JR SportBrief Hour 4

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That's betterhelp.com slash positive. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. It's the JR Sport Brief show here on CBS Sports Radio.

Man, time flies when you're having fun. I'm gonna be here with you for one more hour. It's a four hour show. I get started every single weeknight at 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Pacific.

Thank you all so much to everybody locked in all over North America. On your local CBS Sports Radio affiliate, you could be tuned in on the free Odyssey app, A-U-D-A-C-Y. You could be listening on Sirius XM Channel 158, or you could be listening on a smart speaker, which might mean you're at home. But nowadays, you can talk to your phone or speaker and just say, hey, play CBS Sports Radio.

And they might be able to do it. OK, if you want to holler at me, it's simple. I'm online everywhere at JR Sport Brief.

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That's 855-212-4CBS. Obviously, we spent a lot of time tonight talking about not necessarily the upcoming Super Bowl. We got two weeks to do that. But we've been talking about the aftermath of the AFC and NFC championship games. I've even fielded calls from people who say the NFL is rigged. We're going to talk about LeBron James in a few minutes.

LeBron James certainly throwing a massive temper tantrum over the weekend against the Boston Celtics, as the referees missed a big time and an obvious foul call on Jason Tatum. And so we'll get into that. The phone lines are bumping.

They're jumping. A big thank you to Jared Payton for calling us up. Just continuing the legacy of his dad in Chicago on air, also in the community. Thank you, Jared, for calling us up right before the break. Let's get to more of your calls right now before we talk about King James and the fit that he decided to throw over the weekend. And now if it matters to you, the Los Angeles Lakers, they played basketball tonight in Brooklyn, New York. Well, some of them played. Not LeBron. Not Anthony Davis.

But some of them did. We'll get there. 855-212-4CBS. Let's talk to Tommy. He's calling from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Tommy? JR, man, I love your show. I usually just listen to you.

I don't really barge in too much. But I was listening to a bunch of your callers and we're talking about conspiracy theories. And I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. But has anybody really looked into where we're playing the Super Bowl at? We're playing the Super Bowl in Arizona at the State Farm Arena. And two of the biggest guys that represent State Farm in this corporate America are Pat Mahomes and Andy Reid. I mean, there are commercials all over the place. And I don't want to put that thing. But I mean, we have to think about the money that's being exchanged from a big. But I mean, oh, well, all right. Did you get abducted by aliens for talking crap about State Farm?

You still here? I'm not saying that, but I mean, there's got to be at least some lineage that goes back and forth a parallel about that, that we're playing at State Farm Arena. And then all of a sudden, the Kansas City Chiefs are now magically in the State Farm Bowl. You're joking. Tommy, you're joking, right?

I don't know. I just wanted to put that out there, JR. I love your show.

I just wanted to put that out of the thought process. I love you and I'm going to leave you there at that. Thank you very much. Well, thank you, Tommy.

I appreciate you. OK. Well, the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl because Patrick Mahomes is a State Farm pitchman. And they're going to be at the State Farm Stadium, formerly the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, whatever they call it now. Maybe Patrick Mahomes is a pitchman for State Farm because he is a. Because he's an amazing player and maybe State Farm is maybe it has its name on the stadium because they spend a lot of money. Trying to recruit people towards insurance, maybe State Farm is paying Patrick Mahomes because he's a familiar face that people can trust like a good neighbor. My point is, man, let's let's not get too silly here.

And I don't want to just start spitting facts at you. I actually know this because I actually sat in a meeting a few weeks ago and specifically talked about State Farm insurance because they spend tons and tons of money all over the country trying to convince people to buy insurance. That's it. There's nothing more, nothing less. State Farm actually is one of the biggest sponsors in sports here in North America.

That's it. There's a guy named Aaron Rodgers, who also was a pitchman. I don't know if he still is. He ain't in here. You know, what are we are we guaranteed to see Chris Paul back in the NBA Finals?

I don't think Chris Paul can even be healthy enough to play ball anymore. Let's just pump the brakes a little bit, right? We're going to find coincidences and everything. Ben is calling from California. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Ben? Hey, this is the first time I got to hear you.

I really enjoy your show. And for everybody that's thinking everything's a conspiracy, get off of that. You think these billionaire owners are going to let one or two guys buy off officials so that they keep losing? That's that's ridiculous. There's no conspiracy. Yeah, people. Well, people have to find logic in things that they don't understand. That's isn't that human nature a little bit, right? Right. A little bit. But I mean, come on now.

I mean, I mean, they need to just just realize that, you know what? Your team lost, you know, lost. That's just how it works. OK, I like that. Ben gets right to the point.

He's like, your team lost, it lost. That's just how it works. Yeah, it is. That's how life works, right? You got winners, you got losers. You lose, you lose.

Stinks that way. Sometimes the losses hurt. Speaking of losses that hurt, now I can actually talk about this game. People are going to be talking about this, I feel, for the next. I don't know, month. Shep, how long are people going to talk about LeBron James acting like a baby king? You know, baby.

Yeah, you know what? I mean, unfortunately, it's going to be a very notable image that we have in our minds of this season. And it's going to be really on the cusp of the Lakers failures this season. So it's emblematic of what we've seen from them throughout the year.

So LeBron James being upset at the no foul call is going to be the lasting image for this season. Did they talk about the travel and discuss that in any semblance of detail before the foul, which was a foul, but did they talk about the travel that they did not call? The travel after?

Yeah, because... Yeah, but people aren't necessarily drilled in on that at the end of the game. It's like, yeah, he traveled. Travels happen.

They don't happen. They get called in. Half the league is traveling. I get your point, but half these guys are traveling. And by the way, JR, you're playing a Nets team tonight that doesn't have Kevin Durant. They're not the same team, clearly, without him.

You have an opportunity. Every game matters that much, and that's what this is about. This is about the difference between making a playing game and being a six seed and whatnot. Then you need to play the next day if it really matters that much, LeBron. Well, that was Saturday. Well, let's go backwards.

Right. And so Saturday, the Brooklyn, or excuse me, now I'm all mixed up. On Saturday night, the Boston Celtics hosted the Los Angeles Lakers. They beat them. 125 to 121 in overtime. A lot of people will say the game should not have even gone into overtime, and it's true. If you want to look at the final play of the game, what should have been the final play of the game? LeBron James goes to the basket. He is obviously and egregiously fouled on the forearm by Jason Tatum, who decided to kind of laugh about it on social media after the game. And LeBron James lost his mind. LeBron James is looking for the call. LeBron James is going over to the bench. He's banging on the floor.

He's bending over, putting his hand on his head. He could not understand how outrageous and how blatant this foul was that wasn't called by any of the three referees on the floor, especially the two who happen to be right there on the baseline. So the game goes into overtime and the Lakers lose. LeBron James was asked after the game.

Man, you you lost your you know what? How difficult is it for you to go game to game to game and not get these calls? And LeBron James was just like, yeah, it's it's frustrating, especially a call like that was so obvious. This is challenging, very challenging. I don't get it. I don't get it.

I'm attacking the paint just as much as any of the other guys in this league that's shooting double digit free throws at night. And, you know, I don't get it. I don't understand. He doesn't get it. He doesn't understand it.

It was pretty hilarious. The first question that LeBron was asked was just, well, how are you feeling? He's like, did you see the play?

That's how I'm feeling. And LeBron James entering into that game on Saturday night, he's he's dropping 30 points per game, which is just nuts. He entered into the league or entered into the game sixth and scoring, but he's only averaging about six free throws a game.

That's the lowest amount among the league's top eight scorers. And so LeBron James isn't getting the whistle that he's typically accustomed to at the same time. It's not like LeBron James of 10 and 15 years ago as he just barreled his way to the basket.

He's taking more jump shots. And so tonight, the Los Angeles Lakers, they were in action against the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. As I told you, LeBron James did not play. Anthony Davis did not play.

And so everybody who bought a ticket in Brooklyn to see LeBron James play basketball, they got screwed. They saw Russell Westbrook go five of 15 from the field with 17 points. They saw new Laker Rui Hachimura have 16 points. Patrick Beverley, everybody in Brooklyn, they saw him score five points. He shot one of eight from the field.

They saw Dennis Schroeder shoot two of 15 for 10 points. This is just sad, man. This is sad. This is not the nice thing for me to say. I know maybe Adam Silver, I still have to shut up.

I'm lazy, man. I need to hit Adam Silver up. No, you have a lot going on. I think the show is just fine without Adam Silver, if I'm being honest. Say again?

I think the show is great without Adam Silver. Not that he wouldn't add to it. No, but him and Mike, the PR guy, they said they'd come on. Got it, got it.

And I just need to hit him back. When you say Mike, you mean Mike as in a guy whose last name is Jordan or Mike the PR guy? Mike, you know the PR guy over there. Okay, got it. No, but they may not tell me they want to come on now after I say what I'm about to say. I wouldn't buy a ticket to see an NBA game right now. I wouldn't. I wouldn't buy a ticket to go see an NBA game because it's a waste of my money. This is not boxing.

This is not something where people are punching each other in the face and I should have the threat of, well, maybe I won't see the guy because he's not healthy. Well, as much as it hurts me to say this, because I like the fact that we have 82 NBA games. I like it.

I love it. But if the guys aren't going to play, cut the schedule down. It's not fair to the fans and I don't care. I understand the perspective from the folks who are paying for the media rights, the ABCs and the Turners and the Ballys.

I get all of that. But who cares if they ain't playing? The NBA tried to make the regular season matter.

It doesn't. Everybody, even the players are like, man, I'm making 50 million dollars. Let's just get through the season. The owners are making money hand over fist. They don't care. The game has grown globally, maybe not so even domestically.

People are on their phones. But who cares about the NBA regular season? I love basketball just like I love anything else. And I'm fortunate. I understand that. I can go to a Hawks game and I can just walk into the arena and go to any game that I want. I get that.

But I feel bad for the people who spend their hard earned damn money and don't get a return on it. And fine, I get it. The Los Angeles Lakers will be in action against the New York Knicks tomorrow. Yeah, LeBron James will put on his uniform then. Anthony Davis, unless he, I don't know, just a strong gust of wind catches him between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Anthony Davis will play and they will put on a show in Madison Square Garden as they presumably will destroy the New York Knicks.

I get that. But that ain't fair to the Brooklyn Net fans who say, oh my God, LeBron is coming to Brooklyn. I don't have to go to Madison Square Garden, even though it's a 10, 15 minute train ride.

I can watch him right here in my backyard. Oh, my God, it's cheaper. I can actually afford to see the the Lakers at the Nets because I can't afford to see them play the Knicks in the garden.

I'm going to pay for the Brooklyn Nets game. And they get asked out. This is bad. And everybody knows it.

And it's gotten worse. And the NBA tried to kind of head it off with the play in, but now teams don't even care about the play in. They don't care about the play in. I don't think anybody will care about a tournament. It hurts me to say this. The only way you fix this is if you shorten the games.

And I get it. There will be people who go, oh, my God, or the amount of games played. People will say, oh, well, it's the it's the players fault. Steph Curry just told you it's the owners. We saw this with the San Antonio Spurs. My own Tim Duncan is old.

It's like, fine, he's old. And then it started to set a precedent around the league. And then the owners don't care because they got to pay these guys and they want them the last.

Everybody wants to keep the gravy train rolling. Everybody wants to win a championship if you can. And so who cares about the regular season? You know, as much as we crap on guys like James Harden, man, when he's healthy and not in the club, he's playing.

I don't even know if Kawhi Leonard, if he wants to play or he says, I'm getting paid anyway. This sucks. This part of the NBA is trash. I do miss when the guys wanted to play and OK, if technology is it is improved and the health mechanisms have improved.

Yeah, yeah, sure, it has. And so it's not smart to put them out there. Fine.

And then just shorten the season then. Damn it. Is crap.

For different reasons and I get it, different reasons. I remember maybe December. I just I just popped up at a Hawks game. I just went and I walk into the arena. It's like Trey Young's not playing. I'm like, oh, why Trey Young not playing? It's just like, well, I got into something with the coach.

Oh, well, it sucks for the fans who showed up to see him play and he ain't there. There needs to be more of an appreciation for the people who are paying these bills and less of taking them for granted. Or in the case of James Dolan, who owns the New York Knicks, utilizing them as pawns. Well, if you don't stop using your facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden, Mr. Dolan, we in New York will take away your your liquor license.

And the owner's response is, well, not if I don't serve alcohol first and make all the fans call and be mad at you. What are we doing here? Joe, can I run something by you?

Not yet. I'm on a roll here. Happy that. Stop taking advantage of the fans. And for the fans, I get it. You love sports.

We all love sports. One guy called and said, oh, the NFL is I hate the officiating. He's like, I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl. I said, you really not going to watch?

He's like, yeah, you're right. I'm going to watch. I don't care if it's Major League Baseball.

The NFL, the NBA. And they treat us fans like suckers sometimes because they know we're still going to watch. They know that we're still going to check in. We know we still going to pay.

But what happens when you don't? They still going to have this attitude. There's so much money thrown around. The money is ridiculous. There is a certain aspect where these leagues are taking the fans for granted. Damn it. They already have in the NBA with this play. Don't play. I'm not going to play nonsense. Man, it's highway robbery for the fans.

It really is. Shep, I'm going to I'm going to let you holler at me on the other side. I do want to play this from Steph Curry, who, by the way, tonight has more field goals. He broke the record for the Warriors franchise with Wilt Chamberlain or that Wilt Chamberlain hat and Steph Curry playing tonight against Oklahoma City. He has another game tomorrow. And he said he wants to play. And he says, by the way, this isn't a matter of him not wanting to play. You can blame management.

Listen to this. I usually campaign to play every game. So that's the misconception about load management and how it goes. It's never the player that's usually saying, hey, I want to sit. So for all those people that are worried about that part of our league and all that, it's usually not the player that's going to the training staff and saying, hey, I don't have it tonight issues the other way around. And there's a lot of science involved. So, yes, I will campaign to play. But we'll see how it goes.

A lot of science involved from management saying, hey, man, you need the set. Well, just the damn schedule. It's the JR Sport Brief show here on CBS Sports Radio. We're going to hear from Shep on the other side.

Don't move. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. God bless you, JR. I'm a huge follower, supporter and listener of your show. Been admiring you for years. I follow you on Twitter. It's an honor to be able to talk to you, man. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.

Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief show here on CBS Sports Radio. You know, we talked about the foul call on LeBron James against the Celtics on Saturday night. The no foul call. We talked about LeBron James and his tantrum, his reaction, just going overboard about it. And then the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. And LeBron James didn't play. And Anthony Davis did not play. And they will be in action on Tuesday against the New York Knicks.

So I'm left to assume they did not play because it's back to back games. And it's just like, well, damn, what about those fans in Brooklyn who assume that they would see LeBron James play? And it's almost a sense right now of buyer beware when you get tickets.

And if you missed my whole entire, I guess, almost 15 minutes spiel on it, you can hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. I'll say this. If I was an NBA fan, I would not buy no damn ticket right now. Because just these guys sitting out, it ain't fair. It's not fair to the fans. It actually, in my opinion, it takes for granted the fans and it's kind of spitting in their faces.

I don't care what the science is. If the guys aren't going to play, then just eliminate the games, lower it. I wouldn't care if these guys played 120 games a year.

Some of them do almost. But here's the facts. As much as I hate to say it, chop some games off the schedule so people don't have to worry about, he ain't going to play. It was back to back. He's not going to play. Eliminate the back to back.

So if you need to do that, they already cut down on them. What are we going to give them next? And Shep, you have some thoughts or a question.

Go ahead. Well, I mean, JR, look, the reason LeBron James didn't play in terms of what the Lakers put out there is because they're doing injury management. You know, back in the day before there were private jets and private planes and physios and hyperbaric chambers, guys like Kareem and Michael, they were dealing with just severe injuries.

And you know what? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into his early 40s. And when you were running around on a 7 foot 2 frame, that's a little more difficult, LeBron, than 6 foot 9. And Kareem was still playing 76, 77, and 78 games every single season into his early 40s. Michael Jordan, that final three PD he had, he doesn't get enough credit for this. He did not miss, JR, a single regular season game nor a playoff game. And by the end of that 98 series versus the Jazz, he was averaging 35 points per game, including that 45 point finale with the, you know, the follow through on Byron Russell.

Now whether that's a shove or not, that's another discussion. But the point is, this is why LeBron James will never get held in the same regard as Michael and Kobe. It's because there's no reason why he should be sitting at a game two days later.

So JR, with all that being said, my point to you is this. The NBA needs to step in and do something, and this is going to be a part of Adam Silver's legacy. What they have to do is incentivize these teams to stop cheating every single fan showing up for the first time, seeing that player likely for the only time all season.

So here's my suggestion. What you do is you take away all NBA votes, you take away MVP votes. They have to play at least 95% of games unless there is a medical emergency where they would worsen and exacerbate an injury. And that needs to be done by an objective third party doctor. Secondly, JR, this is the last point. What they need to do is if you do not put out a player, in other words, if you have this injury load management scenario, and your superstars do not play 95% of the regular season games, they are ineligible for the NBA playoffs, I guarantee you we're no longer going to have a load management debacle. Okay, that was a lot. The players won't collectively bargain for that.

That sounds good. The players won't bargain for that. It is going to have to be an effort from both parties to incentivize them playing games. And third party doctors, I mean there's so much money involved. Nobody, especially from the player's side, they're trying to go backwards. And they've been enabled, as Steph Curry kind of alluded to a little bit, to not play.

Because there is such a massive investment there. So yeah, absolutely, this is going to have to be something put forward to by the league. And agreed to by the players association.

At the end of the day, it ain't fair to the fans. And it's not, I don't know if I'd say LeBron James is the poster child of it. LeBron James is pushing 40. He is. He's still playing at a ridiculously high level. He's played more games in minutes than just about anybody right there with Kareem. And so I understand it from his perspective, but the precedent unfortunately has been set. And so whether it's LeBron, or whether it's Draymond Green, or whether it's Steph Curry.

And it goes back obviously to the Spurs and their quartet of star players. It's robbery for the fans. And as they start, and they already are getting them ready to talk about. They already are talking about the next collective bargaining agreement. They can't do this. This sucks. This is not how you do business.

This is almost akin to baseball in a different way. Like you can't just take advantage of your fans and just think they're going to show up. Right, but J.R. you and I both know this. Steve Kerr, Bob Myers, Joe Laker, Peter Gruber, no disrespect to any of those guys. They don't run the Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry runs the Golden State Warriors. If Steph Curry wants to play all 82 games, Steph Curry is playing all 82 games.

Yes he is. But it's not about just Steph Curry. That's what I'm saying.

We can pinpoint particular stars. That's not going to change things. Especially if I'm paying you the money. And the fact is he's also older. And so your point is correct. If he wants to go out there and play, yes. They're going to kick and scream. These guys aren't going to win every single time with every single player. I mean obviously we can look at someone like Klay Thompson who's just been annihilated over the past several seasons from his lower body down.

It's not in his best interest. You think about the wear and tear. They're not dumb either. These guys want to make their money. And they understand where their bread is buttered and it's in the postseason. It's not moving him on out the way but it starts at the top.

It does. The owners don't care. They're the ones who are playing. And then you have lesser players who go, okay well Steph Curry ain't playing and I won't play. And it's like a disease unfortunately. So I ain't pinning it on a particular player.

I'm not just going to say, oh it's LeBron or it's this guy or it's this or old man Tim Duncan should have played. And no, it comes from the top. It really does. They all have to figure it out. It's a business. They're all partners in it. The players are partners with it and the owners. They split the revenue. They share it. The league distributes it.

They have to come to a conclusion because the people who play for it are getting robbed. That much is clear. 855-212-4CBS. It's 855-212-4CBS. Let's go ahead and talk to Jason. He's here from Cleveland. Thank you JR. Much respect.

Your show is not only tolerable but it's enjoyable. And for the people who listen to the radio, there's a big difference. But what you were talking, I called in to talk about LeBron. I hadn't seen him hit the floor that much since he won the chip in Cleveland. You know, pounding the parquet.

But what you just mentioned, I'd like to hit on that. With all the technology they have and all the healing and all this stuff, what happened? Training is better. Science understanding is better. But like baseball, you had Cy Young winning 30 games a year, pitching nine innings every single night.

And then now pitchers don't even go, what, 6th, 7th? And basketball players, you talked about it with, who'd you mention, Kareem or Wilt? And what's happening? All the technology is supposedly better. And the players are bigger, faster, stronger, but they're more injured. There's a disconnect there.

So anyway. Well, I think the difference, and thank you Jason for calling from Cleveland, is understanding whether you're hurt or you're injured. Or also going out there and playing through things that you can play through. That's what's not taking place right now.

That's it. Guys play because they play through being just knick-knack injuries. They're not doing that now. It's like, oh, my finger hurts. Well, you don't want to risk it by going out there. They block the shot, your finger will get worse.

So okay, I'm not 100 percent, I won't play. That's where we're at. And so, yeah, Shep just said it.

What do they call it, Shep? Injury prevention from LeBron? Yeah, injury management.

Well, he old as hell. So is Kareem. I don't need to be, but it's not about Kareem.

I don't need to be a doctor. It is common sense to say, oh, well, there's a higher chance of you busting your ass on back-to-back nights. Okay, yeah, sure. We all understand that. And they've invested millions of, 50 million dollars into this guy. The NBA makes more money than it did 30 years ago. They don't want him to play, they don't. This hamstring, they don't want to blow a hamstring, they don't want to blow it.

The fans are the ones who get robbed. And so, yeah, the technology and everything, healthcare, has all improved. And it all says what we've all known for a long time. You don't play, and this is a chicken and an egg. You don't play, you have a lesser chance of getting hurt.

On the alternate, you can say, well, you build endurance. Look, these guys want to play forever. It's a business first. It's not about going out there and busting your ass. Any NBA player who gets into the league, any NBA player who gets into the league, the first thing, and I can't knock them, how can I maximize this opportunity for my wallet? That's how much money they're making. And I can't fault them for it.

But there comes a point in time where they all have to work together to say, let's actually play some damn basketball. 855-212-4CBS, it's 855-212-4CBS. I'm going to get some more of your calls before I roll out. 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, I love your show. I love you, brother. I work the graveyard shift, and I listen to you every night. It's a pleasure talking to you, and you be well, brother.

Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here on CBS Sports Radio. We have had a busy night. Coming off the heels of the AFC and NFC Championship games, we have gone down the Brock Purdy line, what happens with him, his future for the 49ers with that torn ligament in his elbow. We talked about the Cincinnati Bengals, man, they were talking a lot of trash, and now they are at home. And we have two weeks, two weeks, to talk about the teams that are actually going to go play in the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. So all of the storylines between the QBs and Andy Reid, the brothers, et cetera, the Kelseys, we got a lot of time to get to that. Right before we went to break, we did talk about LeBron James.

It started off with that no call, missed call. This past Saturday against the Celtics, it went into the fact that tonight, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they got back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks about, I don't know, 10 minutes apart on the subway. And tonight, the Lakers played the Nets, and they lost, of course, because there was no LeBron and no Anthony Davis. Even though there's no Kevin Durant, they still lost.

But they'll be in action tomorrow. LeBron and Anthony Davis were not going to play in the back-to-back, and we just talked about just how much of a robbery it is for the fans. And it's not just a Lakers issue.

It's just all over the league. We got a lot of callers here on the line. Obviously, it's going to be tough to get everybody on. We won't be able to.

So if I get you on the line, just try to be courteous. Make your point, please. 5-2-1-2 for CBS. Let's try to get as many people on as possible.

Nate is here from Alabama. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, man, I was just going to talk about, I think the best proposition for the 49ers would be to bring in Brady, trade-trade Lance, get like a fourth-round pick for him, give Brock Purdy a bump, put him on the bench, let him sit behind Brady for a couple years. Yeah, no, that would be ideal if Tom Brady were to be interested in heading home. I think most players would want to entertain such a thing. I think the big kicker there is Trey Lance. I don't think there's a full guarantee that you can do that. And for a fourth-round pick, there might be some teams that are desperate to do so.

You can do better than that. I mean, they traded up to get him. They drafted him at number three overall, and not so easy. Ralph is here from Miami. Go ahead, Ralph. Hey, Jared, thank you very much for having me. I love your show.

I'd like to listen to it every night. I want to make a quick point, and I want to ask you a quick question also, too. My quick point is I agree with you when it comes to the NBA players sitting down, because I'm also looking at the status of record status also, too, because at the end of the season, I feel like they're all going to be playing more compared to sitting down right now because you guys got to try to either meet the play-in tournament or make the play-off. All you're sitting down and losing right now is going to make you guys have to play harder at the end of the season, so there's going to be injuries during that time of the year. And my quick question to you, what do you feel about the draft class, basically the 2020 draft-class quarterback? Because the majority of them made the play-off this year. Like Herbert, even so was in play, but he helped his team get to the play-off.

And even Burrow. I'll hang up and take your question on the ask. Well, thank you, Ralph, for calling from Miami. I mean, there's not too many gaps I can fill in there if you want to talk about the 2020 NFL draft.

That was, man, unfortunately, that was the, I guess the best way I can call it is the COVID draft. We saw Joe Burrow go number one. You got Justin Herbert.

Tua-Tanga Valoa went before him. I mean, even offensive tackle. You got Tristan Wurfs helping Tom Brady win a Super Bowl, protecting him. We know about Justin Jefferson.

We talked about that earlier on in the show, how the Minnesota Vikings were able to grab him, and the Eagles messed up by taking Rager. You can go all the way to the second round, and then you think about the man who will be playing in the Super Bowl, Jalen Hurts. The 2020 draft was absolutely amazing. And the circumstances of how a lot of these guys played equally as amazing. We have seen Justin Herbert throw more passes in his first three seasons than anybody ever. That wouldn't have been the case if the doctor didn't slip up and slide Tyrod Taylor, a needle, into his damn lung. It's crazy out here. Tony Scola from Massachusetts. What up, Jay?

I'm going to make this real quick. I heard somebody talk about practically my home was soft. I don't know what game he was watching, but that boy went out there with a bum leg and played in the night.

Zero degree weather. The other thing is... Tony, Tony. There wasn't one human being who said that tonight.

What else you got? Okay. I thought I heard that. I was going to accept that I hear that right. Okay.

My bad. My mom acted like a child with that foul, and this load management thing, man, I'm spoiled, man. I grew up when... Can you imagine Michael Jordan not playing?

You buying your tickets, man, when he was playing? Man, I don't know what's going on with the league, man. They can't be getting hurt that much. I mean, I watched Detroit just beat Michael Jordan up every year, and he still played, man.

What the heck's going on, Jay? The owner's going to take this out, man, on the CBA. It's not so much about the players being hurt so much. It's about playing through anything.

That's what's not happening. Charlie's calling from Louisiana. Hey, how you doing, Jay? I talked to you about 10 days ago. After listening to all the conspiracy theorists about the NFL and everything's rigged, which was BS, and you caught it really well, I think you need to bring back the 13-year-old kid that called from Buffalo that you said made great points. You've had the patience to jobe with people tonight.

That's all I can say because I wanted to let the other people call in, too. Thank you, Charlie. No, he is. What is his name? Do you remember his name, that young man? I should know this.

Give me a second. Yeah, I know he's out in California, I believe. Hey, Charlie, thank you for calling from Louisiana. You got a great point. Yeah, we'll find out his name. We'll definitely find out his name. Whatever he calls, it starts with an L. Lucius? Just Lucius, yes. Yeah, Lucius.

Call. He's a young man named Lucius. Anyway, he's absolutely amazing. Hey, Lucius, if you're still up, he might be or maybe not. Man, you're awesome, Lucius. We needed you to call in tonight and put the conspiracy theorist to bed. And also, hey, a big shout-out to DeMar Hamlin.

There was a lot of nonsense and garbage about him out last week, and he actually had a video out thanking everyone. So, look, I'm going to be back here tomorrow because I'm about to... Hey, Shep, I got to shut up now, right? Basically? We don't want you to, but you do have to, yes. Yeah, play the music. I'm going to be back tomorrow, 10 p.m. Eastern time, 7 p.m. Pacific. If you miss me, you can find me everywhere. That is at JR Sportbrief, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can find Shep at the Good Shepherd underscore.

Done for tonight, but don't move here. Amy Lawrence, she's up next. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself, because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself, because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

When you're at your best, you can do great things. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself, because when you feel empowered, you're more ready for life's challenges. BetterHelp is a great therapy option. It's flexible, affordable, entirely online, and it matches you with a licensed therapist. Let therapy help empower you. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash positive.