JR SportBrief Hour 3

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Even when no one else is watching, you see everything. Grainger gets you. And we're here for you. And all the ones who get it done with a wide range of safety products and solutions. Plus board certified safety consultants here to answer your questions. Call. Click grainger.com or just stop by. Grainger.

For the ones who get it done. You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. I am JR. This is why this show is called the JR Sportbrief Show. I'm here with super producer and host Dave Shepherd. And we're coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

If you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family, Rocket can. A busy night in the world of sports. A busy day in the world of sports. Aaron Judge did not, did not hit his 61st home run.

All he did was have two doubles and still lead the American League in batting average as the Yankees beat the Pirates 14 to 2. Earlier today, we learned that Robert Sarver, owner of the Phoenix Suns, after the report came out that he's been a full jerk in every way possible over the past 20 years, he's going to sell the team. Now, I guess that's not the worst way to go. You do awful things, treat people like trash and you get to just sell the team for a couple hundred million dollars and maybe a billion on the way out the door.

Well, it must be nice. We've learned during the course of the show that Aime Udoka, as reported by Woge of ESPN, Aime Udoka, head coach of the Boston Celtics, he appears to be in a little bit of trouble within the organization, not following protocol. And so we have to see what's taking place with Aime Udoka and why he might be suspended. Here's the actual words by Woge, an unspecified violation of organizational guidelines. We have no idea what it is. His job isn't believed to be in jeopardy, but his suspension is looming and we might find out more details tomorrow, which I'm sure we will. Very vague as of right now.

And so as we continue on with the show, if you're familiar with it, every Wednesday night into Thursday morning, I bring you a new top six list. And unfortunately, there's been a lot of negativity. This situation, Aime Udoka might be punished. Negative. Robert Sarver. Negative. We talked about Mike Evans is his suspension, fighting March on Lattimore. Negative.

And even in the case of Aaron Judge, I got people calling me up saying, Hey, JR, I think Aaron Judge has been using. Why? Why do you say that? Well, I just think he is.

Well, that reason sucks. And so because of that, with tonight's top six list, I want to bring you some positivity. And oh, yeah, by the way, we did have something positive earlier on in the show. New York Yankees legend Bernie Williams. He joined us for 15 minute chat. And so I want to thank Bernie Williams again for coming through. Four time World Series champion and icon on those Yankees teams.

Everybody, Derek Jeter this and I don't know, Mariano Rivera that. Bernie Williams was right there kicking ass to. Excellent player. Amazing human being as well. Grammy nominated Bernie Williams with that guitar.

If you missed our conversation, go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. Thank you to Bernie Williams for joining us. And so I want to give you a top six list of athletes that are easy to root for. You know, individuals who have done an amazing job on and off the field of play that you just look at them and go. And it's almost a consensus.

You don't hear a bad word about these folks. And so we'll get to that top six momentarily. We do have Kevin, he called from Oyster Bay. I want to make sure I get him in. We were talking to him prior to the break. Kevin, go ahead and get that last word. And you're on CBS Sports Radio. All right.

So I'll do this quickly. I mean, judges going for the Triple Crown, folks, you know, it's actually the benefit him that they walk him a lot. They try to pitch him around him this way.

His average will drop much. It'll be unbelievable if he wins the Triple Crown. And also, I'm a firm believer that there are pitches. If the team is out and they want to get the name in the history books, they'll groove one in there. So get ready for a lot of Sylvanias falling all around the place. Well, let's see. He's down to about two weeks worth of games.

Thank you, Kevin, for calling from Oyster Bay. We're down to about two weeks worth of games for Aaron Judge. He's sitting at 60 home runs. His batting average, I believe over the past several weeks and maybe even longer than that at this point is 500. He's batting 500. He's not just hitting home runs. Tonight he had two doubles.

He went two for four. And it's like a terrible night. It's crazy what he's doing right now. So we might as well enjoy it. But let's not waste any time with enough Sarver and Aime Udonka, even though we don't know what's happening. We just talked about Mayweather and McGregor. Are they going to fight again? Who knows?

They'll certainly curse each other out either way. Suspensions, looming suspensions. Let's actually get it to some good guys. It's time for a top six list of athletes who are so easy and give us so many reasons to root for them.

Let's go. Six, five, four, three, two, one. It's time to get JR's latest top six list only on the JR Sport Brief.

That's right. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. It's time to go through a top six list. All the negativity in the world of sports, all the negativity in the world. Let's look at some athletes who can actually inspire, who do good in the community, who are amazing on the field, on the court.

But are even better human beings. It's a top six list and we go backwards. It's a countdown. So we started this number.

Number six. We have to go to the NFL team that actually plays in New York State. We got to go to Buffalo. Yeah, the Jets and the Giants, they play in New Jersey.

We have to go to Western New York. And I'm talking about no one other than Josh Allen. Yeah, he's easy to root for.

This is someone who was looked upon as as maybe a project. He was taken at number seven overall out of Wyoming. He's too raw. He's just athletic. He's he's going to need time to develop. And, you know, he's not Baker Mayfield who went before him at number one. He's not Sam Darnold who went at number three.

He's just a project. He's Josh Allen. Baker Mayfield is on team number two. He's on team number two with Sam Darnold. These guys are battling it out to see which quarterback is more trash. Sam Darnold. And here we have Josh Allen, who is likely just a couple of steps away from advancing his career towards a Super Bowl. The Buffalo Bills are killing it. And Josh Allen, he's endeared himself to the community in Buffalo.

He's easy to root for. Unfortunately, a couple of seasons ago, his grandmother passed away. The community decided to donate. Yes, all those great fans in Buffalo, typically in increments of $17 because of his jersey number 17.

They donated on his grandmother's behalf $300,000 to the local Children's Hospital after she passed. Josh Allen said, My family is forever engraved here, myself included. I don't ever want to leave. I want to play for as long as I can and give back to this community in Bill's Mafia. And that's what he's done. This is close to being a family, as I think you'll see in the NFL.

And you know what? Outside of being an amazing human being that cares about the community and they care about him. His coach, he knows that, yeah, even as a badass football player, he's he's he's pretty humble. Josh Allen, he talks about how humble he is.

He talks about the offense and he says, I'm humble. Listen, again, we're just trying to do our job. That's what it comes down to. We're trusting what Doris is calling, going out there and executing to the best of our abilities. Getting the run game going is something that, you know, we'll need to be doing going forward and getting our guys some space. But again, our O-line was great in pass protection tonight. And again, guys got open mid plays for us. But when we execute how we know we're supposed to execute, you know, success typically leads to success typically.

So, again, we're just trying to be the best versions of ourselves. It's a lot of we, not a lot of I. Josh Allen, he's easy to root for. I want to see him get a championship between him and Lamar. I want to see them get titles. Josh Allen, easy to root for. Let's move on to the next number.

Number five, top six athletes, superstars who are easy to love, stars who are easy to embrace. Man, when this guy had to move on, it was a it's a disaster. The team was a disaster. And now he's in Arizona Cardinal. I hope he stays healthy. It's J.J. Watt. This man is on the first train to the Hall of Fame multiple time pro bowler, three time defensive player of the year, along with, I don't know, some guy named Lawrence Taylor like J.J. Watt is a badass.

He could retire tomorrow and he's going into the Hall of Fame. We know this. J.J. Watt is also a humanitarian. This is someone who helped raise 40 million dollars for Hurricane Harvey relief in 2017.

And he did just run around with his hand out. He decided to put in one hundred thousand dollars to get things started. He was the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2017. Outside of that, he opened up a shelter for women and children.

He released a shoe with Reebok that was just for women to benefit and fund the charity. And I've met J.J. Watt. He's a cool dude.

But what he actually does for the community is even better. The Texans stunk. He asked for his way out.

It was granted. Now he's with Arizona and even on his way out the door, listening to him interact with his teammates and talk to them. And it's crazy. Listen to J.J. Watt in his last season with the Texans. They care every single week.

We're in week 16 and we're 4 and 11. And there's fans that watch this game that show up to the stadium that put in time and energy and effort and care about this. So if you can't go out there and you can't work out, you can't show up on time. You can't practice. You can't want to go out there and win. You shouldn't be here because this is a privilege.

It's the greatest job in the world. You get to go out and play a game. And if you can't care enough, even in week 17, even when you're trash, when you're 4 and 11, if you can't care enough to go out there and give everything you've got and try your hardest, there are people every week that still tweet you, that still come up to you and say, hey, we're still rooting for you. We're still behind you. They have no reason whatsoever to. We stink. But they care and they still want to win and they still want you to be great. That's why those people aren't getting paid. We're getting paid handsomely.

That's why. And that's that's why I feel the most bad for is our fans. How can you not appreciate an athlete who actually gets it? Thank you, J.J. Watt. Top six athletes who are easy to root for. J.J. Watt at five.

Let's move on. Number four. Oh, number four is the guy going for the home run record in the American League right now. Yes, it's Aaron Judge. Excellent ballplayer. Excellent human being. You know, I know every now and then, I don't know, maybe one out of 10 people goes, oh, he's using drugs.

Well, I don't know. But I think he is. I'm giving you a perspective from someone who's watched him interact with people at the stadium. I'm giving you a perspective from someone who's just heard about almost all of his interviews since he's been called up. It was only a couple of months ago I sat in right field. I sat in the quote unquote judges chambers at Yankee Stadium and I watched him play catch with kids in the stands.

Oh, well, everybody plays catch. I watched him just be polite. Well, everybody's polite. I've listened to his interviews. He is genuine in his interactions with people.

He has no problem telling people on his social media, for what it's worth, that he is a believer. And regardless of whether he is, he's a good ass human being. And that's something that you have to appreciate. And so to know that you have a giant, a Paul Bunyan-esque figure here in 2022 to root for in the world of baseball. Aaron Judge is someone who hasn't gotten in trouble, doesn't say the wrong things, has not complained about his contract, has gone out and worked to earn his money. And it's easy to look at him and go, damn it, go out there and do the best you can.

And that's what we've gotten. And so Aaron Judge, I appreciate him. A matter of fact, when Bernie Williams, Yankees legend, joined us earlier on in the show, I asked Bernie about Judge and what he's doing.

What impresses you the most? And Bernie talked about how he also isn't just about himself in these home runs. He's about the whole team.

Listen. The one thing that impresses me the most about him is the fact that he is not really making that the focus of his season. He is so committed to have the team itself win a championship that all these accolades and all these things are happening to him is almost like he's seeing them as a burden. They're on the way of him doing what he needs to do and needs to focus on having this team, the team itself, the Yankees win a championship. So that to me, that's a commendable thing in this day and age where everybody's involved.

It's all about self-promoting and social media and all that stuff. Having this sort of team oriented attitude. He is the leader of the Yankees and he does have a team oriented attitude.

Bernie Williams talked about the celebration a few weeks ago, and Aaron Judge, he encouraged the Yankee legends to come and speak to the squad and team. And he's not just a leader. He's one of the guys.

And that's absolutely amazing. Aaron Judge is a superstar who is easy to root for. He's at number four. Who's at this number?

Number three. We have to go out to an area that Aaron Judge is familiar with. So we spent his time, a lot of his formative years or at least close by.

We're going out to the bay, starting his career off in Oakland now in San Francisco. It is Steph Curry. What is there not to like about Steph Curry? What, a shimmy?

You don't like the shimmy? This man has helped change the game. His work ethic is absolutely phenomenal. He's beloved by kids. Some of those habits, unfortunately, have been picked up by kids who think they can shoot from half court. But Steph Curry is easy to root for. You think about his size, but then you think about his commitment to his craft.

Beautiful. He is what you want anyone growing up in athletics to kind of work or aspire to be. The underdog, too small, too broken, too injury-prone. But one thing no one can ever take away from anybody is work ethic. Not everybody has it, and Steph Curry is an excellent example. He's also been a great human being in the community. With his Under Armour deal, he was asked specifically by a nine-year-old girl, hey, why don't we have girl sizes for your Curry kicks? He worked with her, wrote her back, had her help design the shoes, and they started to sell them.

Nobody gets things right 100 percent of the time, but you have to actually understand how to make things right and get things together. Steve Kerr, he talked about Steph Curry after they won their fourth title. This was on NBC Sports, and this is bigger than him just knocking down threes. That's the thing that makes him special is his character, strength of character, matches his skill and his level of conditioning. It's all tied together. He just cares so much. He works so hard. It's so easy to coach. Whenever I'm done coaching, I will look back and just say thank you to Steph night after night because he's made this situation for us as an organization easy for everybody.

He's just a special player, special person. Don't have to worry about Steph getting in trouble. He's with his family. He's with his little girls. He's with his son. He's with his wife. He's knocking down threes. He's practicing shots. He's doing STEM activities in the community.

He's selling his shoes and helping little girls design it. What's there not to like about Steph Curry? Too many dances with his threes?

Come on. Steph Curry's at number three. Who do we have at this number?

Number two. Top six superstars who are oh so easy to root for. This man, his career is basically coming to a close. This is the last hurrah. He's getting ready to pull up on 700 home runs.

And there's a lot of people hoping for it. His name is Albert Pujols. The machine. He's been a machine for the better part of 20 years. A champion.

A beast. What Aaron Judge is doing. Yeah, Pujols didn't go out and smack 60. But Albert Pujols was doing this almost every year.

Freak of nature. And so now as things wind down, there's an appreciation for what he does on the baseball field. And I'm going to tell you something else that he's absolutely amazing at. You know, Albert Pujols, he sat down with Harold Reynolds.

And this is what they had to say about his play on the field, those 700 home runs. If it's meant to happen, it's going to happen no matter what. So don't stress yourself.

You're playing with house mind. Yeah, like don't stress yourself. Like, if it doesn't happen, it wasn't meant to happen.

I always say that if I have an open book blank with a thousand pages, the Lord will say, you know, I want you to write in this book how your life is going to be at 42 and what you're going to accomplish. I don't think I would even come close to this. And that's what is so special. Albert Pujols has had one of the best careers that any of us will witness for anyone who's ever played baseball. What a lot of people don't know or maybe you found out recently is that Albert Pujols also has a daughter with Down syndrome. He has been open and talking and speaking about this in his Albert Pujols Foundation. He, Albert Pujols, does an amazing job with giving anyone and everyone an opportunity to be treated like a human. And so he has a great perspective, not just on who he is, his place in baseball, but in society.

And he's taken his position to help elevate other people so they can be treated like human beings as well. And for that Albert Pujols, man, go hit 700 home runs. It'd be great to see it. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. It's a top six list of superstars who are easy to root for. So much negativity in the world of sports, so much negativity in the world. Who are some athletes who help bring a little bit of light into a situation? We're going to take a break. And when we come back, I'm going to hit you with number one.

Let's wait a minute, though, on the other side of the break. It's the J.R. Sportbree show. I'm J.R. here on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree on CBS Sports Radio.

You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree on CBS Sports Radio. I love your show. I love listening to you on a regular basis. Thanks for taking my call, man. I really like your show, dog. It's a great show that we listen to up here whenever we get the chance.

Man, let me say it. I love your show, man. I live in Brookhaven, Georgia, right?

And I'm a truck driver. You make my night every night that you on the air. I want to say that. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS.

That's right. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Every Wednesday night into Thursday morning, I give you a new top six list.

Tonight is no different. I'm getting ready to reveal to you number one as we take a look at the top six superstars in sports who are just easy to root for. There are a lot of controversial figures, you know, athletes who people love to hate, athletes who talk too much, who want to be traded, who want to quit. Who just throw other people under the bus.

Not these guys. I don't think you've probably heard a negative word about any of these individuals. They're looked upon as team first guys in the locker room, on the field, on the court. And more importantly, I think in business endeavors and then also in the community.

They help other people in ways that you don't even imagine. Let me go ahead and give you a recap before I bring you to the number one. At number six, I gave you Josh Allen. His relationship with the people of Buffalo is absolutely ridiculous.

It's very familiar. You know, this man's grandmother passed away. The community had his back donated to a children's hospital in his grandmother's honor. And Josh Allen made it very clear, I'm committed here to Buffalo. And unlike some athletes, I don't think this man is going to go ahead and change his mind.

At number five, I gave you J.J. Watt. He understands what it means to play in the NFL. He understands how blessed and fortunate he is in his position. As a member of the Houston Texans, not only did he raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief, this man would open up shelters. He would chastise his own teammates for their lack of effort, giving the fact that they get paid millions upon millions of dollars.

And at minimum, they could show up for the people who spend their hard-earned money to support them. J.J. Watt, 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year. At number four, I gave you Aaron Judge. Someone who's having one of the most amazing seasons that you will ever see by a baseball player.

And he's been able to deflect this. He's beloved in the Yankees clubhouse. He is team first all the way.

New York Yankee Bernie Williams joined us earlier on in the show, and he told us and gave us a firsthand example when Bernie was in the clubhouse recently. How Aaron Judge brings everybody together and how even at this point, he's still just, he's team first and not me first. At number three, I gave you Steph Curry. Yeah, he's one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is the greatest shooter of all time. What do you hear negative about Steph Curry?

What, his wife in the cookbook? That he shimmies too much and showboats when he's shooting threes? Or have you heard about the work that he does with Under Armour? You know, going out there in the community being an excellent example of hard work to youngsters? Having one of the best-selling shoes to young people who want to emulate someone who's been an underdog?

You know, getting a letter from a young lady who says, hey, where are your shoes in girl sizes? And then Steph Curry working with the young lady to develop a line just for female athletes. Steph Curry, one of the good guys. At number two, I gave you Albert Pujols. He's on his way out the door. He's on the doorstep of 700 home runs. He also has a daughter with Down syndrome and he has publicly, publicly been an advocate for people being treated like people regardless of who they are, what they're from or, you know, what may or may not afflict them. And for that, Albert Pujols is also someone who understands his lot in life. And it's not just being one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

And it's time for this top six superstars who are easy to root for. Hey, Chef, what number is it? Number one. We got to look at someone who is from Nigeria via Greece playing in Milwaukee. If you want to look at, quote unquote, the American dream, an opportunity. The American dream is not real for everyone, but it is real for this individual who's been able to take and utilize his athleticism and his appreciation for life and be one of the greatest athletes that we have in this country right now. His name is Giannis Atetokounmpo. Man, he wasn't even necessarily wanted by Greece.

Family of immigrants selling goods on the streets of Greece. Wants to play soccer, moves into basketball, comes over, gets drafted as a no nothing six foot nine guy who grows to six eleven, who's an ultimate beast. And what does he do? Goes from selling goods with his family on the streets to being a multiple time MVP, a defensive player of the year, one of the seventy five greatest basketball players of all time. Giannis Atetokounmpo doesn't take himself too seriously, but he takes the game seriously when he's away from the court before and after games. He understands it's just a game because there are bigger things in life. We've heard him joke about smoothies. We've heard him talk about his initial experiences in America.

And now that he's a father, he's running around as as as just intense as he is. He's telling dad jokes. Listen. Let's open up with a joke. What do you call a cow on the floor? Anybody know?

Ground beef. Yes, an awful joke. He's telling dad jokes. But then when it's time to ball out and realize, you know, what he's experienced, what his family has experienced in life. His father passed away a few years ago. Unsuspectingly, I actually met his dad before. Great guys.

Mom, great person. Brothers. We know about his brothers. He's a dad. He's a father. Giannis has never forgot where he's come from. And just how hard he's worked and where he is, is an inspirational story to every and anyone. Giannis understands the game. He understands life. This is what he said.

2021 during the finals. From my experience, right? Like when I think about like, oh, yeah, I did this. I, you know, I'm so great. I had 30.

I had 25, 10 and 10 or whatever the case might be. Because you don't think about that. All we want is that. Usually the next day you're going to suck. You know, similar as that.

The next few days, you're going to be terrible. And figure out like a mindset to have that like when you focus on the past, that's your ego. I did this.

You know, we were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past. And when I focus on the future, it's my pride. Like, yeah, next game, game five. I do this and this and this. You know, I'm going down. That's your pride. Like, it doesn't happen. Like you're right here.

And I kind of like try to focus in the, you know, in the moment, in the present. And that's humility. That's being humble.

That's not setting, no expectation. That's going out there and enjoying the game. Competing at a high level.

It's a beautiful thing in life when you can have perspective. And that's something that Giannis Atteracumpo has. A lot of his peers have been told that they are great, that they are awesome from the time that they're in middle school.

Giannis Atteracumpo was selling goods on the street trying to think about his next meal. He has not lost perspective even for a game. And so he is also easy to root for. A superstar without ego. A superstar who isn't afraid of big moments. A superstar who goes and understands it's a game.

And he's going to play his ass off at that game. But he's never going to forget the big picture. And Giannis going to the small market. Staying in the small market. Investing in teams in the small market.

Starting a family in the small market. And hell, one day he might leave the small market. But he's been easy to root for. Given his circumstances and what he's been able to make out of it. Just by will, determination and work.

It's all about perspective folks. I got Giannis number one here on the list. Superstars who are easy to root for.

It's the JR Sport Reshow here on CBS Sports Radio. I gave you Josh Allen, JJ Watt, Aaron Judge, Steph Curry, Albert Pujols and Giannis Atetokounmpo at number one. With all the negativity in the world of sports. Who is a superstar athlete? Who is a star athlete that you really appreciate?

That is easy, oh so easy to root for his or her success. I'm going to get to your calls on the other side. You're listening to the JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. Hello JR. My first time calling you and I find you to be an excellent guy to listen to. So good luck, I hope you never lose this spot. Because really you're so bright and intelligent and you cover it all and I'm very happy to listen to you. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. Right before we went to break I gave you a new top six list. We look at superstars or we took a look at superstar athletes who are oh so easy to root for, to support, to look for their success. If you missed the full explanations it's easy.

Listen on the free odyssey app all you have to do is hit rewind. Here it is. At number six I gave you Josh Allen. At number five I gave you J.J. Watt. At number four I gave you Aaron Judge. At number three I gave you Steph Curry. At number two Albert Pujols. And if I have to think about a superstar athlete who is easy to root for given his circumstances and what he's done, what he's been able to make out of his life and just be an example for others. It's Giannis Atteracumpo. Disney has done a movie about this man. And there's a whole lot of life left in front of Giannis Atteracumpo just even here in his years, early years, still in his 20s. It's a hell of a journey from the streets of Greece.

It's absolutely amazing. 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4CBS. I'm going to ask super producer Dave Shepherd. I'm going to get his thoughts and his opinions on someone easy to root for momentarily. Let's holler at a few of you guys first. Let's talk to Alex.

He's calling up from Miami. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Alex? All right. Good evening, bro. First of all, I got to thank you and the crew. It's the only live sports show I got on local radio. So great. Thank you for that, fellas.

So I hear you guys talking about athletes that are really easy to root for. I got one you might have missed. I'm very sensitive to mental health issues.

I lost two friends of mine who took their own life. So I'm kind of – it's got to be inactive. So I thought of maybe back in the day like John Daly. He went to some stuff and he came back. Well, Alex, you still there? Yeah. I thought of – yeah, I'm sorry about that.

I thought you got cut off. But before ranting, Naomi Osaka, she was number one. She's on top of the world. And all of a sudden, she's got to stop everything that's going on because she's going through mental health issues. And she's – her anxiety and her depression.

And then she comes back. I think that's an athlete – I kind of got a weakness for those athletes because they go through a lot. I mean, even somebody like Tiger went through some stuff. Even like I said, John Daly, the golfer. If they get back to their sport after going through something, I think that's admirable and something that, you know, it's easy to room for. Yeah. No, I understand that.

And Alex, thank you so much for bringing up Naomi Osaka. She certainly is an inspiration for a lot of folks. I know there are people who will, you know, look down or negatively upon, you know, any athletes who say, I'm suffering from mental health issues. For some, it can be an easy cop-out. And I'm not going to sit here and be naïve and go, oh my goodness, you know, this isn't an excuse for some athletes.

That's not for me to judge unless you're Ben Simmons and you wanted to be a jerk before you wanted to claim mental health issues. You can look at Naomi Osaka and her growth as a tennis player. You can look at the first time she won the U.S. Open and looking at her almost cry while winning because Serena Williams, the crowd wanted her to win and they weren't a fan of what was taking place. And Serena had to tell everybody, hey, relax, this is Naomi's moment. And Naomi's just like, whoa, they booing me, they booing the fact that I won, and you could see it in her. She was almost a teenager. And so now here she is at 24 years old, still young, you know, going through all these experiences and, yeah, more money, more problems.

Notorious B.I.G. was not lying. You know, it's one thing to go and be a model. It's one thing to be a global phenomenon everywhere from Haiti to Japan. It's another thing when you have the pressures to perform. And, yes, plenty of people have done it.

We live in a totally different world right now. You got Joe Burrow, and I don't want to cite mental health issues. He certainly did not.

I think it's a little bit of common sense. Joe Burrow spoke to the media today, and they asked him, hey, have you seen all of the comments about, you know, the Bengals being 0-2? And Joe Burrow says, I took Twitter and Instagram off my phone. Well, let's hear what Joe Burrow had to say.

I don't have Twitter or Instagram right now, so I've seen none of it. We're focused on what's going on in there. I'm sure it's not a very good reaction, but I think it will be a different reaction as we get going here. Yeah, you know, sometimes it's best not to just, you know, be badgered by negativity all day long. Why do you suck? Why are they letting you get hit so much?

You know, what does that do? Imagine seeing that all day long. Some of us can't. Most of us can't. 855-212-4CBS, that's 855-212-4CBS.

We're talking about superstar athletes who are easy to root for. Greg is here from Michigan. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. JR, great topic, Mr. Positive. Hey, real quick, don't hold it against me, turning 60 Friday. Oh, is it a pain getting old? Great topic, but I have two.

I want LeBron James, but the person I'm going to go with is Matt Stafford. The man couldn't win a title. Kelly, his wife, had something wrong with her brain, brain tumor. Daughters were, you know, a little bit unhealthy, but they're great.

They're two sets of twins, I think. But before he left, he gave a million dollars to build a center for children to believe in themselves. And here it is, great talents, giving back to humanity. And this, my friend, is what life is all about, and you're nailing it with this topic. Love you for bringing this topic out, because this is what life's all about, giving back to the community, putting smiles on people's faces.

Love you, happy birthday to you. Thank you, Greg, for calling from Michigan. Oh, without a shadow of a doubt, Matthew Stafford, an upstanding citizen, when he was a member of the Lions, and certainly a beautiful gift on his way out the door. Matthew Stafford was easy to root for, even in the simplest form or simpler way. He had to play for the Lions all those years. And then when he finally went to a decent football team, how could you not look at the man and go, Damn it, he got free.

Good luck. I think leaving the Lions is a blessing. I think they're on their way on the up and up now. I don't think it'll be with Mr. Goff. But yeah, Matthew Stafford all those years, kind of just wallowing, playing on Thanksgiving, the only time that America sees you, and now you're here in the Super Bowl. And then you win the Super Bowl. And you probably have a brighter future here in the NFL. Let's see if that body holds up, though.

He's talking about his arm like it's being held together with scotch tape and bubble gum. Good for Matthew Stafford. Yeah, he's easy to root for.

He won the championship already, so I don't know if I feel the same way, though. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. We're talking about superstar athletes who are easy to root for.

I had Giannis number one. Who the hell is on your list? I'll talk to you on the other side here on CBS Sports Radio. It's not easy being the one everyone counts on to keep the facility running, no matter the weather or supply chain hiccup.

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