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- [00:00]
Narrator
In case you didn't know, these young men are driven. They are prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. Like Damian Lillard, for instance. He doesn't seek guidance or mentorship. He's a leader. He isn't waiting for the baton to be passed to him. He's taking it for himself. He's relentless in a pursuit of greatness, always pushing to one up himself. He is accomplished, but far from satisfied. He embodies what it means to have an unstoppable drive and are shaking up the status quo in their community and beyond.
- [00:25]
Frank Isola
And.
- [00:26]
Narrator
And Damian Lillard drives a Toyota. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here and they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive.
- [00:37]
Frank Isola
Pardon the interruption, but I'm Frank Isola and it's a big time thrill to join you today. Tony, what's the occasion?
- [00:44]
Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser. Frank, it is great to be with you too. As in ESPN2, we are in exile for like the 12th day in a row.
- [00:55]
Frank Isola
Now I get all makes sense.
- [00:58]
Tony Kornheiser
It all makes sense. My feeling about this is you have the women's sweet 16 on. That's a legitimate event. You can bump us for that. We both worked at newspapers. We know how it works. And that's a big event. It's okay. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. Wilbon somehow isn't here to talk about the Bulls buzzer beater. So I'm joined by our great friend, Mr. Frank Isola.
- [01:21]
Frank Isola
I'm talking.
- [01:24]
Tony Kornheiser
And we begin today with last night's Sweet 16 games. Alabama beat BYU with a blistering 25 for 51 performance from three. Florida beat Maryland, pulling away in the second half of a rather dull game. Duke scored 100, beat Arizona and Arkansas blew a 13 point lead with 432 to go in regulation and lost in overtime to Texas Tech. Frank, which was the most compelling result to you?
- [01:50]
Frank Isola
You know what? For me, because you didn't mention his name, but you did mention the program. Cooper Flagg, he is the face of college basketball right now and he plays for Duke. That's a big thing. 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists. He had three blocks. The shot at the end of the first half was big. And remember, Tony, this is a guy that's supposed to be a high school senior and think about what he's done. He makes a huge impact on both ends of the court. Now I think back to when Zion was a freshman. I think there was more hype around Zion. Every game he played seemed like an event Your buddy Barack Obama showed up at a game in Durham. Cooper really hasn't had that, but I think that's going to change if he wins one more game, which is what Zion didn't do. Didn't get out of the Elite 8 and make it to a Final Four.
- [02:33]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. I just want to start out in this segment by saying this, that all the favorites won last night. Two number ones, a number two and a number three are now in the, in the round of eight. That is real talk. I'm not sure that what I'm gonna say now is particularly compelling, but what happened with Arkansas last night is why the people at Kentucky were not upset when John Calipari left for Arkansas. Because you blow a lead like that in regulation. I'm sorry, some of that is coaching. You have to hold a 13 point lead with 432 to go, especially since the week before you went out and beat Kansas and you went out and beat St. John's so I tend to agree with you that the most compelling thing last night was duke. Duke scoring 100, Cooper Flagg having a really, really good line. And Duke went out against the highest possible seeded opponent in this round. They got a four seed out there. Arizona was a four, Maryland was a four. And so I think the Duke thing is pretty compelling. Now they get Alabama. This game everybody wants to see, because Alabama, if Alabama wants to jack up 51 threes against Duke, unlike BYU, that did not put a hand in the air. Duke plays defense and Duke is the tallest team in the country. And 45 of those 51 are going to be contested. Alabama scored 113. Duke's coming out of 100, Alabama 113. Frank, that. That really is a game we would like to see. Right?
- [04:02]
Frank Isola
Yeah, I'm looking forward. I'm going to go there tomorrow night. How about the kid, Mark Sears, who had 10 three pointers? BYU as a team only had 6. One team we didn't mention in Florida was great. And I'm not saying if Kevin Willard, if his situation was settled, Maryland's going to win that game. But how about that whole thing? You basically have a guy that's in the coaching transfer portal. It's a complete mess and I don't even know whether or not to criticize him because everyone does it now, Tony. The players are in the portal during the tournament and it feels. I'm not saying Kevin Willard was all the way out, but he certainly wasn't all the way in last night either.
- [04:35]
Tony Kornheiser
What he did publicly last week to basically hold the school Hostage was, I thought, a terrible thing to do. That's me personally.
- [04:42]
Frank Isola
I agree.
- [04:42]
Tony Kornheiser
Let's move to the NBA and the stunning ending of the Bulls Lakers game. The lakers were up five points with 12 seconds to go. They somehow lost the game. LeBron James made a terrible inbounds pass turnover that led to the Bulls making a three that put the Bulls up by one. The Lakers then scored to go up one themselves. And then Josh Giddey hit a half court shot that looked good from the time it left his hand. Yeah, to give the Bulls a two point victory. Frank, is this story more about the Bulls winning or the Lakers losing?
- [05:10]
Frank Isola
I'm going to say it's more about the Bulls. And he went straight on, which probably makes it a little bit easier to make that shot. Even if it's a little long, it could bank in. But the Lakers took the lead. You had three lead changes in the last 6.1 seconds. You don't often see that in the NBA. And how about the fact that the Lakers down one with with Luka on the court and LeBron, they go to Austin Reaves and the Bulls who had just come back, give up a layup for crying out loud. But you mentioned the LeBron turnover and that's the one that's got to drive JJ Redick crazy. It's LeBron James that was as lackadaisical as a turnover as you're ever going to see from LeBron.
- [05:46]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I think this is an interesting question. Whether you concentrate on the Bulls victory or the Lakers defeat. And I think it depends on when you ask the question. I mean last night it would be all about the Bulls, even today, right now, all about the Bulls. Because that was a spectacular ending. That's a great shot by Giddey. And to make up five points in 12 seconds, that's a Reggie Miller situation. But by tomorrow and certainly by Monday, we're going to look back and we're going to look at the Lakers. Because the Lakers, I know they won a game and last second tap in by LeBron against Indiana, but they also blew a 13 point lead late in that game. And then they blew a 13 point lead late in this game. Who's coaching them? Calipari? I mean you can't keep blowing these leads. So ultimately what's going to happen, Frank, is the more distance we get, the more we're going to focus on the Lakers. Because the Lakers are a playoff team and the Bulls are a play in team. Right? That's what it's going to be.
- [06:42]
Frank Isola
You're right. And J.J. redick talked a little bit about them being tired. And you know, LeBron has had a pretty eventful week. And of course the tap in, which was a great play by him, but he did look a little run down. Even Josh Giddey couldn't believe how sloppy that turnover was for LeBron to do that. And guess what, Tony. The Lakers had a timeout. They could have advanced the ball. They didn't. And listen, ultimately it worked because they still took the lead. And then Giddey hit the half court shot.
- [07:08]
Tony Kornheiser
I can't believe we're talking about the Bulls and Wilbon isn't here. We would be scraping him off the ceiling if he was here. Let's move to an unexpected coaching change in Memphis. The Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins this morning despite the team being tied with the Lakers for the fourth spot in the West. Jenkins has a.539 winning percentage since his hire in 2019. But the Grizzlies have been struggling lately. Does this move make sense to you, Frank?
- [07:34]
Frank Isola
No, it doesn't. And just, you know, they've named an interim coach and it's a European coach who they like. His name is Tuomas Isalo. No relation to me whatsoever. But when it comes to Taylor Jenkins, you know that John Morant, and I wonder how much of a role that played into it. If you go back a couple years ago, Tony, John Morant's behavior off the court sabotaged the season. Last year he was suspended at the start, shoulder surgery, nine games. This year he's only played 43. So how many coaches have the fifth seed when their best players only played 43 games? Right now they're tied with the Lakers. They play the Lakers tomorrow and then they're only two games behind third place Denver. So you tell me how that's fair for Taylor Jenkins when you basically had to babysit this guy and now he's not even available to play.
- [08:17]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I don't. I will admit right from the start I don't have a hot take on this. I don't have particular insight into this. I know that Wilbon has been saying on this show a couple of months back, and he said it much more than once, that he believed that Memphis and Oklahoma City would play in the Western Conference final. So when you do something like this, which appears a move of desperation, you're firing a guy with, I don't know, three or four games, whatever it is. This happens in hockey. Lou Amarillo used to do this in hockey.
- [08:47]
Frank Isola
I think he did it once or.
- [08:48]
Tony Kornheiser
Twice, maybe for the New Jersey Devils and one time he won a Stanley cup doing it. So it's not out of the question. But Frank, I look at Memphis in the same way that I sort of look at Sacramento and maybe Charlotte, that all the buses don't go there. They're not on the main tour. So I gotta be honest, all I know is John Moran and I don't know anything else except that the ribs are great at the rendezvous. I got nothing else for you. Go ahead.
- [09:14]
Frank Isola
But you know, it has been a team that is good. The fans love them down there. Taylor Jenkins is a good coach. He'll be back in the league. Apparently, from what I had heard, this. This guy that they brought in from Europe and they fired Taylor Jenkins staff after last season. So the handwriting was on the wall. But the guy they brought in, they're talking about how he's an innovative offensive guy. We'll see how it works out. All right. And now to the highlights of baseball's opening day. Shohei homer as the champion Dodgers beat Tariq Skubal and the Tigers. Tyler O'Neal hit one out for the sixth straight opening day as the Orioles pounded the Blue Jays. How about that? Bryce Harper homered as the Phillies beat the Nats despite Mackenzie Gore's 13 strikeouts over six innings. Juan Soto struck out with the game on the line for the Mets and four 51 year old Ichiro threw heat for a first pitch. What most stood out for you, Tony?
- [10:06]
Tony Kornheiser
Well, you got to start with Shohei and you got to start with Shohei hitting a home run. And then they go to the stands and Magic Johnson and Rob Lowe and Tom Hanks are going crazy because Shohei Ohtani right now is the face of the best team in baseball. The guy O'Neal, is that his name? Who has hit now home runs in six consecutive opening days. That's astonishing. I can't imagine that anyone will ever break that record, but maybe they'll break that record. And Ichiro coming out in full Seattle regalia and throwing up a fast. You could imagine him going back out to right field and just playing the entire game. Yes, but opening day is different for everybody, particularly if you've got a dog in the hunt. I'm a Washington Nationals fan. I was just devastated by what happened here. You have Mackenzie gore. He goes six, he gives up one hit, no runs, no walks and strikes out 13, leaves with a one nothing lead. They bring in five different relievers. This is their Achilles heel for years and years. Five different relievers. And it's over four innings because they blew the lead. And they had to go to a 10th inning. Those five relievers in four innings, Frank, they gave up seven hits. Worse than that, six walks. You cannot walk. The Reelers cannot walk people. It's not the way it works. And I mean, they add insult to injury when former Nats Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwaber hit home runs. And I mean, I went to bed angry. I did. It's the first game. Gore was so good, I went to bed angry.
- [11:39]
Frank Isola
Well, Juan Soto. Well, Juan Soto helped the Nationals win a World Series first game with the Mets. 15 year, $765 million contract. He comes up in the ninth inning after Josh Hader, speaking of relievers, loads the bases with none out. You got the runners at the corner and what happens? Throws him a slider on a 3, 2 pitch. Soto strikes out for the Mets. It could have been a storybook ending. And you mentioned, you know, those first pitches and Icho run. He looked terrific in his uniform. How about what the Dodgers did with the Tigers in town? They had Kurt Gibson, who led both those franchises to a World Series title. He, you want to talk about something emotional? Him coming out and throw it was really, really cool.
- [12:17]
Tony Kornheiser
Really, really very smart. Let's take a break. Coming up, is Auburn or Houston the one seed that's more likely to get upset tonight?
- [12:25]
Frank Isola
And which two seed is more vulnerable, Michigan State or Tennessee? Toss up. Coming up next.
- [12:33]
Tony Kornheiser
I love opening day. I mean, even when my team goes bad, I love opening day. Did you see the Dodgers in the Gold Dodgers, not the Blue Dodgers. Whoa.
- [12:43]
Narrator
In case you didn't know, these young men are driven. They are prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. Like Damian Lillard, for instance. He doesn't seek guidance or mentorship. He's a leader. He isn't waiting for the baton to be passed to him. He's taken it for himself. He's relentless in a pursuit of greatness, always pushing to one up himself. He is accomplished, but far from satisfied. He embodies what it means to have an unstoppable drive and are shaking up the status quo in their community and beyond. And Damian Lillard drives a Toyota. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here, and they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive.
- [13:18]
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- [13:55]
Tony Kornheiser
Time for toss up. Two men enter, one man leaves, finishes the show, eats, watches basketball, sleeps, watches basketball, golfs, watches basketball, naps, watches basketball. You get the idea, right? What's first?
- [14:08]
Frank Isola
Toss up. Which one seed is more likely to get upset tonight, Auburn or Houston?
- [14:14]
Tony Kornheiser
Houston has an unfortunate draw with Purdue. Not that Purdue is that good, but the game is in Indianapolis, so Houston is not going to get any chance to be in a neutral site situation. But Houston's really good. They win all the time. They're 324 and they have the best defense in the country. So I'm not going to say that they are in a lot of trouble. This leaves me with Auburn and Michigan. And Auburn is the overall number one in the entire bracket. But they did lose three games late. And Michigan is big. They got two seven footers. They went through the Big Ten tournament. They beat three ranked teams in a row. So they're not going to be afraid of Auburn. So if I had to pick, I would say Auburn is more vulnerable.
- [15:02]
Frank Isola
Yeah, you know what? I'm going to go with what you said because Purdue is playing what is about 70 miles from the campus there. And if you look at Purdue, they've had a lot of heartache during the tournament. They lost to St. Peter's a few years back. Then as the number one seed, they lost to FDU. The good news is Houston is not based in New Jersey, so they only lose to New Jersey schools. But Houston is a terrific defensive team. They forced a lot of turnovers and no one's given Purdue a chance for this reason. They've only beaten High Point, no offense and McNeese. So maybe we could use a little drama in this tournament. The fact that Purdue is playing so close to home. I understand Kelvin Sampson's team is great, and defensively they're really good. But I think Purdue could be a team that could win.
- [15:45]
Tony Kornheiser
No, Zach Edy. Can they win without Zach Edy? We saw Zack Edy play there for 12 years. Right?
- [15:51]
Frank Isola
I know. Braden Smith, the point guard, turns the ball over too much. That's what I'm worried about, too.
- [16:00]
Tony Kornheiser
What's next?
- [16:00]
Frank Isola
Toss up. Which two seed is more vulnerable tonight, Michigan State or Tennessee?
- [16:06]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, so we are still technically in the month of March, I believe. And the month of March belongs to Tom Izzo. I just, I don't I don't think that they're in any particular trouble. Ole Miss, if I'm not mistaken, is a six seed and shoots a lot of threes. Can they hit as many threes as Alabama? No, of course they can't because nobody's ever done that in a tournament game what Alabama did. So I don't think Michigan State is vulnerable. Which puts me in the situation with Tennessee playing an SEC conference rival, Kentucky. They have played twice already this year and Kentucky won both those games. It's really hard to win three in a row. Georgetown did it years back against St. John's but couldn't do it against Villanova and didn't win the national championship. Even with all that, I think. I think the more vulnerable team here is going to be Tennessee.
- [17:03]
Frank Isola
All right, so you mentioned Tom Izzo and Michigan State is great at defending the three and Ole Miss nearly made half of their threes in the first two rounds. But for Ole Miss, let's remember, and you know, seven teams from the SEC made it to the Sweet 16. Here are the teams that Ole Miss has beaten this year. Byu, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. It is a battle tested team. And Chris Beard, yes, he's bounced around a little bit, but Chris Beard is an outstanding coach. And speaking of coach, I'm so happy for Mark Pope, the job that he's done at Kentucky. I don't know if everyone expected it this year to happen this quickly, but I don't know. Beating Tennessee, winning three times, not going to be easy. Not going to be easy.
- [17:45]
Tony Kornheiser
How do you think it went in the coach's room at Kentucky when they saw Calipari's team blow a 13 point lead with four and a half to go?
- [17:54]
Frank Isola
Huh?
- [17:54]
Tony Kornheiser
How do you think? That's it. Let's take one last break. Still to come, the wizards give up.
- [18:00]
Frank Isola
162 and Deion gets a new deal from Colorado. Too much, not enough or just right?
- [18:09]
Tony Kornheiser
Wizards are trying to lose. Trying to tank. They will not win another game this season.
- [18:18]
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- [18:28]
Tony Kornheiser
Dad, please.
- [18:30]
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Or when you realize that maybe you went too hard on the Greige.
- [18:34]
Frank Isola
I miss color.
- [18:35]
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- [18:40]
Frank Isola
What about a home office?
- [18:42]
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- [18:49]
Brad Milke
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 going to make it happen. Every week I'm going to 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 for 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.
- [19:34]
Tony Kornheiser
Happy time people. Happy 31st birthday on Sunday. Alex Bregman Bregman made big news a month and a half ago when he signed a three year deal with the Red Sox. What made bigger news was incumbent third baseman Rafael Devers publicly insisting he wanted to stay at third despite the fact that Devers isn't a good fielder and Bregman is the incumbent Gold Glove third baseman in the American League. Everyone wondered what Red Sox manager Alex Cora would do. Keep Devers at third and move Bregman to second, put Bregman at third and put Devers at DH to make room for rookie Christian Campbell at second. Well, in yesterday's opener, Bregman was at third, Campbell at second and Devers at dh, and Cora says that's how it's going to stay.
- [20:17]
Frank Isola
It's amazing. It seems like Bregman's been around a long time. He's only 31. He's already been a positive influence in that Boston clubhouse. And I understand everything with Houston, how people didn't like the sign stealing. But how can you not like Bregman and Altuve? What a lethal combination they were for the Houston Astros. Too bad it broke up Happy double.
- [20:36]
Tony Kornheiser
Anniversary, Michael Jordan on this day 35 years ago, Jordan continued his interdivision dominance of the Cleveland Cavaliers with a career high 69 points in Cleveland, not to mention 18 rebounds. After knocking out the Cavaliers in the previous two postseason, including that famous shot over Craig Ehlo, Jordan followed up a 54 point performance against Cleveland earlier in the season with this one his career high. Then five years later, just five games into his post retirement comeback, Jordan scored 55 against the Knicks, which was at that time a record for an opponent in the 34th Street Madison Square Garden until Kobe Bryant scored 61 there 14 years later. By the way, Wilt went for 55 plus seven times, including a 73 in the Old fiftieth Street, Madison Square Garden.
- [21:28]
Frank Isola
Michael Jordan is out for a year and a half. Nine games into his return, he puts a 55 at the Garden. And the brilliance of him is on the final play, he sets up Bill Wennington for a dunk. I was not at that game. I was at the Kobe Bryant game. However, that was pretty spectacular as well.
- [21:44]
Tony Kornheiser
To me, as a native New Yorker, I understand they moved the garden, you know, 16 blocks. But it's Madison Square Garden. You can't have these rules. You know, it's the whole thing. It's the history. Happy trails to last night's game for the Wizards. The worst team in the east lost to the pacers last night, 162 to 109. 162 was a pacers record for most points ever scored in the game. Game and 53 points is a Wizards record for the largest margin of defeat. My own theory is that the Wizards were so bothered by beating the nearly as lousy Sixers the night before that they had to do something big to get back into tanking mode. So Chris Middleton only played 14 minutes. It's a terrible look for the NBA, Frank, and they should investigate this.
- [22:30]
Frank Isola
One other stat I like from this game, A.J. johnson played 27 minutes, A minus, 41 minus. But you're right about the NBA. They have this problem in March where even the playoff teams have guys sitting out and then these teams that are trying to lose. How are you going to put a product like that on the court? It's the one league where, you know, they incentivize losing. And this is a major problem. You have month. The month of March for the NBA is not good. Sorry, it's just not good.
- [22:55]
Tony Kornheiser
Basketball, it used to be bad before the gambling became partners with the league. And now that the league sanctions the gambling and you're not putting an honest product out on the right. Not every game, just certain games where people are trying to tank. Let's go to the finish if we could. Steve Kerr says he's optimistic that Steph Curry will return against the Pelicans tonight. Is that significant?
- [23:18]
Frank Isola
They need him to see how poorly they played the other night. He's been out with that pelvic contusion. They'll need him. They've had a couple of days off, but remember, they've been in Miami for about six days before they went to New Orleans. Keep that in mind. These Leon in Colorado agreed on a five year, 54 million dollar deal that makes him the fourth highest paid coach in college football. Okay, Bayou.
- [23:38]
Tony Kornheiser
He turned the team around quickly. He's gotten tremendous amounts of publicity, but he's now losing his son and quarterback Shador and the Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. So we'll see. Sidney Crosby tallied a goal last night to assure himself of scoring a point per game for the 20th season of row. That seems like a big deal.
- [23:56]
Frank Isola
It really is. And it gets even better. Guess whose record he broke? Wayne Gretzky. Anytime you do that, it's a big deal. Scottie shepler has gone 6762 in the first two rounds of the Houston Open. Are you impressed?
- [24:10]
Tony Kornheiser
Come on. 67, 62. Come on. Last one. Brad Marchand will make his Panthers debut tonight. Is that a big deal?
- [24:17]
Frank Isola
It's hard to believe he hasn't played yet for Florida. He's been out with what. What they like to say in hockey, upper body injury. So it is a big one.
- [24:25]
Tony Kornheiser
We are out of time. We will try to do better the next time. And I'm Tony Korenheiser.
- [24:29]
Frank Isola
And I'm Frank Isola. Thanks for watching.
- [24:32]
Narrator
In case you didn't know, these young men are driven. They are prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. Like Damian Lillard, for instance. He doesn't seek guidance or mentorship. He's a leader. He isn't waiting for the baton to be passed to him. He's taking it for himself. He's relentless in a pursuit of greatness, always pushing to one up himself. He is accomplished, but far from satisfied. He embodies what it means to have an unstoppable drive and are shaking up the status quo in their community and beyond. And Damian Lillard drives a Toyota. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here. And they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive.
- [25:07]
Brian Buckmire
Rapper Sean Diddy Combs was a king maker. He had wealth, fame and power.
- [25:13]
Tony Kornheiser
What's up?
- [25:13]
Frank Isola
Welcome to New York.
- [25:15]
Brian Buckmire
Until it all came crashing down.
- [25:17]
Brad Milke
Federal investigators raiding two homes owned by hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs.
- [25:22]
Brian Buckmire
I'm Brian Buckmire, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall. And what could be next? Listen to Bad Rap, the Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.