you know, Anthony Bennett was like, he's not athletic enough. What does he do? At an incredibly high level. Most of these scouts know what they're doing. I mean, they called Wemby the greatest prospect, LeBron the greatest prospect. Well, look what they've done.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yeah.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
So, I mean, that the basketball talent jumps out at you by the time A kid is 11, 12 years old. I mean, that Tim Legler's told the story. People have told the story. They worked out. They saw Kobe in a gym at 16 and they thought he was. They're like, that's a. Who is that? What NBA player is that? So it's not like football, where a lot of times, physically, you can be a really good college football player. At 20, you're just not. You're not equipped physically. Yeah. To be a great left. Left tackle, you know, against NFL pass rushers. It just takes time and time and time for big bodies to get stronger.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
You asked what Anthony Bennett did. Well, he was a crazy number one pick. I know what he does.
Colin Cowherd
Well.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
He eats really well. He ate his way out of the league. Colin, that was an unbelievably bad pick. Sorry.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
It was a bad draft. It's probably the worst draft in league history.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
All right, let's move on to the NFL. So the second best quarterback battle after Minnesota, I think, is in Atlanta, and it's between Michael Penix and tua. But interestingly, Atlanta's OC Alex Van Pelt says the competition won't begin until Penix is cleared and healthy. I didn't. So TUA has like A big jump start. Because remember, this is a new offense. I know Penix is technically the incumbent because he started last year, but he got injured. But with the entire new offense and a new coaching staff, Remember the coaching staff in the front office looked around the league and said, who could we get? Let's get to. I don't think that's a great sign for Penix, Colin. I don't know. It's June, but you have a lean in this battle.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Yeah, Panicks. You prefer the young guy, beats him out. I mean, you drafted him. You gave up the draft capital to get him. You'd want him to start. He's a bigger, stronger, longer, well, better arm players.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
The same apply to JJ McCarthy.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Like, it's been a disaster. Pennock's just been hurt. There's a difference between. Right now, the jury's still out on Pennix.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Okay?
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
You don't go acquire Kyler Murray, who is a better player athletically, still has five or six. I mean, TUA right now is a backup. Nobody's building around him. Kevin o' Connell is a good coach. He's like, you know, I, I can build around Kyler Murray. So I, I think you, I, I think J.J. mcCarthy's career in Minnesota is short.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Damn hot takes on, on a Tuesday. Let's wrap up with the OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder, aka Choklahoma City, losing Game 7 at home to the, to the spurs. And, and guess who was invisible in that game. There's Chet Holmgren fumbling the bag in the backcourt. He had a brutal series, literally invisible in game seven. So Sam Presti was defending his guy yesterday. Colin. And he is super excited about the big man's trajectory, saying he's got that underdog mentality. We'll revisit that in a second. And he's intrinsically motivated to get better. So I get the. Motivated. Come on, you got murdered.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Let's, let's not. I mean, listen, Holmgren's a good player. He's not a great player. He's a good player and he's very good against everybody not named Wemby. So, you know, if you're gonna move him, you can make it part of a Giannis deal. My thing is, if you're gonna move him, you gotta get something great in return.
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I'm not just saying move him to move him. If you, if you moved him and you said J Dub, Chet Holmgren, two picks, Giannis, then I feel like defensively I'm getting a better player and athletically I'm getting a better Player. Now, Holmgren's a better perimeter shooter, but I'm not anti Holmgren. I just don't. I thought he disintegrated. That's a good point against Wemby.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Now here's the thing. I pushed back on Presti saying Chet Holmgren was an underdog. Like, give me a break. This guy beat Wemby when he was with the Team USA. I think it was under 17. I mean, Chet Holmgren has always been one of the top five guys in his class. He was big time at Gonzaga. They had an incredible season. He was a top five pick in no way, shape or form as Chet Holmgren, an underdog and Sam Prestis. This is two guys in a row sga with that nonsense. Oh, he's battling social media.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
He is an underdog now that Wemby's in the league and the best player. He is an underdog. He's a Gonzaga kid.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
All NBA third team player.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Third team. Wemby's all NBA first team for the next 15 years. You are an underdog. I mean, it's, it's nothing against. I mean, let's be honest. If you go to the east, when LeBron was in the east, everybody was an underdog. Not named LeBron. The whole. I mean, Dwayne Wade, until he was teammates was an underdog to LeBron.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Okay, now hold on. Okay, so yes, against LeBron, Dwyane Wade was an underdog. Remove LeBron. Wade is favored against everyone else in the league. Chet Holgren, if you remove one dessert
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
next year, Wemby for the next 10 years will be favored to win the title. They were the favorite in this year as a young next 10 years. San Antonio will be favored every year to win the championship. The whole league's an underdog.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
This feels like the Michael Jordan nonsense. Well, hey, the media said Clyde Drexler was as good as me. Nobody said that, bro. You're making stuff up like, I don't know, whatever. Presti go off. You ain't going back to the finals anytime soon anyway.
Colin Cowherd
All right.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Sorry, J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the herd lie news. One more Wemby thought when we come back live in Chicago. It's the Herd. One more herd.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
The herd streams 24 hours a day,
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
demand whenever you'd like.
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Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
I turned off news altogether.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.
Colin Cowherd
It's the rage bait. It feels. Feels like it's trying to divide people.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Catch the red eye or take the
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Colin Cowherd
Celebrate a win with the toast at the gate or unwind at the lounge. Big props to this team.
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Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Two days and counting. The biggest World cup ever comes to America. Christian pulisic and the U.S. men's National Team kick off their World cup dream on a night of music, stars and celebration in LA on Friday. Coverage begins at 6pm Eastern with the match at 9 Eastern on Fox.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
So I saw this where Jerry Stackhouse, the former warriors assistant, said Yesterday, Kawhi or LeBron is who the warriors should go after. Get LeBron or Kawhi? I don't think it's close. I would. And generally speaking, LeBron's better, more available. I think he elevates teammates. He's normal, he's more consistent as a player. That's not even close to me. The warriors are not a championship team. Obviously. They are a team trying to maximize the timeline of Steph Curry. They're not a championship team. So I've said this before. If you add LeBron and the rookie out of Michigan, seven three Spaniard Adai Mara, I think you have a real squad, not a championship squad, but maybe a fourth seed in the west squad. And I this make this is why when I watch, I mean as good as Jalen Brunson is, he doesn't change the way I think of the NBA. I don't think, oh, you got to draft people to stop him. I look at a Dai Mara and Giannis and I think they're the big winners on Wemby beating Oklahoma City. The big winners are yawning because you look at Chet Holmgren humbled, Rudy Gobert played off the floor. I mean, I think Mara is a little underrated anyway. But has he become a top six or seven pick? I mean, think about this. You can't though. You the warriors cannot compete with Wemby. Doesn't matter if LeBron and Kawhi played there. You can't compete. That's how good he is. It's almost like when the Giants had Lawrence Taylor in division. You had to spend money on a left tackle or it was over. You had to just start your draft annually. Are we good at left tackle? And I feel like that with Wemby. If you're Oklahoma City, all I'm thinking about is we got to resign Hardenstein. If we don't, do we have to give our picks up to get Mara? Because I I mean if you look at, I mean LeBron at 41 has influence. It's on the margins. Compared to this kid. Wemby is AI in sneakers. He's a total disruptor, complete disruptor. And I was thinking about this. Detroit couldn't stop Michael Jordan, so they created the Jordan rules and could stop Shaq. So they started hack a Shaq. Wemby there's a new rule. You have to have two bigs and, like, guys that can play. So New York does, and they can compete. Oklahoma City does. They can compete with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. You've got some size, maybe a Nas Reed. You can compete. You can't compete against this team. Like Miami, Pat Riley, there's rumors they want Giannis. How are you going to compete against Wemby? This is mj. This is Hacker Shack. Like, I don't know how you compete. So the big story also, that kind of exploded yesterday. Brendan Sorsby is a quarterback in college. Texas Tech's got a lot of money. They got a billionaire booster. They went and bought him, and we find out he's been betting college football games. You know, young men, phone pocket. Try getting your son off his phone. It's hard. And so he did something that is obviously, obviously terribly inappropriate. And Big 12 schools and Big 10 schools and Georgia football is like, we're not scheduling these guys because an appellate judge in Lubbock, Texas, a retired judge, came in and said, all right, I'll suspend him two games. And it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, college football's had a lot of changes, but the kind of the line of demarcation is players can't bet on games, especially their own teams. Games four against their team. So, listen, it is new territory. So was Nil. So was transfer portal. Everybody overreacted to those. I keep hearing how broke every athletic department is. But LSU can pay 40 million for Kiffin staff, 400 million for new affiliate facilities, and 35 to 45 million on a roster composition. So in that Louisiana is not a rich state. So everybody's overreacting to everything. In this instance, the feeling. It's not overreacting by school saying, what are we supposed to tell our kids? This is the one rule. And the judge, the retired judge, clearly in his decision considered the fact that college football kind of opens its arm to revenue from gambling companies. So, I mean, could this ruling be overturned? Here's Bruce Feldman earlier.
Colin Cowherd
The people we're talking to have not been that optimistic that a court will overturn this. I mean, it's on the docket for, like, February of 2027. Obviously, the. The college football season would be long done by the time that would happen. The sense I've gotten from the people I've talked to in the last 24 hours has been that if there was anything going to get in the way of stopping Brendan Soaresby from playing it would be the pressure from the rest of the Big 12, who is right now apoplectic that this retired judge in Texas granted this injunction.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Right. J. Mac, you and I like to bet. What would you do with him? You're, you're. What would you do if you were the Big Ten, Big 12 commissioner, what do you do?
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
So he got a two game suspension, right?
Colin Cowherd
Right.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
That's too light. We know that.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
I would agree here. Here's the problem and I'm, you know, if I were the judge, I'd want to get granular. You made 9,000 bets.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Were you using a lot of inside information on game plans to bet unders on your own team? To bet player, prop, unders? I haven't seen the 9,000 bets. Some of that stuff has trickled out, but not enough of it. I mean, Colin, if the guy made a thousand bets on unders on his team because he knew, they just say, hey, we're just going to run the ball and get out of here with a 49 nothing win. If he's doing that, I think that's kind of messed up. But if he's just betting on like, hey, man, I'm addicted to betting. I believe in this team. I'm going to bet on him. I think that's different. I think using the info, I don't love that. I don't see how you could like it.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Well, I mean, it's obviously an addiction issue which people get addicted to everything.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yeah, I don't love, like you said, the Georgia coming out and say, wait, we're not playing these guys. I mean, Georgia has, I think, more arrests than any like big any SEC school in the last two years. Like, let's settle down with the preachiness and the pearl clutching over the gambling stuff with Sourcebee. So I don't love that. I think weirdly, you and I are aligned in this and it's kind of us against the world because everybody believes I'll just throw them out of the sport. I, I don't think it's that easy. But again, I need more data and I want a more nuanced discussion than just it's black or white. Toss him or let him play.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
Yeah, I mean, you know, I was told two years ago, three years ago, the nil would ruin the sport. I'll never watch college. Oh, everybody. Like, I had friends. I'll never watch college football again. Ratings up, revenue up. Transfer portal outrageous. Ratings up, revenue up. We tend to overreact to anything. I mean, I, it could be, it's like AI, a month ago there were stories, unemployment rate 35%. We just had a report, unemployment went down. It's like, guys, media, be more responsible. Obviously this is too light a sentence. If I said to you and you found out that he wasn't betting unders on his team, I thought like six games feels like, yeah, you pretty much neutered his chance to be a first round pick. If he plays six games, he can't practice. You kind of neutered his season. But, but again, there's, there's people that are very dogmatic and they're not necessarily wrong.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Well, didn't he do it? Didn't he do 30 or 35 days in rehab, something like that? Some addiction facility? I mean, that's a month.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
I mean, that's four or five games. Think about this. We have victims in a lot of crimes in America. Violent crime. You are allowed to commit violent crimes as a pro athlete where you're older and more mature, where you can afford therapy and you're allowed. Pac Man Jones was arrested over eight or nine times. I mean, he, There was, yeah, I mean, Alden Smith. And I'm not picking on guys. Like, we've got teams with 60 arrests in the last 25 years.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
NFL player. They just announced it within the last couple hours. An offensive lineman on the Rams was arrested, you know, not. Not great. His second time with these allegations. So, like, this stuff is happening a lot. I will say your doom and gloom part really ticks me off, Colin, that just that the media, we've become like the scare tactics. It's a political playbook. My gosh, everything at the end of the world, I'll save you. And you've got all these media guys writing, it's over. College sports is done. The rules are over. Listen, everybody thinks like, oh, I'll save you.
J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
This is lies. Just think about the IOC and all the questions about IOC and the sketchiness. Did the Olympics get canceled? They've been threatening that since Montreal. Think about FIFA and the controversies. This will be the most watched World cup of all time, folks. There's more sex, there's more gambling. There's more trouble out there than you know. I think a lot of times in the media we're naive. There's somebody betting on your favorite college football team today. And my take is, you know, I'm a parent. So my thing is, okay, if you want to ban him from college football, okay, he will get drafted sixth or seventh round. But I think sometimes we all have to take a deep breath in our space.
Guest Analyst (possibly a sports commentator or co-host)
Yeah,
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J. Mac (Jason McIntyre)
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Main Theme:
This episode of The Herd focuses on the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, the current state of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, and dives into topical discussions on key sporting news—including the Brendan Sorsby college football betting controversy, the NBA draft, and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff loss. The hosts, Colin Cowherd and J. Mac (Jason McIntyre), are joined by Fox Sports soccer play-by-play voice John Strong for an in-depth conversation on U.S. soccer, team dynamics, and emotional state ahead of the tournament.
Guest: John Strong, Fox Sports play-by-play announcer
Timestamps: 04:46–14:59
Timestamps: 18:49–22:41
Timestamps: 22:48–24:53
Timestamps: 24:14–26:53
Timestamps: 30:38–40:16
On team turnaround:
“There’s a switch that’s been flipped on very clearly in the last two weeks.” (John Strong, 06:00)
On secondary scoring threat:
“If Pulisic can put a cross in and here’s Sergiño Dest popping up at the back post unmarked and he taps it in…now there’s more space for Pulisic.” (John Strong, 07:22)
On American soccer fan culture:
“Soccer fans usually fall into two groups. American soccer fans, sky is the limit or sky is falling.” (J. Mac, 06:12)
On gambling outrage:
“College football’s had a lot of changes, but…players can’t bet on games.” (Colin Cowherd, 32:21)
“Sometimes we all have to take a deep breath in our space.” (Colin Cowherd, 40:11)
The conversation is candid, lively, and fast-paced with analytic rigor and moments of humor (e.g., Anthony Bennett’s career joke). Colin guides nuanced debates, refrains from hot takes on emotionally charged topics, and repeatedly urges perspective and calm in the face of media “doom and gloom.”
If you missed the episode, you’ll come away understanding the U.S. soccer team’s optimistic state ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the current dynamics shaping American sports (from college football ethics to NBA draft prospects), and the hosts’ calls for level-headed analysis amid controversies and media hype.