July 2, 2025 • 42 mins
Jason McIntyre in for Colin
Are we disrespecting Luka Doncic by comparing him to Cooper Flagg?
Thoughts on the USMNT game tonight against Guatemala
Could LeBron James still get traded out of LA?
Guest: Landon Donovan
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
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dot com, or stream us live every day on the
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hello and welcome to The Herd. It's me Jason McIntyre
in for Colin Cowhard, who is yet sitting once again, Boy,
nobody travels like Colin Cowherd. I'm joyed today by Alex Curry. Alex,
how are you feeling? We're on the eve of July
fourth here.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
I love this week. I mean, for growing up, Fourth
of July was like my favorite holiday in Manhattan. Beach
vibes are immaculate down on the strand and on the beach.
Obviously a little different for me this year because I'm
in the red zone, like anything can happen on about
the pop, but I'm still so excited for.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I love Yeah, and we got great sports obviously, Yeah,
a lot of soccer tonight. We're talking soccer on the show.
One of my favorite soccer players of all time, Landon
Donovan joining the show in about forty minutes. Very excited.
We have a Lakers insider coming on to talk. I
know it hasn't been a great start to free agency.
Laker fans, take a deep breath. It's gonna be fine.
(01:20):
We're actually gonna start the show ladies and gentlemen with
the Lakers. And you know, listen, we are in a
hot take society right now. Everybody knows that it's really
difficult to cut through. There's so many outlets and medium's
TV radio, you got the web, you got social media, YouTube, TikTok.
To cut through, you increasingly have to turn up the
(01:42):
volume and get a little hot. And folks, I've been
seeing some stuff. You know, I love a good hot take,
hot take happy hour, but I've been seeing some stuff
lately about my main man, Luka Doncic. Then I got
to step in. It's time for Jmac to jump in
and be like, guys, can we take a deep breath?
Can we get some I know nuance isn't a thing
a lot of people like to do in July. It's
(02:04):
either black or white. You love him, you hate him, right,
but let's just pump the brakes on the Luka Doncic bashing,
And yes, I get it. He's coming off a season
where he was injured and he got traded and hey,
if the Dallas Mavericks can move off Luca, how good
is he? Right? I mean the guy doesn't play defense. Hey,
he can't jump, he only had one dunk last season.
(02:27):
I mean, Luca, what are we doing? Is he that good?
Jay Man? He couldn't get out of the first round
with Lebron James. How good is Luca? And you start
hearing all this and I'm like, wait a minute, hold on,
are we talking about the same Luka Doncic that just
thirteen months ago put the Mavericks on his back and
(02:48):
led them to the finals. And now we've got hot
takes like this not just coming from dopey fans and
not just the media, but we're talking about former players
and coaches, folks. Avery Johnson, I'll point, who knows a
lot about basketball, was asked who we'd rather have, Cooper
Flag or Luka Doncic. Take a listen, man, give me
(03:08):
Cooper Flag.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Really, Cooper Flag and this team, Yeah, give me Cooper
flagg Man. You're talking about a team when they're healthy.
Got three future Hall of Famers with Kyrie ad and
Klay Thompson. So this is really exciting the Mavericks. Their
future is bright, but they have a window when they're healthy.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
If the next two.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
To three years with this rosstass currently constructed.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, I don't totally disagree with Dallas being good, but
Cooper Flag over Luka Doncic. And this is what I'm
talking about with society. It's become so hot taky that
a guy has a down year and we're just writing
him off, Like I like Cooper Flagg. Do you guys
remember I don't know two months ago on the show,
Rick Buker sat here and I was like, over under
(03:57):
one and a half MVPs for Cooper Flag and he
laughed at me. He's like, what on earth are you
talking about. I'm like, I'm high on Cooper Fly. No
way on earth am I taking him over Luka Doncic.
Have we forgotten I'm not going to try it out
the resume, but have we forgotten that in the last
forty years, no player has started their NBA career as
(04:17):
good as Luka Johns, not Michael Jordan, not Lebron James,
not Shaq. Folks, Luca went Rookie of the Year and
then was first team All NBA five straight years, First
Team All NBA, Top five player in the league for
five straight years in starting in year two. Like, that's
the kind of talent we're dealing with here. Nobody makes
(04:39):
their teammates better in the NBA better than Luka Doncic. Now,
I know Jokic has a strong case because he has
a title. He's a little older than Luka. Just put
that out there. But Luca raises the level of all
his guys. You remember two years ago Dallas they had
been fighting for years. How do we build around Luca.
Let's try Jalen Brunson and they screwed that up. Let's
try Porzingis and he got her. This is what he does.
(05:01):
Let's try Kyrie Irving. Oh okay, okay, So they bring
in Kyrie Irving. I remember being I think Live on
the Herd when it happened, I was like, oh my gosh,
MAVs they're set, They're going to the finals. They missed
the playoffs that year. Okay. Do you remember how Luka
Doncic responded? The following year, he averaged thirty three nine
nine and the MAVs went to the NBA Finals. So
(05:25):
if you want to write off Luca at twenty six
and say, well, he's not Duncan anymore. He's become a
step back artist, that's fine. Do you do you, But
here's the reality. Luca went to the finals last year, exhausted,
then played in the Olympics, and oh, by the way,
then comes the calf injury. Remember on Christmas suffers the
(05:45):
calf injury, and Luca, wisely, I might add, did not
want to rush it. He was seen on a scooter
and it's like, oh geez, that's bad news. No, he
was being cautious, which is smart in hindsight. You remember
when uh uh guy on the Pacers at a calf
injury in the finals, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Haliburton,
(06:06):
sit out, my guy. You don't want to map to
miss a whole year. Haliburton plays good in game six.
Oh he's fine, it's fine. Let's not even rehash what
happened in game seven. You don't rush back from calf injuries.
Nico Harrison wanted to rush Luca back. Lucas said, no, oh,
slow your role man. He took his time they thought
he gained weight, they shipped him out of town. I
am calling it now. Revenge season is coming for Luka
(06:31):
Doncic next year with the Lakers. I don't know who
the hell they're gonna have. We can get into that later.
I'm gonna go ahead and assume Lebron's gonna be on
the roster. I'm gonna assume Austin Reeves, but that's not
a lock. I think they're gonna be okay with two
of the greatest players in the NBA currently, Lebron all
NBA guy and Luca, who's off to one of the
best starts in NBA history for a young guy. Can
(06:54):
we just take our deep breath with Luca. He's gonna
be fine.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
All right.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Now, let's get to the big soccer matchup tonight, USA Guatemala. Yes,
it's here on FS won the Gold Cup semifinals. I
will reserve from making any Guatemalan jokes. I don't know
much about their soccer program, but I know this. We
all smoke them. I'm calling it now, just like I
told Colin three weeks ago, We're gonna be fine in
(07:21):
the Gold Cup. And now, do you guys remember three
weeks ago in the Gold Cup USA all of a sudden,
isn't getting their stars to play poolisic? I need some rest?
Oh no, what does that say? And then one of
my funny joker soccer friends said saying, I don't know
about Poachattino, laughing, well, we don't know about this guy.
(07:43):
Everything's been fine now. The bigger issue is one that everybody,
even if you're not a soccer fan, con vibe with
you in NFL and NBA, right, you follow your team closely.
I got some Jacksonville Jaguars buddies fans, two of them,
who I mean, they could tell you everything that's going
on on the too deep. They know who's like on
(08:04):
the bubble to make the roster. They know everything about
the Jags because that's their local team. It's totally different
with soccer. This happens in the NBA too. Toronto Raptors
fans can give you chapter and verse in their salary
cap situation in the next two years. That doesn't apply
to the US national soccer team, which puts us every
two to four years in this weird spot of Oh hey, guys,
(08:27):
it's time to pay attention to soccer. Wait, are we
gonna win this tournament. It's either boom or bust when
it comes to USA Soccer. For casuals, now, you could argue, hey,
it's great that the casuals are paying attention, but we
just want to kind of educate these guys so they
get up to speed. Hey, this is a be team
in the Gold Cup. But here's why it's a good thing.
Nobody wants to hear that. They're like, oh, who's the
(08:49):
new coach? What has he done? Polistics not playing and
you guys are missing out Because I'm here to tell
you and I know this is positive. Jason to start
the show gassing up Luka Doncic glazing the US national team.
We're gonna beat Guatemala, probably soundly tonight. I'll go three
to one, and then that'll lead us into the game
against likely Mexico Sunday, what will be a heated game.
(09:13):
Mexico has their a team, we don't, but I think
we're gonna be plucky in that one. It should be
a great game in Juson on Sunday. But when it
comes to USA Soccer, the reason I get excited about
Gold Cup is because we're seeing like the backups, the
depth the bench, that we've never really had, and Colin
likes to make this point, we just don't have depth.
We're building depth at the Gold Cup. They've got guys
(09:36):
who are showing very well. We've probably got two or
three starters. We might have our new goalie. And mister Freeze,
the freezeman was so good in PK's and as one
of the guys in the morning meeting noted, hey, Turner,
the incumbent, he hasn't looked great internationally because he's not playing.
Freeze gets on the field and is a brick wall
(09:56):
in PKS. So, folks, we're seeing depth, we're seeing the
new coach. And you guys know this happens, right, You
get a new coach, you got a new leader. Well
there's a new guy to impress. And guess who's got
a chance up close and personal to impress him. All
the guys playing in the Gold Cup. So you know,
Landon Donovan will come on and hopefully echo my sentiments here.
(10:17):
But I think this is a good thing. You know,
a five nothing against Haiti beating trindid Adam to bat like. Okay,
those are fine results, but it's more about the process
over the results. And I guess my issue is the
process can apply to your favorite NFL, your favorite NBA
team locally, it's tougher to apply the process to the
(10:37):
USA team because we just parachute in for the major
tournaments and we're like, oh, are we gonna win? Like
that's all it comes down to. There's no process. I
feel like we're seeing a tremendous process at the Gold Cup.
Poachatino is exerting his thoughts and beliefs and his value
system on the team and that will then trickle down
to the other guys. It's a good thing Tyler Adams
(10:59):
this year. He was on the show yesterday talking about it.
Here's Alexi Lales earlier in the week, also saying very
positive things about the USA showing at the Gold Cup.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
It's almost a wonderful message to send an important message
to send to the guys that aren't here, that you
know what will while you're important, you're not You're not
a savior and that and we can win games and
we can do things without you, because I think it's
going to motivate them to come in and say, you
know what, you know what stinks, just like everybody else
(11:32):
is America doesn't give a crap how this US team plays.
They care that they win and that they are doing
it in a kind of raw, strangely ugly but beautiful
way that I think that resonates with people.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
He absolutely nailed it, and folks, I'll wrap up with this,
but continuity is huge when I go to gamble for
the NFL in the offseason looking ahead to this coming season.
Continuity matters. You keep your coach, your coordinators, how many
starters do you have back in college football. It's huge NFL.
I feel like it's very important. We don't really have
(12:08):
that in soccer because it's a national team and guys
are spread out all over the planet playing in different leagues,
and then you get them together for the World Cup.
They're kind of thrust together. So the USA won't have continuity.
But here's the positive. Most of the starters in the
World Cup next summer. We're gonna have played in twenty
twenty two and showed well against England for moments against
(12:31):
the Netherlands. And now we get a coach who's got
a different outlook. And I do believe. I know it's
on US soil and I'm getting a little flag wavy here,
but I'm being dead serious, folks. I do believe quarterfinals
and semifinals could be in play for US soccer. I
know that's gonna seem like a hot take and you
all are gonna laugh. But historically, when you host the
(12:53):
goal the World Cup, you have a better titch. You're
sleeping in beds you're familiar with, You've got fat friends
and family, you're in your normal time zone. Everything lines
up for the US hosting the World Cup next year.
I'm thinking big things, and I think this Gold Cup
win tonight and maybe the win in the final Sunday,
will be a springboard to a huge twenty twenty six
(13:14):
in US soccer. All Right, we got a phenomenal show today.
Heading into July fourth, coming up next, Yeah, we're going
back to Lebron. There is a lot of chatter about
him switching teams. Does he want out of La Talk
about that next year on The Herd.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app Hi.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
This is Jay.
Speaker 8 (13:43):
I'm the producer of the Paul and Toni Fusco Show.
Usually in these promos they ask you to listen to
the show. I'm here to ask you please don't listen
to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who
have the dumbest takes on sports, imagicable. Don't listen to
the show so it can get camped.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
What the hell are you doing our studio again? Ignore
that fool. Listen to the Pauline Tony Fusco Show on
the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
He's still moving.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Back here on the Herd. A beautiful Wednesday. Uh Landon
Donovan coming up in about twenty minutes. Oh gosh, he's
so good, that guy. What a legend. All right, So,
you know, every time for some reason Alex and I
have hosted in the last couple of months, some big
news has dropped. I don't know if you guys remember
the first time Michael Malone got fired of the Nuggets.
(14:33):
It was like middle of the show, They're like, oh,
the Nuggets fired their coach. Oh wow, okay. And then
a few weeks ago, maybe last month, it was like
Tom Thibodeau fired. It's like, wow, so you know what
I just we just did the first segment here and
as soon as we get in a commercial break, they're like, hey,
Lebron just dropped something on social media. I was like,
oh boy, I can't wait to see this. And we're
(14:54):
talking about Lebron anyway. But let's just be real. Here's
Lebron on his Instagram within the last hour or so.
You have to look closely on the screen, but he's
wearing a hat that says welcome home. And it's possible
he just grabbed the first hat he saw at his
house in Ohio where he currently is playing golf. So
(15:21):
just to remind you, Lebron, who's been in the news
for the last forty eight hours because of his contract situation,
and then is he going to get traded? Is he
going to ask them to buy him out? Which is nonsense,
but it's a talking point. Lebron's all over the news
and then he pops up on Instagram with a welcome
home hat playing golf in Ohio. Guys, come on, this
is awesome. How do you not love this? This is
(15:44):
what Lebron does. He's done this for fifteen years. He
wrote the playbook for how to I don't know, troll people.
What are we calling it? Are we saying, like, get
people to talk about him on social media. I asked
the crew, here is Lebron the first social media athlete
who grew up in the social media era? And you
(16:05):
have to think back, like Tiger Woods was early two
thousands before social media. If you say social media was
like twenty ten ish, that's like when Lebron was peaking.
Speaker 9 (16:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Do you guys remember the Internet melting down when he
told Jim Gray, I'm taking my talents to South Beach. Like,
Lebron knows how to utilize and weaponize, if you will,
social media to get what he wants. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't. But the real question is what is
the endgame here? Is he just messing around? Maybe? Is
(16:36):
he sending a message? Probably my big thing that I
keep coming back to with this whole would they trade Lebron?
Is every time he's gotten into a pickle? It was
near the end. In Cleveland, Hey, I asked for real
contending dudes. The Celtics went out and got Kevin Garnett
and Ray Allen and I asked for contended guys, and
(16:59):
you guys got me Antoine Jamison. I'm out right, Lebron
didn't He had nothing around him in Miami near the end,
he starts to look around his team's breaking down. I'm
out in Cleveland, Kyrie Irving, jump ship, Lebron, I'm not
winning year with what's left. I'm out. But you look
(17:20):
around the Lakers locker room now and he's got Luka Doncic.
Is he walking away from Luca? And then the counter
would be, well, Jay, this is the first time Lebron
hasn't been the best player on his team or the
guy that the team is asking for advice and input.
And I was like, oh, okay, maybe that's accurate. Lebron's
(17:41):
unhappy about that. But the guy's turning forty one in December,
he's going into year twenty three. You really think he
wants to jump ship for a year to go to
I don't know, Detroit or Cleveland again or Atlanta. And listen,
I know one thing is true for sure. Loves the attention.
Who wouldn't you guys don't think I like it when
(18:03):
you bombarred me, when I blast the Kansas City Chiefs
and say they're not making the playoffs. I love that.
I love that you guys are worked into a ladder
and I could care less because it's a genuine opinion
backed up by facts and data. If you're in your
feelings over that's not my fault. I think Lebron is similar.
He's gonna put this out there, knows his name is swirling,
and I think he probably likes it a little bit,
(18:25):
just a little. Now where it gets super interesting is
that the Lakers don't get DeAndre Aiden and there's no
centers left. And at that point, Luca's like, what the
hell's going on here? Guys? And Lebron's like, you know what,
we had a good My other son he's going to
Arizona next year to play college basketball. I me, let
(18:46):
me go back to Cleveland and get a chance to
win it. But I've seen the trade scenarios folks, with
the Knicks and the Cavs. I don't think those teams
are giving up multiple starters in rotation guys for Lebron.
I don't see it. Like the Cavs aren't gonna do
Darius Garland for le Lakers. Would be idiots to do that.
Now you talk Evan Mobley, we got a discussion that's
(19:07):
not happening. I'm sure the Knicks are like, hey, do
you want Karl Anthony Towns? And the Lakers are like,
absolutely not think about this. Lebron has one year left,
then the books are clear. Luca's got his runway, go
get me this, that and the other. We're set, so
I listen. I love the Lebron antics. I love him
going on social media and getting in everybody's head and
(19:28):
generating segments on TV shows. He's got a podcast now
with Steve Nash that's kind of popping. I love this stuff,
but ultimately I just keep coming back like it's not happy.
He's not going anywhere. Enjoy Luca and Lebron next year
with the Lakers when they're hopefully a top four seat
in the West. Don't look like it now, but things
could change. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news.
Speaker 6 (19:50):
No, no, no, turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
This is the headline news.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
I felt like when you told Laker fans to take
a deep breath, you were talking directly to me, though, Like,
I think the Lakers are going to be just fine. Yes,
there's new ownership, but this is an ownership that knows
how to win. Yes, it's not the family friendly deal
that he signed up for with the Bus family, but
he's a huge fan of Luca.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
He's been very.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Vocal about it. He's gonna give it like a full
season try. I think the Lakers are going to be
just fine. As you mentioned, he knows how to work
the media. He knows how to create the conversation. Like
Lebron is a genius media mogul. That's what it is. Smart.
We're talking about it posted within like what like an
hour and we're already having it on talking about it
on national TV. Okay, well, let's switch to the big
(20:34):
conversation yesterday. Damian Lillard was waived by the Bucks yesterday
and some execs say he won the basketball lottery. Milwaukee
will have to pay Lillard out one hundred and thirteen
million dollars over the next five years after stretching out
his contract, which allowed them space though to sign Miles Turner. Now,
Dame can now recover on his own time and sign
(20:54):
a new deal with a new team when he's healthy
and get paid all the same. So he's still making
his money. Like he can take his time rehabbing. Remember
he tore his achilles, He can kind of pick where
he wants to go. Obviously, what the Bucks had wasn't
working because we've heard all of the the trade rumors
from Yannis. We haven't heard directly from his mouth yet,
(21:16):
though him say I want to be traded and this
was a big swing that they took yesterday, signing Miles
Turner one hundred and seven million dollar deal.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Do you think.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Do you like the fit of Miles Turner with the Bucks?
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah? It doesn't keep Yannest there? Yes and no, like
that's that's Let me go back to the Dame thing
you mentioned. So have you ever been fired from a job?
I've had shows canceled. Yeah, I've been in the same boat,
and in the moment it absolutely so hurts feel like
a loser life. Oh what did I do? It's wrong?
It's all me. Yeah. In the dust clears within a
(22:01):
couple of days and you're like, holy, this is oh
my gosh, this is great.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Ends up being like a beautiful thing that happens.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Yes, what do they say, a door closes in, a
window opens or something like that, And I feel like
for Dame yesterday, Oh my gosh, the Bucks are they're
cutting him? Well that sucks. Well not wait a minute,
hold on, still get paid. He gets paid and he
can react his team. Oh yeah, he gets to go
look near his family in Portland. Remember that was like
a big yep issue because he's away from his kids.
(22:29):
This is great now if he happens to be healthy
come April and he sees that there's a contender on
the West Post once.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's Achilles, So he's like post All Star break, I
think is like kind of so like second half of
the season when you're really seeing what team has the
ability to make a run and be a con I could.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Join and be your ninth guy off the bench.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
And he's getting paid to rehab and be with his
family and be in a good headspace, like the mentality
coming in like happy.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
So like, yeah, the Dame angle is interesting because it's
a it's a win for him. Listen, you don't get
the Warriors of the Lakers are gonna be monitoring breathlessly.
Could we get Dame Lillard for pennies?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Well, and yeah, the Bucks are still gonna be paying
for a majority of his contracts.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Such a bad move by the Bucks.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
It was weird. And then for Jannis to to say
he wasn't I mean, I don't know who he said
he wasn't happy, but there were reports that he wasn't
happy with the move and the trade, and there's just
there's just so much. It's a lot of question marks.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
With the Bocks, it felt like a desperate move. And
you it's like you go house hunting, which I'm sure
you know you've done, and you're being told never fall
in love with the house. You cannot because then you're
gonna be pot playing.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Hard to get.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
You're gonna want to bid it. Uh huh, just hey, whatever,
And I felt like they fell in love with Hey,
Miles Turner, it can be our new brook Lopez. He's younger,
he's more athletic, he's a better thing. And brook Lopez
worked great with Honest, and they're they're missing the part that,
oh we don't have a starting backcourt. It's like Gary
Trent and Kevin Porter. I just don't see.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
It's a little bit of a mess. And obviously you
got to figure out what's happening with you Honest? Is
he going to get traded? Because we still haven't heard
from his mouth trade.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
What happens if Giannis comes out in two weeks and
says I don't like this, I want to be traded? Yeah,
then what I like? What are you the boss heard of?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
It was a disaster just shut yourself on the foot. Yeah, yeah, wild, Okay,
let's switch to the NFL. Travis Kelce was on the
bust In with the Boys podcast and talked about his
motive how his motivation has changed as he's aged as
a football player.
Speaker 10 (24:34):
I used to want to get a thousand yards every year,
every single year, like that was like the milestone and
that you were elite in the league, especially at the
tight end position. Yeah, but then I just like, it's
more important to get dugs, and I feel like getting
that message to the teammates was way more important.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
He's saying what champions say, right, It's not about the
personal accolades. It's about winning the chips. And once you've won,
like he's won, they are the current dynasty in the NFL.
They have three championship rings. All you're thinking about is
how do I get that fourth? And then now you're
also your legacy and your career is compared to well,
(25:15):
how are you going to level up to the other grades?
Like how many does Bronk have? Like are you going
to be like Shannon Sharp? There's like all these other
top players of that position. Are you going to be
able to reach that level? And again, like he's not
the same player he was when they won that first
and second Super Bowl. He's going to have to get creative.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Numbers.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
That is impressive.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
So let me ask you, Alex. So yeah, I love
to make these things personal. Like you know, you played
soccer and the team was good, and then they recruit
somebody at your position who's better than you and takes
the starting spot and you guys win the national championship.
So that was me.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I was the one who took the spot and we
won the national championship, and then.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
I left early.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
So I was always the doubted one, like you're not
gonna make it. There's no room for you, like we
don't have space. And then I was having to prove
everybody wrong my entire career, through soccer, through broadcasting, everything.
It's like, just get me a chance, let me prove
me wrong. So I've always been that like hungry person.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Kelsey's kind of like the opposite, right, and that he's
got the stats and the chip. But would he be
happy because the way he's talking about one thousand year,
would he be happy if they if he had six
hundred yards receiving next year?
Speaker 4 (26:28):
But they were the number one see that's not what
matters right now. And I think that's the important message
that he's trying to say, and that he's trying to
he's the veteran on the team now, right he's trying
to tell all the young guys, Hey, it's not about
your your personal stats. What matters is that w at
the end of the day, is getting that ring at
the end of the season. That's all that matters at
the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
That's a tough mindset for someone in their twenties. Yeah,
thirties is you know, when we're in our twenties or bulletproof,
I can do whatever.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
I'm on.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I'm fine. You get into your thirties, you start like
reality starts to sit in. Yeah, maybe that's what Kelsey's seeing, Like, hey,
I'm not going to be that guy.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
And he's also like probably the most famous NFL like
player right now.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
He's an A list celebrities.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
He's happy in his personal life. He's doing great career wise,
Like he is like top of the mountain right now,
not tap because like if they won a Super Bowl
then I think he like last season, then he would
be top of the mountain. He was top of the
mountain two years ago. But it's just how do I
get back there?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Yeah, and maybe sacrificing a little yeah, understanding, Hey, it's
not going to be all about his boys.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Not No, it's not. He was breaking down. Yeah yeah,
he's breaking down, but he's still Mahomes guy and it's
still having that presence and he's still in the locker
room and on the field. Sure has, sure is. Hey
she was at tight end. You you see that, super.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Far I saw that.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, they were all they were all singing along
with her kid, all everybody.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
It was not a bad hang. I love it.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
All right, let's move to New York and talk about
your Jets, Jmack, because they made a ton of changes
this offseason, but one of holdovers, running back Breeze Hall,
isn't using that as an excuse. Hall set I think
people think the new coaching staff and new GM means
a rebuild. But we have a lot of really good
players on the roster, so we're going to try to
win now. I think our ceiling is very high. So
(28:24):
when you hear that Jmac.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
In the AA in the.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
AFC East, I mean there's a lot of new right cornerback,
new front office, new coaching staff. They're also a franchise
that hasn't reached the postseason since twenty ten. Fourteen year
drought longest postseason drought.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
In NFL history.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
I don't mean to rub it in and remind or
current no current postseason. It says fourteen year drought the
longest postseason drought.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
In the NFL right now currently, yeah, yeah, yeah, currently
it's not great.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Yeah, I just what they're feeling.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
His staff is like, oh yeah, let's get to what
do you think third third? What in the AFC?
Speaker 4 (29:06):
In AFCAS, I'm looking at it. I'm Bill's fml on.
Bill's won again. Miami depends on two. Uh, people are
high on the Patriots, and then you got your Jets.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Well remember the continuity I mentioned for US soccer. Yeah,
so the Jets have a new head coach, yes, a
new offensive coordinator, yeah, a new defensive coordinator, new quarterback,
a new quarterback. Uh huh. That's a lot of news.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
But we also saw that with the Commanders last year,
and they surprised and took everyone by storm. So like
there could be both sides to new Well, I.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Mean, dan Quinn had wont to been to a Super Bowl.
I'm sorry with Atlanta. Yeah, and the offensive coordinator was
Kyle Shanahan, who's a big time Oh no, not Kyle Shanahan.
What am I saying? The offensive coordinator, I'm spacing on
his name right now. But the guy from Arizona, the
pretty boy. Oh and also USC are you talking of?
(30:00):
Are you talking about commanders?
Speaker 5 (30:01):
Ye?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Commanders? Commanders? How Kingsbury like winners? James Daniels was a superstar. Yeah,
Jets are getting Justin Fields. Who's been me? Aaron Glenn
has never been a head coach, and the offensive coordinators
never called please like it's not it's just too much newness, Alex.
It is like a six or seven win team. Let's see.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
I like little fourth. You think fourth finished last AC
that's not bad.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Then the last play schedule for next year with Arts Manning,
They're not going to be bad Arts Manning bad. They're
not gonna be Art.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Never know.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Alex Curry with the news.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Line News all right. Coming up next is landon Donovan
excited for the USA's chances against Guatemala to night, and
then what about the final in the Gold Cup against
Mexico on Sunday. That's next year on the Herd.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern emphasis.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
The road to twenty twenty six continues tonight on FS
one with the Gold Cup semifinal as the US men's
national team takes on Guatemala. No Easy Path, No Second Chances.
Coverage begins tonight at sixth Eastern on FS one.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Obviously, everybody very excited USA Guatemala tonight, and then when
we win, we'll face Mexico in the final. Yes, we're
gonna win. Let's talk to Landon Donovan. Oh my gosh,
a legend. You know, I get a little gushy. I'm
gonna be a little bit of a fanboy here. Who
couldn't love Landon Donovan. I was just telling him how
(31:41):
to break stop it maybe pochatino, but that's about it.
But during the break, like I remember the goal against
Algeria in the World Cup, watching with my family, I'll
never forget it. That's one of the most seminal moments
in USA soccer. So Landov, great, Landon, great to have
you on the show. Let's start with this layup. How
do you feel about the game against Guatemala tonight.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
I think we got a gift.
Speaker 9 (32:03):
Guatemala played Canada the other night and Canada are a
much much better overall team than Guatemala, and I think
if they play that game ten times, Canada win eight.
Guatemala Taiwan and they win one and they tied, went
to penalty kicks and ended up losing the game. So
it's a bit of a gift for us. Guatemala is
(32:26):
not a top Conker CAF team. This is the first time,
I believe in thirty something years they've been to the
semi finals of a Gold Cup, so I expect.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Us to win. It will not be easy.
Speaker 9 (32:36):
J Mack Soccer never is because goals are hard to score.
Speaker 6 (32:40):
But I expect that we'll win tonight.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
I'm just curious. Obviously you're not there talking to the players,
but how do you what do you think the mindset
is given free shows up in pks. You know all
the criticism for the team, but they have been kind
of playing great. I didn't love the goal they gave
up in what the eighty fifth minute or whatever, but
overall they've played pretty dark and good.
Speaker 9 (33:00):
No, they've been fantastic and it's important to have the
context of what happened. So before the tournament, many players
opted out of the tournament, which you know, is a
whole nother story, and for people who have dreamt of
playing soccer their whole life, you know, it's it's pretty
interesting that people would not want to play for their
national team. A lot of players out injured, and then
a third set of players are out for the Club
(33:22):
World Cup that's going on concurrently. So this group of
players is a little bit of a makeshift, maybe one
or two starters, but the rest are a be maybe
even in some cases a C team or a C player.
And what they've done is they've taken the opportunity and
J Mack, you know, in sports, when someone leaves the
door slightly open, you better be careful because someone else
(33:44):
might barge through.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
And these guys have barged through.
Speaker 9 (33:46):
And they've been really inspiring for those of us who
love this game and love this national team. It's been
really fun to watch them continue to grow and win
back hearts and minds of Americans.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Yeah, I didn't want to start with the controversy, but
let's go into it. You know, they didn't seem to
have an identity heading into the Gold Cup, Like, what
are they do you think that Pochettino has kind of
established this is what we are or is that still
a work in progress.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
So this is the hard part with soccer for people
who are new to it. You play for your club
team all the time, and let's use the analogy of
you play for the Lakers or the Celtics or the Yankees,
but then once a month, maybe once every couple months,
you come together for whatever country you represent, and you
represent your national team. The problem is is you're only
together for two or three days at a time and
(34:37):
then you go back to your club teams. What's happened
in this camp is Pochettino had two friendlies before this
camp started, so you had a week and a half
with these guys, two games, and now they've had their
going on I think two and a half or three
weeks together. Having that amount of time together is priceless.
With a national team, it's absolutely priceless. So in the beginning,
there was no identity. People didn't know what to expect.
(34:59):
Everybody's sort of looking around in camp.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Are you a leader?
Speaker 9 (35:01):
You're a leader with your club team, but are you
a leader here, and now you're starting to see roles define,
You're starting to see people take the opportunity. You saw
Matt Freeze say hey, no one else has claimed the
goalkeeper spot, why not me? And that's what guys have
done this entire Tournament's been really fun to watch them grow.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Yeah, and you said the doors kind of open. And
I asked the more the staff here, like, how many
guys do you think currently on the goal club a
Gold Cup roster would maybe start next year in the
World Cup? And we came around two or three. I
don't know, am I missing anyone? I think Freeze might
have passed Turner just alone in this tournament. But who
(35:38):
else do you think is Could Richards be a starter
next year in the World Cup?
Speaker 9 (35:42):
Well, look like politics, a year is a long time, right,
so a lot of things can happen in a year. However,
this is what I would say with Pochattino. Pochattino is
Argentina and he spent most of his career in Europe coaching.
He doesn't have any obligation to anybody who has name
right cognition, or has played in the past, or has
been a leader or been a captain. He just looks
(36:04):
at this roster and says, these are the guys I have.
You show me that by your performance today today against
Guatemala that you deserve to play in the final if
we win, and if we play in the final against
Mexico Honduras, you show me again that you deserve to
play in the friendlies that are coming up in the fall,
and you deserve to play in the next one and
the next one, in the next one.
Speaker 6 (36:25):
He does send care.
Speaker 9 (36:26):
If you have a big name or a big contract
or play for a big club. He can only evaluate
what he's seeing, and what he's seeing right now are
a bunch of guys who are taking advantage of the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Yeah, do you think Tillman is one of those guys?
I was looking at his background. Absolutely played on the
German national team. You have fifteen through twenty one, and
it's like, wow, he looks outstanding. But I don't think
of him as better than Baligan, you know, and like
some of the other forwards, right or is that now
a discussion?
Speaker 9 (36:51):
Yeah, but it is a discussion for what I just said.
And you know the old adage the most important ability
in sports is availability, and Baligan is a fantastic player, talented,
Ricardo Peppy fantastic player, very talented. They've been injured. Both
of them have been injured a lot leak. Someone's not
an out and out striker. There's a young man named
(37:11):
Patrick Ajemong who has sort of taken that role.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
And we'll see what happens.
Speaker 9 (37:18):
You know, j Mack, the telling sign will be in
the next camp after this Gold Cup. Does he just
readily invite all those guys back in or does he say,
you know what, these guys did a great job for
me in the Gold Cup. This B and C list
and maybe they become the A list and that's gonna
tell us a lot.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
That would ruffle some feathers. But I'm just curious, like
that sounds like a good talking point and hearing you
say it, like yeah, there's something here. But in your
soccer experience, do you ever recall them going with bees
over a's just because the a's weren't there?
Speaker 6 (37:48):
No, and and no.
Speaker 9 (37:50):
The reason why is because when you play with your
national team, and this is part of my frustration why
I'm outspoken about this. Yes, when you play for your
national team, it just means more. It has to mean more,
and I'm not saying people don't try with their club teams.
I'm not even saying people don't care sometimes when they
play with their national team. But if you're not willing
to do anything in everything to win the game with
(38:12):
your national team, then you don't deserve to be there.
And the guys who are there right now have said,
I don't care what happens.
Speaker 6 (38:19):
I'm not.
Speaker 9 (38:20):
You know, a guy Diego Luna young Man broke his
nose in a friendly in January and they said you
need to come out of the game, and he said,
I'm not coming out of the game.
Speaker 6 (38:28):
This is my one chance.
Speaker 9 (38:29):
So you can pull me off the field, you can
carry me off, but I'm not coming out of the game.
Next thing, you know, he started every game in the
Gold Cup. If there if the roster was announced tomorrow
for the World Cup, he is one hundred percent on it.
And he came out of nowhere. And so that's what
it means to play for your national team. Malik Tilman
got kicked all over the field the other night, and
he got up again, and got up again, and got
(38:51):
up again. He missed a penalty in the game, came
back and made a penalty in the penalty kick shootout.
So they are showing Mauricio Pochettino what it means to
play for a NASH team. And there's no reason why
a lot of these guys one won't be on the roster,
and two some of them would start.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Now, are they all going to be starters?
Speaker 9 (39:07):
I don't think so, but hopefully it sends a message
to the rest of the group that this is what's
expected and if you don't do it, you're not going
to be here.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Yeah, all right, I got to ask it. And obviously
you know the drama with Polisic and Pochattino. A. Have
you heard from anybody in either camp since the Gold
Cup privately? If it's private stuff and you don't want
to talk about it, that's fine. But have you heard
from anyone in politics camp or Pochattinos?
Speaker 6 (39:31):
No?
Speaker 9 (39:32):
No, no, And I've I talked to many people behind
the scenes all week j Mac in US Soccer And
the reality right now is what I just said about Pochettino.
He does not have he does not feel any obligation
to any player. Now, is Christian Polistic more talented than
anybody on the current Gold Cup roster? Yes, by a
(39:54):
gazillion miles. But when you see when you play for
a national team, it doesn't always mean that. If you watch,
do yourself a favor. Go watch Argentina play Columbia or
Argentina played Brazil. When you watch that game, you go
there's a lot.
Speaker 6 (40:08):
Of soccer being played here.
Speaker 9 (40:10):
This is just a battle, and these are some of
the best players in the world, and all the skill
and all the stuff gets thrown out the window for
ninety percent of the game and they just battle because
that's what it means to play for your country. So
I think the message is loud and clear. And I
took Christian's credit. I think when he shows up and plays,
he does play that way.
Speaker 6 (40:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (40:29):
Now some of the other guys on the roster haven't,
and I think the message is becoming clear from Poachatino.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
You either do this or you're not playing.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Yeah. I feel like that was a shot at Jill Reno,
but I'm just gonna side say it. Let's we'll wrap
up with this. You know, Freeze obviously was the hero
in the PKS. Turner's kind of been buried on the
bench with his club team. I don't know, do you
think Freeze past them or is it too early.
Speaker 9 (40:52):
To tell I want to separate. You know, people get
excited in moments, right. You know, it'd be like if
a guy gets fouled for three pointer and makes three
free throws to win the game. You wouldn't necessarily then say, oh, well,
he's the best player throughout the game, right because he made.
Speaker 6 (41:07):
Those three free throws.
Speaker 9 (41:09):
Matt Freeze is excellent clearly at penalty kicks, and I
will just say, let's say he's not one of the
best three goalkeepers. Generally you take three goalkeepers to the
World Cup, there is every opportunity that Poachatino says, you
know what, I'm gonna take him even as my third,
even though he's not the best, because we might get
into a situation in a knockout stage where we need
(41:29):
to take penalty kicks, and I could absolutely see that happen. Now,
aside from that, I think he's been okay. I don't
think he is a better goalkeeper than Matt Turner. But
I talked earlier, you leave that door open. You're Matt Turner,
and you didn't play a lot of club soccer the
last year. You left the door open, and someone said, bang,
I'm kicking that thing down and I'm coming in.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Yeah, and he has Landed Donovan Fox Sports Soccer analyst,
a legend on the pitch and off of it. Great stuff. Landon,
thanks a lot of Joe.
Speaker 6 (41:56):
I appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Yeah, thank you, all right, Landed Donovan. Really want to listen.
He's saying a lot of stuff, and you need to
listen because I'm sure he talks to everybody in USA soccer.
He's probably not saying everything. Alex, you know soccer. Well,
I think based on some of the stuff Landon Donovan saying, uh,
you know, if you passed on this Gold Cup, you
(42:17):
may have not polistic, but some of the other.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
Guys you want to be here. Yeah, that's what this
new coaching regime is about. Show me that you want
to be here.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
Yeah. Oh boy, Yeah, it's exciting. At least we gotta
win over Guatemala tonight coming up next.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
Hey.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
You know Lamar Jackson. I like him a lot. He's
a two time MVP. He made a comment I don't
love it. We'll talk about that next year. On the
Hurt
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hello and welcome to The Herd. It's me Jason McIntyre
in for Colin Cowhard, who is yet sitting once again, Boy,
nobody travels like Colin Cowherd. I'm joyed today by Alex Curry. Alex,
how are you feeling? We're on the eve of July
fourth here.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
I love this week. I mean, for growing up, Fourth
of July was like my favorite holiday in Manhattan. Beach
vibes are immaculate down on the strand and on the beach.
Obviously a little different for me this year because I'm
in the red zone, like anything can happen on about
the pop, but I'm still so excited for.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I love Yeah, and we got great sports obviously, Yeah,
a lot of soccer tonight. We're talking soccer on the show.
One of my favorite soccer players of all time, Landon
Donovan joining the show in about forty minutes. Very excited.
We have a Lakers insider coming on to talk. I
know it hasn't been a great start to free agency.
Laker fans, take a deep breath. It's gonna be fine.
(01:20):
We're actually gonna start the show ladies and gentlemen with
the Lakers. And you know, listen, we are in a
hot take society right now. Everybody knows that it's really
difficult to cut through. There's so many outlets and medium's
TV radio, you got the web, you got social media, YouTube, TikTok.
To cut through, you increasingly have to turn up the
(01:42):
volume and get a little hot. And folks, I've been
seeing some stuff. You know, I love a good hot take,
hot take happy hour, but I've been seeing some stuff
lately about my main man, Luka Doncic. Then I got
to step in. It's time for Jmac to jump in
and be like, guys, can we take a deep breath?
Can we get some I know nuance isn't a thing
a lot of people like to do in July. It's
(02:04):
either black or white. You love him, you hate him, right,
but let's just pump the brakes on the Luka Doncic bashing,
And yes, I get it. He's coming off a season
where he was injured and he got traded and hey,
if the Dallas Mavericks can move off Luca, how good
is he? Right? I mean the guy doesn't play defense. Hey,
he can't jump, he only had one dunk last season.
(02:27):
I mean, Luca, what are we doing? Is he that good?
Jay Man? He couldn't get out of the first round
with Lebron James. How good is Luca? And you start
hearing all this and I'm like, wait a minute, hold on,
are we talking about the same Luka Doncic that just
thirteen months ago put the Mavericks on his back and
(02:48):
led them to the finals. And now we've got hot
takes like this not just coming from dopey fans and
not just the media, but we're talking about former players
and coaches, folks. Avery Johnson, I'll point, who knows a
lot about basketball, was asked who we'd rather have, Cooper
Flag or Luka Doncic. Take a listen, man, give me
(03:08):
Cooper Flag.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Really, Cooper Flag and this team, Yeah, give me Cooper
flagg Man. You're talking about a team when they're healthy.
Got three future Hall of Famers with Kyrie ad and
Klay Thompson. So this is really exciting the Mavericks. Their
future is bright, but they have a window when they're healthy.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
If the next two.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
To three years with this rosstass currently constructed.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, I don't totally disagree with Dallas being good, but
Cooper Flag over Luka Doncic. And this is what I'm
talking about with society. It's become so hot taky that
a guy has a down year and we're just writing
him off, Like I like Cooper Flagg. Do you guys
remember I don't know two months ago on the show,
Rick Buker sat here and I was like, over under
(03:57):
one and a half MVPs for Cooper Flag and he
laughed at me. He's like, what on earth are you
talking about. I'm like, I'm high on Cooper Fly. No
way on earth am I taking him over Luka Doncic.
Have we forgotten I'm not going to try it out
the resume, but have we forgotten that in the last
forty years, no player has started their NBA career as
(04:17):
good as Luka Johns, not Michael Jordan, not Lebron James,
not Shaq. Folks, Luca went Rookie of the Year and
then was first team All NBA five straight years, First
Team All NBA, Top five player in the league for
five straight years in starting in year two. Like, that's
the kind of talent we're dealing with here. Nobody makes
(04:39):
their teammates better in the NBA better than Luka Doncic. Now,
I know Jokic has a strong case because he has
a title. He's a little older than Luka. Just put
that out there. But Luca raises the level of all
his guys. You remember two years ago Dallas they had
been fighting for years. How do we build around Luca.
Let's try Jalen Brunson and they screwed that up. Let's
try Porzingis and he got her. This is what he does.
(05:01):
Let's try Kyrie Irving. Oh okay, okay, So they bring
in Kyrie Irving. I remember being I think Live on
the Herd when it happened, I was like, oh my gosh,
MAVs they're set, They're going to the finals. They missed
the playoffs that year. Okay. Do you remember how Luka
Doncic responded? The following year, he averaged thirty three nine
nine and the MAVs went to the NBA Finals. So
(05:25):
if you want to write off Luca at twenty six
and say, well, he's not Duncan anymore. He's become a
step back artist, that's fine. Do you do you, But
here's the reality. Luca went to the finals last year, exhausted,
then played in the Olympics, and oh, by the way,
then comes the calf injury. Remember on Christmas suffers the
(05:45):
calf injury, and Luca, wisely, I might add, did not
want to rush it. He was seen on a scooter
and it's like, oh geez, that's bad news. No, he
was being cautious, which is smart in hindsight. You remember
when uh uh guy on the Pacers at a calf
injury in the finals, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Haliburton,
(06:06):
sit out, my guy. You don't want to map to
miss a whole year. Haliburton plays good in game six.
Oh he's fine, it's fine. Let's not even rehash what
happened in game seven. You don't rush back from calf injuries.
Nico Harrison wanted to rush Luca back. Lucas said, no, oh,
slow your role man. He took his time they thought
he gained weight, they shipped him out of town. I
am calling it now. Revenge season is coming for Luka
(06:31):
Doncic next year with the Lakers. I don't know who
the hell they're gonna have. We can get into that later.
I'm gonna go ahead and assume Lebron's gonna be on
the roster. I'm gonna assume Austin Reeves, but that's not
a lock. I think they're gonna be okay with two
of the greatest players in the NBA currently, Lebron all
NBA guy and Luca, who's off to one of the
best starts in NBA history for a young guy. Can
(06:54):
we just take our deep breath with Luca. He's gonna
be fine.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
All right.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Now, let's get to the big soccer matchup tonight, USA Guatemala. Yes,
it's here on FS won the Gold Cup semifinals. I
will reserve from making any Guatemalan jokes. I don't know
much about their soccer program, but I know this. We
all smoke them. I'm calling it now, just like I
told Colin three weeks ago, We're gonna be fine in
(07:21):
the Gold Cup. And now, do you guys remember three
weeks ago in the Gold Cup USA all of a sudden,
isn't getting their stars to play poolisic? I need some rest?
Oh no, what does that say? And then one of
my funny joker soccer friends said saying, I don't know
about Poachattino, laughing, well, we don't know about this guy.
(07:43):
Everything's been fine now. The bigger issue is one that everybody,
even if you're not a soccer fan, con vibe with
you in NFL and NBA, right, you follow your team closely.
I got some Jacksonville Jaguars buddies fans, two of them,
who I mean, they could tell you everything that's going
on on the too deep. They know who's like on
(08:04):
the bubble to make the roster. They know everything about
the Jags because that's their local team. It's totally different
with soccer. This happens in the NBA too. Toronto Raptors
fans can give you chapter and verse in their salary
cap situation in the next two years. That doesn't apply
to the US national soccer team, which puts us every
two to four years in this weird spot of Oh hey, guys,
(08:27):
it's time to pay attention to soccer. Wait, are we
gonna win this tournament. It's either boom or bust when
it comes to USA Soccer. For casuals, now, you could argue, hey,
it's great that the casuals are paying attention, but we
just want to kind of educate these guys so they
get up to speed. Hey, this is a be team
in the Gold Cup. But here's why it's a good thing.
Nobody wants to hear that. They're like, oh, who's the
(08:49):
new coach? What has he done? Polistics not playing and
you guys are missing out Because I'm here to tell
you and I know this is positive. Jason to start
the show gassing up Luka Doncic glazing the US national team.
We're gonna beat Guatemala, probably soundly tonight. I'll go three
to one, and then that'll lead us into the game
against likely Mexico Sunday, what will be a heated game.
(09:13):
Mexico has their a team, we don't, but I think
we're gonna be plucky in that one. It should be
a great game in Juson on Sunday. But when it
comes to USA Soccer, the reason I get excited about
Gold Cup is because we're seeing like the backups, the
depth the bench, that we've never really had, and Colin
likes to make this point, we just don't have depth.
We're building depth at the Gold Cup. They've got guys
(09:36):
who are showing very well. We've probably got two or
three starters. We might have our new goalie. And mister Freeze,
the freezeman was so good in PK's and as one
of the guys in the morning meeting noted, hey, Turner,
the incumbent, he hasn't looked great internationally because he's not playing.
Freeze gets on the field and is a brick wall
(09:56):
in PKS. So, folks, we're seeing depth, we're seeing the
new coach. And you guys know this happens, right, You
get a new coach, you got a new leader. Well
there's a new guy to impress. And guess who's got
a chance up close and personal to impress him. All
the guys playing in the Gold Cup. So you know,
Landon Donovan will come on and hopefully echo my sentiments here.
(10:17):
But I think this is a good thing. You know,
a five nothing against Haiti beating trindid Adam to bat like. Okay,
those are fine results, but it's more about the process
over the results. And I guess my issue is the
process can apply to your favorite NFL, your favorite NBA
team locally, it's tougher to apply the process to the
(10:37):
USA team because we just parachute in for the major
tournaments and we're like, oh, are we gonna win? Like
that's all it comes down to. There's no process. I
feel like we're seeing a tremendous process at the Gold Cup.
Poachatino is exerting his thoughts and beliefs and his value
system on the team and that will then trickle down
to the other guys. It's a good thing Tyler Adams
(10:59):
this year. He was on the show yesterday talking about it.
Here's Alexi Lales earlier in the week, also saying very
positive things about the USA showing at the Gold Cup.
Speaker 7 (11:09):
It's almost a wonderful message to send an important message
to send to the guys that aren't here, that you
know what will while you're important, you're not You're not
a savior and that and we can win games and
we can do things without you, because I think it's
going to motivate them to come in and say, you
know what, you know what stinks, just like everybody else
(11:32):
is America doesn't give a crap how this US team plays.
They care that they win and that they are doing
it in a kind of raw, strangely ugly but beautiful
way that I think that resonates with people.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
He absolutely nailed it, and folks, I'll wrap up with this,
but continuity is huge when I go to gamble for
the NFL in the offseason looking ahead to this coming season.
Continuity matters. You keep your coach, your coordinators, how many
starters do you have back in college football. It's huge NFL.
I feel like it's very important. We don't really have
(12:08):
that in soccer because it's a national team and guys
are spread out all over the planet playing in different leagues,
and then you get them together for the World Cup.
They're kind of thrust together. So the USA won't have continuity.
But here's the positive. Most of the starters in the
World Cup next summer. We're gonna have played in twenty
twenty two and showed well against England for moments against
(12:31):
the Netherlands. And now we get a coach who's got
a different outlook. And I do believe. I know it's
on US soil and I'm getting a little flag wavy here,
but I'm being dead serious, folks. I do believe quarterfinals
and semifinals could be in play for US soccer. I
know that's gonna seem like a hot take and you
all are gonna laugh. But historically, when you host the
(12:53):
goal the World Cup, you have a better titch. You're
sleeping in beds you're familiar with, You've got fat friends
and family, you're in your normal time zone. Everything lines
up for the US hosting the World Cup next year.
I'm thinking big things, and I think this Gold Cup
win tonight and maybe the win in the final Sunday,
will be a springboard to a huge twenty twenty six
(13:14):
in US soccer. All Right, we got a phenomenal show today.
Heading into July fourth, coming up next, Yeah, we're going
back to Lebron. There is a lot of chatter about
him switching teams. Does he want out of La Talk
about that next year on The Herd.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app Hi.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
This is Jay.
Speaker 8 (13:43):
I'm the producer of the Paul and Toni Fusco Show.
Usually in these promos they ask you to listen to
the show. I'm here to ask you please don't listen
to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who
have the dumbest takes on sports, imagicable. Don't listen to
the show so it can get camped.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
What the hell are you doing our studio again? Ignore
that fool. Listen to the Pauline Tony Fusco Show on
the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
He's still moving.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Back here on the Herd. A beautiful Wednesday. Uh Landon
Donovan coming up in about twenty minutes. Oh gosh, he's
so good, that guy. What a legend. All right, So,
you know, every time for some reason Alex and I
have hosted in the last couple of months, some big
news has dropped. I don't know if you guys remember
the first time Michael Malone got fired of the Nuggets.
(14:33):
It was like middle of the show, They're like, oh,
the Nuggets fired their coach. Oh wow, okay. And then
a few weeks ago, maybe last month, it was like
Tom Thibodeau fired. It's like, wow, so you know what
I just we just did the first segment here and
as soon as we get in a commercial break, they're like, hey,
Lebron just dropped something on social media. I was like,
oh boy, I can't wait to see this. And we're
(14:54):
talking about Lebron anyway. But let's just be real. Here's
Lebron on his Instagram within the last hour or so.
You have to look closely on the screen, but he's
wearing a hat that says welcome home. And it's possible
he just grabbed the first hat he saw at his
house in Ohio where he currently is playing golf. So
(15:21):
just to remind you, Lebron, who's been in the news
for the last forty eight hours because of his contract situation,
and then is he going to get traded? Is he
going to ask them to buy him out? Which is nonsense,
but it's a talking point. Lebron's all over the news
and then he pops up on Instagram with a welcome
home hat playing golf in Ohio. Guys, come on, this
is awesome. How do you not love this? This is
(15:44):
what Lebron does. He's done this for fifteen years. He
wrote the playbook for how to I don't know, troll people.
What are we calling it? Are we saying, like, get
people to talk about him on social media. I asked
the crew, here is Lebron the first social media athlete
who grew up in the social media era? And you
(16:05):
have to think back, like Tiger Woods was early two
thousands before social media. If you say social media was
like twenty ten ish, that's like when Lebron was peaking.
Speaker 9 (16:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Do you guys remember the Internet melting down when he
told Jim Gray, I'm taking my talents to South Beach. Like,
Lebron knows how to utilize and weaponize, if you will,
social media to get what he wants. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't. But the real question is what is
the endgame here? Is he just messing around? Maybe? Is
(16:36):
he sending a message? Probably my big thing that I
keep coming back to with this whole would they trade Lebron?
Is every time he's gotten into a pickle? It was
near the end. In Cleveland, Hey, I asked for real
contending dudes. The Celtics went out and got Kevin Garnett
and Ray Allen and I asked for contended guys, and
(16:59):
you guys got me Antoine Jamison. I'm out right, Lebron
didn't He had nothing around him in Miami near the end,
he starts to look around his team's breaking down. I'm
out in Cleveland, Kyrie Irving, jump ship, Lebron, I'm not
winning year with what's left. I'm out. But you look
(17:20):
around the Lakers locker room now and he's got Luka Doncic.
Is he walking away from Luca? And then the counter
would be, well, Jay, this is the first time Lebron
hasn't been the best player on his team or the
guy that the team is asking for advice and input.
And I was like, oh, okay, maybe that's accurate. Lebron's
(17:41):
unhappy about that. But the guy's turning forty one in December,
he's going into year twenty three. You really think he
wants to jump ship for a year to go to
I don't know, Detroit or Cleveland again or Atlanta. And listen,
I know one thing is true for sure. Loves the attention.
Who wouldn't you guys don't think I like it when
(18:03):
you bombarred me, when I blast the Kansas City Chiefs
and say they're not making the playoffs. I love that.
I love that you guys are worked into a ladder
and I could care less because it's a genuine opinion
backed up by facts and data. If you're in your
feelings over that's not my fault. I think Lebron is similar.
He's gonna put this out there, knows his name is swirling,
and I think he probably likes it a little bit,
(18:25):
just a little. Now where it gets super interesting is
that the Lakers don't get DeAndre Aiden and there's no
centers left. And at that point, Luca's like, what the
hell's going on here? Guys? And Lebron's like, you know what,
we had a good My other son he's going to
Arizona next year to play college basketball. I me, let
(18:46):
me go back to Cleveland and get a chance to
win it. But I've seen the trade scenarios folks, with
the Knicks and the Cavs. I don't think those teams
are giving up multiple starters in rotation guys for Lebron.
I don't see it. Like the Cavs aren't gonna do
Darius Garland for le Lakers. Would be idiots to do that.
Now you talk Evan Mobley, we got a discussion that's
(19:07):
not happening. I'm sure the Knicks are like, hey, do
you want Karl Anthony Towns? And the Lakers are like,
absolutely not think about this. Lebron has one year left,
then the books are clear. Luca's got his runway, go
get me this, that and the other. We're set, so
I listen. I love the Lebron antics. I love him
going on social media and getting in everybody's head and
(19:28):
generating segments on TV shows. He's got a podcast now
with Steve Nash that's kind of popping. I love this stuff,
but ultimately I just keep coming back like it's not happy.
He's not going anywhere. Enjoy Luca and Lebron next year
with the Lakers when they're hopefully a top four seat
in the West. Don't look like it now, but things
could change. Let's go to Alex Curry with the news.
Speaker 6 (19:50):
No, no, no, turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
This is the headline news.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
I felt like when you told Laker fans to take
a deep breath, you were talking directly to me, though, Like,
I think the Lakers are going to be just fine. Yes,
there's new ownership, but this is an ownership that knows
how to win. Yes, it's not the family friendly deal
that he signed up for with the Bus family, but
he's a huge fan of Luca.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
He's been very.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Vocal about it. He's gonna give it like a full
season try. I think the Lakers are going to be
just fine. As you mentioned, he knows how to work
the media. He knows how to create the conversation. Like
Lebron is a genius media mogul. That's what it is. Smart.
We're talking about it posted within like what like an
hour and we're already having it on talking about it
on national TV. Okay, well, let's switch to the big
(20:34):
conversation yesterday. Damian Lillard was waived by the Bucks yesterday
and some execs say he won the basketball lottery. Milwaukee
will have to pay Lillard out one hundred and thirteen
million dollars over the next five years after stretching out
his contract, which allowed them space though to sign Miles Turner. Now,
Dame can now recover on his own time and sign
(20:54):
a new deal with a new team when he's healthy
and get paid all the same. So he's still making
his money. Like he can take his time rehabbing. Remember
he tore his achilles, He can kind of pick where
he wants to go. Obviously, what the Bucks had wasn't
working because we've heard all of the the trade rumors
from Yannis. We haven't heard directly from his mouth yet,
(21:16):
though him say I want to be traded and this
was a big swing that they took yesterday, signing Miles
Turner one hundred and seven million dollar deal.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Do you think.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Do you like the fit of Miles Turner with the Bucks?
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah? It doesn't keep Yannest there? Yes and no, like
that's that's Let me go back to the Dame thing
you mentioned. So have you ever been fired from a job?
I've had shows canceled. Yeah, I've been in the same boat,
and in the moment it absolutely so hurts feel like
a loser life. Oh what did I do? It's wrong?
It's all me. Yeah. In the dust clears within a
(22:01):
couple of days and you're like, holy, this is oh
my gosh, this is great.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Ends up being like a beautiful thing that happens.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Yes, what do they say, a door closes in, a
window opens or something like that, And I feel like
for Dame yesterday, Oh my gosh, the Bucks are they're
cutting him? Well that sucks. Well not wait a minute,
hold on, still get paid. He gets paid and he
can react his team. Oh yeah, he gets to go
look near his family in Portland. Remember that was like
a big yep issue because he's away from his kids.
(22:29):
This is great now if he happens to be healthy
come April and he sees that there's a contender on
the West Post once.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's Achilles, So he's like post All Star break, I
think is like kind of so like second half of
the season when you're really seeing what team has the
ability to make a run and be a con I could.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Join and be your ninth guy off the bench.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
And he's getting paid to rehab and be with his
family and be in a good headspace, like the mentality
coming in like happy.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
So like, yeah, the Dame angle is interesting because it's
a it's a win for him. Listen, you don't get
the Warriors of the Lakers are gonna be monitoring breathlessly.
Could we get Dame Lillard for pennies?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Well, and yeah, the Bucks are still gonna be paying
for a majority of his contracts.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Such a bad move by the Bucks.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
It was weird. And then for Jannis to to say
he wasn't I mean, I don't know who he said
he wasn't happy, but there were reports that he wasn't
happy with the move and the trade, and there's just
there's just so much. It's a lot of question marks.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
With the Bocks, it felt like a desperate move. And
you it's like you go house hunting, which I'm sure
you know you've done, and you're being told never fall
in love with the house. You cannot because then you're
gonna be pot playing.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Hard to get.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
You're gonna want to bid it. Uh huh, just hey, whatever,
And I felt like they fell in love with Hey,
Miles Turner, it can be our new brook Lopez. He's younger,
he's more athletic, he's a better thing. And brook Lopez
worked great with Honest, and they're they're missing the part that,
oh we don't have a starting backcourt. It's like Gary
Trent and Kevin Porter. I just don't see.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
It's a little bit of a mess. And obviously you
got to figure out what's happening with you Honest? Is
he going to get traded? Because we still haven't heard
from his mouth trade.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
What happens if Giannis comes out in two weeks and
says I don't like this, I want to be traded? Yeah,
then what I like? What are you the boss heard of?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
It was a disaster just shut yourself on the foot. Yeah, yeah, wild, Okay,
let's switch to the NFL. Travis Kelce was on the
bust In with the Boys podcast and talked about his
motive how his motivation has changed as he's aged as
a football player.
Speaker 10 (24:34):
I used to want to get a thousand yards every year,
every single year, like that was like the milestone and
that you were elite in the league, especially at the
tight end position. Yeah, but then I just like, it's
more important to get dugs, and I feel like getting
that message to the teammates was way more important.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
He's saying what champions say, right, It's not about the
personal accolades. It's about winning the chips. And once you've won,
like he's won, they are the current dynasty in the NFL.
They have three championship rings. All you're thinking about is
how do I get that fourth? And then now you're
also your legacy and your career is compared to well,
(25:15):
how are you going to level up to the other grades?
Like how many does Bronk have? Like are you going
to be like Shannon Sharp? There's like all these other
top players of that position. Are you going to be
able to reach that level? And again, like he's not
the same player he was when they won that first
and second Super Bowl. He's going to have to get creative.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Numbers.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
That is impressive.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
So let me ask you, Alex. So yeah, I love
to make these things personal. Like you know, you played
soccer and the team was good, and then they recruit
somebody at your position who's better than you and takes
the starting spot and you guys win the national championship.
So that was me.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
I was the one who took the spot and we
won the national championship, and then.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
I left early.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
So I was always the doubted one, like you're not
gonna make it. There's no room for you, like we
don't have space. And then I was having to prove
everybody wrong my entire career, through soccer, through broadcasting, everything.
It's like, just get me a chance, let me prove
me wrong. So I've always been that like hungry person.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Kelsey's kind of like the opposite, right, and that he's
got the stats and the chip. But would he be
happy because the way he's talking about one thousand year,
would he be happy if they if he had six
hundred yards receiving next year?
Speaker 4 (26:28):
But they were the number one see that's not what
matters right now. And I think that's the important message
that he's trying to say, and that he's trying to
he's the veteran on the team now, right he's trying
to tell all the young guys, Hey, it's not about
your your personal stats. What matters is that w at
the end of the day, is getting that ring at
the end of the season. That's all that matters at
the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
That's a tough mindset for someone in their twenties. Yeah,
thirties is you know, when we're in our twenties or bulletproof,
I can do whatever.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
I'm on.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
I'm fine. You get into your thirties, you start like
reality starts to sit in. Yeah, maybe that's what Kelsey's seeing, Like, hey,
I'm not going to be that guy.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
And he's also like probably the most famous NFL like
player right now.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
He's an A list celebrities.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
He's happy in his personal life. He's doing great career wise,
Like he is like top of the mountain right now,
not tap because like if they won a Super Bowl
then I think he like last season, then he would
be top of the mountain. He was top of the
mountain two years ago. But it's just how do I
get back there?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Yeah, and maybe sacrificing a little yeah, understanding, Hey, it's
not going to be all about his boys.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Not No, it's not. He was breaking down. Yeah yeah,
he's breaking down, but he's still Mahomes guy and it's
still having that presence and he's still in the locker
room and on the field. Sure has, sure is. Hey
she was at tight end. You you see that, super.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Far I saw that.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, they were all they were all singing along
with her kid, all everybody.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
It was not a bad hang. I love it.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
All right, let's move to New York and talk about
your Jets, Jmack, because they made a ton of changes
this offseason, but one of holdovers, running back Breeze Hall,
isn't using that as an excuse. Hall set I think
people think the new coaching staff and new GM means
a rebuild. But we have a lot of really good
players on the roster, so we're going to try to
win now. I think our ceiling is very high. So
(28:24):
when you hear that Jmac.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
In the AA in the.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
AFC East, I mean there's a lot of new right cornerback,
new front office, new coaching staff. They're also a franchise
that hasn't reached the postseason since twenty ten. Fourteen year
drought longest postseason drought.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
In NFL history.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
I don't mean to rub it in and remind or
current no current postseason. It says fourteen year drought the
longest postseason drought.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
In the NFL right now currently, yeah, yeah, yeah, currently
it's not great.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Yeah, I just what they're feeling.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
His staff is like, oh yeah, let's get to what
do you think third third? What in the AFC?
Speaker 4 (29:06):
In AFCAS, I'm looking at it. I'm Bill's fml on.
Bill's won again. Miami depends on two. Uh, people are
high on the Patriots, and then you got your Jets.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Well remember the continuity I mentioned for US soccer. Yeah,
so the Jets have a new head coach, yes, a
new offensive coordinator, yeah, a new defensive coordinator, new quarterback,
a new quarterback. Uh huh. That's a lot of news.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
But we also saw that with the Commanders last year,
and they surprised and took everyone by storm. So like
there could be both sides to new Well, I.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Mean, dan Quinn had wont to been to a Super Bowl.
I'm sorry with Atlanta. Yeah, and the offensive coordinator was
Kyle Shanahan, who's a big time Oh no, not Kyle Shanahan.
What am I saying? The offensive coordinator, I'm spacing on
his name right now. But the guy from Arizona, the
pretty boy. Oh and also USC are you talking of?
(30:00):
Are you talking about commanders?
Speaker 5 (30:01):
Ye?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Commanders? Commanders? How Kingsbury like winners? James Daniels was a superstar. Yeah,
Jets are getting Justin Fields. Who's been me? Aaron Glenn
has never been a head coach, and the offensive coordinators
never called please like it's not it's just too much newness, Alex.
It is like a six or seven win team. Let's see.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
I like little fourth. You think fourth finished last AC
that's not bad.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Then the last play schedule for next year with Arts Manning,
They're not going to be bad Arts Manning bad. They're
not gonna be Art.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Never know.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Alex Curry with the news.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Line News all right. Coming up next is landon Donovan
excited for the USA's chances against Guatemala to night, and
then what about the final in the Gold Cup against
Mexico on Sunday. That's next year on the Herd.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern emphasis.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
The road to twenty twenty six continues tonight on FS
one with the Gold Cup semifinal as the US men's
national team takes on Guatemala. No Easy Path, No Second Chances.
Coverage begins tonight at sixth Eastern on FS one.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Obviously, everybody very excited USA Guatemala tonight, and then when
we win, we'll face Mexico in the final. Yes, we're
gonna win. Let's talk to Landon Donovan. Oh my gosh,
a legend. You know, I get a little gushy. I'm
gonna be a little bit of a fanboy here. Who
couldn't love Landon Donovan. I was just telling him how
(31:41):
to break stop it maybe pochatino, but that's about it.
But during the break, like I remember the goal against
Algeria in the World Cup, watching with my family, I'll
never forget it. That's one of the most seminal moments
in USA soccer. So Landov, great, Landon, great to have
you on the show. Let's start with this layup. How
do you feel about the game against Guatemala tonight.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
I think we got a gift.
Speaker 9 (32:03):
Guatemala played Canada the other night and Canada are a
much much better overall team than Guatemala, and I think
if they play that game ten times, Canada win eight.
Guatemala Taiwan and they win one and they tied, went
to penalty kicks and ended up losing the game. So
it's a bit of a gift for us. Guatemala is
(32:26):
not a top Conker CAF team. This is the first time,
I believe in thirty something years they've been to the
semi finals of a Gold Cup, so I expect.
Speaker 6 (32:34):
Us to win. It will not be easy.
Speaker 9 (32:36):
J Mack Soccer never is because goals are hard to score.
Speaker 6 (32:40):
But I expect that we'll win tonight.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
I'm just curious. Obviously you're not there talking to the players,
but how do you what do you think the mindset
is given free shows up in pks. You know all
the criticism for the team, but they have been kind
of playing great. I didn't love the goal they gave
up in what the eighty fifth minute or whatever, but
overall they've played pretty dark and good.
Speaker 9 (33:00):
No, they've been fantastic and it's important to have the
context of what happened. So before the tournament, many players
opted out of the tournament, which you know, is a
whole nother story, and for people who have dreamt of
playing soccer their whole life, you know, it's it's pretty
interesting that people would not want to play for their
national team. A lot of players out injured, and then
a third set of players are out for the Club
(33:22):
World Cup that's going on concurrently. So this group of
players is a little bit of a makeshift, maybe one
or two starters, but the rest are a be maybe
even in some cases a C team or a C player.
And what they've done is they've taken the opportunity and
J Mack, you know, in sports, when someone leaves the
door slightly open, you better be careful because someone else
(33:44):
might barge through.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
And these guys have barged through.
Speaker 9 (33:46):
And they've been really inspiring for those of us who
love this game and love this national team. It's been
really fun to watch them continue to grow and win
back hearts and minds of Americans.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Yeah, I didn't want to start with the controversy, but
let's go into it. You know, they didn't seem to
have an identity heading into the Gold Cup, Like, what
are they do you think that Pochettino has kind of
established this is what we are or is that still
a work in progress.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
So this is the hard part with soccer for people
who are new to it. You play for your club
team all the time, and let's use the analogy of
you play for the Lakers or the Celtics or the Yankees,
but then once a month, maybe once every couple months,
you come together for whatever country you represent, and you
represent your national team. The problem is is you're only
together for two or three days at a time and
(34:37):
then you go back to your club teams. What's happened
in this camp is Pochettino had two friendlies before this
camp started, so you had a week and a half
with these guys, two games, and now they've had their
going on I think two and a half or three
weeks together. Having that amount of time together is priceless.
With a national team, it's absolutely priceless. So in the beginning,
there was no identity. People didn't know what to expect.
(34:59):
Everybody's sort of looking around in camp.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Are you a leader?
Speaker 9 (35:01):
You're a leader with your club team, but are you
a leader here, and now you're starting to see roles define,
You're starting to see people take the opportunity. You saw
Matt Freeze say hey, no one else has claimed the
goalkeeper spot, why not me? And that's what guys have
done this entire Tournament's been really fun to watch them grow.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Yeah, and you said the doors kind of open. And
I asked the more the staff here, like, how many
guys do you think currently on the goal club a
Gold Cup roster would maybe start next year in the
World Cup? And we came around two or three. I
don't know, am I missing anyone? I think Freeze might
have passed Turner just alone in this tournament. But who
(35:38):
else do you think is Could Richards be a starter
next year in the World Cup?
Speaker 9 (35:42):
Well, look like politics, a year is a long time, right,
so a lot of things can happen in a year. However,
this is what I would say with Pochattino. Pochattino is
Argentina and he spent most of his career in Europe coaching.
He doesn't have any obligation to anybody who has name
right cognition, or has played in the past, or has
been a leader or been a captain. He just looks
(36:04):
at this roster and says, these are the guys I have.
You show me that by your performance today today against
Guatemala that you deserve to play in the final if
we win, and if we play in the final against
Mexico Honduras, you show me again that you deserve to
play in the friendlies that are coming up in the fall,
and you deserve to play in the next one and
the next one, in the next one.
Speaker 6 (36:25):
He does send care.
Speaker 9 (36:26):
If you have a big name or a big contract
or play for a big club. He can only evaluate
what he's seeing, and what he's seeing right now are
a bunch of guys who are taking advantage of the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
Yeah, do you think Tillman is one of those guys?
I was looking at his background. Absolutely played on the
German national team. You have fifteen through twenty one, and
it's like, wow, he looks outstanding. But I don't think
of him as better than Baligan, you know, and like
some of the other forwards, right or is that now
a discussion?
Speaker 9 (36:51):
Yeah, but it is a discussion for what I just said.
And you know the old adage the most important ability
in sports is availability, and Baligan is a fantastic player, talented,
Ricardo Peppy fantastic player, very talented. They've been injured. Both
of them have been injured a lot leak. Someone's not
an out and out striker. There's a young man named
(37:11):
Patrick Ajemong who has sort of taken that role.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
And we'll see what happens.
Speaker 9 (37:18):
You know, j Mack, the telling sign will be in
the next camp after this Gold Cup. Does he just
readily invite all those guys back in or does he say,
you know what, these guys did a great job for
me in the Gold Cup. This B and C list
and maybe they become the A list and that's gonna
tell us a lot.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
That would ruffle some feathers. But I'm just curious, like
that sounds like a good talking point and hearing you
say it, like yeah, there's something here. But in your
soccer experience, do you ever recall them going with bees
over a's just because the a's weren't there?
Speaker 6 (37:48):
No, and and no.
Speaker 9 (37:50):
The reason why is because when you play with your
national team, and this is part of my frustration why
I'm outspoken about this. Yes, when you play for your
national team, it just means more. It has to mean more,
and I'm not saying people don't try with their club teams.
I'm not even saying people don't care sometimes when they
play with their national team. But if you're not willing
to do anything in everything to win the game with
(38:12):
your national team, then you don't deserve to be there.
And the guys who are there right now have said,
I don't care what happens.
Speaker 6 (38:19):
I'm not.
Speaker 9 (38:20):
You know, a guy Diego Luna young Man broke his
nose in a friendly in January and they said you
need to come out of the game, and he said,
I'm not coming out of the game.
Speaker 6 (38:28):
This is my one chance.
Speaker 9 (38:29):
So you can pull me off the field, you can
carry me off, but I'm not coming out of the game.
Next thing, you know, he started every game in the
Gold Cup. If there if the roster was announced tomorrow
for the World Cup, he is one hundred percent on it.
And he came out of nowhere. And so that's what
it means to play for your national team. Malik Tilman
got kicked all over the field the other night, and
he got up again, and got up again, and got
(38:51):
up again. He missed a penalty in the game, came
back and made a penalty in the penalty kick shootout.
So they are showing Mauricio Pochettino what it means to
play for a NASH team. And there's no reason why
a lot of these guys one won't be on the roster,
and two some of them would start.
Speaker 3 (39:05):
Now, are they all going to be starters?
Speaker 9 (39:07):
I don't think so, but hopefully it sends a message
to the rest of the group that this is what's
expected and if you don't do it, you're not going
to be here.
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Yeah, all right, I got to ask it. And obviously
you know the drama with Polisic and Pochattino. A. Have
you heard from anybody in either camp since the Gold
Cup privately? If it's private stuff and you don't want
to talk about it, that's fine. But have you heard
from anyone in politics camp or Pochattinos?
Speaker 6 (39:31):
No?
Speaker 9 (39:32):
No, no, And I've I talked to many people behind
the scenes all week j Mac in US Soccer And
the reality right now is what I just said about Pochettino.
He does not have he does not feel any obligation
to any player. Now, is Christian Polistic more talented than
anybody on the current Gold Cup roster? Yes, by a
(39:54):
gazillion miles. But when you see when you play for
a national team, it doesn't always mean that. If you watch,
do yourself a favor. Go watch Argentina play Columbia or
Argentina played Brazil. When you watch that game, you go
there's a lot.
Speaker 6 (40:08):
Of soccer being played here.
Speaker 9 (40:10):
This is just a battle, and these are some of
the best players in the world, and all the skill
and all the stuff gets thrown out the window for
ninety percent of the game and they just battle because
that's what it means to play for your country. So
I think the message is loud and clear. And I
took Christian's credit. I think when he shows up and plays,
he does play that way.
Speaker 6 (40:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (40:29):
Now some of the other guys on the roster haven't,
and I think the message is becoming clear from Poachatino.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
You either do this or you're not playing.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Yeah. I feel like that was a shot at Jill Reno,
but I'm just gonna side say it. Let's we'll wrap
up with this. You know, Freeze obviously was the hero
in the PKS. Turner's kind of been buried on the
bench with his club team. I don't know, do you
think Freeze past them or is it too early.
Speaker 9 (40:52):
To tell I want to separate. You know, people get
excited in moments, right. You know, it'd be like if
a guy gets fouled for three pointer and makes three
free throws to win the game. You wouldn't necessarily then say, oh, well,
he's the best player throughout the game, right because he made.
Speaker 6 (41:07):
Those three free throws.
Speaker 9 (41:09):
Matt Freeze is excellent clearly at penalty kicks, and I
will just say, let's say he's not one of the
best three goalkeepers. Generally you take three goalkeepers to the
World Cup, there is every opportunity that Poachatino says, you
know what, I'm gonna take him even as my third,
even though he's not the best, because we might get
into a situation in a knockout stage where we need
(41:29):
to take penalty kicks, and I could absolutely see that happen. Now,
aside from that, I think he's been okay. I don't
think he is a better goalkeeper than Matt Turner. But
I talked earlier, you leave that door open. You're Matt Turner,
and you didn't play a lot of club soccer the
last year. You left the door open, and someone said, bang,
I'm kicking that thing down and I'm coming in.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Yeah, and he has Landed Donovan Fox Sports Soccer analyst,
a legend on the pitch and off of it. Great stuff. Landon,
thanks a lot of Joe.
Speaker 6 (41:56):
I appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Yeah, thank you, all right, Landed Donovan. Really want to listen.
He's saying a lot of stuff, and you need to
listen because I'm sure he talks to everybody in USA soccer.
He's probably not saying everything. Alex, you know soccer. Well,
I think based on some of the stuff Landon Donovan saying, uh,
you know, if you passed on this Gold Cup, you
(42:17):
may have not polistic, but some of the other.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
Guys you want to be here. Yeah, that's what this
new coaching regime is about. Show me that you want
to be here.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
Yeah. Oh boy, Yeah, it's exciting. At least we gotta
win over Guatemala tonight coming up next.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
Hey.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
You know Lamar Jackson. I like him a lot. He's
a two time MVP. He made a comment I don't
love it. We'll talk about that next year. On the
Hurt
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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