Tony Kornheiser (2:54)

So let me try and take the other side of this just for a little bit of balance. And I will say that I'm going to start with Sean Payton because he does know what he's doing. When he first got to Denver, one of the first guys he brought over was Stidham as an insurance policy, not to start as an insurance policy. So he knows him a long time. He likes him a long time. He's been there three years now. His trajectory, Sean Payton's trajectory has gone Nothing but up 8 and 9 the first year, then 10 and 7, then 14 and 3. Now. A lot of that was drafting Bo Nix, replacing Russell Wilson with Bo Nix. I'm not going to try to minimize that, but a lot of it is defense as well. They have the most sacks in the league this year. They have allowed the third fewest amount of points this year. And last year, losing Bo Nix, it's terrible. He's your starting quarterback and plays almost every down. But in a low scoring game, it seems to me maybe the defense can do something about that. I remember there's two things I want to say. One is that Philip Rivers, at 45 years old, having not played at all in five years, came in and started three games for the Colts and all things considered, I thought did a very good job. Though the Colts did not win those games. And I remember Steve Young on this show yesterday saying what Jared Situm is thinking is, please don't let me be the one to lose this game. I think, yes, that New England should be favored, but I'm going to analogize it to Miami and Indiana in the college game where we both thought that Miami had at least a chance and in fact, covered. In fact, they covered.

Mike Wilbon (4:29)

Yeah, I don't know about covering, but if Sean Payton could get his starting quarterback back tomorrow by giving years off his own life, do you think he'd do it?

Booger McFarland (4:42)

Yes.

Tony Kornheiser (4:42)

Yes, sure, of course.

Mike Wilbon (4:44)

Let's move to your Mets landing the ace they've been looking for. New York traded two of its top prospects were Brewers All Star Freddie Peralta and righty Tobias Meyers last night. Peralta is the third big get for the Mets this week after signing Bo Bichette and trading For Luis Robert Jr. Tone, what does this say about each team and what do you make of the Mets big week?

Tony Kornheiser (5:09)

All right, let me start with Peralta. 17, 6 last year with a 270-era and 33 starts. And what was the result? Milwaukee had the best record in Major League Baseball. They lost in the playoffs when the Dodgers came up with spectacular pitching against them. But Peralta has had a tremendous three years in a row. I assume they are getting rid of him because he's in the last year of his contract and they can't afford to sign him to a new contract. I was told today that Milwaukee has done this before with Josh Hader. Just like this year you were Josh Hader and Devin Williams. Yeah. Right. Now Milwaukee has made the playoffs seven of the last eight years, as you know, because that division matters to you. So I'm not going to micromanage Milwaukee. Okay. The Mets, they get a number one starter in Peralta. The Mets get a great infielder in Bobichette. And in Luis Robert Jr. A guy who hit 38 home runs in 80 RBI for the White Sox in 2023. But Mike, does that make up for the loss of Pete Alonso? Does that make up for the loss of Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil and the great closer Edwin Diaz? The Mets have a lot of names. They've been in the playoffs two of the last eight years, not seven, two.

Mike Wilbon (6:18)

Well, and that's where I start, Tony. The Mets have a big week all the damn time. Pretty much every off season they have a big week. And we're told how great the Mets are going to be. And they spend almost as much money as the Dodgers. And they do. I mean they're like where they're getting 70, $80 million this year on the Dodgers.

Tony Kornheiser (6:36)

Oh yeah, yeah.

Mike Wilbon (6:38)

They go out and this is what they do and it doesn't work. So the Mets, big week doesn't mean jack. And so I understood Milwaukee, Tony. Milwaukee can scout. And when you are in a team in a city that's a mid market team or a small market team, you better be able to scout Oklahoma City, San Antonio and yes, the Milwaukee Brewers. So they gotta let Freddie Peralta go. Cause they figure they can't sign him. Then you know they've had some back channel or better than that conversation with his agent. Gotta let him go. We get as much as we can. Those two prospects keep an eye on that. The Mets had to turn loose to get Freddie Peralta back.

Tony Kornheiser (7:23)

I'll just go to the Mets, the team of my youth, just for one small moment in mid June last year, they were 45, 24. It was the best record in all of Major League Baseball, and they finished 38 and 55.

Rich Eisen (7:35)

Yeah.

Mike Wilbon (7:35)

There you have it.

Tony Kornheiser (7:36)

We turn now to a story by Logan Murdoch of the Ringer suggesting that Steve Kerr may not be back with the warriors next year. Kerr's contract is up at the end of this season, and Murdoch reports that multiple assistant coaches on the warriors have been operating under the premise that Kerr will not return. Kerr has been mum on the subject. Wilbond, does the speculation that Kerr will not return to the warriors sound plausible to you?

Mike Wilbon (7:58)

Of course it does. It makes perfect sense. Steve Kerr can do what he wants. He's won four championships. And if this team, Tony was three years ago or four years ago, going into the 21, 22 season, when they owe one another championship, then Steve Kerr might be thinking differently. But in this case, with Steve. I'm sorry, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green being on the. Not just the back nine. What are they on? Holes 16 and 17. It's. It's done. It's okay. They had one of the great runs in the history of the NBA. Steve Kerr been part of three of the great runs. Chicago, San Antonio as a player, and then Golden State as a coach. Everything he could want, he's done. And they're not going to win. I love them. I have loved my time going to San Francisco to cover the warriors. The last 11 years. That window has closed. I hate to say it. What's Steve Kerr supposed to do? Just hang around? Can do whatever he wants. If he wants to come back, he. He can and will. But it's understandable if he doesn't.

Tony Kornheiser (9:12)

I'd love to disagree with you. I cannot disagree with you. Steve Kerr is now in his 12th season with the Warriors. He has four championships, could easily have had a fifth. And I know you agree with me on that.

Mike Wilbon (9:21)

Yeah, I do.

Tony Kornheiser (9:22)

He has coached. He was the head coach of the United States men's Olympic basketball team once, and he won a gold medal. He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's a great coach. And all we should do, really, is applaud him. When I think of Steve Kerr, I think of Steph Curry, I think of Klay Thompson, and I think of Draymond Green. That, to me, is the essence of the Warriors. Some people will say, well, what about Durant? He was there for two championships. Kevin Durant was a guy who, it seemed to me, was invited to dinner, ate the meal, and then left. I mean, he was just gone in a hurry. Klay Thompson is now gone, right? He's on Dallas. Bob Myers left a few years ago, so now it is just Curry and and Green. Curry is under contract this year and next. Green is under contract this year. I believe has an option for next year. Now, what we have done, you and I, the last two to three years, when we talk about the warriors, we talk about the fact that they are not winning as many games as they used to win. And can they get back to that? Well, Jimmy Butler just went out for the whole year. That's now we're talking about the drama around someone named Jonathan Kaminga as if he is a critical piece, much like you. I agree with this. It is waning. We see it waning. Let Kerr do whatever he wants. Let us take a break.

Mike Wilbon (10:31)

Absolutely, yeah.

Tony Kornheiser (10:32)

Coming up, the Rams and Seahawks have split two tight games. We will ask Booger McFarlane who he has in the rubber match.

Mike Wilbon (10:39)

We'll also ask him how he sees Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the NFL level. It's sad to break up on the Warriors. It's not even a breakup. This is an expiration. But all the great teams have to go away.

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Tony Kornheiser (12:08)

We have NFL questions for our great friend, ESPN NFL and college football analyst Booger McFarland wearing an Indian Creek shirt where I played really good. Let's start with this. The Patriots at the Broncos. Okay, the Broncos defense is good. Is it good enough to make up for the loss of Bo Nix?

Booger McFarland (12:29)

You know what, Tony? I think it is I think they have the ability to rush the passer with Benito and Cooper, they're two edge guys. They can cover you on the back end with Certain. And Moss, their linebackers in the middle, they ball out all day long. So I think this defense, even though they didn't play well against Buffalo, they have the ability to sack your quarterback and turn you over. The key will be, can they get any help from the offense. I know that Bo Nicks is not going to be there, and Jared Stum, I think, is a very capable backup. He's going to have to do something. I don't think they can win this game 10 to 7 or 12 to 6 like the. Like some of the old days back with the Ravens and the Buccaneers and Mike Wilbond's 85 Bears, they're going to have to score 17 to 20 points. And if they do that, I think this defense is good enough to make life miserable for Drake May.

Tony Kornheiser (13:17)

Oh.

Mike Wilbon (13:17)

Oh, that's. That's. Booker just threw some factors in there. All right, Rams and Seahawks, they've split two really tight games, as you know, this season.

Booger McFarland (13:27)

Booger.

Tony Kornheiser (13:27)

What.

Mike Wilbon (13:28)

What's going to be the difference in the third game? In which way are you leaning?

Booger McFarland (13:33)

Well, I think the difference is if you're the Rams, you got to be able to run the football like the Rams have always been that team. A little bit finesse and yeah, they kind of run the ball, but they do it schematically because Sean McVay does a great job with the mid zone and the outside zone. And if you think about it, who was the Rams nemesis for a long time? It was the 49ers, because the 49ers were so much more physical than the Rams. Well, guess who's the most physical team now? It's the Seattle Seahawks. That defensive line, led by Williams, Murphy and Lawrence is outstanding. They want to take you into a phone booth and beat the hell out of you. And I think if you're the Rams, you're going to have to match the Seahawks physicality. You got to run the football. No, they don't have to run it for 200 yards, but they got to be able to take some of the pressure off of Matthew Stafford. If they can establish some semblance of a running game, then they turn the game over to a guy who many think is going to win the MVP and Matthew Stafford. And this is what they got devonte Adams for. Right? It was puking the cool. It was Cooper Cup. Cooper cup is gone. You bring in Devonte Adams and so now if they can run the football, devonte Adams, you got to show up. It's got to be Stafford. It, it's gotta be Adams, it's gotta be Nakua. But the first thing they have to do is match the physicality of the Seattle Seahawks. If they do that, then they have a chance.

Mike Wilbon (14:47)

Booker, as much as we love talking about these conference championships games with you, we can't have you on without talking about the coaching carousel and whether or not you find the Bills or the Ravens head coaching vacancy more appealing. If you want to write in candidate, you want to go off book, feel free.

Booger McFarland (15:05)

You know, typically this would be an easy choice because I would choose the Buffalo Bills because I think they have the best player in the sport now in Josh Allen. But after that press conference yesterday with Terry Pigul and Brandon Bean, I'm not so sure I want to go work for that guy if he's going to point the finger every opportunity that he gets. So down you look at from a structure standpoint and an ownership standpoint, look at Baltimore, Steve Bushotti has done an outstanding job. Lamar Jackson is a two time mvp. When you look at Isaiah Newsome, who's still around that program, Eric Dacosta, I think both of these teams are absolutely outstanding. I still think I would want the talent over the field. I get it. Terry Pula didn't did a horrible job of taking ownership of issues at the press conference I'm talking about. That may have been one of the worst press conferences I've ever seen an owner do. When you sit up there with your new GM and head of football operations and you basically blame the former staff. With that being said, football is a game of talent and Josh Allen is the best player in the sport. So right now I still think the best job only by a little bit because Baltimore and Lamar Jackson and what they do with Steve Bushotte, I think the world of that program. But because of Josh Allen, because he is who he is. I think the Buffalo Bills job is the best job. And I'm going to have to have a serious conversation with Terry Pegula because what we do inside our locker room should stay in the locker room. I didn't like the fact that they talked about the players were crying. I didn't like the fact that they threw Keon Coleman under the bus. Keon Coleman is somewhere Mike on vacation, he catching strays from the owner in the gym. Those things can't happen. But because of Josh Allen, I will take the Buffalo Bill job.

Tony Kornheiser (16:41)

I agree with that. You dangle a diamond Like Josh Allen, that, you know, that kind of glitter is what you want to coach if you have the opportunity. We get you out of here on this, on the college game, because I know you went to the college championships. Do you like Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the next level, the NFL level?

Booger McFarland (16:58)

I do, Tony, because we've talked about this for years. I've been talking to you guys. I don't care about the quarterback, how big he is, I don't care how far he throws the football. I don't care what he runs the 40 in. My quarterback has to do two things. He's got to process information and he's got to throw the football accurately. And Fernando Mendoza does that at the highest level. You watch some of those back shoulder fades that he threw against the Miami Hurricanes down in Miami. You watch how fast the ball came out. Even though Miami was bringing a ton of pressure, the ball came out of his hands quickly. It was accurate. Now it helps the fact that he's 65 and 230 and can run quarterback draw and get the game winning touchdown. That stuff helps. But when you're playing football in the National Football League, you better throw it accurately and you better process information quickly. And no one knows that better than than the guy who's the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and that's Tom Brady. He's not the biggest guy, he damn straight the fastest guy. But his ability to process information and throw the football accurately was outstanding. And I think he's going to appreciate what he saw from Fernando Mendoza. Oh, by the way, guess who was on the sideline in Miami, Tony? Tom Brady. John Spytek, Minority OWNER General Manager they're going to appreciate what they saw in Miami. He's a tough kid. He throws it accurately, he can process. I think he's going to be the number one pick and I can say that in January for April's draft.

Tony Kornheiser (18:21)

Great pleasure to have you as always. Thank you.

Mike Wilbon (18:23)

Appreciate it.

Booger McFarland (18:25)

Always. Anytime.

Tony Kornheiser (18:26)

Fellas, let's take one last break. Still to come, the Knicks bounce back just like Wilbong said they would.

Mike Wilbon (18:32)

And Baker Mayfield gets his fourth offensive coordinator in four years with the Buccaneers. He took some shots.

Tony Kornheiser (18:42)

What did you say the Knicks would win by 20? 25 to 20. A lot more than 25.

Mike Wilbon (18:47)

Yeah, I underbid tremendously.

Tony Kornheiser (18:49)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You have the spirit of it, right?

Booger McFarland (18:52)

Yeah.

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Tony Kornheiser (20:42)

Happy time people. Happy 80th birthday. Serge Savard History lesson, kids. The hall of fame defenseman played 17 seasons in the NHL, 15 for his hometown Montreal Canadiens and the last two with Winnipeg. For much of his time with the Canadiens, Savard was paired with another defenceman, hall of Famer Larry Robinson. In all, Savard won seven Stanley Cups in Montreal and Robinson won six. In Savard's third season, at the age of 23, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Savard was unusually big for defenseman at that time. 62210 Savard is on the NHL's Hundred Greatest Players list. He also won two more Cups in GM of the Canadiens and he was nicknamed Le Senateur.

Mike Wilbon (21:26)

Tony was also fortunate enough to play on a team with a goal scorer named Guy Lafleur. You like him, didn't you? Yeah. 76, 77, 78, 79. And one of those years, Steve Shutt had 60 goals. I never would have guessed. You don't think of him as being one of the great defensemen of all time. Maybe we should call Bob Ryan, ask him how high up that list the Canadian.

Tony Kornheiser (21:49)

It'll be high, but not as high as Bobby Orr. As you know, Happy anniversary, Joel Embiid on this day two years ago, the Sixers center set the 76ers franchise single game scoring record when he got 70 points in a 133123 win over San Antonio. Embiid's 70 was two more than Wilt Chamberlain's 68 for the Sixers. Spoiler alert. Wilt got his incomparable 100 point game with while a member of the Philadelphia Warriors Technicality. Embiid, Wilt and David Robinson are the only centers to score 70 or more. Only 10 players have ever scored 70 or more. Shortly after Embiid scored 70, he suffered a meniscus injury. He's been in and out of the lineup since. So far this season, Embiid has played in 23 of Philadelphia's 42 games, averaging 24 points. They're 1310 with him, 109 without them. Don't miss him that much.

Mike Wilbon (22:41)

Tony. I see what you did there though. You called the viewers bluff. You're saying to them, I know you people don't remember that. This is also the anniversary of Kobe Bean Bryant scoring 81. You just slipped it right past him. Very sly.

Tony Kornheiser (22:56)

I didn't remember that. I really didn't. Happy trails to the Ravens head coaching opening. Earlier in the show we asked Booger whether the Bills or Ravens have the better job opening. Well, Baltimore just announced is hiring Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as its new head coach. Minter interviewed with the Raiders and Browns before landing the Ravens job. It's a bit of a homecoming for Minter. He was a defensive assistant on the Ravens from 2017 to 2020, which means he has now worked for both Harbaugh brothers.

Mike Wilbon (23:25)

Well, where do you think he goes to get help to coach the MVP quarterback on the roster he's going to be joining, not the one he's going to be leaving. He's going to have to bring somebody in there with incredible credibility and relationship with one Lamar Jackson.

Tony Kornheiser (23:42)

One omission. Yesterday, Wilbon said the Knicks would beat the nets by 20. He underbid by a lot, beat them by 54. Good job Wilbon. Let's go to the big finish. The bucs lost by 20 to the Thunder. Giannis said the team isn't playing hard and the chemistry is not there. Is that significant?

Mike Wilbon (23:58)

He's sort of pointing his finger at the coach, my friend Glenn Rivers. Stop. It's time to go bye bye with Giannis. The Bucs hired Zach Robinson as their new offensive coordinator. You like that?

Tony Kornheiser (24:11)

Baker Mayfield's fourth offensive coordinator in four years. It's Tampa Bay's fifth in five years. But a couple of those guys became head coaches. Vikings agreed to a new deal with Brian Flores as defensive coordinator if he doesn't get hired as a head coach.

Mike Wilbon (24:22)

Got a good move like having Flores on that stage. You still don't know exactly what's going on with the young quarterback. So defense is going to have to rule the day again. Scotty Scheffler made his season debut today at La Quinta. I know you're excited.

Tony Kornheiser (24:36)

Yeah. He was minus nine. Is that shaking off the rust when you're minus nine in your first round? Come on. Last one. Lakers and Clippers tonight. Who you got?

Mike Wilbon (24:45)

The Clippers were beaten so badly by the Bulls in their most recent outing. I'm going to take them to rebound against against the Lakers.

Tony Kornheiser (24:53)

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

Mike Wilbon (24:56)

And I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now you know what's coming.

Booger McFarland (25:02)

Your Sports Center.

Tony Kornheiser (25:03)

So now you would get rid of Giannis right now, right?

Rich Eisen (25:05)

Right now.

Mike Wilbon (25:06)

Trade deadline. Bye.

Booger McFarland (25:07)

Bye.

Mike Wilbon (25:08)

I mean, how many days? Post game.

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