June 5, 2026 • 37 mins
Colin talked about the Knicks historic playoff run and why a LeBron move to Golden State makes too much sense. Also, why Jalen Brunson's path reminds him of Sam Darnold and why Nick Saban's comments about the state of college sports seem a bit hypocritical
Plus, Indiana Governor Mike Braun on the Bears potential move to Hammond, IN
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Here we go. It is a Friday and a good one.
We may have breaking news. Lebron may be fueling up
his private jet ready to fly to the Bay Area. Oh,
the World Cup is getting close. I can smell it,
I can feel it. German team in town having dinner
last night. RPN State getting ready for the friendly tomorrow
(00:24):
against the United States men's national team. Our show will
be well represented. Good to have you in on a Friday.
So it's The New York Knicks are probably the most likable,
great or potentially great New York team ever. Yankees were
(00:46):
very polarizing. You know, people were more into the you know,
the Brady Patriots than like Eli's Giants. Right, they were
underdogs and you know, you could the Patriots go undefeated.
It's kind of fascinate. It's a likable team. It's likable guys.
And the Knicks also, and this is feels unexplainable. If
you go to the first fifteen games of the playoffs,
(01:08):
they are not only the greatest team ever in point
differential by a mile, and the teams they're much better
than include the twenty seventeen Katie Warriors, arguably the best
team ever, the ninety six Bulls probably Michael Jordan's best
team ever, the eighty seven Lakers probably the best Magic
(01:30):
Johnson team ever, the eighty six Celtics arguably the best
Larry Byrd team ever. And the Knicks point differential blows
all of them away. So what do we make of it? Well, Colin,
they've got a lot of lottery picks. Well, kat was
a number one pick and Mikhale Bridges was top ten.
(01:54):
But they don't have a lot of lottery picks. It's
a lot of mid and late first round guys. Well, Colin,
Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunch and are a couple
of Hall of famers maybe, but the most great teams
ever like KD is gonna make the Hall of Fame,
Steph Draymond and Klay Thompson, not to mention Steve Kerr,
(02:15):
I mean MJ. Pippen Rodman and yes, Tony Kuk coach.
That's four Hall of famers plus the greatest coach ever,
the seventy one Bucks. Well, they only had three Hall
of famers. Yeah, but one was Kareem the other was
Oscar Robertson. Tip of the Captain, Bobby DANDRS two I
didn't forget, So it's not like they have all this
natural raw collegiate talent or Hall of Fame level talent
(02:38):
also had this. Most great teams had a legendary coach
Red Arbach, pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Greg Popovich,
Mike Brown. He's been fired four times. Well, Colin, I mean,
this is the start of something great. Well maybe, but
(02:59):
it's the first time the Knicks have been in the
finals in twenty seven years. And most of the great
teams are parts of dynasties. The Lakers, the Warriors, the Bulls,
the Celtics, all those teams I mentioned, they're blowing away
in point differential. They're part of dynasties. I mean, folks.
The Knicks in the cruddy Eastern Conference finished below the Celtics,
(03:22):
who played most of the year without Jason Tatum and
downgraded on their front line. So how what is happening here?
What is happening is that point differential this year, specifically
regular season and postseason, is overstated. We had a tanking epidemic,
(03:47):
so the good teams had really big point differentials and
the next for one of them and in the postseason,
which is the one I talked about with the Knicks.
They faced a six, seven and four seed. That's about
the easiest route you're going to get. And the East
was awful, even by Eastern standards, was awful. This year
Detroit was the number one seed. They didn't have a
(04:07):
dependable number two score. So I do think if the
nixt win, and this is what the NBA has become,
situationally excellent teams Denver for a year was situationally excellent.
Do they have a bunch of Hall of Famers? He's
got one? Jokich Oklahoma City? How many Hall of Famers? Well,
(04:30):
one for sure, SGA. We are in a situationally excellent era.
You can't stockpile talent. Jalen Brunson taking a team friendly
deal has allowed them to really on a nightly basis,
have seven, sometimes eight guys who all contribute. Do I
think this is a dynasty or Mike Browns, Phil Jackson,
(04:53):
or that this roster is It's just situationally excellent and
there is something to be said. They feel very Villanova
and very New York and Kat talked about that.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It's something that's in the city.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
You feel that energy in the city, the grit, the grind,
the hard work you got to put in to make
it in the city. I think we reflect all our
fans and their lifestyles and what it takes to make
it in New York City when we step on that
court with the New Jersey.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think there's something to it. It's okay to be
situationally excellent and not legendarily dynastic. And I think I
think San Antonio may be the latter, but New York
right now is a favorite, and they would be a
little like Denver. Maybe got a Hall of Famer or two,
but for the year Lightning in a bottle, they were exceptional. Okay,
(05:55):
Here is another report Clutch Sports at Siegeal Golden State
is open to pursuing Lebron James because they don't think
they can get Yannis. They're very much, according to this source,
pursuing Lebron James and will do it in free agency.
(06:17):
So listen, First of all, Lebron would be an additive.
He was on some nights this year the best Laker player.
He would help. But there's five other reasons that makes sense.
Number One, he's clearly not the top priority for the
Lakers new ownership. It's not a criticism. They have to
worry about Austin Reeves or else he he leaves and
(06:37):
they get nothing for him, and he's in his prime.
Number two is Lebron's a high IQ basketball guy. Steve
Kerr and Steph Curry's system is rough on young guys
and dumb guys. Lebron's neither. Number three is Lebron can
take the ball at least occasionally out of Steph Curry's hands,
and that matters when players get older.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Steph is also probably in my lifetime the greatest off
ball player of all time. Number four is and this
is a biggie. We're seeing it with the Knicks. No jealousy,
instant chemistry. I mean the Knicks have. They didn't draft
and develop. The Knicks traded for that guy and got
that guy and traded for that guy. They're like a
college team. Draymond Lebron have vacationed. Kerr coach team USA.
(07:27):
Curry and Lebron, who are friends, were on the last
Olympic team. And number five is I know, I know
you don't want to hear it, but Lebron likes California.
A lot of people do. It's a forty minute private
jet from San Francisco to La So I think this
is doable. I think it's realistic. It would be I mean, honestly,
(07:50):
it would be the last dance two point zero. There
are reports all the time that we roll our eyes
at on this show. Yaan is to the Wizards not happening, Okay,
I remember years ago Nick Sabans leaving Bama to go
to Texas. No, he's not. This one makes sense, and
I'll just say it again. Say this out loud. Steph Lebron,
(08:15):
Jimmy Butler, trade deadline, he's healing Draymond Green pods and
the number eleven pick, which I believe could be Adai Mara,
the seven to three Spaniard shot blocker who's a very
sophisticated offensive hub in college. That is a lineup, folks,
That is a roster, that is a playoff team. Frank
(08:39):
is Sola, covering the NBA for years, had thoughts on
the rumors and reports.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Does make a lot of sense. I think if you
were to leave the Lakers, and I don't know why,
if I'm the Lakers, I'd want to have him. I
think he played really well this season for what you
should expect from a guy who's forty one years old.
He's not going to play eighty two games, and they
needed Luka Doncic. I don't think it's the craziest thing
that he ends up on the Golden State Wars. It
makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. Obviously,
(09:06):
the relationships on whether or not it's going to work
is still really good, and you have Minnesota. It's not
going to be easy in the West. But it makes
a lot of sense, and it's certainly a move I
could see Lebron James making.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Listen, in the history of the NBA, San Antonio, if
they won the title would be a complete outlier because
they're really young. There have been teams that have been
a little long in the tooth. Remember that Warrior team
that beat the Celtics a couple of years ago for
the last title. They're a little old. We thought they
were too old. Too old can have some playoffs success.
(09:40):
Too young almost never wins a title, and I don't
I'm not saying it's a title team, but it's a squad.
That is, if that team won forty eight games, forty
nine to fifty games and was a five seed, if
four seed, you'd be shot. They're not Oklahoma said either,
they're not San Antonio. I don't know. Do you trust Houston?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I mean Denver's got your Kitchenanna, do you trust Denver?
I mean j Max, You and I we like the NBA.
When I put that picture up of Steph Butler Lebron pods.
Remember this is the best draft. Maybe in a decade
you're gonna get a You're gonna get a at least
a high end rotational player out of this draft. Die Mara,
(10:29):
I think you're onto something. I just wonder, are.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
They gonna have to push back the start or push
up the.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Start times right?
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Because these old people, you know, they get dinner at
like four point thirty in the afternoon. They gotta go
to Red Lobster for the early bird special. Colin, this
is just an ancient lineup full of saucils. I do
like the idea, but I'm wondering if these stories are
coming out because Lebron needs leverage with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well, I think Lebron wants to remain with the Lakers,
but I also you and I have said this, he's
too good. I mean Tom Brady retired. He retired because
the Bucks were eight and nine and not remotely viable
for a Super Bowl. You can talk yourself into this
team thinking if they went into the playoffs and Butler
is recuperated. I mean, they were the oldest team in
(11:18):
the NBA last season, so Lebron's not making them younger.
But they're also going to get two draft picks, or
maybe they used two to get want to get a
better player, but they're going to have a rookie somewhere
in the rotation.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
Okay, so hypothetically, they're not better than the Thunder, They're
not better than the Spurs.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Are they better than the Wolves? I think I think
it would be an interesting series. I mean the Wolves
were real. I mean they were real. Yeah, real, they
were a real disappointment. I don't know what to get
with Denver. I don't I don't know what to make
of Denver. Oh oh my okay. Are they better than
the Luca Austin Reese Lakers? Yes? Absolutely, TVD on that TVD. Okay,
(11:58):
their offense was bottom half of the league. It would
not be with Lebron that right, and Jimmy Butler obviously, yeah,
they just listen. They were eight games under five hundred.
Is it realistic to think that with Lebron, who's always
elevated teams, I mean Lebron when Luca got hurt in
the playoffs, You're like, oh, kind of liable. Yeah, kind
(12:20):
of interesting. You think it's bizarre that they would go
eight games above five hundred with Lebron. Yeah, I don't know.
He averages over twenty and he's still one of the
best passers in the sport.
Speaker 6 (12:29):
By the way, that that would be the best golfing
basketball team in the NBA. I know you're a big golfer,
but Steph Curry's like awesome. Lebron always posting on Instagram
his golf stuff. You know, I know Draymon's trying to
play but he can't. Yeah, listen, I don't know. By
the way, are we gonna do any golf coverage of
your swing?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
America doesn't care. They care about the World Cup coming
up next. Yeah. I know you don't want to hear it.
But Jalen Bronson's got a little Sam Darnold to it
and Nick Saban just being a big hypocrite.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It's the hurt.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is
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Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio, hit
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Speaker 1 (13:45):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. There's
all sorts of biases. There's confirmation bias, where you predict
something and want it to be true. There's recency bias,
where you know something happens and you get all excited
and you're like, Yeah, that's that's gonna that's gonna last forever.
(14:06):
I did that with the Denver Nuggets title a few
years ago. I had recency bias. And there's there's also
first impression bias, where it is hard to unsee things.
First impressions are really really I don't care if it's
dating first impressions are really hard to break. Jalen Brunson
was a completely forgettable player. Second round pick. I mean
(14:30):
second round guys in the NBA takeout Jokis, Draymond Green,
they disappear into the ether. His first two years, he
averaged nine points a game. Forgettable. Uh, never made an
All Star Game the first five years. Dallas bailed on him,
and and and I'm guilty of this. I'm like, yeah,
I didn't see him being All NBA three of the
(14:52):
last four years and being the best quarterback in New
York since name of twenty six a night two, back
to back conference finals, chance to win a time. I
didn't see it. Now I did with a similar arc
in Sam Darnold. Now Donald was truly I mean, the
Jets are say what you want about the Knicks and
(15:14):
then they're better than the Jets. But Donald was thirteen
and twenty five, completing like fifty nine percent of his throws.
Brunston was kind of forgettable. We didn't look at him
as an elite talent. Donald people that I trust and
thought he was a great talent, but he was bad.
But that's why I keep saying about Donald. So for
all of those who love the Brunson story, Well, you
(15:35):
have to love the Donald story. He's thirty five and
ten with four different coaches in his last forty five games,
with a passer rating of one hundred. That's Patrick Mahomes'
career passer rating. He's top eight. Sorry, if you gotta
say Brunson's great, and you're not gonna hold the early
(15:56):
years against him, you're gonna say, well, the Brunson I
see now. And the moral of the story is young
people in all industries develop differently. Okay, I mean, Darnold
was a top recruit. So was Brunson. Their first team
they came into the league. It just wasn't the right fit.
But both were incredibly good people, hard workers and team
(16:18):
guys and winning guys. So Steve Jobs has a great quote,
the Late Steve Jobs. He goes a lot of overnight
successes take a really long time. And Jalen Brunson today
is a top five finisher in the NBA. There's no
doubt about that. He's a top five shot maker in
the NBA. Here's the other thing that doesn't get discussed.
(16:40):
Unlike Luca, he's available. Unlike Luca and Harden, he gives
you a really good defensive effort. He's not a great
defensive player, but he gives you the effort. So you know,
unlike a lot of stars, he's also willing to come
off the ball. He's amenable to change. I'll come off
(17:00):
the ball. Harden wouldn't. Mellow wouldn't come off the bench.
Mellow wouldn't come off the ball. He'll he'll do whatever
at say. He's a winning player. And you know his
ability to say I'm gonna take a little less because
I want us to go out and get guys like Og.
That's why they're here, that's why they're red hot. I
think that I think that seeps through an organization. I'll
come off ball, I'll take a little less. I think
(17:22):
that's very football ish in America. Here's Mike Brown on Brunson.
Speaker 9 (17:28):
He's a gamer man. He you know, in the biggest moments,
you know, he shows up and that's what MVPs are
supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands.
We said we were gonna live and die with him,
and he went and he got it done for us.
And that's happened time after time after time after time.
He got to spots and he made plays.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
We got good stuff today.
Speaker 9 (17:50):
J Mac.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
It's a Friday, you know it used to be. Oh
you're in June. I hope I can get to the
stuff today.
Speaker 7 (17:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a im Pacific.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
So I saw this this week. I know Nick Saban
a little and I like him that some of this.
Nick Saban made over one hundred million dollars in the
free market with college football. Never talk much about budgets
back then. If the Alabama athletic director would have said,
you know, Nick, we got to make some cuts, Nick
(18:25):
would have turned to his agent, Jimmy Sexton, and said,
call Texas or find the money. Nick Saban this week
put his support to a buy partisan bill that college
football is a runaway freight train. One of his quotes was,
(18:46):
if you had the biggest, baddest ferrari, it's going one
hundred and fifty miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon.
Somebody needs to tap the brakes. Nick was never publicly
tapping the brakes when he was the highest paid coach,
or there was a facilities building war, I mean for
years and years, Oregon, Texas, Bama we're spending hundreds of
(19:09):
million on facilities, and now we're spending a million point
two in a wide receiver who's going to be a
first round pick. And we got to tap the brakes.
I didn't hear Nick and a lot of these coaches
that worried about the Olympic sports and college athletic departments
(19:31):
have been a house of cards forever. Forever. They're bloated, nonsensical,
thirty teams, twenty eight hemorrhage money. And I've said that
for years. I would have cut them years ago. I mean,
universities dropped courses in majors all the time. You can't
drop fencing wrestling. So all I know is that when
(19:53):
coaches salaries exploded, nobody talked about a Ferrari in the
Grand Canyon. Alabama just finished a football operations center three
hundred million dollars. At the current rate, that would pay
for about seven Bama teams over seven years. So all
(20:14):
I'm saying is the college football revenue, according to a
report I read this morning, is larger than thirty five
other college sports combined. In fact, if the sport is
in so much trouble, why did the Big Ten over
the last two months report that their payouts to all
the university teams members we're going to be twenty five
(20:38):
percent higher than expected. So the revenues are through the roof.
The quality is unbelievable, players are staying in college and
getting more degrees. And now the sport's in trouble. Oh,
I don't know if it can sustain itself. I mean,
USC just built a three hundred million dollar facility, and
(21:02):
I'd been to their old facility. It was gorgeous. I
don't know why they needed a new one, but they did,
and they found a way to pay it. So, I mean,
I think all these college I've been for years, I've
always felt college athletic departments all need to go on ozempic.
They all need to they're all bloated, they all need
to lose a little weight. But but don't tell me
(21:23):
the college running back making one point four is outrageous.
As you build another three hundred million dollar football operations center,
and again, universities dropped majors and classes all the time.
You can drop grec O, Roman, wrestling, whatever. It's been
a house of cards forever, and I LSU wants to
(21:46):
build a new four hundred million dollar facility. LSU's facilities
are pretty nice. That's why they recruit so well. You
think Lane Kevin would have gone to a place that
had lousy facilities. So you can pay four hundred million
for facilities, but you know that defense even's making a
million four Well, yeah, he's gonna be making six million
later when he goes to the NFL in the first
round from LSU. And I'm not anti Saban, but it's
(22:11):
all this whoa whoa ratings up, revenue up, attendance, up,
quality up. I don't like that right tackle salary. Here's
Nick Saban this week on the nil the impact of
Olympic sports.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Let me give you the history.
Speaker 10 (22:31):
My first year, we had collective at Alabama two point
seven million, next year seven million, next year ten million.
I've retired next year of seventeen million, next year twenty
four million. Now you have schools that have close to
forty million dollar rosters. So if we continue to do that,
we're gonna lose Olympic sports. We're gonna lose non revenue sports,
(22:51):
We're gonna lose scholarships. And basically what's going to happen
is we're gonna have football and basketball succeed, and we'll
have club sports for everything else with no scholarships.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
That's horrible, is it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I mean, right now, football and basketball, men's and women's owning.
It makes money, and I think that's Listen, the NFL
salary cap. It goes up every year too. It goes
up every year the Big ten. I'm not picking on Nick,
but I didn't hear this during the facilities race. I
didn't hear this during the salaries exploding for coaches and
(23:26):
you don't have to be involved in the NIL at
the highest level. Here's the art thing I hear.
Speaker 10 (23:30):
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I mean it's just so top heavy. Oh that's funny.
Indiana went sixteen and oh last year, I don't remember
that ever happening. Texas Techa Baller, I don't remember that
being the case. Vanderbilt gets five star recruits. I don't
remember that being the case. I'm seeing a lot of stuff.
I mean, you know, Oregon's been good forever, and Notre
Dame and Miami's back. That's great, and I mean I'm
(23:53):
seeing a lot of the big dogs. Georgia is still great,
Bam is still legit. But I'm seeing old miss and
I mean, it's it's in and all miss it and
paying a fortune for their coach. They kept that quarterback
that Trinidad Chambliss. I mean Mississippi is I guess one
of our statistically poorer states. They got enough money to
compete is Indiana Ridge state. They got money to compete
(24:14):
vander Builts, a small private school. They got enough money
to compete. By the wide receiver making one point too,
We're in big trouble. This Ferrari's going over the Grand Canyon.
Let me tell you something. This sport's been Felma and
Louise for a long time. They've been cars driving over
that canyon for a long time, and it's never been better.
(24:38):
I mean, Ja Max said it yesterday and I'll repeat it.
I never I never watched more college football games than
last year. You have to go back when I was
like fifteen years old, and I, you know, didn't have
the responsibilities of America's honesty broker. Get me off work too.
You're picking on Saban. No, I'm not. I lown on
it all.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
I like Nick.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
I think he's the best college football coach ever. I
think he's a great guy and he's find he's a
great broadcaster.
Speaker 6 (25:00):
Don't you think when he said, I think the first
number he threw out was two point seven million. To me,
that says if salaries have gone up from two point
seven to forty, then everyone was woefully underpaid for years
because the market is saying, we can afford these receivers,
we can afford these linebackers, let's pay them.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Guess what a house in Miami used to cost three
hundred seventy five thousand. Over the last six years, a
house in Miami costs eight hundred one point four one
point eight. Miami's been on fire for five years. It happens.
It's called inflation, it's called tech, it's called AI. Miami
now is like one of the most expensive places to
live in the world. It wasn't ten years ago. It
(25:38):
happens like regionally tech Miami's become a tech hub. You know,
it's this, price of eggs goes up, price of homes
goes up, and you allls see these things. You know,
you'll see this. A house in California used to cost
twenty three thousand dollars. You know a lot of things
didn't cost any money. Yeah, it used to be a
(25:58):
college football coach making a two and a half million.
Was like, whoa can we afford Knick's making ten? It's
like I didn't have a problem with it yea time forever,
I argued. One time years ago, Mac Brown was at Texas.
He called me. I didn't even know Mack. He called me.
I went on the air and I said, you guys
are struggling paying mac It was like seven and a
(26:19):
half million. He's put like nine thousand people every Saturday
and often into the stadium. Do the math. It's seventy
five bucks a ticket, the sweets are all full. I'm
like seven and a half million. You could pay him fifteen.
And it's Texas. And mac Brown actually reached out and
he's like, hey, thank you for that. And he was
just like he goes, I'm getting killed down here, and
I'm like, coach. It's when Mac Brown was there with
(26:41):
Vince Young, there was a sea of orange. I mean,
they were just they were a bank. So guys, you know,
Magic Johnson once signed a contract twenty five years, twenty
five million. Goo get Michael Jordan's contract. Michael Jordan now
makes more money annually in shoes that he made for
(27:03):
his entire basketball career. I read that couple. I think
that's the truth. I read that something about like a
couple of years ago, one year of shoe sales more
than I think he makes, Like, is it two hundred
and fifty million a year in shoesaale?
Speaker 6 (27:16):
At the height, Jordan was making like thirty million a year.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
He had he had one, he had a couple at
the end, at the end. Finally is going to double
that in like two years and he's taken Yeah, yeah,
and deserves it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
By the way, Magic Johnson twenty five million for twenty
five years. Evan Modley just signed a two hundred and
seventy million dollar contract. Is he is?
Speaker 2 (27:38):
He?
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Is?
Speaker 7 (27:38):
He?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Felman louis in it over? Is the NBA going over
a cliff? It's like stuff gets more expensive all the
LSU wants to build a four hundred million dollar facility. Really,
kids want to get paid. Do they really care about
your where the bar bells are in the weight room?
I mean, it's the Herd.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekday,
he said New Eastern nan Am Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
So you know, so the Chicago Bears are headed to Indiana,
and Mike Braun is the fifty second governor of Indiana.
It is a huge story here. I will tell you that.
Remember the Jets and the Giants play in New Jersey,
and the Washington Commanders play in landover Maryland, and the
Niners Stadium is forty miles out of San Francisco, and
(28:29):
the Chiefs are moving from Missouri to Kansas. So this
is happening all over and a lot of times it
can be a red state going after a blue state
or whatever it is. States have a right to compete
against each other. So the governor of Indiana, Mike Braun,
who is the fifty second governor, is joining us. So
(28:49):
it's interesting. Here's what I know about Indiana. First of all, Governor,
thank you very much for stopping by a former businessman
who decided, Hey, I want to get my state right.
You're not desperate. This is not a hail Mary. Indiana
economy is actually I used to have a place in
Salt Lake City and they used to brag about Utah's economy,
and I like, really, Indiana's economy is almost this is
(29:13):
the Utah version of the Midwest. Tell people right now
about how hot your economy.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Is so talk about a little bit earlier Indiana's GDP growth,
And we've been running it as a business for the
nearly year and a half since I got elected. I
brought in a bunch of private sector individuals to kind
of get it in shape. We're getting a dividend at
the cost end of the spectrum by running government more efficiently.
(29:39):
And we've got the lowest unemployment rate in the Midwest.
And think about GDP growth twice as fast as your
economy in Illinois, and Ohio's, three times as fast as Kentucky's,
six times as fast as Michigan's. We've got businesses moving
in here, families and where would you want to have
your own business?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
This for the next fifty years?
Speaker 4 (30:01):
And all along when I met the McCaskey brothers right
here in the next room, I met the residence currently.
We hit it off because I'm one of the few governors. Hell,
there was hardly anybody in the Senate that signed the
front side of a paycheck. And we hit it off,
and I just wanted to make sure it was an
honest discussion, you know, not a bargaining chip. And I
(30:22):
felt good from the get go. We moved at the
speed of business. They could see it and here we are.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Now are the Colts upset? How what's the reaction from
the Colts.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Well, we made sure that they were going to see
that it was a win win for them.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
And from the get go they love the idea.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
They've been behind it, and Indiana has kind of become
like a sports center where the easiest place in the
country to get to logistically NCAA is headquartered here.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
We just had the Hoosier miracle occur.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
And when it comes to things like high school basketball,
that's Hoosier hysteria. The state is built around a lot
of sports, and in this case, I think it fits
in perfectly with what we do.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Well already, Yeah, you also have the best airport in
the country. I will confirm that it is. I think
it's been voted the best airport in the country.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
So now that now the knock is oh Hammond, Indiana,
Well it's yeah, I mean, God take you forever to
get there. What would you say to somebody that lives
in the North burbs will met Kenilworth and they say, oh,
I got to get all the way to ham in Indiana,
what would you say to that.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Well, what I would say to everybody in the central
part of Chicago and South, which I've got a feeling
a preponderance of the fans come from. It's going to
be easier to come to Hammond because you're coming in
by train, by any way you choose to do it,
it would take less time than going from Soldiers Field
(31:53):
up to Arlington Heights. So yes, for some folks Center
North it'll be a little different, but you've got ways
there with your train system. We've got now trains that
go right near where the stadium is going to be built.
And plus once you get there, you're gonna have an
elbow room. Uh, there's gonna be tailgating going on. You
(32:14):
couldn't do that. It was a logistics feat to get
the Soldiers Field and think about how much more stadium
you're going to get built for the money in a
place that's got a much lower cost of living and
an economy that's on fire.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Yeah, I know that that is the advantage. I've said this.
Stan Cronk could afford to stay in Los Angeles when
he moved the Rams because you're one of the richest
guys in the world. But like for instance, you know
the maras They Mara's are like, let's go to Jersey.
We've saw the raiders left the Bay. They went to Vegas. Folks,
not all, you know, not all. There's a handful of
(32:49):
NFL owners that will you know, they can handle a
lot of it, but a lot of owners they're looking
like the mccaskeys. Do you think the mccaskey's in your
dealings with them? Obviously they're excited about a new project,
But when you started talking, did you have to kind
of be delicate with this because most teams would rather
play in that home state. Was was it a little tender?
(33:12):
Was it a tough negotiation or discussions early?
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Well, here's how it all went down. They had reached
out to their governments five years ago. Because anything, when
you knew your lease was coming to an end, you
start planning way ahead. And of course, what has the
area given them? More of probably doubt about what it
would be like, you know, taking on.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
A project this size.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
I did so much real estate before I became governor,
built a little little business of trucking and warehousing into
a national company.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So I had to deal with this a lot.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
When you're putting megaplexus in of hub warehouses, cross stocks,
so they could tell immediately they weren't talking to a politician.
They were talking to somebody had done it, so we
knew what made sense when you're making a decision of
this magnitude. And from day one, when they were in
the dining room right next to where I'm sitting, we
(34:11):
had a good two hour meeting. They came to us,
and all I was interested in is is this going
to be an honest discussion, not a bargaining ploy. And
I just came out and said it, and they knew.
I knew what we needed to do, and we made
it easy. We moved at the speed of business. From
that first meeting, which would have been some time before Christmas,
(34:33):
and then when you got to get a legislature to
come along, well, look what just happened in Illinois. I
coordinated that with our legislature to get the bill passed
the first time through and to where they made a
strong public statement. At the same time, they were interested
in moving forward, so I wanted that to be done
(34:53):
to show that it was moving in an honest way.
Honest brokers on both sides, those are things you don't
want in government.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
You learn that kind of stuff in the private sector.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Okay, so we can talk about this stuff when is
shovel in the ground moment, Like, what are we talking
about here?
Speaker 4 (35:10):
So a lot of the due diligence has already been done,
and in a real estate deal of this magnitude, we
had to have the other entity, the City of Hammond,
and Mary McDermott has been as accommodating as the state
government has, so we've gone through most of that. The
critical point, I think for the League and for the
(35:30):
Bears was to get this decision happening because it kind
of closes the deal and now the urgency of what
needs to be done will be done on any big operation,
big real estate deal. Make sure you dot your eyes,
cross your t's, do the due diligence, because we got
plenty of time.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
I think their lease runs through.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Thirty three, probably take a couple three years to build it,
so we got time to do it right, build it
out properly, make sure we get all the surrounding economic
development done well. And by the way, that's going to
be easy in a state like Indiana where our Economic
Development Commission, I as a governor, a legislator, that is
(36:13):
going to be agile. I think they thought about what
the process remaining was going to be like, what the
next fifty years are going to be like, and I said,
all along, they'll come our way.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
All right, I just did thirty seconds. It's all projection. Obviously,
the state of Illinois is going to lose some money,
they would argue. Pritzker would argue, he's just not willing
to take money and take it out of taxpayer's hands.
But what kind of windfall could this be annually to
the state of Indiana in about.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
Thirty seconds, So it'll be a significant windfall. We do
everything to where even when we craft the deal, it's
long term. There'll be ways for us to recoup the investment.
Big issue the marginal benefit of doing it in Chicago,
especially or in Illinois. There were just too many uncertainties.
(37:01):
The return on investment will be greater for us than
it would have been for them.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Yeah, all right, it's still the Chicago Bears, and people
are freaking out here. You're not changing the name, right.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
Oh no, I would be uh, that would be obtuse
to think it would be the Hammon Bears.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
It's the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Back in nineteen twenty one or twenty two. It was
the Ham and Pros back when the NFL. They were
one of the first pro franchises. You're right, yeah, Mike.
A pleasure, Mike Brawn. Congratulations on your success and your
kind of ideology on how to run a state. A
lot of people agree with it, and thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
You're welcome, all right.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
You know I don't get a lot of governors on Yeah.
Maybe Gavin Newsim will stop by Monday.
Here we go. It is a Friday and a good one.
We may have breaking news. Lebron may be fueling up
his private jet ready to fly to the Bay Area. Oh,
the World Cup is getting close. I can smell it,
I can feel it. German team in town having dinner
last night. RPN State getting ready for the friendly tomorrow
(00:24):
against the United States men's national team. Our show will
be well represented. Good to have you in on a Friday.
So it's The New York Knicks are probably the most likable,
great or potentially great New York team ever. Yankees were
(00:46):
very polarizing. You know, people were more into the you know,
the Brady Patriots than like Eli's Giants. Right, they were
underdogs and you know, you could the Patriots go undefeated.
It's kind of fascinate. It's a likable team. It's likable guys.
And the Knicks also, and this is feels unexplainable. If
you go to the first fifteen games of the playoffs,
(01:08):
they are not only the greatest team ever in point
differential by a mile, and the teams they're much better
than include the twenty seventeen Katie Warriors, arguably the best
team ever, the ninety six Bulls probably Michael Jordan's best
team ever, the eighty seven Lakers probably the best Magic
(01:30):
Johnson team ever, the eighty six Celtics arguably the best
Larry Byrd team ever. And the Knicks point differential blows
all of them away. So what do we make of it? Well, Colin,
they've got a lot of lottery picks. Well, kat was
a number one pick and Mikhale Bridges was top ten.
(01:54):
But they don't have a lot of lottery picks. It's
a lot of mid and late first round guys. Well, Colin,
Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunch and are a couple
of Hall of famers maybe, but the most great teams
ever like KD is gonna make the Hall of Fame,
Steph Draymond and Klay Thompson, not to mention Steve Kerr,
(02:15):
I mean MJ. Pippen Rodman and yes, Tony Kuk coach.
That's four Hall of famers plus the greatest coach ever,
the seventy one Bucks. Well, they only had three Hall
of famers. Yeah, but one was Kareem the other was
Oscar Robertson. Tip of the Captain, Bobby DANDRS two I
didn't forget, So it's not like they have all this
natural raw collegiate talent or Hall of Fame level talent
(02:38):
also had this. Most great teams had a legendary coach
Red Arbach, pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Greg Popovich,
Mike Brown. He's been fired four times. Well, Colin, I mean,
this is the start of something great. Well maybe, but
(02:59):
it's the first time the Knicks have been in the
finals in twenty seven years. And most of the great
teams are parts of dynasties. The Lakers, the Warriors, the Bulls,
the Celtics, all those teams I mentioned, they're blowing away
in point differential. They're part of dynasties. I mean, folks.
The Knicks in the cruddy Eastern Conference finished below the Celtics,
(03:22):
who played most of the year without Jason Tatum and
downgraded on their front line. So how what is happening here?
What is happening is that point differential this year, specifically
regular season and postseason, is overstated. We had a tanking epidemic,
(03:47):
so the good teams had really big point differentials and
the next for one of them and in the postseason,
which is the one I talked about with the Knicks.
They faced a six, seven and four seed. That's about
the easiest route you're going to get. And the East
was awful, even by Eastern standards, was awful. This year
Detroit was the number one seed. They didn't have a
(04:07):
dependable number two score. So I do think if the
nixt win, and this is what the NBA has become,
situationally excellent teams Denver for a year was situationally excellent.
Do they have a bunch of Hall of Famers? He's
got one? Jokich Oklahoma City? How many Hall of Famers? Well,
(04:30):
one for sure, SGA. We are in a situationally excellent era.
You can't stockpile talent. Jalen Brunson taking a team friendly
deal has allowed them to really on a nightly basis,
have seven, sometimes eight guys who all contribute. Do I
think this is a dynasty or Mike Browns, Phil Jackson,
(04:53):
or that this roster is It's just situationally excellent and
there is something to be said. They feel very Villanova
and very New York and Kat talked about that.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It's something that's in the city.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
You feel that energy in the city, the grit, the grind,
the hard work you got to put in to make
it in the city. I think we reflect all our
fans and their lifestyles and what it takes to make
it in New York City when we step on that
court with the New Jersey.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think there's something to it. It's okay to be
situationally excellent and not legendarily dynastic. And I think I
think San Antonio may be the latter, but New York
right now is a favorite, and they would be a
little like Denver. Maybe got a Hall of Famer or two,
but for the year Lightning in a bottle, they were exceptional. Okay,
(05:55):
Here is another report Clutch Sports at Siegeal Golden State
is open to pursuing Lebron James because they don't think
they can get Yannis. They're very much, according to this source,
pursuing Lebron James and will do it in free agency.
(06:17):
So listen, First of all, Lebron would be an additive.
He was on some nights this year the best Laker player.
He would help. But there's five other reasons that makes sense.
Number One, he's clearly not the top priority for the
Lakers new ownership. It's not a criticism. They have to
worry about Austin Reeves or else he he leaves and
(06:37):
they get nothing for him, and he's in his prime.
Number two is Lebron's a high IQ basketball guy. Steve
Kerr and Steph Curry's system is rough on young guys
and dumb guys. Lebron's neither. Number three is Lebron can
take the ball at least occasionally out of Steph Curry's hands,
and that matters when players get older.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Steph is also probably in my lifetime the greatest off
ball player of all time. Number four is and this
is a biggie. We're seeing it with the Knicks. No jealousy,
instant chemistry. I mean the Knicks have. They didn't draft
and develop. The Knicks traded for that guy and got
that guy and traded for that guy. They're like a
college team. Draymond Lebron have vacationed. Kerr coach team USA.
(07:27):
Curry and Lebron, who are friends, were on the last
Olympic team. And number five is I know, I know
you don't want to hear it, but Lebron likes California.
A lot of people do. It's a forty minute private
jet from San Francisco to La So I think this
is doable. I think it's realistic. It would be I mean, honestly,
(07:50):
it would be the last dance two point zero. There
are reports all the time that we roll our eyes
at on this show. Yaan is to the Wizards not happening, Okay,
I remember years ago Nick Sabans leaving Bama to go
to Texas. No, he's not. This one makes sense, and
I'll just say it again. Say this out loud. Steph Lebron,
(08:15):
Jimmy Butler, trade deadline, he's healing Draymond Green pods and
the number eleven pick, which I believe could be Adai Mara,
the seven to three Spaniard shot blocker who's a very
sophisticated offensive hub in college. That is a lineup, folks,
That is a roster, that is a playoff team. Frank
(08:39):
is Sola, covering the NBA for years, had thoughts on
the rumors and reports.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Does make a lot of sense. I think if you
were to leave the Lakers, and I don't know why,
if I'm the Lakers, I'd want to have him. I
think he played really well this season for what you
should expect from a guy who's forty one years old.
He's not going to play eighty two games, and they
needed Luka Doncic. I don't think it's the craziest thing
that he ends up on the Golden State Wars. It
makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. Obviously,
(09:06):
the relationships on whether or not it's going to work
is still really good, and you have Minnesota. It's not
going to be easy in the West. But it makes
a lot of sense, and it's certainly a move I
could see Lebron James making.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Listen, in the history of the NBA, San Antonio, if
they won the title would be a complete outlier because
they're really young. There have been teams that have been
a little long in the tooth. Remember that Warrior team
that beat the Celtics a couple of years ago for
the last title. They're a little old. We thought they
were too old. Too old can have some playoffs success.
(09:40):
Too young almost never wins a title, and I don't
I'm not saying it's a title team, but it's a squad.
That is, if that team won forty eight games, forty
nine to fifty games and was a five seed, if
four seed, you'd be shot. They're not Oklahoma said either,
they're not San Antonio. I don't know. Do you trust Houston?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I mean Denver's got your Kitchenanna, do you trust Denver?
I mean j Max, You and I we like the NBA.
When I put that picture up of Steph Butler Lebron pods.
Remember this is the best draft. Maybe in a decade
you're gonna get a You're gonna get a at least
a high end rotational player out of this draft. Die Mara,
(10:29):
I think you're onto something. I just wonder, are.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
They gonna have to push back the start or push
up the.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Start times right?
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Because these old people, you know, they get dinner at
like four point thirty in the afternoon. They gotta go
to Red Lobster for the early bird special. Colin, this
is just an ancient lineup full of saucils. I do
like the idea, but I'm wondering if these stories are
coming out because Lebron needs leverage with the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Well, I think Lebron wants to remain with the Lakers,
but I also you and I have said this, he's
too good. I mean Tom Brady retired. He retired because
the Bucks were eight and nine and not remotely viable
for a Super Bowl. You can talk yourself into this
team thinking if they went into the playoffs and Butler
is recuperated. I mean, they were the oldest team in
(11:18):
the NBA last season, so Lebron's not making them younger.
But they're also going to get two draft picks, or
maybe they used two to get want to get a
better player, but they're going to have a rookie somewhere
in the rotation.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
Okay, so hypothetically, they're not better than the Thunder, They're
not better than the Spurs.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Are they better than the Wolves? I think I think
it would be an interesting series. I mean the Wolves
were real. I mean they were real. Yeah, real, they
were a real disappointment. I don't know what to get
with Denver. I don't I don't know what to make
of Denver. Oh oh my okay. Are they better than
the Luca Austin Reese Lakers? Yes? Absolutely, TVD on that TVD. Okay,
(11:58):
their offense was bottom half of the league. It would
not be with Lebron that right, and Jimmy Butler obviously, yeah,
they just listen. They were eight games under five hundred.
Is it realistic to think that with Lebron, who's always
elevated teams, I mean Lebron when Luca got hurt in
the playoffs, You're like, oh, kind of liable. Yeah, kind
(12:20):
of interesting. You think it's bizarre that they would go
eight games above five hundred with Lebron. Yeah, I don't know.
He averages over twenty and he's still one of the
best passers in the sport.
Speaker 6 (12:29):
By the way, that that would be the best golfing
basketball team in the NBA. I know you're a big golfer,
but Steph Curry's like awesome. Lebron always posting on Instagram
his golf stuff. You know, I know Draymon's trying to
play but he can't. Yeah, listen, I don't know. By
the way, are we gonna do any golf coverage of
your swing?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
America doesn't care. They care about the World Cup coming
up next. Yeah. I know you don't want to hear it.
But Jalen Bronson's got a little Sam Darnold to it
and Nick Saban just being a big hypocrite.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It's the hurt.
Speaker 7 (13:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in Noone Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is
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Speaker 7 (13:41):
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Speaker 1 (13:45):
Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon and comment away. There's
all sorts of biases. There's confirmation bias, where you predict
something and want it to be true. There's recency bias,
where you know something happens and you get all excited
and you're like, Yeah, that's that's gonna that's gonna last forever.
(14:06):
I did that with the Denver Nuggets title a few
years ago. I had recency bias. And there's there's also
first impression bias, where it is hard to unsee things.
First impressions are really really I don't care if it's
dating first impressions are really hard to break. Jalen Brunson
was a completely forgettable player. Second round pick. I mean
(14:30):
second round guys in the NBA takeout Jokis, Draymond Green,
they disappear into the ether. His first two years, he
averaged nine points a game. Forgettable. Uh, never made an
All Star Game the first five years. Dallas bailed on him,
and and and I'm guilty of this. I'm like, yeah,
I didn't see him being All NBA three of the
(14:52):
last four years and being the best quarterback in New
York since name of twenty six a night two, back
to back conference finals, chance to win a time. I
didn't see it. Now I did with a similar arc
in Sam Darnold. Now Donald was truly I mean, the
Jets are say what you want about the Knicks and
(15:14):
then they're better than the Jets. But Donald was thirteen
and twenty five, completing like fifty nine percent of his throws.
Brunston was kind of forgettable. We didn't look at him
as an elite talent. Donald people that I trust and
thought he was a great talent, but he was bad.
But that's why I keep saying about Donald. So for
all of those who love the Brunson story, Well, you
(15:35):
have to love the Donald story. He's thirty five and
ten with four different coaches in his last forty five games,
with a passer rating of one hundred. That's Patrick Mahomes'
career passer rating. He's top eight. Sorry, if you gotta
say Brunson's great, and you're not gonna hold the early
(15:56):
years against him, you're gonna say, well, the Brunson I
see now. And the moral of the story is young
people in all industries develop differently. Okay, I mean, Darnold
was a top recruit. So was Brunson. Their first team
they came into the league. It just wasn't the right fit.
But both were incredibly good people, hard workers and team
(16:18):
guys and winning guys. So Steve Jobs has a great quote,
the Late Steve Jobs. He goes a lot of overnight
successes take a really long time. And Jalen Brunson today
is a top five finisher in the NBA. There's no
doubt about that. He's a top five shot maker in
the NBA. Here's the other thing that doesn't get discussed.
(16:40):
Unlike Luca, he's available. Unlike Luca and Harden, he gives
you a really good defensive effort. He's not a great
defensive player, but he gives you the effort. So you know,
unlike a lot of stars, he's also willing to come
off the ball. He's amenable to change. I'll come off
(17:00):
the ball. Harden wouldn't. Mellow wouldn't come off the bench.
Mellow wouldn't come off the ball. He'll he'll do whatever
at say. He's a winning player. And you know his
ability to say I'm gonna take a little less because
I want us to go out and get guys like Og.
That's why they're here, that's why they're red hot. I
think that I think that seeps through an organization. I'll
come off ball, I'll take a little less. I think
(17:22):
that's very football ish in America. Here's Mike Brown on Brunson.
Speaker 9 (17:28):
He's a gamer man. He you know, in the biggest moments,
you know, he shows up and that's what MVPs are
supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands.
We said we were gonna live and die with him,
and he went and he got it done for us.
And that's happened time after time after time after time.
He got to spots and he made plays.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
We got good stuff today.
Speaker 9 (17:50):
J Mac.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
It's a Friday, you know it used to be. Oh
you're in June. I hope I can get to the
stuff today.
Speaker 7 (17:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a im Pacific.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
So I saw this this week. I know Nick Saban
a little and I like him that some of this.
Nick Saban made over one hundred million dollars in the
free market with college football. Never talk much about budgets
back then. If the Alabama athletic director would have said,
you know, Nick, we got to make some cuts, Nick
(18:25):
would have turned to his agent, Jimmy Sexton, and said,
call Texas or find the money. Nick Saban this week
put his support to a buy partisan bill that college
football is a runaway freight train. One of his quotes was,
(18:46):
if you had the biggest, baddest ferrari, it's going one
hundred and fifty miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon.
Somebody needs to tap the brakes. Nick was never publicly
tapping the brakes when he was the highest paid coach,
or there was a facilities building war, I mean for
years and years, Oregon, Texas, Bama we're spending hundreds of
(19:09):
million on facilities, and now we're spending a million point
two in a wide receiver who's going to be a
first round pick. And we got to tap the brakes.
I didn't hear Nick and a lot of these coaches
that worried about the Olympic sports and college athletic departments
(19:31):
have been a house of cards forever. Forever. They're bloated, nonsensical,
thirty teams, twenty eight hemorrhage money. And I've said that
for years. I would have cut them years ago. I mean,
universities dropped courses in majors all the time. You can't
drop fencing wrestling. So all I know is that when
(19:53):
coaches salaries exploded, nobody talked about a Ferrari in the
Grand Canyon. Alabama just finished a football operations center three
hundred million dollars. At the current rate, that would pay
for about seven Bama teams over seven years. So all
(20:14):
I'm saying is the college football revenue, according to a
report I read this morning, is larger than thirty five
other college sports combined. In fact, if the sport is
in so much trouble, why did the Big Ten over
the last two months report that their payouts to all
the university teams members we're going to be twenty five
(20:38):
percent higher than expected. So the revenues are through the roof.
The quality is unbelievable, players are staying in college and
getting more degrees. And now the sport's in trouble. Oh,
I don't know if it can sustain itself. I mean,
USC just built a three hundred million dollar facility, and
(21:02):
I'd been to their old facility. It was gorgeous. I
don't know why they needed a new one, but they did,
and they found a way to pay it. So, I mean,
I think all these college I've been for years, I've
always felt college athletic departments all need to go on ozempic.
They all need to they're all bloated, they all need
to lose a little weight. But but don't tell me
(21:23):
the college running back making one point four is outrageous.
As you build another three hundred million dollar football operations center,
and again, universities dropped majors and classes all the time.
You can drop grec O, Roman, wrestling, whatever. It's been
a house of cards forever, and I LSU wants to
(21:46):
build a new four hundred million dollar facility. LSU's facilities
are pretty nice. That's why they recruit so well. You
think Lane Kevin would have gone to a place that
had lousy facilities. So you can pay four hundred million
for facilities, but you know that defense even's making a
million four Well, yeah, he's gonna be making six million
later when he goes to the NFL in the first
round from LSU. And I'm not anti Saban, but it's
(22:11):
all this whoa whoa ratings up, revenue up, attendance, up,
quality up. I don't like that right tackle salary. Here's
Nick Saban this week on the nil the impact of
Olympic sports.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Let me give you the history.
Speaker 10 (22:31):
My first year, we had collective at Alabama two point
seven million, next year seven million, next year ten million.
I've retired next year of seventeen million, next year twenty
four million. Now you have schools that have close to
forty million dollar rosters. So if we continue to do that,
we're gonna lose Olympic sports. We're gonna lose non revenue sports,
(22:51):
We're gonna lose scholarships. And basically what's going to happen
is we're gonna have football and basketball succeed, and we'll
have club sports for everything else with no scholarships.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
That's horrible, is it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
I mean, right now, football and basketball, men's and women's owning.
It makes money, and I think that's Listen, the NFL
salary cap. It goes up every year too. It goes
up every year the Big ten. I'm not picking on Nick,
but I didn't hear this during the facilities race. I
didn't hear this during the salaries exploding for coaches and
(23:26):
you don't have to be involved in the NIL at
the highest level. Here's the art thing I hear.
Speaker 10 (23:30):
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I mean it's just so top heavy. Oh that's funny.
Indiana went sixteen and oh last year, I don't remember
that ever happening. Texas Techa Baller, I don't remember that
being the case. Vanderbilt gets five star recruits. I don't
remember that being the case. I'm seeing a lot of stuff.
I mean, you know, Oregon's been good forever, and Notre
Dame and Miami's back. That's great, and I mean I'm
(23:53):
seeing a lot of the big dogs. Georgia is still great,
Bam is still legit. But I'm seeing old miss and
I mean, it's it's in and all miss it and
paying a fortune for their coach. They kept that quarterback
that Trinidad Chambliss. I mean Mississippi is I guess one
of our statistically poorer states. They got enough money to
compete is Indiana Ridge state. They got money to compete
(24:14):
vander Builts, a small private school. They got enough money
to compete. By the wide receiver making one point too,
We're in big trouble. This Ferrari's going over the Grand Canyon.
Let me tell you something. This sport's been Felma and
Louise for a long time. They've been cars driving over
that canyon for a long time, and it's never been better.
(24:38):
I mean, Ja Max said it yesterday and I'll repeat it.
I never I never watched more college football games than
last year. You have to go back when I was
like fifteen years old, and I, you know, didn't have
the responsibilities of America's honesty broker. Get me off work too.
You're picking on Saban. No, I'm not. I lown on
it all.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
I like Nick.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
I think he's the best college football coach ever. I
think he's a great guy and he's find he's a
great broadcaster.
Speaker 6 (25:00):
Don't you think when he said, I think the first
number he threw out was two point seven million. To me,
that says if salaries have gone up from two point
seven to forty, then everyone was woefully underpaid for years
because the market is saying, we can afford these receivers,
we can afford these linebackers, let's pay them.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Guess what a house in Miami used to cost three
hundred seventy five thousand. Over the last six years, a
house in Miami costs eight hundred one point four one
point eight. Miami's been on fire for five years. It happens.
It's called inflation, it's called tech, it's called AI. Miami
now is like one of the most expensive places to
live in the world. It wasn't ten years ago. It
(25:38):
happens like regionally tech Miami's become a tech hub. You know,
it's this, price of eggs goes up, price of homes
goes up, and you allls see these things. You know,
you'll see this. A house in California used to cost
twenty three thousand dollars. You know a lot of things
didn't cost any money. Yeah, it used to be a
(25:58):
college football coach making a two and a half million.
Was like, whoa can we afford Knick's making ten? It's
like I didn't have a problem with it yea time forever,
I argued. One time years ago, Mac Brown was at Texas.
He called me. I didn't even know Mack. He called me.
I went on the air and I said, you guys
are struggling paying mac It was like seven and a
(26:19):
half million. He's put like nine thousand people every Saturday
and often into the stadium. Do the math. It's seventy
five bucks a ticket, the sweets are all full. I'm
like seven and a half million. You could pay him fifteen.
And it's Texas. And mac Brown actually reached out and
he's like, hey, thank you for that. And he was
just like he goes, I'm getting killed down here, and
I'm like, coach. It's when Mac Brown was there with
(26:41):
Vince Young, there was a sea of orange. I mean,
they were just they were a bank. So guys, you know,
Magic Johnson once signed a contract twenty five years, twenty
five million. Goo get Michael Jordan's contract. Michael Jordan now
makes more money annually in shoes that he made for
(27:03):
his entire basketball career. I read that couple. I think
that's the truth. I read that something about like a
couple of years ago, one year of shoe sales more
than I think he makes, Like, is it two hundred
and fifty million a year in shoesaale?
Speaker 6 (27:16):
At the height, Jordan was making like thirty million a year.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
He had he had one, he had a couple at
the end, at the end. Finally is going to double
that in like two years and he's taken Yeah, yeah,
and deserves it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
By the way, Magic Johnson twenty five million for twenty
five years. Evan Modley just signed a two hundred and
seventy million dollar contract. Is he is?
Speaker 2 (27:38):
He?
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Is?
Speaker 7 (27:38):
He?
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Felman louis in it over? Is the NBA going over
a cliff? It's like stuff gets more expensive all the
LSU wants to build a four hundred million dollar facility. Really,
kids want to get paid. Do they really care about
your where the bar bells are in the weight room?
I mean, it's the Herd.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekday,
he said New Eastern nan Am Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
So you know, so the Chicago Bears are headed to Indiana,
and Mike Braun is the fifty second governor of Indiana.
It is a huge story here. I will tell you that.
Remember the Jets and the Giants play in New Jersey,
and the Washington Commanders play in landover Maryland, and the
Niners Stadium is forty miles out of San Francisco, and
(28:29):
the Chiefs are moving from Missouri to Kansas. So this
is happening all over and a lot of times it
can be a red state going after a blue state
or whatever it is. States have a right to compete
against each other. So the governor of Indiana, Mike Braun,
who is the fifty second governor, is joining us. So
(28:49):
it's interesting. Here's what I know about Indiana. First of all, Governor,
thank you very much for stopping by a former businessman
who decided, Hey, I want to get my state right.
You're not desperate. This is not a hail Mary. Indiana
economy is actually I used to have a place in
Salt Lake City and they used to brag about Utah's economy,
and I like, really, Indiana's economy is almost this is
(29:13):
the Utah version of the Midwest. Tell people right now
about how hot your economy.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Is so talk about a little bit earlier Indiana's GDP growth,
And we've been running it as a business for the
nearly year and a half since I got elected. I
brought in a bunch of private sector individuals to kind
of get it in shape. We're getting a dividend at
the cost end of the spectrum by running government more efficiently.
(29:39):
And we've got the lowest unemployment rate in the Midwest.
And think about GDP growth twice as fast as your
economy in Illinois, and Ohio's, three times as fast as Kentucky's,
six times as fast as Michigan's. We've got businesses moving
in here, families and where would you want to have
your own business?
Speaker 2 (30:00):
This for the next fifty years?
Speaker 4 (30:01):
And all along when I met the McCaskey brothers right
here in the next room, I met the residence currently.
We hit it off because I'm one of the few governors. Hell,
there was hardly anybody in the Senate that signed the
front side of a paycheck. And we hit it off,
and I just wanted to make sure it was an
honest discussion, you know, not a bargaining chip. And I
(30:22):
felt good from the get go. We moved at the
speed of business. They could see it and here we are.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Now are the Colts upset? How what's the reaction from
the Colts.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Well, we made sure that they were going to see
that it was a win win for them.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
And from the get go they love the idea.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
They've been behind it, and Indiana has kind of become
like a sports center where the easiest place in the
country to get to logistically NCAA is headquartered here.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
We just had the Hoosier miracle occur.
Speaker 4 (30:54):
And when it comes to things like high school basketball,
that's Hoosier hysteria. The state is built around a lot
of sports, and in this case, I think it fits
in perfectly with what we do.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Well already, Yeah, you also have the best airport in
the country. I will confirm that it is. I think
it's been voted the best airport in the country.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
So now that now the knock is oh Hammond, Indiana,
Well it's yeah, I mean, God take you forever to
get there. What would you say to somebody that lives
in the North burbs will met Kenilworth and they say, oh,
I got to get all the way to ham in Indiana,
what would you say to that.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Well, what I would say to everybody in the central
part of Chicago and South, which I've got a feeling
a preponderance of the fans come from. It's going to
be easier to come to Hammond because you're coming in
by train, by any way you choose to do it,
it would take less time than going from Soldiers Field
(31:53):
up to Arlington Heights. So yes, for some folks Center
North it'll be a little different, but you've got ways
there with your train system. We've got now trains that
go right near where the stadium is going to be built.
And plus once you get there, you're gonna have an
elbow room. Uh, there's gonna be tailgating going on. You
(32:14):
couldn't do that. It was a logistics feat to get
the Soldiers Field and think about how much more stadium
you're going to get built for the money in a
place that's got a much lower cost of living and
an economy that's on fire.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Yeah, I know that that is the advantage. I've said this.
Stan Cronk could afford to stay in Los Angeles when
he moved the Rams because you're one of the richest
guys in the world. But like for instance, you know
the maras They Mara's are like, let's go to Jersey.
We've saw the raiders left the Bay. They went to Vegas. Folks,
not all, you know, not all. There's a handful of
(32:49):
NFL owners that will you know, they can handle a
lot of it, but a lot of owners they're looking
like the mccaskeys. Do you think the mccaskey's in your
dealings with them? Obviously they're excited about a new project,
But when you started talking, did you have to kind
of be delicate with this because most teams would rather
play in that home state. Was was it a little tender?
(33:12):
Was it a tough negotiation or discussions early?
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Well, here's how it all went down. They had reached
out to their governments five years ago. Because anything, when
you knew your lease was coming to an end, you
start planning way ahead. And of course, what has the
area given them? More of probably doubt about what it
would be like, you know, taking on.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
A project this size.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
I did so much real estate before I became governor,
built a little little business of trucking and warehousing into
a national company.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
So I had to deal with this a lot.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
When you're putting megaplexus in of hub warehouses, cross stocks,
so they could tell immediately they weren't talking to a politician.
They were talking to somebody had done it, so we
knew what made sense when you're making a decision of
this magnitude. And from day one, when they were in
the dining room right next to where I'm sitting, we
(34:11):
had a good two hour meeting. They came to us,
and all I was interested in is is this going
to be an honest discussion, not a bargaining ploy. And
I just came out and said it, and they knew.
I knew what we needed to do, and we made
it easy. We moved at the speed of business. From
that first meeting, which would have been some time before Christmas,
(34:33):
and then when you got to get a legislature to
come along, well, look what just happened in Illinois. I
coordinated that with our legislature to get the bill passed
the first time through and to where they made a
strong public statement. At the same time, they were interested
in moving forward, so I wanted that to be done
(34:53):
to show that it was moving in an honest way.
Honest brokers on both sides, those are things you don't
want in government.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
You learn that kind of stuff in the private sector.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Okay, so we can talk about this stuff when is
shovel in the ground moment, Like, what are we talking
about here?
Speaker 4 (35:10):
So a lot of the due diligence has already been done,
and in a real estate deal of this magnitude, we
had to have the other entity, the City of Hammond,
and Mary McDermott has been as accommodating as the state
government has, so we've gone through most of that. The
critical point, I think for the League and for the
(35:30):
Bears was to get this decision happening because it kind
of closes the deal and now the urgency of what
needs to be done will be done on any big operation,
big real estate deal. Make sure you dot your eyes,
cross your t's, do the due diligence, because we got
plenty of time.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
I think their lease runs through.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Thirty three, probably take a couple three years to build it,
so we got time to do it right, build it
out properly, make sure we get all the surrounding economic
development done well. And by the way, that's going to
be easy in a state like Indiana where our Economic
Development Commission, I as a governor, a legislator, that is
(36:13):
going to be agile. I think they thought about what
the process remaining was going to be like, what the
next fifty years are going to be like, and I said,
all along, they'll come our way.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
All right, I just did thirty seconds. It's all projection. Obviously,
the state of Illinois is going to lose some money,
they would argue. Pritzker would argue, he's just not willing
to take money and take it out of taxpayer's hands.
But what kind of windfall could this be annually to
the state of Indiana in about.
Speaker 4 (36:40):
Thirty seconds, So it'll be a significant windfall. We do
everything to where even when we craft the deal, it's
long term. There'll be ways for us to recoup the investment.
Big issue the marginal benefit of doing it in Chicago,
especially or in Illinois. There were just too many uncertainties.
(37:01):
The return on investment will be greater for us than
it would have been for them.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Yeah, all right, it's still the Chicago Bears, and people
are freaking out here. You're not changing the name, right.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
Oh no, I would be uh, that would be obtuse
to think it would be the Hammon Bears.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
It's the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Back in nineteen twenty one or twenty two. It was
the Ham and Pros back when the NFL. They were
one of the first pro franchises. You're right, yeah, Mike.
A pleasure, Mike Brawn. Congratulations on your success and your
kind of ideology on how to run a state. A
lot of people agree with it, and thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
You're welcome, all right.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
You know I don't get a lot of governors on Yeah.
Maybe Gavin Newsim will stop by Monday.
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Colin Cowherd
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