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- [00:00]
A
As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by.
- [00:33]
B
Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's National Color Day. Tony, what's your favorite color?
- [00:38]
C
I'm Tony Kornheiser. Pale yellow, the color of my body.
- [00:42]
B
Stop. I thought you were gonna say green.
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C
The color money.
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B
Your alma mater's color.
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C
Binghamton. Yeah. Oh, you would have said purple then.
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B
Always purple.
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C
I always remember getting the big box of Crayola crayons when I was a kid and going through and finding something called burnt sienna. And I'd never heard of it. I hadn't heard of sienna. Burnt sienna. And I always thought that was a different color kind of thing. Sort of darker. Sort of darker than oranges. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, Russell Wilson is miffed, Tom Izzo is irked, and Steve Young joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with last night's two opening games in the NBA champions. Oklahoma City at home on banner and ring night went two overtimes to beat Houston and the Lakers at home, but without LeBron James were beaten by Golden State by 10 points. Wilbon, which was the more intriguing result from the NBA last night?
- [01:32]
B
I'm torn between talking about the warriors we've talked about for since 2014, but just because they now have Jimmy Butler the whole year they have a lineup. They have Al Horse.
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C
Well, they have him the whole year. Until he says I want to leave.
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B
He'S not going to say I want to leave.
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C
Not at this stage.
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B
But I'm torn between that and looking at Houston okc, which could be a Western Conference final. They could be the two best teams in the league, all. Oh, wait, I think they are right now, tonight, the two best teams in the league.
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C
So you like Denver. I thought you like Denver.
- [02:01]
B
I like Denver to wind up being in the Western Conference finals. But right now, I think these are the two best, right? And Kevin Durant had a, you know, had a weird sort of night.
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C
He called time.
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B
He called time out.
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C
It's a technical. He called time.
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B
He didn't call it technical. They didn't call it.
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C
The refs didn't see right there.
- [02:19]
B
We all saw it. But setting that aside, Kevin Durant played 47 minutes last night, and it was actually for an opening night game. I wasn't going to watch it all, and I wound up staying with it. I thought it was sort of riveting because you have these champs, these young champs out there, and you have Kevin Durant leading another young team. I. I just thought that was cool. But the old people, which you would have liked if you had been awake.
- [02:38]
C
Yeah.
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B
Is to talk about Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
- [02:42]
C
So look, we are all familiar with the warriors and the Lakers. Yes, that's a great rivalry, and they have big stars. And so the tendency is to say, that's a meaningful game and maybe even a foreshadowing game. But LeBron didn't play. So I can't attach any meaning to it because LeBron didn't play, because the warriors right now are Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, and The Lakers are LeBron and Luka. I could talk about Luka's 43, but if LeBron plays, he doesn't get 43. But he doesn't get 43 because he doesn't need 43. So it's the other game. And the reason it's the other game is because this is what Oklahoma City's gonna face all year. Everybody's gonna give them their best shot, and young, improving teams like Houston, like Detroit, like Orlando are gonna be sky high to play against them. So Oklahoma City won, and that's great. It's good for them that they won. But it's. This is what they're gonna look at all year long.
- [03:33]
B
A lot. And, Tony, this is what. I know you frowned yesterday, but this is the reason I'm saying you can't repeat. Because when you look at it every day from now till June. That's right.
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C
It took them. They had to sweat to win the first game at home.
- [03:48]
B
Yeah.
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C
Come on.
- [03:50]
B
Let's move to Russell Wilson's issue with his former head coach, Sean Payton. Payton's Broncos beat Wilson's Giants on Sunday, and afterward Peyton said he wished the Giants had waited to start Jackson Dart until after this game, implying he would have rather faced Wilson more than implying. Wilson called the comment classless tone. What do you call it?
- [04:10]
C
I would call it deliberate, and I would call it goading. There is history there. Russell Wilson started 15 games in a row for Sean Payton in 2023, Payton's first year with the Broncos. And then very publicly, Peyton benched him. All right? And then Peyton came back and drafted Bo Nix to be his quarterback, and he let Russell Wilson go. So there was a sour taste there. I wouldn't blame Russell Wilson for feeling this way, that it's classless, that it was aimed at him. That was a cheap shot. But I think you also have to say in the interim that Russell Wilson had a rocky year last year in Pittsburgh where they lost five straight, including a playoff game at the end of the year, a rocky beginning with the Giants where they benched him for Jackson Dart after the third game. So I think that Russell Wilson can say this was a classless shot and Sean Payton can go back and say it was thorough analysis. Because even we sat on this set and we talked about when are they going to bench Russell Wilson and when are they going to go to Jackson? Darth.
- [05:03]
B
Sean Payton is a really, really, really fine coach. He's a Chicago guy. I lean toward letting it slide.
- [05:11]
C
Eastern Illinois, except.
- [05:12]
B
Yeah, except Sean Payton behaves too often like a classless bum. That's what he behaves like. And he thinks he's so chesty. He can say stuff, but you can't say something back. Russell Wilson came something back at him.
- [05:25]
C
He did. He did.
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B
Russell Wilson's got as many super bowl rings as Sean Payton. Let's try one and been to one more. So Sean Payton will tell you what.
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C
He did as an assistant, try to.
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B
Take credit for that. And Sean. What does Sean Payton think this is like 1948? Like, Russell Wilson as a quarterback can't come back at him as a man.
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A
Good.
- [05:41]
B
I'm glad Russell Wilson did. And they can be equals in that way, in terms of status in football. But Sean Payton, who do you think you are? You ain't that good where you can just take shots at people and you better go on the rope. A dope. I wish Russell Wilson had gone further.
- [05:58]
C
Do you think Russell Wilson will stay in the NFL? Do you think he'll become an itinerant like Joe Flacco and trying to get starting jobs here and there because his effectiveness has diminished?
- [06:07]
B
Effectiveness has diminished. Tony Alderson, he wasn't ever the most popular guy in the room he was.
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C
In, but he won a Super bowl and he should have two.
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B
He should have two.
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C
Should have two. Yeah. We moved out of college basketball in a consternation by Tom Izzo over the NCAA allowing two G League players to play college basketball. In the past, if you played pro basketball, you were barred from college play. But 21 year old London Johnson has been cleared to play at Louisville next season. And 21 year old, and I hope I pronounced this right, Thierry Darlin or Terry Darlin has been cleared to play at Santa Clara this year. Izzo was livid about this and said, quote, it's ridiculous, it's embarrassing, and I love my job. I don't respect my profession. I'm not real excited about the NCAA or whoever is making these decisions, unquote. Wilbon, are you okay with ex G leaguers being approved to play college basketball?
- [06:54]
B
I'm not as outraged by it as Tom is, although I understand.
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C
Yeah, me too.
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B
His outrage and applaud it. And if I saw him, I'd dap him up. Yeah, it's less than ideal at best. And then. But Tony, the only thing I started thinking about, I thought about this a lot because Tom Izzo, to me, in a lot of ways is the conscience of college sports and particularly college basketball. But what is ideal about anything, any element of college sports Now? Right now. Right now.
- [07:24]
C
Yeah. I know nothing.
- [07:25]
B
And so I don't know where you go.
- [07:27]
C
Yeah. So my feeling is I'm not crazy about this. I'm not crazy about this, you know, but I can. I can live with it. I can live with it. And the reason I can live with it is because every college player now is a pro.
- [07:42]
B
That's right.
- [07:42]
C
They all get paid. Where I would draw the line is, if you played in the NBA, I would say, no, you can't come back to college. But I don't. I'm not going to go to the barricades to keep out 2G Leaguers who never played in the NBA. So now they just join. A greater pool of college players trying to get to the NBA leads to the G League. Just like these two, right? Just like these two. So, you know, I asked today, how much money does the average guy make in the G League? It's $40,000.
- [08:08]
B
It's less than any good high school player.
- [08:11]
C
There's going hundreds, hundreds of college players making more than that. Way more. And there's no scandalous. I mean, you get to the point where room and, and board and tuition at a private school like Northwestern's way more than $40,000, right?
- [08:25]
B
Yeah, like almost. Way more. Almost $100,000.
- [08:27]
C
So we both love Izzo and we both sympathize with him. We do. But, you know, you can like European players or African players, they may be in a pro league over there and they're recruitable to college.
- [08:37]
B
One thing I wouldn't let happen. No going back and forth in the same scene like minor league call ups.
- [08:42]
C
No, no, no.
- [08:43]
B
Major League Baseball. Let's go.
- [08:44]
C
You can't do that. But I think. I think I'm gonna have to live with it.
- [08:48]
B
We're straight to the point.
- [08:49]
C
I think we're gonna have to live with it. Let's take a break. Coming up, Jordan Love takes on Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. And we're gonna ask Steve Young what it's like to face a guy who once had your job.
- [08:57]
B
We'll also ask him how Justin Field should feel about the jets owner taking his shot at him. Another dude who behaves like a classless bum. That owner who's a dreadfully awful owner.
- [09:09]
C
Did you see the pictures of Young in Montana? Did you see that? That excites you.
- [09:12]
B
Yeah, yeah, we were there.
- [09:15]
A
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- [11:11]
C
Come back to pardon the interruption.
- [11:13]
D
Presented by twisted tea Hard iced tea. Part of happy hour.
- [11:23]
C
We have some NFL questions for our great friend. The man was set on being a long snapper until I convinced him to give flinging it a shot. Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. Let's start with this. Yesterday the jets owner Woody Johnson stood by his new coach Aaron Glenn, but said of Justin Fields, this is a quote, it's hard when you have a quarterback with the rating that we've got, unquote. If you're a quarterback and you hear something like that from the team owner, you think what?
- [11:52]
D
Well, if I'm Justin Fields, the quarterback has to stay 100% accountable despite how irritating that comment would have been to me. Like you have. That's who you are now can I comment as me as the quarterback watching this And I would say to the equity owner of the team, that rating that your quarterback has has been repeated over and over and over again. You keep having head coaches go through like a round and around and around general managers around and around and around. I think that there's got to be a time when he says that comment that the vulnerability to actually hear yourself say, oh my gosh, another really talented quarterback has a terrible rating on my watch. What can I do different? What can I bring to this new blood to this situation that seems to be going around and around and around. And that's why I mean I would. You know, you always say I want to be king for a day. I'd love to run the jets for the day, you know, or like own the jets and like it only one day. Make it, make it great for quarterbacks. Like wouldn't that be a miracle in today's NFL that you'd make it great for quarterback? Isn't that a great idea, Steve?
- [13:01]
B
You're asking Woody Johnson to have some self awareness which as lousy a stinking owner as he's been, we know he doesn't exactly have that. But let's go to another quarterback situation which reminds both Tony and me of you. Aaron Rodgers has to go and face Jordan Love Sunday night, which we're all aware of and we do remember Tony and I are old enough to remember you having to go and play a number 16 Mr. Montana with all the time. Now that you can look back and have some perspective, Steve, what Was that like.
- [13:37]
D
Well, the difference between the two situations you just described is ours. And I mean ours, because we were in it the other thick. He was traded to the Chiefs. Like, he was not Aaron. Roger wasn't traded. And so being traded has its own emotion. Right. And then this was a couple of months later, this game. So it was raw. It was all of that. And so that's. This has been too much. Too much time. Aaron's been a couple different places. Time's gone on. They'll still be a little Packers. Aaron Rodgers, there's probably some. You don't leave a team and not feel like you've been disrespected in some ways or like that's still going to be a thing. Jordan's going to probably avoid trying to get in the middle of it. And it's probably. And there's just not that much emotion. But the one you're talking about, Joe and I, it was raw and real and visceral and palpable and like, it was. It was a thing. And. And I remember it vividly.
- [14:31]
B
Have you guys ever talked about it since?
- [14:35]
D
No, I mean, not specifically that we would. We wouldn't talk. We wouldn't like, oh, you know, hey, I got you that day. You know, Joe, you know, that was a championship year for us. And it is just a regular season game at the end of the day. It's just that it was. The emotions and the rawness of it all was something you just, you know, you had to deal with. And I think that's what's different about this one.
- [14:58]
B
When I ask you about my favorite quarterback of the moment, the Bears, Caleb Williams, who seems like there's some real indecision, I guess there would be at his stage of when to pull it down, when to throw it. You know, he throws on the move pretty well sometimes when he decides to do it. You went through this process of figuring that out. How do you do it? How long does it take? How complex is.
- [15:20]
D
Is the question, Michael, that we need to really dive into to understand. That's today's game. That's the drama. Number one dramatic question for everything in the NFL today is mobile quarterbacks, which own the league today and will into the future. How do we teach them how to be sophisticated passers, yet hold on to this incredible skill that they have? And the harder, the more talented you are as an athlete, the harder this question is. And the thing that I went through that I think really helped me. I remember Sid Gilman, he was like 80 years old when he coached me at the LA Express, if you can believe that. The great Sid Gilman. And he was like, you don't know how to stay put. Go get me a jump rope. So someone ran in to the locker room and grabbed a jump rope, and he came out and he literally tied my legs together, like, ceremoniously, right? Like, now go somewhere now. Now show me what you can do. In a way, that was an important visual for me, because if you're going to be great in the NFL, you have to be great as a sophisticated passer of the football that has its own drama, its own filters, its own hurdles. But be about it, because what I learned is you never lose your ability to get outside and make people miss and make for big first downs and touchdowns. And in today's game, there's so much room that even the less mobile guys like Justin Herbert, they don't. We talked about last week, they don't. They're now threatening the line of scrimmage because they know there's too many free yards. And so the question of the day is how to coach that. Who can coach that? Who can talk about that dilemma? Somebody who ran around because otherwise you didn't experience it. And that's the question of the day.
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C
We will get you out of here on this. Another quarterback question. Patriots quarterback Drake May. He went 21 of 23 against the Titans. What does it feel like to have that level of efficiency?
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D
Well, you. It's beautiful because no one's open in the NFL. You know, everyone's open in college. And then you go pros, like, where are all the open people? Like, there's nobody. And so when you're. When you're getting that kind of efficiency, you got things rolling. You. First of all, we talked about last week. You own the data, you're ahead of it. You see the safeties, you understand what we're trying to accomplish. The ball's earlier on time. And then you got receivers that get it. They're all connected. But the thing that people don't understand is you have a play caller, somebody in the background that's in the booth or on the sidelines that understands play combinations to set you up for success. And we talked about last week. There's only five guys like that who are elite in the NFL. There's 30 guys that are competent, but the best put plays together and put you in a place and put defenses in a bind, play to play. Not like so many offensive coordinators.
- [18:03]
C
They'll.
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D
They'll have a big play and they're like, oh, okay, I gotta rest. And then you go a couple plays and they'll come back with something else. Great ones are always connected. This play leads to that play. That leads to that play. Oh, that got screwed up. I was thinking about that. I got this answer for that. That's what you guys got to understand. There's. There's great offensive coordinators in the background on a 21 to 20, 21 for 23 kind of day. Make sure you give that guy a hug, too.
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C
It's our greatest pleasure to have you here. Thanks so much, Steve.
- [18:28]
B
Appreciate it.
- [18:29]
C
Thank you.
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B
All right.
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D
You guys are the best. Got my tie out today, so I know I'm good.
- [18:33]
C
Look like an adult Wilbon doesn't you do. I do. Let's take one last break. Still to come, we've got injury updates on Lamar Jackson and Jaden Daniels and.
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B
A tough guy tears up in Boston. I want to connect Steve with my man Caleb because it sounds like Steve Young is the person he needs to talk to. About the same size, same height, athleticism.
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C
You haven't given up on Ben Johnson. You loved Ben Johnson.
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B
I love Ben Johnson, but he wasn't Steve Young.
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C
Okay?
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B
Ben Johnson got a gold jacket from playing that position.
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C
Not that I know of.
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B
I didn't think so.
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A
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- [20:33]
C
Pardon the interruption is presented by the refreshing taste of twisted tea.
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D
Hard iced tea.
- [20:39]
C
Please drink responsibly. Part of happy Hour Happy time, people. Happy 52nd birthday, Ichiro Suzuki. If you add up Ichiro's 1,278 hits in Japan and his 3,089 hits in the majors, it's move over Pete Rose. There's a new hit king. Ichiro joined the Mariners in 2001 when he was 27. He played 2,653 major league games, mostly for Seattle, but also for the Marlins and Yankees. He scored 1420 runs, had a batting average of.311 and in 2004 set the major league record with 262 hits in one season. He went into the hall of Fame this summer as a first ballot entrant, named on 393 of 394 ballots. At one point, Ichiro offered to take the one writer who did not vote for him to his house for dinner. But at his induction in Cooperstown, Ichiro joked that the offer had expired.
- [21:33]
B
If I do a Mount Rushmore of just the greatest pure hitters. Yeah, Cobb, Williams, Gwen and Ichiro, are you. Are you okay with that?
- [21:40]
C
I'm okay with them, but I gotta put Pete Rose in there because he's just a great contestant.
- [21:44]
B
Can you stick an extra head or you can take somebody out?
- [21:47]
C
No, I'm not taking anybody out. Not so happy anniversary, Joe Thomas. On this day eight years ago, the Browns future first ballot hall of Fame offensive tackle was injured on a run against Tennessee. He left the game clutching his left arm with what was later diagnosed as a torn triceps. The first play that Thomas then missed was the first play he ever missed since coming to the Browns as A rookie in 2007, Thomas had been on the field for 10,363 consecutive snaps and is believed to be the only player ever to record 10,000 straight snaps since the NFL began keeping track in 1999. In the off season after this injury, Thomas announced his retirement. He played in front of 20 Browns quarterbacks in his 11 seasons, made 10 consecutive Pro Bowls, first team All Pro six times. He allowed only 30 sacks and 6,680 blocking attempts.
- [22:40]
B
He played largely a thankless career from the outside, yes. So shouldn't there be an award for an NFL lineman? Not a college lineman? You can do that. NFL lineman, Best lineman name for Joe Thomas. That's fine. He's earned it.
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C
No, I agree with that.
- [22:53]
B
Okay.
- [22:53]
C
Happy trails. To a win for the Bruins. The Bruins rallied in the third last night to tie the Panthers at three with 131 left. But with less than 30 seconds to play, the Panthers put one off the post that was then accidentally deflected into the net by Boston defenseman Andrew Peake, giving the Panthers a 43 win. Last night's game began with a memorable moment. The Bruins and their fans welcoming back Brad Marchand with a tribute video and a standing ovation, bringing the great player and notorious nuisance to tears.
- [23:26]
B
A lot of times these video tributes and these returns are just, you know, they just get in the way. They just sort of, eh. This seemed genuine. He was sobbing.
- [23:35]
C
Okay, so when you get a hockey player, these are the toughest guys. And when they are uncontrollably sobbing, sobbing, you know that it has reached him on a very primal level. And I would think if you were there that day and you saw that, that would be a memory you would keep forever. I would think so. Let's go to the big finish, if we could. The NFL Network reports that the Raiders have assured Max Crosby they're not trading him. Your thoughts?
- [23:58]
B
I don't know if the Raiders are ever doing the right thing these days, but he's your best player. You want to get rid of him. What are people paying to watch then? The San Francisco Giants are reportedly hiring University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as their new manager. Aren't you surprised?
- [24:13]
C
I am surprised. I don't know that there's ever been a college coach who went straight to being a major league manager. And this is Buster Posey doing. And Buster Posey needs to literally stand by this guy and put his arm around him at the beginning of spring training and walk him through the locker room for days, for days to make sure people understand. This is good. Lamar Jackson joined the Ravens for at least part of today's practice. That's a good sign, right?
- [24:35]
B
Not for me. Not for anybody who cares about the Bears. Because we're in Baltimore this weekend. That's right, Lamar. Take your time. You know, just sort of chill Jaden Daniels out from Monday night's game against the Chiefs. That's a big deal, isn't it?
- [24:48]
C
It is a big deal. And that is why, at the moment, Washington's getting 12 and a half on the road. That's a tremendous amount for a team that was in the NFC Championship.
- [24:57]
B
That's your quarterback.
- [24:58]
C
That's right.
- [24:58]
B
He's the guy.
- [24:59]
C
That's right. 12 and a half. Come on. Last one. Cam Boozer had 33. 12 and four in Duke's exhibition win over Central Florida last night. Is that significant?
- [25:09]
B
We're going to be talking about another Duke freshman. All a college basketball season, aren't we? Good for college.
- [25:14]
C
We're out of time. Try to do better the next time.
- [25:17]
D
Talk about stepping up.
- [25:21]
B
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- [25:31]
C
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- [25:34]
B
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- [25:39]
D
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- [25:40]
B
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