What's Wright - LeBron James RETURNING to Cavaliers with Kyrie? Messi's BRILLIANCE, World Cup quarters PREDICTIONS | Nick Wright

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: What's Wright - LeBron James RETURNING to Cavaliers with Kyrie? Messi's BRILLIANCE, World Cup quarters PREDICTIONS | Nick Wright

Release Date: July 9, 2026
Host(s): Nick Wright, Damanze, (Colin Cowherd commentary), Theo Henderson

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Overview

This episode dives deep into two major sports storylines:

• The dramatic speculation about LeBron James’s future, especially the possibility of a third return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, possibly reuniting with Kyrie Irving.
• Lionel Messi’s unprecedented brilliance as Argentina pursues another World Cup, including analysis and predictions for the quarterfinals.

Wright and Damanze break down NBA free agency whiteboard drama, potential team fits for LeBron, and offer thoughtful takes on soccer’s biggest narratives—always in Wright’s characteristically forthright, detailed, and opinionated style.

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LeBron James’ Potential Return to the Cavaliers (and Other Destinations)

1. Breaking Down the “Whiteboard” (06:00–20:00)

Nick and Damanze analyze the now-infamous whiteboard created by Rich Paul that lists possible destinations for LeBron James:

• Top Contenders: Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Outliers/Longshots: Golden State (noted as “Steph and Dre”), Mavericks (“Dallas and Masai”), Celtics (“Brad and Tatum”), Spurs, Knicks.

Key Takeaways:

• Some entries, like Dallas, appear more like long-term wealth plays ("oil, golf, Macau, Africa") than serious basketball fits.
• Warriors only in contention if able to acquire Anthony Davis.

  “If the Warriors had acquired or were able to acquire Anthony Davis, they would be more prominently featured on the whiteboard.” — Nick Wright (06:43)

• Celtics: Rivalry history with LeBron likely rules them out despite talent (“I don’t think he’s really considering the Celtics… too much history of a real rivalry.” — 13:05).

2. The Cavs and Kyrie Irving Reunion (20:00–26:30)

Wright builds the case for Cleveland as LeBron’s likeliest destination—especially if a deal for Kyrie Irving can be worked out.

• Points to connections in the Cavs’ front office and LeBron’s personal ties.
• The current hangup: The presence of James Harden (“Harden is the hang up there.” — 21:14)
• The vision:

  “If Cleveland were able to pull off a trade for Kyrie Irving, I think that makes it far more doable.” — Nick Wright (25:45)

• Wright argues this ending would be “kind of a perfect ending and it would give LeBron and Kyrie the finish they never got.”
• Analysis of possible roles: Without Kyrie, adding LeBron to Cavs might look a lot like the Lakers—playing second fiddle to a main star (Mitchell) and fitting uncomfortably next to Harden.

  “Then all of a sudden I find myself again in this Swiss army knife role. I’m not really dictating the offense. How fun is that?” — Nick (20:58)

3. The Philadelphia Option (10:18–12:53)

• Roster with Embiid, Maxey, Jalen Brown considered the best basketball fit.
• But, tricky player hierarchy (“That team... you know, the only other centers on the roster are Hock, Porti, Adam Bona and Embiid obviously is the biggest injury risk.” — 10:19).
• Jalen Brown would become “the greatest fourth option in the NBA.” (11:45)

4. Decision Factors: Basketball Fit vs. Happiness

• Nick repeatedly stresses that for LeBron, happiness—not just title odds—will drive the choice (“This is going to be about happiness and he’s also mentioned a lot about golf.” — 15:04)

5. Notable Quote

“I do not believe LeBron is making this decision assuming that next year, this coming year, is his final year in the NBA. I think he is making this decision, acknowledging this next year might be his final year in the NBA. But there is a very good chance he’s playing two more seasons and going to play a smooth 25 years in the league.” — Nick Wright (24:54)

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Messi’s Brilliance and the 2026 World Cup

1. Argentina’s Run and Messi’s Legacy (33:23–44:45)

• Argentina has "the clearest path" to the World Cup final despite not always looking like the strongest team.
• The Messi effect:

  “I’ve been pretty firm that… while fun, it's 'figure out who you think's the best of those two guys [Messi and Ronaldo] over the years and then they can start competing with Pele for greatest ever.' I no longer feel that way. I think Messi’s pretty clearly the greatest soccer player ever.” — Nick Wright (34:58)

• Clutch moments: Down 0-2 at the 75th minute vs. Egypt, “you did not think they were dead… because they have Messi, who is still the best player in the tournament and the scariest player in the tournament.” (35:16)
• Messi stats: “Messi now has the record for most goals in World Cup history by a lot.” — Nick (42:01)
  • In the last two World Cups: 15 goals in 12 games.
  • Career: 21 World Cup goals, with six scored in knockout rounds in a row.

2. The Messi – Ronaldo Contrast (55:57–59:00)

• Messi’s leadership and longevity elevate him beyond Ronaldo at this stage:

  “Ronaldo is not only older than Messi, but was far more reliant on athleticism… he hasn't aged quite as well. Plus, he is older... [he] doesn't have the humility and relationship with his teammates that Messi has.” — Nick Wright (55:57)

• Portugal “was really hurting the team and Messi’s carrying his... this is like a lifelong debate between the two fan bases and the two guys..."

3. The Replay / VAR Debate (45:48–55:13)

• Nick’s passionate critique of video replay in sports.

  “Replay is a good idea in sports… but for every obvious error it corrects, it creates three new controversies and sucks the life out of the games.” — Paraphrased from (45:56–54:30)

• Specifics: Calls on offsides, minor ball grazes, and “robbing us of moments.”
• “In a quest to get things right, we have made the officiating less consistent. We have slowed the games down…” — Nick (54:00)

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World Cup Quarterfinals Preview (62:33–End)

Fixtures & Analysis

• France vs. Morocco: France is the second biggest quarterfinal favorite, but Nick sees “sneaky upset alert”—especially with Hakimi’s defensive prowess and Morocco’s motivation after losing to France in the last World Cup semifinal (65:25).
• Spain vs. Belgium:
  • Spain hasn't allowed a goal in this tournament, undefeated in 35 matches.
  • “Spain should beat Belgium, but Belgium might have an ace up their sleeve if they keep their stars on the bench for a late-game push.” — Nick (65:25)
• Norway vs. England:
  • Nick is awed by Erling Haaland’s scoring rate (“62 goals in 54 games!”), but expects England to prevail (63:23).
• Argentina vs. Switzerland:
  • Argentina is a strong favorite, but Wright reminds listeners that Argentina’s ride has included several near-upsets.

Notable Quarterfinal Storylines

• “Swiss have made the round of 16 or further in four straight World Cups, alongside France, Argentina, and Brazil.” — Nick (62:48)
• “If Holland stays close to England, it’s going to make them very nervous.” — Nick (64:05)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On LeBron’s Cavs Reunion:

  “It would be kind of a perfect ending and it would give LeBron and Kyrie the finish they never got, that Kyrie has since said he regretted.” (24:15)

• On Messi’s Greatness:

  “I think Messi’s pretty clearly the greatest soccer player ever and somehow he is still the best player in the tournament and the scariest player in the tournament.” (34:58)

• On Video Replay:

  “Replay… slows the game down, takes away great moments, and I’m not even sure it’s getting more things right.” (47:00)

• On Ronaldo’s Decline:

  “This was the best team [Portugal] he ever was on and he hurt it more than he helped it. That’s just a bummer, kind of final chapter.” (58:10)

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Episode Highlights

• Extended, thoughtful LeBron team-by-team analysis driven by Rich Paul’s whiteboard (06:00–26:30)
• Nick’s passionate and statistical argument for Messi as the “GOAT” and his impact on Argentina’s World Cup (33:38–44:45)
• VAR/replay debate with colorful real-world sports analogies (45:48–55:13)
• World Cup quarterfinal storylines and predictions (62:33–End)
• Sharp, sometimes irreverent, always well-reasoned insights throughout

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Use this summary to catch up on the episode’s major sports stories—LeBron’s looming free agency decision and Messi’s continued ascension as soccer’s greatest—all with Nick Wright’s signature candor and depth.

Transcript

[Damanze]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Tab Ramos]

This is Tab Ramos from inside American Soccer. And this summer topgolf is turning into the ultimate soccer destination. They've got a new soccer themed game you can play with your group, exclusive food and drink items. They've even installed full size soccer goals so you can try to hit golf balls right into the net. And every match all summer long will be on throughout the venue. And if you want to keep the fun going all summer, you you can get the topgolf Summer Fun Pass which lets you play every single day and bring up to five guests every visit. Get yours [e-mail] FunPass he's dribbling the

[Con]

ball with everything on the line.

[Colin Coward]

He's driving down the pitch. He's facing price hikes and cuts past

[Con]

him Carrier contracts tries to block him. Oh, he leaves him in the dust. He's at the edge of the box. He cuts past the nonstop group chat trash talk. He clears on goal. He shoots no unlimited data for $25 a month forever. Visit your local Boost Mobile store.

[Colin Coward]

Get unlimited data with a price that never changes. Boost mobile after 30gb, customers may experience lower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost $25 Unlimited plan. Hi, it's Colin Coward from the Colin Coward Podcast. All right, you know what deserves more attention? The assists. Everybody talks about the goal. A big moment that gets replayed on the highlight reels. But too often we overlook all the contributions and collabs that happen along the way. That's true in soccer and honestly true in life. Halion is shining a light on the assists. An official partner of U.S. soccer. They got a whole lineup of brands ready to deliver for you. So here they are. Sensodyne Dentist recommended Defense of your sensitive teeth. Centrum. Fueling your day with science backed nutrients. Advil, of course. Powerful inflammation fighting pain relief. Voltaren Arthritis gel helps penetrate deep, keeps the joints moving and tums ready to counterattack with fast heartburn relief. These are brands that are ready to deliver your essential wellness assists. Because every goal starts with an assist. Learn how Halion can assist your game day [e-mail] Con at Edward Jones we

[Con]

believe rich means opening yourself to new possibilities. That's why your dedicated financial advisor meets you where you are, helping you move forward with confidence. Let's find your rich Edward Jones member. SIPC welcome in what Driving the GR Episode 476 this episode of what's Right and Nick Ridd is presented to you by Boost Mobile. And we again ask that you all, if you can subscribe to the pod on YouTube, iTunes or Spotify, if you're watching on YouTube. I am wearing the Blue Duck family's favorite piece of Ward clothing that I have, the retro Wimbledon polo in honor of Wimbledon being up and running as we speak because of the World cup de Monte. Good to see you. I have not been able at all to talk any Wimbledon. I haven't really been all that dialed in, to be honest with you. Because today, Wednesday, July 8, is the first day in what, a month that my eyes aren't just bleeding from watching nonstop soccer. I mean, this has been. I miss it already. There's only. I. Technically there's eight games left in the tournament, but one of them is a third place game. So there's only seven really meaningful games left in the tournament. And there's go only. And there's. Yeah, there's only six days of soccer left. There is Thursday and Friday. There is one game each Saturday, a double header. Then mid next week, I think Tuesday and Wednesday. Or Wednesday. Yeah, Tuesday and Wednesday we have both semifinals and then next Sunday, the World cup final, and then it's gone for four years. So imagine between right now and four years from now how much time Christian Bisic has to rest. Like, that guy should just be absolutely dialed, rejuvenated. Good to see you. Is the. Has the weather taken a turn in Los Angeles or are you just going counterculture wearing a giant fleece in the middle of July in la?

[Damanze]

This, this jacket is not nearly as, like, warm or insulated as people might think it is. It's. It's pretty. It's not. It's not super hot. I even have a shirt on up underneath this. But yeah, no, I'm pretty.

[Con]

Yeah, it is. It. Well, you know what? I'll take your word on it. Be that it's not quite as warm as I thought it was because it looks like something a polar bear would be comfortable in. And you're just. It's just mid July in Los Angeles and you're just rocking it. All right, we're. We are going to do some World cup today, but we're going to start with LeBron before we do that. Straight to voicemail. Brought to you by Boost Mobile Joker delaying his extension to next year. That is at least a little interesting. But last year when he didn't sign the extension, the understanding was, well, no, it makes total sense because he can get more money by waiting one year. It was obvious he was going to delay now, yes, in theory, he can get an extra year by delaying, but there's obviously some risk to it. I'm just saying file this under the H at least. Not nothing. SH hits home run number 300. And the Wimbledon semifinals are set. Center versus Djokovic Zverev. I can never pronounce his name. Versus Ferry and Coco in her first Wimbledon semifinals. Also, a reminder this week, we do have a mailbag. You can pardon me, email us. Mailbag questions, what's right at what's right? Mailbag. Pardon me, what's right? Mailbag mail.com. but Damanze, let's get to it. LeBron and Rich Paul's whiteboard.

[Damanze]

Yeah. So last week, Rich Paul unveiled the potential teams that LeBron could be pulling up to or that is interested in. We have the. The picture for you guys. The Top contenders were 76ers, the Heat, the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and of course, the Cavs. Outliers, the Warriors, Mavs, Celtics, spurs, and the Knicks. And Bob Myers is pitching the 76ers. The Shams is reporting Philly and Cleveland. Miami are the top three. So a lot of teams.

[Con]

What do you think about it? Well, first, leave this whiteboard up, and let's just really dive into it for a moment, and let's kind of go from the outside in. All right, so top left of the whiteboard, it just says Steph and Dre. So couple things there. You know, if I'm Steve Kerr, my feelings are hurt a little bit. I'm like, damn, man, coach in the Olympics, like, I don't even get my name written on the whiteboard. And it. That, to me, is a signal to the warriors, if you want to be in this, you. You got to do a lot more. You've got, you know, you. I'm almost. I feel very confident in saying that if the warriors had acquired or were able to acquire Anthony Davis, they would be more prominently featured on the whiteboard. So that's them. The Dallas one is hilarious. It's Dallas's little section says Dallas and Masai. So that's Messiah Jerry, their new team president, underneath it. It does not say Cooper flag. It does not say Kyrie Irving. And even though I think Kyrie could be a major part of LeBron's ultimate decision, more on that in a second. It says oil, golf, Macau, and Africa. So Macau is the Vegas of Asia. It's like a little territory that's kind of China but kind of isn't. And the people that own the Mavs have casinos there. So Dallas what an oil is obviously oil money in Dallas. What that says is Dallas would purely be like a long term wealth play, not a basketball play at all. Then it says Brad and Tatum. That's the Celtics whole, whole draw again. Derek White's like, come on, man, I'm a pretty good two way player. Now if we again just go to the teams that don't have really a blowout on here. Spurs just say spurs and Knicks just say Knicks or nyk. So those teams are not real options. And if the spurs were a real option, oddly they kind of took themselves out of it by signing. What? What do you mean? Tell me.

[Damanze]

Just the team and there being no like dots or bullets on it. Well, just like the spurs and Knicks are just set like, I don't even know if you have to. Like they're just good teams. Spurs, Knicks.

[Con]

Right. Oh, you're saying he doesn't have to explain it. No, I just think I did. We, yeah, we didn't talk about this, this part about how Rich Paul said he was going to go to the Knicks if they didn't win the championship, which so I mean, Knicks fans, be honest. You kind of wish you didn't win the championship.

[Theo Henderson]

I'm kidding.

[Con]

I know Knicks fans, that's not how

[Damanze]

you feel about that.

[Con]

It is kind of. Had I known that LeBron was going to spend the final couple years of his career in the city where I live and I could go to all those games, I don't think I would have been rooting so hard for the Knicks in the finals, I gotta be totally honest with you. But the spurs and Knicks are not realistic options. And I don't think the warriors are the only team we listed there that is a realistic option, but probably not as presently constituted. So let's go back to the whiteboard if we could. So there is the Sixers piece of it. It Maxi Edgecomb, Jalen Brown, Embiid with Maxi with a nice little star next to his name. That is I think what a lot of people believe.

[Colin Coward]

The M.O.

[Con]

the best basketball fit. Now that team would not have a lot of depth. And that team, you know, the only other centers on the roster are Hock, Porti, Adam Bona and Embiid obviously is the biggest injury risk, you know, of anybody on this board. Now they did sign and Bernie Simons for like no money. They did sign Dean Wade and so I think those are, those are nice signings. And you would feel with LeBron, that's seven solid guys. The eighth man would be Hawk Porty. So maybe you do have enough depth. It. I'm very interested in how any of that. Not that this should be demons. A, the defining decision or the defining, you know, piece. But I'm very curious how any of that would land with Jalen Brown. If Jalen Brown did not like being 1B to Jason Tatum's 1A, he all of a sudden would be. Find him. Say it again.

[Damanze]

One C, maybe even D. Oh, I

[Con]

don't think it's one C. I think he's just. Certain nights just flatly. Number four. Just the nights where Embiid is out there and healthy. It's like, that's Maxi's team. Plus Embiid's there. Oh, yeah. The greatest player of all times on the team. And, hey, we have the greatest fourth option in the NBA. His name's Jalen Brown. Like that. That is. That's. That's just a very interesting new reality, potentially for Jaylen Brown. Do you. If there was no emotion attached to it, if there was no nostalgia, nothing about, you know, how LeBron should finish his career, if it were purely and solely about basketball. Do you like Philly the most?

[Damanze]

Yeah, I would. I would say they're pretty stacked. I don't see how any other team. I definitely don't like the warriors, and all the other teams, I guess, are improbable, but, yeah, I'd say that's the best fit. But.

[Con]

So I think Philly is. I agree with folks. Why would he.

[Colin Coward]

What?

[Con]

Go ahead.

[Damanze]

Why would he not be the best with the Celtics? Why does that not work?

[Con]

Well, I don't think right now the Celtics have. First of all, I don't think right now the Celtics have a better. Both of them without LeBron. Right. I don't think right now the Celtics have a better roster necessarily than Philly. That's. First of all. Second of all, I don't think he's really considering the Celtics. I think that there is too much history of a real rivalry. And like, I. Now, again, I get it.

[Damanze]

Same thing with the Warriors. Yeah, but.

[Con]

Yeah, no Warriors. Well, the warriors was a real, real rivalry. That's a great point. I. But I don't think there. There is no one on the Celtics that is anywhere close to Draymond and Steph for. You know what I mean? The relationships he has with Draymond and even the relationship he has with Steph. There's no one on the Celtics like that. But. So. Okay. So Philly, I think, does make a ton of basketball sense. It's just hard to imagine him finishing his career With I don't want to call it a random team, but a team that he was never connected to. Now, with that said, back in 27, 2018, Philly is where I was saying I was encouraging him to go. Philly is where when he picked the Lakers, where I wanted him to go and I thought he should go. But speaking of random team to finish his career, we'll skip over the heat for now on the whiteboard and go to the Timberwolves where it just says Aunt Mellow McDaniel, go bear. That would be just an unbelievable social experiment, pretty stunning to see and a really weird team, like just flatly an odd team that needs a forward and he could add maturity and leadership and you know, all of all of that stuff. But I don't think they're a real option. They also, you know, again, they're in a similar spot of Philly of you'd love their starting five and then do sumo, Terence Shannon Jr. And then waiting on Dante DiVincenzo, you know, to get back from injury. But it would still feel like they are very thin at bigs, much like Philly now. Gobert is a hell of a lot more durable than Embiid. Obviously. Very, very different players. I don't think Minnesota is a real option. I don't really want to spend a ton of time on Minnesota. I don't think they are. It would be absolutely gobsmacking if LeBron finishes his career with the Timberwolves. On top of that, keep in mind what Rich Paul has said is that this he at no point is Rich Paul said this decision is 100% going to be about the best place to win a championship. He wants to win a championship. He wants to compete for a championship. But what he has said is this is going to be about happiness and he's also mentioned a lot about golf. So I just don't think Minnesota is where we're going to see LeBron finish his career. Now, the Nuggets are a different story in that I do wonder how happy LeBron would be playing with Joker in a very positive way. Like just in my opinion, the two best passers arguably since Magic Johnson, the two of the highest basketball IQs ever and a team that could desperately use LeBron flip side being man oh man, they are really trying to make the entire plane out of Aaron Gordon on the defensive end of the ball. And so I now Josh Cronkey, who's his body owns the team and Jared Dudley, who's his buddies on the coaching staff. That probably helps, but I Also don't see Denver as all that plausible. Which brings us down to a couple teams along with Philly, the Heat and the Cavs. The Heat on the whiteboard simply say, Mitchell, Wiggins, Giannis, bam. I don't. I think the Heat would be fun. I think they would be interesting. I. They. Again, it's a team that's like, okay, that starting lineup makes sense. And then it gets very shaky. You know, the moment after that. Jovich is a. You know, has regressed a bit. Bobby Portis is past his prime. Tim Hardaway Jr. Has been kind of, you know, Pat is bounced around the league for, you know, on minimums or near minimums. And that's really the team. Now, you would have spo. You would have Giannis, but Giannis is at this point not the most durable guy in the world. And you would wonder if that team would have enough shooting. Right.

[Theo Henderson]

That would be.

[Damanze]

Their offense would be pretty crazy.

[Con]

Just correct. It would just be a bunch of guys attacking the rim and not a lot of spacing.

[Damanze]

Yeah.

[Con]

And then you have the Cavs, which. The Cavs thing is the most interesting. Can we go full. I. I forget. Can you guys remind me what does. I see. I can't see because of the graphic and I forgot what it is. The top right, what that says. Hold on, let me see if I can the. I apologize. I had this. We did this on TV and I forgot it as well. Then what it. Oh, it says Kobe. Says Dan plus something in Kobe. Let me see if I can. I. Regardless, if you guys can decipher that and put that in the doc, it would help me out. It's. It also. Say it again. Okay, don't worry about it. I forget who it says. It's guys connected to the team and guys in the front office as reasons he would want to be there. Weems, who is his high school teammate who now works with the Cavs, that's a positive. And it says Mitchell Harden, Mobley Allen. And then I think this is interesting and this might be more. Oh, Chris Grant and Kobe Altman. Got it.

[Theo Henderson]

Okay.

[Con]

Those are the people that says top right. And then it says, no Garland with a minus sign because Garland's a clutch guy, Garland's a guy LeBron likes, and Garland's a guy they traded away. So here has been. You know, it's been a 15 minute lead up to this point that I wanted to make going through the entire whiteboard Demons A. I think

[Colin Coward]

he is

[Con]

going to go with the Caps. I think another team could swoop in and Find a way to sweeten the pot from what the team's going to look like to make him change his mind. And I think the way the hang up right now, I would imagine for LeBron is thinking long and hard about the fit alongside James Harden and about whether or not he is potentially finding himself in a spot very similar to what he accepted but didn't love with the Lakers, which was, okay, so the face of the franchise number one option, Luca slash Donovan Mitchell, fine, so be it. I'll take a back seat to them. But the number two option is a player that I'm better than. But because they can only play one way, I have to take a secondary role to them as well. And that's Austin Reeves slash James Harden. And then all of a sudden I find myself again in this Swiss army knife role. I. I'm not really dictating the offense. How fun is that? Plus, again, Austin, I believe in Austin Reeves long term and a, you know, very different player than James Harden, doesn't have the accolades of Harden, but also doesn't have the playoff baggage of Harden. But much like Harden is, you know, hasn't played his best ball in the playoffs for, for Austin's much smaller sample size. So I think Harden is the hang up there. Which is why if, if I were the Cleveland Cavaliers, as I am hoping that some the Lake, the Warriors don't find a way to trade for Anthony Davis or the Sixers don't find a way to convince LeBron this is your best fit, I would be on the phone daily with the Dallas Mavericks and saying, listen, we're gonna sign in, we're gonna sign James Harden. He opted out. We're gonna sign James Harden to some type of deal. You have two years, $82 million left on a contract with Kyrie Irving that doesn't really fit your timeline. You want to give the car keys to Cooper Flag. Anyway, what is the type of draft compensation you would like us to attach to James Harden? Plus, probably at a contract a little bit cheaper than the one you're going to be paying Kyrie Irving to give you a little financial relief, a little future draft equity, maybe way down the road when you know LeBron's not going to be on the team anymore, we can attach it for the year. Donovan Mitchell is going to be making $76 million on his new deal. Maybe you won't think we're going to be good, but how can we turn James Harden into Kyrie Irving? That's what the Cleveland Cavaliers should be trying to do. And now, listen, people would love that. It would be. It would be kind of a perfect ending and it would give LeBron and Kyrie the finish they never got, that Kyrie has since said he regretted. Now, that team, you would really be asking Evan Mobley and Jared Allen to do a lot of defending.

[Damanze]

Yeah.

[Con]

And LeBron, because as bad of a defensive backcourt as Donovan and Harden are, at least Harden is strong and big like Donovan and Kyrie, back court is tiny and bad defensively. But they would be such a dynamic offense, particularly with LeBron, you know, making a lot of the decisions. That team obviously can win the Eastern Conference, obviously. And then you roll your dice on who comes out of the absolute war zone in the West. And. And I keep saying this, and I will say it one more time, I do not believe LeBron is making this decision. Assuming that next year, this coming year, is his final year in the NBA. I think he is making this decision, acknowledging this next year might be his final year in the NBA. But there is a very good chance he's playing two more seasons and going to play a smooth 25 years in the league. And I think looking at Cleveland and saying, give me two bites at the playoffs with this group of guys and see what we can do, I think is interesting. And I think that if Cleveland were able to pull off a trade for Kyrie Irving, I think that makes it far more doable.

[Damanze]

And.

[Con]

And go ahead.

[Damanze]

If they. If they didn't get Kyrie Irving, don't you think it would be like, somewhat of an understanding if LeBron James ended back up on the Cavs? Like, I don't think it would be him being on the Lakers and being the third option to Luca and ar. Do you think they would naturally, like, kind of, it's Braun back in Cleveland?

[Colin Coward]

Yes.

[Theo Henderson]

If.

[Damanze]

If that move didn't get me, I.

[Con]

I do think that. No, no, no. I do think that, but I'm just talking about. But then all of a sudden, James Harden really has very little utility. Like Harden just doesn't. Is not. For all of his playoff issues. Harden is a pretty reliable, very good regular season player, but the ball's got to be in his hands. And so if all of a sudden the ball's out of Harden's hands, it's just, you know, it's a big salary spot and a big ego and all of that for a guy that can't do the chameleon role like LeBron did. So it's just not getting the most out of that player's value. I also think it's possible that LeBron signs with the Cavs and they move Harden during the year. But again, hard to have a team be gelling and you know, ready to take off in the postseason if you make a massive mid season trade. So right now I think the Cavs are the favorite. I think the warriors would have to find a way to trade for Anthony Davis to really get back in the mix. And I am not dismissing the Sixers. I think the Sixers would be weird, but if he was going to go to the Knicks because it's big market championship drought. The Sixers, whose championship drought is only 10 years shorter than the Knicks was, I guess is kind of like the JV version of going for the similar reasons going to the Knicks. So I I'm not going to dismiss the Sixers. All right, I want to get back to the World cup, but first let me remind you guys, today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet. Florida's Sportsbook, the world's biggest soccer tournament is here. Everyone is watching. National pride is on the line. Superstars are chasing immortality. And for the next month, every match feels like a final. If you haven't tried Hard Rock Bet yet, there's no better time to get in the game. Hard Rock Bet is a top rated sportsbook app built to Viva la Copa. Whether you're backing your country, betting on your favorite superstar, or building a same game parlay for the biggest matches of the tournament, Hard Rock Bet is your way to get in on the action. And if you're ever late to kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all match long from the first minute to the final whistle. Plus, Hard Rock Bet has new promos daily. We're talking profit boosts, no sweat bets, bonus bets and more. And be sure to check out no goals, no problem and Super Sub two promos designed to give your bets insurance all tournament long. Sign up with Hard Rock Bet today and place a $5 bet. If it wins. You also score $150 in bonus bets, a winning bet plus an extra $150 to bet with. Now that's how you get this summer's party started. Hard Rock Bet. It's Florida's only legal sportsbook, but you don't have to be in Florida to join the party. Hard Rock Bet is also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today. Roll with us. Goal with us.

[Colin Coward]

Hard Rock Bet offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all other states must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it in Arizona, Ohio, Virginia, call 1-800-myreset gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER this is Tab Ramos from

[Tab Ramos]

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[Theo Henderson]

Mainstream media is full of cruel depictions of the unhoused, stories that shame and blame and paint the unhoused as a monolith. We the Unhoused is the podcast that's changing that. I'm Theo Henderson, creator and host, and for years I've created a space where the unhoused and their advocates can tell their own stories. In the last few months alone, I've interviewed unhoused parents, immigrants, mutual aid organizers, veterans, the LGBQTIA community, and the policymakers who make the laws that impact the unhoused existence. Radian House is a two time Webby and Signal award winning show with many exciting guests on the horizon. Tune in this week for my interview with Dr. Jill Wicheric, a street doctor turned influencer whose work with the Unhoused community has made a huge impact online and in her community. Listen to we the unhoused on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Apple or wherever you get your podcast.

[Con]

The Declaration, which is full of these beautifully rendered sentences and paragraphs about enlightenment ideals, does also have this darker history to it.

[Rebecca Nagle]

Why is it important for the darker part of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution? Why is it important that Americans know about it.

[Con]

Well, if we don't understand the full context in which our nation was founded, we won't understand the full context in which our nation now finds itself.

[Rebecca Nagle]

I'm Rebecca Nagle. Gohin Tawa Dong Jaleca Yetli Que la citizen of Cherokee Nation.

[Con]

Are you guys big Chiefs fans? Hell yeah.

[Rebecca Nagle]

This is First America, the true story of how the United States came to be and how we got to this present moment. Listen to First America on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Con]

And a reminder for all you guys again to like, rate, subscribe, review to the pod. All right, Damanze, let's talk a little World cup here.

[Damanze]

After sneaking win from Cape Verde, Argentina escapes with another win by Egypt by scoring three goals and 13 minutes to go. Up three, two.

[Rebecca Nagle]

Yes.

[Damanze]

So you had Argentina with the largest slice of World cup title pie. Why are you feeling about that now?

[Con]

Oh, I actually here's the re the reason for Argentina having the biggest slice and I still would have him with the biggest slice is not because necessarily I think they're the best team, but it's because they have the clearest path and Spain and the three best teams in the tournament are Argentina, France and Spain. And you can argue that of those three teams, Argentina's played the worst. I'm not as concerned about that that because Spain and France are on the same side of the bracket and just to get there, by the way, Spain has to get through a Belgium team that just played the best game it's played all tournament. France has to get through a Moroccan team that the only team that's beaten Morocco in the World cup the last two years of consequence is France. Morocco has beaten everyone else they have played that matters or at least drawn with them. And Morocco is a legitimate top eight team in the nation in the world. So it's just the path is so much clearer for Argentina. Has Argentina looked unbeatable? Far from it. Flip side though is this. They were down two at the 75th minute and yeah, you didn't feel great about it, but you did not think they were dead. And that's be they and I have been hesitant to say this because I am maybe sometimes when it comes to historical rankings, I go, I, I almost go counter to the mainstream in I think people are too dismissive of the historical legends and maybe I pay a little too much reverence to the historical legends that I didn't see play. But I have been pretty firm that the messy Ronaldo debate, while fun it's figure out who you think's the best of those two guys over the years and then they can start competing with Pele for greatest ever. I no longer feel that way. I think Messi's pretty clearly the greatest soccer player ever and somehow he is still the best player in the tournament and the scariest player in the tournament and amongst his teammates maybe the most beloved player in the tournament. And so you have this perfect storm of any time you're playing Argentina and you have a lead or you are in the game. I think for the opponent there is a. In the back of their head. Oh man. Is Messi going to do it to us? Messi's probably going to do it to us.

[Rebecca Nagle]

What?

[Con]

What's Messi going to do? And for the Argentina teammates I think a lack of getting rattled because they're like we've got Messi plus an extra gear they can get to of. We can't let this be Messi's last game. We don't, we can't let him go out like this. And it's just all. And then on top of all that demand say then you also have Messi doing unbelievable shit. Just, just doing truly like God level stuff. And, and so I just think they're going to be such a hard team to beat. And their path, they have had of the eight teams left the easiest path here they do have of the eight teams left, the easiest quarterfinal matchup. And then in the semis they either play England, an England team that for 60 years in the Euros, which is if you're not a huge soccer fan, the Euros is the World cup for just Europe. It's the biggest. It's a every four year international soccer tournament just amongst the European nation. So it's the biggest trophy a European nation can win is the World Cup. The second biggest trophy by far is the Euros. England's never won the Euros. Last two euros though with this. A very similar group of guys in 2020 and 2024 they went to the final, they lost in 2020 in PKS. I think they lost. I'm going to check real quick in 2024 in PKs as well. No, they just lost 2:1 to Spain. Pardon me? They didn't. What the, that, that game. When were the goals scored in that game? I, I was talking about this this morning and now I forgot. Oh yeah, no, it wasn't in bks but they gave up the game winning goal in the 86th minute. So England, which went to the semis of the World Cup a couple World Cups ago, hasn't won a World cup in 60 years, has never won a Euros. That so everyone on the English team, if that's your game in the semis, it's the biggest game in all of their lives. Meanwhile, if you're Messi and Argentina, you're like, yeah, I mean we played in a shootout in the World cup final. We were down to Nothing in the 78th minute a few days ago. Like we're, they are not going to be nervous and I have no idea who's going to come out of the left side of the bracket. Spain hasn't allowed a goal yet this tournament. That seems pretty good. Spain hasn't lost a match in 90 minutes in like 36 games. France, seemingly, except for Paraguay, can score three or four goals anytime they want. That seems pretty good. France in the last three World Cups to Monze, France, they have played 19 games in the last three World Cups. Two of them were meaningless final group stage games when they've already clinched the group. So I'm going to throw those games out. You know, I like the US's game against Turkey where you've clinched the group. You don't need it. Throw it out. Those other 17 games for France in the last three World Cups they have 16 wins and one draw which turned into a loss and that was the World cup final against Argentina. A 3, 3 loss in penalties. France won the tournament in 2018. I, yeah, won the tournament in 2018, lost in the final in 2022. And then this year they've been on absolutely unbelievable. And so I, I'm not arguing that Argentina is better than France. I'm simply arguing that France has a brutal game tomorrow that I'm going to in Boston. France, Morocco. Morocco, on the other hand, in the last two World Cups, the only game they've lost is of consequence is to France in the semis last year. And Spain has a Belgium team. We already talked about that. So I just think Argentina's path is, is pretty open. And I, what Messi's doing is incomprehensible. To score a goal in six straight knockout round games to now have like, I, I don't have the nut like I think he now has. You know what, I'm just going to, I, I'm just going to look it up real quick. Hold on one second. I want to get this right

[Colin Coward]

because

[Con]

Messi now has the record for most goals in World cup history by a lot. But that is a record that he has set almost out of nowhere. He was not some like all Time. Great World cup performer. He had won a Golden Ball, but he was criticized by people in Argentina even when he won the Golden Ball the year they lost in the final. And this was the one thing that, like, wasn't on his resume. He hadn't raised a trophy for the national team. And now over the last five years, they just. They win Copa every time and they've won the World Cup. But you at the start of. So he scored. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. He scored six goals. Oh, no. I. Hold on, let me count this again. Sorry, this bad podcasting, but I got to do it. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Seven goals in last year's World Cup. In this year's World cup, he scored three. In the first game, we're at 10, two. In the second game, we're at 12, and then one in each. So he has scored 15 goals in the last two World Cups, which is a total of 12 games. He has 15 goals in the last 12 World cup games prior to this World cup starting, the record for most goals in World cup history was 16 by Miroslav Glossa. Messi has 15 in his last 12 World cup games. I. Which means because he has 21 now for his career, he only had 6 total goals in his 4 World cup games prior to this one. He. The. It's just in his last 12 World cup games, he has scored in. This is Right, Right.

[Damanze]

Yeah.

[Con]

He has scored in every game except for the group stage game against Poland in 2022. He has scored in six consecutive knockout round games. It's just. What he's doing at 39 is impossible. But we're watching it. And it's. It's why. It's why I think they can win the tournament.

[Damanze]

Have more goals if he hit those.

[Con]

All right, let's do some.

[Damanze]

Do you think that somebody else should kick them?

[Con]

So that's an interesting one. No, because here's the deal. You. You very well might have one. One of these next few games come down to actual penalty kicks. Like, end of game penalty kicks.

[Damanze]

Yep.

[Con]

Messi's got to be one of your five there. And if you. I don't think you can screw with his head by having him removed. Is your go to penalty kick guy. I also think it is absurd pressure to ask anyone else on the team, like, hey, we're replacing Messi. You go knock in these penalty kicks. But he has missed two in a row, badly, and both in big spots early in games. All right, the. So you want to talk V A R for a second?

[Damanze]

Yeah. So VR various took off an Egyptian goal. Have we lost the play lot with the replay here?

[Con]

So you guys know how I feel about this. Replay is a good idea in sports. That is never. Everyone starts with good intentions with replay. We are going to use it only to correct clear and obvious errors. And then people can't help themselves. They want to use it for anything and everything. And it makes officials on the field worse. It makes the viewing experience worse. It does not. It can cause as many problems as it solves. And I have been consistent on this for my entirety of my broadcast career. Just get rid of it entirely for every one. Oh my God. That was such an obvious clear mistake by the refs. It would be so easy to fix with replay. For every one of those we have three. What the hell are they. What they're going back 22nd. They're saying where replay is robbing us of these great moments. I'm not convinced they are actually getting it right. It is making referees feel like they have a safety blanket so they're not quite as good. Referees across all sports have the ability to set the tone on what they're going to call and what they're not going to call early in a game and and then keep that standard throughout the game. Replay has no, no regard for that. It is, it slows. It not only slows the game down literally, but it also takes frame by frame pieces of evidence to determine what did or didn't happen in a full speed sport. A full speed sports. It doesn't make the product better and it is, It doesn't actually make more things right. And this is the example I have used forever. I will use it again and again and again. But for all of. I'll switch it to basketball for a moment. For every basketball game that was played for 100 years and for every basketball game that is played currently that is not televised. If I am holding the ball or if I go up for a shot and you block it and it goes out of bounds for all of history and in every park or high school in America that is out on you. In 99.9% of basketball games played in human history, I go up for a shot, you come over and block it, it's out on you. Due to the advent of replay, we have learned that actually technically, if you slow it down enough, a lot of those shots while you blocked it, the last thing it touched was the tip of my finger, which makes it out on me. And my contention is switching that to out on me is not getting it right. It Is using replay to get it wrong. Like, oh, well, now we can see it in this. If. If everywhere the game is played, it is, everyone agrees. It's not like it's a subject of argument that this is my ball and then the technology changes it to your ball, that is not getting it right. For every baseball game ever played for 100 years, and every baseball game that is played that is not televised, if I try to steal second and you catch your throws, the second baseman and I beat the tag, I'm safe. If because of replay, we see that after being safe a half second after the tag was applied for a tenth of a second, my body was not touching the bag, even though I was over the bag the whole time, but I literally, like was hovering over it for a tenth of a second. Calling me out does not make it right. It makes it wrong. And in every soccer game that's been played for a hundred years, and every soccer game that is played, that is not on television, if I steal the ball from you on near my own goal line and the referee does not call a foul, and then I drive the length of the field and score a goal, that goal stands. And realizing that 16 seconds prior, when I stole the ball and the ref saw it and let it go, turning that into a foul is not getting it right. Just like if you're a Croatian fan, if there is a cross into the box and I am on sides and I run for the cross and en route to the ball getting to me, it doesn't change course, it doesn't veer, it doesn't bounce, it grazes off a teammate of mine's hair while I'm making my run for the ball. For every soccer game in history and every soccer match that is played that isn't on tv, that's a good goal. And using technology to realize it actually grazed somebody's hair, which technically makes you offsides, is not getting it right. So in a quest to get things right, we have made the officiating less consistent. We have slowed the games down. We have. We have stopped rewarding as much the better condition teams because there is more stoppages and more times to get rest. There are all these negatives and you are not getting more things right. So I just hate it, and I hate it across sports. And I have been very, very consistent on that. And maybe this World cup will get people on my side. I just really, really can't stand it. And I feel, listen, I feel for Egypt. They did get another goal right after that. And so I'm not. Certainly would have gotten that third goal they got if the second goal hadn't been called off. I don't know, but I feel for Egypt. All right, I want to talk about Ronaldo in a minute, but first World cup quarterfinals are here and nothing beats seeing a game live in person. That's why I want to give the sponsor of today's video Seat Geek, a huge shout out. With over 35 million downloads, SeatGeek is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more than 70,000 events listed on SeatGeek, including concerts, sports, festivals and more. Guys, I talk to you all the time about using SeatGeek, but I told you guys that this week. I'll pull it up right now, this. This weekend. I mean, I ended up getting my heart broken, but I got my ticket to Brazil, Norway on SeatGeek. Like, you know what shows? You can see it right there. You see. Hopefully nothing pops up on my phone. It's not supposed to, but Brazil, Norway right there. You can see that. The Knick spurs game five of the finals. My. Actually, you know what? My Seat Geek little log is pretty darn good. We got spurs at Knicks March 1. Got from SeatGeek. Thunder at Lakers in LA April 7. What game was that? Why was. It was like visiting you to mon. I don't even remember. Did I or did I buy you those tickets? Those were your tickets. That wasn't. That was tick. I was like, wait, I wasn't in la. I bought those tickets for you. I see that. Thunder, Lakers, April 7, Knicks and Spurs Game 5 in San Antonio and then Brazil, Norway right there. All that on SeatGeek. And I use my own promo code, by the way. More on that in a second. Seeks got your back. Each tickets rated on scale of 1 to 10. So you know you're getting a good deal. Look for the green dots. Green means good, red means bad. Plus every ticket is backed by their buyer guarantee. And of course, I've got a code for you guys. You can use code write10W R I G H T10 for 10% off your next set of tickets at Seatgeek. That's 10% off any tickets with promo code write10. So make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Thank you to my friends at SeatGeek. Reminder to like, rate and subscribe. All right, Damanze, let's go to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

[Damanze]

Spain is moving on to the quarterfinals after a. After a Goal in stoppage time, sending Ronaldo and Portugal home. Portugal started Ronaldo throughout the tournament, who is obviously getting older. It sounds like you might have had some disagreements with that and maybe thought that he was holding his team back a little bit. Your thoughts?

[Con]

Yeah, I mean, listen, I. Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time. This is undeniable. But Ronaldo is not only older than Messi, but was far more reliant on athleticism and being just a great, raw, natural athlete than Messi was. And so he hasn't aged quite as well. Plus, he is older. Like, in fairness, you add to it that he doesn't pretty clearly have the humility and relationship with his teammates that Messi has. And it created quite the sticky situation, particularly when Messi still at least is the best player on his team and Ronaldo's not even close to that. And Portugal, if Ronaldo had. If either Carlos Martin, Roberto Martinez, pardon me, the manager had the courage, but again, I talked about this before, hard to bench a guy who's the most famous person in your country in 400 years. If he either had the courage to change his role or if Ronaldo had the humility to be like, hey,

[Damanze]

all

[Con]

that matters is if we win the World Cup, I'm going to get the credit and it's going to be on my resume. It's the only thing missing, you know, a lot. The reason we have such a great team now is because I inspired a whole nation over the last 20 years into, you know, doubly recommitting to soccer. So I, I get triple credit anyway, you know, feel free to, if you want to start me, take me off, or better yet, have me be the ultimate super sub where I can come on at the 60 minute mark, get go all out for the final 30 or once we get to the knockout rounds, you can put me on in the 75, 80 minute mark and I can be there for extra time if we're there. Plus, I'm still a nails PK taker, just the greatest penalty kick taker ever. And I thought Roberto Martinez was going to do that. After he took him off during the Croatia game, I was like, okay, there's the sign. There's the sign that he, he's able to do it. They won in part because of it. It's not what happened. And so his legacy doesn't go backwards, but it is a tough dichotomy for him that he was really hurting the team and Messi's carrying his. And this is like a lifelong debate between the two fan bases and the two guys, and they alternated Ballon d' ors and all of that. And so I don't want to, I, I don't want to overstate what this means for him, legacy wise, but this was the best team he ever was on and he hurt it more than he helped it. And that's just a bummer, kind of final chapter. Go ahead and ask your follow up here to mose.

[Damanze]

Yeah, LeBron and Ronaldo are the same age. Does he walk away before it gets to this point? You think LeBron.

[Con]

So I, so here's what I think really helps LeBron to where it won't ever get to this point. Not only is LeBron as great of an athlete as Ronaldo is, LeBron is probably the greatest natural physical athlete ever. But here's the other place it really helps basketball courts so much smaller. I know that sounds silly, but I'm, but I'm very serious about it. Like, you know what I mean? Like, there's just so much more running and movement and everything in soccer and basketball, such a smaller court and it's so much more about burst, you know, and those things that LeBron can it. He can. His age doesn't show quite as much and he is, he started in LeBron at his peak was just so far and away, just from a raw athleticism standpoint, the greatest specimen the league had ever seen that even as he declines, he's still a better than average athlete across the league. And so all of those things make it to where, you know, I've said it before, I'll say it again. I, I think LeBron could play to 50 and not be bad. I think he could just do old man Jason Kidd stuff as long as he wanted. I don't think he's going to do that. And maybe if he did try to play to 50, he would prove me wrong. But LeBron also already showed LA. LeBron is right now closer to like LeBron at 41 is a higher ranked in the world basketball player than Ronaldo at 41 is soccer player, right? Like LeBron right now call him the 12th best player in the league. And Ronaldo is nowhere close to the 12th best player in the, you know, in the world. And despite that, LeBron already showed a willingness to take on, at least temporarily, a lesser role. He did it with the Lakers last year, something that if Ronaldo had taken, you know, kind of a page out of LeBron's book with that Laker team, with the Portugal team this year, I think Maybe it goes a little differently. All right. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rents going up? Streaming services going up? Favorite Burrito Spot charging you extra for salsa. It's outrageous. Not with Boost Mobile. With Boost Mobile, you and your phone bill don't have to play the Will this go up soon Game. Why? Because Boost Mobile has unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. In fact, it's the same price you'll pay for Life. So switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that'll never go up. Only at boost mobile. After 30 gigs, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. All right. Daman's a. I lied before. I said you were correct that we need to do the Ronaldo thing. I said let's go to the quarterfinal preview. Now. Let's go to the quarterfinal preview. So my apologies before.

[Damanze]

Yeah. So we are at the quarterfinal. France faces Morocco tomorrow. Spain faces Belgium Friday. Saturday we got Norway versus England. And then we got Argentina versus Sweden. Switzerland, what are the top story lines that you have your eyes on for the rest of the tournament?

[Con]

Yeah, I will. I'm gonna go in reverse order. I. I would be stunned if Switzerland beats Argentina now. I would have been stunned if Cape Verde or Egypt beat them. And they were. Both of them had them on the ropes. But I think the Switzerland shout out to Switzerland four straight World Cups where they've made the round of 16 or further. Here there are only four nations to Monze that have made it to the round of 16 or further in four straight World Cups. France, Argentina, Brazil and Switzerland. And so good for Switzerland for in that group. Yeah, I didn't expect it either, to be totally honest with you. This also, however, is the furthest they've gotten since the 50s. I, you know, they needed a shootout to win against Columbia. That was a, you know, a fun 00 game that I think Switzerland into the road here, Norway. It's just erling Holland has 62 goals in 54 games for Norway. Never seen anything like it in my life. No one has the fact that over a 50 plus game sample for the national team, he is averaging more than a goal a game. It's just. It's unfathomable. With that said, and Odegaard's a really good player. As shocking as it was that they beat Brazil, it would probably be more shocking if they beat England. But tell you right now, English fans, you're going to be scared as long as that Game is close. You're going to be scared that Holland is just going to rip your guts out like he did to Brazil. He's just a remarkable, remarkable player. But England I think got over the hump of that Mexico game and they should win their game. Spain, Belgium is pretty simple in this regard. Spain has not lost in 90 minutes and 35 matches and they haven't allowed a goal this tournament. They, the, the level their defense is playing has allowed them to not coast but control these games without Lamin Yamal really having a good tournament yet. And I'm really interested in what Spain looks like if Nico Williams comes back, which he might be too banged up

[Rebecca Nagle]

and then

[Con]

if Yamal gets going. But Spain should beat Belgium. They should beat Belgium. Belgium though, if they do the same they did against the US which is have De Bruyne and Lukaku and maybe even Doku, some of those guys on the bench to where it's like, hey, if we're tied at the 60 minute mark, we have our old awesome guys cut, ready, rear and ready and to go. That's, that's an interesting wrinkle. And then there's France, Morocco, the game that I'm going to, the game that Morocco has been thinking about for the last four years. And France played Morocco in the World cup semifinals last time around. They scored immediately in that game, then held on for dear life to a one nothing lead and then scored again, I think like in the 85th minute, put it away to win two nothing. Hakimi is the greatest Moroccan player ever. He is trying to make the case for, you know, one of, if not the greatest African player ever as far as player to represent an African national team. Didier Dragba is on that list. I'm leaving, you know, I'm leaving some guys off just. But he is making his case. I am, I am curious what the Moroccan defense, how if they can take a page out of Paraguay's book but be a little more in mucking the game up, parking the bus, frustrating France, but then being better on the counter attack because of a Kimi. It's what Netherlands was afraid that they were going to do against them in the round of 32. And it is, that is the game that even though I think France is the second biggest favorite in the quarters, the game that I think has the best chance of an upset. The odds are the four favorites win. But I think France, as we would say on the show, is on sneaky upset alert. I will be there, which is why we're doing this show. Today. And that also reminder for you guys. Mailbag if you we're going to do a mailbag later today but so send. You can send in questions for future mailbags. What's right mailbag gmail.com if you send them today, we won't get to them for this week, but we will get to them in future mailbag editions that will be coming out on Friday. Next week the schedule is going to be potentially a little different as well. So this is also why you should subscribe to the pod. And then pretty soon we'll be back to our morning episodes because First Things first goes back to its normal programming late next week after the semifinals of the World Cup. So a huge thank you to SeatGeek, to Boost and to Hard Rock Bet. Huge thank you to Damanze and to Blue Duck and the Volume. We will be back later this week for a mailbag episode. Talk to you guys. Then we'll try this is an iHeart podcast.

[Damanze]

Guaranteed Human.