The Herd with Colin CowherdColin celebrates Caitlin Clark’s return from injury to score 9 points in 38 seconds and why her historic performance shows she’s just behind LeBron James and Steph Curry as the most popular basketball players in the world right now
Thoughts on game 4 of the NBA Finals and if people should be questioning the officiating
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.
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Here we go. It is a Monday, and we are live. It's The Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Jmac, it was a wild weekend tonight. By the way, O Tani is pitching tonight, which is unbelievable. Also tonight, the Indiana Pacers play oh Case. Now that's all. Let's I know, we'll have a Scott Foster segment. You're all worked up about that, but I gotta tell you so yesterday you open didn't have a lot of juice. Again for diehard golfers, they think it's great, but most people don't know who these guys are. But I gotta tell you something. The Caitlin Clark yesterday thirty eight seconds. Caitlin Clark in thirty eight seconds, I don't know what second place is that's the greatest thirty eight seconds in WNBA history, A mesmerizing thirty eight seconds, a thirty three footer, a thirty one footer, a twenty seven footer. The WNBA three point arc is twenty two feet. It felt like you were watching history, and I'm not overstating it. Kobe's eighty one point game, Michael Jordan's switching hands, Reggie Jackson with three home runs on three pitches in the nineteen seventy seven World Series against the Dodgers.
It felt like I was watching history.
Yeah, I know Lebron's block was the NBA Finals, But it's interesting that you don't realize how much you miss people until they're gone. So Kaitlin Clark had played high school every week, and college every and the WNBA every game, and then she misses five games and the ratings plummet fifty five percent league wide. Like it's like Saturday Night Live when they don't have a big star on. Maybe I'll catch a clip, not the show. She comes back. Caitlin Clark Kent the woe Man of Steel. She was calling for the ball and right now I'm sitting there watching it, and I felt like, what in the look at these shots. What in the world am I watching? Thirty three, thirty one and twenty seven feet? And you know what was funny is SGA.
And Aunt Edwards.
The NBA is trying to peg some young guys his face of the league. They had Aunt and SGA play in the Western Conference finals and it had the lowest rating in four years. They're trying. You say, well, the markets are small. Well, Kaitlin Clark plays for the Indiana Fever.
What does that matter.
This goes to show that markets do not matter. That's all nonsense. As she if if Lebron James, when Lebron James was in Cleveland, we never said, well, the ratings are great. It's amazing it's in Cleveland. Stars transcends state lines right now, she's the biggest basketball.
Star in the world not named Lebron and Steph.
She's bigger than Jokic, she's bigger than SGA, She's bigger than Halliburton in Indiana for a terrible team a year ago. But it was a remarkable thing to watch, and she's got a little flash to it that helps. She's totally unique and totally transcendent. But I'm watching live on television, and my takeaway is, oh, this is one of those like once every two or three years, Like when Lebron made that block in the finals, you're like, Oh, that's gonna be an all time play, or Michael Jordan switches hands. I didn't see Kobe live with eighty one, but if you did, it probably felt like this. But I did see Reggie Jackson in seventy seven, three pitchers, three pitches, seventy seven against the Dodgers' home runs. I know it's the world's siah. That is the greatest thirty eight seconds and the greatest stretch what we watched this weekend in WNBA history. The league is twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven years old, however it is that's the greatest moment. I don't care about championships. Diana Tarassi Sue Brn, I don't care. That was the greatest moment in league history. Like other play when you're watching as forward and you're like, whoa, whoa. I mean, look at the depth on these shots. Look at the It doesn't even look if you were Steph Curry, you'd be going crazy.
Look at that.
That feels like a half court shot. Look at this stuff fifty five percent ratings lost when she left.
She's back.
I don't know what the number is for that. I would guess it's a season high ratings. Here's Caitlin Clark after.
I felt good and then I took one in transition. That's kind of like where I like to get to early and it's alwa's good to see the ball go through the hoop. And then I came down and shot another one. Then I came down and shot another one, and so three in a row go in. So that gives you a lot of confidence. And even in the second half, I thought I felt like they all came off my hand feeling really good. So like that's what you can find confidence in as a scorer and as a shooter.
Okay, the other thing this weekend that jumped out to me, and again it wasn't the US Open. I know, all you die hard golfers, you experts on golfs, you just had a great time watching that rain delay.
Let's be honest.
The Tiger Rocco mediate they put on television during the rain delay, and Caitlin was far more interesting. You're not gonna admit it because you're a great golfer and a four handicap, but it didn't have a lot of juice. The other thing that was interesting over the last four or five days is the best soccer player in the history of our country is Christian Polistic. It's don't argue it. You don't have to be a soccer expert. Turn the sound down. Watch he's our Lebron, he's our MJ he's our magic. It's just different looking. If you take him out, we just don't look as good. And there's a bunch of guys missing from the Gold Cup. But I have been on team Polisic because he decided not play the Gold Cup. He wanted to play in a couple of the friendlies. But Mauricio Pucchettino, the managerournal get to this in a second, said naw, now we're not going to do that. You're all in or you're all out. But here's why I am for Christian Luisik and again team USA one. As j Max said, settled down, they'll win. They did five nothing over Trinida and Tobago. Okay, fine, But as I talked about last week, for soccer players, basically, if you're the best soccer player in the world, you are.
Lebron what does Lebron do?
He gets paid in the WNBA and then he plays in the Olympics. Did Lebron did he play in the recent Feeble World Championships.
No, he didn't.
And this is the equivalent the Gold Cup to the Feeble World Championships in basketball. Did Jokich play in those? No, he didn't play in those either. Jo Kich makes his money here in America in the NBA and then he goes and plays in the Olympics. And Lebron James makes his money in the NBA and then he goes and plays in the Olympics. Do you know who we as America said to the Feeble World Championships the equivalent of this, Josh Hart, cam Johnson, a young Tyrese Haliburton, That's who we said, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis, That's who we said. Jalen Brunson. Boon Carroll was like twenty, this is the Gold Cup, that's what it is. And we have to be fair about this. If you're anti Polisic, he's not supporting America. Do you think Lebron doesn't support America? Yeah, he does. He ran the NBA for fifteen years and he goes to the Olympics. Now, Steph Curry didn't get to the Olympics till later because he was dominating the league and he was winning championships. But that's all this is, basically Christian Polisic is taking the NBA model. And by the way, the two most global sports are not baseball or not football or not hockey. They're soccer and basketball. In soccer and basketball and now forever, the best Europeans come over here to play now our best soccer because that's where the best basketball is. Now are the best soccer players are good enough to go to AC Milan and be first or second in scoring for their team and dominate. And so all Politic is doing, he's following the basketball model. If Yo Kinch and Lebron aren't gonna play in the FEBA World Championships, why in the world am I playing in the Gold Cup, small crowds, second tier teams. I mean, we went five nothing, We didn't have her best seven players and we won five nothing. So I am team Politic on this now. I also Landon Donovan talked about this. I also do believe that we have a new coach and the new coach has to send a message. So when Pulisic says, hey, I'll come over and play a couple friendlies, but I don't want to play in the Gold Cup.
I'm exhausted.
I played fifty games in ac Milan, and here was Landon donoman on that you.
Had to address it.
He I think was ready to move on. He wanted to move on, guys.
But then your best player and one of the leaders on your team doesn't interview publicly and says I wanted to go, but the coach wouldn't let me, and the coach didn't want me there. He had to stand up for himself. One to send a message to Christian, two to send a message to the team and the pool, but also for himself. You cannot be the coach that gets walked on by your star player. So for his future, everybody's paying attention. People are going to possibly hire him.
Though.
He can't just let his best player walk all over him like that.
He had to respond, Yes, totally agree.
But if you are the best in America at anything, whatever your chosen field is in America, if you're the very best in Pulisica is in soccer, you gotta make choices cash and country Feebo World Basketball Championship. That's not gonna make the cut. The Gold Cup. I liked watching it, but we don't have our six best players. We won five nothing I'm gonna defend. I'm on team Polisic here, all right, j Mac, I am watching Scott Foster in the reaction. I just stayed away away from this nonsense, but I am. I'm also team Scott Foster.
So this show's off to a great start, right. We got Kayln Clark phenomenal.
Did you watch that?
Yes?
You and my daughter, who's a basketball player, sometimes we're just like in awe.
I mean, she just we were going to go out to lunch.
We had to wait until it was halftime because Kaylin Clark.
Was on fire. I mean we had twenty five and a half. But you know, Kayln Clark goes off, You talk.
Soccer, and now you want to go to Scott Foster. Do you know how much of a gut punch the non cover was. I had plus six, I'm feeling great all game. They're up four with three minutes.
Left and it fell apart. That was a brutal, gambling beat.
And I will say this though, remember the Warriors, Lebron Calves Final when the Calves won in seven. Yes, it was six blowouts in a Gray Final game. This series, nobody's watching, but the games have been Three of the four games have been absolutely fair, fantastic. That was a great basketball game. But it doesn't feel as big. There's it's like the US Open yesterday, when you don't know the players, it doesn't feel as big.
Yeah, no, are you gonna get into non foster the push off by SGA and then they travel on like the get in the shot to put them up with like two minutes lefty, you gotta talk about that.
Well, well, we'll talk about that. I also there was a there was an NBA deal yesterday and people are freaking out, and I want to address that coming up. Don't forget Colin right, Colin wrong. Top of our number two in Chicago, It's the Hurt.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and neon Eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Oh, there was actually a big trade yesterday.
You know. One of our favorite things we talked about this last week with the Indiana Pacers who play OKC tonight, series tied to two. Each team's one on the other floor. I'm still not sure who the best team is. It's Mike got of NBA Finals OKC favorite and I I'd probably take him at home, but I love the Pacers. So the Pacers sort of snuck up on right. You're like, oh man, where did.
They come from?
Well, the team that's going to do that, I think next year is the Orlando Magic. And we talked about it earlier this year we sat in the playoffs. We said, keep your eye in Orlando. Boncaro Benkaro is a great player, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner is going to be an All Star. And they made a deal yesterday with Memphis and they ended up getting Desmond Baine, who can shoot the three, not much of a defender. But now they have their four guys, and so they gave up a bunch of first round picks, like three or four first round picks. Everybody freaked out. This is not the NFL where you get twenty three year olds. These first round picks with Memphis are all going to be low first round picks. So the bottom line is in a hyper aggressive league that rewards people like Toronto who went out and got Cohi Leonard, or the Lakers who are aggressive to get pow Gasol in Shack, or the Warriors who were aggressive to go out after winning a title and get KD.
That's this league.
Aggressive wins now aggressive Westbrooklyille, Lakers and Lebron doesn't always win. But I would always back the team that was aggressive. So this is not the NFL. Draft picks do not mean the same. You have a lower hit rate, especially lower first round.
I mean in the NFL you.
Can get Puka Nakou in the fifth round, you can get brock Perty in the seventh. That stuff happens all the time. In the NBA, you're one out of players by about the twelfth pick many years. So my take his these are going to be low first rounders. But there's two things that happen with this trade. Number one is Memphis signaled we're rebooting. We're getting rid of Desmond Bane. We don't trust Jahn Morant. Jahn Morant's always hurt. He's always been fools gold in my opinion, maturity issues. You can't rely on him. Last three years he's worse. He's missed half the games and his shooting percentage has gone down, So by trading him, they're rebooting. Yeah, that's a Colin was right. I never bought into Jah morant Is. Desmond Baying a good player, absolutely.
Can hit a three.
He's aggressive, he's big, he's strong, not much of a defense. Nobody can hit the three. And what Orlando was saying is, hey, look at Indiana. Bank Carrow is better than anybody potentially on Indiana. Can can Wagner be as good as Pascal Siakam? Why not us? I think Orlando's looking at these finals and looking at the Pacers and saying, Milwaukee, Tatum's hurt for Boston, New York's got a ceiling offensively, why not US? So I love the move by Orlando. Now they've got their core F Suggs, who had a rocky start from Gonzaga, is now a nice player, tough defender, can hit a three.
And again, Desmond.
Bain's gonna give you a nineteen twenty twenty one from the tougher West of the weaker East. He get average twenty two a game. Gives them a little maturity and a little age on a very young team. But I actually like the move there, and I also think I've been.
On this for years.
There are certain players in the end, overwhelmingly small, hyper athletic guards that everybody falls in love with. I didn't fall I didn't buy into John Wall or Early Westbrook, or Derrick Rose or stuff on Marbury or Jahn Moran. If you can't shoot as a small player, then you have to score at the rim and you're gonna get hurt. And I'd said before John Morant, he's a lesser version, a thinner version of smaller version of Derrick Rose, who I thought was wildly great for highlights and really good. But then you remember Derek Rose for the Bulls taking on Lebron, remember that I think Lebron was a Cleveland at that time, and Lebron saying in the fourth quarter, I'm gonna shut him down, bigger, stronger Lebron did. This league is overwhelmingly won by biggs and unbelievable wings, not my small guys who are hyper athletic and can't shoot. So I never bt into the Jah Morant stuff. I'd like him as my two or my three, but I can't build around him in Memphis. Finally acknowledging, yeah, we can't build around him either, but don't worry about the draft picks. Yeah, I don't love giving up four first rounders, but Orlando is going to be a top five to six team.
In the league.
They're gonna be Indiana, So those picks at the bottom of the first round don't mean a ton and Bane's a real player in Orlando. We watched them in the playoffs this year, and then we set it on this show during during the series, we're like, oh, you don't want to play Orlando. If they get another guy or if they mature, they have a chance to be Indiana next year, especially now with Desmond bang Jmack with.
A news no, no.
No, this is the Herd line news.
Remember that series.
It was against Boston and we were surprised how this young Orlando team was like pushing back in. The games were competitive when Boston had been an unbelievable team all regular season, and we you and I kept saying, like Detroit gave the Knicks trouble. We're like, Okay, Cunningham's a real deal and Orlando's out there against the Celtics, were like.
How are these games close?
Now?
They just added a guy that could be an All Star or a borderline All Star.
And Basically, this is the Michale Bridges trade that the Knicks did right. Bridges had not been an All Star, but he fetch five firsts and he's valuable. I think this I'm with you. I think the bain is huge in Orlando. Remember Suggs is a great defender. They got two tough defensive guards. Man, I love that move. All right, let's get started to calm Michael Parsons obviously still seeking a new contract, but at.
The same time, so are Trey hendricksoner TJ Watt.
It's almost like a standoff because whoever goes first, then the next guy just gonna get a little bit more, and the next guy.
Will get a little bit more than that. So it's weird. But Parsons says, the longer it goes that, the more it's gonna cost Dallas.
And if you look at the highest paid non quarterbacks in the league, I mean, are you giving Michael.
Parsons more than Jamar Chase.
I'm not doing that now, Dallas.
I guess they're going to Jason. I think, what is happening. I'm gonna I'm projecting this. I don't know if it's happening, but it feels like it. We've always viewed edge rushers as gold bars, and I do think Miles Garrett is one of one. But I think the Steelers are looking and saying, we're already paying the most for defense, and we gotta pay forty five million for TJ.
Watt.
And I think Hendrickson for Cincinnati, though I would sign him, I think they're looking at him, and then I think Dallas is looking at Micah Parsons. And the truth is, the guys that really dominate the defensive line are Jalen Carter, Chris Jones, and Aaron Donald. They're interior defensive lineman and those are much more rare body types. When you get a three hundred and forty three hundred and thirty pound guy with good feet, Reggie White, Aaron Donald.
Chris Jones.
I don't know how much Chris Ways, but I think Jalen Carter walks into the NFL and everybody's like, that's what we need. And the draft gives you maybe one of those every other year. So think about this, think about scarcity. You're gonna ultimately pay Jason any Field for scarcity.
If something's great.
Great quarterbacks, you average about one a draft unbelievable, dominating Chris Jones, Jalen Carter defensive lineman, interior about one maybe a draft edge rushers, although not wide receivers.
There's more of them.
College football's given you four to five to six edge rushers annually that can play very quickly, and so I.
Feel like I kind of feel like, I mean, Max.
Crosby got his and because they don't have an offense, he's really valuable. But I think Cincinnati looks at Joe Burrow in their offense and says, can we draft to Hendrickson? And I do wonder with Michael Parsons if Dallas is saying, I don't know if we're paying CD and Dak can we pay I'm not saying they don't have value, but there isn't a scarcity for edge rusher as there is for Jalen Carter.
Yeah, I know it sounds tough, but the boss to Red Sox back in the day for Moneyball, We're like, we can't afford this guy. Can we recreate him in the aggregate with three guys who have a similar skill set? So you're right, if you can get a defensive tackle hard to find, right, three hundred and thirty pounds, moves it jumps out of a swimming pool like incredible athletes.
And we just get three edge rushers.
Can three edge rushers do what Michah Parsons is doing if you rotate them? And remember the Niners a few years ago had that strategy with Robert Solo. We're just gonna have four edge rushers just coming at the quarterback all the time.
Well, I mean, just look at the NFC West shared verse now edge rusher dominant, Bosa dominant. I mean just in that division you have two guys. I mean you start looking at the pass rushers. Arizona had Chandler Jones for a while. You start looking at a lot of these edge rushers. It feel like the Chargers had Bosa and Khalil Mack. It's what team has two great interior defensive linemen. But there are teams with multiple pass rushers from the edge because the body types not you know, it's not as unique. So I I think, like I said this about TJ. Watt, people think it's crazy. He's thirty one. You want to pay him forty five million a year. I think I can find seventy five percent of him on the market or in the draft. You can't find Jalen Carter in a draft. He's like once he's the best the interior lineman since Chris Jones.
Yeah, we're getting to the point maybe in all the three big sports where it's like, hey, do we want Kevin Durant at fifty mil? Or can we get like three guys to total fifty mil? Like what the Pacers and Thunder have to, you know, to basically recreate a Kevin Durant. And you and I have been on this. I would have moved off Michael Parsons. I would have traded him. I know that sounds sacrilegious. But now you're gonna he wants forty million.
Dollars a year.
Pelling I don't see how that gets Dallas any better at all. Anyways, next story is this is a dubious one. But Travis Kelsey, we know he had a brutal playoff run, the worst season of his career. Well guess what this offseason he has lost twenty five pounds.
That's an estimate.
Last season Kelsey was listed at too fitty and he had a brutal year. Now they're saying he's down to two twenty five. I didn't see the word O Zempeck in.
Any of the stories, So maybe this is O Nachirel. But with his travel schedule, you know, I mean you look online.
He's in a different city every night, living it up, go to events, eating really nice dinners with Taylor says, I don't see how this is possible, But you're a bon vivant yourself. Maybe maybe you can tell me about how you somehow lose twenty five pounds goot traveling, eating dinner every night.
Well, I think what's happened is he's you know, he's telling you last year he wore out at the end of the season. He wants to be you know, Lamar Jackson did this. Remember last year Lamar showed up and we're like, did that dude lose weight? Lamar lost weight. Lamar's like, I want to be faster. I think Travis Kelcey looked at his film and said, I've lost speed and that was my That was really his secret sauce.
It wasn't.
He was a good blocker, had good hands, but he was never as big as Gronk. What he was was a guy you couldn't defend him. He had speed, He beat guys down the field and that relationship with Mahomes, And I think he looked at himself and thought, I have lost a step. How do I get it back? You get it back by losing weight. Lamar Jackson did this. We don't love that Lamar Jackson is lighter. But Lamar watched this film and said, listen, I know what I am right Like, I'm not ready from the pocket. I'm okay, But what I am is the fastest quarterback ever. I lost a step or I don't feel like quite have the burst.
I'm gonna come in thinner. So I think that's what it is.
Yeah, it feels like isn't that every human being.
On planet Earth?
Hey, I gained some weight. I'm slowing down. Let me drop some weight. So yeah, I'm believe it when I see it. Final story is this gentleman named Shedeur Sanders, the fourth string quarterback in Cleveland. Yet here we are doing a big story on him because, according to a report, Shiteduer made an impression Colin which could give him momentum heading in the next month.
The report has the plans for the Browns.
Quarterback situation is they want all of them to practice different throws in different situations and guess what, Colin, They've answered the bell, including Shador, who what the ball in some tight windows and through with some aggressiveness.
I'll let you just wax poetic.
Ur Sanders, Well, he was historically accurate in college, and now he has had the greatest mini camp ota in NFL history.
So I said this last week.
When a quarterback's college skill set translates and you can see it very quickly, that impresses me because a lot of times it doesn't. You think, oh, Tim Tebow super athletic for college. Tim Tebow's a marginal tight end level athlete in the NFL, right, Johnny Manziel, Oh my god, he's so athletic. Oh No, that was college, not the NFL. But if you watch Lamar Jackson or Steve Young when I was younger, and you're like, Steve Young ran around for BYU, and then you watch the NFL and you're like, oh, he makes guys miss in the NFL. Shadur was seventy four percent in college, seventy seven seventy eight percent. He may not be a great NFL quarterback, but what he does well is translate.
So that's something to lean off.
I'm gonna get on our graphics staff to make sure that they put like an asterisk by all his numbers, and then below they need to say versus backups, right, second string guys who are working out during the day and deliberate door dash at night. That's who Shador is torching in this mini camp. Let's just settle down. Dylan Gabriel is facing the ones. Kenny Pickett, your guy is facing the ones. So I'm not gonna freak out, but you are welcome.
To all right.
Jmack with the news.
Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd Line News.
So I have to set this so I want to set this story out. So Jamak, as he eloquently put it, had Indiana and the points and so for anybody that did on Friday, it was a pretty gutting loss.
Whatever.
But my premise on officials is that athletes are bigger and faster than ever and the NBA, I mean, look at Baseball's acknowledging. Now we're just gonna do robots at home plate. There's greater consequences, there's more money. So ask yourself, what is the toughest call for an NFL official to make? And I think most of us would would agree it's pass interference. I mean there's always contact. It's like, what level of grabbing and clutching and contact will you allow? There's grabbing and clutching on every ball down the sideline. It's just a matter of the discretion of the official. So I've always said at the highest level, like the NBA, basketball is incredibly difficult to officiate.
And consider this during the playoffs, when.
The league historically has always swallowed the whistle, fans can't quite wrap their arms around. I watch this then and this now, and it doesn't feel right. And so if you end up officiating in World Cups or Super Bowls.
Or the World Series or the NBA.
Finals, you are viewed by the league as somebody that can handle it. So the reason Scott Foster is often a target of criticism is because he officiates the biggest games. Yes, Scott Foster honestly feels like one of those character actors.
I can't name him, but I've seen him all the time.
Right, and so Foster makes a call in people freak out. But I just want to give you a reminder. SGA is six to six and a buck ninety five He's not a powerful player, so on this move that's working you up, he does.
Not have Lebron's strength.
What happens is if you watch it, that he did give him a nudge, but that the pacer player, Nay Smith, tripped over his feet, making it look like a significantly botched call. If you watch it again, Nay Smith falls over his feet. I'm sorry, Nay Smith weighs fifteen pounds more than Sga. SGA's a string bean by Pro Athlete Standard six six one ninety five. This looks worse because he trips. Now it's a go either way call it is, And I know you didn't like it, and most people didn't if it was called fine, But I want to remind you of this. What's one of the most iconic plays of all time in the NBA. I would say Michael Jordan over a Brian Russell of the Utah Jazz. Remember that this is arguably a top five most iconic play ever. Oh, that's interesting. Would you rather not have that count?
Oh? You love that play.
So in that play, like the Sja Nasmith play, Russell gets ahead of himself loses balance, so it looks like Jordan with a left hand shoves a two hundred pound athlete out of the way.
He never did.
Russell bit on the Michael move, full steam ahead, leaning Michael with a gentle touch to the left hand, and it looks like he shoved him. Michael was strong. He's not that strong, okay. And remember Kevin Durant and Lebron had a similar situation years ago. Do you remember this on the baseline? Oh, they didn't call that either. Isn't that interesting? So they didn't call this? Remember this, you guys all freaked out. And I said at the time, Durant's leaning making it look like he got Butcher. He didn't, and SGA pushing Naysmith. It's not as bad as you think. Brian Russell and Michael Jordan. These are all time plays. And what's the consistent part of all three plays? NBA finals, NBA refs. Let him play, all her finals, all her stars and the referees. As I've been saying for years, let stars play. That's why they put Scott Foster in these moments. Let them play. You look at that Jordan Brian Russell play, you'd think Michael grabbed a wheelbarrow, put him in it and shoved him. Russell's headlong fly wasn't a foul. Michael's using his hand. You're not gonna call that. You're not the SGA thing. He's six six, one ninety five. Of the amazing things that SGA has, being forceful and powerful is not one of them. So if you're told totally honest, look at Nathanmith's feet. He trips, he falls over his own feet because of the momentum.
Watch his feet. Oh it's a shove.
SGA can't shove a guy that's fifteen pounds heavier. Watch watch his feet. He trips over SGA's feet. It makes it look awful. So again, if you didn't have the pacers plus six, like I get, people are upset. But this whole thing about Scott Foster, the leagues out.
To get him. Scott Foster is.
The official in the NFL that ends up in conference championship in Super Bowls. He's good at what he does. Here's Rick Carlile defending him.
Far as officiating, I think I think it's awful what some of the things I've seen about about the officiating and Scott Foster in particular. I know Scott Foster for thirty years. He's a great official. He's done a great job in his playoffs. We've had him a lot of times. And the ridiculous scrutiny that's being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.
Lebron kd SGA, Michael Jordan, they swallow the whistle that just like you just get that a lot. They're gonna swallow the whistle, by the way, the story of this game, and I watched every basket like you was in the final three minutes. Oklahoma City and they're all NBA defensive level guys played unbelievable, suffocating defense. And you know what OKAC played like their season was on the line. Oh wait it was. We know that athletes played different in different situations and that urgency, ebbs and flows. Oklahoma City's defense was historically great, and for that three minutes, it was incredible. I felt like I was watching Mahomes against the Eagles pass ru rush. Indy could not get a shot. Indy's a great team. They could not generate offense motion, There was blocks, there were steals. Yeah, you don't have to love that call by Scott Foster if you're honest and YouTube and go back to the last three minutes. Look at the defensive intensity of Oklahoma City. It was all these guys who out the regular season. We kept saying, is it's the best defensive team ever? And Oklahoma City had solved that riddle for parts of the series, especially this young team on the road. The final three minutes were art. It was it was man and man coverage with two Pro Bowl corners and a pass rush Indy couldn't I think Indy had an airball at one point Colin Wright, Colin Wrong.
Top of next Hour.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern, not a em Pacific.
Hey, we're Cavino and Rich Fox Sports Radio every day five to seven pm Eastern. But here's the thing, we never have enough time to get to everything we want to get.
To, and that's why we have a brand new podcast called over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two hour show. We never get to everything, honestly, because this guy is over promising things we never have time for.
Yeah, you blubber list lame me.
Well, you know what it's called over promise. You should be good at it because you've been over promising women for years.
Well, it's a Covino and Rich after show, and we want you to be a part of it. We're gonna be talking sports, of course, but we're also gonna talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called over Promised.
Well, if you don't get enough Covino and Rich, make sure you check out over Promised and also Uncensored by the way, so maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's gonna be the best after show podcast of all time.
There you go, over Promising and remember you could see on YouTube, but definitely join us. Listen Over Promised with Cavino and Rich on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sunday, Alex Blow looks to continue his legendary season at Road America well the rest of the pack Battle for the Checker Flag the Indy Car series Sunday at one thirty Eastern on Fox.
So there was You know, for years and years I talked about you have to send a message. You would never as a sports fan, you would never go to a restaurant if service in the food was bad two or three straight times. Even if you love the restaurant, if it got worse, you'd stop going. You'd never go to a car dealership if they sold you too Lemons. But in sports there's this sort of kind of weird loyalty thing where you send messages all the time to your ownership, which is it doesn't matter what the product is, I'm gonna go to the games. And the Boston Red Sox are number one in Baseball in profit margin.
I think they're number like four.
In revenue, but they're the most profitable team, even more profitable than the Dodgers. And so the message the Red Sox fans send, even though they're not World Series viable, I mean they don't. They're not close to the Dodgers. They're not as good as the Yankees. I don't think they're as well run as the Braves. But the message is our play seats about thirty six five and you know he put about thirty four thousand in regardless if you trade and Moki bets or not, and so eighty seven percent capacity for every home game since twenty twenty five. That's that's near the top of Majrigue baseball, and so yesterday they make a big deal Rafeael Devers, one of the top ten to fifteen hitters in baseball, and he gets traded. Now, first of all, he's a lot of maintenance. He threatened, reportedly threatened to ask for trade in spring training. He doesn't want to play first base. They needed him to play first base, so he and the manager did not get along. Alex Cora, he was not long for the room. He's got a huge contract, and so eventually they made a trade yesterday, And like the Nico Harrison MAVs Lakers trade, the feeling in Boston is we didn't get enough. I'm not a Baseball America guy, so I don't know if you got enough. Most people say you didn't get.
An enough, and that's fine. There's a lot of our baseball reporters you could follow on that.
But the bottom line is the owner, John Henry, has added to his portfolio since he bought the Red Sox Liverpool, and Liverpool is not profitable right now and they need to add a star. There's a German star out there they want to sign for one hundred and fifty million dollars. So the messaging, you know it could be a line item for John Henry. He's looking at it, thinking, I still almost sell out Boston. There's in the summer, Celtic season's over, Patriots camp hasn't started. It's Boston. Fenway's legendary, and people mostly pack it. And we got a bunch of farm hands and some are pretty good, some are okay, and we're just going to keep doing this. So what's the message. Fenwale be mostly full. Liverpool, which isn't profitable. But by the way, Liverpool's probably worth if it was on the market, six to seven billion dollars, and the Red Sox probably on the market because baseball isn't growing like the English Premier League, probably be worth four billion. So he has Liverpool, which, by the way, to show you how Liverpool is growing, Lebron James in twenty eleven bought a two percent stake of Liverpool for six and a half million bucks. That's now worth one hundred million dollars. So the bottom line is those Premier League teams are exploding in value. So John Henry looks at that and goes in my portfolio, I's see, I've got RFK Racing, and I've got Liverpool and I've got the Red Sox. The one that's exploding is Liverpool and they're not nearly as profitable yet, then the Red Sox are profitable, win or lose. So the message Red Sox fans are sending us it doesn't matter. I mean, they got fleeced in the Mookie betsteal, you still went to the games. If you want to make a difference as a sports fan, then don't go to the restaurant after four bad meals. Don't buy a car from a car lot that gave you back to back lemons. That's not on the Red Sox that you're sending a message that it doesn't matter. Well, what are you gonna do tonight? Let's go to the Let's go to Fenway Park, don't go to the beach, go to whatever you do in Austin, have a bullet, shouta whatever you do, do it.
But I'm sitting there.
John Henry keeps building up this portfolio and he's like, Okay, Liverpool is going to be worth seven billion if I ever wanted to sell it, which they probably won't. The Red Sox are worth a little more than half, and the Red Sox are already number one in profit and all you do is complain about the Red Sox, but they're number one in profit, more than the Dodgers. So you know he's looking at it going all right, I mean, we won't be as good with this guy.
But he didn't.
My manager didn't like him. My GM was sitting there on a like Devers. He drives me nuts. He has a top fifteen hitters. So the Giant's got a great player, but gave out some good farmhands. So I think there's messages you can send. And I know, well, if I give up my Red Sox tickets, I'll never get him back. Nonsense, that's nonsense. I can get great tickets. You can get great tickets on any seat app you want tomorrow. And who goes to every game at home? It's eighty one home game. Nobody's going to all the games anyway, So and yell and you can scream, but the messaging by fans is it doesn't matter. Eighty seven ninety percent full anyway, it doesn't matter. And this guy threatened, He was threatening that he wanted to be traded in spring trading with a huge contract. So it wasn't long for the organization. Like the Luca deal, I get the move. You probably should should have gotten more. If you're the Dallas Mavericks, you know the baseball people are saying you should have gotten more. It's all about messaging. What message are you sending the owner? You keep filling the stadium. All these owners, now, these domestic owners, they're owning stuff overseas, they're owning I mean, you got players in America like Lebron owning some of these Premier League teams. What's the message you send? You do have power collectively, you have to use it, which I know isn't a popular answer, but you know, I've been the Fenway a few times. It's packed, regardless of the team. J Mack Colin, right, Colin wra on top of the hour. So I defended Scott Foster. Yeah, I thought owner and the owner of the Red Sox two very popular opinions.
Well, I'm out on the I don't know the Red Sox stuff. I haven't read as much on that trade. But the Scott Foster.
Thing, you kept saying, look at Michemi's feet, look at his feet, look at the arm.
The pushoff by the rule book, extending the arm is an offensive foul.
It should have been called it's undeniable, but I gotta listen. I gotta give Mark Dagnall credit. He made a great adjustment late.
Did you notice he had a two man game between j Dubb and Sga and that got Nemhard off Sga.
SGA goes for like fifteen.
Points in the fourth court. It was a smart move. Pacers didn't have a counter in time. I think series is over. I don't think Pasers can come back.
Well, we keep saying that.
And by the way, if that would have been called, I wouldn't have been bothered by it. What I'm saying is the fact that it wasn't called. Go back to MJ and Russell, go back to Lebron and Durant. We have a history in the finals of whistle swallowing often with stars thirty eight don't want Yeah, well a lot of us, but it's it's at least it's consistent.
Let them buy you two clips. We brought you the clips.
Let him play cowhard.
Come on, all right, Colin right, Colin wrong now
