JR SportBrief Hour 2

You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio.

That's right, this is CBS Sports Radio and you are locked into the JR Sport Brief show. Coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. When you need cash out of your home and a simple way to get it, Rocket can. I'm gonna be hanging out here with you for the next three hours. You going to work? You going home? You on the road? You making money? You leaving money? I don't know what you're doing but I'm gonna be here and so feel free to tune in.

I get started though at 10 p.m eastern time, 7 p.m pacific. That means this is a four hour show. I'm here hanging out with super producer and host Dave Shepherd and I'm here with you. There's no show without you and thank you for that. When is the last time that you heard somebody tell you thank you on the radio? When is the last time you actually heard a host on the radio say thank you? Can you remember?

Does it sound weird? Well that's a damn problem but I'm telling you thank you because I'm not here if it's not for you. If it wasn't for you so thank you very much.

Everybody all across the country, across oceans, across borders, thank you very much. You can always listen to the show on the free Odyssey app. You can always stay tuned on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate.

You can be locked in on Sirius XM channel 158 and of course you got a smart speaker ask it to play CBS Sports Radio. We opened up the show talking about Nick Saban. Najee Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the all-time leading rusher for the Alabama Crimson Tide and Najee Harris says I didn't have the greatest relationship with Nick Saban when we got started. Nick Saban thought that he could just talk to me any old way and I had to let him know.

Nah that's not the case. Obviously he won two championships with Nick Saban and he says their relationship is now rock solid. We talked about Mike Zimmer. Mike Zimmer, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, former defensive coordinator for both the Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Zimmer is now with Deion Sanders in Mississippi. He's an analyst for Jackson State. He says yeah the pay ain't good but I'll do anything for Deion. He was an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys in the 90s so obviously he knows Deion Sanders and yet Mike Zimmer is working with an HBCU and so another feather in the cap for Deion Sanders and HBCUs as they continue to try to just climb the scale of prominence when it comes down to college football. Ain't nobody fooling anyone. Are they at the level of the Alabama and the Georgias and the Clemsons? No, no they are not.

It's going to take time but they're certainly all doing their part to bring more attention and options to these programs which I think is a beautiful thing. And if Deion Sanders is making 300, if Deion Sanders is donating half of his salary and you got Mike Zimmer saying I ain't making really nothing, you got to believe that Deion Sanders is not doing this for the money. He's doing it for Deion and in turn it's helping the school. What is Mike Zimmer making?

80? I don't think it's a big deal when he's uh was making about five and six per with the Minnesota Vikings. I'm talking millions. I think he's okay and good for him. Good for him. Another update before we get into LeBron James. I must tell you this that Derwin James, no relation to LeBron. Skip's not talking about him right?

What uh Skip Bayless is not talking about Derwin? Well there's a James in there so I just want to make sure. No if there's a James Skip Bayless feels obligated to open up his mouth. Is that how it works? It's with him yes.

Not with us, not with you certainly but yes. Well I'm not James I'm just JR, JR Jackson. So maybe if my last name was James it'd be a different situation but uh is Rick you've opened yourself up for this shot. Name some famous James that aren't LeBron. I mean we know there's Rick right?

Yeah keep going. Oh man um dang well I was only making a joke because like that guy has made a career. You said it. James man um LeBron, Ronnie, Rick, Rick and then. Isn't all the famous James you could think of?

That's all I got. Oh does Mike James count both of them? I mean he was a bad I mean he was good with the Pitt I mean there's two of them right? I mean the the old two Mike James. Mike James we're talking 20 years ago when he played with the Pistons and then there's a current Mike James yeah. Yeah he's in Europe right now.

Oh you know what I apologize Jared Jared I'm letting you down tonight. A hall of fame running back, Edron James. Oh from uh yeah from from from Florida yes. Yeah I played a plenty of universe Miami exactly and then and when we know what he did with the Colts. Yeah Edron James and yeah hall of fame. I apologize yes.

Wow. I didn't think I'd pull that one out of my sleeve. Hey well you're quick to the trigger I couldn't I couldn't think of another James that's why I put you on the spot. Well anyway another James who and who knows he might go to the hall of fame I have no idea.

Derwin James. Derwin James was drafted four years ago to the Chargers and he's shown that he's one of the best safeties in the NFL. This guy is you can go ahead and line him up for 100 plus tackles. He'll grab a couple of INTs.

He's gonna abuse you in the box and you know he'll play he'll play man pretty good okay. He was an all-pro. Well damn it he's been an all-pro when he's healthy. He was an all-pro this past season but in 2019 the guy had a broken foot. In 2020 he ripped the meniscus in his knee and it's just like well damn he's one of the best players to watch in the NFL but he's never healthy. Well he was healthy last year I told you he was an all-pro and so what did that net him a four-year 76 million dollar contract. Look I'm just waiting for the Chargers to make the playoffs like they have to make the playoffs right.

What are they gonna do if they don't make the playoffs this year? Blame Anthony Lynn again? I feel like Anthony Lynn is gonna be gone for 15 years and he will still get blamed for clock management issues if the Chargers don't have any type of success. Justin Herbert is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He ain't won a damn thing yet and he's still one of the best and now you got Derwin James on the other side like the the Chargers. I'm gonna say this it sounds crazy but they they should they should be on the up and up. Congratulations to Derwin James he's now the highest paid safety in the NFL and not just for right now in NFL history.

Good for him. Pat yourself on the back and that's gonna roll me right into another James who also happens to be one of the highest paid and that's LeBron James. LeBron James outside of Tiger Woods is the only active athlete worth more than one billion dollars and if you want to think about team sports LeBron James is the only athlete on earth worth more than a billion dollars and right now today this afternoon we all found out that LeBron James just signed a two-year 97 million dollar extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. This new deal with LeBron James will take him up until the 2024-2025 season which will ultimately be a player option and so you have two more seasons of LeBron James in Los Angeles and he will make approximately 50 million dollars per year.

We talked about this last night super producer Dave Shepherd just alluded to it. LeBron James' son Bronny well Skip Bayless cannot keep out of his mouth but Bronny is moving into his senior year in high school. The following year Bronny will be probably playing in college. LeBron James said last night on twitter he has not made a decision and in two years in 2024 when LeBron James will be a free agent and when Bronny James will be drafted come on now he will be drafted into the NBA LeBron James is gonna have uh he's gonna have free reign to either have Bronny selected by the Los Angeles Lakers where he can extend a contract or pick up his player option or he can decide to go wherever the hell Bronny goes.

You know I talked about this here on CBS Sports Radio and also WFAN in New York City a few weeks ago you want to talk about collusion. Here we have one of the most successful and if not the most successful when his career is done of players who's ever been in the league. LeBron James is about to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all-time in scoring it would not shock me as as polarizing as LeBron is it would not shock me and I don't think anyone should be shocked if he picks up another championship ring. If LeBron is running around with five rings if LeBron is now played for 20 plus years if LeBron is the all-time leading scorer and by the way he already is the all-time leading scorer in points regular season and postseason he's already passed Kareem but if he passes him for regular season scoring what the hell else can this guy do besides just play with his son. This career will be absolutely amazing if that takes place and if we got to think about the salary constructs and and what LeBron can and can't do and I've heard this too if LeBron James really wants to win then LeBron James he needs to leave money on the table.

Who the hell is leaving 50 million dollars per year on the table a billionaire no not at all that's just stupid all the way around. The minimum for a player in the NBA who's participated in the league for 10 plus years obviously that's LeBron he's basically doubled up on that the minimum salary is about three million dollars. What does LeBron James supposed to do hey guys don't give me 47 just you know give me 20 no for what this man has bust his ass to be where he is let him max out and the reality is once you get outside of this upcoming season and we don't even know what the roster will look like yet I'm talking to you Russell Westbrook we'll get to him momentarily. The season after this one you want to know who's on the Lakers books? LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Horton Tucker can opt in, Damian Jones you probably have no idea who the hell he is he can opt in and then Max Christie they just brought him in you don't know who the hell he is either. The Los Angeles Lakers have nobody zip zero zilch on the on the books after this season. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Horton Tucker that's it. Russell Westbrook we know he's on an expiring contract and let's be real here there's still a chance that Russell Westbrook played his final game as a Los Angeles Laker and so yeah there are question marks about LeBron being healthy. Last year unfortunately he played 56 out of 82 games and we know Anthony Davis he's made out of saying he's made out of glass is too easy but Anthony Davis is just he needs to play basketball in the bubble but we've heard reports and reports don't count for squat diddly about how great a shape he's in and so the Lakers have flexibility. LeBron James is still one of the best basketball players on earth. Giannis Ettetokounmpo who I think his opinion would count for something Giannis says and this doesn't mean it's correct Giannis says that LeBron is still the best guy in the league right now. Is LeBron James going to be able to play more than 60 games or is he going to play more than 60 games or 70 games?

We'll see. He's going to get paid regardless. What a hell of a career. Every month that goes by every year that goes by LeBron James doesn't do anything but add to his own personal legend. A lot of these conversations about who he is and he's overrated and he's not this and he's not that is going to sound real in about 15 years. When people go people were dissing that guy people didn't give that guy credit where credit was due. We have current active NBA players and sure a lot of these younger guys don't remember seeing Michael Jordan they remember LeBron and we already have active players who have pinned LeBron as the greatest of all time. Am I one of those individuals? No but he is great and greatness comes in many forms but the fact is his accomplishments he's going to be in a category all by himself and this deal with the Los Angeles Lakers a two-year extension almost 100 million dollars good for LeBron. Take the money they're not going to be pigeonholed they're not going to be you know putting the toilet in regards to adding additional players this season this upcoming year is not a wrap the roster is not set there's no nothing prohibiting them from adding potential talent next year. Get your money whether you're a billionaire or not and the other thing is you think LeBron James doesn't care about winning you think he just wants the money now come on you got a billion dollars of net worth you think LeBron wants to see Steph Curry have five rings and LeBron only has four you think he wants that LeBron James said it a few seasons ago he's like listen folks when it comes to this basketball thing I'm chasing this Michael Jordan guy and I'll tell you what's even bigger it would be absolutely amazing and I have no idea how I would react I will react in awe I'm not gonna cry but I will if I see LeBron James on the court with his son I'm gonna think about watching this guy I'm gonna think back to high school I'm gonna think about LeBron James playing for Saint Vincent Saint Mary's covering up his tattoos for his catholic school I'm gonna think about reading about LeBron in the newspaper the physical newspaper I'm gonna remember that I'm gonna remember hearing about someone who was supposed to be one of the greatest basketball players ever when he was 17 years old I'm gonna remember that if I ever see in two years LeBron James on the court with his son and it's gonna make me say damn it's gonna make me say some other words that I can't say on the radio you get my drift and this man's career is just it's been absolutely amazing and what a way to put a cherry on top I don't think you can put it out of the realm of possibility that he wins another championship and we all know that he is likely to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all-time in regular season points LeBron just signed a two-year deal and at the end of it he can play basketball with his son and the pros that is absolutely ridiculous and for that I gotta give LeBron credit I gotta give LeBron credit because he's put himself in a position to do such his work his talent has put him in this spot to do something and to do things already that no one has ever done before and so here with the Lakers yeah they still got some work to do he's confident he'll get paid and yeah he may pick up another ring but maybe I think personally for LeBron I'd say playing with his son is a maybe even bigger deal I could not imagine this man might cry on the court it's the jr sport re-show here with you on CBS sports radio that's eight five five two one two four CBS yeah Derwin James of the Chargers isn't the only James that got paid today LeBron James got a contract extension and at the end of this deal with the Lakers he'll be free if he'd like he could potentially play with his son that'd be a first in the NBA first in the NBA that'd be ridiculous I'm going to take your calls on the other side it's the jr sport re-show CBS sports radio you are listening to the jr sport brief on CBS sports radio you're listening to the jr sport brief on CBS sports radio I really enjoy your show I try to listen every night a great show what's good jr glad to be on the call with you man I love the show call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS it's the jr sport brief show here with you on CBS sports radio the top of the hour a little more than a half hour from now it's time for a new top six list I'm going to tell you about the best coaches in the NFL right now not two years ago not five years ago right now it's coming your way in about 30 minutes or so right before we went to break we talked about LeBron James a new two-year 97 million dollar extension this will take him until the 2024 2025 season which he can opt into if he'd like so basically this season and one more LeBron is a Laker and then in 2024 he can say I'll stick around or I'll leave in that same off season his son brawny will be eligible to be drafted is brawny going to join the Lakers is LeBron going to join another team that selects brawny come on this will all be everything will take place in a in an organized and orchestrated way I did also share with you that the Los Angeles Lakers after this season once we move past this year the guys on the contract it's basically Anthony Davis LeBron James and Horton Tucker has an opportunity to opt in that's basically the team and so LeBron James can get his money and the Lakers can still have flexibility to add whoever they might need to they are not hamstrung and this is an amazing thing this man has had this man has had an amazing career for what his expectations were for what he's been able to accomplish and damn it to even play with his son is almost like the cherry on top it's unimaginable like I am even talking about it I mentioned it last hour I remember reading about LeBron James in the physical newspaper something that a lot of people don't even pick up today because you can just read it in a phone reading about this guy in the newspaper and here we are in 2022 here we are approaching 2024 it wouldn't shock me if he won another title he's expected to pass Kareem for all-time regular season points he's already scored more points than anyone in NBA history and then to top it off he might play with his son storybook and by the way throughout his career what's been the biggest controversy you're going to tell me about some of his uh you know his his stances when it comes to human rights or politics come on this man has had an amazing career an amazing life absolutely ridiculous for the amount of time that he's been in the public limelight the amount of time that he's played and the results that we've gotten story book eight five five two one two four cbs that's eight five five two one two four cbs greg is here from michigan you're on the jr sport brief show jr you're giving me goosebumps mr positive hey i gotta tell you i love king elvis lebron james um he is the goat my friend when it's all said and done but my question to you my friend is what do the lakers have to do for my lebron to win his fifth title god i want him to be well happy and uh win this fifth title because that will cement his legacy and what you've articulated my friend is beyond compare you're right spot on his in his legacy his endurance his longevity every time he plays he's breaking a record a record falls what does he have to do jr well thank you greg for calling from michigan it's not so much what lebron has to do it's what the los angeles lakers can do around him and i will assume that lebron james feels comfortable about that he has two more years with the los angeles lakers it's it's very tough to even look at this upcoming season and say oh man this is what the lakers are going to do because we don't even know what the lakers roster will look like is russell westbrook going to be a laker when the season gets started in the middle of october you know who's going to come in to potentially replace him we've seen the disaster at this point of lebron james is going to be a lebron james career i told you anthony davis is the only other quote-unquote sure thing who is currently under contract with the lakers they need him to be healthy i know it sounds comical it sounds difficult to think of they need him to be healthy that's what lebron james needs and outside of russell westbrook we see what he's brought to the table they need shooting they need ability they still need someone who can spell lebron james from constantly initiating the offense or even when he takes a seat someone who can help pick up the slack that's easier said than done i'll put it to you this way the los angeles lakers as much as they can pending other players on other teams they're going to have a blank slate to try to construct a roster this upcoming season is going to be much more difficult we've heard all the stories and trade scenarios whether it's miles turner and buddy healed i feel like we've heard that for the better part of two or three years now lebron james just needs help because as he gets older let's be let's be frank it's not going to get easier for him to lead the way he needs help come on anthony davis do something ramon calling from indianapolis you're on cbs sports radio hey jr and how you doing thanks for taking my calling appreciate appreciate what you're saying there about bob lebron um i think if he gets the fifth one it definitely cements him as the goat uh i think that that he's not appreciated as an athlete let's just remember people here's a guy that hasn't even had a speeding ticket and all the stuff that could happen in life to regular anyone or whatever we just saw good boy marshawn lynch just have a a stumble and i hope he gets well because alcoholism and drugs are health care issues i'm a health care professional so there are health care problems so we're going to look at them from that point but lebron has had a speeding ticket not even a speeding ticket you would want your children and when i look at people to to to to say okay hey this is what you want to at least try to take either from me if i'm not if i'm missing something then let me pull from something from him so that that speaks a lot within themselves not knocking michael i love jordan but the slim boulder stuff and stuff like that you know and there's some there's some questions there there's questions there with lebron we don't have that you don't have anyone that that said that he was out there it was out there gambling and they found checks in the briefcase and stuff like that we don't have any of that and i get tired of it's like well michael only he won six titles like he only played six years no he got beat too he got beat too and i think lebron suffers from the decision more than anything he gave cleveland eight years garnett played 10 in minnesota he was he was valuable when he left went to boston he said loyalty is overrated so i think that's the only thing people could probably say the decision but he's well past that now and that cleveland title that he did bring in counts to me for two because cleveland probably won't ever win again so i i i think the guy is he's been a assessment he's been great and and and and there's nothing bad that really we can say about him well well thank you ramon for calling from indianapolis i'm not going to go as far to say that cleveland is never going to win another title i think even in the short term right now they are certainly building a very very good young roster that will continue to to move forward man they they're looking real good garland mobley allen they're they're on their way i think if they can stick together man i would not be surprised in a few years if they're back to competing for a championship but i will agree with you on this people don't appreciate what's right in front of them we're so used to negativity you gotta beat somebody down you you have to highlight the negative story and that's that's the recurring theme when it comes to our professional athletes not what they are doing but what they're not doing how they're failing and what's the bad part and when you really take a big picture view and that's why i say we're gonna have an error we will have a generation 15 and 20 years from now who will look at lebron james and his accomplishments and go whoa we have active players who feel that same way you know i'm fortunate enough to have seen and remembered michael jordan in his prime and have grown up my entire adolescence with michael jordan and watching him i've also seen every minute of here of lebron james and it puts me in a position to say that greatness comes in in different ways there's not going to be a a mirroring of what great is we can say the same thing about what took place with bill russell and and that was years ago decades ago greatness comes in different ways in different forms and lebron james when it's all said and done damn the same way that we can look at michael jordan and say oh well he did something that no one else did the same way that we can look at bill russell and say wow he did something that no one else did we're gonna be able to look at lebron james ago damn he did a whole hell of a lot with massive expectations edwards calling from miami you're on cbs sports radio jt how you doing who jt i mean jr i'm sorry jr how you doing i'm terrible hey listen man i i like your show but what you're saying about lebron man he has messed up basketball he's i've never seen an athlete every single year he always need help steph curry won a title with jordan pool he took those young guys up under his wing he molded them to winners this guy always has help he has messed up basketball man terrible call well thank you edward for humoring us on cbs sports radio yes lebron james has ruined basketball and steph curry the title that he just won yes uh jordan pool helped him win the championship it was just steph curry and jordan pool versus the boston celtics thank you for the humor it's the jr sport re-show here with you on cbs sports radio i'm gonna get some more of your calls at the top of the hour we're gonna talk about the nfl i'm gonna give you a top six list of the best coaches in the league right now you're listening to the jr sport brief on cbs sports radio listening to the jr sport brief on cbs sports radio it's the great jr man your show is so awesome we uh appreciate listening to you uh on a regular basis my man call in now at eight five five two one two four cbs and this portion of the show is brought to you by auto zone it's time to say good night to that check engine light with the free auto zone fix finder service it'll help troubleshoot the likely cause of your light for free restrictions apply so get in the zone auto zone we've talked about lebron james picking up a two-year 97 million dollar extension by the time he finishes up this deal he's likely going to be the nba's all-time leading scorer and we have no idea but obviously there's still a shot that he picks up another championship maybe and then at the end when this expires he will have a chance to team up probably likely with his son he said that's a goal and i think that's absolutely amazing i'm going to take more of your calls here on this situation and lebron's contract extension and then at the top of the hour no ands ifs or buts about it i'm going to give you a new top six list we've spent a lot of time over the past two days talking about coaches in the nfl and even college the earlier in the show we talked about nick saben last night we talked about bill belicheck so i'm going to give you a top six list of the best coaches in the nfl right now that's coming at the top of the hour we got a lot of callers on the line as you can imagine let's not waste any time let's get to them right now please get to the point mike is calling from chicago you're on cbs sports radio hey jerry i'm proud of you um i'd be great if i could hear you mike can you hear me now i can hear you go ahead loud oh oh my bad my bad um so i just wanted to say uh did you see the field of dreams game uh that came up with uh chicago and uh cincinnati which was a joke i i saw portions of the game not in its entirety well ken griffith jr and senior played catch in the in uh right field yes i did and uh it was amazing yes and it was great to see and so all i want to you know as a father all i want to see is you know my man lebron i want him to play with his son i want him to know how it feels to you know like catch a ball from his son and i thought that it would be an incredible thing i agree with you absolutely i'm sure lebron james is used to throwing lobs and passes to his son i've seen his son play in person and it's obvious he's he's been around one of the greatest moms of all time you watch young men play basketball and you can typically see a lot of mistakes he's efficient with the basketball he's not out there making he knows exactly what he's doing it's just a matter of how his body catches up with his mind and also his consistency it would be great mike is calling from knoxville you're on cbs sports radio hey jr love your show man um i concur with what you said that would be so cool with lebron to play with his son and you know i feel blessed to know that um i've seen tiger woods play and play and i've seen lebron james play two of the greatest athletes ever and uh just want to say i love your show man and thank you for taking my call well thank you so much mike for the kind words appreciate you calling from knoxville much loved all my folks uh just north from me in tennessee and it would be awesome and who knows you know tiger woods his son is much younger than brawny james and who knows maybe one day we're talking about tiger woods son and and and a similar light it'd be pretty awesome if we saw him out there charlie doing a damn thing derek is calling from wisconsin you're on cbs sports radio hey jr how are you this evening very well go ahead good um i i just want to chime in i think lebron's obviously one of the greatest basketball players of our generation i will say this and it'd be nice and i think it'll be incredible to watch him play with his son that's it that's kind of where it stops for me i've i'm gen x so i got to see you real time uh all of michael's career and all of the bronze career and just from watching them both play and i watch a lot of basketball mj in my opinion just my opinion and you can always reach for the stats you want to support things but mj in my opinion is the greatest of all time that does that's not to take away from lebron and i would never say he's not one of the greatest that's ever played i just don't feel like he's uh on mj's level that's just my two cents oh thank you derek for calling from wisconsin i i'll say it this way i've seen both of them too and i appreciate and certainly love michael jordan if you would ask me which one would you want to start a team with i go for michael jordan but i'll say this michael jordan is not lebron james and lebron james is not michael jordan and people can debate that until the sky is blue or who's better and who's worse and this and that greatness comes in varying forms and that's the fun part about having the conversation people will get really up in arms about it let's go to marty he's calling from dc you're on cbs sports radio i'm good marty you sound kind of fuzzy okay can you hear me now now i can thank you okay yeah i'm with you i'm with you i'm with you 100 about lebron i feel like everybody keeps saying like you just said about him and jordan there are two different types and jordan is more of a score just like obi bryant and lebron james facilitator he makes everybody around him better and that other caller a caller if you call him back and he's talking about um he always picked players the world makes people better what he jordan couldn't do he set out his own mouth he couldn't do about pippen um he couldn't do it when he changed back in the league he had to go get robbed man the players knew what they needed to put the pieces together to win championship it was a team sport so thank you thank you marty the the the kind of breaking up there uh at the end yeah well that's that's why i didn't respond too much to that that caller who wanted to uh say it's steph curry won a championship with jordan ball like yeah he did he did it was just it was a two-man game him and pool were out there absolutely killing it chris is calling from atlanta you're on cbs sports radio hey actually my nickname is mr negative you got mr p calling from uh from michigan i'm mr n calling from atlanta calling from where you're at man this is what i want to talk about uh lebron he is big names like china right i do not like the guy and that guy calling in about lebron oh you know he's getting ready to cry oh it's so good his son gets to play with my blonde it's such a good thing he's a billionaire who cares that guy right there he just need to jump off a cliff that's all i want to say i love you man well thank you i wish we could get you a better phone phone calls sucked it's the jr sport b show here with you on cbs sports radio we're going to take a break and when we get to the top of the hour it's something that i do every wednesday night into thursday morning i'm going to bring you a new top six list last night we talked about bella check to start the show off tonight we talked about nick saben talking about coaches i'm going to give you a top six list of the best coaches in the nfl right now the season is going to get started in a couple of weeks and i'm going to tell you who the best of the best is not from last season not from five years ago i'm going to tell you the best coaches right now it's the jr sport b show here with you on cbs sports radio don't move because i told you so