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Mike Wilbon
pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's national poem on your pillow Day. Tony, has anybody ever left a poem on your pillow?
Tony Kornheiser
I'm Tony Kornheiser. Just once and I still remember it. Your rah rah, your ha ha ooh la la love Zaza, as Dion would say, or Jaja, as the rest of us would say. Zsa Zsa Gabor. You and I are the only people today who know who Zsa Zsa Gabor is. Nobody else.
Mike Wilbon
I'm gonna say Zsa ZSA would be 116. 116 is my over under guess.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, she would certainly clear the century barrier. She certainly would. Welcome to pti boys and girls. In today's episode, the Knicks pound the Sixers. Tarek Skubal's injury creates questions and PK Suban joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with Anthony Edwards coming back nine days after a knee injury that was supposed to keep him sidelined for weeks. Edwards played 25 minutes off the bench last night and scored 18 points as his Timberwolves went into San Antonio and beat the Spurs 104, 102 to win the first game of their playoff series despite an NBA playoff record to 12 blocks by Victor Wembanyama. Wilbon, how do you make sense of this result?
Mike Wilbon
Tony I make sense of it that Minnesota has been to the conference finals each of the last two years. They have a nucleus of people that has played together. Now Mr. Randle, who had one heck of a game last night, was only on that team one year. He wasn't on the back to back conference finals teams but he's been a part of it. And they have been through some wars and they have played Denver and they've played Oklahoma City and they've been together. And you know my reservation about San Antonio this year has only to do with this year and nothing to do with the future. Yes, and Tony Winbonyama look as old as I am. I don't remember vintage Bill Russell. I remember the end only of Bill Russell and I never when you use Bill Russell in a sentence and Wilt Chamberlain In a sentence, you ought to just stop yourself and hit the edit function. But I'm gonna do it anyway. I imagine that watching win Bunyama block 12 shots last night and discourage about six or eight others, was Russell like. I don't know that. You would know that better than me being a minute older than me Baton Minnesota is not to be trifled with. They can win this series.
Tony Kornheiser
I would say just on that specific point, it is Russell like. The difference is Russell's teams always won those games when Benyama's team last night, last night didn't win. And I don't want to, as you know, I don't want to get too carried away with what happened last night in this game because San Antonio had an open three at the buzzer and if that drops, we're having a different conversation. But you are right that Minnesota has done very well in the playoffs in recent years and probably underrated by most people in the country that just don't know Minnesota very well. Let me go to my notes here. It's funny because yesterday you and I were talking about whether or not Rudy Gobert could stifle in some way Victor Wembanyama. And aside from the blocks, he did not just him, Julius Randle as well, because Victor Wembanyama only had 11 points, 5 of 17 shooting, 0 for 8 from three. The Minnesota coaches had a great plan and. And it worked. They were very physical with Wembanyama. And there was a carryover effect as well, probably because De' Aaron Fox, who they need. De' Aaron Fox was 5 for 14 and over 4 from 3. So just to tidy this up, San Antonio's gotta see if there's somebody else that can bail them out. And Minnesota's gotta feel great that Anthony Edwards came back in a reserve role and they still won the game. You know, they got real quickly.
Mike Wilbon
If DiVincenzo and Il Desumo were healthy, Minnesota would just right now be better. I mean better. But they don't have. Those guys are going to have to. And by the way, credit Coach Finch for the way he used Anthony edwards coming back 25 minutes, got maximum production out of him. It's interesting and I know I hear your. I heard your words in my ear last night. Do not overreact to game one.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Mike Wilbon
With that in mind, let's move to the East. And another beat down by the Knickerbockers. Jalen Brunson scored 27 in the first half as the Knicks beat the Sixers by 39. This after beating the Hawks by 51, Tony, what does this outcome, maybe the accumulation say to you?
Tony Kornheiser
Let's add up those numbers. 39 last night, 51 against Atlanta. That's plus 90 in two games. You go back one more game with Atlanta, they beat him by 29. That's plus 119 in three games, which is actually the greatest margin of victory in consecutive. Three consecutive playoff games in the history of the NBA playoffs of all time. That's it. That's number one. So I understand if. I understand if Knicks fans are saying right now we're the greatest team of all time. But for the rest of us, let's return to planet Earth briefly, if we could, because there's not a sane, objective person in the world who would not have looked at the Knicks and the Sixers last night and said, the Knicks will win by at least 20. Not 20. At least 20.
Mike Wilbon
At least.
Tony Kornheiser
Because the Knicks were rested and they were at home, okay? And they were buoyant over the way they demolished Atlanta. And the 76ers were exhausted and they were on the road. They had just come to three consecutive elimination games. They had just won game seven in Boston. There's no way they were going to marshal their best efforts in game one. That was less than 48 hours away from what they just did against. There's just no way. That's not possible. I'm not a betting man, as you know. I would have bet on the knicks and given 25. Would have given 39, but I would have. I would have given.
Mike Wilbon
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
I mean, I would have given 25. And that's just, you know, the accomplishment was tremendous. It was. But it has nothing to do with the rest of the series. Nothing.
Mike Wilbon
No. And again, I'm hearing you tell a young me when I would get crazy over game one in 1982. Calm down, Junior.
Tony Kornheiser
Calm down.
Mike Wilbon
Don't get nuts, because the Philadelphia 76ers just got beat, I think, by 32 in Game 1 of the previous series. They just lost that. Game 1, getting blowed out, and they came back and they beat the Celtics. They look dead in the water after four games, but. Right. Tony, you're right about the Knicks. The Knicks look as potent as they
Tony Kornheiser
have in a long, long time.
Mike Wilbon
They should feel very good about themselves. But they're going to get a different version of the Sixers tomorrow night in Madison Square Garden.
Tony Kornheiser
The Sixers won't be smelling themselves tomorrow night in Madison Square Garden. Look, the Knicks are better, but they're not this much better. It's Gonna, right. It's gonna change. You know, let's move to baseball. And Tarek Skubal undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery that should keep him out for two to three months. Scubal has won the last two Cy Youngs in the American League and is due to become a free agent at the end of the season. Wilbaugh, what do you think Scubal's injury means for his looming contract and or his trade possibilities?
Mike Wilbon
Well, Tony, if this was isolated and this was his first injury, you'd say, you know, I mean, this guy is a workhorse. You've seen year after year now, even if it was his second one, but this is his third going back to college. And you look at this and you're like, all right, how much am I going to give up? Am I going to give away a bag to the Detroit Lions in a trade and. Or how much am I going to give up if we just think we can wait until he becomes a free agent? And it's hard to see Detroit weighing this and saying, just let him walk, given his value to them, to the Detroit Tigers. And so you hear all sorts of rumors already. Did I say the Lions? I meant the Tigers.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, you said the Lions. You got football on your mind.
Mike Wilbon
I'm sorry. You know what? I got in my head already. I'm looking ahead to September, Tom.
Tony Kornheiser
I know.
Mike Wilbon
So, man, this is a hard one. Like, what do you do before the deadline? How much are you willing to give up? Because you think if we get this guy back healthy, we've got an ace at a time where they're difficult to find? Tony, I would be willing to risk a little bit, but I don't know if I'm going to risk a lot of bit.
Tony Kornheiser
This is right now. We are in early May. This is Hot Stove league number one right now. What's going to happen with Scubal? Are the Tigers going to keep him? Does somebody else want him sight unseen? Let's do this. If he comes back in two months, that's July. So he has some audition starts before the trade deadline. If he comes back in three, that's August. The trade deadline is gone. Do you want to get him sight unseen? If you're another team, I think you would because you're essentially just renting him through October because he's going to become a free agent. The point you make is the most valid point. This is the third injury and he's a great pitcher and right now he is damaged goods. How does this affect him on the free agent market? Well, if You're a smart owner. You're offering him two to three years at the most at above market price. But you're shortening the years because you don't know no pitcher is risk free in terms of injury anymore. But there are enough dumb owners in baseball and in all sports that somebody's going to give them five or six or seven years at above market value. And his agent, of course, is Scott Borris, who may or may not be the devil. And so I think, I do think he's. I think he's going to come out great individually. Let me just give you a statistic. I'll take 10 seconds. It's a fabulous. This is why people want him. Scuba has thrown 3,201, 211 pitches at 95 miles an hour or more since the start of 2024. That's 234 more than the next pitcher in baseball. When he's healthy, he's the Hope Diamond. Is he healthy?
Mike Wilbon
He's a beast.
Tony Kornheiser
Let's take a break.
Mike Wilbon
He's a beast.
Tony Kornheiser
Coming up. Yeah, the Carolina Hurricanes have yet to lose in the playoffs. We're going to ask PK Subban why.
Mike Wilbon
We'll also ask him whether the Ducks have a right to be upset about the play that led to the goal that beat them last night.
P.K. Subban
Yeah.
Mike Wilbon
When you got loose things moving around in your elbow.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, yeah. It's not. I mean, some people come back, but you don't know. There's got to be doubt in everybody's mind. There's got. Even in school's mind. It's got to be.
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Tony Kornheiser
We've got some Stanley cup playoffs questions for our great friend, ESPN NHL analyst and global fashion icon P.K. suban. You can talk about that outfit later. We'll start with this. I watched the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Flyers again last night. Although the Flyers, they could have won when they had that breakaway in overtime. They had a shot at it. Carolina, though, is now 6 and oh, in the playoffs. Why are they winning so much?
P.K. Subban
That's a, that's a great question, but it's pretty easy for me. Carolina has been one of the top teams in the league. No one's disputing that. But if you look at the Ottawa Senators, they were a wounded duck coming into the playoffs. Nobody picked them to beat Carolina other than me. And the reason why I picked them is because they got some veterans on that team that I would have liked to see move on in the playoffs. I like the way they played down the stretch, but that was an uphill battle for them. Now they come into Philly, they got a young team, they were out Tippet. You know, Philly only had like one day off since the last round. Once again, I got to give Carolina credit. They're playing great hockey. They're 6 0. But to me, unless they're beaten, Wild, Avalanche and some of these top teams, you can't get too festive right now. What have they accomplished? This is, this is the same as years past. So they're on the right path. But for me, it's conference final, Stanley cup final or bust for Carolina. They got to get to the Cup Final now.
Mike Wilbon
Oh, I like hearing that. Let's go west for a second. PK Ducks coach Joel Quinville, late of my Blackhawks, was frosted. That icing was waved off on the Golden Knights game winning goal last night. You've seen that play over and over and over again. Was he right to be upset?
P.K. Subban
Well, I want to approach this carefully because we're talking about someone who's got multiple cups as a head coach in the National Hockey League and a well respected guy. But if I go back to in studio last night, everybody was frothing at the mouth just like he was. I wanted him thrown out of the game for how he was yelling and screaming because I wanted to see Vegas win. But no, it was not. The refs got it right. And, you know, Joel Quinville saw what everybody saw, which was a quick play back and forth, you know, a routine icing. But if you look at this carefully, we do not give our linesmen and our officials enough credit when they get it right in the moment. The Jack Eichel had a step on Mr. Lacombe at that dot, which waves off the icing automatically whether he gets to the puck or not. He was first to touch. He decided to let the defenseman go in first to turn the puck over. But he would have gotten to that puck first. The ref saw that. It's no icing. It's the right call.
Mike Wilbon
Oh, okay. Okay. Well, you can see Tony Avalanche.
P.K. Subban
Hold on, Tony. Mike, you can see it if you watch that replay. Jack Eichel gets a step in front of Lacombe before they get to that puck. He chooses to back off. If he chooses to do that, it's
Mike Wilbon
no icing important distinction. All right. Wild and Avalanche back on the ice tonight. As a distinguished defenseman of many years, how you feeling about a 96 game in the playoffs?
P.K. Subban
Well, I know both coaches definitely take pride in the way their team plays. So Bednar as well as John Hines are definitely going to have these guys playing tighter hockey tonight. So I would imagine it would be a closer scoring game. But what I took from that game was the Minnesota Wild were down three nothing, came back and made it four three. You know, so. So we can look at nine six. But I got to talk about that to. To come out of that three nothing hole tells me something that the Minnesota Wild know they can score goals in this series. So to add to that, they have to play on the offense for the lion's share of this series. If they're taking the attack of Makar, McKinnon and co, this series will not go in their favor. Minnesota has to attack every single time. They got the team to do it. They got the depth in their third and fourth line to sustain offensive zone pressure, ground and pound work and wear them down. They have to wear down Colorado. Cale Makar. They started the series right. You saw that big hit they took. But he comes back and scores two goals. This is a serious hockey player. You're going to have to beat him down every shift in every game. And you're going to have to do the same thing to Quinn Hughes. It's going to be an all World Series. That's for sure.
Tony Kornheiser
We will get you out of here on this. The Canadiens and the Sabres start their series tomorrow. You played for Montreal. As everyone knows, Buffalo hasn't been in the playoffs in, like 100 years. How should we be looking at this series?
P.K. Subban
Montreal's top guys got to show up. If they don't show up, they're going to be golfing and on the beach soon because Buffalo's for real. They got four solid lines. If they get that Carrick back on their fourth line and some bodies back, I only see a deeper team. They got two good goaltenders that are capable. Montreal is playing great hockey though right now. There's something special about them and the way that they've played, the way that they won that round, they grew in the first round as a team, as individuals in you could see that happening right in front of your eyes. So I got to see how much growing did you guys do because it's going to be a big boy series, ground and pound. It's going to be physical. And Slafkovsky and co, they better bring their work boots and their hard hats and pack a serious lunch because Lindy Ruff, this is going to be a physical series. They got to be prepared for that.
Tony Kornheiser
We have so much fun when you're on this show. Thank you pk. Thank you.
Mike Wilbon
Preview PK thank you sir.
P.K. Subban
Thank you guys. Thanks for having me.
Tony Kornheiser
Let's take one last break. Still to come, how will the Lucolas Lakers fare against the Thunder tonight?
Mike Wilbon
And will the Cavaliers steal Game 1 in Detroit tonight? All night?
Tony Kornheiser
Did PK go to the Met Gala? Did PK go to the Met Gala? Get dressed up.
Mike Wilbon
PK's got a presence in metropolitan New York. He could have gone and he can hang. Yes, PK and his fashion context can hang.
Tony Kornheiser
He could one of the few people have a jacket that had gold inside, black on the outside, gold inside. He could have gone to the Met.
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Tony Kornheiser
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Tony Kornheiser
Happy time people. Happy 23rd birthday. Carlos Alcor Alcaraz is currently the number two tennis player in the world, just below Jannik Sinner. That is not likely to change soon because Alcaraz hurt his right wrist and will not play in the French Open. Alcaraz has won the French Open the last two years. Last year, beating Sinner in five sets. Alcaraz's win in the Australian Open in January gave him the career grand slam, made him the youngest man ever to that achievement. Besides the Aussie, Alcaraz has won the French Wimbledon and the U.S. u.S. Open twice each. Plus, Alcaraz is 21 months younger than Sinner, and in head to heads, Alcaraz is 10 and seven against Sinner.
Mike Wilbon
Well, we need Alcaraz, Tony, because it's not going to be any fun if he's not out there much of the summer. So you got Zverev, Djokovic, Shelton and Fritz. They're behind in chasing, but they're not Alcaraz, right?
Tony Kornheiser
No, they are not. No, they are not. Absolutely not. Happy anniversary, Cy Young. This is of course, posthumous, but on this day, 122 years ago, Denton True Young pitched the first perfect game in modern major league history. Young's Boston Americans beat The Philadelphia Athletics 3 to nothing. Young, then 37 years old, struck out eight and benefited from some timely defense in a game that took only 83 minutes. Young pitched for 22 years, and among the many all time marks he holds most wins, 5, 11. Most losses, 315. Most games started, 8, 15. Most complete games, 749. And the most innings pitched, 7356. And this is why they call it the Cy Young Award and not, for example, the Jim Palmer award. Greatest Palmer was. And I love Palmer.
Mike Wilbon
Yeah. So all the front office dopes who think a bullpen day in the World Series is the equivalent of great starting pitching. You know what I mean? You know how much interest Cy Young must have had in a quality start. You say take your quality start and stuff it. And I'm with him.
Tony Kornheiser
Happy trails to tonight's game for Luka Doncic, Lakers star out for tonight's game one against the Thunder. Doncic has yet to play in the playoffs through the hamstring strain he suffered five weeks ago. His availability beyond tonight's game is uncertain, though Shams of ESPN reported on Sunday that Doncic remains on a slow path to recovery. The Thunder absolutely crushed the Lakers in a regular season, winning all four games by an average of 29 points apiece.
Mike Wilbon
And remember, Tone, okay, no LeBron the first meeting, no Luka the second meeting. But they were both there for the third and OKC beat the Lakers by 43. How'd that taste?
Tony Kornheiser
One update for the 11 people who know and remember who she is and was. Zsa Zsa Gabor would be 109 if she were alive today. 109. Let's go to the big what about Ava? The Bulls hired Bryson Graham. The Mavs hired Masayu Giri as their new heads of basketball operations. Your thoughts?
Mike Wilbon
I welcome Mr. Graham to a dire situation in my hometown, Masayu Jiri. We know his work. That to me is a fabulous hire. Fabulous, Chiefs GM Brett Veach told SiriusXM radio. Patrick Mahomes is, quote, way ahead of schedule in his rehab from his ACL tear. That's a big deal, isn't it?
P.K. Subban
That's you.
Tony Kornheiser
He's the best football player on the planet. You want him healthy, you want him there at the beginning. The packers are signing Tyrod Taylor to back up Jordan Love. Is that a good Choice?
P.K. Subban
Maybe.
Mike Wilbon
He's 36 years old. I don't want the cheese heads to have too good a choice at backup quarterback. But it may just be been around for a while. Shohei is on the mound against the Astros tonight. What are you expecting?
Tony Kornheiser
I expect six to seven innings, one to two earned, eight strikeouts and a win. Last one, Cavs, Pistons, Game one tonight. Who you got?
Mike Wilbon
These two went two. Two. Split the season series. All the games were close, like four points or less. Therefore, in game what I'm expecting Detroit basketball. We're out of time.
Tony Kornheiser
We'll try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser.
Mike Wilbon
Sorry, Mason, I'm not as good as that. You are. I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now, here's SportsCenter TI Most protein
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Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon
Special Guest: PK Subban
Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon dive into a jam-packed day of playoff and sports news, starting with shocking NBA Playoff results—most notably, Anthony Edwards’ remarkable return and the Timberwolves’ upset over the Spurs, and the Knicks' historic dominance over the Sixers. The show then pivots to MLB with a discussion about Tarek Skubal's injury and its ramifications. The second half features an in-depth "Five Good Minutes" with ESPN NHL analyst PK Subban, focusing on the surging Carolina Hurricanes and key NHL playoff controversies. The signature banter, historical nods, and classic PTI urgency and humor are on full display.
[01:09–04:28]
Notable Quote:
"Minnesota is not to be trifled with. They can win this series."
— Mike Wilbon [02:19]
[04:54–07:37]
Memorable Line:
"Let's return to Planet Earth briefly, if we could."
— Tony Kornheiser [06:04]
[07:37–10:50]
Notable Statistic:
"Skubal has thrown 3,201,211 pitches at 95 miles an hour or more since the start of 2024—234 more than the next pitcher in baseball. When he's healthy, he's the Hope Diamond."
— Tony Kornheiser [10:35]
(“Five Good Minutes”)
[12:36–14:01]
[14:01–15:17]
[15:21–17:03]
[17:03–18:10]
Memorable PK Subban Quote:
"You saw that big hit they took. But [Cale Makar] comes back and scores two goals. This is a serious hockey player. You're going to have to beat him down every shift in every game." [16:21]
Lakers vs. Thunder Playoff Outlook, Luka Doncic Update
[19:58–22:44]
Knicks/Sixers and Cavaliers/Pistons Talk
[18:26–23:54]
Sports History & Tennis Update
[19:58–21:44]
NBA Front Office News
[22:44–23:24]
NFL Quick Takes
[23:03–23:24]
"Minnesota is not to be trifled with. They can win this series."
— Mike Wilbon [02:19]
"Let's return to planet Earth briefly, if we could."
— Tony Kornheiser [06:04]
"Calm down, Junior. ... Don't get nuts, because the Philadelphia 76ers just got beat, I think, by 32 in Game 1 of the previous series."
— Mike Wilbon [06:54–07:05]
"When he's healthy, he's the Hope Diamond. Is he healthy?"
— Tony Kornheiser [10:42]
"They better bring their work boots and their hard hats and pack a serious lunch because ... this is going to be a physical series."
— PK Subban on Canadiens vs. Sabres [17:49]
This PTI episode is a tour de force of current playoff narratives, brimming with the hosts’ veteran perspective and lively chemistry. The central message—don’t overreact to Game 1s, trust playoff experience—runs throughout. In both hoops and hockey, the answer to “Who’s Next?” remains thrillingly open.
For a full rundown of passionate sports insight, context, and quotable banter—this episode is can't-miss.