1.4.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 4

What's that sound? That's the sound of Downy Unstoppable's scent beads going into your washing machine and giving your clothes freshness that lasts all day long.

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Get six times longer lasting freshness plus odor protection with Downy Unstoppable's in wash scent beads. It is the JR Sportbreeze show on CBS Sports Radio. Happy Thursday. Hope you had a terrific Thursday. I'm going to be hanging out here with you for one more hour. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Shout out to everybody listening all over North America. I don't know where you at. I don't know where you're listening.

I'm just glad that you are here. Super producer and host Ryan Hickey is holding it down for us in New York City. And we've had a busy, busy show. Damn. We talked about Dalvin Cook, the newest member of the Baltimore Ravens. I guess I could call him a reject of the New York Jets, but I guess everybody gets a paycheck from the New York Jets happens to be a reject. Not too bad.

Them checks are pretty big. We talked about Tyreek Hill. Poor guy. We found out that the reason for his house fire yesterday.

Well, it was a minor, a child with a lighter. Terrible. Thank you so much to J.P. Shadrach, senior reporter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, coming on and joining us to talk Jags. We talked about college football potentially paying the players directly from the schools.

We got into the Brooklyn Nets being fined one hundred thousand dollars for load management. We talked about the retirement of Ricky Rubio. We talked about J.J. McCarthy responding to questions about Michigan and cheating.

Why would you respond to such a thing? We talked about the NFL Players Association releasing a list of their top coordinators. We talked about Eric Bienemy potentially being the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. And so as we continue on with this hour, I'm going to get to your calls. Eight five five two one two four CBS has eight five five two one two four CBS. I do want to talk about Tuatanga Veloa.

I do want to get to your phone calls. But speaking of coaches being fired, speaking of coaches on a hot seat. Here we are, the Los Angeles Lakers. It was only weeks ago that they won the the NBA inaugural end season tournament.

And since then, they have hit the skids. Three losses in a row, nine losses in their last 12 games. They just lost last night to Miami, one ten to ninety six. We got Hakech Jr. doing one legged fade away spins against LeBron James.

It's bad. Now the Lakers stand at 17 and 18. Well, to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and what the hell is going on with them and what might happen to Darvin Ham with this new story today. Joining us right now is Trevor Lane representing Lakers Nation. Trevor, how you doing, man?

How are you doing? Well, you're doing better than the Lakers, at least I can say that. I think everybody, well, not everybody doing better than the Lakers, but they're now a game below 500.

Help us out. We see them raise the banner for the NBA end season tournament. And now they lose as well.

What the hell happened between now and then? Well, first of all, they were taking the end season tournament games as though they were playoff games. They were playing over the playoff intensity and they certainly weren't the only team doing that. But there's been a noticeable decrease in terms of the intensity, the effort, the attention and detail that they've put into these games since then.

That's certainly part of it. We've also seen Darvin Ham tinkering with the lineups, throwing out some bizarre combinations, like he's been going with a guardless starting five. Now, he didn't do this last game, but he's been going out there with non-shooters on the floor like Jared Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish in the starting five, Torian Prince, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, banishing guards D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reeves to the bench.

He had this idea of a very switchy defense that hasn't worked and it hasn't sat very well with a lot of the players on the roster. So now they're in this slide and it appears that he may indeed be on the hot seat. Trevor Lane is joining us from Lakers Nation. Trevor, we got the report and heard the news and we heard a little bit of it last night following the game. You know, Austin Reeves not making any excuses as to why they lost and you think about Darvin Ham talking about the rotation and injuries and such. And then the report came out today that they're not a fan of what's going on with Darvin Ham.

Lebron James not speaking with the media following the game yesterday. So what is the latest with Darvin Ham? Yeah, so the Lakers are going to have to take a look at Darvin Ham and see what is it that they want to do here. He's got two years left under contract after this year. With coaches, I mean, the way that would work is they decide to make a move here. They're still going to have to pay him for those remaining two years under contract. So do they want to pay him to go sit at home and not coach their team?

That's something they're going to have to decide if this slide continues. But this was something that I had heard a week, maybe a week and a half ago, I had heard from a couple of sources that there were a number of players on the roster that were not happy with Darvin Ham, were not thrilled. And then the report came out today from six different sources that tells you pretty much the whole team is not pleased with what's been going on, the bizarre rotations that have been thrown out there. And then you've got the stuff after the game where the mindset of Darvin Ham just seems to be different than that of the team. Both Austin Reeves and Anthony Davis saying, yeah, we're missing players, but we still have to find a way to win. And then Darvin's talking about how their rotation there, they don't have the chemistry because they've had guys in and out of the lineup, which isn't wrong. But when you're coming off of a bad loss to a Miami Heat side that's missing Jimmy Butler, the Lakers are missing D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, who are fine players.

The big difference between them and Jimmy Butler and Miami just looked like they were on a different level compared to the Lakers. Well, that's going to fall on tafirs when you're Darvin Ham and you're saying that it's all because of injuries and things of that nature. So it's that, too.

It's not even just the rotations. It's the mindset right now. They do not seem to be on the same page, Darvin Ham and this Lakers roster. Well, Trevor, when you talk about the sources that you have and all the news and reports that have come out over the past 24 hours about who hasn't been happy, the team isn't happy with Darvin Ham.

I think we know the buck might typically stop with one guy, and that's LeBron James. Is he kind of the ringleader of unhappiness? We saw him sitting in a huddle a couple of nights ago, apparently didn't appear to be happy with what was being drawn up by Darvin Ham. What do you think his thoughts are when it comes down to his status as coach? Yeah, I mean, LeBron James hasn't said anything publicly about what he thinks, but I would say his body language has said a lot. There were a couple of times in last night's game where he looked frustrated with what was going on out there on the floor. And then the fact that he left without speaking to the media, that sends a message. And LeBron is very calculating. He knows what's going to happen if he leaves without speaking to the media. If he doesn't say anything, that in and of itself is going to send its own message. So LeBron certainly doesn't look happy.

Frankly, nobody should look happy right now. They've been losing basketball games. But he is going to be a key part of this. He has distanced himself from this type of thing in the past. He doesn't want to be seen as a coach killer. But let's face it, the Lakers front office, Rob Palenka, they're going to go to LeBron. They're going to go to Anthony Davis. They're going to say, what's going on?

Do we need to do something here? And their voices are absolutely going to matter in terms of what happens with Darvin Ham. So he doesn't look happy. Nobody should look happy right now.

He looks frustrated. And if LeBron says he's got to go, that would put the Lakers that much closer to doing something here and potentially moving on from Garvin Ham. Trevor Lane is joining us from Lakers Nation.

If the Lakers do decide to eat the back end of his contract, LeBron James is okaying the move on. What is the next guy? Who's the next guy up?

Are we talking about Chris Jent? Like, who would take over to lead the team? That's the important part here, right? Is that if the Lakers decide that they're going to make this move, they have to know what the backup plan is. Who is it that they're going to have take over? Is there a coach out there that's got some experience that can come in mid-season, which is no easy task, and do the job? Or do you just elevate somebody that's already on the coaching staff? Maybe you give Phil Handy his first shot as a head coach. But again, Darvin Ham was getting his first opportunity here with the Lakers as a head coach at the NBA.

That hasn't quite gone as well as they would have hoped. So is there a coach that's out there? I know people have said Doc Rivers.

One source brought up a name to me, not as somebody that they're realistically looking at, but just somebody that they thought could be interesting. Rajon Rondo, who just mentioned the other day that he essentially ran the Lakers offense. Back in 2020, Frank Vogel handled the defense, and it was Rondo and LeBron James who came up with their offensive schemes. Might the Lakers go to a former player like him? There could be a number of options out there, but it's ultimately going to be limited. They're going to have a lot more options if they wait until the summertime to make this move. The question is, can they wait that long? If this downward spiral continues, they're going to have to make a move sooner rather than later. Trevor, wouldn't it be a little more than nutty if they just snatched Rajon Rondo off the street and made him coach?

Wouldn't that be kind of nutty? It might be, but he's also known as one of the smartest basketball minds that we've had in the last few years. He obviously doesn't have head coaching experience, so it's not ideal from that perspective.

But again, the person I was talking to said, you know what, he's been seen as the smartest basketball mind that we've seen in the last however many years, you want to say. Maybe that's a guy that you could turn to, but it's really up in the air what they would do. And that could be prohibitive of them actually making this move. If they just don't feel like there's a good fallback option out there, they don't want to go with somebody who maybe doesn't have a lot of head coaching experience, then maybe they just wait until the summer and try to get through until then.

But right now, unless they pull out of this nose dive that they're in, they're going to have to do something before the trade deadline unless they can start to rattle off some wins. It's typical a lot of times for the Los Angeles Lakers, they are the glamour franchise of the NBA. We always hear this guy's are the Lakers or this guy can get traded to the team or this dude or that guy or whoever it might be.

What is realistic if the Los Angeles Lakers want to make a move to get back into competition in the West? Well, the nice thing about what they did over the summer is that they added a lot of contracts that are very movable. We look at Rui Hashimura, Austin Reeves, D'Angelo Russell. These are all contracts that are of a nice number, that 12 to 12-key-ish million dollar range.

It makes them very, very easy to stack up a few salaries and go try to get something done. Rui Hashimura, Austin Reeves, not trade eligible until January 15th. But Zach Levine is the name that's out there. There were even some rumblings today that maybe the Chicago Bulls will just have to take whatever they can get. There's somebody that will take on salary if the Lakers need some scoring, and I think they do. Maybe that's an option if they're willing to stack up a few of those contracts.

De'Jaunte Murray is another name that's been out there. In February, the trade deadline is coming up quick. And as we're getting closer, more and more names are coming out onto the trade market. Boyan Bogdanovich is another name that could give you some scoring from the wing.

So I think there's going to be opportunities out there. The question will be how many future assets will the Lakers need to part with in order to get something done, and are they willing to do that? It looks like Zach Levine is the biggest name currently available potentially to them.

Right now, though, there's no market for him because most teams aren't willing to take on his contract. But if the Lakers keep losing games, maybe they'll say, hey, we need to do something, so we'll give it a shot. Trevor Lane is here with us from Lakers Nation. We saw the Los Angeles Lakers go through some ups and downs, some bumps and bruises last year. And they ended up in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately for them, they got swept by the Denver Nuggets. Do you think that this current team, even though we know it might be changed and switched pending what you just said, do they have enough in the West to go back to the West Finals? Do you think they still have that in them pending health, obviously, of LeBron and Davis? Yeah, we've seen this team turn it up in the in-season tournament. The level they played at in that tournament showed you what they really can be. Now, they're certainly not playing that way right now. But there is that feeling that they've got, and we saw it.

So we know that's there. If they can hit that level come playoff time, sure, they could get to the Western Conference Finals. Would I make them the favorites to go win the title?

No, I think the West is extremely deep. There's a lot of really good teams that could knock them out. It won't be an easy run for them. But that potential is there. This streak, though, is showing you how low the floor is as well. We got a glimpse at the ceiling. Now we're seeing the floor for this group.

It's not pretty, and they've got to turn things around quick if they're going to get there. But that potential is still there. LeBron James, Anthony Davis come playoff time, and they're both healthy and have a tough time betting against that. Well, Trevor, we know that there's another Los Angeles team that plays in the building, at least for now, before they move into that Intuit dome, and that's the Clippers. And it looks like James Harden has been on a little bit of a roll, and Kawhi has been on a roll, and when he's been out there, we also know about Paul George. Is there a concern that, hey, oh my God, the Clippers may actually end up better than the Lakers this year? I mean, are Laker fans kind of looking at them, but he's still a little brother?

No, I mean, there's always going to be a second- or third-tier team in Los Angeles. They certainly don't get the level of attention or respect that the Lakers do, and that's been a thing for a long, long time now, obviously. But the Clippers are playing fantastic basketball. You could argue they're playing the best basketball out of anybody in the NBA. They're at least right up there in the top two, three teams right now in terms of the quality of play at the moment. So they could certainly make a run, and we've seen seasons in the past, in the last few years, when you go back to the Lob City days, where they've had some really good teams, some teams that are better than what the Lakers have to offer. They had a great winning streak against the Lakers, too, that the Lakers just snapped this season. But that doesn't necessarily change the way Los Angeles is going to see the Clippers versus seeing the Lakers. It's a totally different team, the way that they are viewed by the city.

So I don't think that's going to be changing anytime soon, but you know what? Credit to the Clippers. They're playing fantastic basketball right now. I mean, Lakers fans should be worried for what's going to happen on Sunday when these two sites meet.

Well, let me ask you this, Trevor, to kind of wrap things up. If you had a crystal ball in front of you, and not knowing, only knowing the permutations and what could potentially happen, what do you think is most likely for the Los Angeles Lakers, let's say, come April, May and June? I think most likely we see somebody else is coaching the team by then, and I think they've made a trade or two. Maybe not the big trade, but they've made a trade or two by the trade deadline, and then they're trying to make a push. The challenge is their March, their April, it's extremely difficult if you look at their schedule. So I think they're going to wind up in the play-in and then having to try to battle their way through there with a new coach and with a couple of new pieces that they're trying to integrate. Man.

So let's wrap up here. If that is the case, what is the future potentially of, well, that Brony is now starting to ball out at USC, and I don't know if he's sticking around. I assume he's going to maybe stay in. What does this mean for LeBron? He ain't getting any younger. He just turned 39.

Well, that's the big question, right? He's got a player option this summer. He can opt out.

He could go anywhere he wanted. If any team wanted to draft Brony, he could go join that team if he wanted to. If the Lakers draft Brony, they could wind up just hanging on to LeBron. He could pick up his player option. He could have another year under contract. Everything the Lakers are going to do this summer or not do, it's going to hinge upon what decisions LeBron James makes with his player option.

Everything else will play off of that. So we'll be keeping a close eye on him. He was hinting at retirement last year, right after the season. So we'll see what he ultimately does. But Brony, I think he probably does wind up entering the draft, especially if LeBron says he'll play with him and go wherever he's going to go. That's definitely going to be something to keep an eye on.

So the future right now is uncertain for the Lakers and all of it is going to hinge upon what does LeBron decide to do with that player option. Wow. Wow. I guess this is what happens when you're a billion dollar NBA player.

You just get to call all the shots that you want. Well, Trevor, I appreciate you taking the time to hop on. Where can people follow you and everything that you contribute with Lakers Nation?

No problem. Well, thank you for having me. You guys can find me over on X at Trevor underscore Lane on Instagram and Threads at Trevor Lane NBA. And then most of my work you can find over the Lakers Nation YouTube channel, YouTube dot com slash Lakers Nation. We do Lakers videos there every single day, putting our full podcast out there as well, which you can also find over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts.

So lots of different places to find me. Well, thank you so much, Trevor. I hope you enjoy the rest of the new year. I look forward to catching up with you soon. All the best to you. Let's see what happens with these Lakers.

Always one of the biggest stories in the league. Happy New Year. Enjoy the rest of it, OK? Same to you. Thank you again. No doubt about it.

Thank you so much. Trevor Lane joining us from Lakers Nation. The Lakers are just a rolling soap opera. You know, we can look at 17 championships here, 17 championships there. We can look at Lakers. We can look at Celtics. Look, the Lakers are the franchise in the NBA.

Just flattened period. They are the team to watch. They are the team to beat. They are the team to keep up with.

Even when they're down, you're expecting them to bounce back. And to hear that Darvin Ham is people already sick of him with the Los Angeles Lakers is like, whoa. And my question is, who's replacing them?

I ran through you. Some of the names. Chris Jent.

I remember Chris Jent from from here in Atlanta as an assistant. I don't know if you're just going to bump him into the seat. And I know Trevor had mentioned folks, other people saying Rajon Rondo. I mean, I think it is ridiculously tough.

I also know it's ridiculous. Flattened period to just throw a former player onto a team mid-season and say, hey, man, you run the show. I don't know if the Los Angeles Lakers want to be that risky.

I would not be that risky. One thing that we did have a chance to mention was Bronny James. We know about his heart issue and actually having that corrected. And now he's been balling out here for USC. I mean, last night, USC was was out there in a game and they were in this center.

They're actually a home game. Bronny James actually caught an alley-oop from Isaiah Collier, was able to throw it down for a slam. And USC ended up winning 82 to 74, their seventh win of the season. They went past Cal. And a matter of fact, let's listen to Bronny James fly through the sky.

I don't want to say like his dad, but like himself. This is from the Pac-12 Network. Lost the handle. Collier takes it away. Bronny with Bronny. Did put it right on the money for Bronny to go up and get it.

Yeah, Bronny James. I mean, he's played how many games we got here? Seven games so far here for Bronny. But since now he started in mid-December. He's averaging seven and a half points, two rebounds and two assists. And I assume he's just getting warmed up.

Let's see what USC can do throughout the rest of the year. I guess that's going to have a real a real is going to be a real sign as to what's going to happen with Bronny. I mean, is he going to enter into the draft?

That's going to open up a whole can of worms come June. It's the J.R. Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS has eight five five two one two four CBS. You just heard from Trevor that LeBron James has some choices, some decisions to make. Come summertime when we come back from break, I'm going to tell you about an NFL player who's waiting on a decision from his team.

It's to a tongue of a lower. We'll talk about Tua. I'll get to your calls. It's the J.R. Sportbrief show CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbrief show here on CBS Sports Radio. Eight five five two one two four CBS.

That's eight five five two one two four CBS. Thank you so much to Trevor Lane for joining us from Lakers Nation, talking about LeBron James and his future. There are rumors that the players are sick of Darvin Ham. They don't approve of some of his rotations.

They're ready for the guy to get the boot. And it's there's always something with the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron didn't talk to the media yesterday. Austin Reeves, even being still being a young player, contradicting what his coach said, the coach making excuses. Austin Reeves saying there are no excuses. So thank you so much to the Los Angeles Lakers for being just a great.

I don't want to call him a train wreck, but always a great story. Like a month ago, they win the NBA in season tournament, right? The next month, they stink in a below 500.

It's just it's just great stuff to talk about. Speaking of great stuff, as I sit here in the studio right now, Victor Wimbenyama is taking on the Bucks. The Spurs got five wins on the season.

They stink. The San Antonio Spurs are five and twenty eight. The Bucks are twenty four and ten expected to compete for a championship. They're tied one or six all about seven minutes left here in the fourth quarter.

Victor Wimbenyama is throwing alley-oops off the glass to himself. He has twenty three points and eight rebounds in three blocks against Giannis Atetokounmpo. Giannis has 30 points and 13 rebounds.

It's a fun watch. I expect the Milwaukee Bucks to wipe the floor with San Antonio. That is certainly not the case tonight. Devin Vassal also has twenty seven points.

Vassal has twenty seven points himself. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. I do want to talk about Tua Tongaveloa and his contract.

Speaking of LeBron, we have so many callers here on the line. I think we might might have to talk about Tua tomorrow. I think we might, especially knowing that that's going to be the the NFL regular season finale.

Let's see if we got to wait on that. 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 for CBS. Let's talk to Mike. He's calling from Tennessee. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Go ahead, Mike. Thank you very much, sir. Hope you're doing all right tonight.

I just just fantastic just had a couple thoughts on the NBA resting players and such like that. Well, with Mr. Dumars being in charge, I think he should have some of the bad boys as assistants. He should have Benny Johnson to be quick. Rip my horn so it would definitely be stern. And John Salley just to make sure it had a good laugh to go with it.

And then the other side, as far as how much to find them. OK. They they didn't start four players the other night.

What was the total salary game checks for those four players for that game? That's fine. And then give that out to the. You getting there? Well, hold on, Mike. Mike, you getting gas? What was that beeping noise? That was actually it was a deer sensor, if you want to know the truth. A deer sensor. Oh, yes. Right.

You were all around you. You just north of me and a deer sensor. Don't hit no deer. OK. I don't want to.

Absolutely not. They usually hit you. Oh, well, they're too stupid.

They're not the brightest animals in the world. They're not very elusive at all. I mean, they're not hard to hit. You can hit them with a car. You don't really have to shoot them. Yeah, they almost hit three in my yard the other night with the car.

Yeah, they do some damage, man. But finish up what you were saying, Mike. Go ahead. But like I said, the amount the fine would be OK. If you had four players didn't play whatever their game check was, that's the team's fine. And then maybe take that money. Half of it goes to charity. The other half of it.

Give you that between everybody that didn't get to see those people play that night. They bought tickets. OK. Well, thank you, Mike, for calling from Tennessee.

Please be aware of the deer. I don't I don't know if that's going to be enough money, bro. That's still not going to be a lot of money. So that probably wouldn't make a dent in anything.

Everybody would be left with with pennies at that point. Stinks eight five five two one two four CBS. It's eight five five two one two four CBS. Dale, he's calling from New Orleans.

You want CBS Sports Radio? What's up, Dale? What's going on there? How are you? What's on your mind? Go ahead.

Shoot. I'm doing good, man. I'm a pelican fan and I'm doing fine. Cool.

What's on your mind? Man, the real question is, OK, you're the GM of the Saints. You have three quarterbacks ready to start. Taysom Hill, the Hall of Famer. James Winston. And you just paid David Carr.

What do you do? What, Derek? David is and he's been knocked out for a long time now. You ain't thinking about him. You talk about his brother, Derek, right? Derek Carr. Are you talking to him?

James Winston. Are you talking about this game against the Falcons on on Sunday? Is that what you're talking about?

I'm talking about the Saints as a Super Bowl contender. Oh, bro. Dale, we got we got Alan Khmer. I know we got it.

We got a guy from Detroit. Dale, let me are you ready, Dale? Hold on a second. OK, just hold on.

Yeah. Dale, let's let's let's come to Earth. The New Orleans Saints ain't winning no Super Bowl with any of the three quarterbacks that you just mentioned. It ain't happening. I mean, they should be so lucky that they they get into the playoffs and win the NFC South.

They're going to need a little bit of help to do so. But, Dale, do you don't honestly believe that looking at the three of those dudes that either one of them is capable of taking the Saints to a Super Bowl? You don't believe that, do you? I guess he doesn't.

That's that's awful. What do you Marco Belletti, what the what the hell is he thinking about there? Well, I feel like Dale is probably thinking about his next beverage because that's what it sounded like to me. I mean, what they didn't even they won one with Drew Brees. I'm supposed to think that that Jamis Winston is going to walk into the locker room and just turn things around.

I think he might be good for a magic trick. We're aware that it's week 18, right? Like this is not like, you know, it's not September. We got a whole season in front. They have a remote chance of even making the playoffs.

How the hell are they going to win a Super Bowl? Doesn't make any sense. I don't know. I mean, he said, taste some hell. And what are we doing here? Like, I don't know.

Their next beverage might it might not be the worst thing in the world. It sounds like he's had a few good ones tonight. So that's that's a good thing. He did. He did call from New Orleans now, didn't he? Better than I'm doing tonight.

Good for him. I'm sure we can get a hurricane from somewhere, right? No, I think that would be frowned upon to have a what?

To have a hurricane while you do the news report flash for me. Yeah, I think that would be frowned upon here. I don't think we're supposed to indulge while we're on the air. I feel like that would be from it.

Are you serious? I think it's frowned upon now. No one's ever actually said that to me. So maybe it's not true.

I just kind of thought reading the room. I don't think that's something that they would like. OK, I don't know. I have never heard a story about anybody on CBS Sports Radio, you know, having themselves a hurricane on air. Have you heard that before, Ryan? Not yet, at least. Well, not if the answer is not yet. That means it hasn't happened.

But Mark Marko hasn't heard nobody either. You try it. Let me know what happens. Yeah, I'll get right on that.

Let me know. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here on CBS Sports Radio. We're trying to get as many hurricanes into our studios as possible. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. We're going to take a break. When we come back, I'm going to get some more of your calls. I think we're going to have to touch upon to a little bit and then go a little bit deeper about his situation, his contractual situation tomorrow.

But we have so much to do in my next break before I gots to shut up and roll out of here. You're listening to the J.R. Sportbree on CBS Sports Radio. It is the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on CBS Sports Radio.

855-212-4CBS. I'm going to get to your calls before we have to roll out. So much to get into in the next few minutes with your calls.

So much to get into tomorrow. But before I do anything else, I got to let you know about this. That you can stream the NFL on Westwood One for free. Sponsored by AutoZone. All season long, you can listen to every Westwood One broadcast of the NFL live on the NFL app by asking Alexa to open Westwood One Sports.

Or on the Odyssey app. Get in the zone. AutoZone.

AutoZone's free battery testing and charging is available for free at your local AutoZone. Get in the zone. AutoZone restrictions apply. You know, I want to really dive deep. So you have a preview for tomorrow's show. Obviously, we're going to talk some NFL playoffs. Obviously, we're going to talk about the national championship game between Michigan and Washington on Monday night. And so it's going to be real football heavy. And one of the topics that we didn't get a chance to get into because things are so popular and things are so busy and we got so many calls. We're going to take a deep dive into Tua. I would really say that that's the premier game for Sunday to conclude the NFL season as the Bills go down to Miami and take on the Dolphins.

And I do want to take some time to look at Tua and his future. 855-212-4CBS. The future is now. Let's get to your calls. Hey, we got Jake. He's calling from California. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Jake? Jake, you're live on the radio.

Jake is no longer on the radio. Bernard is calling from California. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Bernard? Hey, how you doing, JR? Congrats on the new time slot.

I'm a fairly new listener to your show when you had it at the later slot. Anyhow, I just want to say the Cowboys, I'm still not over that BS call. Reminds me of Calvin Johnson with Stafford way back then. All I want to say is that they're not going to go deep.

They're going to be one and done, like always. Because Jerry Jones, you know, terrible owner. Hiring all these mediocre. Well, I wouldn't want to say mediocre about the current coach because he has a Super Bowl. But he meddles too much with the coaches. Mike McCarthy was two seconds away on Saturday.

I feel from getting the boot. I mean, he decided to throw a pass. He was able to not let time run off the clock. And if Detroit came back in one, Mike McCarthy would have been eviscerated all week long.

So I'm not I'm not so sure. And then you think about Jerry Jones. He hasn't been shy over the past year plus of letting everybody know. Just just really saying Mike McCarthy knows he's not going to be the Cowboys head coach forever. It's like, well, damn, nothing lasts forever. Why you why you got to hang that over that dude's head like that? So I'm not so sure, man, that Mike McCarthy is going to be around for the for the long run.

Jerry Jones, I know he let Jason Garrett stick around forever. I don't know if he had naked pictures of him or what, but I'm not so sure he feels the same way about McCarthy. No, especially especially with that big old stomach. But no. Yeah. Like I said, just salty about that call. They just the line, man. Every time they're good, they just get screwed over. But anyhow, I want to say I think I see the Ravens taking this all the way. Niners. They got Shanahan.

He just chokes. I mean, when he they played the Falcons with Brady. Yeah, we go. Yeah, we go. Yeah. You know, 28 to three. I know being in Atlanta.

I hear about it all the time. Yes. Anyways, Jerry, thank you for your time, man. Appreciate it. Congrats again on your new time slot. You're killing it, man. Thank you, bro. You be well. Happy New Year to you, Bernard.

Thank you so much. Yeah, I think the Cowboys are in for I'm not going to say one and done. Are they going to get past the divisional round? Odds typically say no. Maybe they do.

Maybe they they go. I got the forty niners and I got the Ravens. I got my fingers crossed on the Ravens that they don't go out there and I don't know. Lamar Jackson runs into a brick wall and gets hurt. That that's a hope. I would love to see a rematch room. We got about, I don't know, 10 years ago. The Harbaugh ball.

Sign me up. And why he got to be the last caller, Bernard, for you so disrespectful about Mike McCarthy's stomach. That's not nice. Nobody makes fun of Andy Reid. I mean, the Kansas City Chiefs gift Andy Reid.

They gifted him a hamburger and a shoebox. Like the coaches work hard. Why we got to make fun of the fat ones now that I think about it. Hey, Ryan, most of the coaches are out of shape. They're a little overweight, right?

Most of them. Well, now the new the new age, you know, Mike McDaniel, Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan. Right.

Slim, trim, fit, well-kept. Salah. Good look at Robert Salah. Yeah, he's I don't know. Is he still in the gym like he used to be? He looked like he could play for when he started the job.

Sure. Well, now it might be, you know, form of therapy at this point. Watching that team.

Yeah, form of therapy. Oh, well, Debo, the New York Giants coach. He's also a little round. He's gruff. Gruff?

Why, it was the beard? He's tough, you know? Yeah, he's always a little scowl on. Yeah, gruff, tough.

Yelling at, well, he can't yell at Daniel Jones if he's not playing, but that's just besides the point. Yeah, I'm going to do, I guess I'm going to do some research. NFL coaches typically, yeah, they've been kind of rotund.

I don't, most of them, I guess they don't look like, they don't look like Andy Reid anymore. Look into that. 855-212-4CBS. Paul is here from Rhode Island. You're on the chair of Sportbreeze.

Show us up, Paul. Yeah, happy new year. And welcome to the, welcome to you and your family. I hope you have a great new year. Thank you for taking my final call. And I just wanted to wish you, welcome to primetime, my brother.

That's all. No big deal about what the Debo brothers do with the NFL, what, how the NFL is going. I think my hands got ripped off, but it's okay. We'll get them back. I still go with the Lions in Dallas and Ravens in Buffalo.

As much as you can rave and pitch, I think the NFL is run by the, the, the, the Debo brothers. Oh, okay. All right.

Well, thank you, Paul. I mean, you, you, five seconds ago, you said that we're not going to talk about the referees who you refer to as the Zebra brothers and then right afterwards you go, the NFL is run by. So which one is it? You couldn't help yourself, could you? Right? Yeah. Okay. It's all right, Paul. Well, I appreciate you. Thank you for the kind words, first of all. Okay.

You are the best. Well, thank you. And I miss you. The graveyard shift at my Bellas casino in Rhode Island, we're going to miss you. Welcome to the new primetime, brother. Well, thank you, Paul.

Appreciate you for calling from Rhode Island. I didn't die. I'm still here. I exist.

I was moved up a couple hours. It's like he was, uh, eulogizing me like that pop tart from the other day. I don't know. Oh, this guy's back. Jake from California.

Maybe he fell off the face of the earth. Hey, Jake, are you actually on the line this time? Yeah, I'm good now, man.

Sorry about that. How you guys doing tonight? Well, I think we're good.

I'll speak for myself and Hickey. I think we're okay. What's up? Well, Happy New Year, man.

I got to take on to a man. I'm California born and raised, but I'm a diehard Dolphins fan, man. And, uh, yeah, to his future, you know, he's in his fifth year option right now. Do I, you know, personally, what I think he's perfect for the Dolphins, man, in that Mike McDaniel scheme. If you compare him to anybody else, you can compare it to like the Niners and Brock Purdy. If, you know, if he wasn't getting the bag from the Dolphins this year, which he's probably going to, I mean, I think he's going to be there as long as Mike McDaniel's there just because they're the fit. They're that scheme.

That's what they run. You compare him to like Brock Purdy or so. Say, say they don't pick him up. Say they don't pay him. Where is he going to go? Do you think he's going to be that guy? Say he goes to like Carolina. Say, you know, they move on from, you know, Bryce Young.

He's not doing it. Hold on, wait, wait, hold on, Jake. Hold on. Thank you for giving us a little bit of a preview for tomorrow. But to not get too far ahead of ourselves. And I'm going to ask you this question in finality.

OK. And this is a preview for tomorrow. Why the hell will the Dolphins at this point not bring Tua back? I mean, do you have an answer for that one? I don't know. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

So having said that. I think it's kind of kind of out of this world to even think about the Carolina Panthers saying we're going to pull the plug on Bryce Young. We don't know who's going to a run the Carolina Panthers. We don't know who's going to coach the Panthers. But we do know that they have an owner who likes to throw drinks on fans so we can pump the brakes on that one. I'll say they were going all new faces, all new. They wanted to bring in a quarterback that can mentor Bryce Young, that they need a veteran that's going to be, you know, that's well accomplished like Tua is this year.

You know, any team like that, you know, there's a there's a couple out there. You could go to Pittsburgh, you go wherever. But I don't think he would get the money that he would get. Miami's going to give him the money.

Well, he wouldn't, Jake. And that's a part of that's a part of the preview. And so what you do is come back tomorrow and feel free to call back. But I'm going to provide a little bit more details and we'll actually hear from his coach. We'll hear from Tua because this game on Sunday has major implications as to how people will perceive him and what his contract might look like. And who knows?

It could be a start as we know the Dolphins are trying to make some noise in the postseason. Thank you so much, Jake, for calling from California and not just Jake. Listen tomorrow. You should listen to I'll be back 6 p.m. Eastern Time, 3 p.m. Pacific. I'll be coming to you again live from Atlanta, Georgia. If you missed a minute or second of tonight's show, it's very simple.

You can go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. Thank you so much to everybody who tuned in. And thank you so much. J.P. Shadrick coming through Jacksonville, Jaguar, senior reporter Trevor Lane joining us from the Lakers nation tomorrow.

You should know this. We're going to get you all set for football for the entire week, the entire weekend. Monday night, the national championship in college, NFL over the weekend. A big shout out to Ryan Hickey for holding it down on the boards. And thank you for listening. The J.R. Sportbrief show here on CBS Sports Radio is a wrap. You could find me. Yeah, hanging out with Bill Clinton on social media at J.R. Sportbrief. But don't move.

Bart Winkler is up next. You'll be well, be cool, be smooth, be safe.