C (2:34)

8,000Ft.

B (2:34)

That can be. It can threaten the opposition. I know professional athletes will say they're not intimidated. Bs. They can be intimidated. And Schwaber's capable. Now, I think the Dodgers will bounce back, but I think both or either of these series, it wouldn't be. It wouldn't surprise me to see either one go to five. And I don't think it would surprise you either.

C (2:57)

Well, I mean, my first inclination here is to say that neither of these teams has a good chance. But on reflection, looking at what Schwarber did last night, looking at the explosion of the Philadelphia bats last night, and as you know, I respect that team a lot. So I would lean a little bit to the Phillies. They have a starting pitcher tonight who I. I think is a really good. Chris Sanchez is out there tonight. And let me get his numbers 13. Sanchez pitch here with a 2.50 ERA. Now glass now is going for the Dodgers. He's been hurt for much of the year and his postseason numbers are terrible. Mike. 5, 51 ERA and 2. 6 RECORD. And then it's possible that the top of the Phillies order comes out of this deep sleep that they were in when they were 2 for 21 the first two games. Because you had Schwarber with two home runs. You had Trey Turner, I think he had three hits and drove into seven for 20. And Bryce Harper had two hits and a war, two hits in a walk. They are probably as good as the top of the Dodgers order when they're, you know, all things being equal with Ohtani and. And Betts and Freeman. So I kind of sort of think they have a chance. I just want to mention one thing quickly. I got very excited when I found out that Clayton Kershaw was going to pitch last night, work in the bullpen. I had no idea it would be that terrible. No idea.

B (4:16)

I think he should be starting tonight instead of Glass now. They should have turned that around. Kershaw should be starting tonight, not coming out of the bullpen last night.

C (4:25)

To me, Mike, I don't know if we're ever going to see him again. I don't know now if we're ever going to see him again. That was a bad inning. That was a bad ending.

B (4:32)

Well, the playoffs, these playoffs go move on without the Yankees, too. The Blue Jays eliminated the Yanks in last night's Game four as New York starter Cam Schlitler could not replicate the dominance he showed against the Red Sox in the wild card series. Tone, where does that outcome put each of these teams?

C (4:52)

Well, it puts Toronto in the alcs and I'll get to them in a second. I want to start with the Yankees and I want to talk about the notion that people want to fire Aaron Boone because his playoff record at the moment is 25 and 27. Aaron Boone started managing that team in 2018, and since he's been there, they have the third most wins in baseball. Right. I mean, my feeling is that Aaron Boone knows what he's doing. They got 94 wins this year, which is the same as Toronto. They get into the playoffs without their best pitcher, Gerrit Cole, throwing one pitch all year. They lose a sigh, young guy. They make the playoffs with 94 wins. Right? And then they beat the Red Sox in the wild card series. I know it's a disappointment that they did not beat Toronto, But I think 95% of Yankees fans, given the choice, would take 20 losses to Toronto to beat the Red Sox once they had a chance. Last night, they left 10 people on the sixth inning, the seventh inning, the eighth inning, the ninth inning. They had runners in scoring position. They only brought one in. I don't blame Aaron Boone for that. Me, Tony, I don't blame him for that.

B (5:54)

I'm with you right down the line. This is not 1927 where Ruth and Garrick get to play a regular season and advance straight to the World Series. Baseball decided to add nine layers of playoffs. And you're not going to win every year when you're playing teams that. That have the same or close to the same resources as you. They were in the World Series last year where they played a team with every bit the resources, the Dodgers, and they didn't win. Toronto is a big market, rich team with star players. Vlad Guerrero, Come on now. The Dodgers aren't some homecoming opponent. People are idiots. You're not. Get rid of Aaron Boone to bring in who. Who's gonna do what differently? That's silly.

C (6:44)

Let me just make this point. I saw three different friends of mine today who said to me with glee they were happy the Yankees were out because the Yankees spend so much money and Toronto doesn't. I said do not confuse Toronto with Tampa Bay, okay? That's right. The Yankees are the third payroll and Toronto is the fifth payroll. This is not the rich against the poor. It is not. Let's move to college football. And the sound of one shoe dropping for Bill Belichick. North Carolina and Belichick last night released a joint statement Pledging mutual commitment to the Carolina football program. And then the Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham said Belichick had, quote, the full support of the school. The team is two and three. And there was talk bubbling up that Belichick might be bought out. Wilbon, what does this statement of mutual commitment say to you?

B (7:29)

It doesn't say anything to me. I don't know what it means. People put out statements now, then a week later, somebody's going to social media. It's all just, you know, I'm gonna go to one of my favorite words, all junk. I just don't know what it is Bill Belichick wants to do. We're rarely let inside his real thoughts, like, is he embarrassed by this? Is this catching him totally by surprise? There were college football observers, close observers, who thought this was gonna be a failed experiment anyway. And so far it looks like they're right. Would Belichick walk away after a year? Suppose they turn it around and win four straight games at the end of the season and they get going. Can he build a program or is nil a transfer portal and $2 million freshman quarterbacks? Is that all beyond Bill Belichick? I don't know what it means, Tony. I'm fascinated. I refuse to so far assign it meaning.

C (8:30)

So last night I thought a lot about this cuz I was texting back and forth with a friend of mine who knows he's very conversant with the college scene in the state of North Carolina. And he said he had heard they were coming for him, the sharks were coming for him, get rid of him right now. And I wrote back and I said, if that were to happen, I think it would be awful. I think it would be a terrible stain on Bill Belichick's career. I think it would bleed into everything he had done in the NFL if that were to happen right now. And I said, and I think that that would be unfair. And I pointed out I'm not a fan of Belichick personally. You know, I'm not. But he and North Carolina got into this together. They ought to get out of this together. I don't think you just dump the guy right away like this. And I had also, I had previously talked to someone who really knew the North Carolina team well. And he said after they lost the tcu, he said, don't expect anything this year. They don't have any talent. You cannot judge Belichick for two years. And that was what people said about Deion going to Colorado. You just cannot make an immediate judgment. You can't do it. But Belichick's behavior, to be fair, recently has been, and I'm being charitable here, odd. It's been a little bit odd, right? I mean, you know the stuff with Kraft and the Patriots and, you know, and saying they're the 33rd NFL team. What are you, Come on, you getting crushed? Here's the scores. 133 in the three Power 4 groups. I was going to say Power 5, but the PAC 12 doesn't exist. Let's take a break. Coming up, why is the Ravens defense struggling so much? We're going to ask Booger McFarlane.

B (10:11)

We'll also ask him whether number one Ohio State or number three Oregon is either vulnerable this weekend.

C (10:19)

Either. Both.

B (10:20)

Tony, North Carolina doesn't know jack about football relative to basketball.

A (10:25)

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C (11:53)

You are watching Pardon the Interruption.

A (11:55)

Presented by Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea.

C (11:59)

Part of happy hour. Week six of the NFL kicks off tonight, which makes it a pretty perfect time for a visit from our great friend ESPN NFL and college football analyst Booger McFarland, wearing a golf shirt from Garden City Golf Club, my boyhood home of Long Island. Let's start with this. Tonight's Game Thursday night game, Eagles and Giants. What will you be watching for in this game, Booger?

D (12:27)

First thing I'm going to look at, I'm going to see what book A.J. brown's going to be reading. The second thing I'm going to see is what kind of glasses Big Dom has on. And then thirdly, how many times do they hand the football to Saquon Barkley? Like that's got to be the question. De jure. Understand this. The Philadelphia Eagles are running football team and for Saquon Barkley to carry the ball so few times last week, I think there has to be an answer for that. I think there was an overcorrection last week getting the football to the wide. Receivers. So this week I think there's going to be an overcorrection getting back to doing what they normally do and that's running the football with Saquon Barkley running the ball with Jalen Hurts. Let's see if we can get Jalen Carter a sack because he's been a disappointment so far. I want to see this team play a complete football game because if they don't, the New York Football Giants have a defensive line led by Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeau, sexy Dexie Lawrence. They can get after the Eagles up front if they don't play. And this game could be a fourth quarter game when I really think nobody across America thinks it's going to be.

B (13:27)

Let's talk about a team you had pegged early on. Booger to 1 in 4 Baltimore Ravens are playing host to the Rams this week. Their defense has been dreadful. You, you were on this week one. Are you surprised? Is this bad even though you saw it coming and what in the world can they do to change it?

D (13:48)

Yeah, I'm surprised it's this bad. Like John Harbaugh is a really good coach. I, I, I, I love Zach Orr, the defensive coordinator. I, I know what they're trying to do, but somewhere between the practice field and the game field, it's not getting done. And they try to go out and they try to fix it. They signed Jair Alexander, you know, to kind of COVID up the back end, but their past defense is the one that's really struggling. I just know this, I know there's a sign in that building. It says play like a Raven. And that sign has been there for a long time. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, all the guys that have come through there play like a Raven right now. I think it's a mentality because they're not playing like a Raven, like sometimes you can throw the X's and O's out the window. Hey, guys, I'm going to roll the ball out there. We got to roll our sleeves up and we got to go fight. I want to see some fight in this team, because if they don't fight, they're going to be one in five. And as our buddy John King on CNN says, hey, the math is not going to add up because at some point, if you're one in five, that's six games, you only got 11 left. And if the math don't add up for you getting into the postseason, then I'm afraid it may be late, very, very early for this team.

B (14:54)

Booker, let's move to college football, because I am completely, as a son of the Midwest, fired up for a couple of games this week. Number seven, Indiana. Out at number three, Oregon. And of course, number one, Ohio State, at number 17, Illinois. Two huge Big Ten games. Do you have Indiana or Illinois or both really being ready to score an upset Saturday afternoon?

D (15:22)

Well, definitely not even all the last time we saw him saw them in a big game, Indiana hung 63 on them. They probably could have put 80. But when it comes to Indiana, we know how we talk about Kirk Signetti. Hey, if you don't know who he is, as we always say, just Google him. He's got this quarterback named Fernando Mendoza. I think he's the best quarterback in America right now. And if the draft were to happen today and the team at the top needed a quarterback, he'd be the number one pick in the draft.

C (15:46)

And.

D (15:46)

And so anytime you take a quarterback like that on the road to Austin Stadium, you get an opportunity. And so for Indiana, I think there's a lot at stake. I think they can compete because the last couple of times we've seen them, Mike, on a big stage, think about this. We saw him against Ohio State last year. The game was not as close as the score was. We saw him against Notre Dame in the playoff. They didn't really match up. So this is the third time on a national stage we get to see Curtis Signetti in Indiana, see if they can compete with the big boys. I think they hang for a little while. I just don't know if they can pull the upset because I think Oregon is that physical and that fast. But I tell you what, I'm sure going to have fun watching this team because I know they're going to fight for the head coach because he demands.

C (16:26)

That we will get you out of here on this and we will stay with College football and The SEC now 8th ranked Alabama is at unbeaten and 14th ranked Missouri which at least has a great journalism program. Which way are you leaning in this one?

D (16:43)

Well, but if we were talking about journalism, I'd probably lean Northwestern over, over Mizzou, but that's me and Wilbur knows what he. Far as it pertains, as far as it pertains to this game, here's what I'll say. I don't really know what to expect out of Missouri. Like I don't think like Missouri really hasn't really been tested and drugging the deep end of the pool. They play South Carolina but I don't know if I'd put them up there with the upper echelon. But I do know this, they're undefeated and that gives them confidence going against Alabama. And they got the best running back in Hardy in the sec. They got this quarterback named Bo, Penn State transfer, he's a dual threat quarterback and I know this Eli Drink was a very good coach but it's amazing what's happened since week one. Everybody, everybody and their mother put, put dirt on Alabama. If they lost to Tallahassee, all they've done is come back, beat Georgia, they come back, they, they've beaten Vanderbilt. And I think right now Ty Simpson is playing as good as he's played his entire career. And so here's the thing about this game though, guys think about this. It's an 11am start, not noon but 11am so imagine eating bacon and eggs for a pregame meal. That's a little different, trust me, from the South. That's not usually what we eat. For pregame meal we're on steak and spaghetti, trying to carve up a little bit. Follow me here, Tony. So when you're trying to play a football game at 11am I off bacon and eggs. And you're not used to it because Missouri's used to this. I'm just saying tricky things happen in Como. I think this game is going to be closer than the experts think, as Lee Corso would say. But I do like Alabama pulling it out at the very end.

C (18:14)

Booger, as always, it's a great pleasure. Thank you so much.

B (18:17)

That's great. Thanks Booger. Appreciate it.

C (18:20)

Anytime fellas, we will take one last break. Still to come, the Tigers forced game five in their division series against the Mariners.

B (18:30)

And Giannis sorta kinda commits to Milwaukee kinda maybe a little bit. He's human, you know. Tony, don't ever Compare Missouri to MacDill. Don't ever do that. Don't do that. They're fine. They're great. They're not us.

C (18:46)

I said they had a great program. You know, I didn't. I didn't even mention Northwestern. Booger mentioned Northwestern.

A (18:52)

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C (20:51)

Pardon the interruption is presented by the refreshing taste of twisted tea Hard iced tea. Please drink responsibly. Part of happy hour. Happy time people. Happy 25th birthday. Penny Sewell, the 6 5, 331 pound offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions has been first team all pro the last two seasons. In April of 2024, Sewell signed a four year 112 million dollar deal to stay in Detroit. Penny's brothers Nephi and Noah are in the NFL. Nephi is in New Orleans, Noah in Chicago. Penny Sewell won the outland trophy in 2019 at Oregon and two years later was the seventh overall pick in the draft. Curiously, the Cincinnati Bengals had the fifth pick in that draft. They took Ja' Marr Chase, Joe Burrow's teammate at LSU. The Lions snapped up Sewell at 7. Since then, the Lions have thrived and the Bengals cannot keep Burrow upright.

B (21:48)

Tony Noah he can't have the impact of his brother, but Noah Suh has started three games for the Bears. Got in there initially because of injury. He's played pretty darn well. So I hope he keeps, you know, trying to keep up with with Big Bro. That would be good.

C (22:05)

Happy Anniversary. Chris Burke on this day 20 years ago, the Astros rookie hit a game winning home run with one out in the bottom of the 18th inning and Houston advanced the NLCS for the second straight year with a 76 victory over Atlanta in the longest game in postseason history by innings and by time. Since then There have been three games that have taken longer than the Astros Braves 5 hour 50 minute marathon. The 2018 World Series so the Dodgers beat the Red Sox 3 to 2 in 7 hours 20 minutes. In 2014, the Giants beat the Nationals 2 to 1 in 66 hours 23 minutes. And in 2022, the longest 10 game in MLB history took place when the Mariners beat the Astros in 6 hours 22 minutes. Pitch clock anyone remember when broadcasters used.

B (22:54)

To describe a game as a snappy 2 hours and 10 minutes? That's what I'm counting on tonight. With the temperature in the 50s and a breeze off the lake at Wrigley 20521 Cubs final. That'd be fine. I'd be back on the L. Somebody.

C (23:12)

Get this man a sweet for tonight, please. Happy trails. Last night's game for the Mariners Seattle took a 30 lead in last night's game four on Cal Rawley's run scoring single in the fifth before the Tigers roared back. Detroit scored nine straight runs, seven across the fifth and sixth innings en route to a 93 win. Your boy Javi Baez did much tallying a RBI single followed by a two run shot in the sixth and the final insurance RBI in the eighth. The winner take all. Game five is Friday in Seattle. Tigers ace Tarek Skubal will face Seattle's George Kirby.

B (23:47)

You going with Scubal, right? Neither one of us is going against Scubal at this point.

C (23:53)

No, we're not. One omission quickly LeBron will miss the start of the season due to sciatica. Did you know he had that? You know. Let's go to the big finish. The Las Vegas Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury last night to go up 30 in the WNBA Finals. It's all over, isn't it?

B (24:07)

Sabley is out with his head injury. That's awful. And Asia Wilson was great with that shot from her favorite spot. It just, you know, it doesn't look good in the bottom part of the desert dry. Seidel leon gets his 400th last night in a shootout loss to the Flames. You impressed with that?

C (24:25)

I'm impressed with him. And McDavid Giannis says he's committed to the Bucs, but also said it would be, quote, human to change his mind in the future degree.

B (24:32)

I got him going by the trade deadline. Tom. NBA.com survey, 80% of the GMs pick the Thunder to repeat. Are you with them?

C (24:41)

I'm not. Last one. Our friend Eric Spolster will succeed our friend Steve Kerr as the new head coach of USA Basketball. Good choice, right?

B (24:48)

No, great choice. I know we both feel great choices.

C (24:53)

We're out of time. We'll try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

B (24:57)

I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. 80% going with OKC. I picked OKC last year, but I don't think I'm picking him this year. Talk about stepping up.

C (25:08)

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D (25:12)

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B (25:31)

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