April 1, 2025 • 46 mins
Colin supports MLB star players using the "torpedo" bat and explains why this continues to build the momentum baseball has had since last season's viewership growth. He also shares his pre-draft NFL Over - Unders and why he thinks the Cowboys are overvalued entering the 2025 season. Plus, the President of FIFA Gianni Infantino joins the show to tell Colin what the U.S. needs to do in order to become seriously competitive in the World Cup.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome in.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It is a Tuesday, and we got a show today.
I was talking about this yesterday with Jmack. We're a
lucky time right now where everything is working. Baseball's got
torpedo bats, the NIL is propped up college basketball where
we have the four best teams. NBA Lakers decided to
play defense last night and by the way, it looks
(00:55):
like overtime change in the NFL. So Jmack, we got
a good one today. So we talked about this yesterday.
Our leadoff hitter again today is baseball. So Ellie dla
Cruz plays for the Cincinnati Reds and he's one of
the great players in baseball that doesn't play for the
Yankees of the mat to the Dodgers, or the Phillies
or the Atlanta Braves or the Houston Astros. Ellie Dayla
(01:17):
Cruz a couple of home runs, seven RBI's last night
he used the torpedo bat. And now listen, the Minnesota
Twins used the torpedo bat this weekend and got swept
and scored six runs. So it's like Harry Potter the
wand is choosing the wizard, all right, but it's another
win for baseball. More runs, more action, more base runners.
(01:38):
Ten teams now are averaging six runs. So last week
I had Rob Manford, the Commissioner of Baseball, and I said,
you've got parody. The only problem is the pitchers are
dominating hitters. You have too many teams hitting two forty,
like half the league. This morning you got seven teams
hitting over two ninety. And it's not slowing the game down.
(02:00):
Last night Cincinnati scored fourteen runs into two hours and
twenty five minutes. So unlike when pitching dominates and pitching
changes and you go to the bullpen and you bring
on the fifth guy, those games get into three hours
and fifteen minutes into Tuesday Wednesday night. Nobody has that
time takes you forty minutes to get to the ballpark.
Fifty five minutes to get home. People have lives eighty
(02:20):
one home games. You got a create urgency. So we're
now getting more offense, more hitting, and and again not
everybody is using the bats. And you know, steroids was different.
This is like legal HGH. Steroids would take guys that
were non home run hitters and I don't even need
to mention names, and suddenly they were in the race
(02:41):
for the American League MVP. That would also help guys
like Barry Bonds allegedly right.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Or other guys.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
But you felt like a lot of times you were
taking like TRIPLEA players and they were making the big leagues.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Because of HGH.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
This is totally legal, and it's amazing when you embrace
innovation and don't fight it as a sport and baseball, man,
baseball is on a heater. Increase the size of the bases,
you know, end extra ending games, faster, speed the game up,
defensive shift, torpedo bats, more offense, more guys stealing bases,
(03:15):
more action, and you know, it's like Grandpa got a
sports car. Baseball decided, you.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Know what we're gonna get.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
We're gonna join the pilates class and be hip and
of all the sports, Baseball now is doing more stuff
right and again, Elie Daala Cruise is great. But if
you give Gordon Ramsey fresher seafood and better ingredients, you
get a five star meal.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And that's what you're getting here.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So I mean, I Aaron Judge and Otawny are not
using it yet and I'm not sure they have to.
But this, this is not creating greatness. That was the
illegal stuff. You know that, this is just kind of
enhancing greatness. Elie Dyala Cruz is amazing, like, oh, he's amazing.
Plus and the Yankees led baseball last year in home
(04:03):
runs and they're gonna lead it with home runs. Plus
they're not making something. Again, there is clear magic in
these bats, but it's helping Gordon Ramsay more than the
guy at Applebe's. It's not making the Applebee's guy, you know,
a Michelin chef. But it's taking the really good players
and they're just harder to get out. But it's not
(04:24):
extending the length of the game so far. And here's
Terry Francona after.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
I think he has more of the player than the bat.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
I really, I meant that before the game.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I still do yeah, yeah, I know it is, but
it's for real and you better embrace it. I don't
care if it's the one and done the transfer portal,
I don't care if it's three point shots.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Don't get rigid on this stuff. It works or to
the bats. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So the Lakers won last night, but it was very unconventional.
So the Lakers don't play defense. A lot is not
good at it. Austin Reeves is okay, Lebron picks and
chooses ones he wants to play defense. So the Lakers
last night, they beat Memphis the other night. And the
reason it's a big deal is they just beat Houston
last night a two seed and they beat Memphis a
five seed. And why that's a big deal because the
Lakers really pick and choose one and they want to
(05:16):
play defense. Lebron's old Luke go didn't like it, and
Austin Reeves is limited, so they pick and choose when
they play defense. And here comes Houston last night. And
Houston is fast, they're young, they're twitchy, and they're the
kind of team that would give the Lakers fits. And
the Lakers held them under one hundred points. And this
Laker team when they decide to play defense is good.
They're ten to one. They just don't play it a lot.
(05:37):
And when you watch this game last night, Dorian Finnie
Smith is on the floor and you only got thirty
six points total from Lebron and Luca. So this was
one of those games where guys, the guys aren't hummed
at the top. We gotta play defense. And I will
say this about the Lakers is they need home court advantage.
So the Lakers are twenty nine to nine at home.
(05:57):
They're a very good home team. They're not the best
in the league, but they're very good. They're surprisingly awful
on the road. They're sub five hundred. Generally top six
or seven teams in the NBA can be five hundred
or better on the road. Boston Celtics, by the way,
often played better on the road than at home when
the Warriors were great. Remember when they went into that
final against the Celtics, they played their best game in Boston.
(06:20):
Cross country, tired, older players. So the Lakers are not
not a very good road team. I'm not exactly sure why,
but this is the way it's sizing up. So the
Lakers need a few things they need to be They
need to have a home court series in the playoffs.
They're also and they know it. These games against Houston,
(06:41):
like last night in Memphis are important because it'll give
them a week off with an older roster. Lebron is
an older player, It'll give them a week off to
watch the playing stuff. But when they play defense, it's
a real team. They've gotten. And I've been very critical
of the Lakers front office, but right now, offensively they
can match out with anybody in the league. Maybe except Boston.
(07:02):
That's probably about it. Boston is so deep, so many shooters.
But the Lakers have three playmakers. I think four guys
I would trust to take a big shot, two defensive specialists,
and an excellent coach. And last night, when you watch
them play defense, and this is probably the effort you
will get in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Pretty good team. Here's JJ Reddick after.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
I think the competitive spirit and togetherness.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
We had to play really hard tonight to put ourselves
in a position to win the basketball game. You know,
we weathered some misshots, did a good job of taking
care of the basketball, emptied the tank on the defensive end.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
It was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
For the record, Just for fun, we're gonna make some
assumptions here, but the playoffs, if they were to end
today and we're making a couple of playing assumptions, kind
of work in the lakers favor. Okay, so there are
teams that match up with the Lakers. Clippers are actually
a pretty good matchup with They've got a legit big
they've got a great coach. Well, the Clippers would open
(08:06):
up with a thunder that series. That's not gonna work
for them. Also, Lakers would open up with the Grizzlies,
a team that's got kind of a mess right now.
The coaching staff, they just fired their coach. You don't
trust I mean, Jahn Morant's not having a good year
shooting Memphis right now. You want to peek at the
end of a year. They're a mess at the end
of the year. That's great for the Lakers. Nuggets Warriors.
(08:28):
Nuggets gonna win that series. That's a bad matchup for
the Warriors. But you know what, I wouldn't want to
face Steph and Jimmy Butler either. That would be one
of the few teams the Lakers could face that has
as much playoff experience. The Warriors are gonna get knocked
out by the Nuggets. They cannot stop Jokics. They just
do not match up at all. Draymond Green's great. He
acknowledges it. We can't do anything. And then Rockets and
Tea Wolves. I don't know who I would take there.
(08:49):
That's a go either I may take the Tea Wolves.
That's a close one. That's a go either way series
based on health. But it works out. You get the
Clippers out, they've got experience. You get the Warriors out,
they've got experience. Uh. And then it's potentially the young Rockets,
young OKC and a Denver team, which, by the way,
the Lakers have beaten this year. They've always played even
(09:11):
when Denver was clearly better pre Luca, the Lakers always
played Denver close. Now they have the offensive firepower. So
just some assumptions here. But that defensive effort last night
felt a little bit like a playoff game. Dorian Finney Smith.
Playing a real defense. You know, you're not getting a
perfect night from Luke and Lebron, although they gave you
(09:33):
thirty six points. Austin Reeves was good, but you needed
other elements. They were at home, close game, held a
team under one hundred. Very playoff field for the Lakers.
I can't get over the torpedo. Betch j Mack. I
can't get over it. The whole thing's crazy. It's just
get on.
Speaker 7 (09:48):
Could we get one on set this weekend? You put
a special order in. I'd love to feel it and
swing it just to see what it's like.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, it's uh, you know, people are I've said this,
if if the Twins or Orioles were using them and
that was it, nobody would care. Some of this is
the Yankee It's like the Toush push. If Jacksonville was
doing the Toush push, nobody would really care. It's the Eagles,
they're dominating. Nobody can stop it. We all know this.
Everybody roots against Duke, yet everybody watches Duke. Everybody hates
the Toush push. But the ratings for the Super Bowl
(10:14):
set a record. We know how the world works in sports,
fans in America work, but it is crazy what it's doing.
Speaker 8 (10:21):
Well, it's weird. There is a gambling parallel.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know.
Speaker 7 (10:24):
Sometimes you'll find a slight edge in gambling for a
little while and you'll beat the market, and then everybody
will piggyback. For instance, Lakers first quarterbits well, guess what.
Then the team's adjust I'm curious how the pitchers will
adjust to the torpedo bats if this keeps up, Like,
are there radical adjustments to be made?
Speaker 9 (10:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
All right, next hour at the top of the hour.
You know, I love over and unders in Vegas, so
I'll take the entire NFL. There are three teams that
are going to hit the over and three teams that
are going to hit the ender. This is my favorite part.
I know it's weird. I love the NFL schedule release.
I'm obsessed, even though I know who everybody plays next
(11:02):
year already. I loved I like to see when it's
in order and the over unders. Last year we hit
big on Denver, the Rams, and Washington. Those are the
three teams. I thought those are the overs. So there's
a couple obvious overs and there's a couple obvious unders.
You don't want to be a sucker and just take
the optimism route. There's a couple of obvious unders as well.
That's gonna come up in fifty minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 10 (11:32):
Hey Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
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Speaker 3 (11:44):
Why should you listen to Cavino and Rich.
Speaker 10 (11:46):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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(12:06):
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Speaker 3 (12:26):
That's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, the next year and a half in the United States,
we are going to be the centerpiece of the world's
greatest soccer. Gianna Infantino is the president since twenty sixteen
of FIFA, not only a global citizen, seven different language
as a world traveler. I am jealous, I will admit,
and you are joning us. So now it's called the
Club World Cup. So not this summer. The following summer
(12:51):
is the World Cup. We know about that, Harry Kane,
then Bape our best players. The Club World Cup is
on our soil. We're lucky enough. Explain who will be
involved in that?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Do I get the best of the best?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
You get the best of the best?
Speaker 11 (13:04):
Well, Hurricane and Bappe will be there as well, so
Leo Messi and many many others, the thirty two best
club teams the world.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Now, what's at stake? What kind of money are we
talking about?
Speaker 11 (13:17):
Well, first of all, what doesn't saying is this incredible
trophy here, which is beautiful. But the money we are
talking about is one billion US dollar prize money which
is there for grab for the winning team. First time
we organize an event like that, first time there will
be a club truly crowned world champion by FIFA.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
So we are seeing in Major League Baseball, and we've
seen it over the course of my life. Latin America
has furnished us with great players. Now Asian players coming over.
The Dodgers have a pipeline to it, and it's absolutely
helped the game.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Ohtani's our biggest star.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
How is the United States viewed globally in soccer? Because
I always felt I remember the Kyle wrote junior Days
in the seventies. My mom was British. I went over
there when Netherlands in England in the seventies were dominating
Johann Crouth and the great British teams, and you know,
we were kind of clunky and our players weren't as
aesthetically pleasing. How are we viewed now in the States?
Speaker 11 (14:18):
Well, I think what is seen from outside of the
United States, he said. Of course in America, other sports
are more important than soccer, which is the most important
sport all over the world, in every other country.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Right.
Speaker 11 (14:33):
However, I think that the two World Cups, the one
this summer or the team of the clubs, and the
next one of the countries next year, which changes fundamentally.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Since you have been the president.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
What do the numbers say about the growth in the country,
Because generally when a World Cup is hosted by US,
even if it's not, but if it is, there tends
to be exponential growth. So if you've seen growth in
your run as if a president United States.
Speaker 11 (15:00):
Oh, definitely, we basically double the revenues when it comes
to FIFA and the World Cup by organizing it here.
But what is important is that what happens here in
America has an impact all over the world. So the
gross figures cannot just be measured in the United States,
but all over the world. And when it comes to
(15:21):
most women's football actually a men's football, whenever we do
something here, it has such an important global impact that
you know is just incredible for the game.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
When you look right now, I think I've said this before.
I think this is the most talented group of players
we've ever had.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Now we're young.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
When we got beat by Netherlands, clearly they had older,
more senior players, we weren't at that level. That was
almost aspirational a goal. I look at our team, it's
kind of a golden age of soccer. The academy system.
We have many players over in Europe. Are we viewed
in the world now as a serious soccer country.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Well, definitely.
Speaker 11 (16:04):
I think that the work that has been done with
the MLS in the United States, in Canada, the work
with the academies that has been put forward is really impressive.
You have a good team, you have good players, have
a great coach as well, Mauricio, who was really fantastic,
and these players they play now, you know, for the
(16:26):
best teams in the world or in Europe if you want,
and the world can see that. Combine this with the
fact of playing a World Cup at home, Well, it's
quite an explosive commindation, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Is it harder?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
I mean because of security reasons among others and technology?
Is it harder to put on a World Cup than
it was eight years ago?
Speaker 11 (16:53):
Well, to put on a World Cup is obviously always
quite a challenge. Especially the next World Cup will be
for forty eight countries participating in stead of thirty two. Yes,
so we increase the number by fifty percent. We'll have
you know, ten million people coming to the US. It's
these are incredible fas we'll have six billion people watching it.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
All over the world.
Speaker 11 (17:15):
This requires a lot of organization, and we're here for
that and we team up with you for that as well.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Yeah, that doesn't hurt. Where is soccer now? It's growing.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I looked at a number this morning which was amazing.
According to Forbes, the number of United States people who
have been soccer fans for five years or fewer, so
this is our newest fans has gone up fifty seven
percent year to year and over and the number of
first time fans is a four hundred percent year over year,
(17:47):
So over five years at fifty seven percent. So something
has happened in the last year where there's been an
explosion in the United States. So when I think of soccer,
I think of a Spain, and I think of Germany,
and I think of the nether and I think of
Italy and France, and I do think of the United
States selfishly, Where is this game growing? That would surprise me?
(18:08):
Is it growing everywhere?
Speaker 5 (18:10):
It is growing everywhere.
Speaker 11 (18:11):
It's growing in the Middle East, it's growing in this
year in East Asia. But I think the big surprise
will be the growth here in North America. When you
see every child, girl or boy now plays soccer. What
happens then, is that the most talented players they go
to other American sports, right because they maybe don't see
a path to glory through soccer, but they will see
(18:35):
it now. This year with the Club World Club with
the best teams in the world, next year with the
World Cup with the best countries in the world, they
will see that there is a path to glory, a
path to something incredible.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
And this will make a big difference.
Speaker 11 (18:49):
When the US organized the ninety four World Cup, eighty
five percent of the Americans a couple of months before
didn't know that the World Cup was happening. Is the
other way around, eighty five percent of Americans they know
that the World Cup is coming already one year ahead.
So these are signs that things are changing. Plus one
(19:11):
more thing, if I may, sure, you know you are
the United States of America, right, the greatest country in
the world.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
You're number one in kind of everything you do. Yeh.
Speaker 11 (19:20):
You cannot be satisfied to be number twenty in the
number one sport. It's right, you want to be number
one in the number one sport. So let's go for it.
Speaker 9 (19:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
No, you're you're listening, You're you're preaching to the choir here,
believe me. But I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
My mom was British, so when I was a kid,
I went to England. At the time, the English team
was battling for the World Cup, like nineteen seventy two,
seventy three, and again Netherlands was great, so I when
I was a kid, I was introduced to it. Then
I moved to the Pacific Northwest, which Seattle and Portland
are great soccer market, so I think I got an advantage.
(19:50):
My Seattle Sounders made the NASL Championship game against the
New York Cosmos. Of all the great players you've dealt
with over your not just at FIFA, but you're a
global citizen. There is something special about soccer players.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
There is there.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
I like the global feel to it. There's a graciousness
and a gratitude for what soccer presents. It's the happiest sport.
And nothing against football players in baseball guys, but that
is is that something you within FIFA that you talk
about that it's the world's game and it's very welcoming.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
It is.
Speaker 11 (20:26):
You're absolutely right, it is the world's game. It brings happiness.
I mean, look at this what we brought for you.
You can see this. This is yoursift. Can I, yeah, gift?
Can I give it to you?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
By the way he hears a small ownership and a
small soccer team.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
It has your name. Look at that.
Speaker 11 (20:43):
Well, now this is the official magic ball of the
FIFA Club World Cup.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Now look at your face. You're smiling.
Speaker 11 (20:50):
You see why because his ball is a magic object.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
There's much more than just the ball. It is magic.
Speaker 11 (20:57):
It brings smiles to faces of children all over the world.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
It's a very simple sport.
Speaker 11 (21:03):
It's the world number one sport for that, and that's
why we are investing.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
All over the world.
Speaker 11 (21:08):
The revenues we generate, we invest them in Africa, in Asia,
in Americas, everywhere in the world to make sure that
the game.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Game if American soccer.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
If you could say, and Jenny Infantino is joining us
to president of FIFA, he has been since twenty sixteen.
If you could, if I may, I'll put you on
the hot seat, if you could make one change to
US soccer.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
And just nudge them to do something.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
There is there anything that you're frustrated a little with
USA soccer?
Speaker 11 (21:35):
Yes, okay, they should listen to me, yes, and then
they become number one league in the world.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
But anything in.
Speaker 11 (21:43):
Particular that you would push, they are a little bit
too how shall I say.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Two communists? Can I say that word? Yeah?
Speaker 11 (21:55):
Exactation, Yeah, too much regulation, too much limits. You know,
be America, open up, bring the best invest money, and
the returnium investment will be just incredible.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Because it's interesting.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Our other pro leagues are global and spend nothing but money.
But you think we could open up the pocketbook a
little bit more.
Speaker 11 (22:17):
One hundred percent and the impact will be global because
your other leagues. I mean, look at the Super Bowl,
which is fantastic, right it has what one hundred and
twenty hundred and thirty million viewers?
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Right? The World Cup has six billion viewers.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Crazy.
Speaker 11 (22:33):
So a World Cup is one hundred and four Super
Bowls in one month.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
It's three Super Bowls a day.
Speaker 11 (22:40):
And this can this happens from here, and this can
happen every week if you have the best league in
the world.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
You know you travel, you travel the globe. Give me
something about America that you really love. You you live
in Switzerland and Italy. If I could choose two places
that would be close to it, World office is in Zurich.
You have a Miami office now, so obviously United States
soccer is growing. You now have a Miami office. What's
(23:08):
something when you travel the globe that you love about America?
Speaker 5 (23:12):
Can I say Burger?
Speaker 11 (23:15):
Yes, you could say no, but I would say Burger definitely.
But well, I think as well here and this is
really is not too flatter anyone, but it is really
the land of opportunity. I mean, there are so many
opportunities here for so many people, which is why I
still don't understand why soccer has not become the number
(23:38):
one here.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Four hundred percent year to year of new soccer fans.
Gianni Infantino, A pleasure, Thank you.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
So thank you, so much.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Power you next, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in neon Eastern non a Empacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app YEP.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Coming this summer the Club World Cup before the World
Cup a year out. So great to have the FIFA
president on. By the way, the US will have two teams,
Seattle Sounders and Miami will both be in Those will
be the two teams, and then is it thirty two
other teams or thirty other teams involved in the club
World Cup winner a billion dollars in versus a billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So it's like a pre.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
World Cup with the world's best club teams, all the
best players and BOFE will be here, Messi, Harry Kane,
all the best players in the world will be here.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
So it's gonna be a pre World Cup.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And there's clear evidence that anytime a World Cup is
in the United States, massive popularity swings in merchandising and
fandom happen.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
Yeah, listen, I can't take full credit, but I do
like I know you like soccer in college basketball, but Colin,
you to it. You're starting to nuts a little more
in the direction of those sports since the edition of
Your Boyhood.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I'm jealous of anybody who lives in Zurich and vacations
in Italy.
Speaker 8 (24:53):
I've heard the things I've never been to either.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Zurich's got my favorite airport in the world. It's like
a great Swiss watch. It is perfect, The trains are
on the second, the food, the cleanliness, it's great. If
I owe anytime I can connect through Zurich, do it
spend an afternoon marveling at the airport. Okay, so we're
gonna go to the NFL, you know, winter meetings here
(25:17):
pretty quick. But the over and unders are now with
all the betting companies are coming out, you know in
Vegas over unders. So these numbers are how many games
do you think a team can win? And you know,
as you know, they always come in half seven and
a half, eight and a half, and you, as a consumer,
bet the under or bet the over. Now, most fans
(25:38):
bet the over, they're optimistic. I tend to find unders,
but I found three unders and three overs that are interesting.
So let's go to the conferences first. The one that
jumps out to me. Let's start in the AFC for
our radio audience. Bills eleven and a half, Dolphins eight
and a half, Jets five and a half. The Patriots
at seven and a half to me, feels like an over.
(25:58):
Massive upgrade on coaching staff. Also, they were three and
six in one score games with a rookie quarterback, so
there's going to be an ascension. They're gonna be a
better one score game team. They spent almost two hundred
million in free agency. I would bet the over on
the Patriots. Let's go to the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns.
Nothing jumps out to me. Ravens eleven and a half,
(26:19):
Bengals nine and a half, Steelers eight and a half,
Browns five and a half. Nothing seems underwhelming or overwhelming.
The next division projected win totals AFC South. This is
one of my favorite overs. So the Texans at nine
and a half. Colt Jaggs seven and a half wins
the Titans at five and a half. Bet the over.
Brian Callahan, Listen, he was so frustrated. Will Levis arguably
(26:44):
gave three wins away last year. So cam Ward there's
just not gonna be Nobody's gonna quite know what to
do until he has an offseason.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Remember c J.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Stroud came in, and it kind of feels like everybody's
kind of waiting for CJ. Stroud to fall apart, and
he didn't. So I think Ward, the upgrade cam Ward
to Will Levis is gonna get you a seven or
eight or nine wins in this division. Just a very
weak AFC South, Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders. I think Kansas
City under eleven and a half is one of my
(27:14):
favorite bets. Broncos nine and a half, Chargers nine and
a half, Raiders six and a half. I'd probably go
over Chargers, but the under on Kansas City. Remember they
were eleven and oh in one score games. Like recovering fumbles,
regression is come even if they go eight and three.
Nobody goes eleven to zero and one score games. Also,
(27:35):
they're still trying to figure out their offensive line. Joe
Tooney left their best offensive lineman, and they don't you know,
they're using somebody's backup at left tackle. They're an injury
away in the O line from being a complete mess.
They're also getting older in key spots. Now we go
to the NFC. One of my fa I have an
over and under bet in the same division, So Eagles
(27:57):
eleven and a half.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
That's about right.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I'm gonna take the over on the Commanders and the
under on the Cowboys. So listen, Jayden Daniels is the
real deal. I just talked to somebody, a friend who
was at an event Jaden Daniels was at in the
last couple of weeks. The kids unbelievable. They spent money,
the coaching nine and a half. I mean, they're gonna
go two and zero against the Cowboys and two and
oh against the Giants, So I think the Commanders is
(28:19):
I mean ten and seven with the Lamar Jackson of
the NFC at quarterback. Shock anybody also the Cowboys. I
would bet the under they want. I don't think anybody's
quite embracing. Brian Schottenheimer to me, had struggled to remain
at the same place as a coordinator. I think they
went cheap. They also got to pay Micah Again. This
(28:40):
is a team that's a ceedee lamb sprained ankle from,
you know, being fairly weaponless. I would take the under
now we go. Nothing jumps out to me. At the
NFC North Lions ten and a half, Packers nine and
a half, Bears eight and a half, Vikings eight and
a half. Nothing jumps out to me. Everybody wants to
bet the Bears in the over. Be careful, really, jumps
(29:00):
out to me. In the NFC South Bucks should win
best roster Falcons maybe a little underserved, but I refuse
to bet the Falcons on anything. I've lost a forge
in over the years. Panthers Saints both six and a
half wins. Now they're two surprises to me. In the
NFC West, I would take the under on the Niners
ten and a half. They are getting old in key spots.
(29:21):
You got Christian McCaffrey coming off an injury and then
Brandon Aiyuk coming off an injury. They have twelve draft picks.
That is a lot of young players. Rookies don't flourish
generally except key positions in the NFL. Also, they lost
Greenlaw and Hufunga. They wanted to keep both. Those are leaders,
great instinctive players. So we haven't loved their defense in
(29:43):
the last couple of years. And when Bosa gets hurt,
it's a bad defense. So and he's getting older. I
would bet the under on the Niners at ten and
a half. I would bet the over on the Rams
at nine and a half. They need a corner. Outside
of that, they are set, they're getting better. The defense
got better Thanksgiving on so the Rams, I would take
the over. So my over and under bets I would
(30:05):
take the Commanders over nine and a half, the Patriots
over seven and a half, and the Titans over five
and a half. My unders are the Chiefs under eleven
and a half, the Ram the Niners under ten and
a half, the Cowboys under seven and a half. I
also think the Rams can hit the over. I think
the Rams can hit the over McVeigh, Stafford, Davante Adams.
(30:28):
They cannot be as physically immobile as they were last
year when the offensive line fell apart. That's not gonna
happen again. They'll have more debt. They're gonna draft to
tackle early in this draft. So, j Mac, anything jump
out to you too much?
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Actually, I know we have a guest coming up. We
definitely need to revisit this. I've got some beef with
some stuff you're saying. The one thing that really jumped out.
So I see Titans five and a half, totally agree.
But did I see the Jets and the Giants are
also five and a half, meaning those are the three
worst teams in the league.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
Oh, oh my gosh, I.
Speaker 7 (31:00):
Didn't know the the jetson falling.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
That far five and a half win total. Gosh, it's
a bleak.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Yeah, I mean New York Football's bleak.
Speaker 8 (31:11):
Terrible.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Albert Breer joining us live Here we go from Palm Beach.
Not a bad place to join us live from. Okay,
at the NFL owner meetings. Okay, let's get so. I've
always had a theory on overtime, you want it to
be quick. I don't want my defense on the field
for another fourteen plays. So the NFL has said, okay,
both teams now get the ball once. It's going to
(31:34):
be ten minutes. My question is what if a team
gets it to the nine minute fifty eight second drive
and scores.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
What do you do then?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I mean, I your takeaway and the new NFL owner
change in overtime.
Speaker 9 (31:47):
Well, I think there are a couple of factors there.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Of course, it won't affect you know, play the playoffs,
because the playoffs still play until they have a winner
and a loser. And you know, I think during the
regular season there's the broadcast partners, which I think like
to keep these games as close to the window they're
prescribed to be in as they can, you know. And
then I think there's the element of adding more place
(32:10):
to the game, and that's a health and safety thing,
you know, And that was part of the argument against
this sort of thing years ago was that they didn't
want to put that much more damage on players. So
I think this is a fair compromise, and it does
add that element of strategy to it. You know. I
think one thing, if you look back, like Bill Belichick
always wanted a timed period, right, And the reason he
(32:31):
wanted to time period is because he wanted the clock
to be part of the overtime. I think in doing this,
you are making.
Speaker 9 (32:38):
The clock part of the overtime, you know.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So you know, I think from a viewership standpoint, fifteen
might be better because you're getting the full quarter. But
you know, I think when you go to ten minutes,
you're making the clock even a bigger factor. And I
think that could interest like that could add like an
interesting element of strategy and how teams approach it. I mean,
if you're the receiving team, don't you almost don't you
almost automatically going to the four minute offense.
Speaker 9 (33:02):
I think that's what we're going to be looking at.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
Okay, tush push.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Packers are very anti tush push. It's been tabled, meaning
they'll do it in mid May and figure out at
the mid May meetings. What is green Band matt le
Floor's primary objection to the tush push.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
They don't think it's a football play.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
And you know, one thing that was interesting to come
from the room now, you know, a couple of days
ago when they first met on this you know, Jim
Harbor Mike Rabel brought up some of the holes in
the way the rule is written, and can you, I
mean the most Harbaugh thing ever, can you put two
extra guards on the field and line them up behind
the guards and push the guards because you're not pushing
behind the center? Rabel asks the same thing. Can you
(33:43):
take the quarterback and move him behind the guard and
then push him behind the guard. So there are some
holes in how the rule was written. Howie Roseman was
passionate about this in the room and saying that there's
no injury data. This says it's more dangerous. The league
comes back and says, well, actually, we think, based on
the posture of the player that this could lead to
major head and spine injuries.
Speaker 9 (34:04):
Not that it hasn't yet, but that certainly is a concern.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
So, you know, you put all this in and I
think you know, now, how how do you rewrite it?
And one thing that happened inside the room today earlier
this morning was, you know, Rich Piquet, the chair of
the competition for me, said why don't we go back
to the two thousand and four rule, or at least
look at that rule and how it was written and
maybe we adopt that. So I think around somewhere around
(34:29):
twenty teams were in favor of looking at that rule
as potentially something that could be the framework of something
they vote on in May. And it's interesting, Colin, Like
when they took the rule out twenty years ago, the
reason they took the rule out was because what was
happening downfield. And you'll remember this is there were guys
getting pushed into the end zone downfield, and when they
flag it, it was hard to tell if you had
(34:50):
a scrum downfield whether or not you know, an offensive
player coming in was trying to block the defensive player
push his teammate across the line. So is that less
of a concern now? Is there a way to address
that and how you write the rule? I think it
was just there are too many things on the table
and too many concerns to pass it now.
Speaker 9 (35:09):
But the fact that they're tabling.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
It until May shows the league as a real desire
to get something done before the season.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
I just saw a headline this morning Steelers are very
comfortable with Mason Rudolph as their starter, and I thought,
oh boy, if I was a Steeler fan, that's pretty discouraging.
So I have made the argument with Aaron Rodgers that
he ideally wanted Minnesota, knew the division, loved the coach,
love Justin Jefferson, and that I think deep down he
knows Pittsburgh can't get the old line right. It's a
defensive culture. He's done the East Coast. He'd probably like
(35:37):
to drift back to the West. And my guess is,
I don't think he's stalling or being obnoxious. I don't
think deep down he wants to go to Pittsburgh. But
I do think he loves football and wants to play
and was pretty good last year. What is your vibe
on what you're hearing about Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Yeah, so my vibe would be a I think you're
absolutely right that he doesn't want to go out the
way that he went out last year. I know he
you know, and coming back from the Achilles like wanting
to really appreciate the sport and you know, rediscover his
love for the game, and despite how hard everything was
last year on the Jets, Like, I think he did
do that to a certain degree. So I think he
(36:15):
does want to play, and I think you know, if
you're in his spot, you say Okay, I got one
year left. You're looking for the perfect place. The perfect
place would have been Minnesota. Minnesota wants to get a
longer look at JJ McCarthy. And again we've been over
this before, Colin, Like, if they bring in Sam Donald
or Daniel Jones, Like, that's much different than bringing in
(36:36):
Aaron Rodgers, where if you bring in Aaron Rodgers, you
are just jamming on the pause button on the JJ
McCarthy era at best.
Speaker 9 (36:43):
And how how do you figure that's going to affect
his development?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
There are a lot of things that go into that,
you know, And so I think now it's sort of
going through the situation with the Steelers. I think one
thing the Steelers have going for them, the unoffensive line's
gotten better. They also have peers of his on his team.
They're going to be operating with the same level of urgency.
Veteran players, Guys like TJ. Watt, who will be thirty one,
(37:07):
make if it's patch, if he will be twenty nine,
Cam Hayward, who I believes going into his fourteenth year
as an NFL player, DK Metcalt now in his third contract.
This is jumping on a moving train. This is not
a team that needs to be lifted up. They've been
in the playoffs. They need somebody to come help me
trying to take him over the top. So ultimately I
think he does wind up there. But I think I
think you're right when you say, like, this isn't the
(37:29):
perfect situation, it's a really good one.
Speaker 9 (37:32):
And I think that's what he's considering right now.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Okay, at West Palm Beach looks like the Breakers, if I,
if I may guess, yeah, yeah, pretty good place.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
And I don't and I don't normally wear sunglasses. I
think it's kind of douchey to wear some glasses on
the air. But it is so bright out here. And
I'm not saying that to make anybody back home jealous,
but it is so bright out here that actually hurt
my eyes.
Speaker 9 (37:51):
That he's sitting here.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
It's okay, So let's wrap it up with this.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
We've got Cleveland owners saying yep, swinging a miss on
to Sean. We've got the Giants getting Russell Wilson and
Jamis Winston. There's a lot of move and we're all
trying to play like Inspector Clusau and figure out with
the clues what's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Who's gonna pick a quarterback?
Speaker 1 (38:08):
And then there's other reports on mock draft people that oh,
Schador is dropping out, Well, we know Cam's going one
the Giants in the Browns. Do you believe Shador Sanders
goes to either Cleveland or the New York Giants.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
If you put a gun to my head today, I
would say, I'm do a Carter at two to Cleveland,
Travis Hunter at three to the Giants. I think the
Giants have protected themselves so they don't have to force
anything at quarterback. And I do think, you know, like
the idea of taking Travis Hunter and then maybe a
day two quarterback where you're not tied to that guy
(38:45):
for the next ten years, but you get it, you're
taking a shot at it.
Speaker 9 (38:48):
Might work better for them.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I think Cleveland could take a similar approach here and
maybe working out of trade for Kirk Cousins the Friday
after the draft.
Speaker 9 (38:58):
And it's an interesting thing. So Jimmy Haslam, J W.
Speaker 4 (39:02):
Johnson, and Andrew Berry had dinner on Thursday night in
State College, Pennsylvania with Abdul Carter. Kevin Stefanski wasn't there.
Kevin Stefanski was actually an Oxford, Mississippi for Jackson Darts
Pro Day, and the fact that they would take their
head coach and put him there in Mississippi rather than
sitting down with Carter tells me they're at least thinking
(39:23):
about the idea of taking Carter at two and either
sitting there at thirty three and Drakes and taking one there,
or maybe moving into the bottom of the first round
and taking one at that point. And I think if
you do that, then Cousins comes into play because the
relationship between Stefanski and Cousins, So I think there are
a lot of moving pieces with both those teams. My
(39:45):
guess right now would be that neither of them take Shador,
and then it becomes Anywhere's guests where Shador goes because
like I said to you last week, like he's sort
of like bon next to me like this, like this
this year's version of bon Knicks where last year or
very few teams that had Bonnicks as a first round pick,
he had to find a fit and he obviously found
that in Denver and no one cares or anybody had.
Speaker 9 (40:06):
A name because he played great for the Broncos.
Speaker 4 (40:08):
I think that's Shadoor this year where a lot of
teams don't look him in as the first round talent
and he's gonna have to find a fit.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Wow, that is really really And then you get down
to the Raiders where they've got Gino, who, by the way,
plat play action passing because I think they're going to
take genty and and the reason I think that is
Pete Carroll's best years were with Reggie Bush at SC
and Marshawn Lynch in Seattle, and he and they need
a run but running back, and this is a star
(40:34):
running back. And also Gino on play action passes is
like his passer ratings one oh six since he's been
in Seattle, So he's not a guy that's going to
play from behind and sling it forty five times. So
that is really interesting. On Shaduur, So what you're basically
saying is the draft guys that think there's not a
big gap between Shaduur and Kyle mccordon, Jackson Dart and
(40:57):
Jalen Milroll. So what's the point of tying yourself to
all right?
Speaker 5 (41:00):
Right?
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 9 (41:01):
I think it's I think I would say this.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
I think for most of the people I've talked to, and
I still have a ton of phone calls to make
over the next three or four weeks. But I think
the consensus that I'm getting from people who evaluate this
stuff for a living is that cam Ward talent wise,
there's a bigger separation talent wise between cam Wharton Shador
Sanders than there is between Schidor Sanders and Jackson Dark. Again,
(41:24):
that does not mean Chad or Sanders can't go top ten.
It's because there could be a team of season as
the perfect fit, and if you see him as a
long term answer quarterback, you swallow hard and take him
the same way the Broncos did at twelve last year Bonix,
even though if the Broncos didn't take him at twelve,
he may have slipped out.
Speaker 9 (41:41):
Of the first round altogether.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
But yeah, I think Chador is closer to the pack,
if that's what you're asking now. He's closer to the
pack than he is to cam Ward from a talent perspective.
Speaker 9 (41:51):
When you talk to all of these NFL people, Wow.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
I kind of look I like the sunglasses. I can
be honest with you and makes you.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Look more mysterious and like you have better information hiding
something from us.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I don't know, there's there's something when you get those shades.
You got like a detective look to you. I like
you're out there behind bushes trying to get scoops from
NFL owners.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
I like the look, my man.
Speaker 9 (42:13):
All Right, maybe maybe, maybe maybe I'll try it again
next week.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
We'll see, Okay, Albert Berry good, see anybody that's really
that's really interesting. Basically, Cam's the star and Chadure is
more middle of the pack. He's in the mill row,
Kyle McCord, Jackson dark class. So it's like, you know,
if you take a quarterback first round, you gotta play him.
If you take a quarterback in the second round, you
can sid him. Nobody's gonna complain. For two or three.
Speaker 7 (42:37):
Years, I had totally forgotten what he said about bo Nix,
how the bo Nix wasn't loved by a lot of teams.
You just need one team to love him. But here's
the thing. Bo Nicks was pretty damn good as a rookie.
They got to the playoffs, their win totally, you just
flash was nine and a half. Did this idea that
people are passing on sdur because he may not be
a good fit.
Speaker 8 (42:55):
I'm stunned, I got it. I'm flabagaster.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
You know, it's interesting. It was a very good quarterback
draft class last year. Bo Nicks was like, but people
thought he had a lower ceiling. Now Sean loved him.
That's the Jalen Millroll thing. I hear Pittsburgh and the
Jets both really like Jalen Milroe. Now with the Jets,
this is this is a gut feeling. So the Jets
(43:20):
are like, We're not gonna take Jalen Millrow, not at seven.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
No.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Aaron Glenn's like, I just came from a stacked roster.
We have a good roster here, Jets at seven go,
we'll trade down. Somebody will trade down, and all of
a sudden you get down to twelve and you get
an extra second or third round pick. Then you're like, okay,
we could do and then you again, you let the
you answer the phone, don't. I'm dead serious on this.
(43:48):
When you get a new coach in like a Vrabel
or an Aaron Glenn, a lot of those guys they
want their own players, they want more draft picks, they
want their own they want there privately, I mean, Aaron
Glenn said to Aaron Rodgers not interested.
Speaker 8 (44:05):
By the way they did.
Speaker 7 (44:06):
Like you said, they just fired what one hundred and
fifty people in the building, Like.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
No, Aaron Glenn New coaches generally want their god.
Speaker 8 (44:14):
Time to take out the trash, as they like to say.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Yeah, So I could see the Jets trading down. And
if they trade down in the I mean even going
down to a thirteen fourteen, then you take Milroe and
it's like you can argue it's a little hot. You're
not taking him at seven, right, I'm pro Milroe again.
Speaker 7 (44:29):
I know he's the tapes don great. I just want
to know because I think Klat's coming on later, right.
I think I saw that most of the season. We
said Shadur is going to be one or two in
the draft, Yes, And now all of.
Speaker 8 (44:39):
A sudden he's dropping like a rock. Colin.
Speaker 7 (44:42):
Something's not adding up here? Is he not interviewing? Well,
something's got to be going on.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Was they're like Caleb Williams. There were some moments people
question maturity.
Speaker 8 (44:52):
He's a twenty one year old kidd in from now whatever.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
We never questioned that with Jayden Daniels or Bonick, and
we never saw in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
So there was a little question on Caleb. There's a
little question.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
We don't see it with Milrow, So you know, you
like with Milrow, you don't see any immaturity bo Nicks,
Michael Pennix. You saw a little with Caleb. I defended him,
and you see a little with Shindor. The difference is
Caleb is a much better athlete than shud Or Sanders.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
It's not close.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
So what people may be saying is he doesn't blow
you away as an athlete, and he got some of
the Caleb maturity stuff we worry a little bit about.
Speaker 8 (45:25):
Well, I mean, do you think he's not as good
of an athlete as bon Nicks.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I'm gonna say something right now, No, Nicks. Bo Nicks
is way more mobile than anyone. He wants you to one.
Speaker 8 (45:35):
Needs to start running a forty. He needs to do
some activity. I need to see something.
Speaker 7 (45:39):
I haven't seen anything from him in months, right since
the end of the season.
Speaker 8 (45:43):
I feel bad for the kid a little bit.
Speaker 1 (45:45):
But yeah, I mean, people are saying he doesn't blow
you away physically, and then you throw in some stuff
where you're like a couple of times, I don't love
some of the things he did, and I defended Caleb
on it when he jumped into the stands or he
painted his fingernails. I did have an executive in the
NFL say they hated the fingernail thing. I thought it
was really juvenile and really stupid whatever, but but but
that stuff matters.
Speaker 7 (46:06):
That's like me saying I hate your hat backwards take man,
I just I can't do it.
Speaker 8 (46:10):
I count when I can't.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
The rest of the country loves it all. That's all.
I'm
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to
noone Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at
Fox Sportsradio dot com, or stream us live every day
on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome in.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It is a Tuesday, and we got a show today.
I was talking about this yesterday with Jmack. We're a
lucky time right now where everything is working. Baseball's got
torpedo bats, the NIL is propped up college basketball where
we have the four best teams. NBA Lakers decided to
play defense last night and by the way, it looks
(00:55):
like overtime change in the NFL. So Jmack, we got
a good one today. So we talked about this yesterday.
Our leadoff hitter again today is baseball. So Ellie dla
Cruz plays for the Cincinnati Reds and he's one of
the great players in baseball that doesn't play for the
Yankees of the mat to the Dodgers, or the Phillies
or the Atlanta Braves or the Houston Astros. Ellie Dayla
(01:17):
Cruz a couple of home runs, seven RBI's last night
he used the torpedo bat. And now listen, the Minnesota
Twins used the torpedo bat this weekend and got swept
and scored six runs. So it's like Harry Potter the
wand is choosing the wizard, all right, but it's another
win for baseball. More runs, more action, more base runners.
(01:38):
Ten teams now are averaging six runs. So last week
I had Rob Manford, the Commissioner of Baseball, and I said,
you've got parody. The only problem is the pitchers are
dominating hitters. You have too many teams hitting two forty,
like half the league. This morning you got seven teams
hitting over two ninety. And it's not slowing the game down.
(02:00):
Last night Cincinnati scored fourteen runs into two hours and
twenty five minutes. So unlike when pitching dominates and pitching
changes and you go to the bullpen and you bring
on the fifth guy, those games get into three hours
and fifteen minutes into Tuesday Wednesday night. Nobody has that
time takes you forty minutes to get to the ballpark.
Fifty five minutes to get home. People have lives eighty
(02:20):
one home games. You got a create urgency. So we're
now getting more offense, more hitting, and and again not
everybody is using the bats. And you know, steroids was different.
This is like legal HGH. Steroids would take guys that
were non home run hitters and I don't even need
to mention names, and suddenly they were in the race
(02:41):
for the American League MVP. That would also help guys
like Barry Bonds allegedly right.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Or other guys.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
But you felt like a lot of times you were
taking like TRIPLEA players and they were making the big leagues.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Because of HGH.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
This is totally legal, and it's amazing when you embrace
innovation and don't fight it as a sport and baseball, man,
baseball is on a heater. Increase the size of the bases,
you know, end extra ending games, faster, speed the game up,
defensive shift, torpedo bats, more offense, more guys stealing bases,
(03:15):
more action, and you know, it's like Grandpa got a
sports car. Baseball decided, you.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Know what we're gonna get.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
We're gonna join the pilates class and be hip and
of all the sports, Baseball now is doing more stuff
right and again, Elie Daala Cruise is great. But if
you give Gordon Ramsey fresher seafood and better ingredients, you
get a five star meal.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And that's what you're getting here.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So I mean, I Aaron Judge and Otawny are not
using it yet and I'm not sure they have to.
But this, this is not creating greatness. That was the
illegal stuff. You know that, this is just kind of
enhancing greatness. Elie Dyala Cruz is amazing, like, oh, he's amazing.
Plus and the Yankees led baseball last year in home
(04:03):
runs and they're gonna lead it with home runs. Plus
they're not making something. Again, there is clear magic in
these bats, but it's helping Gordon Ramsay more than the
guy at Applebe's. It's not making the Applebee's guy, you know,
a Michelin chef. But it's taking the really good players
and they're just harder to get out. But it's not
(04:24):
extending the length of the game so far. And here's
Terry Francona after.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
I think he has more of the player than the bat.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
I really, I meant that before the game.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I still do yeah, yeah, I know it is, but
it's for real and you better embrace it. I don't
care if it's the one and done the transfer portal,
I don't care if it's three point shots.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Don't get rigid on this stuff. It works or to
the bats. Now.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
So the Lakers won last night, but it was very unconventional.
So the Lakers don't play defense. A lot is not
good at it. Austin Reeves is okay, Lebron picks and
chooses ones he wants to play defense. So the Lakers
last night, they beat Memphis the other night. And the
reason it's a big deal is they just beat Houston
last night a two seed and they beat Memphis a
five seed. And why that's a big deal because the
Lakers really pick and choose one and they want to
(05:16):
play defense. Lebron's old Luke go didn't like it, and
Austin Reeves is limited, so they pick and choose when
they play defense. And here comes Houston last night. And
Houston is fast, they're young, they're twitchy, and they're the
kind of team that would give the Lakers fits. And
the Lakers held them under one hundred points. And this
Laker team when they decide to play defense is good.
They're ten to one. They just don't play it a lot.
(05:37):
And when you watch this game last night, Dorian Finnie
Smith is on the floor and you only got thirty
six points total from Lebron and Luca. So this was
one of those games where guys, the guys aren't hummed
at the top. We gotta play defense. And I will
say this about the Lakers is they need home court advantage.
So the Lakers are twenty nine to nine at home.
(05:57):
They're a very good home team. They're not the best
in the league, but they're very good. They're surprisingly awful
on the road. They're sub five hundred. Generally top six
or seven teams in the NBA can be five hundred
or better on the road. Boston Celtics, by the way,
often played better on the road than at home when
the Warriors were great. Remember when they went into that
final against the Celtics, they played their best game in Boston.
(06:20):
Cross country, tired, older players. So the Lakers are not
not a very good road team. I'm not exactly sure why,
but this is the way it's sizing up. So the
Lakers need a few things they need to be They
need to have a home court series in the playoffs.
They're also and they know it. These games against Houston,
(06:41):
like last night in Memphis are important because it'll give
them a week off with an older roster. Lebron is
an older player, It'll give them a week off to
watch the playing stuff. But when they play defense, it's
a real team. They've gotten. And I've been very critical
of the Lakers front office, but right now, offensively they
can match out with anybody in the league. Maybe except Boston.
(07:02):
That's probably about it. Boston is so deep, so many shooters.
But the Lakers have three playmakers. I think four guys
I would trust to take a big shot, two defensive specialists,
and an excellent coach. And last night, when you watch
them play defense, and this is probably the effort you
will get in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Pretty good team. Here's JJ Reddick after.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
I think the competitive spirit and togetherness.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
We had to play really hard tonight to put ourselves
in a position to win the basketball game. You know,
we weathered some misshots, did a good job of taking
care of the basketball, emptied the tank on the defensive end.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
It was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
For the record, Just for fun, we're gonna make some
assumptions here, but the playoffs, if they were to end
today and we're making a couple of playing assumptions, kind
of work in the lakers favor. Okay, so there are
teams that match up with the Lakers. Clippers are actually
a pretty good matchup with They've got a legit big
they've got a great coach. Well, the Clippers would open
(08:06):
up with a thunder that series. That's not gonna work
for them. Also, Lakers would open up with the Grizzlies,
a team that's got kind of a mess right now.
The coaching staff, they just fired their coach. You don't
trust I mean, Jahn Morant's not having a good year
shooting Memphis right now. You want to peek at the
end of a year. They're a mess at the end
of the year. That's great for the Lakers. Nuggets Warriors.
(08:28):
Nuggets gonna win that series. That's a bad matchup for
the Warriors. But you know what, I wouldn't want to
face Steph and Jimmy Butler either. That would be one
of the few teams the Lakers could face that has
as much playoff experience. The Warriors are gonna get knocked
out by the Nuggets. They cannot stop Jokics. They just
do not match up at all. Draymond Green's great. He
acknowledges it. We can't do anything. And then Rockets and
Tea Wolves. I don't know who I would take there.
(08:49):
That's a go either I may take the Tea Wolves.
That's a close one. That's a go either way series
based on health. But it works out. You get the
Clippers out, they've got experience. You get the Warriors out,
they've got experience. Uh. And then it's potentially the young Rockets,
young OKC and a Denver team, which, by the way,
the Lakers have beaten this year. They've always played even
(09:11):
when Denver was clearly better pre Luca, the Lakers always
played Denver close. Now they have the offensive firepower. So
just some assumptions here. But that defensive effort last night
felt a little bit like a playoff game. Dorian Finney Smith.
Playing a real defense. You know, you're not getting a
perfect night from Luke and Lebron, although they gave you
(09:33):
thirty six points. Austin Reeves was good, but you needed
other elements. They were at home, close game, held a
team under one hundred. Very playoff field for the Lakers.
I can't get over the torpedo. Betch j Mack. I
can't get over it. The whole thing's crazy. It's just
get on.
Speaker 7 (09:48):
Could we get one on set this weekend? You put
a special order in. I'd love to feel it and
swing it just to see what it's like.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, it's uh, you know, people are I've said this,
if if the Twins or Orioles were using them and
that was it, nobody would care. Some of this is
the Yankee It's like the Toush push. If Jacksonville was
doing the Toush push, nobody would really care. It's the Eagles,
they're dominating. Nobody can stop it. We all know this.
Everybody roots against Duke, yet everybody watches Duke. Everybody hates
the Toush push. But the ratings for the Super Bowl
(10:14):
set a record. We know how the world works in sports,
fans in America work, but it is crazy what it's doing.
Speaker 8 (10:21):
Well, it's weird. There is a gambling parallel.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know.
Speaker 7 (10:24):
Sometimes you'll find a slight edge in gambling for a
little while and you'll beat the market, and then everybody
will piggyback. For instance, Lakers first quarterbits well, guess what.
Then the team's adjust I'm curious how the pitchers will
adjust to the torpedo bats if this keeps up, Like,
are there radical adjustments to be made?
Speaker 9 (10:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
All right, next hour at the top of the hour.
You know, I love over and unders in Vegas, so
I'll take the entire NFL. There are three teams that
are going to hit the over and three teams that
are going to hit the ender. This is my favorite part.
I know it's weird. I love the NFL schedule release.
I'm obsessed, even though I know who everybody plays next
(11:02):
year already. I loved I like to see when it's
in order and the over unders. Last year we hit
big on Denver, the Rams, and Washington. Those are the
three teams. I thought those are the overs. So there's
a couple obvious overs and there's a couple obvious unders.
You don't want to be a sucker and just take
the optimism route. There's a couple of obvious unders as well.
That's gonna come up in fifty minutes.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 10 (11:32):
Hey Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Why should you listen to Cavino and Rich.
Speaker 10 (11:46):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other shows don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right, So
check us out. We like to get you involved too,
(12:06):
take your phone calls, chop it up. As they say,
I'd say, the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio,
maybe the most interactive show on planetar. Be sure to
check out Cavino and Rich live on Fox Sports Radio
and the iHeartRadio app from five to seven pm Eastern
two to four Pacific, and if you miss any of
the live show, just search Kobe known Rich wherever you
get your podcasts, and of course on social media.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
That's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Well, the next year and a half in the United States,
we are going to be the centerpiece of the world's
greatest soccer. Gianna Infantino is the president since twenty sixteen
of FIFA, not only a global citizen, seven different language
as a world traveler. I am jealous, I will admit,
and you are joning us. So now it's called the
Club World Cup. So not this summer. The following summer
(12:51):
is the World Cup. We know about that, Harry Kane,
then Bape our best players. The Club World Cup is
on our soil. We're lucky enough. Explain who will be
involved in that?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Do I get the best of the best?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
You get the best of the best?
Speaker 11 (13:04):
Well, Hurricane and Bappe will be there as well, so
Leo Messi and many many others, the thirty two best
club teams the world.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Now, what's at stake? What kind of money are we
talking about?
Speaker 11 (13:17):
Well, first of all, what doesn't saying is this incredible
trophy here, which is beautiful. But the money we are
talking about is one billion US dollar prize money which
is there for grab for the winning team. First time
we organize an event like that, first time there will
be a club truly crowned world champion by FIFA.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
So we are seeing in Major League Baseball, and we've
seen it over the course of my life. Latin America
has furnished us with great players. Now Asian players coming over.
The Dodgers have a pipeline to it, and it's absolutely
helped the game.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Ohtani's our biggest star.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
How is the United States viewed globally in soccer? Because
I always felt I remember the Kyle wrote junior Days
in the seventies. My mom was British. I went over
there when Netherlands in England in the seventies were dominating
Johann Crouth and the great British teams, and you know,
we were kind of clunky and our players weren't as
aesthetically pleasing. How are we viewed now in the States?
Speaker 11 (14:18):
Well, I think what is seen from outside of the
United States, he said. Of course in America, other sports
are more important than soccer, which is the most important
sport all over the world, in every other country.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Right.
Speaker 11 (14:33):
However, I think that the two World Cups, the one
this summer or the team of the clubs, and the
next one of the countries next year, which changes fundamentally.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Since you have been the president.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
What do the numbers say about the growth in the country,
Because generally when a World Cup is hosted by US,
even if it's not, but if it is, there tends
to be exponential growth. So if you've seen growth in
your run as if a president United States.
Speaker 11 (15:00):
Oh, definitely, we basically double the revenues when it comes
to FIFA and the World Cup by organizing it here.
But what is important is that what happens here in
America has an impact all over the world. So the
gross figures cannot just be measured in the United States,
but all over the world. And when it comes to
(15:21):
most women's football actually a men's football, whenever we do
something here, it has such an important global impact that
you know is just incredible for the game.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
When you look right now, I think I've said this before.
I think this is the most talented group of players
we've ever had.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Now we're young.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
When we got beat by Netherlands, clearly they had older,
more senior players, we weren't at that level. That was
almost aspirational a goal. I look at our team, it's
kind of a golden age of soccer. The academy system.
We have many players over in Europe. Are we viewed
in the world now as a serious soccer country.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Well, definitely.
Speaker 11 (16:04):
I think that the work that has been done with
the MLS in the United States, in Canada, the work
with the academies that has been put forward is really impressive.
You have a good team, you have good players, have
a great coach as well, Mauricio, who was really fantastic,
and these players they play now, you know, for the
(16:26):
best teams in the world or in Europe if you want,
and the world can see that. Combine this with the
fact of playing a World Cup at home, Well, it's
quite an explosive commindation, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Is it harder?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
I mean because of security reasons among others and technology?
Is it harder to put on a World Cup than
it was eight years ago?
Speaker 11 (16:53):
Well, to put on a World Cup is obviously always
quite a challenge. Especially the next World Cup will be
for forty eight countries participating in stead of thirty two. Yes,
so we increase the number by fifty percent. We'll have
you know, ten million people coming to the US. It's
these are incredible fas we'll have six billion people watching it.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
All over the world.
Speaker 11 (17:15):
This requires a lot of organization, and we're here for
that and we team up with you for that as well.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Yeah, that doesn't hurt. Where is soccer now? It's growing.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
I looked at a number this morning which was amazing.
According to Forbes, the number of United States people who
have been soccer fans for five years or fewer, so
this is our newest fans has gone up fifty seven
percent year to year and over and the number of
first time fans is a four hundred percent year over year,
(17:47):
So over five years at fifty seven percent. So something
has happened in the last year where there's been an
explosion in the United States. So when I think of soccer,
I think of a Spain, and I think of Germany,
and I think of the nether and I think of
Italy and France, and I do think of the United
States selfishly, Where is this game growing? That would surprise me?
(18:08):
Is it growing everywhere?
Speaker 5 (18:10):
It is growing everywhere.
Speaker 11 (18:11):
It's growing in the Middle East, it's growing in this
year in East Asia. But I think the big surprise
will be the growth here in North America. When you
see every child, girl or boy now plays soccer. What
happens then, is that the most talented players they go
to other American sports, right because they maybe don't see
a path to glory through soccer, but they will see
(18:35):
it now. This year with the Club World Club with
the best teams in the world, next year with the
World Cup with the best countries in the world, they
will see that there is a path to glory, a
path to something incredible.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
And this will make a big difference.
Speaker 11 (18:49):
When the US organized the ninety four World Cup, eighty
five percent of the Americans a couple of months before
didn't know that the World Cup was happening. Is the
other way around, eighty five percent of Americans they know
that the World Cup is coming already one year ahead.
So these are signs that things are changing. Plus one
(19:11):
more thing, if I may, sure, you know you are
the United States of America, right, the greatest country in
the world.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
You're number one in kind of everything you do. Yeh.
Speaker 11 (19:20):
You cannot be satisfied to be number twenty in the
number one sport. It's right, you want to be number
one in the number one sport. So let's go for it.
Speaker 9 (19:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
No, you're you're listening, You're you're preaching to the choir here,
believe me. But I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.
My mom was British, so when I was a kid,
I went to England. At the time, the English team
was battling for the World Cup, like nineteen seventy two,
seventy three, and again Netherlands was great, so I when
I was a kid, I was introduced to it. Then
I moved to the Pacific Northwest, which Seattle and Portland
are great soccer market, so I think I got an advantage.
(19:50):
My Seattle Sounders made the NASL Championship game against the
New York Cosmos. Of all the great players you've dealt
with over your not just at FIFA, but you're a
global citizen. There is something special about soccer players.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
There is there.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
I like the global feel to it. There's a graciousness
and a gratitude for what soccer presents. It's the happiest sport.
And nothing against football players in baseball guys, but that
is is that something you within FIFA that you talk
about that it's the world's game and it's very welcoming.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
It is.
Speaker 11 (20:26):
You're absolutely right, it is the world's game. It brings happiness.
I mean, look at this what we brought for you.
You can see this. This is yoursift. Can I, yeah, gift?
Can I give it to you?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (20:37):
By the way he hears a small ownership and a
small soccer team.
Speaker 5 (20:41):
It has your name. Look at that.
Speaker 11 (20:43):
Well, now this is the official magic ball of the
FIFA Club World Cup.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
Now look at your face. You're smiling.
Speaker 11 (20:50):
You see why because his ball is a magic object.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
There's much more than just the ball. It is magic.
Speaker 11 (20:57):
It brings smiles to faces of children all over the world.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
It's a very simple sport.
Speaker 11 (21:03):
It's the world number one sport for that, and that's
why we are investing.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
All over the world.
Speaker 11 (21:08):
The revenues we generate, we invest them in Africa, in Asia,
in Americas, everywhere in the world to make sure that
the game.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Game if American soccer.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
If you could say, and Jenny Infantino is joining us
to president of FIFA, he has been since twenty sixteen.
If you could, if I may, I'll put you on
the hot seat, if you could make one change to
US soccer.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
And just nudge them to do something.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
There is there anything that you're frustrated a little with
USA soccer?
Speaker 11 (21:35):
Yes, okay, they should listen to me, yes, and then
they become number one league in the world.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
But anything in.
Speaker 11 (21:43):
Particular that you would push, they are a little bit
too how shall I say.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Two communists? Can I say that word? Yeah?
Speaker 11 (21:55):
Exactation, Yeah, too much regulation, too much limits. You know,
be America, open up, bring the best invest money, and
the returnium investment will be just incredible.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Because it's interesting.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Our other pro leagues are global and spend nothing but money.
But you think we could open up the pocketbook a
little bit more.
Speaker 11 (22:17):
One hundred percent and the impact will be global because
your other leagues. I mean, look at the Super Bowl,
which is fantastic, right it has what one hundred and
twenty hundred and thirty million viewers?
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Right? The World Cup has six billion viewers.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Crazy.
Speaker 11 (22:33):
So a World Cup is one hundred and four Super
Bowls in one month.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
It's three Super Bowls a day.
Speaker 11 (22:40):
And this can this happens from here, and this can
happen every week if you have the best league in
the world.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
You know you travel, you travel the globe. Give me
something about America that you really love. You you live
in Switzerland and Italy. If I could choose two places
that would be close to it, World office is in Zurich.
You have a Miami office now, so obviously United States
soccer is growing. You now have a Miami office. What's
(23:08):
something when you travel the globe that you love about America?
Speaker 5 (23:12):
Can I say Burger?
Speaker 11 (23:15):
Yes, you could say no, but I would say Burger definitely.
But well, I think as well here and this is
really is not too flatter anyone, but it is really
the land of opportunity. I mean, there are so many
opportunities here for so many people, which is why I
still don't understand why soccer has not become the number
(23:38):
one here.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Four hundred percent year to year of new soccer fans.
Gianni Infantino, A pleasure, Thank you.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
So thank you, so much.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Power you next, be sure to catch live editions of
The Herd weekdays in neon Eastern non a Empacific on
Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app YEP.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Coming this summer the Club World Cup before the World
Cup a year out. So great to have the FIFA
president on. By the way, the US will have two teams,
Seattle Sounders and Miami will both be in Those will
be the two teams, and then is it thirty two
other teams or thirty other teams involved in the club
World Cup winner a billion dollars in versus a billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So it's like a pre.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
World Cup with the world's best club teams, all the
best players and BOFE will be here, Messi, Harry Kane,
all the best players in the world will be here.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
So it's gonna be a pre World Cup.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And there's clear evidence that anytime a World Cup is
in the United States, massive popularity swings in merchandising and
fandom happen.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
Yeah, listen, I can't take full credit, but I do
like I know you like soccer in college basketball, but Colin,
you to it. You're starting to nuts a little more
in the direction of those sports since the edition of
Your Boyhood.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I'm jealous of anybody who lives in Zurich and vacations
in Italy.
Speaker 8 (24:53):
I've heard the things I've never been to either.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Zurich's got my favorite airport in the world. It's like
a great Swiss watch. It is perfect, The trains are
on the second, the food, the cleanliness, it's great. If
I owe anytime I can connect through Zurich, do it
spend an afternoon marveling at the airport. Okay, so we're
gonna go to the NFL, you know, winter meetings here
(25:17):
pretty quick. But the over and unders are now with
all the betting companies are coming out, you know in
Vegas over unders. So these numbers are how many games
do you think a team can win? And you know,
as you know, they always come in half seven and
a half, eight and a half, and you, as a consumer,
bet the under or bet the over. Now, most fans
(25:38):
bet the over, they're optimistic. I tend to find unders,
but I found three unders and three overs that are interesting.
So let's go to the conferences first. The one that
jumps out to me. Let's start in the AFC for
our radio audience. Bills eleven and a half, Dolphins eight
and a half, Jets five and a half. The Patriots
at seven and a half to me, feels like an over.
(25:58):
Massive upgrade on coaching staff. Also, they were three and
six in one score games with a rookie quarterback, so
there's going to be an ascension. They're gonna be a
better one score game team. They spent almost two hundred
million in free agency. I would bet the over on
the Patriots. Let's go to the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns.
Nothing jumps out to me. Ravens eleven and a half,
(26:19):
Bengals nine and a half, Steelers eight and a half,
Browns five and a half. Nothing seems underwhelming or overwhelming.
The next division projected win totals AFC South. This is
one of my favorite overs. So the Texans at nine
and a half. Colt Jaggs seven and a half wins
the Titans at five and a half. Bet the over.
Brian Callahan, Listen, he was so frustrated. Will Levis arguably
(26:44):
gave three wins away last year. So cam Ward there's
just not gonna be Nobody's gonna quite know what to
do until he has an offseason.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Remember c J.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Stroud came in, and it kind of feels like everybody's
kind of waiting for CJ. Stroud to fall apart, and
he didn't. So I think Ward, the upgrade cam Ward
to Will Levis is gonna get you a seven or
eight or nine wins in this division. Just a very
weak AFC South, Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders. I think Kansas
City under eleven and a half is one of my
(27:14):
favorite bets. Broncos nine and a half, Chargers nine and
a half, Raiders six and a half. I'd probably go
over Chargers, but the under on Kansas City. Remember they
were eleven and oh in one score games. Like recovering fumbles,
regression is come even if they go eight and three.
Nobody goes eleven to zero and one score games. Also,
(27:35):
they're still trying to figure out their offensive line. Joe
Tooney left their best offensive lineman, and they don't you know,
they're using somebody's backup at left tackle. They're an injury
away in the O line from being a complete mess.
They're also getting older in key spots. Now we go
to the NFC. One of my fa I have an
over and under bet in the same division, So Eagles
(27:57):
eleven and a half.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
That's about right.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
I'm gonna take the over on the Commanders and the
under on the Cowboys. So listen, Jayden Daniels is the
real deal. I just talked to somebody, a friend who
was at an event Jaden Daniels was at in the
last couple of weeks. The kids unbelievable. They spent money,
the coaching nine and a half. I mean, they're gonna
go two and zero against the Cowboys and two and
oh against the Giants, So I think the Commanders is
(28:19):
I mean ten and seven with the Lamar Jackson of
the NFC at quarterback. Shock anybody also the Cowboys. I
would bet the under they want. I don't think anybody's
quite embracing. Brian Schottenheimer to me, had struggled to remain
at the same place as a coordinator. I think they
went cheap. They also got to pay Micah Again. This
(28:40):
is a team that's a ceedee lamb sprained ankle from,
you know, being fairly weaponless. I would take the under
now we go. Nothing jumps out to me. At the
NFC North Lions ten and a half, Packers nine and
a half, Bears eight and a half, Vikings eight and
a half. Nothing jumps out to me. Everybody wants to
bet the Bears in the over. Be careful, really, jumps
(29:00):
out to me. In the NFC South Bucks should win
best roster Falcons maybe a little underserved, but I refuse
to bet the Falcons on anything. I've lost a forge
in over the years. Panthers Saints both six and a
half wins. Now they're two surprises to me. In the
NFC West, I would take the under on the Niners
ten and a half. They are getting old in key spots.
(29:21):
You got Christian McCaffrey coming off an injury and then
Brandon Aiyuk coming off an injury. They have twelve draft picks.
That is a lot of young players. Rookies don't flourish
generally except key positions in the NFL. Also, they lost
Greenlaw and Hufunga. They wanted to keep both. Those are leaders,
great instinctive players. So we haven't loved their defense in
(29:43):
the last couple of years. And when Bosa gets hurt,
it's a bad defense. So and he's getting older. I
would bet the under on the Niners at ten and
a half. I would bet the over on the Rams
at nine and a half. They need a corner. Outside
of that, they are set, they're getting better. The defense
got better Thanksgiving on so the Rams, I would take
the over. So my over and under bets I would
(30:05):
take the Commanders over nine and a half, the Patriots
over seven and a half, and the Titans over five
and a half. My unders are the Chiefs under eleven
and a half, the Ram the Niners under ten and
a half, the Cowboys under seven and a half. I
also think the Rams can hit the over. I think
the Rams can hit the over McVeigh, Stafford, Davante Adams.
(30:28):
They cannot be as physically immobile as they were last
year when the offensive line fell apart. That's not gonna
happen again. They'll have more debt. They're gonna draft to
tackle early in this draft. So, j Mac, anything jump
out to you too much?
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Actually, I know we have a guest coming up. We
definitely need to revisit this. I've got some beef with
some stuff you're saying. The one thing that really jumped out.
So I see Titans five and a half, totally agree.
But did I see the Jets and the Giants are
also five and a half, meaning those are the three
worst teams in the league.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
Oh, oh my gosh, I.
Speaker 7 (31:00):
Didn't know the the jetson falling.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
That far five and a half win total. Gosh, it's
a bleak.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Yeah, I mean New York Football's bleak.
Speaker 8 (31:11):
Terrible.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Albert Breer joining us live Here we go from Palm Beach.
Not a bad place to join us live from. Okay,
at the NFL owner meetings. Okay, let's get so. I've
always had a theory on overtime, you want it to
be quick. I don't want my defense on the field
for another fourteen plays. So the NFL has said, okay,
both teams now get the ball once. It's going to
(31:34):
be ten minutes. My question is what if a team
gets it to the nine minute fifty eight second drive
and scores.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
What do you do then?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I mean, I your takeaway and the new NFL owner
change in overtime.
Speaker 9 (31:47):
Well, I think there are a couple of factors there.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Of course, it won't affect you know, play the playoffs,
because the playoffs still play until they have a winner
and a loser. And you know, I think during the
regular season there's the broadcast partners, which I think like
to keep these games as close to the window they're
prescribed to be in as they can, you know. And
then I think there's the element of adding more place
(32:10):
to the game, and that's a health and safety thing,
you know, And that was part of the argument against
this sort of thing years ago was that they didn't
want to put that much more damage on players. So
I think this is a fair compromise, and it does
add that element of strategy to it. You know. I
think one thing, if you look back, like Bill Belichick
always wanted a timed period, right, And the reason he
(32:31):
wanted to time period is because he wanted the clock
to be part of the overtime. I think in doing this,
you are making.
Speaker 9 (32:38):
The clock part of the overtime, you know.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So you know, I think from a viewership standpoint, fifteen
might be better because you're getting the full quarter. But
you know, I think when you go to ten minutes,
you're making the clock even a bigger factor. And I
think that could interest like that could add like an
interesting element of strategy and how teams approach it. I mean,
if you're the receiving team, don't you almost don't you
almost automatically going to the four minute offense.
Speaker 9 (33:02):
I think that's what we're going to be looking at.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
Okay, tush push.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Packers are very anti tush push. It's been tabled, meaning
they'll do it in mid May and figure out at
the mid May meetings. What is green Band matt le
Floor's primary objection to the tush push.
Speaker 9 (33:18):
They don't think it's a football play.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
And you know, one thing that was interesting to come
from the room now, you know, a couple of days
ago when they first met on this you know, Jim
Harbor Mike Rabel brought up some of the holes in
the way the rule is written, and can you, I
mean the most Harbaugh thing ever, can you put two
extra guards on the field and line them up behind
the guards and push the guards because you're not pushing
behind the center? Rabel asks the same thing. Can you
(33:43):
take the quarterback and move him behind the guard and
then push him behind the guard. So there are some
holes in how the rule was written. Howie Roseman was
passionate about this in the room and saying that there's
no injury data. This says it's more dangerous. The league
comes back and says, well, actually, we think, based on
the posture of the player that this could lead to
major head and spine injuries.
Speaker 9 (34:04):
Not that it hasn't yet, but that certainly is a concern.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
So, you know, you put all this in and I
think you know, now, how how do you rewrite it?
And one thing that happened inside the room today earlier
this morning was, you know, Rich Piquet, the chair of
the competition for me, said why don't we go back
to the two thousand and four rule, or at least
look at that rule and how it was written and
maybe we adopt that. So I think around somewhere around
(34:29):
twenty teams were in favor of looking at that rule
as potentially something that could be the framework of something
they vote on in May. And it's interesting, Colin, Like
when they took the rule out twenty years ago, the
reason they took the rule out was because what was
happening downfield. And you'll remember this is there were guys
getting pushed into the end zone downfield, and when they
flag it, it was hard to tell if you had
(34:50):
a scrum downfield whether or not you know, an offensive
player coming in was trying to block the defensive player
push his teammate across the line. So is that less
of a concern now? Is there a way to address
that and how you write the rule? I think it
was just there are too many things on the table
and too many concerns to pass it now.
Speaker 9 (35:09):
But the fact that they're tabling.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
It until May shows the league as a real desire
to get something done before the season.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
I just saw a headline this morning Steelers are very
comfortable with Mason Rudolph as their starter, and I thought,
oh boy, if I was a Steeler fan, that's pretty discouraging.
So I have made the argument with Aaron Rodgers that
he ideally wanted Minnesota, knew the division, loved the coach,
love Justin Jefferson, and that I think deep down he
knows Pittsburgh can't get the old line right. It's a
defensive culture. He's done the East Coast. He'd probably like
(35:37):
to drift back to the West. And my guess is,
I don't think he's stalling or being obnoxious. I don't
think deep down he wants to go to Pittsburgh. But
I do think he loves football and wants to play
and was pretty good last year. What is your vibe
on what you're hearing about Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Yeah, so my vibe would be a I think you're
absolutely right that he doesn't want to go out the
way that he went out last year. I know he
you know, and coming back from the Achilles like wanting
to really appreciate the sport and you know, rediscover his
love for the game, and despite how hard everything was
last year on the Jets, Like, I think he did
do that to a certain degree. So I think he
(36:15):
does want to play, and I think you know, if
you're in his spot, you say Okay, I got one
year left. You're looking for the perfect place. The perfect
place would have been Minnesota. Minnesota wants to get a
longer look at JJ McCarthy. And again we've been over
this before, Colin, Like, if they bring in Sam Donald
or Daniel Jones, Like, that's much different than bringing in
(36:36):
Aaron Rodgers, where if you bring in Aaron Rodgers, you
are just jamming on the pause button on the JJ
McCarthy era at best.
Speaker 9 (36:43):
And how how do you figure that's going to affect
his development?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
There are a lot of things that go into that,
you know, And so I think now it's sort of
going through the situation with the Steelers. I think one
thing the Steelers have going for them, the unoffensive line's
gotten better. They also have peers of his on his team.
They're going to be operating with the same level of urgency.
Veteran players, Guys like TJ. Watt, who will be thirty one,
(37:07):
make if it's patch, if he will be twenty nine,
Cam Hayward, who I believes going into his fourteenth year
as an NFL player, DK Metcalt now in his third contract.
This is jumping on a moving train. This is not
a team that needs to be lifted up. They've been
in the playoffs. They need somebody to come help me
trying to take him over the top. So ultimately I
think he does wind up there. But I think I
think you're right when you say, like, this isn't the
(37:29):
perfect situation, it's a really good one.
Speaker 9 (37:32):
And I think that's what he's considering right now.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Okay, at West Palm Beach looks like the Breakers, if I,
if I may guess, yeah, yeah, pretty good place.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
And I don't and I don't normally wear sunglasses. I
think it's kind of douchey to wear some glasses on
the air. But it is so bright out here. And
I'm not saying that to make anybody back home jealous,
but it is so bright out here that actually hurt
my eyes.
Speaker 9 (37:51):
That he's sitting here.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
It's okay, So let's wrap it up with this.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
We've got Cleveland owners saying yep, swinging a miss on
to Sean. We've got the Giants getting Russell Wilson and
Jamis Winston. There's a lot of move and we're all
trying to play like Inspector Clusau and figure out with
the clues what's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Who's gonna pick a quarterback?
Speaker 1 (38:08):
And then there's other reports on mock draft people that oh,
Schador is dropping out, Well, we know Cam's going one
the Giants in the Browns. Do you believe Shador Sanders
goes to either Cleveland or the New York Giants.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
If you put a gun to my head today, I
would say, I'm do a Carter at two to Cleveland,
Travis Hunter at three to the Giants. I think the
Giants have protected themselves so they don't have to force
anything at quarterback. And I do think, you know, like
the idea of taking Travis Hunter and then maybe a
day two quarterback where you're not tied to that guy
(38:45):
for the next ten years, but you get it, you're
taking a shot at it.
Speaker 9 (38:48):
Might work better for them.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I think Cleveland could take a similar approach here and
maybe working out of trade for Kirk Cousins the Friday
after the draft.
Speaker 9 (38:58):
And it's an interesting thing. So Jimmy Haslam, J W.
Speaker 4 (39:02):
Johnson, and Andrew Berry had dinner on Thursday night in
State College, Pennsylvania with Abdul Carter. Kevin Stefanski wasn't there.
Kevin Stefanski was actually an Oxford, Mississippi for Jackson Darts
Pro Day, and the fact that they would take their
head coach and put him there in Mississippi rather than
sitting down with Carter tells me they're at least thinking
(39:23):
about the idea of taking Carter at two and either
sitting there at thirty three and Drakes and taking one there,
or maybe moving into the bottom of the first round
and taking one at that point. And I think if
you do that, then Cousins comes into play because the
relationship between Stefanski and Cousins, So I think there are
a lot of moving pieces with both those teams. My
(39:45):
guess right now would be that neither of them take Shador,
and then it becomes Anywhere's guests where Shador goes because
like I said to you last week, like he's sort
of like bon next to me like this, like this
this year's version of bon Knicks where last year or
very few teams that had Bonnicks as a first round pick,
he had to find a fit and he obviously found
that in Denver and no one cares or anybody had.
Speaker 9 (40:06):
A name because he played great for the Broncos.
Speaker 4 (40:08):
I think that's Shadoor this year where a lot of
teams don't look him in as the first round talent
and he's gonna have to find a fit.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Wow, that is really really And then you get down
to the Raiders where they've got Gino, who, by the way,
plat play action passing because I think they're going to
take genty and and the reason I think that is
Pete Carroll's best years were with Reggie Bush at SC
and Marshawn Lynch in Seattle, and he and they need
a run but running back, and this is a star
(40:34):
running back. And also Gino on play action passes is
like his passer ratings one oh six since he's been
in Seattle, So he's not a guy that's going to
play from behind and sling it forty five times. So
that is really interesting. On Shaduur, So what you're basically
saying is the draft guys that think there's not a
big gap between Shaduur and Kyle mccordon, Jackson Dart and
(40:57):
Jalen Milroll. So what's the point of tying yourself to
all right?
Speaker 5 (41:00):
Right?
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 9 (41:01):
I think it's I think I would say this.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
I think for most of the people I've talked to, and
I still have a ton of phone calls to make
over the next three or four weeks. But I think
the consensus that I'm getting from people who evaluate this
stuff for a living is that cam Ward talent wise,
there's a bigger separation talent wise between cam Wharton Shador
Sanders than there is between Schidor Sanders and Jackson Dark. Again,
(41:24):
that does not mean Chad or Sanders can't go top ten.
It's because there could be a team of season as
the perfect fit, and if you see him as a
long term answer quarterback, you swallow hard and take him
the same way the Broncos did at twelve last year Bonix,
even though if the Broncos didn't take him at twelve,
he may have slipped out.
Speaker 9 (41:41):
Of the first round altogether.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
But yeah, I think Chador is closer to the pack,
if that's what you're asking now. He's closer to the
pack than he is to cam Ward from a talent perspective.
Speaker 9 (41:51):
When you talk to all of these NFL people, Wow.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
I kind of look I like the sunglasses. I can
be honest with you and makes you.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Look more mysterious and like you have better information hiding
something from us.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I don't know, there's there's something when you get those shades.
You got like a detective look to you. I like
you're out there behind bushes trying to get scoops from
NFL owners.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
I like the look, my man.
Speaker 9 (42:13):
All Right, maybe maybe, maybe maybe I'll try it again
next week.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
We'll see, Okay, Albert Berry good, see anybody that's really
that's really interesting. Basically, Cam's the star and Chadure is
more middle of the pack. He's in the mill row,
Kyle McCord, Jackson dark class. So it's like, you know,
if you take a quarterback first round, you gotta play him.
If you take a quarterback in the second round, you
can sid him. Nobody's gonna complain. For two or three.
Speaker 7 (42:37):
Years, I had totally forgotten what he said about bo Nix,
how the bo Nix wasn't loved by a lot of teams.
You just need one team to love him. But here's
the thing. Bo Nicks was pretty damn good as a rookie.
They got to the playoffs, their win totally, you just
flash was nine and a half. Did this idea that
people are passing on sdur because he may not be
a good fit.
Speaker 8 (42:55):
I'm stunned, I got it. I'm flabagaster.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
You know, it's interesting. It was a very good quarterback
draft class last year. Bo Nicks was like, but people
thought he had a lower ceiling. Now Sean loved him.
That's the Jalen Millroll thing. I hear Pittsburgh and the
Jets both really like Jalen Milroe. Now with the Jets,
this is this is a gut feeling. So the Jets
(43:20):
are like, We're not gonna take Jalen Millrow, not at seven.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
No.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Aaron Glenn's like, I just came from a stacked roster.
We have a good roster here, Jets at seven go,
we'll trade down. Somebody will trade down, and all of
a sudden you get down to twelve and you get
an extra second or third round pick. Then you're like, okay,
we could do and then you again, you let the
you answer the phone, don't. I'm dead serious on this.
(43:48):
When you get a new coach in like a Vrabel
or an Aaron Glenn, a lot of those guys they
want their own players, they want more draft picks, they
want their own they want there privately, I mean, Aaron
Glenn said to Aaron Rodgers not interested.
Speaker 8 (44:05):
By the way they did.
Speaker 7 (44:06):
Like you said, they just fired what one hundred and
fifty people in the building, Like.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
No, Aaron Glenn New coaches generally want their god.
Speaker 8 (44:14):
Time to take out the trash, as they like to say.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Yeah, So I could see the Jets trading down. And
if they trade down in the I mean even going
down to a thirteen fourteen, then you take Milroe and
it's like you can argue it's a little hot. You're
not taking him at seven, right, I'm pro Milroe again.
Speaker 7 (44:29):
I know he's the tapes don great. I just want
to know because I think Klat's coming on later, right.
I think I saw that most of the season. We
said Shadur is going to be one or two in
the draft, Yes, And now all of.
Speaker 8 (44:39):
A sudden he's dropping like a rock. Colin.
Speaker 7 (44:42):
Something's not adding up here? Is he not interviewing? Well,
something's got to be going on.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Was they're like Caleb Williams. There were some moments people
question maturity.
Speaker 8 (44:52):
He's a twenty one year old kidd in from now whatever.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
We never questioned that with Jayden Daniels or Bonick, and
we never saw in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
So there was a little question on Caleb. There's a
little question.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
We don't see it with Milrow, So you know, you
like with Milrow, you don't see any immaturity bo Nicks,
Michael Pennix. You saw a little with Caleb. I defended him,
and you see a little with Shindor. The difference is
Caleb is a much better athlete than shud Or Sanders.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
It's not close.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
So what people may be saying is he doesn't blow
you away as an athlete, and he got some of
the Caleb maturity stuff we worry a little bit about.
Speaker 8 (45:25):
Well, I mean, do you think he's not as good
of an athlete as bon Nicks.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I'm gonna say something right now, No, Nicks. Bo Nicks
is way more mobile than anyone. He wants you to one.
Speaker 8 (45:35):
Needs to start running a forty. He needs to do
some activity. I need to see something.
Speaker 7 (45:39):
I haven't seen anything from him in months, right since
the end of the season.
Speaker 8 (45:43):
I feel bad for the kid a little bit.
Speaker 1 (45:45):
But yeah, I mean, people are saying he doesn't blow
you away physically, and then you throw in some stuff
where you're like a couple of times, I don't love
some of the things he did, and I defended Caleb
on it when he jumped into the stands or he
painted his fingernails. I did have an executive in the
NFL say they hated the fingernail thing. I thought it
was really juvenile and really stupid whatever, but but but
that stuff matters.
Speaker 7 (46:06):
That's like me saying I hate your hat backwards take man,
I just I can't do it.
Speaker 8 (46:10):
I count when I can't.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
The rest of the country loves it all. That's all.
I'm
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