Should Miami of Ohio Get a Bid if They Lose?!

Summary

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PTI Podcast Summary

Episode: Should Miami of Ohio Get a Bid if They Lose?!

Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon

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Overview

In this lively episode of "Pardon the Interruption," Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon dissect the top college basketball stories from the weekend, debate Miami of Ohio’s unbeaten bid and its tourney credentials, survey an eventful NBA slate, and touch on major headlines from the NHL, racing, and more. The banter is sharp, witty, and, as ever, deeply opinionated.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. College Basketball: Elite Teams Separate from the Pack

(Starts at 00:56)

• Topic: Blowouts among top-ranked teams and the dawning March Madness landscape.

• Games referenced:

  • #1 Duke defeats #11 Virginia (77–51)
  • #2 Arizona beats #14 Kansas (84–61)
  • #3 Michigan trounces #10 Illinois at Illinois (84–70)

• Wilbon:

  • Cites Michigan’s road win at Illinois as “the most compelling result,” arguing that Illinois "didn't turn in some dog performance," but simply weren't as good as Michigan.

    "We're starting to have some reveal. The Arizona game was impressive, although that was in Arizona… Kansas... that was a sizable margin of victory for Arizona." (Wilbon, 02:10)

• Tony:

  • Agrees, framing it as a year where great teams are separating from good teams, with #1 seeds (Duke, Arizona, Michigan, UConn) already apparent but vulnerable to upset.

    "We're watching good teams play good teams... and we are watching the great teams separate from the good teams." (Tony, 02:29)

  • Also highlights realignment shaking up things, with Arizona and Houston strengthening the Big 12.

2. The Miami of Ohio Debate: Do the Undefeated Redhawks Deserve a Bid?

(05:00–07:59)

• Context: Miami of Ohio is 29–0 after barely surviving Western Michigan. But their schedule is among the nation’s weakest.

• Tony:

  • "Absolutely they would [deserve a bid]."
  • Points to the absurdity of denying an undefeated team with 29 wins a tournament slot, even with a loss, asserting it would be unfair to select a middling Power 4 team over them.

    "They're 29 and oh, if they lose one, they're 29 and one and they deserve to be in over, let's say, a sixth place team from the SEC or the Big East." (Tony, 05:27)

  • Acknowledges their strength of schedule is 321/365 (out-of-conference: 360/365), no quad one wins, but says history and fairness demand inclusion.
  • Brings in Joe Lunardi’s (Joey Bracketts) take: If Miami loses the MAC tournament, "that’s different," but as a one-loss team, should still be seeded respectably (possibly in an 8/9 game).

• Wilbon:

  • Argues that "otherwise you just turn the conference commissioners and the power four into gangsters... bullies."

    "I mean seriously, otherwise you just turn the conference commissioners and the power four into gangsters. They're just bullies..." (Wilbon, 06:31)

  • Emphasizes that these mid-major players grew up with the big-conference players, and have every right to show their wares regardless of scheduling limitations.

3. NBA Weekend Wrap: Who Impressed in the East?

(07:59–11:18)

• Teams in focus: Knicks, Pistons, Celtics, with nods to Warriors, Cavs, Nets, and more

• Wilbon:

  • Eventually settles on the Pistons as the most interesting story, lauding their resilience after a tough week and warning about the smaller victory margins as the NBA tightens up.
  • Notes flaws in Detroit (needs a second scorer) and the Knicks (still inconsistent but defense shows promise under Thibodeau).

• Tony:

  • Zeros in on the Boston Celtics as "the most surprising team in the NBA this year."

    "They win these games... by 53 points combined, 54% from the field, without Jayson Tatum, their best player. And Jaylen Brown... just stated his case for MVP." (Tony, 10:03)

  • Raises the question of Tatum's return and how Boston will gel with its stars.

    "I think with Jayson Tatum... there's no break-in period." (Tony, 10:43)

• Notable stat line: Jaylen Brown: 55 points, 15 rebounds, 17 assists across two games, shooting 18-29—an MVP argument, per Tony.

4. NHL: Edmonton Oilers’ Goalie/Defense Dilemma

(12:59–14:55)

• Wilbon:

  • Says the Oilers shouldn't pursue a new goalie at trade deadline; the defense needs more fixing. Recent addition of Connor Murphy (Chicago) makes sense for shoring up the blue line.

    "Defense is what they need to improve. Not necessarily goaltending." (Wilbon, 13:37)

• Tony:

  • Notes the atrocious goalie stats (Tristan Jarry: 57th of 58 in save percentage; Sergei Bobrovsky: 55th) and attributes performance dips to playoff fatigue.

    "That has to wear on you. That's almost a full season. I think that wears on... I think the teams, because they don't... You don't know if they're going to make the playoffs. I think these teams are exhausted." (Tony, 14:26)

  • Suggests, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, he’d try trading for Bobrovsky.

5. Memorable Gaffes: Pace Car Mix-up & Lighting Blunder

(15:11–17:26)

• Wilbon & Tony
  • Debates whether the biggest fail was the U.S. Half Marathon pace car leading runners astray (costing the leader a likely win and $20,000) or the UConn-UMass hockey lighting tech turning out the lights during play.

    "The pace car sets what? The pace and the direction. And you can't have a UMass lighting guy, but you go dark, you can have that." (Wilbon, 16:44)

  • Tony says the runner should know the course, but admits it's an understandable mistake.

6. Rapid Headlines & Notable Moments

(19:18–24:45)

• US Soccer:

  • Mauricio Pochettino takes over the USMNT ahead of the World Cup, bringing elite European coaching pedigree.

• Baseball Oddities:

  • Luis Guillorme’s legendary spring training bat grab (barehanded) is revisited.

• College Hoops Oddity:

  • USC’s Chad Baker Mazzara is out of the program after an in-game walk-off and move to sit with fans—a puzzling capstone to a nomadic college career.

• NFL Trade:

  • The Detroit Lions trading David Montgomery to the Texans for picks and linemen; both are surprised by the deal.

• NBA Injuries:

  • Updates on Giannis (returning), Trae Young (Wizards debut), Joel Embiid (out with oblique), and Zion (snapping a career games played streak).

• NASCAR:

  • Tyler Reddick makes history as the first to win the season’s first three races.
  • Michael Jordan’s as an owner, looking for a four-peat in Arizona.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Miami of Ohio deserving a bid:

  “They're 29 and oh... they deserve to be in over, let's say, a sixth place team from the SEC or the Big East.”
  (Tony, 05:27)

• On Power Four politics:

  "...otherwise you just turn the conference commissioners and the power four into gangsters. They're just bullies..."
  (Wilbon, 06:31)

• On Boston Celtics’ success:

  "They win these games...by 53 points combined...without Jayson Tatum...Jaylen Brown...just stated his case for MVP."
  (Tony, 10:03)

• On NHL playoff fatigue:

  "That's almost a full season. I think that wears on...I think the teams...I think these teams are exhausted."
  (Tony, 14:26)

• On the half marathon gaffe:

  "If you're a runner in that race, you have to know the course...I understand the instinct to follow the pace car, but it's a mistake."
  (Tony, 16:53)

• On USC player walking off:

  "You can't do that...that is a bizarre circumstance to go sit in the stands. I mean that you're saying I'm not part of this team anymore."
  (Tony, 22:42)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:56 – College basketball dominance and key results
• 05:00 – Miami of Ohio at-large bid debate
• 07:59 – NBA Eastern Conference standouts
• 12:59 – NHL: Edmonton’s defensive woes and deadline strategy
• 15:11 – Sports gaffes: pace car and stadium lighting mistake
• 19:18 – Around the horn: USMNT, baseball oddity, NFL/NBA updates
• 22:31 – USC’s Chad Baker Mazzara saga

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Final Thoughts

This episode provides a thoughtful, well-argued survey of major basketball storylines, with special attention to how college hoops' structure privileges Power Four teams—raising provocative questions about fairness and access. The NBA and NHL recaps are colored by the hosts’ trademark skepticism and healthy respect for context. As ever, Tony and Wilbon’s rapport animates the discussion, with plenty of memorable barbs, stats, and a dash of nostalgia.

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Transcript

[Mike Wilbon]

5:00am I'm up with a crisp Celsius energy drink running 12 miles today. Grab a green juice, quick change and head to work. Meetings, workshops. One more Celsius. No slowing down. Working late, but obviously still meeting the girls for a little dancing. Celsius live fit. Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate [e-mail]. pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbond. Tony, I'm so sad. This year's NFL comb. It's over.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm Tony Kornheiser. Who are you? What have you done with the real Wil Bonds, huh?

[Mike Wilbon]

We evolved.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you watch?

[Mike Wilbon]

I watched some.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I watched very little. I watched the highlights today and I don't understand why it matters. The vertical jump of a quarterback. I mean, I honestly, I don't understand.

[Mike Wilbon]

You're an offensive lineman. Defensive ends.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, okay. Cause you're blocking passes. Okay, I'm with you. What does it mean? Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, Miami of Ohio has a close call. The Knicks, Pistons and Celtics are rolling and the Oilers still have a goalie problem. But we begin today with big time college basketball played over the weekend. Number one, Duke crushed number 11, Virginia, 7751. Number two, Arizona crushed number 14, Kansas, 8461. And on Friday night, number three, Michigan crush number 10 Illinois at Illinois 8470. Wilbon. What was the most compelling result of the weekend?

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah, I don't want to say Michigan. I don't want to say Michigan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You have to.

[Mike Wilbon]

I have to say Michigan. So going into that game, I was really excited about that game because I thought, okay, I know what Michigan is now because I just watched him against Duke play an even game. I said I would rank Michigan 2, I would see them as a 1. Let's see what Illinois has. I think Illinois has some depth, some shooting, some size. I like what the Ali and I have put together this year. No, Michigan put it right back on them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

And Tony, the size thing. And by the way, Illinois didn't turn in some dog performance. Illinois played pretty damn good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're not as good.

[Mike Wilbon]

They're not as good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not as good.

[Mike Wilbon]

And so we're starting to have some reveal. The, the, the, the Arizona game was impressive, although that was in Arizona. Kansas. Look, if I, if I can't trust. And the best player on the team made some, he made some brilliant plays, but that was, that wound up being a sizable margin of victory for Arizona.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, sizable. Yeah. So here's what I think we Are watching night after night, week after week in the last two to three weeks. We're watching good teams play good teams.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And we are watching the great teams separate from the good teams. That's what. Because in addition to these games, I wrote these things down. Addition ones. We want to talk about number 16, Texas Tech beat number four, Iowa State. At Iowa State. Number four, Houston, beat Colorado by 40. And if you're impressed by 40, number seven, Florida, I believe, are the defending champions beat number 20, Arkansas and put 111 on them. And now Iowa State, which is now six, is at Arizona tonight. Look, so we're seeing the separation. I believe that Duke, Arizona, Michigan and UConn are going to be the number one seeds. And I also believe that the number two seeds could beat the number one seeds because we see that this year in terms of answering this question, the only answer is Michigan beating Illinois. And here's why. The ACC is not as good as the Big Ten. Nobody is surprised that Duke buried Virginia like that. And nobody is surprised that Arizona, which was laying in wait for Kansas because Kansas beat them the last time, no one is surprised that Arizona won that game in the same way that that no one is surprised that Villanova could not beat St. John's I was going

[Mike Wilbon]

to say because St. John's we are

[Tony Kornheiser]

not surprised because St. John's looked terrible against you. Kind of missing 24 shots.

[Mike Wilbon]

They were going to bounce back when Pitino comes out in the cream suit. In the cream suit, the white shirt and the cream tie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, no, no, I understand.

[Mike Wilbon]

Rick Pitino might be able to tell young people in the media this meant nothing. If you and I were standing with him privately, he would even try to say he walked out there and he basically demanded his team and they were put up that kind of performance.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I just want to say this. Since the NFL ended, college basketball has saved this show, right? Because the NBA was off for a week on the All Star Game. The NHL was off for two weeks with the Olympics. And I will say something I never thought I would say. What realignment may be helping you look at Arizona and Houston in the Big 12 and they make a difference. They make a difference.

[Mike Wilbon]

They do. But it hurts some other parts. One of the things. Speaking of that Big 12, how about Texas Techs without its arguably best player? Toppin was starting to play like an all American team. He's out for the season and they go and get that win at Iowa State.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Very impressive.

[Mike Wilbon]

Let's move from the Power Four to the unbeaten Mid Major Miami of Ohio. The 19th ranked Redhawks improved a 29. 0 when they scraped by 11th place Western Michigan Friday on Trey Perry's left handed land with 4/10 of a second left in the game. Miami has two regular season games and the Mac tournament remaining. Tone, if the Redhawks lose before the big dance, would they still deserve in that large bid?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think absolutely they would. There. Are we up to 68 teams? Are we at 72? However many there are 37 at large bids. You, you, you, this. They're 29 and oh, if they lose one, they're 29 and one and they deserve to be in over let's say a sixth place team from the SEC or the biggest.

[Mike Wilbon]

It would be a lot lower than six. You might get, you know, here 11th place.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me give you the numbers of what's working against them. Their strength of schedule is 321 out of 365. That's awful. Yeah, their out of conference strength of schedule is worse. It's 360 out of 365. They have only played in one quad two game. They haven't played in any quad one games. And the Mac Conference has not gotten a second team in since 1999. But they haven't had a 29. 0 team. They have a 29. 0 team and they deserve a chance to be in there even if they lose. Let's be honest here. If Duke or Michigan or Arizona loses a game in their conference tournament, it will not affect their seating at all. It should not affect Miami. Miami should be.

[Mike Wilbon]

You got to respect it. Be in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

I mean seriously, otherwise you just turn the conference commissioners and the power for into gangsters. They're just bullies where they say get out of here. We don't even want to see you. We don't want to schedule you in the regular season thereby helping you raise that strength of schedule number one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't believe this in football. I believe it in basketball. I am less charitable for teams getting in in football because first of all

[Mike Wilbon]

we've seen people make it competitive in basketball. But I'm not even going there, Tony, because it's particularly with the Big Ten and the Mac. These kids all grew up together. They all basically got separated through the process of recruiting. When you're in Michigan and Ohio and Illinois and Indiana and now you're telling me you go undefeated against whatever schedule you're allowed to cobble together.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

And that's not good enough because we need a 13th team from the Big Ten.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So I had Joe Linardi on the podcast today after you appeared on the podcast. Joey Bracketts and he said he felt that Miami would win their conference tournament and then be in an 8, 9 game. The first game would be in an 89 game. Now if they have any regular season games left and they lose that and in the, in the tournament that that's different. But if they only lose one going in then, then I am good with that. By the way, sleepers. His sleepers. Who? St. Louis and St. St. Mary's the

[Mike Wilbon]

St. Mary's Aga game pounded him was good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's move to the NBA and specifically the Eastern Conference. Wilbon so you will not be able to talk about the Lakers beating the warriors by 20 on Saturday. In the east, the Knicks pounded San Antonio by 25 points after beating Milwaukee two days before. The Pistons beat Cleveland and Orlando after their not so good week last week. And The Celtics put 148 points on the Nets on Friday, then beat Philadelphia by 16 last night. Wilbon which eastern contender had the most impressive weekend?

[Mike Wilbon]

I think Cleveland did. I mean you can't. It can't. The Nets cannot count toward any positive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They stink. No, they stink.

[Mike Wilbon]

They're the worst.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How did you get talk about Cleveland. I didn't even mention Cleveland.

[Mike Wilbon]

Talk about being relegated.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't mention Cleveland.

[Mike Wilbon]

Oh wait. Oh, so wait a minute. I confused. So it's not Boston either. So Boston just ran up that score on Brooklyn, 148 points. I don't care if it's historic and then involved Larry Bird. You can't consider that I get the Pistons is what I really meant. The Pistons.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You confused. Cleveland at Detroit. Okay, we do that all my life.

[Mike Wilbon]

Right? Cleveland and Detroit. I'm going to say the Pistons. Look, we're getting to the point in the NBA, Tony, where the victories when you play real teams, not the Nets, they're more competitive. They may be smaller margins. So I don't know what happened to Golden State. And by the way Golden State looks like now. Look, I know Steph Curry's out another five games without Steph Curry in the five games, can they still hold onto a play in spot?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I very specifically said we're not going

[Mike Wilbon]

to talk about that. I didn't mention the Lakers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, you meant. Okay, so here you know my feeling about any individual games that they don't really matter all that much. I don't believe that the Knicks or the Pistons or the Celtics had any particular worries. San Antonio was on the fourth game of a five game road trip schedule loss. Right. Detroit had to prove that what you saw the week before on home games, that that wasn't really who they are. And as you say, the Brooklyn Nets stink. So I want to go to a larger issue here, and for me, it is the Boston Celtics. You know that I believe that they are the most surprising team in the NBA this year.

[Mike Wilbon]

You called it early.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they win these games. They win these two games by 53 points combined, and they shoot 54% from the field. They do this without Jayson Tatum, their best player. And Jaylen Brown. Jaylen Brown has now risen up to be their best player. In these two games, he had 55 points, 15 rebounds, 17 assists and shot 18 for 29. That's his case for MVP. He just stated his case for MVP.

[Mike Wilbon]

Terrific defender, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, no matter what else you say in the east, the issue comes down to is Jayson Tatum coming back?

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony, so you're saying as much as you believe in Boston, you don't believe they could win without Jason Tatum, I'm

[Tony Kornheiser]

not sure they can't win. But I think with Jason Tatum and people are going to say, well, how will he fit in? Well, he's played there for seven or eight years. He knows how to fit. There's no break in, period.

[Mike Wilbon]

What this last week did was expose a little bit of a flaw in Detroit, which needs a second score. Go with Kate Cunningham. The Knicks, Tony. It may have exposed that they are what we think they are, which is up and down, which is unable to sustain. But their defense is better. I mean, it's not Tibbs defense.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't love Boston, but better you don't love Boston.

[Mike Wilbon]

Actually, I'm starting to really like Boston.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Did you see that kid in the middle last night? He had like a thousand. Unbelievable. Who is he? Let's take a break.

[Mike Wilbon]

He's Robert Parish.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Coming up, the Oilers hope they'd solve their goalie problem, but do they need to try again?

[Mike Wilbon]

They're like 27 and 17.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know who he is, man.

[Mike Wilbon]

The runaway leader in the U.S. half Marathon championship took a wrong turn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did Brad Smith. Would he find that kid somewhere? Yeah. Does he know what he's doing? Because I think he knows what he's doing.

[Mike Wilbon]

Oklahoma City, The Celtics.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Let us find out what's poppin with the populace. I'm gonna get the first one. Go to my glasses. Here we go.

[Mike Wilbon]

Are we starting?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do the Oilers need to add a goalie before Friday's NHL trade deadline?

[Mike Wilbon]

No. And they sort of just moved. Made a move that tells you they probably won't worry about the goaltending, they'll worry about the defense. So the oilers are the second best offensive team in the league and the fourth worst defensive team. That's insane. You just can't score six goals every night. As Mr. Draisaitl said recently, they traded Stuart Skinner in December to the Penguins. He was terrible. They got rid of him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right?

[Mike Wilbon]

They get Tristan Jari terrible, who goes from 2.66 to 3.85 goals against. That's terrible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

Connor Ingram, the backup, I mean he's not much better. So they what they did though, Tony, with the goaltenders all being bad, you got to think, what about a defenseman? So they go out just now, minutes ago, and they get Connor Murphy, a solid defensive veteran from Chicago. Block shots that can pair with Darnell Nurse. Defense is what they need to improve. Not necessarily goaltending.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, not necessarily.

[Mike Wilbon]

Not necessarily.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tristan Jarry's save percentage is.860 right now just in Edmonton. He's 57th out of 58 goalies. That's awful. He has given up four plus goals in his last five games. And he's not the only one infected by this. The great Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida. He is 55th out of 58th. He gave up to the Islanders cuz I watched this yesterday. He gave up five goals to the island.

[Mike Wilbon]

Possibly he's just tired.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is what I want to get to these two teams, Florida and Edmonton have played so many playoff games in the last two to three years, Florida has played, going to the cup finals, winning twice out of three years, 68 extra games. That has to wear on you. That's almost a full season. I think that wears on. Go. I think the teams, because they don't. You don't know if they're going to make the playoffs. I think these teams are exhausted. You know what I would do if I was Edmonton? I. I trade for Bobrovsky. I bring him in. I bring him in.

[Mike Wilbon]

No, you know what you want to do? You trade for Connor Murphy, a Blackhawks defenseman, because they haven't played any playoff games. He's got to be fresh as a daisy. The Blackhawks haven't played a playoff game in probably eight years. So, you know, it's a good move. Am I reading you the second email?

[Tony Kornheiser]

You are. That's the rule. I read one, you read two.

[Mike Wilbon]

So who made the biggest gaffe this weekend? The pace car driver in the U.S. half Marathon championship or the lighting dude in the UConn UMass hockey game?

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let me explain this with the pace car. The pace car went off the course. The racers behind the pace car didn't know to not follow the pace car. Right?

[Mike Wilbon]

They're following the pace car.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They followed the pace car.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's why it's called the pace car.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The woman who is leading, when she finally climbs back into the race, she finishes night. This happens more often than people think. I saw this happen. I saw this happen in a race about 10 years ago.

[Mike Wilbon]

How about this?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay? When the guy misses, he thinks it's not a save, he thinks it's a goal, it's a save. Then he turns the lights out, three to three in overtime. He can't do that.

[Mike Wilbon]

He masses at home and benefits from this penalty.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's not the biggest gaffe. The biggest gaffe. Shane Lowry. Shane Lowry puts one in the water on 16. Puts one in the water on 17. Double bogeys. But the guy who's won a British Open, Shane Lowry, needs two double bogeys. He uses. Loses a three shot lead in the last tournament.

[Mike Wilbon]

Three holes, but at least Lowry, who won like eight or nine million dollars last year, it's not going to affect his life.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When you saw it, what did you think?

[Mike Wilbon]

I screamed out loud because of Shane Lowry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Stunning.

[Mike Wilbon]

Particularly part three.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nobody does this.

[Mike Wilbon]

You cannot pace car. So who's responsible? Who's accountable? If you're not following, you and I have been in pace cars in our life. At the racetrack, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

The pace car sets what? The pace and the direction. And you can't have a UMass lighting guy, but you go dark, you can have that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you're a runner in that race, you have to know the course. The course is marked. It has a specific kind of tape. It's marked. I understand the instinct to follow the pace car, but it's a mistake how much he lost. It's a mistake how much he lost.

[Mike Wilbon]

20 grand.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really?

[Mike Wilbon]

That's not like Shane Lowry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Mike Wilbon]

It was down.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't make that much. Marathon or half marathons can't pay that much.

[Mike Wilbon]

And a UMass lighting guy, I get that. And I don't want him fired. I don't want just a penalty shot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What pro golfer of that consequence do you know that lost a three shot lead on the last three holes ever?

[Mike Wilbon]

I was gonna say it's Van de Veldean.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That was one hole.

[Mike Wilbon]

Nobody knows we're watching us.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That was one hole. Don't you think? Enough email. Let's take one last break. Still to come, the Lions ship out David Montgomery. Wow.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's a wow. Michael Jeffrey Jordan winning another three peat.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Shane Lowry faced the press.

[Mike Wilbon]

He did and was great. He was and was great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And people love him and they show

[Mike Wilbon]

more respect for him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I do. But the second one in the water. Why are you going right? What are you doing right?

[Mike Wilbon]

It looked like something we would do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, well, we'd be shorter into the water. Yeah, well, we wouldn't hit it as long.

[Commercial/Announcer]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

O'Reilly Auto Parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine, ABS or maintenance light with O'Reilly Veriscan. The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. O'Reilly Veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan. If you need help, O'Reilly Auto Parts can recommend a shop for you. Don't ignore a check engine, ABS or maintenance light. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today, a free service exclusively at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Happy time people. Happy 54th birthday. Mauricio Pochettino Pochettino is the coach of the United States men's national soccer team that will play in the World cup this summer. Previously, Pochettino coached Espanol in La Liga in Spain, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in England's Premier league, and Paris Saint Germain where he won Ligue 1 in France, gets a round along the way. Pochettino coached Messi, Mbappe and Neymar.

[Mike Wilbon]

Pretty good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pretty good. USMNT has two high profile tune up games in Atlanta later this this month. One against 8th ranked Belgium on March 28th and the other against 6th ranked Portugal on March 31st. Wow. The United States is ranked 15th. After those games, Pochettino will finalize his roster for the US World cup team, which is as big a deal as

[Mike Wilbon]

we have in soccer World cup at 101 days. Also, he's coached Cole Palmer at Chelsea, coached Harry Kane and son at Tottenham.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Harry Kane.

[Mike Wilbon]

Everybody except Pele. He seems to have coached nobody on

[Tony Kornheiser]

the US Team as good as those guys.

[Mike Wilbon]

Not as good as any of those guys, no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what I'm saying. Happy Anniversary. Luis Giome on this day nine years ago, during a spring training game, the Mets infielder nonchalantly caught a bat whizzing into the Mets dugout in one of the most impressive spring training baseball plays ever. Our pal Ron Darling calling the game made reference to the Highland Games in Scotland. In terms of comparison, the bat accidentally flew out of the hands of the Marlins. Adani Echeverria Gyomei stayed with the mets through the 2023 season, appropriately as a glove man, though this catch was barehanded. Since then, Gyomei has bounced around the league, spending time with the Braves, Angels and Diamondbacks. Most recently he played in The Astros

[Mike Wilbon]

organization everyday dopes have no idea what kind of hand eye coordination. We prefer professional athletes. Remember when I'm drawing a blank on the spurs caught the bat in the air. The bat that was flying through San Antonio Ginobi.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, the bat. Not that kind of bat. A real bat. A real bat. Flying. Yeah. Flying in a.

[Mike Wilbon]

Look how great their hands are.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Not great.

[Mike Wilbon]

Unbelievable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy trails. Chad. Baker Mazzara, USC's leading scorer, a 26 year old transfer from Auburn.26, is no longer with the program after a bizarre scene during Saturday's loss to Nebraska. Baker Mazzara was leading the Trojans with 14 points when he left the court with an apparent leg injury, only to later return and sit with fans rather than the team. You can't do that. I have no idea what his relationship is with head coach Eric Musselman. And the LA Times reports there were an accumulation of issues. But you cannot go sit in the stands.

[Mike Wilbon]

Sort of seems like something Ron Artest, either way would do or did like 30 years ago. I'm just worried, Tony, that something else comes down about behavior and why he did this. I'm worried about that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I understand that worry. We don't know anything in here, but that is a bizarre circumstance to go sit in the stands. I mean that you're saying I'm not part of this team anymore. I know it. You know it. I'm not part of this team.

[Mike Wilbon]

Like five, six schools. Been a lot of schools.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Including J.C. yep. He's 26. People stay in college now till they're 40.

[Mike Wilbon]

Money's too good to leave.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's go to the big finish. We have lots of time. The Lions are sending running back David Montgomery to the Texans for offensive lineman. Two scrubs and two picks. Are you surprised?

[Commercial/Announcer]

Wow.

[Mike Wilbon]

I mean, I don't. I don't think they want Jameer Gibbs by himself in that back, though. Montgomery is a tough guy. He's being traded for a fourth and a seventh. I was angry when the Bears got rid of him. Seems like he's going to Houston. Giannis is set to return to the court tonight. Trae Young, your boy is expected to make the Wizards debut Thursday. Your thoughts?

[Tony Kornheiser]

My thoughts are that Milwaukee really isn't any good and they're tanking. They're tanking at the moment. The Wizards have been tanking for three years and continue to tank.

[Mike Wilbon]

I think you're surprised.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think it's great that Trae Young's gonna play. I would go under on five games for the rest of the season.

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm going over on that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm on under on that. Speaking of not playing, Joel Embiid will miss at least three games with a strained right oblique. It's not a big deal.

[Mike Wilbon]

I was looking forward to him going up head to head with Win Banyama on the Spurs, I believe last game on that long road trip. But Zion missed the Pelicans game Sunday, snapping a Career High streak of 35 straight play. Disappointed?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he never plays that much, so he's had a good year in terms of being healthy. Was he the first pick when John Moran was the second pick? Wouldn't you have expected more by now? Both yes, you would have expected more by now.

[Mike Wilbon]

Not worked out well for no, it really has not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Last one. Tyler Redick is the first NASCAR driver to win the first three races of the season. You're impressed.

[Mike Wilbon]

Michael Jeffrey Jordan winning again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

Three straight. Do you think four. Four a four peat in Arizona.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think the key is to get in a lawsuit? Do you think that that. How about that works out?

[Mike Wilbon]

If you count that it's already four straight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm Mike Wilbond. Same time tomorrow. Tomorrow, Knuckleheads. You can get the podcast on the ESPN app or Apple podcasts. Mom would have been 100 today. Wow.

[Commercial/Announcer]

It's a season two playoff race with TGL. Presented by SoFi. Sunday at 9:00pm Eastern. Jupiter Links versus Boston Common Golf Monday at 7:00pm Eastern Los Angeles Golf Club versus New York Golf Club Tuesday at 9:00pm Eastern. The Bay Golf Club versus Jupiter Links. Keep up. It's Golf Watch on ESPN, ESPN2 and the ESPN app.