Tony Kornheiser (2:55)

Well, I mean, I like the question because it implies that I had confidence in the Lakers and I did not, and I don't. I love watching them, but they are a deeply flawed team sometimes. They don't have any big men. Luka doncic scored, what, 68 points in these two games, and they only won one of them. Mike. I think they need a minimum of 60 from Luka and from LeBron to win in most cases. And Minnesota, you know, they went to the conference finals last year, I believe, and then they made what I think is a really stupid trade. They got rid of Karl Anthony Towns, and they basically said, we're going to give Anthony Edwards this team. We're going to roll with Anthony Edwards. He's our guy now. And maybe, maybe that's a good strategy, but I think it might be flawed by the statistic you just gave, which is he had no assists. He had no assists, whereas Luca last night had nine assists. But I agree with you, that series could go back and forth. I say this every day. I like to watch Luka and LeBron on television. I never thought that I'd be giving credit to defense, but as you say, Minnesota went from 21 made threes to five made threes.

Mike Wilbon (4:07)

Yeah.

Tony Kornheiser (4:08)

Was that defense? Was that J.J. redick? I don't know, but something happened.

Mike Wilbon (4:12)

I was going to say, let's give a little credit to J.J. redick, Tony, not only for that, but for coming out with a plan and then the players executed it, which confused and Ant man a little bit. He said he wasn't certain of what he was seeing. Now, some film studied between now and Game three will help that. But, yeah, I think everybody on that Laker team needs to be credited for the way they came out and did that last night. Does that mean it's going to happen again in Game three? No, it doesn't. And so I, you know, I'm not on the confidence train for anybody yet other than OKC. The Thunder and the Pacers are both 2 for 2. OKC beat the Grizzlies again, this time by a mere 19, after you remember winning Game 1 by 51. And Indiana beat the Bucs for a second straight time, despite the return of Dame Lillard. Now, after the game, Bucs coach Doc Rivers said, quote, I'm very confident about this series. Very close quote. Tone, do you remain optimistic, or does it feel over for the Grizzles and the Bucs?

Tony Kornheiser (5:17)

Well, it certainly feels over for the Grizzlies. I mean, Oklahoma City should sweep them. Oklahoma City has now defeated them six straight times this season, each time in double figures and in the playoffs by 51 and by 19. Memphis is simply not in the same category as Oklahoma City. And Mike, I think in most cases, the one should sweep the play in eight. Like, I think that Cleveland will sweep Miami in their 1 8. But I don't think it's over for the Bucs. Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 70 points in two games and they have lost both of them. That's a remarkable feat to me. They now go to Milwaukee for Games 3 and 4. Milwaukee's 28 and 14 at home, and Indiana is 2120 on the road. I will be astonished If Antetokounmpo scores 70 points in two games and they lose them in Milwaukee. They're completely astonished. What I find interesting today is everybody on talk shows this morning is giving loud credence to the notion that this is it for Antetokounmpo and he's going to ask to be traded from Milwaukee. Yeah.

Mike Wilbon (6:30)

So, Tony, look, I think Milwaukee will go get Game three. I mean, Dame Lillard got out of the way his return game last night, and I think he's going to be closer to Fine and the Dame Lillard we've seen for Game three. And so if they get that game, it's a series, it's on, it's in Milwaukee. So I don't see any sort of sweep of that being over. I do think, wow, if Milwaukee goes out early, Tony, I do think that's going to be curtains in Milwaukee for Giannis. I do the other series, not even worth talking about. Listen, Shay Gildous Alexander, the presumptive MVP, got my vote. He's shot 33% in the first two games and his team has won by 70, 33%. He didn't start playing yet.

Tony Kornheiser (7:16)

It's a miss, man.

Mike Wilbon (7:17)

But, Tony, it's not like the Bucs are going to trot a 20, 21 Khris Middleton out there. They're not. I don't know where they go to get sort of younger. They look old right now. They do look older.

Tony Kornheiser (7:29)

I will tell you this, my favorite part in the Series is Halliburton going back and forth with Lillard. They obviously hate each other. They're jawing at each other. And when that game was won last night, Halliburton went like this to Lillard Dame time and laughed at him. Laughed at him. Let's move to hockey. The Florida Panthers best player, Matthew Tkachuk, took to the ice last night for the first time in almost nine weeks and promptly scored two power play goals as Florida beat Tampa Bay in the first game of their playoff series. Tkachuk had been out with an undisclosed lower body injury. Wilbon, what does this performance mean for the Panthers chances to repeat as Stanley cup champions?

Mike Wilbon (8:07)

I mean, they gotta take such heart in the heart, the engine of their team coming out and doing this. He just seems to provide whatever's necessary, even at a time, physically, when you think he could be compromised. And in the NHL, unlike all other leagues, guys announce, we're coming after you. Which is why they've gone to lower body injuries as opposed to right knee, because they would come and take your right knee out. This is what happens. And Kachuk doesn't seem to care about that. I would just caution before we get too carried away. This is round one, and then we get a Toronto team which seems to be soaring at least through two games of his playoff series in the next round, Toronto. So that would be an attractive series. But Mankuk, he gives it to you. And they gotta feel like. They gotta feel like collectively, like, let's drop the gloves. The Panthers players, we're ready to go right now because we got him.

Tony Kornheiser (9:03)

Yeah. I'm gonna remind you of what happened yesterday on this show. We had PK Subban on this show and he told the story of running into Tkachuk after the Four Nations Cup. And he said that Tkachuk said to him, I'm done. Those were his words. I'm done. We ain't done. Now this to me is like, you know, a guy getting Tommy John and coming back and throwing a no hitter. The guy plays 11 minutes last night. He has two goals and an assist. It's a tremendous return. And the Panthers can use this because in his absence, Mike, they dropped from second place to fifth place. Like, we don't know the nature of his injury because the NHL is protective of the players and they should be. But it had to be pretty serious because I think he was out for 70 days. Alex Ovechkin broke his leg and was out for 39 days. So let's hear it for Tkachuk. That's a great return. Let's take a break. Coming up, the NFL draft is tomorrow. How will teams value Shador Sanders? We're going to ask Booger McFarlane.

Mike Wilbon (10:06)

We'll also ask him whether the resurgence of running backs in the National Football League will lead to an earlier selection of Mr. Ashton. Genteel.

Tony Kornheiser (10:16)

You saw that yesterday, right? You saw Halliburton do this. Dame time. Like you reap what you saw.

Mike Wilbon (10:23)

He said it's not Dame time.

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Tony Kornheiser (11:31)

In a story we broke wide open in our A's bump, the NFL draft begins tomorrow. That makes it a perfect time for a visit from our great friend who will be on tomorrow's telecast From Green Bay, Mr. Booger McFarlane, wearing an Oakmont shirt, site of the upcoming US Open Book. Let's start with this. Some people have Shador Sanders going very early. Others now have him falling. As a player, when you were out there, you went after quarterbacks, how do you think his game translates to the NFL?

Booger McFarlane (12:02)

I think his game translates well. Like, it's amazing. Like, the further we get into this process and start talking about the, talking about the NFL draft, we become absolved to like, the, like the wild plays. Like we're always looking for the wild plays that we forget about the simple, the mundane, the normal. I love Magic Johnson and to me that's what he is. He's the quintessential point guard from the pocket that can deliver the football accurately, precisely, with timing. He's completing 82% of his passes from a clean pocket. And I get it, we're looking for the quarterback that can throw it over his head, that can flip around and do back flips and throw from sidearms. But to me, if you look at the prerequisites for the position, can you deliver the football accurately? Can you throw it with timing? Do you make great decisions? Shadour Sanders does that the best. And I think there's a place for him in the NFL. And I just don't get all the hate. The people that says that he can't play, that he might not even be a first round quarterback, I just don't see it.

Mike Wilbon (12:57)

But girl, I want to move to the place that you are comfortable over a lot of years, the trenches. And other than Abdul Carter, who, let's face it, everybody's agreed is going quickly and happily early in this draft. Who do you see? Offensive line or defensive line? And it seems like there's a lot of guys, but maybe not a standout who stands out to you on either side of the ball in the trenches.

Booger McFarlane (13:23)

You know, to me there's a couple of guys I'll go to, some guys that I think have been kind of picked over. I'll start on the offensive side with Will Campbell. I think he's going to be the first offensive lineman picked, but people are criticizing him because his arms are too short. Think about this. His arms were 32 and 5, 8 at the combine. The magic mark is 33. He was 33 at his pro day. So somehow between February and March his arm grew three eighths of an inch. Regardless if that's the case or not, to me, he's been playing left tackle for a long time, guys. He's played in the sec. He started every game at lsu. And I think if you're looking for a franchise left tackle, you're going to draft Will Campbell. You put him in left tackle and you forget it on the defensive side of the ball. I'm going to go to Walter Nolan. If you go back a few years, he was the number one recruit in the nation in high school. He went to Texas A and M. He transferred to Ole Miss. And I think when you look at him, you still see the traits that make him special. Some people don't think he's going to be the first defensive tackle taken that signature and that thing goes to Mason Graham. But I think Walter Nolan makes may be the best defensive tackle, the interior guy in the entire draft. The quickness, the twitchiness, his ability to get up field and play, that three technique. I Think he's outstanding. So Walter Nolan and Will Campbell, two guys in the trenches not named Abdul Carter Booker.

Mike Wilbon (14:43)

I'm a kid who grew up on Gail Sayers and Walter Payton and just seeing Ashton Genty on the board and the Bears may be reasonably close at number 10, even if they have to try to move up, excites me. But running backs have been just sort of dismissed for years. Years? Years. Until lately when a guy from the Eagles went crazy on people through the Super Bowl. Where are you on Genty and the importance of a guy like Genty in today's NFL?

Booger McFarlane (15:12)

Well, I think Saquon showed us that when you can do what he can do behind that offensive line, they won a Super bowl with it. He was the most valuable player. He's the best running back in football. And if you have a special guy like a Saquon, like a Derrick Henry, like a Christian McCaffrey when they're healthy, that can carry a team that can do it all, to me, that guy is still valuable. With that being said, I don't think there's any chance that Ashton Genti is going to be there at number 10. Mike. I think he's just too good. He's too valuable. Think Emmett Smith with a little bit of James Conner in him. So he's got the balance and the gliding of Emmett Smith, but he's got that physical prowess and a contact balance of like a James Connor. That's the type of guy you're getting in Ashton Genty. I think he's in play for Jacksonville at 5, maybe the Raiders at 6, but I don't think he's going to be there for the Bears at 10. Make no mistake about it, the running back is back and I think all the guys can thank Saquon Barkley for that and the show that he put on in the NFL last season.

Tony Kornheiser (16:12)

So great. You broke Wilbon's heart. You compared him to Emmett Smith and then you said that the Bears can't get him. Straight up.

Mike Wilbon (16:17)

Straight up.

Tony Kornheiser (16:17)

It's just wonderful. We get you out of here on this. You've mentioned a lot of people that we have heard of already. Booger. Are there any lesser known players that you particularly like?

Booger McFarlane (16:29)

You know what, Tony, I love the undersized guys. And there's a little receiver from Iowa state, Jalen Noyle, 5 foot 10, 100 and whatever pounds. And he's going to be the quintessential slot receiver. But he's an alpha. He's a guy that does the one thing that every quarterback loves and that he separates. He lets the quarterback know at the top of the route when it's time to throw the football. And I think you're going to be able to put him in the slot for whatever team that's drafted. And he's going to be dynamite in a bottle. He'll catch a ton of balls across the middle. He's not Teddy Roy McMillan. He's not Matthew Golden. He's not some of the other top receivers that you've heard about. But make no mistake about it, if you get Jalen Noel on your team, he's from Iowa State. I know Will Bond knows about him, but some people don't watch football that's not in the sec. They don't. They just don't watch it. But if you haven't watched Jaylen Noel, he will be outstanding for your team. You put him in the slot and. And as George Foreman said years ago, set it and forget it.

Tony Kornheiser (17:23)

The George Foreman Grill. Tremendous. Thank you, Booger.

Mike Wilbon (17:27)

Thank you, Booger. Appreciate you. Thank you.

Booger McFarlane (17:31)

Anytime, Tony. I'll make sure and tell Mel you had to say hello, buddy.

Tony Kornheiser (17:36)

Yeah, Mel Kuiper. Love him. I don't know, maybe one time I wrote something bad, but it's a long time ago. Love him now, maybe. Let's take one last break. Still to come, two dramatic finishes in baseball that are worth noting.

Mike Wilbon (17:50)

And will the Rockets bounce back against the Dubs tonight in game two in H town?

Tony Kornheiser (17:58)

Wilbon.

Mike Wilbon (17:59)

We might trade up. We might trade up with New England.

Tony Kornheiser (18:01)

It's gotta be 45 years ago. You'd think Mel wouldn't remember, but I.

Mike Wilbon (18:05)

Guess according to Booger, It's Mel remembers 45 years. Maybe 35 though.

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Tony Kornheiser (19:17)

Happy time people. Happy 70th birthday tomorrow. Ernie Grunfeld history lesson kids in the mid-70s, Grunfeld and Bernard King were all Americans together at the University of Tennessee. It was called the Ernie and Bernie Show. King went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NBA. Grunfeld was drafted 11th overall by Milwaukee, played nine seasons in the NBA, averaging about seven points a game. In his post playing days, Grunfeld was assistant coach for his hometown New York Knicks and moved to managerial roles, rising to general manager there. Eventually Grunfeld became general manager of the Washington Wizards, where Wilbon and I covered him for the Washington Post. Grunfeld is a graduate of Forest Hills High School, as are Paul Simon and Art Garfum.

Mike Wilbon (20:00)

Tony it is so cool to go to Madison Square Garden right now and see Bernard King sitting there in the crowd and he's always in like a suit and tie. He looks great. You want to tell people how unstoppable Bernard King was even before and after knee surgeries? Unstoppable.

Tony Kornheiser (20:18)

Just a the quickest leap to the basket of anyone ever. Happy Anniversary Steve Young around this day 38 years ago, the 49ers traded for the Tampa Bay quarterback to serve as backup to Joe Montana. 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young's natural abilities and believed his pedestrian numbers with the Buccaneers were primarily due to to a lack of talent around him. Young backed up Montana through much of the 49ers dynasty, but young ascended to the starting role and extended that dynasty. Young won the super bowl in the 94 season, throwing for six touchdown passes as the 49ers beat the Chargers 4926 in the monkey off my back game. Plus, Steve Young is the best guest we've ever had on the PTI program.

Mike Wilbon (21:03)

Steve Young is great at everything. Steve Young went to law school and completed degree while he was playing professional football. Okay, and people talk about oh, Aaron Rodgers is the best I've ever Shut up. Aaron Rodgers couldn't touch Steve Young at his greatest Shut up.

Tony Kornheiser (21:24)

Happy trails to last night's games for the Dodgers and White Sox. Dodgers were up 109 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Miguel Amaya of the Cubs drove one that just made it into the basket and left center to tie the game. Ian Hap then won it for Chicago with a walk off single and attempt. But that wasn't the only fun finish last night in Minnesota. The Twins were up 42 and needed just one more out to put away the White Sox. Andrew Benatendi's bid to tie it with an extra base hit was snagged by a diving Byron Buxton to seal Minnesota's win.

Mike Wilbon (21:55)

We've had to play the Dodgers like six times so far. The best team money could buy, the best team in baseball presumably. And I think we're three and three against the Dodgers in those games so far this season. The Cubs had some guts last night. It was great to see.

Tony Kornheiser (22:10)

And a melancholy trails to Mike Patrick. The longtime play by play commentator for ESPN has died at the age of 80. In his 36 year run at the network that began in 1982, Patrick called Sunday Night Football, major college football matchups and scores of men's and women's college basketball games. Patrick lived just outside dc. Mike went to school at GW and worked the booth with legends from this area like Joe Theisman and Len Elmore.

Mike Wilbon (22:37)

Tony Mike Patrick called the first NFL game ever broadcast on espn. The first NFL game. And I got to be around him a lot when he was calling ACC games when I was writing for the Washington Post and a young beat writer covering that league. And he was just a joy to be around and absolute professional in so, so, so many ways.

Tony Kornheiser (22:59)

Gotta go real quick with the big finish. Ace Bailey or Rutgers will enter the NBA draft. He like his game.

Mike Wilbon (23:05)

Scouts do. They say he's gonna be second projected second overall pick in the draft. Peyton Pritchard of the Celtics, NBA's Sixth man of the year is deserved, right?

Tony Kornheiser (23:15)

You voted for him. Rick Pitino has added five top players from the portal. You impressed?

Mike Wilbon (23:19)

That's all people do. They just go to the portal. Jock Peterson of the Rangers is 04's last 41. Your thoughts?

Tony Kornheiser (23:28)

That's brutal. I hope he gets off that Schneide. Last one, Warriors Rockets game two tonight. Who you got?

Mike Wilbon (23:33)

I got the warriors winning the series, but the Rockets winning tonight. Shingoon. It's gonna be a big night for him.

Tony Kornheiser (23:39)

We're out of time. Trying to do better next time. Happy birthday, Liz. Like I said, I got the trees.

Mike Wilbon (23:44)

Birthday, Liz. I'm Mike Wilbon. We're off till Monday, knuckleheads. Here's SportsCenter.

Brad Milke (23:51)

Hey, I'm Brad Milke. You may know me as the host of ABC Audio's daily news podcast. Start here, but I'd like to add aspiring true crime expert to my resume. And here's how I'm gonna make it happen. Every week, I'm gonna unpack the biggest true crime story that everyone is talking about. ABC's got some unique access here, so I'll talk to the reporters and producers who have followed these cases from months, sometimes years. We'll bring you the latest developments and the larger context on the true crime stories you've been hearing about. Follow the crime scene for special access to the people who know these stories best.