10.3.22 - JR SportBrief Hour 2

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See how Capital One is using machine learning for the future of banking at capitalone.com Capital One, what's in your wallet? I'm here with super producer and host, Dave Shepherd. I'm going to hold it down for the next three hours. Thank you to everybody listening all over North America. Thank you to people listening on your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate, people tuned in on SiriusXM channel 158, and everyone listening on a smart speaker. Monday Night Football. And it's basically about to be done. It's basically about to be a wrap tonight. San Francisco 49ers. They're going to walk away with a victory over the Rams.

24 tonight. It's just a matter of the clock running down at a point. Matthew Stafford not having the greatest of games tonight. He's been able to throw or not been able.

It's not what you want to do. He threw a pick six. Ball was all over the place.

He had to throw the rock around 46 times. Let's keep in mind that Matthew Stafford is someone who they talked about having to have had a procedure done on his elbow in the offseason and Jimmy Garoppolo do a touchdown 239 yards. All things considered, San Francisco just completely controlled this game and the Rams did not muster a damn thing. Matthew Stafford also treated like a ragdoll under pressure all game sacked seven times. And so San Francisco, all things considered right now, having Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback has eliminated a lot of guesswork that you would have seen with Trey Lance.

Maybe some of these turnovers and INTs maybe be different. If there's one thing about Jimmy Garoppolo, you love him, you hate him. We know he's not one of the best. He's also not one of the worst. We've seen him help you get to a Super Bowl.

We've also seen him barely miss winning one or maybe contribute to losing, but they win when he's out there. And so they're going to pick up another victory tonight 24-9. We'll continue to update you on that game when it's done, when we start getting some players and coaches to the podium. And then we'll also give you some sound bites. So the Los Angeles Rams 2-2. San Francisco 2-2.

And we talked about this last hour in the open of the show. It's like half the damn NFL is 2-2. So we have a 17 game season.

We just have to see how things just roll out for everybody. If you want to hit me up, you know how to do it here on CBS Sports Radio. The number is 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. It's now a final score 24-9. San Francisco beats Los Angeles. Both teams now sit at 2-2. Before we get back to football, we talked about 2-2 to open up the show. We talked about Kenny Pickett taking over in Pittsburgh. We talked about the Ravens faltering, just blowing another lead against Buffalo. We talked about the Broncos, Russell Wilson. They lost to the Raiders.

The Raiders won a football game. And Geno Smith, Geno Smith is looking good. How about that?

Sounds like an oxymoron. But Geno is having a good start to his season. I got to switch to baseball real quick. We started off with Albert Pujols.

What a way to go out. Unfortunately, tonight the Pirates, well good for the Pirates fans, they really don't know what a win looks like so when they actually get one, enjoy it. The Pirates tonight, they beat the Cards 3-2. But the story out of that game was Albert Pujols.

Another amazing thing. He homered on his second consecutive game. Albert Pujols tonight hit his 703rd homerun in a loss. And with that homerun, he also passed Babe Ruth. He's now second all-time in career RBIs. And what a way for Albert Pujols to go out.

Just ridiculous. This is a matter of fact, this is what homerun number 703 sounded like on Valley Sports Midwest. Albert hits it down the left field line. Number 703. 703.

It's history. RBIs number 2000, 215 and 16. He's passed Babe Ruth. Second all-time in history and runs batted in. A historic blast. Number 703.

703. Albert Pujols just continues to light it up. He made it very clear months ago, even before the season.

He's like, listen, I don't care how many homeruns I get. I don't care what type of season I have. They asked him earlier on in his hot streak last month or I guess in August. Hey, Shep, it's kind of crazy to say last month. And last month is now September. Yeah, I wish it were August. That'd be nice to have these rainy 45 degree days.

Yeah, I have no idea how we got here. You're in New York City. I'm in Georgia. I'm kind of jealous right now.

Don't be. The weather is just, you know, about 75, 77 and nice. Feel free to come down to Georgia, Shep. We'd love you. I appreciate that. Yeah, no doubt about it. I'm serious though.

Come on down to Georgia. Have a good old time. But anyway, Albert Pujols with the numbers that he's been able to put up so far this season. 42 years old. On his way out the door, he has a batting average of 269. He's hit 24 home runs this season.

Now has 66 RBIs. The Cardinals are going to be participating in the playoffs. They're in that wild card position, all things considered right now. It looks like they would host the Philadelphia Phillies to start things off. And it's, it's pretty cool to see what Pujols is doing. And I want to see this man just go out on fire. Do I think the cards are going to represent the National League?

No, no I don't. I think that will either go to the Dodgers or even the Braves, who by the way, the Braves, they just, they whoop the Mets man. They swept the Mets over the weekend. They only need one more victory to clinch the National League East. They need the New York Mets to lose a game to just automatically clinch the National League East.

And unfortunately for the Braves, tonight they lose to the Marlins in Florida, 4-0. It's not done yet. I don't know if this is appropriate to say in the year 2022. I think I'll say it anyway. Shep, it's okay if I reference the cliche about the fat lady singing?

Yeah, absolutely. Well, she hasn't sung yet, but it's getting close in the National League East. And the Mets, man, how about this? These guys led the National League East 10 and a half game lead. And then DeGrom goes down.

He comes back and you got to babysit him. Max Scherzer, who also lost over the weekend. It's like his side has been bothering him off and on. And they got an injury to Starling Marte. The Braves are able to bring up all these rookies. Michael Harris is looking amazing. And Grissom comes up like he shot out of a cannon to start. And he ain't starting right now.

You got Strider. And the Mets bring up their catcher over the weekend to play DH and Alvarez. And he can't hit a damn. And so the Braves are in control right now. And it's not the same scenario as last year where the Mets were giving things away in August, blowing a division.

But it stinks this go round. The Mets have invested a lot into their players, a lot into the payroll. And yeah, sure, it's hard to look at a team sitting at basically 100 wins and go, man, y'all suck. But they finishing as hot as you would think. And despite that, Buck Showalter, the manager.

He's like, listen, guys, let's not let's not just just call us a wrap right now. Listen, there's a lot of doubt that can creep in if you let it. And our guys are not going to. I've got a long memory. They do. We know what they're capable of and just wasn't there the last three days.

OK. Yeah, I hope so. Jacob DeGrom, who's probably been the best pitcher in the majors over the past, I don't know, four or five years when he's healthy. You got Max Scherzer. It's not like Max Scherzer, even though he's getting paid forty three million dollars, it's not like he's some type of spring chicken. His side seemingly has been bothering him.

I would say maybe the the latter half of this season. He's 38 years old when he's out there. Oh, man, he's he's an ace by himself. He's won a World Series with the Nats. But the New York Mets, man, this is. This sucks. You still have DeGrom, you still have Scherzer, but I mean, the Braves, they're confident right now. The Mets can't score to save their lives. And it's just a tough, tough go round.

Speaking of a tough go round. This actually happened. Tony La Russa is retiring again. He's done. He turned 78 this month. He's out due to health reasons.

What a surprise. And then I mean here with the Chicago White Sox is his tenure is done. We've had to deal with Tony La Russa, his players hating him last year and then actually winning some games. We've had to deal with Tony La Russa, you know, falling asleep in a dugout. We've had to look at Tony La Russa having to exit his own team because his own health reasons.

And it was just wild out of the get go for this man to be hired by Jerry Reinsdorf in the first place. He's done. In his press conference, he told everybody, I will leave today with many more good memories than disappointments. Well, I hate to say this, but Tony La Russa, this man should have never returned.

What the hell was he coming back for? Right before his press conference, he he met with his players, he told them it's done. He was gone for 10 years in between his last managerial job when he when he led the cards. We know he's a three time champion, a four time manager of the year. He should have never had the job.

And it was a hilarious joke I saw on Twitter today. Someone decided to tweet out, man, if Jerry Reinsdorf didn't accidentally fall into Michael Jordan, Jerry Reinsdorf would be considered one of the worst owners in sports. And if you think about his decision to bring in Tony La Russa pretty much at the back here, it's just it's ridiculous.

And now he has to pay for it. Chicago White Sox were a disappointment this year. Tony La Russa was falling asleep watching his own team that he's supposed to manage. And then at the end of the year, he has to exit. Due to health reasons, and he will not be the manager next year. And this is a team that just has to start over next season. And whatever his health issues are, I wish Tony La Russa nothing but the best. The White Sox are sitting flat even at at 80 and 80. They were able to beat the Minnesota Twins tonight to even up their record for the season.

And even as as a part of of his going away, his goodbye. When Tony La Russa spoke to the media, he said, yeah, guys, I know this year it sucked. Listen, our team's record this season is a final reality. It's always about what your record is. And people will look at it, say, well, you know, you did this, I was good or you should.

But we are a record. And it's an unacceptable disappointment. There are some pluses, no doubt, but too many minuses. These are lessons that I was taught early on that have saved me over the years. In the major leagues, you either do or you don't. Explanations come across as excuses. Respect and trust demand accountability. And I've lived faithfully with that during my managerial career. I understand the ultimate responsibility for each minus the season belongs to the manager. That's accurate because always something else you could do. Yeah, it's you know, I've made plenty of jokes about it because it is a shop.

I'm not being a jerk, right? Is it for his health reasons? That's not a joke. He's he's getting ready to be 78 years old. He should have never had the job to begin with. And now he has to step away because he's 78 years old. This is basically what it boils down to without having to know the full details of his his health issues.

He should have never been in that position. Now, having said that. Could you imagine and you can't let's just put it this way. Could you imagine if I don't know? Gabe Kappler or or Aaron Boone fell asleep in the dugout.

Could you imagine what that would that you can't even imagine it? I feel I feel bad for him because, you know, I think maybe he walked away a little bit too soon, you know, after 2011. And OK, it's the ultimate what if because, you know, if he if he stays, there's no doubt our pool also stays. I believe has the greatest career in the history of Major League Baseball. I surpasses 800 home runs. They win not to they win four World Series, you know, that that one decision to step aside.

But, you know, J.R., to your point, you mentioned that, you know, the numeric the numerical association of 78. Jack McKeon was was 80 managing and did a pretty good job. Connie Mack with the Marlins. Yeah. Yeah.

Connie Mack, who I know lost more games than he won. But he was managing into his mid 80s. It is it is possible.

Sure. For I just think his specific health, you know, reasons for for, you know, yeah. But his he Tony Luce is an old 78, but not just that. He's 78. I think you see, even even with McKeon, that's more that's more recent.

But we're talking almost. What is that now? 15, 20 years recent.

Yeah. I think he is 90 now. So we got to say, yeah, it would be about 10 years ago. I want to say so that we were in a different era in time now, even in baseball and and having to manage and work with talent can't say the same things, can't do the same things. Tony La Russa was getting resistance from his own locker room. I can't remember the guy's name right off the top of my head, but he swung out a pitch. Tony La Russa was killing his own player, chastising his own guy in public. The young man was just like, man, I don't even want to play baseball anymore. Like it's that's where it went and his own teammates had to come and support him because his own manager was just like, yeah, I throw at him too.

It's like, whoa, Tony La Russa just supports your guy. Do you mean Mercedes? Yes. Yes.

Yes. It's like, why are you killing him in public for? And then we he was away from the game for 10 years. If you ask me, Tony La Russa, all things considered for a baseball manager, a guy who's retired, someone who's won World Series and awards, et cetera, already in the Hall of Fame, he was living the baseball quote unquote good life. He was running around being a consultant. He didn't have a quote unquote real job. He's just taking meetings.

People are kissing your ring. He's sitting around the fancy dinners. You don't got to pay for nothing. Like you want to come back in and manage baseball. And this is like that. Sure, this will be a blip when you look at his entire career history. But this is a sucker sad way to go out.

It sucks. There's there's no better way to say it. And Miguel Cairo, when he took over immediately the White Sox, they won 13 and 19 games and then even they hit the skids before they won tonight's game. They were losing or they lost five straight. So look, all the best to Tony La Russa.

I wish him nothing but the best in whatever his health issues happen to be. That was just a sad, sad circumstance to end a Hall of Fame managerial career for a guy who is already in the Hall of Fame. I don't know. Shep, maybe the Lakers bring back Phil Jackson, right? You know what? It's funny you mentioned NBA head coaches. I think what Popovich is doing going on 74 years old with all the intensity of an NBA game, which opposed to baseball, we know it's a lot more passive, a lot less action in terms of game time.

It is remarkable what he's able to do at 74 years old. Look at this. Popovich has to walk up and down the sidelines for two hours being pissed at everybody. That's that's not easy. You factor in the travel. The travel in the NBA is much more intense than it is in Major League Baseball. Sure, it's a longer season, 162 games, but you can get to a city, settle in for three or four days. You go on to the next one with a day off the NBA. Yes, you have those off days, but I mean, damn, they have certainly changed the schedule. But you are in Houston one day and then you're in Dallas. You go from Dallas to Miami, you go from Miami to Atlanta, you go back to San Antonio. You're there for a week. It's a beat down.

Yeah. And what's amazing, JR, is he's not even we know he's not even coaching a team that's in win now mode. You know, it's funny with Phil Jackson, you mentioned him, his hips and his knees passed him by. His his love and passion and fervency and knowledge of the game never did. That's why Phil Jackson had to step down just a year removed from winning an NBA championship. Do you recall even having those conversations of, wow, we want to keep Phil. Maybe he can only coach the home game.

Yes, it was it was it was wild. But I give Popovich credit, man. He is fully transparent about where he is, where the team is.

I mean, that that that media day last week, Popovich came out and said, I'm here. Don't put money on us to win a championship. We are here. I am here to develop these young guys for whoever comes through to take over after me. And I give him credit. It might be a joke. Hey, don't don't bet on us.

It was honest. And you don't have too many coaches who've had the success. I get it of someone like Greg Popovich, but to even acknowledge that, hey, I am here to pass the torch is not something that you hear a lot in professional sports ever at all. I don't care if you're a player, if you're a coach.

People want to hold on to the reins for as long as possible. And Popovich, a lot of people forget how he got the job. He was upstairs in the front office. He fired the coach, Hill. He took over and he had all the success in the world with Tim Duncan. But at least now on the back end, he's ready, willing and able to kind of pass things along.

I give him credit there and all the best to Tony La Russa on his way out. It's the JR sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. You know what? We're going to pretty much start getting into Monday Night Football shortly. But having mentioned the NBA, I want to hit that real quick before we get to the news flash. And then also, yeah, part of the NBA. Ben Simmons played basketball tonight. You heard that correctly.

We'll talk about it. It's the JR sport re-show here 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. Hey, great show.

I listen to you every night. One of the best broadcasters around. Really are in tune to what's happening in professional sports.

Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, we're going to dive deep. We're going to get ready to dive deep into Monday Night Football tonight. The 49ers, they beat the Rams 24 to 9, a rematch of the NFC Championship game to California rivals, interstate rivals. And we'll talk about the game.

What more do you need to know? I'll tell you this quickly. Matthew Stafford was sacked seven times. Matthew Stafford also threw a pick six and Deebo Samuel. He looked like Deebo Samuel. This guy's busting out just ridiculous catches and yards after the catch and touchdowns. And that's why Deebo Samuel is just getting the big money, the big cash. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. You know, right before we went to break, before we get into Monday Night Football, I mentioned to you Tony La Russa stepping down due to health reasons as manager of the Chicago White Sox. We talked about Greg Popovich just last week at 74 years old. He basically said, listen, folks, don't expect much from us this year, but development. And I gave him props for that. I do have to mention, and this is what we know, the NBA season. Wow.

I don't know how we got here. The NBA season starts next week. Training camps got underway last week with Media Day, et cetera.

We got we got preseason games going on right now. The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Kings. The Clippers are playing the Trailblazers.

But then earlier on this evening on the East Coast in Brooklyn, the 76ers, they went out there and they visited the Nets. And I've seen some of the highlights because guess what I'm not doing. I ain't watching no damn preseason.

It might be on in the background, but I'm not sitting down watching this. But I did see highlights. Kevin Durant played 20 minutes, 13 points. Joel Embiid, we know he ain't playing. Harden didn't play. Kyrie played. 19 minutes, nine points. Ben Simmons played. What?

19 minutes. Yes, Chef, you heard me correct. I need to do a double check there. Ben Simmons played basketball. He did. Preseason game. Gotcha. Six points in 19 minutes, four rebounds and five assists.

Wow. And obviously the only reason that he's playing, the only reason Durant is playing, the only reason that Kyrie is playing is because really none of these guys played last year. Ben Simmons didn't play at all. Kyrie Irving barely played.

High pandemic. And then, you know, Kevin Durant was hurt, unfortunately. So you do want to get these guys some reps during the preseason, as many reps as possible in live game action, regardless of the circumstance. You also have to cross your fingers and hope that nobody gets hurt. But sports, you got to go out there and do it.

Otherwise, nothing happens at all. So knowing that I have not seen this game, will not watch this game, I did see a couple of highlights. And I guess these two highlights that I've seen of Ben Simmons pretty much encapsulate, you know, what what people expect from him. We saw a dunk on a pass from Kyrie Irving. Fast break dunk to Ben Simmons.

Nice. And then something else that pretty much went viral was Ben Simmons pulling up for a mid range shot. And just the ball hitting nothing.

The backboard and bouncing off. And so there you have Ben Simmons back to playing basketball. I heard this today and I pretty much laughed. It's been reported that Ben Simmons will not be on a minute restriction to start the season. We know he's coming off of a back procedure, back surgery. And I had the laugh to myself because he might not be on a formal minutes restriction. But Ben Simmons, just to start the season, he's going to be babysat. They have an idea how many minutes they want to play him.

They're not going to run him into the ground. The Brooklyn Nets aren't running any of these guys into the ground. They want to see Durant, Irving and Simmons on the court at the end of the season and not at the beginning.

They want them to last. So congratulations, Ben Simmons. He's a basketball player for now.

See what he does the whole year. The Brooklyn Nets, if they can stay healthy. Yeah, they will definitely be a competitor in the Eastern Conference.

But trying to figure these guys out is odd, but they all have their own motivations. Kyrie, contract here. Ben Simmons, reputation, I think. Otherwise, he's going to be one of the biggest busts ever, despite being an All-Star. And Kevin Durant, man, we know he he didn't necessarily even want to be there. Who knows? He may not want to be there now.

And in a few months, he may ask to be traded again. It's just a wild world that we live in. And let's go ahead and see what happens in it. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We told you tonight, Monday Night Football is a wrap. We'll talk about that game. Speaking of another New York team, the New York Giants are surprising. A division rival, the Eagles.

They are still rolling. And I know we're going to talk about Monday Night Football. Sunday Night Football last night, we got an ass kicking. It's the J.R. sport re-show here. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R.

Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. How you doing, J.R.? Let me give you your flowers right now. I appreciate what you do, and I know there are young people who hear you, and they want to model themselves behind what you're doing. And you're doing it so well, I know we'll end up with some really good people out there on the air in the near future. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS.

Oh, thank you for the con words. Our flowers are nice. I love flowers. Hey, Shep, you like flowers, man? You like flowers? Who doesn't love flowers?

Yeah, I like flowers. I prefer Jack. Give me some Jack.

I'll take some Jack over flowers any day, but I'll take it anyway. Listen, as someone who might be needing quite a little bit of Jack, it's the Rams. Tonight they lose. Monday Night Football, the final score, 24-9. The Niners beat them again. And when I say again, obviously they didn't beat them in the playoffs last year. But typically, in recent history, the Niners have had the Rams, they've had their number.

And so, this was a beat down all the way through. Matthew Stafford sacked seven times. Throws a pick six at the end of the game. It's like Jimmy Garoppolo was able to just kind of coast through the game. And Matthew Stafford had to work his ass off.

The coaches just spoke to the media. And the loser, Sean McVay, he says, listen, man, we suck tonight. We got to be better than this.

I'm not going to make any excuses. You know, we've got to play better. The things that we didn't do to execute, you know, you don't take away any credit from the 49ers, Jordan. But a lot of it was just things that guys that we're counting on didn't do what they're supposed to do. And so, clearly that makes me think that I've got to do a better job and we've got to do a better job as an offensive staff, providing clarity to our players for as many MAs as what occurred tonight. I think he got his ankle.

I don't know the severity of it, but I thought Jeremiah Colone came in and battled. I thought our line battled. There was opportunities, you know, that I think we're capable of making.

And we didn't do it. And it's coaches and players in this together will continue to stay connected and will move forward. And it's four games.

But, you know, that's kind of where we're at. Yeah, four games. The Rams are now two and two.

They fall to two and two. And San Francisco, they're able to improve their record to two and two. And if you are head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, you got Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm.

I don't want to say that this is the greatest accident or mistake that has taken place. Would they still be in his position if Trey Lance was healthy? It would still be more of a developing situation for the quarterback, whereas Jimmy Garoppolo, outside of the chance that he's going to be injured or be hurt or go down, you kind of know what you're going to get. And when Jimmy Garoppolo plays, you win.

You're in a better position to win. And so Shanahan, after the victory tonight, he says, I'm proud of the win. I was real happy overall, obviously, with our whole team. It was a cool way to win. We knew it would be a battle to keep them out of the end zone was great. I thought our special teams played well. It was really cool to see because I thought we had a chance to run away with it, especially after George's touchdown, and then for that to get returned, and then the next time down there, I'm thinking we're going to get that field goal and come up short on that. But then Huffkin, that pick six, got us right back at us. So it was cool to not play perfect but to overcome a lot of things and have a big victory.

Yeah. Well, speaking of battles, I think a couple of the battles that we saw for the Rams, the best battle they had was on their sidelines. I saw a little bit of a little tiff, a little tiff by the Rams on their sidelines. And come on, it's normal. Tempers flare as long as we don't see full-blown fistfights. It's not unusual to see teammates getting into it.

It's just life in general. And then, by the way, there was some fan protesting something on the field with a flare. And that fan, he didn't have much of a battle, but he got laid the hell out by Bobby Wagner. Bobby Wagner dropped that shoulder into that guy.

And I'm sure that he is in a prison cell feeling it right now. When we get to the top of the hour, I want to share with you more of the play calls from this game. Debo Samuel, an amazing touchdown. The pick six to pretty much end things. And then we're going to look at the implications after this game for both the Rams and the Niners. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 4 CBS.

That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 4 CBS. Jeff is calling from Florida. You're on the JR Sport Reshow. Jeff, what's up? Can you hear? I hear you loud and clear. Go ahead.

Hey, JR, I listen to you every night. Thank you. And, yeah. A little sunshine to my day, even though I'm a transplant from Kentucky, so. Anyway.

I'm happy, yes. I love basketball. I've played basketball my whole life, and Kevin Durant kills me.

Oh, Lord have mercy. I mean, people, you've probably played ball. I've played ball. You know, we put our heart and soul into it.

We want to win and things like that. This man is just a prima donna. And, JR, thanks for taking my call. Appreciate you. Yeah.

No doubt. Well, thank you, Jeff, for calling from Florida. I hope you're well. I hope you're safe. And I'm going to answer you.

You are correct. I did play ball. Not in high school.

Not in college. I just played basketball, just like on the street. And, man, I ain't bust my ass like that. I brought the ball up court. I took a shot if it was open. I went to the corner. I rebounded. I wasn't busting my ass out there. My knees are paying for it now.

If I went all the way, maybe I would have no kneecaps, but my knees are paying for it right now. Is Kevin Durant a prima donna? Shep, I'm going to pass the ball to you, man.

I can think of a lot of things. I don't know if I call him a prima donna. I think he's soft. I think he's very sensitive, and I don't mean it in a bad way, but I think he's soft in terms of when the going gets tough, Kevin Durant likes to get going.

Yeah. That has been the biggest knock against him since he elected to leave Oklahoma City Thunder to go to a 73-and-9 team... That just beat him. ...when they had him 3-1 and had him on the ropes to advance the NBA Finals.

Yeah, when I think about prima donna, I'm thinking about someone who is this me, me, me, me, me, selfish, selfish, selfish. There's a lot of that with him, JR, but in fairness to what you're saying... Oh, with Durant? Yes, but he grew up, and you know this, this guy grew up in poverty. I mean, his mom, Wanda, who's a wonderful woman by all accounts, would go to bed hungry just so Kevin Durant and his siblings could have food in their bellies when they went to bed. Like, this isn't the guy that grew up a prima donna. He earned everything he got on the court and then some. It's just the teammate that he is these days, and I would say, JR, the hand-holding and the coddling that the franchises he has played for has allowed him to do up until 2022 when he did throw a hissy fit and demand his coach and general manager get fired. Yeah, I just, it's tough. I think when he's playing basketball, I agree with you about, and I don't even know, he's a very simple but complex individual.

I know that sounds crazy. I may sound like a fence straddler here, but that's who he is. He is a complex dude. Kevin Durant, and this is what happens when fame really hits you. He's changed as a person. Like, he has matured as a person. He's changed as fame has hit him.

Let me tell you something. You get hit with the famous stick? We have seen what fame does to people, and it's not just a basketball thing. We've seen in some awful ways what fame does to you.

I don't care if you are a Britney Spears or a Michael Jackson or, damn it, you could be a Jimi Hendrix, and we can go on and on about people who get crushed by fame. You talk about the circumstances of which Kevin Durant came up in, and when you're amazing at what you do, Kevin Durant coming up, I can attest to this from my personal interactions. I haven't seen Kevin Durant or spoken to him personally in years. I saw him quite a bit when he came into the league, and he was warm, he was inviting, he was affable, he was quiet, he was selfless, he just played ball, he was lovable.

He was chill as hell. The minute that he decided to leave and he got tired and he wanted a different situation, the minute that the script got flipped and you went to the team that beat you in this, he changed. He started to defend himself. Over time I think he's hardened. I think over time he's been reticent. Over time he's been like, y'all stay over there.

He's stayed in his own lane, doesn't care, and Iraq says he doesn't care, and he's complex. I think sometimes he can be sensitive. I think other times he doesn't care. I think a big part of it is he doesn't know or have the answers himself to a lot. And so just me, it's hard for me to call him a prima donna because I still believe that overall Durant, just on basketball terms, he is selfless.

He just wants to play ball. And he has ignored a lot of what people say while still acknowledging it. He is a very, very interesting dude.

But he is not like, you want to say prima donna, if I wanted to call anybody on the nets a prima donna, I'd look at Kyrie. He has an opinion about everything. He speaks. He talks in circles.

There's no clarity. And you could say the same thing about Durant, but Durant doesn't speak. And when he does, he's on social media being odd and kind of poking and prodding at the fans while still just being prodded himself.

So I don't know. I get it. He's just a very interesting dude. I'd say Kyrie is the prima donna. Even Ben Simmons is more about himself before I would look at Durant. Durant is just, he's in his own world. These guys are just, they're interesting fellows.

What more can I say? It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We're going to talk about a bunch of interesting fellows. 53 of them. One on each team. The Niners. The Rams. San Francisco walks away with a victory. We're going to talk about it on the other side.

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