How MONUMENTAL was the USA's Win in Hockey?

Summary

PTI Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: How MONUMENTAL was the USA's Win in Hockey?
Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon (ESPN)
Date: February 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the USA's dramatic gold medal win over Canada in the Olympic men's hockey final—an instant classic that marks a generational achievement for American hockey. Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon break down the game, its legacy, the American stars who shone across the Winter Olympics, and dive into the latest in college basketball and NBA MVP races. The discussion is lively, nostalgic, and packed with insights on the magnitude of recent sports moments.

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Main Topics & Discussion Breakdown

1. USA’s Monumental Olympic Hockey Win

(00:26–05:11)

• Match Details:

  • USA defeated Canada 2-1 in a dramatic overtime.
  • The winning goal: Jack Hughes scored 1:41 into 3-on-3 OT.
  • USA's goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves; Canada’s Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots.

• Game Analysis:

  • Wilbon:
    • Raves about the quality and sustained intensity, particularly the third period:

      “The most sustained great period of hockey that I've ever seen. … the level of play was astounding.” (01:37)

    • Says the skill, athleticism, goaltending, and drama surpassed even high-level NHL and previous Olympic play.
    • Praises Hellebuyck’s pivotal performance, noting the game could have swung dramatically without his heroics.
  • Kornheiser:
    • Not traditionally a “hockey guy,” he was transfixed throughout and praised the caliber of goaltending:

      "It was as great a game as you could ever hope for." (02:59)

    • Notes the historical significance: first “best-on-best” USA-Canada win in 30 years.
    • Shareable moment: Jack Hughes’ “smile of joy reveals all the teeth got knocked out about three minutes earlier!” (03:39)

• Format Quibble:

  • Tony: Slightly laments ending with 3-on-3, would prefer longer 5-on-5 overtime, echoing Canadian coach:

    "When you take four players off the ice, hockey is not hockey anymore." (04:26)

  • Wilbon: Defends 3-on-3 as “breathtaking,” vastly preferable to a shootout, and fair since Canada also benefited from 3-on-3 earlier.

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2. Reflecting on the Winter Olympics

(05:11–08:39)

• American Highlights:

  • Alyssa Liu breaks 24-year U.S. gold drought in women’s figure skating.
  • Ilya Malinin’s team gold but disappointing men’s singles.
  • Lindsey Vonn’s career-ending injury, Michaela Shiffrin’s comeback.
  • Gold medals in men’s and women’s hockey, bobsled (Elana Meyers Taylor), and speed skating.

• Tony's Perspective:

  • Admits initial disappointment from early flops (Vonn’s injury, Malinin, Shiffrin's early failures, Kim’s silver).

    “There was a certain deflation for me early that made it hard for me to embrace what happened the rest of the way.” (07:17)

  • Second week victories, especially Shiffrin and Liu’s golds, brought redemption and excitement.

• Wilbon's Perspective:

  • Misses being at the Olympics, where you’re immersed in international stories and energy, not just American narratives.
    • Empathizes with Vonn and stresses athlete safety over results:

      "I'm just glad that it sounds like she's gonna be okay. That's what I leave these games hoping for." (08:39)

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3. College Basketball: Who’s #1?

(08:39–12:25)

• Major Weekend Results:

  • #3 Duke beats #1 Michigan.
  • #4 Arizona beats #2 Houston.
  • Other top-10 teams (Iowa State, Kansas) lose, mixing up rankings.

• Seed Projections:

  • Wilbon:
    • Top four: Duke, Michigan, Arizona, Houston.
    • Special attention on quality players—prepping for March Madness.

    “Duke would be my top seed.” (09:34)

  • Kornheiser:
    • Also puts Duke as #1, then Arizona, Michigan.
    • Highlights Arizona’s stacked resume: “Arizona beat Houston in Houston… Florida, UConn, Alabama, and BYU.” (11:32)
    • Building excitement for the tournament:

      “I’m getting very anxious for March and for the tournament because... we’ve had really good teams play really good teams...” (12:25)

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4. NBA MVP Race & Jaylen Brown Debate

(12:40–19:13)

• LeBron’s Comments:

  • Questions why Jaylen Brown is overlooked for MVP.

• Wilbon:

  • Agrees with LeBron; has Brown ranked no lower than 3rd, possibly 2nd.
  • His top 4: Cade Cunningham (“probably #1”), Jaylen Brown, Nikola Jokic, Wembanyama.

    “Jaylen Brown could be second, third, or fourth. So I wouldn’t have him as low as sixth, like apparently is the case now in some of these straw polls.” (17:00)

• Kornheiser:

  • Strongly agrees—Brown and Cunningham are his clear MVP frontrunners.

    “Cade Cunningham is the best player on the team with the best record in the NBA. Jaylen Brown is the best player on the most surprising team in the NBA... Jaylen Brown has stepped up.” (17:51)

  • Dismisses Luka Doncic as a top choice:

    “Don’t mention Luka. No, no, no. Luka doesn’t even get… No. Luka’s not first team All-NBA.” (18:46)

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5. Mail Time & Notable Moments

(14:39–15:42; 21:36–25:39)

• Golf:

  • Discussion about Jacob Bridgman’s win at Riviera after being criticized for slow play at Pebble Beach. Insights on nerves and athletic appeal:

    “He said, ‘I couldn’t even feel my hands.’ Yeah, that's nervous.” (15:42)

• Happy Time (Sports Anniversaries/Celebrations):

  • Ed "Too Tall" Jones’ 75th birthday—Cowboys legend.
  • 30th anniversary of Rex Chapman’s historic game against the Bulls.

    “The Bulls treated the trip to Miami like a mini vacation. They were out all night... but we got them that one night. They’d be 73 and 9 if not for us.” – Chapman via Rich Eisen, quoted at (23:19)

  • Dylan Brooks' injury and the Suns’ prospects during his absence.

• Lightning Round/Big Finish:

  • Kevin Durant plans to play 2028 Olympics.
  • Pat Riley’s statue at Lakers arena.
  • Messi and Inter Miami's MLS opener loss.
  • Artie Moreno (Angels) dismisses winning as a fan priority—both hosts disagree:

    “Sell the team to someone who wants to win.” – Kornheiser (25:17)

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6. Memorable Quotes

• Wilbon:

  “The level of play was astounding. … The third period alone was just the most sustained great period of hockey that I've ever seen.” (01:37)

• Kornheiser:

  “It was as great a game as you could ever hope for. ... The goaltending, as you said, carried the entire game.” (02:59)

• Kornheiser (on Jack Hughes):

  “His smile of joy reveals all the teeth. Got knocked out about three minutes earlier in the game.” (03:39)

• Wilbon (on Lindsey Vonn):

  “I’m just glad that it sounds like she’s gonna be okay. That’s what I leave these games hoping for.” (08:39)

• Kornheiser (on MVP voting):

  “Jaylen Brown is either 1 or 2 for me, and Cunningham is Tony.” (17:51)

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Noteworthy Segments and Timestamps

• Start of Hockey Gold Discussion: 00:26–05:11
• Olympics Recap: 05:11–08:39
• College Basketball Weekend Results: 08:39–12:25
• NBA MVP/Jaylen Brown debate: 12:40–19:13
• Happy Time anniversaries (Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Rex Chapman, Dylan Brooks news): 21:36–24:28
• Lightning Round/Big Finish: 24:28–25:25

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, playful, and passionate sports analysis with friendly banter and nostalgia.
• Frequent first-hand recollections (“as you know”; “when you and I were at the Olympics”).
• Honest, sometimes blunt takes on both legendary moments and sporting controversies.
• Signature blend of stats, quips, and storytelling central to PTI’s style.

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Summary

This PTI episode is a vibrant celebration and critical analysis of one of the greatest moments in US Olympic hockey, nested within a larger discussion of recent athletic highs and lows—from Winter Olympic heroics to the shifting sands of March Madness favorites and the evolving NBA MVP conversation. With trademark wit and depth, Kornheiser and Wilbon make a compelling case for the enduring power of sports to surprise, inspire, and stir debate.

Transcript

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[Mike Wilbon]

pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. What a gold medal game between the United States and yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony I'm Tony Kornheiser. What better place to spotlight it than ESPN2, huh?

[Mike Wilbon]

Wasn't hockey one of the the NHL one of the early things regularly on The Deuce, like 45 years ago? Wasn't that a thing?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. I just know that we're on ESPN too, so that people can hit golf balls into a bed sheet, which I like and you don't. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, the Winter Olympics conclud tops Michigan and LeBron has some thoughts on MVP. But we begin today one last time with the Winter Olympics and the gold medal hockey game yesterday in which the United States beat Canada 2 to 1 on a 3 on 3 goal by Jack Hughes. One minute and 41 seconds into the overtime, the U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuk turned away 41 shots in an outstanding performance and Canada's Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots for Canada. Canada. The United States were expected to make the final and they did. Wilbon, how did you like the game and the outcome?

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony I'll hit the outcome first because that's what everybody's focused on. Even if people didn't watch the game and you had to wake up pretty early to do so on a Sunday morning, it was almost anti climactic. As spectacular as it was, you know, and as wanted as it was for the United States of America and the people who follow the team, the game was unbelievable. I thought the third period alone was just sort of the most sustained great period of hockey that I've ever seen. And so I'm comparing it to yes, periods in game Sevens in game sixes for the Stanley cup final. That's mostly what I'm comparing it to. I've seen some Olympic hockey in person. This surpassed that and I thought that was great. So the level of play was astounding. The action, the end to end rushes were amazing and the goaltenders like you talked about. It's just the score it seems, could have been like 61 Canada given all of the saves made and just for the United States. So just by Hellebuck. So the goaltending alone is a story and it's just, it's wow. I don't know how you get a better gold medal game and a better period of play than we got yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me just say that in the east coast the game started at 8:15, which is not a hardship to get up on a Sunday morning at 8:15. You're a couple of time zones away, I'm sure. I watched every second of the game and I'm not a hockey guy. It was as great a game as you could ever hope for. It seemed to me the goals were fabulous and there weren't too many of them. And that's important because the goaltending was terrific. The goaltending, as you said, carried the entire game. I felt it's odd because when I think of NHL goalies, I first think of Russian goalies, but they of course were not there. I held my breath throughout every power play. I didn't think the United States could get through the four minute power play against them in the third period. And it turned out that in Canada committed a penalty as well, so they didn't have to get through all of that. I felt that the goal, the winning goal was right out of a textbook. It was fabulous. Now it's not a ruzioni. It's not, but it's in the environs, as we like to say. Here's this kid, his parents are there, his brother is on the team, and his smile of joy reveals all the teeth. Got knocked out about three minutes earlier in the game. I mean, it was tremendous, right? And it's a great win for the United States because it's first time in 30 years that best on best between Canada, the United States, that the United States won. My small quibble mic is with three on three, it's a very small quibble.

[Mike Wilbon]

You don't like it much.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If I ran the world, if I. No, I loved it. But if I ran the world, I'd have gone 15 or 20 minutes of 5 on 5 to get the 3 on 3. I wouldn't have gone 3 on 3. Just as an expedience to end the game. I found myself agreeing with the Canadian coach who said, well, when you take four players off the ice, hockey is not hockey anymore. But it's a small quibble. I am totally satisfied by that experience.

[Mike Wilbon]

It was great. I don't even have that quibble tone because I think the 3 on 3 is a lot closer to 5 on 5 than penalty shots than shootout. And I know that's not the way it's decided, but three on three, I mean, wow. We saw in Canada benefited to get there from a three on three goal in overtime. So I, you know, they better.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, okay.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah. The game before, so I don't want to. I, I'm with you. I can see a small quibble. I don't even have that because I find it breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking, the whole thing. So let's zoom out to look at these Winter Games as a whole. Alyssa liu ended a 24 year gold medal drought in women's figure skating for the United States. Ilya Malinin, the quad God, one team gold, but fell apart in men's singles, placed eighth. A gruesome injury ended Lindsey Von's odds defying Olympic run. Michaela Shiffrin hurdled her mental block and skied the goal in her final race. So these are just a few of the biggest stories. American stories. Tony, how are you going to remember the Games?

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. You and I have been to Winter Olympics. We know what they're about. I don't want to sound like a downer because I really like the Winter Olympics. But for me, early on, all of those disappointments took a toll on me. Let's start with Lindsey Vonn. That was the first one. She has that terrible crash, the quad. God, as you said, he falls twice, he doesn't get onto the podium. Michaela Schiff in her first two races is way out of the money. She's not even close to the podium. Chloe Kim, silver instead of gold. And so this builds up in me now I understand it got better second week. Mikayla Shifrin had the most dominating slalom race to anybody's memory. The most dominating, as you said. Alyssa Liu, she wins for the first time in that event since Sara Hughes in 2002. Men's and women's hockey win gold in overtime against a big rival. Against the number one rival, Canada. So it begins to balance out. But I, I have to say there was a certain deflation for me early that made it hard for me to embrace what happened the rest of the way. Elena Myers, right? Is that her name? I believe that's her name. She won in the bobsled in American and Stoltz won a couple of speed skating races. But I had more negatives than positives. I did, yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

A couple of reactions. One, I love being at the Olympics, Tony. As you know, it's different. You consume them differently. I don't just consume American news when I'm at The Olympics, Yep. I get to see up close and identify international athletes that I would not if I was sitting in my house in front of a television, which is how I consume them now. So that is always missing. And I'm just not into the only American stories. It's not exclusively the American Olympics to me. I cannot get away, particularly with this latest post from Lindsey Vonn. The fall, which could have been, I mean it was, it was devastating as it was athletically, competitively. It could have been worse than that. It could have been tragic. And she is posted. And so I hear that going into these Games, Lindsey Vonn, because we've known her from so many Olympic games and world championships and her public People magazine sort of life in the United States of America, maybe worldwide, we know her and in my case I've met her once. I was going to root for her and she's not in, she's not in very long. And now we get this updated account and I'm just like, whoa, whoa, I need to move to something else here because I'm just glad that it sounds like she's gonna be okay. That's what I leave these games hoping for.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me make a correction. It's Elena Myers Taylor who won in the bobsled event. And I will just say briefly, I know you don't watch the figure skating. I love the pairs figure skating. Love it, love to watch it. Thought we got completely hosed in the, in the ice dancing. And I'll just, and I like most of it. Although it's made up events. I mean curling is not made up. It's probably still going on. Cross country skiing, probably still going on like the original move to college basketball and the terrific games that went on over the weekend among high ranking teams. Number three Duke beat number one Michigan Saturday evening in Washington D.C. number four Arizona beat number two Houston. In Houston, number six Iowa State lost at number 23 BYU and number eight Kansas lost at home by 16 to unranked Cincinnati. That is the most lopsided home loss to an unranked team In Bill Self's 23 years in Lawrence, Kansas. Wilburn, after all that, who would you make the number one seed right now?

[Mike Wilbon]

Duke. I'd make Duke the overall number one over in Michigan the next number one. If I'm ranking them 1, 2, 3, 4, I'd go Duke, Michigan. And then there are arguments other way. You know, I think the apartment put Arizona third. I, I, I'm fine with that. So Arizona and Houston would be in that mix. Right? So that, that would be but, but one and two. My, my top number one seeds would be Duke and Michigan. That game was incredible, Tony and I found myself looking at that game more for the individual players. Because we're going to get to March, we have plenty of time for that. I wanted to see the players. We talked to Jay Bilis a few days ago about how many players. He mentioned 20 and I certainly agree just watching all weekend long, not just those games Saturday afternoon, but AJ Debaska on Saturday night. I believe it was for byu. There's a whole slew of players out there. Cincinnati's got a kid, there's a slew of players and I wanted to individually identify them. So when we get to March I think. I hope I know what I'm seeing. But to answer your question, Duke would be my top seed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. If there are 20 then you don't have to tank. And if there are 20 you can just flatten all the odds for the teams that are in the lottery. If there are 20, maybe there are 20. I too would put Duke number one. Cuz it's very impressive that they beat Michigan on neutral court. Cuz Michigan was the number one team. You know, Duke's got a couple of losses, but one of them I believe is to Iowa State who I think beat Arizona at Arizona at some point. Is that in my notes? Yeah. And then they also lost to a blood rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill. So they're one. I would differ with you. I would have Arizona too. I think the AP has Arizona too. Cuz Arizona beat Houston and Houston. Here's who else Arizona has beaten this year already, Mike. Florida, UConn, Alabama and BYU. And that's very great resume.

[Mike Wilbon]

Great resume.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I would slide Michigan in there right at three and I would acknowledge that Michigan had a incredibly difficult back to back Purdue and Duke, you know, coming out one and one on that is not bad at all. So that, that would be my top three. I will say this, that I'm getting very anxious for March and for the tournament because in the last couple of weeks we have had really good teams, play really good teams all the time. We've been able to see this. It's going to continue like that. And there are teams I haven't really dwelt on, like UConn for example. And St. John's has won 13 in a row. Florida, you know, I think believe the defending champion. So with football out of the way in the Olympics out of the way, I got to have something to watch. So why not watch this? You got Houston, Kansas.

[Mike Wilbon]

You got Houston, Kansas tonight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

In case you're not interested in pistol spurs. You got that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think Arizona. I think Arizona gets Iowa State and Kansas at home in the next couple of weeks. The guy who backed up the tournament at pebble beach and he backed backed it up by waiting to take a shot. He wins at Riviera Richmond and is

[Mike Wilbon]

LeBron right that Jaylen Brown is being overlooked as an MVP candidate. There's good ball. There's good ball tonight. No let up. Two good games tonight.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's find out what's bumping with the bottom feeders in mail time. I'm gonna get the first one. I'm gonna go to the glasses here. Okay, here we go. How are you feeling about the golfer you criticized for taking so long last week at pebble winning this week at Riviera?

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony? The drama made it just fine, as you know. The drama trying to sink a putt and not look like you and me on a Sunday afternoon playing for money. When you, when you wind up admitting your hands, you couldn't even feel your hands. Not your hands were shaking, you couldn't feel them. That's, that's.

[Dr. Kelly Victory]

Wow.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's an admission. I love that. That's, that makes it more appealing to me. I want to hear you, by the way, because even though I was annoyed by standing on the beach for like 40 minutes, he made you crazy because he did that a week ago. But to me, Tony, he's more appealing as an athlete. When you have that kind of thing happen to you before you've won, before you've conquered the big stage and you admit it. Loved it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I tip my hat to Jacob Bridgman, who I always refer to as Junior Bridgman for obvious reasons. I knew he was not going to have his feet in the Pacific Ocean trying to hit the ball over the rocks out of the sand like he had at pebble at Riviera. You can see it but you're not anywhere near it, you know, and what seemed to take hours and hours and hours, but he went wire to wire at Riviera. He had a six shot lead going into the final round on Sunday and nobody was really pressing him. Kitayama and McElroy certainly Kitayama missed makeable birdie putts and I thought McElroy missed makeable birdie putts. The pressure was all internal. Bridgman backed up, he backed up his last 11 holes. He had 10 pars in a bogey. But then Mike, as we've talked about, he hit that great second shot on 18. It's a great shot. And then his putt, you heard in the booth, they said, oh no, it was like almost 5ft short. But he made good for him. He made the whole thing. And as you said, he said, I couldn't even feel my hands. Yeah, that's nervous. That's nervous. So best one, here we go. Is LeBron. I need glasses. Is LeBron right that Jaylen Brown is being overlooked in the MVP conversation?

[Mike Wilbon]

I think so, Tony. Not wildly overlooked. Somebody asked LeBron about this yesterday. The Celtics sort of, you know, gave the Lakers a smackdown in la. I, if I, and I do vote and I'm not, I don't even have a, like a ballot in my head yet. But I'll put one in there now and I probably would go Cade Cunningham 1. Jaylen Brown would be no lower than third because I got Wembanyama in some somewhere in there. Probably fourth for win by Yama and Nikola Jokic might be second. So those Four guys would be in the mix and Jaylen Brown could be second, third, or fourth. So I wouldn't have him as low as sixth, like apparently is the case now in some of these straw polls. So I'm with LeBron, two way player you've mentioned early on. Kudos to you. The Celtics look great because of Jaylen Brown and they do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. That's right. Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know who LeBron is listening to. I don't know what LeBron is seeing, but I don't know how you can have a ballot and not have Kate Cunningham and Jaylen Brown actually at the top of it. I mean, what are you watching? Cade Cunningham is the best player on the team with the best record in the NBA. Jaylen Brown is the best player on the most surprising team in the NBA. A team without its best player, without Jayson Tatum. They're up there. They're elevated because of Jaylen Brown. I know you slurp wembanyama all the time, but I don't believe Wembanyama is more valuable this year than Jaylen Brown. Jaylen Brown, he has stepped up. I mean, what. Look, when you talk about Gilgis, Alexander and Jokic and Luka, they are doing what they're supposed to do. We know. Who says that supposed to do. This guy is exceeding expectations. Jaylen Brown, I'm. Jaylen Brown is either 1 or 2 for me, and Cunningham is Tony.

[Mike Wilbon]

I said 1, 2, or 3. So it's not like we're in massive disagreement there. No, Jalen Brown's having a hell of it. And by the way, don't mention Luca. No, no, no. Luka doesn't even get. No. Luka's not first team. All NBA. I don't care about 32 points a game. The Lakers are like the 12th out of all the playoff teams, and I guess there's going to be 16 of them. The Lakers are no higher than 12th. He's playing with LeBron. He's playing with Austin Reaves. No, no, no. Don't want to hear it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Enough email. Let's take one last break. Still to come, Angels owner Audie Moreno wonders how much fans care about winning. Well, if you put a winning product out there, they'd show you.

[Mike Wilbon]

Been a while since they've done that. And who has the edge when the spurs with Wembanyama, who Tony doesn't like yet, face the Pistons tonight?

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[Dr. Kelly Victory]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

happy time people. Happy 75th birthday Ed. 2. Tall Jones history lesson Kids, back in the days when the Dallas Cowboys were legitimately good and not part of the endless morning show hype machine, Too Tall Jones was one of their true stars. He was the first overall draft pick in 1974 out of Tennessee State. A perfect pick for a defensive minded coach like Tom Landry. Jones was a star defensive end for 15 years in Dallas and anchored the defensive line on the Cowboys Super Bowl 12 championship team that beat Denver Jones was six' nine, got his nickname in college because his football pants didn't fit and his teammate said he was, quote, too tall to play football.

[Mike Wilbon]

Two tall Jones and Randy White on that defensive line. Tony hall of Famers. How you block that? How you block that? I mean, I don't. You know, there's a lot of terrific edge rushers and all of that, but them two dudes on one defensive line, I remember now. I was pretty young in the business. Not even a teenager. Don't want to block them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy anniversary, Rex Chapman. On this day 30 years ago, while with the Heat, Chapman dropped 39 points on the visiting Chicago Bulls, including 9 of 10 from 3 point range to lead an undermanned Miami team with only eight eligible players to an upset over the Bulls team that ended up 7210 in NBA champions. Chapman's 39 was the boast against the Bulls all season. Chapman later told Rich Eisen, quote, the Bulls treated the trip to Miami like a mini vacation. They were out all night long in South Beach. I know because I was with them part of the night. They swept us out of the playoffs in three games like we were a JV team. But we got them that one night. They'd be 73 and 9 if not for us.

[Mike Wilbon]

There was one more surprising loss the Bulls had that year. Toronto, which was 17 and 49, beat the Bulls, who at the time were 67 in that record setting year. But Rex Chapman, Tony, if he was coming along now with his ability to shoot and shoot it from deep. Rex was born too early, as our friend Charles Barkley likes to say. I mean, Rex would be an even bigger star now if he was, say, 22 years old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy trails. Dylan Brooks, the Sun's forward, broke his left hand Saturday night against the Magic and will be out four to six weeks. Brooks is known for his defense and his many technical fouls, but this year he's up the scoring average by nearly seven points to 21 a game. His play was one of the catalysts for the sun's surprising rise in the standings at 33:25, seventh in the west under first year head coach Jordan Ott. But with Brooks out and Devin Booker sidelined at least a week with a hip strain, Suns could be setting.

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony Brooks has probably been the MVP of that team. Who saw that coming. But now to sort of hold the fort while he's out that long. You're right, it seems very unlikely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One correction. Duke lost to Texas Tech, not Iowa State. That's my bad. Let's go to the big finish quickly.

[Mike Wilbon]

Let's do it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kevin Durant plans on playing in the 2028 Summer Games in LA. Are you surprised?

[Mike Wilbon]

No, no, no. Kevin Durant likes to play every day. If you let him, you might see him on a playground near your kid's school. He likes to play. Pat Riley got a bronze statue outside the Lakers arena. That makes sense to you, doesn't it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you ever hear a three peat? That's Riles. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami lost their MLS opener to LAFC. You disappointed?

[Mike Wilbon]

No, no, no. Magic's team, 75,000 plus fans at the LA Coliseum, second biggest crowd in league history. Tone Angels owner Artie Moreno said fans want affordability and security and winning isn't in their top five. You agree with that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sell the team. Sell the team to someone who wants to win. Sell it. Last one. Spurs and Pistons tonight. Who you got?

[Mike Wilbon]

Pistons have won five straight. Spurs have won eight straight. I'm just going home court advantage with the Pistons tomorrow. We're out of time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You see this flag? It's for the victory in the hockey game.

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm Mike Wilbon. We're on the deuce again tomorrow, Knuckleheads. You can get the podcast or app or Apple podcast. Goodbye.

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