4 Nations Face-Off & Fair to Give Travis Kelce a Deadline?

Summary

PTI Podcast Episode Summary Title: 4 Nations Face-Off & Fair to Give Travis Kelce a Deadline?
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon
Guests: Jay Bilas
Description: Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon engage in spirited discussions on the day's hottest sports topics, ranging from international hockey face-offs to pivotal NFL decisions and college basketball showdowns.

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1. Introduction & Valentine's Day Banter ([00:01] - [01:00])

The episode kicks off with light-hearted Valentine's Day-themed banter between hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. While Tony attempts a smooth line about "pheromones," the hosts humorously acknowledge their age and disinterest in the holiday's romantic aspects.

Michael Wilbon ([00:46]):
"This is the second day in a row we've done a Valentine's Day."

Tony Kornheiser ([00:58]):
"Yeah, we're a little bit old for Valentine's."

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2. International Hockey: USA vs. Canada Face-Off ([01:00] - [04:34])

The hosts delve into the recent USA vs. Finland hockey game, highlighting Brady Tkachuk's standout performance with two goals. This victory sets the stage for tomorrow night's highly anticipated matchup against Canada in Montreal.

Michael Wilbon ([01:40]):
"Smaller to me. And I've been to a lot of game 7s in the NHL..."

Tony Kornheiser ([02:42]):
"It's an invention to get rid of a sagging All Star game. Yeah, that's at the moment, that's all it is."

The conversation touches on the novelty of the event compared to traditional NHL playoffs, with Tony questioning its significance and comparing it to established high-stakes games.

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3. NBA Analysis: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder ([04:34] - [10:22])

Transitioning to the NBA, Tony and Michael discuss Minnesota's recent decisive victory over Oklahoma City, snapping OKC's seven-game win streak. They debate the implications of this loss for OKC, considering the team's late-season dynamics and Minnesota's consistent performance despite roster changes.

Tony Kornheiser ([06:04]):
"Your answer surprises me very much."

Michael Wilbon ([06:06]):
"Really?"

Tony Kornheiser ([06:31]):
"I tend to believe that there's no game in the NBA that means anything until after starting."

The hosts explore differing viewpoints on whether Minnesota's win holds significant weight for Oklahoma City's championship aspirations, ultimately acknowledging the complexity of team motivations late in the season.

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4. NFL Spotlight: Travis Kelce's Contract Decision ([07:12] - [10:22])

Shifting to the NFL, the discussion centers on Travis Kelce's uncertainty about continuing with the Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce's statement about "kicking every can down the road" leads to the Chiefs setting a deadline for his decision by mid-March.

Tony Kornheiser ([08:21]):
"Is it fair to put a deadline on a player?...He had the worst year of his career in terms of catches and touchdowns in his last two playoff games."

Michael Wilbon ([09:32]):
"It's reasonable in that if Kelsey's going to retire and even if he's going to come back, Kansas City has to make some plans."

The hosts debate the fairness and strategic necessity of the Chiefs' ultimatum, considering Kelce's pivotal role in the franchise. Tony expresses empathy towards Kelce, suggesting he deserves time to make his decision, while Michael emphasizes the Chiefs' need to plan for the future.

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5. College Basketball Insights with Jay Bilas ([12:07] - [18:27])

Guest: Jay Bilas joins the conversation to provide expert analysis on upcoming college basketball matchups and conference performances.

a. Auburn vs. Alabama Matchup ([12:07] - [15:42])

Jay breaks down the strengths and strategies of Auburn and Alabama as they prepare to face off.

Jay Bilas ([12:27]):
"Auburn has an on-demand interior scorer in Janai Broom... Alabama is a slot driving team that gets the ball in the paint..."

He highlights Auburn's versatile player Janai Broom and Alabama's effective three-point shooting, emphasizing the critical factors that could determine the game's outcome, such as turnovers and offensive rebounding.

b. SEC's Dominance in College Basketball ([13:50] - [15:42])

Jay discusses the Southeastern Conference's (SEC) remarkable depth and strength in college basketball, comparing it to the historical prowess of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Jay Bilas ([14:23]):
"The SEC is the best conference there's ever been in college basketball because of the number of quality teams it has."

He argues that the SEC's breadth of talent positions it as a dominant force, capable of producing multiple championship contenders, although he acknowledges that individual tournaments can yield different results.

c. UConn's Championship Hopes ([15:42] - [17:21])

Addressing concerns about the University of Connecticut's (UConn) chances for a third consecutive national title, Jay evaluates their offensive excellence juxtaposed with defensive inconsistencies.

Jay Bilas ([17:03]):
"It's a probable thing that's going to happen... they're more of an underdog type team this year."

He remains cautiously optimistic about UConn's potential, noting improvements in defense but maintaining that they face tough competition from other elite programs.

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6. Additional Sports Highlights ([18:27] - [24:07])

While interspersed with promotional segments, the hosts touch on various noteworthy sports events and personalities:

• Pro Bowl Highlight: Jackson Smith Njigba's impressive performance with 100 catches, 1,130 yards, and six touchdowns earns him a Pro Bowl invitation.

  Tony Kornheiser ([20:12]):
  "Ohio State receivers are popping up all over..."

• NBA Milestones: Russell Westbrook's anniversary is celebrated, noting his historic triple-double streak and his current synergy with Nikola Jokic in Denver.

  Tony Kornheiser ([21:10]):
  "Anybody ever play harder over a whole stretch of a career than Russell Westbrook?"

• UCLA Basketball's Upset: UCLA suffers its first loss of the season against USC, with Juju Watkins delivering an "otherworldly" performance.

  Tony Kornheiser ([22:12]):
  "Juju Watkins did it all for the Trojans... otherworldly."

• NFL Combine Notes: Travis Hunter's position switch to defensive back is discussed, alongside the intriguing possibility of a race between Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles.

  Michael Wilbon ([23:12]):
  "You gotta be intrigued by that."

---

7. Conclusion & Closing Remarks ([24:07])

The episode wraps up with final thoughts and well-wishes from the hosts.

Tony Kornheiser ([24:03]):
"Would you ever like to drive in the Daytona 500?"

Michael Wilbon ([24:07]):
"Have a great weekend, knuckleheads."

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Brady Tkachuk on USA vs. Canada Game:
  "[01:40] Brady Tkachuk, who scored twice last night for the US Said, 'I think it's going to be the biggest game I've ever played in my career.'"

• Travis Kelce's NFL Decision:
  "[08:21] Tony Kornheiser: 'What Kelsey has done for them lately ain't that much...'"

• SEC’s Dominance in College Basketball:
  "[14:23] Jay Bilas: 'The SEC is the best conference there's ever been in college basketball because of the number of quality teams it has.'"

• UConn’s Championship Prospects:
  "[17:03] Jay Bilas: 'It's a probable thing that's going to happen... they're more of an underdog type team this year.'"

---

Conclusion

This episode of PTI provides a comprehensive exploration of current sports narratives, from international hockey competitions and pivotal NBA matchups to significant NFL contract decisions and the rising prominence of college basketball's SEC. With insightful analysis from host Michael Wilbon and guest Jay Bilas, listeners are treated to a nuanced discussion that captures the complexities and excitement of the sports landscape as of February 2025.

Transcript

[Mike Wilbon]

In case you didn't know, these young men are driven, quite remarkable, magnificent and unmistakable. These are the prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. And they are not asking for you to pass the baton. They are methodically planning the perfect moment to take it. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here, and they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's Valentine's Day. Tony, bringing home anything romantic?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm Tony Kornheiser. Just a little something I like to call pheromones.

[Mike Wilbon]

Can we say that on tv?

[Tony Kornheiser]

What is that?

[Mike Wilbon]

What is that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's, you know, it's stuff in the air. It's in the air. It's like the musk scent.

[Mike Wilbon]

It needs to stay in the air.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not being here, you know, it's not in your home. It's a scent of some sort. This is the second day in a row we've done a Valentine's Day.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah, that's enough Valentine's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, we're a little bit old for Valentine's. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, the Thunder loses. The Chiefs want a decision out of Travis Kelce and Jay bilis previews tomorrow's 1 versus 2 matchup in college basketball. But we begin today with the four nations face off. Last night, the United States pounced on Finland six to one, setting up a game tomorrow night against Canada, which won their first game over Sweden. This game will be played in Montreal. Brady Tkachuk, who scored twice last night for the US Said, and I'm quoting here, I think it's going to be the biggest game I've ever played in my career. Unquote. Wilbon, does this feel bigger, smaller, or similar to a game 7 to you?

[Mike Wilbon]

Smaller to me. And I've been to a lot of game 7s in the NHL, in the Stanley cup playoff, a lot, and particularly, you know, in the arts and the teens actually, with the Blackhawks playing some game Sevens winning and losing and. No, it doesn't feel like that to me. But let me go to this. I watched that game last night, and I understand the Tkachuk brothers are fueling, with good reason, multiple goals, the emotion and the effort that goes into the United States winning a game against a team with a different sweater on. And particularly Canada, which is where we're going.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I get it.

[Mike Wilbon]

And I'm trying to sort of sense it and get it through the television screen. And by the way, Canada's Sweaters are spectacular, beautiful. And I'm gonna watch that, too. I'm gonna get into it. But wow, Stanley Cup Final. I don't equate those two things, do you? You watched the first period last Game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Seven, not the Stanley cup final. Just said a Game seven.

[Mike Wilbon]

Game seven. Okay, But Game seven could be later in the tournament.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Okay, so as I sit here right now, to me it feels smaller than a Game seven because this is a brand new thing, cuz I don't know anything about it. It's not the Olympics. It's not the NHL playoffs. It's an invention to get rid of a sagging All Star game. Yeah, that's at the moment, that's all it is. I appreciate what Brady Tkachuk is saying, but to be fair, he's never even played in an NHL playoff game to this point. Unlike his brother, who won a Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup. So maybe we ought to ask him, what do my notes say? Look, I think this is a very good idea. I just. I don't know how much stature to attach to it yet. Because again, you're not getting a gold medal, you're not getting the Stanley Cup.

[Mike Wilbon]

You have to do it year after year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's an exact. We don't even know if it's next year.

[Mike Wilbon]

They might play again next week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what I'm saying Thursday night is it seems in watching it, it seems like the hockey players are embracing this a lot more than the NBA players are embracing the silly Emirates, which is nonsense.

[Mike Wilbon]

No, they are embracing the Hagrid's Cup. We don't. But they do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We don't, but you've got to tell me before I say, Before I commit to it.

[Mike Wilbon]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You got. I got to see it for a while, right?

[Mike Wilbon]

Come on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

We've been at some game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sevens. By the way, do you know Sidney Crosby's record as a captain of Team Canada?

[Mike Wilbon]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Which he is right now.

[Mike Wilbon]

What is it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

22 0. You want to go against 220 in Montreal? You want to take a shot at that?

[Mike Wilbon]

No, you don't. But that game. That game I don't think would be in Montreal. I think that game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, this next game is.

[Mike Wilbon]

The next one is. But if they play again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, let's just talk.

[Mike Wilbon]

Then he might. Crosby then. Crosby's on the line.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I understand, but he's 22 and upgrade.

[Mike Wilbon]

Not root against him, as you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know why I never owned credit.

[Mike Wilbon]

You want to root against chumps or you want to root against royalty? Which one?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's my lead. I don't know. I don't want to root against him. I think he's good. Let's move to the NBA. And Minnesota beating Oklahoma City last night. 116, 101 in Minneapolis. This snapped Oklahoma City's seven game win streak. And the Timberwolves played without three starters. Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley Jr. And Julius Randle Woban. You have Oklahoma City winning the whole thing.

[Mike Wilbon]

Getting to the finals.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is this loss a big deal? A little deal or no deal?

[Mike Wilbon]

No deal. No deal. And here's why. Had nothing to do with Oklahoma City. Who I do. Who is the best team in the league right now by record. Who I think will get to the NBA final. But it's going to be difficult. But let me say this. Here's why it's no deal. Cause Minnesota has spent an entire season trying to figure out who it is. After dealing Karl Anthony Townes to New York for Julius. Randall Randle's been in and out of the lineup some. Rudy Gobert wasn't in the lineup last night. Ant man has played fabulously mostly. But they win three in a row or four in a row and then win four out of six and then lose three in a row. And you go, come on Timberwolves. Show me who you are. So this was predictable last night. I watched that game and I thought the Timberwolves were going to win that game. They won it convincingly. They needed to win it. Tony. We're talking about 30 games or fewer left in the NBA season right now. It's go time. But I don't think it meant anything to Oklahoma City as they just tried to get away and get to the All Star break. I don't think it meant anything to okc.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Your answer surprises me very much.

[Mike Wilbon]

Really?

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it surprises me because the other night when Dallas beat Golden State, Great game. You were texting me in the middle of the night. I woke up to find all these texts. You said how important it was. They were jockeying for position. So I would have thought you would have been a little bit more supportive of this being an important game last night. I tend to believe that there's no game in the NBA that means anything until after starting.

[Mike Wilbon]

You got nothing until next week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's how I feel.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But let me take the other side of this just for a second. Because Oklahoma City has played 54 games this year. They have never in a regular season game this year lost by as many as 15 points than they did last night. To a team without three starters and if you were looking for symbolism, Anthony Edwards, dunk over your boy in the middle home grin, you would have symbolism in that thing. So you're surprising me. Like, I listen to you about the NBA. I listen to you in Windhorse and both of you say all the time, oklahoma City's the best team. Maybe, maybe if you lose this game to a team that last year got to the conference finals, maybe this is more meaningful than I think or you think maybe.

[Mike Wilbon]

And I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna concede this to you. The game was important to Minnesota. I just didn't think the game was important to okc. They had nothing to prove. Now, now here's where you could be right. Those two could face each other. They could face each other in a series and Minnesota could say, we got this far last year. We got to the Western Conference finals and you guys didn't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I don't.

[Mike Wilbon]

But right now I'm going into this thinking I'm giving a pass to okc. I am. You want to check with Windhorse?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. You surprise me because you think that NBA games are important most of the time.

[Mike Wilbon]

I think this was important in Minnesota. Earlier this week, moving to the NFL, Travis Kelce said he hadn't decided whether to play next season, saying he is, quote, kicking every can that I can down the road. Close quote. Well, the athletic reports the Chiefs now want a decision from Mr. Kelce. By mid March, the 35 year old tight end said on his New Heights podcast, quote, I think I can play. It's just whether or not I'm motivated or it's the best decision for me. Tony, is it fair for the Chiefs to set a 30 day deadline on one of the great players in the franchise's history?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it fair to put a deadline on a player? In the abstract, it is fair. A team has a right to know if somebody is coming back or not coming back. What mitigates it in this particular case is this guy is a pillar on this team, one of the greatest players they've ever had. So you just can't, you know, he's not a second year outside linebacker, so that changes the dynamic of it. Today is February 14th. My understanding is the deadline is March 14th. That's four full weeks away. I will say that I concede that it's fair, but it feels like what have you done for me lately and what Kelsey has done for them lately ain't that much. He had the worst year of his career in terms of catches and touchdowns in his last two playoff games. This is the AFC Championship game in the super bowl, big games. If you combine his production, you put both together, that's still less productivity than he had in the last 23 singular playoff games. So my sense is that this is conceivably an issue and you would just hope they'd be on the same page. I'm not sure they are. I'd give him all the time he wants.

[Mike Wilbon]

Mike, Tony, I don't know about fair or not. I think it's reasonable in that if Kelsey's going to retire and even if he's going to come back, Kansas City has to make some plans. And by the way, tight end replacing him or that position is not the number one objective in the off season. Fixing that offensive line is a particularly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And if his money comes up, you can fix it.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's right. So you need to plan what you're going to do. Your draft strategy, your free agent strategy, all of it is dependent on whether you have, as we both know, one of the most important players in the team's history.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Absolutely.

[Mike Wilbon]

This is, absolutely. This is 15's guy. So you gotta, you, you. You don't wanna. You want to say this quietly to him and maybe they should have said it publicly, but I think it's reasonable to ask him that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I made a mistake. It's yards and touchdowns that he had the fewest of his career. Look, I think he should get all the time that he needs to do this. I don't want it to seem like he's being forced out, like Kupp is being forced out. And another thing too, football is ruthless. If you're Kansas City's management, I don't think you want Taylor Swift writing a song that's angry about you. If he's gotta go, let's take a break. Coming up, number one, Auburn meets number two, Alabama tomorrow. We will ask Jay Bilis to break it down.

[Mike Wilbon]

We'll also ask him whether UConn is still in the running for a third straight like the Chiefs third straight.

[Jay Bilas]

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[Mike Wilbon]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Top ranked Auburn visits second ranked Alabama tomorrow, which is where we find no, no basketball. We find our dashing friend, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Biels. Let's start with this. Let's start with Auburn and Alabama. That's a huge football matchup. We're all used to that. How do these two teams match up on a basketball court?

[Jay Bilas]

They match up really favorably. They're two of the best teams in the country. They're a little bit different in ways that Auburn has an on demand interior scorer in Janai Broom, who along with Cooper Flagg of Duke is the leading candidate for national player of the Year. He leads Auburn in scoring, rebounding, assists, block shots. He's been outstanding. Auburn needs a basket or needs to stop a run. They can throw it to Broom and he can go score, get fouled or both. But Alabama is a little bit of a different animal. People think of them as a three point shooting team and they are. They make ten threes a game and they're shooting a really high percentage in SEC play. But really what Alabama does is they're a slot driving team that gets the ball in the paint, they attack the paint and from that they're able to kick it out and then pass it again and get a lot of open threes. The issue for Alabama against Auburn is going to be two things. It's going to be turnovers and offensive rebounding. If Alabama can limit their turnovers to 10 or less and less than five live ball turnovers, they're going to have a great chance to win. And if they can keep Auburn off the offensive glass and limit them to 10 or fewer offensive rebounds, that puts Alabama in a great position to win because they can really score. They, they, they like to shoot at the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and the quicker you shoot it, the less opportunity you have to turn it over.

[Mike Wilbon]

Jay, you've been telling us since November about the SEC, the basketball prowess that conference is now demonstrating. Four of the five top ranked teams are from the SEC. Nine of the top 25 and now here I go. As a child of the Midwest in Chicago and the Big Ten, I'm saying, hold on, I am not buying this yet, Jay. Is there, is there a trap door that somebody can fall into? Is there something coming in March that could derail this? Or am I just flat out going to be wrong?

[Jay Bilas]

Well, it depends how you you value the best conference. Like the best conf. Top to bottom. The SEC is the best conference there's ever been in college basketball because of the number of quality teams it has. The last time a conference was this powerful was in the mid-1980s in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the ACC was eight teams back then. This is a 16 team league. It's a lot easier to have eight good teams than it is to have 16. Now that doesn't mean that the SEC is going to have all eight Elite Eight teams and all four Final Four teams in the National Champion. It doesn't mean that Duke's not going to win the title or Houston's not going to win it, or Iowa State. Those are two different things. And I kind of liken it to the best golfer. Like just because you win the World Match Play Championship doesn't make you the best golfer in the world. Those are two different things. But I think people value the tournament so much that if the SEC doesn't do really well in the NCAA tournament, people are going to say, ah, they weren't the best conferen. Those are two different things. But I think the SEC has more teams capable of winning the title, specifically Auburn, Florida, Alabama than any other, and Tennessee too, than any other conference. Nobody has this kind of depth and power 1 through 16. It's not even close.

[Mike Wilbon]

Wow, it's going to be amazing to watch this the whole week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Neither you nor I ever believed it would happen.

[Mike Wilbon]

I know, I know, right? Jay's been on top of this. So he started telling us this in November. The top two teams in the Big 12 play tomorrow. How do you see sixth ranked Houston? Speaking of Houston, which you just did, and 13th ranked Arizona.

[Jay Bilas]

Arizona is really good. Obviously Caleb Love is an outstanding guard that has been playing some of his best basketball of late. And after a slow start, Arizona's really picked it up. They're defending better, they're very good on the glass. Tobe Iwaka is one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. But anytime you play against Houston, home or away, you have to deal with their pressure. Houston is relentless on the glass. They're one of the best rebounding teams in the country. They lead the nation every year in playing hard. They just play harder than their opponents for longer stretches. But they, they are so good defensively. They will trap ball screens, they call it monster. They'll trap the post to get it out of there and they force a lot of turnovers. So they're really difficult to play against. It's going to take a 40 minute concerted effort on the part of Arizona to win, win this game. I mean, I think Houston's truly. And they're shooting it better than in past years. It's always been kind of, or not always, but it's mostly been like, hey man, they're great defensively, they're great on the glass getting second shots. But they don't shoot it great this year. They shoot it really well and that's going to make them doubly hard to beat.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We will get you out of here on this. UConn is outside the top 25. Now. Coach Dan Hurley, who you know very well, know his brother, know the whole family, said the other day, and I'm quoting here, no one gets crowned in February, unquote. Do you think that a third straight title for UConn is actually still in play?

[Jay Bilas]

It's in play. I wouldn't say it's a, it's a probable thing that's going to happen. One thing about UConn, their offense is elite. They're one of the best offensive teams in the country. The issue has been their defense. They have not been great defensively, although in the last couple of weeks they're starting to trend up. If in the last month of the season they can play defense at a top 25 level. And right now it's more, I mean, it's trending toward that, but it's more in the top 80. They can make another run at this, but they're not a favorite. They've been a favorite the last two years and they're more of an. I hate to say this, but they're more of an underdog type team this year. They're a second weekend team and if you can get to the second weekend, certainly you can get beyond that. But. But there are other teams you would favor over UConn. They're still really good though. And the idea that, that we'd be even talking about the chance for a three peat. I never thought I'd be saying this in today's game. It's really remarkable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, the idea that we would have you on from Alabama, with Alabama, Auburn and basketball is remarkable. Thank you for being with us, Jay.

[Mike Wilbon]

Appreciate it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you.

[Jay Bilas]

Thank you guys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's take one last break. Still to come, are Tyreek Hill and Noah Lyles really going to race? They're going to race.

[Mike Wilbon]

And juju Watkins put on a performance last night that her coach called Otherworldly beat undefeated previously ucla.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not an upset according to you?

[Mike Wilbon]

No, no, no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jay actually said there's it's the best.

[Jay Bilas]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Thanks.

[Jay Bilas]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Get in the zone.

[Jay Bilas]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy time people. Happy 23rd birthday. Jackson Smith Njigba the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver made the Pro bowl after having 100 catches, 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. Smith Njigba was the 20th overall pick in 2023 out of Ohio State. Ohio State receivers are popping up all over. It's a bit odd since Ohio State is the original three yards and a cloud of dust offense. Marvin Harrison Jr. 62 catches, eight touchdowns for Arizona. Terry McLaurin lit it up in Washington, 82 catches, 13 touchdowns. Garrett Wilson, 101 catches, seven touchdowns for the jets and the best receiver in college this season was Ohio State freshman Jeremiah Smith.

[Mike Wilbon]

And two of my favorite receivers of all time, Ohio State receivers, Chris Carter. How about 130 touchdowns in his career? Kind of interested in that. And Joey Galloway. 77 touchdown catches and 16 seasons in the NFL for Joey Galloway.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I like him on tv. We should have him As a guest. Happy anniversary, Russell Westbrook. On this day six years ago, in his final season in Oklahoma City, Westbrook had a triple double of 44 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists. It was his record 11th consecutive game with a triple double. That streak ended when Westbrook got 43 points and 15 rebounds but only 8 assists. Westbrook is in Denver now, playing with triple double machine Nikola Jokic. The two of them have combined for 387 triple doubles. Westbrook 214, Jokic 173. Jokic has the quickest triple double of all time. Seven years ago he needed only 14 minutes and 33 seconds on court to get his 10th assist and close out his triple double with 154 to go in. Hello. The second quarter. Eventually finishing with 30 points, 15 rebounds, 17 assists.

[Mike Wilbon]

This seems to be working, that tandem in Denver.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's good.

[Mike Wilbon]

By the way, you and I have seen almost the whole history of the NBA. Yeah. Anybody ever play harder over a whole stretch of a career than Russell Westbrook?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He came to play every night. He gave you what he had. Every single night.

[Mike Wilbon]

Every night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy trails to UCLA's bid for an undefeated season. The top ranked Bruins suffered their first loss of the season last night at the crosstown rival 6th ranked USC. Juju Watkins did it all for the Trojans. 38 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 blocked shots.

[Mike Wilbon]

Great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The rest of our teammates shot just 9 of 37 from the floor. USC coach Lindsey Gottlieb called Watkins performance otherworldly, adding quote. We'll never forget this night. It's as good as anything I've ever seen. The two teams face each other again in UCLA two weeks.

[Mike Wilbon]

Suju Watkins was that great. And the eight block shots stand out. UCLA's got to get back. That's a get back game at Pauley Pavilion. Can't wait to see the rematch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Big finish quickly. Travis Hunter entering the NFL combine as a defensive back, not a wide receiver. Does that make sense?

[Mike Wilbon]

There's always going to be as a defensive back. They can put packages in a former receiver if they want. Noah Lyles, Tyreek Hill. Tell People magazine they'll race each other this summer. You gotta be intrigued by that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wait, didn't one of them win the gold medal in the 100 and isn't the other football player?

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The warriors beat the Rockets. Draymond Green. Call your boy Jimmy Butler a franchise changer. Your thoughts?

[Mike Wilbon]

I know they're only like 2 and 1 or 3 1. But it's great watching Jimmy Butler play with them. It is Brave star Ronald Acuna Jr. Says he's 90 to 95% recovered from that ACL tear. Your thoughts?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's a great player. Want to see him play at his best? Last1 Helio Castroneves granted a spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 as a World class driver. You like it?

[Mike Wilbon]

Well, he is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, he is.

[Mike Wilbon]

Well, he can't drive something. Any kind of car, anything with a wheel.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We are out of time. We will try and do better the next time. Niece Kate, Happy Birthday.

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm Mike Wilbod. Have a great weekend, knuckleheads. You can get the PTI podcast on the ESPN app or Apple Podcasts. And now your sports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Would you ever like to drive in the Daytona 500?

[Mike Wilbon]

No.

[Jay Bilas]

Scary PTI this episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.