JRSportBrief Hour 4

Goalie gummies get you so close to your goals, you can actually taste them.

The trick? Simply start with bite-sized steps, like Goalie's Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies with added B vitamins for daily health. Or Goalie Ashwagandha Gummies to help you relax, restore, and unwind.

Mmm, tastes like wellness just got a whole lot better. And when goals taste this good, it's easy to achieve them. Goalie, taste your goals.

Learn more at Goalie.com today. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. Welcome back, everybody. This is David Shepherd, and JR will be with us momentarily.

I hope everyone listening is having a wonderful, wonderful Thursday. Obviously, another great rendition of the JR Sport Brief Top 6 list. This time in honor, of course, of Tom Brady, who cannot make up his mind. Aaron Rodgers, who has an even more difficult time making up his mind. Two athletes, many people, especially Aaron Rodgers, are saying right now they should hang them up. You look at Rodgers every single year, whether it's losing to the Buccaneers, the next year losing to Jimmy G. Yeah, I said that correctly. Aaron Rodgers lost to Jimmy G. And then the following year, against Jared Goff, it seems like Rodgers now is more concerned about winning regular season MVPs than he is actual hardware when it comes to Super Bowls. Tom Brady, I don't think he's going to hold the Buccaneers hostage the way that Rodgers did. The Buccaneers hostage the way that Rodgers has, the way that Favre has for, you know, title town. That being Green Bay, of course.

So, we'll see what happens with that. But JR is having a really good Top 6 list as I look up and I see, of course, Jimmy Fallon at the Knicks game. Another rough going for the Knicks at home.

Can you figure this team out, folks? The Knicks cannot win at home for some reason. The Nuggets can win at home. The Lakers cannot win at home.

LeBron James is certainly, by the way, not an individual that anyone is going to be saying needs to hang them up anytime soon. He just needs some help. He needs Anthony Davis. He needs a healthy Anthony Davis at that. So, listen folks, we are taking your calls here at 855-212-4CBS. That's 855-212-4227. Top 6 list again. JR, he does it every single Wednesday night.

12 p.m. Eastern time for those people that have found themselves new to the program on this particular evening. And it's something he started on his YouTube channel a long time ago and it's been something really exciting. So, I love being a part of it. You know, it's funny, we talk about athletes that have hung on for way too long. And the individual that comes up is maybe one of the two or three most important athletes in the history of all the professional sports, whether it's team or individual. And that is, of course, Cassius Clay, who then became Muhammad Ali. And he was an even better human being than he was an athlete and that's saying something. You talk about three years stripped of his heavyweight title because of his position against Vietnam, which turned out to be what many people believed to be the right position at the time.

It certainly was not, government certainly had a problem with that, as did the old heads of boxing. But, you know, folks, we're going to play the first cut of Muhammad Ali. And again, get to your phone calls at 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4227. This was, you know, David Remnick and Bud Collins and Charlie Steiner on ESPN talking about Muhammad Ali holding on for way too long. And then at the end, you hear a couple of familiar voices. And that, of course, is the great Howard Cosell and, of course, Angelo Dundee, the world iconic famous trainer. R.I.P. to both those individuals.

And here's how that sounded. The only thing that makes Muhammad Ali like other fighters is the fact that he went on way too long. The people who really cared for him pleaded with him to quit after Manila. And instead he fought five more years.

It was hubris, I guess, and he just couldn't push himself out of the limelight. To watch him just get beaten up without putting up a fight, just standing in a corner, just being beaten to a pulp, brought tears to my eyes. Oh, he's ready to go. This must be stopped.

It is a sad way to end. No! No! The whole game's over!

I'm the chief second! I stopped the fight! You know, J.R. mentioned it, folks. You know, when he talked about the great Larry Holmes, who seems to be doing pretty well these days, all things considered, how much you take in terms of the pounding to your head, the damage it does to your brain as a prizefighter, considering how old Larry Holmes is in terms of, you know, being an ex-boxer, an ex-heavyweight world champion.

He's doing pretty well. But at the time, when he was fighting Muhammad Ali, he was a little younger than Ali. You know, he would plead with Ali, you gotta stop fighting, man.

You can't keep doing this. And Larry Holmes was also an individual that would take it easy on him. He wasn't even giving him his A game. That's how much respect, that's how much reverence he had for the great Muhammad Ali.

But we know he hung on too long. Another individual on J.R.'s list is really amazed to say, hey, kid. You know, very fitting that he ends his career in New York, but it certainly wasn't the New York Giants where he began his career.

It was, of course, with the New York Mets, and not the Mets, you know, those amazing Mets that won the World Series, of course, in the late 60s with Nolan Ryan and Terrific Tom, and then, of course, in 86 with Dwight and Doc, et cetera. So I think this is a pretty good list, if I may say so myself. But let's get out to the busy phone lines at 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4227. The question of the night in regards to J.R.'s top six list, and this is, of course, in dedication and honor of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, more specifically Aaron Rodgers in my humble opinion, athletes that have hung on for too long. Let's get to Todd. Start us off. And Todd, you were calling from Cleveland. Todd, how you doing and what you got for us? I suspect that Shaquille O'Neal was knocking at the studio door.

J.R., I want to talk to you about this, man. Anyway, my man would have been Earl Campbell, man. Earl Campbell was one of the baddest running backs that ever ran with football. But when it was time for it to end for him, it just took too much for him to get up and get into the game and be serviceable. And I really think Earl Campbell just held on too long.

I've seen him over the years, and he was struggling the last about eight years ago when I saw him still. And it was all because that beating that he took, being one of the baddest running backs that the NFL ever saw, and I want to give one Babe Ruth, of course I never saw him, but I saw his stats in his last three years of baseball. And it was just like, man, all that greatness was just gone.

You got to know when to let it go sometimes, man. Just because you can make the team doesn't necessarily mean you need to be there. Yeah, now obviously, are you referring specifically to Earl Campbell in his Saints days? Because when most people think of Earl Campbell, they think of him in the Oilers days, when he was just running over everybody. But the Saints days, he was clearly on his last legs.

Look, his stats are not overwhelming here, Todd. But you talk about pound for pound, toughest running backs to ever play the sport. You think of all-day Adrian Peterson. You think of TD, that three-year peak he had in Denver, one of the toughest running backs. I don't think anyone tops Earl Campbell.

I don't know, man. Toughest running back? I mean, Jim Brown certainly.

But you know what, though? But he didn't block, though. That's the issue I always have with Jim Brown. As great as he was, and we know what he was as a lacrosse player, but that's a good one, Todd. But listen, man, we appreciate the call. I know Mitchell was out tonight. He was injured.

But nonetheless, man, appreciate the call and call back any time, okay? They're going to the Conference Finals. Well, that's a whole other discussion.

Here's the question. Is Kevin Love going to be the sixth man of the year? Is he going to be healthy enough to play in the postseason? If that's the case, they're a deep team. Because he's the only one with experience in terms of getting that deep. As great as Spider is, he hasn't had that great experience in the Conference Finals.

He's never been. February 9th is a trade deadline. Something's going to happen.

That's all I got to say. Appreciate you, Todd. Have a good night, man.

Always good going back and forth with you. Let's get to a friend of the show. We got Gilberto. Hello? Hey, Gilberto, what's going on, man? What you got for us on JR's top six list? Hey, what did you say JR, David? No, I didn't do anything to JR. No, no, no, no, no. JR is rebooting his system. He's going to be back. But, Gilberto, we can't deprive the audience of this top six list. We got to get back on the air. And we got to dive into this, man. And it's always good to have you on.

So, who is in your top six list? But, no, I did not do anything to JR. I promise you. Okay, okay. Well, like I was telling you, I remember vividly the last fight Muhammad Ali had. And I was with my dad. It was 1981. And one thing that happened at the same time, I don't know if you're that old, but that was the last fight Howard Cosell called. He retired from boxing after watching how Muhammad Ali was being destroyed. And I remember feeling sad about him and asking my dad, why is he doing this?

And my dad gave me an answer. He goes, because that's what he likes. He likes boxing. Yeah. He's the greatest ever.

I didn't know that. So, I know Trevor Burbick. Does that name sound familiar? Remember he fought Tyson later on? Yes. In the heavyweight division, obviously.

And Burbick, let's be honest, it was a unanimous decision. Ali didn't really have a chance in that. Nothing. No. You're right. You're right. That was the fight. But I never knew. So, you're telling me that was so profound and impactful on Howard Cosell to see what was one of the best friends he ever had.

To see Muhammad Ali just get beaten to a pulp and get absolutely demolished and punished in front of our very eyes. You're telling me that created and ultimately put Howard Cosell outside of being a boxing announcer and he never called another fight again? That's what I remember. Wow.

I didn't know that. And I remember him saying, why are they allowing this? Yeah. He wanted them to stop the fight.

Sure. And obviously they didn't stop the fight until, you know, but that was something that I remember about the topic, about force people or athletes that stayed too long. And Ali did that.

And that was, I was going to say that, that's what I remember. And one player, another player that I saw that stayed too long in the game was Fernando Valenzuela. Fernando mania.

Fernando mania. He was great in the 80s. I mean, he used to throw 150 pitches per game. Sure.

Sure. And after he left the Dodgers, he went for a few teams and when he was not able to pitch in the major leagues, he ended up pitching for various teams in Mexico. He was in.

And he just lasted too long. I'm glad he retired from that and now he's a broadcaster for the Dodgers and a very good one for that. Gilberto, thank you for the education.

Thank you for enlightening us as you always do. This would not be fitting without you speaking to JR before you get off. So I got a special celebrity guest here for you. So I want you to give JR's version. Now, don't go into his whole entirety, but explain to JR what you told me about the Muhammad Ali demise and what it ultimately did in terms of causing Howard Cosell to call the quits. It was too emotionally painful for him.

OK, thank you. Oh, yeah, no, no, Gilberto. Yes, no, JR is here with us.

Gilberto, you called up. You didn't speak to me. Hola, JR. Como estas? I see, I see. You too. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. I called and I thought David had done something to you. So I asked him, what did you do to JR?

Listen, man, technology is great when it works, right? I don't know. It's like Rodney Dangerfield.

There's no respect. So I got to figure things out. I'm happy to be here with you now. You said Muhammad Ali, what happened now? I know he hung on too long.

What else happened? Well, I remember watching the fight and Howard Cosell calling the fight. And what I remember is that that was the last fight Howard Cosell called because he was so upset about it that he basically called it quits on air.

And I believe he never called another boxing match again. Well, we know that those two guys, they were like peas in a pod. They were able to build off of each other. There was a mutual respect for what they did. And that's absolutely amazing. I'm happy that you were able to share that, Gilberto. I'm glad that we were able to connect here.

Oh, me too, JR. And I always listen to your show. And please, JR, let David touch the buttons. Don't touch anything, please. I'm trying my best not to touch any of the buttons. I'm trying.

We got so many buttons and boards and it's all types of crazy stuff. But I appreciate you, Gilberto. Thank you, JR. Keep having a great show. Keep listening, JR. No, thank you so much.

All right, thank you, Gilberto. We got Paul here. Is that correct? We got Paul now. Is that what's going on? Paul? That is correct, JR.

Yes. Hey, Paul, what's going on, man? How are you? Hi. How are you, sir? I'm good.

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone right now, but I'm happy to be here with you. All right. Well, let's call a stole my thunder because he pretty much said everything I wanted to say about Muhammad Ali. A couple additions I'd make to that list of athletes that hung on too long.

Anyone who's old enough to remember Kenny Stabler from the old Oakland Raiders, I'd add him to the list. And I'd also add Evander Holyfield. Oh, my goodness.

Wait, wait a minute. You know we have a statue here in Georgia of Evander Holyfield right outside the state? I know Evander Holyfield. Okay.

And, you know, I love Evander Holyfield. Okay. This is the worst thing about boxers. Yeah. Is that when they get older, you see the physical toll on just their body and their mental acuity.

And as much as I love Evander, like I don't want to see, you know, the past couple of years watching him discuss fights, nobody wants that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. That's a legendary trilogy. Heaven Riddick Bowe. That's one of the greatest trilogies of all time. But just real quickly on Muhammad Ali, I can't add anything, but I remember before he fought Larry Holmes, even before he fought Larry Holmes, I don't know if it was a 30 for 30, but, you know, it was really sad because he was already slurring his words.

Yeah. And you could see the deterioration and that fight never should have happened. You know, it never should have happened to begin with, but, you know, I don't know whether to be thrilled or disappointed that Muhammad Ali, and there was a great photo of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier when they were at the end of their lives. They were all deteriorated when they're posing together.

Joe Frazier is sitting and Muhammad Ali is standing with his hand on the shoulder. It's a great photo, but, you know. I think, I could be wrong, but I think that might be Ring Magazine. You think? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay. But, yeah, but it was very sad. It is very, but, you know, I'm both sad and I don't know what to say.

I'm sad or thrilled that Muhammad Ali was at the top of the list, but thank you very much. Absolutely. And thank you for coming on and joining us. Let's keep things moving. Let's talk to Carlos Caula from Chicago.

Carlos, you're on CBS Sports Radio, the JR Sport Reef Show, even though I'm now in Mars. Good stuff, JR. This is my first time calling, brother, and I want to let you know, man, that I work two jobs and I'm actually in the parking lot of my second gig here waiting to speak to you, man. Much love from the south side of Chicago, man. I listen to you every night and you make my night a little bit better going into the job because I was born handsome, not rich, but, you know, I do what I got to do, but you make my night just that much better, bro. I know you hear it all the time, man, but I have to show love from the shot. No problem, man.

No problem. So, I told Seth when he screened my call that I wanted to make sure that nobody thinks this is a bit, but I'm going to come out of left field a little bit and I'm going to say someone that held on a little bit too long is the nature boy, Ric Flair. Oh, my God. I grew up watching wrestling.

I'm 41 years old, so I'm more of a late 80s, early 90s, and then obviously the crazy generation we saw in the 2000s, which is kind of where I stopped watching, but nonetheless, man, towards the end, I think the nature boy kind of became nevertheless entertaining, but he became kind of like the dancing bear, and it's funny because I'm actually my second gay. He's actually going to be a guest here. He's making a guest appearance on Friday night, so I'm going to have a chance to meet him.

Obviously, I would- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. You didn't just say Ric Flair is going to wrestle again. He's just doing an appearance?

What's going on here? No, no, no. He's making a special guest appearance at the nightclub where I work.

Oh. He's going to a nightclub? You going to drink with Ric Flair?

No, no. I'm on the job, brother. I'm on the job, so I will have an opportunity to shake his hand and hopefully take a picture with him and that good stuff, but yeah, I'm not partying, man. I'm working here making sure that nobody bugs Mr.

Flair and anyone else that may be accompanying him, but it's just funny because as soon as I get off work, I get off at 11 o'clock. I punch out, and obviously, especially on Wednesdays, I make sure to chime in because you always have a great list, man, but I have to say, I'm more of a baseball man, but this list tonight, this is a good one, man. I've been listening to you for a couple months now, and I have to say this is probably up in my top three for sure. I'm so glad that I got the chance to get wired through, and I had this pleasure of speaking to you, brother. Keep up the great work, man.

No problem, man. Thank you so much for calling from Chicago. Feel free to holler anytime. I can't wait to get... Hey, Shep, I can't wait to go back to Chicago. I should go... Well, I should say go tomorrow, but I'm not.

I can't wait to go back. He's going to hang out with Ric Flair tomorrow. Yeah, but as long as Ric Flair, like you said, is not wrestling past the age of 70 years again.

Oh my God. Did Ric Flair wrestle last year? They cut him open. Yeah, no. You had an opening monologue on that, for God's sakes. No one wants to see that.

No one wanted to see that then, let alone now. Ric Flair almost died. Like he had a heart attack.

What is it? Is his liver failed? His liver failed, right? That sounds right.

I'm not 100% sure, but that does sound right. I believe almost every organ in this man's body failed, and then he came back to life. What are we doing? Ric Flair came back to life. What are we doing? Yes, but I'm seeing it right now.

I mean, verified on multiple websites, reputable websites. He was on life support for 10 days, and it's because of the lifestyle and the punishment your body has to endure. And listen, to say Ric Flair is a heavy drinker is like saying the sky is blue.

I'm not trying to be funny with that. Ric Flair said, and I don't know the numbers, Ric Flair said he'd have like 10 beers, and then he'd have like five tequilas, and then he'd have like five miles. And I'm like, how can you do that and function? Your body is getting used to processing that much alcohol?

I'm reading it right now, JR, not 10, not 15, literally 20 drinks a day for the Nature Boy. Oh my God. This is why he still wrestles, because like he's- Sorry, I shouldn't laugh at that. No, but he has cheated death. The man died and came back, and he's like, you know what? I'm just going to keep going. I mean, damn.

You want to talk about going on too long? I have never met Ric Flair. I have met his daughter though, and it's just, I don't know.

Maybe she needs to, well, she can't chop him in the chest. That'll be a terrible thing. God bless Ric Flair for still being here and doing all that woo stuff that he does, but 20 drinks a day? That's absolutely unbelievable.

He makes Mickey Mantle look like the Pope. Well, who was, well, we don't want to do that. Fair enough. I was going to say, we should do a top six, but that's too sad. Let's not do that.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, Mickey Mantle's story is relatively tragic. We know how young he died. I wasn't as young as Roger Maris, but it was pretty freaking young. He died in his, I want to say early 60s for Mick.

When you're the center of attention and you can live a lifestyle rock, or a light rock star lifestyle, people get eaten, beaten, shredded. It's terrible. Sad situation. It's the J.R. sport re-show here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

Technical difficulties. I've been jettisoned off to the planet Mars, but I'm still here with you. Super producer and host Dave Sheppard is holding it down. We're going to take a break. We'll take more of your calls, unfortunately, about athletes who have hung on for too long. I'm going to try to hang on here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

We'll take a break, get some more of your calls, and then we'll get to Mark with a news flash. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief.

Call in now at 855-212-4CBS. Welcome back everybody. This is, of course, David Sheppard and the great J.R. Sport Brief.

It is wonderful to be with you however and wherever you may be listening from. Another stellar hit it out of the ballpark list from J.R. He gets it right again, and this is fascinating because you have Tom Brady, you have Aaron Rodgers, and nobody knows what exactly they're going to do. It seems like Tom Brady can play for six different teams next season, and it seems like the own Packers fan base. That has held Aaron Rodgers captive for now 16 years, wants nothing to do with him. It seems like Rob Gronkowski is leading that charge. But again, another stellar list from J.R.

It is a weekly thing that he has been doing for more than a decade, and that, of course, has been heard nationally on the CBS Sports Radio airwaves for three years. So without further ado, folks, let's get to the star attraction, the ultimate great guy J.R., holding it down. J.R., how you doing, sir? I feel like I'm on punishment. Am I on punishment right now? J.R., man.

No, of course not. Unfortunately, in talk radio, sometimes connections, they bug out, but the reality is you and I are very quick on our feet. So there is no such thing as punishment on the J.R. Sportbrief show, and my God, you have great callers lined up, as you always do. Yeah, I can dig it. I hear Snoop Dogg. We got Snoop Dogg. Let's turn Snoop Dogg down, I think. Or am I playing Snoop Dogg? You are probably playing Snoop Dogg. Yeah, he's down on the- Yeah.

All I hear is, ain't no fun if the homies can't have none. No, Snoop Dogg is definitely down, but Snoop is everywhere these days. Isn't he a grandpa, for God's sakes? Snoop Dogg. Is he a grandfather?

Yeah, I think he is. Why not? Why not? Because of age?

I mean, you could be a grandfather. I appreciate that. Let me tell you something, J.R., I'm waiting for the day, and I mean this. Adam Silver and the other guy is Snoop.

I'd love to see you interview those guys on the J.R. Sportbrief show. Oh, that's easy. That's easy. Yeah. Adam Silver, you know what? I'm slacking.

Adam Silver said he would come on over the holidays. Right. And I just, you know what?

I'll try to get him before the All-Star break. How about that? Speaking of guys that look like a grandpa. Hey, Mr. Silver, I'm just kidding. Oh, well, anyway. Well, the phone lines, they're still bumping.

855-2124 CBS. We're having conversations about individuals who hung on too long, as you just heard from Shep. Me, I think I pressed one too many buttons, and I will get a million emails in the morning. But anyway, let's go to Louisiana. Let's go to New Orleans, and let's talk to Tommy.

Tommy, you're on CBS Sports Radio, and I'm on Radio Punishment. What's up? JR, how's Mars this time of year, brother? I don't know, man. I'm over here, you know, with a tin hat on, just making things.

Do what it do. What's up? Nothing. There's probably no waffle houses up there, huh? That's too bad.

I got to make, you can't make waffles when you don't have. Good point. Go ahead.

All right. Look, Nolan Ryan is a badass. Chuck Norris is afraid of Nolan Ryan, okay?

Period. It's interesting to me that the list was bookended by two boxers, and it floored me. I hadn't thought about Chuck Liddell in, I don't know, decades. And I, JR, did not know that that happened to Muhammad Ali. I mean, I was probably 9, 10 years old, you know, gravitating towards football and baseball. But I did not know that that's how he ended his career. I mean, that's why I love these shows, man.

You know, if you pay attention, you actually learn some stuff. And I know a caller brought up that maybe that was Cosell's last call on a boxing match. Man, I believe it, because if you listen to Cosell, you can hear that pain in his voice, man. He was deeply, deeply affected by that. Yeah, a legend. Absolutely. Well, who comes to your mind?

Who hung on to damn long? Well, you know, the same with that, you know, you got on the boxing thing. I mean, I got a couple of them, I don't know, Roberto Duran. Oh, no mas. Yeah, Oscar De La Hoya, for sure. And then I know you know this guy, but maybe not. I don't know who else does.

Ray Boom Boom Mancini. Oh, my God. Yeah, I actually know someone who used to manage him. Yes, I do. Yeah. Man, that poor guy. Jeez, in peace. Wow. You know what?

It is so, it is, here's the thing. We hear it all the time about boxers being punch drunk, where we have an NBA and an NFL and, to a certain degree, a UFC. UFC is more structured than boxing. Boxing is organized like it's a carnival. You literally have a promoter, they have a stable of fighters or acts that they promote and that they split revenue and money with, and they go town to town, city to city. They set up the fights, and there's no real regulation as to, you know, when someone can fight or not or go or, it's crazy. Right, I know. And we have commissions in every state that are supposed to protect the fighters, but one thing, even in 2023, people, I guess, don't dive too deep into is just, you know, what's going on upstairs?

What is your cognitive ability like right now? We shouldn't have these dudes still fighting just for a check because they've been robbed for their whole careers. Yeah, and I mean, like the state commissions, they're basically just rubber stamping everything, I guess, I don't know. Yeah, because they get paid from the promoters.

The promoters not a scam. It's terrible. It's terrible.

It is terrible. You know, I met Evander Holyfield once, I had a chance, and I walked up to him. He and I are about the same size height-wise, right? I'm thinking to myself, okay, whatever, you know. And then I shook his hand, dude. Oh, my God. I'm like, oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Holyfield. You know, I genuinely reflect now, and please don't, you know, hurt me. Right.

No, no. He's a great dude. I have a bunch of photos with Evander. He could have been nicer. He could have been nicer and more down to earth and pleasant and just, you know, it was just a one-off thing, and he was the coolest guy. Dude, props to the guy for calling out Ric Flair, man. That was awesome. I mean, that was so great. Like, I had a thought about mentioning it, but that was great. Is it? Is it?

And I want to thank you, Tommy, for calling up from New Orleans, but here's some facts, folks. Can we, can any of us be surprised that a lot of the athletes who hang on too long are combat fighters, like they're solitary dudes and women going out there and fighting. Like, it's not a game. It's the fight game.

It's not Tiddlywinks. It's not basketball. I think on a scale of one to ass-whooping, you got boxing. You got UFC. You have football.

Like, these are the worst things. The most physically grueling sports here. Like, you're literally getting tapped in the head. And you're not just getting tapped in the head in the actual fight. You're getting tapped in the head in sparring.

And it doesn't matter how much headgear you wear. It's tough, man. You know, we got folks that got a fight out of necessity, coming from the dirt, got to make a living. The fight game is just, it's treacherous.

It's bad. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. Hey, Shep, am I seeing this correctly? We have James from L.A. here, right?

Yes. And James always delivers the goods, unlike the Lakers outside of LeBron tonight. Oh, my God. Well, the shots fired. James, how you feel about those Lakers, huh? Oh, man, you know what? We're trying to hold on. You know, LeBron is trying to break Kareem's record, and I know he wants to play with his son.

I think that's what the main focus is. As long as we can kind of hang around, make that, you know, 8-8-8, 8-8-8 to the playoffs, man. We, you know, I don't know. It hasn't even reached halftime yet. Let me ask you this, James, though. You're not going to tell me LeBron James has hung around too long.

What's your name? Who do you have? I'm going to say Earl, I was going to tell you Tree Rollins and Bill Cartwright, but I'll skip those and go to Earl Campbell, man.

The first five years couldn't be touched. I seen him, he hit my man Jack Tatum. Him and Jack Tatum collided, irresistible force became a movable object, and they both went down. And he was just, he almost killed Isaiah Robertson from the Rams, man.

Hit him dead in the chest with that helmet, and you know, they was ripping off his jersey and everything. But them legs gave away, and after them five years, they were trying to ride him to the ground, but you know, Bum Phillips was trying to ride him out, but he didn't have nothing left, man. Once them legs go, his legs were like tree trucks, but he couldn't run no more. He couldn't run no more, man. It was, looking at him in latter years in the wheelchair, number 34 running over everybody, but now in the chair, it's running back to get it bad.

Let me tell you something, this is a story. I've never met Earl Campbell, but I have met Jim Brown, and it was at a golf tournament out towards your way. It was in Los Angeles.

I was at a golf tournament that Capital One did, and a who's who of everybody was there. While I was there playing golf, don't ask me, but I was. And everybody is getting ready to go out and get in their golf carts, and I look to my left, and there's Lolo Jones, and then I look to my right, and then there's somebody else, and I look behind me. Jim Brown is right behind me, and I'm saying to myself, this was maybe 10 years ago, maybe a little longer than that. And I'm saying to myself, Jim Brown is still going to play? I was shocked that he was behind me, and that I was even, I was just, I felt sad about his physical condition, because when I think about Jim Brown, I'm thinking about, man, this dude could pick me up over his head and snap me like a twig. I mean, we can think about the beauty of sports, but man, sometimes it's just, it'll wear you out, man. He got my vote as the greatest player of all time in football.

I know Tom Brady, I love Tom Brady, but Jim Brown was unmatched, man. You know? I can dig it. Well, James, I appreciate you for calling up from LA, and good luck to the Lakers, okay? Good luck. All right, now, God bless now.

All right, you as well. Yeah, man. It's the beauty, we see these professional athletes do these amazing things for so many years. Man, watching some of the older basketball players move around, running up and down on that hardwood.

You think about the running backs who have to drag guys, and their knees, their ligaments, forget their hands, the shape. It's just, we got to give these dudes their due. I know sometimes I call them bums when they suck, because they are, but they're out there sacrificing to earn a living, make money, entertain us.

It's absolutely crazy what they put their bodies through. It's the JR Sportbrief Show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. I am stuck on planet Mars, I am in radio purgatory right now, but I'm still here with you and super producer Dave Sheppard. But right now, before we get to more of your calls, and before we roll out... You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sportbrief. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS.

Welcome back everybody. This of course is David Sheppard alongside the great JR Sportbrief here on CBS Sports Radio. You know, it's very fitting that we do have, and this is JR's music by the way, and he's got such a good understanding and perception of what music will work every single time he does a radio show. And this particular one is money, power, and respect. And what we all know about these all-time great athletes, these icons, is they all have money, they all have power to some extent.

What a lot of them want for the rest of their life is respect. And when you are at the top of the mountain, and then all of a sudden, and often your 40s and more often than not your 30s, and if you're a running back, as JR alluded to, it happens in your 20s, you get that respect to a large degree, completely eviscerated. So it is very fitting that JR's weekly top six list athletes that hung on just a little too long. And as we get to JR, the aforementioned great CBS Sports Radio talk show host, we bring him on to conclude this program. And folks, you all have been great all night with his calls, and we greatly, greatly appreciate it. JR, how are you, sir?

I'm good. I feel, speaking of respect, I feel like I didn't get any tonight. No.

What makes you say that? Like this is, we had a caller. Yes. And right before everything hit the fritz for me, went on the fritz, the caller said, hey, JR, didn't he say something about being on the cold side of hell? Isn't that what he said to me, Chef?

Yeah, he did. And then you had said you've never heard of the cold side of hell before. And then all of a sudden, now the board here doesn't work for me. Well, something tells me you know how to get that fixed is very fast. So that should not be a problem tomorrow night, as I'm sure fans are on pins and needles about that. And JR, for anyone listening right now, JR is fine. He's okay. It's just sometimes there's a little bit of technological glitches, especially at this hour of the morning. There's no engineers really on site.

So JR is doing the absolute best he can and doing brilliantly at that. Hey, listen, I've been here for three years. I think I've had an issue one time. Let's count this as number two. I mean... Sounds good. What can we do? Let's hope it stays at number two. Yeah, nah, it's not.

I mean, there's a million studios I can go to, so we'll work it out. It's no problem. Let's try to get a few more folks in. It's Tim from Maryland. Tim is here, right? Yes, Tim is absolutely there. Friend of the show, for sure. What's up, Tim? How are you on CBS Sports Radio?

What's up, my man? Look, you know what you remind me of is when I was a kid, I would have to sit in a corner, okay? That was my punishment. And I feel like that's what you're doing.

You have to sit in a corner. Okay. Yeah, I feel like it. I feel like it. I'm in a giant studio with all these buttons and stuff, and I don't know, now I'm here. But go ahead, Tim.

Who's the athlete? I'll tell you what. I think Shep actually is doing such an excellent job. And not that I want to see you guys apart, but I think he needs his own show. I absolutely agree with you. I think Shep deserves his own show.

And I'm glad you said it, because now I can co-sign it. Shep is doing an excellent job. Shep has done an excellent job.

And damn it, I can't wait for Shep to have a show. Absolutely. I know. But I would hate to see you guys split up.

Because I've been home from work for a little while now, because every time I talk to you all, I'm either at work or leaving work or whatever. But Muhammad Ali, in my opinion, is the greatest athlete ever. I don't know what it is about that man. A friend of mine and I were talking one time, and we said, if there was one athlete you'd like to meet, who would it be? I said, Muhammad Ali. I didn't even hesitate.

No, absolutely. Listen, because he transcends. He transcends. And I'm not talking in past tense, because even though he's not here, he still transcends being an athlete. That's what he meant to society and what he stood for.

And we got a lot of dudes who will say one thing and not live up to it. He actually went through it all. He wasn't no perfect person now. But he believed in people. He believed in doing what was right. And he didn't waver on what he thought and what he believed.

And that's not how a lot of the world operates, especially when you operate on his level and where he was with fame. Hey, before we roll out of here, Tim, I want to ask you, is there any other names that you did not hear tonight that you felt were an athlete that hung on too long? No, actually, I just got a brain cramp. Happens? Yeah.

He was the linebacker for the Bears. I appreciate you for calling in, man. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, brother. I love y'all. We love you too. Thank you. These chef people love you too, chef? I greatly appreciate that, JR.

It's because of the platform that you have set up for me, as much as the case of anything in that instance. But JR, you believe this show has flown so fast that right now, there is literally, as Amy Lawrence comes on next, 30 seconds left till you're done. Wait a minute. You put me on punishment and now I got to shut up? I'm sorry, JR, but the good news is you got four hours tomorrow, my guy. I'll be back tomorrow, folks. 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 Pacific. The JR Sport Reshow is over. I'll be back from punishment tomorrow.

Thank you, chef. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow. I'll be back.