Why Did the Clippers Release Chris Paul?

Summary

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PTI Podcast Summary

Episode: "Why Did the Clippers Release Chris Paul?"
Date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon
Special Guest: Steve Young

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Overview

In this lively episode of PTI, Tony and Wilbon dig into the NBA shocker of the day: the Los Angeles Clippers' abrupt release of Chris Paul. The duo also debates the intrigue around new College Football Playoff rankings, the still-unfilled Penn State coaching job, and Ben Roethlisberger’s suggestion that Mike Tomlin take the role. Hall of Famer Steve Young joins for “Five Good Minutes” for insight on quarterbacks, accountability, and finding joy in football.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. College Football Playoff Rankings Reaction

[00:54–05:11]

• Major Shifts Noted:
  • Ohio State and Indiana top the rankings; Texas A&M falls after loss to Texas; Alabama jumps Notre Dame; Miami remains just outside the crucial spots.
• Wilbon’s Frustrations:
  • Disputes the logic of Notre Dame at 10 and Miami at 12, given head-to-head results:
    "That's got to be reversed at some point. It doesn't have to be reversed today, but it better be reversed if it comes into play. Don't tell me the head to head doesn't count because then I start to doubt your product." – Wilbon [02:13]
• Tony’s Analysis:
  • Predicts the committee is setting up a scenario where a 3-loss Alabama could slide in over a 2-loss Notre Dame, sparking potential outrage from Texas fans:
    "I do think the committee is setting up to get rid of Notre Dame and keep Alabama. I do. I think that’s what they're doing." – Tony [04:45]
  • For Miami vs. Notre Dame, Tony sees the door closing for Miami:
    "12's not going to get in because of conference champions. 12 is not going to get in. So they keep them there. That is a signal that they will not employ the head to head and move Miami over Notre Dame." – Tony [03:49]

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2. Penn State’s Coaching Conundrum & Big Ben's Tomlin Take

[05:13–07:44]

• Open Search:
  • Kalani Sitake chooses to stay at BYU, increasing Penn State’s dilemma.
• Roethlisberger’s Suggestion:
  • Ben Roethlisberger suggests it may be time for Mike Tomlin to coach Penn State after years with the Steelers – a suggestion that stuns Tony:
    "Ben Roethlisberger just came out, basically a coach who took him to a Super Bowl, and said, your time’s done. Get outta here... My reaction is wow." – Tony [05:47]
  • Key point: Roethlisberger argues Tomlin would be a great recruiter, despite his pro background.
• Hosts’ Take:
  • Both express affection for Tomlin, but acknowledge the “time for change” in Pittsburgh and at Penn State:
    "It’s just time to do something again... He’s great at it. He’ll be great at it wherever he goes." – Wilbon [07:11]
  • Tony points out Tomlin has stated he’s not interested in college, but Wilbon counters that the era of big salaries and NIL may change that calculus.

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3. Clippers Cut Chris Paul: Who’s to Blame?

[07:49–10:46]

• Shocking Move:
  • Clippers release Chris Paul amid a disastrous 5–16 season. Tony wonders if Paul is becoming the scapegoat for deeper problems:
    "Are the Clippers going to somehow scapegoat Chris Paul?..." – Tony [09:16]
• Wilbon’s Perspective:
  • Deeply personal, as Chris Paul is a friend and co-author:
    "Chris Paul is one of the great leaders... Chris is tough... Chris Paul is an old-fashioned, old-school tough guy... He’ll go right at Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and even T. Lou." – Wilbon [08:15]
  • Acknowledges that Paul can clash with veteran teammates, and hears that “his voice is too loud” for this locker room, but questions where the Clippers’ stars’ leadership is.
• On Accountability:
  • Both see blame on Clippers’ stars (Kawhi, Harden), front office, and coaching:
    "They have the oldest team in the league and their best player plays half the time..." – Tony [09:53]
  • Wilbon predicts Paul will land elsewhere—in TV, coaching, or another role—unlike his current teammates:
    "Chris Paul can either do TV, he can coach... a lot of people could use Chris Paul right now, but the Clippers can't." – Wilbon [10:28]

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4. Steve Young: “Five Good Minutes”

[13:02–19:29]

Cowboys’ New Dynamic Duo (George Pickens & CeeDee Lamb)

• Steve details the psychological and tactical ripple effect of having two elite receivers:
  "It sinks into [the defense’s] psyche... you have a perceptional, like, benefit, and you actually have a reality benefit. And I think Dak’s going to take advantage." – Steve Young [13:41]
• Cautions that Cowboys’ historic hype rarely translates to post-season success.

Lamar Jackson’s Diminished Game

• Wilbon notices linebackers now catch Lamar; asks Steve if Jackson has lost “the magic.”
  "Last week really were like, he’s diminished physically. You can see it... It’s like you’re just diminished as a player, and you got to get back to health." – Steve Young [15:12]
• Steve worries the Ravens aren’t adapting play-calling to protect Jackson’s health.

Joe Burrow, Joy, and the QB’s Mental Game

• Burrow seeks to recapture the “fun” in football post-injury. Steve waxes philosophical:
  "My dream is that I get to play football the game I love, for money... Joe Montana never threw an incompletion... I love the idea of Joe and Patrick Mahomes as the ultimate... That makes me feel like—aspirational." – Steve Young [16:32]

QB Accountability: The Max Brosmer Play

• Brosmer’s pick-six, blamed on a play call with no blocking—is it his fault or the coaches'?
  "The truest truth... is the ball is in the quarterback’s hands... If you hear mitigation, you’re listening to somebody who’s not gonna win next week. If you’re listening to accountability, truest truth. I bet on that guy." – Steve Young [18:01]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Don't tell me the head to head doesn't count, because then I start to doubt your product. Your product’s an exhibition, not a competition."
  – Mike Wilbon [02:13]

• "Ben Roethlisberger just came out, basically a coach who took him to a Super Bowl, and said, your time’s done. Get outta here... My reaction is wow."
  – Tony Kornheiser [05:47]

• "Chris Paul is an old-fashioned, old-school tough guy... He’ll go right at Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and even T. Lou."
  – Mike Wilbon [08:15]

• "They stink. They have lost 14 of their last 16 games... They got the oldest team in the league and their best player plays half the time."
  – Tony Kornheiser [09:53]

• "If you hear mitigation, you’re listening to somebody who’s not gonna win next week. If you’re listening to accountability, truest truth. I bet on that guy."
  – Steve Young [18:01]

• Running Joke:

  • Tony riffs on “accountability and mitigation” as the name of a law firm:
    "That sounds like a law firm. Accountability and mitigation." – Tony Kornheiser [19:43]

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Timestamps for Crucial Segments

• College Football Playoff Rankings Deep Dive: 00:54–05:11
• Penn State Coaching Speculation & Roethlisberger on Tomlin: 05:13–07:44
• Clippers Release Chris Paul Reaction: 07:49–10:46
• Steve Young Joins for NFL QB Talk: 13:02–19:29

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Tone & Takeaways

• The banter remains brisk, with Tony’s dry wit counterbalancing Wilbon’s passion.
• Both hosts show depth—Wilbon’s friendship with Chris Paul adds emotional gravitas to the NBA segment, while Tony’s skepticism over the College Football Playoff committee’s motives is classic PTI.
• Steve Young punctuates the show with quarterback wisdom and memorable, almost poetic, commentary on accountability and joy in sports.

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For anyone who missed it:

• The Clippers’ mess is bigger than Chris Paul, whose intensity didn’t mesh with a struggling, veteran-heavy locker room.
• The College Football Playoff may be teeing up controversy by setting Alabama ahead of Notre Dame.
• Ben Roethlisberger’s public nudge at Mike Tomlin’s Steelers exit drew “wow” reactions.
• Steve Young affirms: winners don’t make excuses; quarterbacks must own their outcomes—on the scoreboard and off.

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(Skipping ad sections, intros, and outros per instructions.)

Transcript

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[Mike Wilbon]

Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's National Hug Day. Tony, who have you hugged today?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Kornheiser. Vern Lundquist. It's a long story.

[Mike Wilbon]

We need to. We're gonna have to get into this. Are we gonna have to get Pablo to get documents on you and Vern Lundqvist?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I got notes yesterday. Yes. It was not my line about getting in a fight with.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah, that's fine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not my line. It's a brilliant line.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I got notes from people saying that made me laugh out loud. I don't expect. That made me laugh. Welcome to pti, boys and girls. In today's episode, Big Ben suggests Mike Tomlin from Penn State. The Clippers say see you to Chris Paul. And Steve Young joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with the most recent iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings, which were unveiled last night. The top two teams remain the same. Ohio State and Indiana. Texas A and M fell from three to seven after losing to Texas. Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon and Ole Miss all moved up one spot. Alabama passed Notre Dame at nine, dropping the Irish to 10 after both won games on Saturday. Wilbaughn, what stands out to you most about the latest rankings?

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm gonna do something rarely seen on pti. I'm gonna beat you to the glasses.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, that's fine.

[Mike Wilbon]

Cause I got some notes. Cause I have to write all this down. Cause it makes your head swim. What we saw last night and what the possibilities.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I love that show. I know you love that. I'm a sucker for that show. I love this show.

[Mike Wilbon]

I like the show a little bit. Like to watch Heather on the show because we've known Heather since she was like 11 years old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She's an intern at the Post.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's right. Okay, so Alabama. Suppose they lose. I. I jump. I fast forward to that because they're ranking things that come in early. I'm gonna let you answer all this stuff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Mike Wilbon]

Notre Dame at 10 and Miami at 12. I still got A problem with that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's got to be reversed at some point. It doesn't have to be reversed today, but it better be reversed if it comes into play. Don't tell me the head to head doesn't count because then I start to doubt your product. Your product's an exhibition, not a competition. Tulane versus North Texas and James Madison getting in if Duke loses.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Mike Wilbon]

How does Duke beat Virginia? Duke can't beat Virginia. Jim Phillips, I'm talking to you in the ACC if you want to be relevant. The main thing though, Tony, is if Alabama loses the SEC title game, they would suffer in a way that a Notre Dame couldn't. Because Notre Dame was doesn't have a conference tournament game. How do you reconcile?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm gonna take these in the order that you said them. All right. The Alabama, Notre Dame thing comes into play if and only if BYU beats Texas Tech. Because if BYU beats Texas Tech then two Big 12 teams are going to advance. That's going to eliminate, I believe either Alabama or Notre Dame. I find it very interesting that they jumped Alabama over Notre Dame this week. I believe the committee is setting up for this, that if Alabama, which has beaten Georgia already this season, if they lose to them in the SEC championship game and it's reasonably close third loss. I understand that. And so you ask, can a 3 loss team Alabama get in over a 2 loss team Notre Dame? And I believe the committee is positioning that to happen. And then I think Texas is going to go crazy cuz they have three losses and they've beaten Oklahoma and A and M who are getting in. So I think I've handled that for you. What's the other one? You want to go to Miami now Miami and Notre Dame did Miami. Here's what I'm going to tell you.

[Mike Wilbon]

Fiddle to Notre Dame.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We're going to look at the committee right now. The committee has kept Miami at 12. 12's not going to get in because of conference champions. 12 is not going to get in. So they keep them there. That is a signal that they will not employ the head to head and move Miami over Notre Dame.

[Mike Wilbon]

It seems like you're okay with that, but you're not okay with Alabama jumping Notre Dame.

[Steve Young]

No, I'm not.

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm.

[Steve Young]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're asking me what I think is going to happen. I didn't get to the okay part. But they're also going to take. It looks like they're going to take at least two. Well, not at least two, but two. Two group of five. Yeah, because that's I'm okay with that. Yeah, I understand.

[Mike Wilbon]

I don't know who I want to leave out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You like underdog. Am I okay with the head to head? The head to head happened a long time ago. Notre Dame has two losses in the first two weeks by a total of four points. Miami's losses are worse than that. Notre Dame has run the table, as you like to hear, since then. I think Notre Dame is. But I do think the committee is setting up to get rid of Notre Dame and keep Alabama. I do. I think that's what they're doing.

[Mike Wilbon]

If it comes down to Notre Dame, I'm sorry. To Miami and Notre Dame, then they're setting the keeper.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think they will keep Notre Dame. That is the indication I have.

[Mike Wilbon]

You ignore head to head. I'd come at you. I'm going to come at him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Go ahead.

[Mike Wilbon]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You haven't paid attention all year.

[Mike Wilbon]

It'll be like, did Dak get his money?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Mike Wilbon]

Every day I'll be like a dog on a postman's leg.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good.

[Mike Wilbon]

We've had many college coaching hires of late, but the Penn State job remains curiously open. BYU head coach Kalani. Is it Kaloni Kalani. Tataki is the latest to spur in the school's interest. Re upping to stay in Provo. On his podcast yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger suggested that Mike Tomlin would be a potential fit, adding that while the Steelers should not fit fire Tomlin, perhaps a fresh start is best for everybody involved. Tone, what do you make of Penn State's problem? And what do you make of Big Ben's potential solution?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's okay if we say this. It's okay if you and I say that the time is done for Mike Tomlin there and he ought to go to Penn State. It's a great landing spot. It's okay because we're Muppets on a television show. We did not play football for Mike Tomlin. Ben Roethlisberger did. Ben Roethlisberger just came out basically a coach who took him to a Super bowl and said, your time's done. Get outta here. Ben Roethlisberger played his entire professional career in Pittsburgh. He matters in Pittsburgh. And now he's saying it's time for Mike Tomlin to do this and then do this. My reaction is wow. If this was. What's the word? My word would be wow. Now he tries to soften it by saying that Tomlin could win national championships there. Right? And I get this. Everybody in Western Pennsylvania cares about Penn State more than anything else. Other than the Steelers, everybody in eastern Pennsylvania cares about Penn State more than anything else about the Eagles. There's resonance about what Penn State's gonna do. But Roethlisberger said, he said, well, he's a great recruiter. He's a great recruiter. He's been in the pros, he hasn't recruited anybody.

That's a direct quote. Great recruiter. I don't know. It's a. Wow.

[Mike Wilbon]

I watched this on camera and I could see the difficulty that Ben Roethlisberger was having and I give him credit for trying to reconcile these positions. Okay. I love Mike Tomlin as you do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you love him as him.

[Mike Wilbon]

You have him the day you met.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I love him.

[Mike Wilbon]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I love him.

[Mike Wilbon]

It's time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's just time to do something again.

[Mike Wilbon]

You know what?

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, does it matter? You know what?

[Mike Wilbon]

We are hopped on even more than Mike Tomlinson doing something for 19 years. Cause we've done it twice in different places, right? It's time. It's just time. He's great at it. He'll be great at it wherever he goes. It might be on a network, it might be in a locker room. He's going to be great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He said he doesn't want college football. And by the way, he has said that before.

[Mike Wilbon]

He has said it before. That was before. That was before you could get in anybody. You wanted to have any dollar amount you want in terms of including matching your salary.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's time for him. Maybe it's time for us, by the way. Maybe it's not for us.

[Mike Wilbon]

By the way. Penn State. Yeah, go get somebody. Stop screwing around.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They will. Let's move to the NBA and Los Angeles Clippers, who are now 5, 16 and a complete disaster. They announced this morning that Chris Paul is no longer a part of their team. The Clippers sent Paul back to LA from Atlanta on a one way ticket. Paul had announced this would be his last season. He's averaging 2.9 points, 3.3 assists, 14 minutes a game. Ubunt, Chris Paul is your friend and I know that. What do you make of this? And have you talked to him?

[Mike Wilbon]

And I, And I.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You haven't talked to him, have you?

[Mike Wilbon]

No, I have not talked to him intentionally. And this is hard for me to reconcile. Look, Chris Paul is one of the great leaders. Charles Barkley has for 15 years called Chris Paul the best leader of this generation. And it's not by accident that I agree with Charles on that. Chris is tough. As Devin Booker said on the eve of starting a season that would end in the NBA Finals. Chris isn't for everybody. And Devin knew what he was saying. He's tough. When I talked to Chris Paul and we've written a book together, I edited, he wrote. Chris has notes. The notes are copious. He is intentional. He is specific. He's tough. He doesn't like load management. Chris Paul is an old fashioned, old school tough guy. He and he'll go right at Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and even T. Lou. And I thought they used to be the best of friends. Maybe I'm wrong about that. They haven't spoken.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me ask you a question.

[Mike Wilbon]

They used to be. Let me refer back to this show for everybody.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me refer back to this show. Is it his time to go? It's his time, isn't it?

[Mike Wilbon]

Maybe it's his time. Maybe.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When I heard about this this morning, my reaction was, wait a second. Are the Clippers going to somehow scapegoat Chris Paul?

[Mike Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What they're doing God awful 516 season. Are they going to say that the 11 minutes a game he plays is his?

[Mike Wilbon]

You know who this is on? This is on Kawhi Leonard and James Harden first. Cause they're the two best players on the team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wait, wait, just. I'm not a Chris Paul guy. You know that. You're a Chris Paul guy. I am. You know, my sense of this is that it's on the general manager and the coach. Okay, okay. They have, they stink. They have lost 14 of their last 16 games.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They lost 14 of the last 16 games. They got the oldest team in the league and their best player plays half the time. All right, so it's, it's.

[Mike Wilbon]

I name those players Chris Paul.

[Tony Kornheiser]

My guess is there's a. With Tyron Lue, there's a clash.

[Mike Wilbon]

There's a clash.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We're told.

[Mike Wilbon]

And they say there's a clash with everybody. Any locker room that Chris Paul's in, it works better with younger players. I'm told that those older players said his voice is too loud. Well, where are their voices? When you stink like the Clippers, they're gonna blame it on Chris Paul.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's time for him to go. It's time. Okay, let's take a break. Coming up, why is Lamar Jackson struggling? We're gonna ask Steve Young what he sees.

[Mike Wilbon]

We'll also ask Max Brosmer is taking too much heat for that thing on Sunday. You know what? Chris Paul can either do tv, he can coach, he can be in a lot of places, a lot of people could use Chris Paul right now, but the Clippers can't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, they stink. We agree.

[Mike Wilbon]

He agreed.

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[Steve Young]

Welcome back to Pardon the Interruption, presented by Grey Goose, part of Happy Hour.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We have football questions for our great friend and the man who talked me out of retiring from the NFL more than once, hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. Let's start with something Wil Bunn does not want me to talk about. The Dallas Cowboys. That's right, he hates them. Doesn't want to talk about them. They've been hot and they now face the Lions. I'm going to talk about Them Dak Prescott has George Pickens and C.D.

[Mike Wilbon]

Lamb.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How does it change the game for you when you have two receivers of that high quality.

[Steve Young]

Yeah. Jerry Rice and John Taylor, man. I'm telling you, today's Wednesday. Today's installation day in the NFL. And what matters is the defense now is going to play the Cowboys. The installation is all about George and Ceedee. Like, watch where are they going? Where do they line up, where do they happen and what happens. It sinks into their psyche throughout. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. By the time those guys come out of the tunnel to warm up, you have an advantage. And it's an advantage that's like, unseen, but it happens on the field. And then you have the physical advantage in the game, so you actually double. You have a perceptional, like, benefit, and you actually have a reality benefit. And I think Dak's going to take advantage. The one thing about the Cowboys, though, Tony, and that's why Michael doesn't want to talk about them, because if they're hot, I. They're about to not be hot. So that's the part.

You got to watch for that. We've waited. We've waited 25 years for the full potential, the full measure of the Cowboys to come into. Into view. It's always feels like they have this huge potential and it never gets realized. So fun to talk about them for a minute and see if they can actually do it.

[Mike Wilbon]

All right, this next question. Steve, I'm going to give myself a semi pat on the back, because a few weeks ago I asked you if it seemed to you like it does to me, that Lamar Jackson has lost his. It. His pop, his. His magic. And now I'm more convinced of it than ever because linebackers are catching him. That never would have caught you in his prime. You in your prime or him. So are you seeing this yet? Am I crazy? What are you seeing with Lamar Jackson?

[Steve Young]

Last week really were like, he's diminished physically. You can see it and you can see it in his demeanor. You can see it in his play. It's like when you're hurt and you can't be all of yourself and it kind of gets into your head, your whole athleticism. Like, now you're not as good a passer now you're not watching, you're not ahead of the data, and you're not seeing the open guy as much. It's like you're just diminished as a player, and you got to get back to health. And so I think the thing that's shocking me is that the Team is not responding by, look, Lamar, we're going to ask less of you physically, but we still need you to play elite quarterback from the pocket and throw that ball over the field and get those 350 yard, 400 yard games that you've had in the past. And we won't ask you to run around so much because somehow they got to find or, or else get healthy. Because it's hard to watch Lamar in this spot. It's painful.

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony.

[Steve Young]

You guys know how much I love him.

[Mike Wilbon]

We do too. We love watching them and it's like, oh my God, that's not really Lamar Jackson. We're going to stay in division and go to Joe Burrow who told Albert Brear he's trying to find fun, the fun in football again after dealing with his injuries the last two years. You went through this whole process over many years in the NFL. How important to you was fun in the equation?

[Steve Young]

Look, I'm going to be authentic and real about this. My dad used to scream at me because I worry so much, Steve. My dream is that I get to play football the game I love, for money. And you get to go out there and just have fun. Like, fun. Like, I gotta go out there. Joe Montana never threw an incompletion. He never threw a, he never lost a game. He never, like, I've got lots to worry about. And so I dealt with it. I love the idea of Joe and Patrick Mahomes as the ultimate right. He's playing in his backyard. That's the, that's the magic of Patrick Mahomes. I want to be Patrick Mahomes. To just be in my backyard playing, you know, at Arrowhead for the championship and just feel like, yeah, you know, pass me a drink from this, from the patio. I'm good. Like, that's. I love the presence of that. That makes me feel like aspirational. Like I would love to be that guy and Joe working on that. If I was playing Mike today, I'd be on the same journey. Like, how can I be more joyful and fun in the moment? I admire the effort and I applaud it because it was a long ways away.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We will get you out of here on this. Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer, I hope I pronounced that correctly, got ridiculed for his fourth and one pick six. But head coach Kevin o' Connell said it was totally on his play call and no one on the line blocked DeMarcus Lawrence. So from a quarterback's perspective, which you will have, who is actually to blame for that one.

[Steve Young]

So you're getting into mitigation and accountability. Mitigation is everywhere on the field. People miss blocks, they have all kind of chaos. They turn the wrong way. Tip ball, like everything. But the truest truth of all of it, the accountability part, is the ball is in the quarterback's hands, and then where it goes from there is the quarterback. It has to be. And the second anybody says that's not the truest truth, they steal from the accountability for all the mitigating things that go on. So they can go back and say, look, you turned the wrong way. You didn't block your guy. Because everybody else says, well, yeah, but you don't. You didn't blame the guy who had the ultimate decision in the end, Tony, it has to be the responsibility of the quarterback where that ball ends up. And so it's completely true as truth. It's on the quarterback, and he needs to take it. And if he doesn't, nothing else is going to get fixed and no football will ever be played that's any good. If the quarterback doesn't. If he gets lost in mitigation. I always said, look, watch post game, watch. When they get. They ask, you know, the media stands up and said, you know, when you lose, what do they do? The first question is, what happened? And just put your ear to it. Do you hear mitigating words or do you hear words of accountability? And if you hear mitigation, you're listening to somebody who's not gonna win next week. If you're listening to accountability, truest truth. I bet on that guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fabulous.

[Mike Wilbon]

That should be on a card.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fabulous answer.

[Mike Wilbon]

Should be on a Hallmark card, by the way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's Brosmer. I had it wrong, but it's Brosmer. Thank you, Steve, as always, Steve, that's great.

[Mike Wilbon]

Thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it's a lesson for Mr. Brosmer to listen to. Steve, let's take one last break. Still to come, Duke takes out the champs to stay unbeaten.

[Mike Wilbon]

And the Thunder and Avalanche are both off the stellar starts. Whose is more impressive? Told you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Accountability and mitigation. That sounds like a law firm. Accountability and mitigation.

[Mike Wilbon]

Anybody on this show go to law school? You know?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you? No, I didn't.

[Mike Wilbon]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you.

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[Steve Young]

Pardon the Interruption is presented by Grey Goose.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Make time wait.

[Steve Young]

Please enjoy responsibly Part of Happy hour.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy time people. Happy 65th birthday. Igor Larianov. The Red Wing center played on three Stanley cup winners in Detroit, 1997, 1998 and 2002. Larianov had 169 NHL goals, 475 assists in a 14 year career that included stops in Vancouver, San Jose, Florida and New Jersey. Though we never got to a Stanley cup final anywhere but Detroit, Larianov was on tour Olympic gold medal hockey teams for the Soviet Union in Sarajevo in 1984. In Calgary in 1988, he was on a Russian team that won bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002. Larianov is the sixth Russian born inductee into the hall of Fame, but he won't be the last because OV's coming.

[Mike Wilbon]

Tony and some other Red Wings got there before he did. Yzerman, Fedorov, Shanahan, Lidstrom. I mean those are the main stage of the team. Lorionov didn't get to was 35. That's surprising.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy anniversary, Tyron Matthew. On this day 14 years ago, the Honey Badger was named MVP of the SEC title game after contributing to LSU's 42 unanswered points and trailing Georgia 10. Nothing. It's rare for a defensive player to be so honored. But Matthew returned a punt for 62 yard touchdown. He recovered a fumble to help get LSU into the national championship game. For a rematch with Alabama. Matthew almost had a second punt return for a touchdown that you see here. Matthew was dismissed from LSU in 2012 after battles with addiction, but he had a long NFL career that included a Super bowl ring with the Chiefs in 2019. Matthew retired this past July after three seasons with his hometown Saints.

[Mike Wilbon]

And fitting that he ended up right with hometown Saints.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But that was a.

[Mike Wilbon]

That's a long career.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes it is.

[Mike Wilbon]

And he is not a for tb. Yeah, he has some speed that gave him an advantage.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Happy trails to last night's game for Florida. The 15th ranked Gators fell to number four Duke by one at Cameron last night. The reigning champs were actually up 2 with 30 seconds left when Duke set up Cam Boozer for the final shot. But Boozer got double teamed and he dished it to Isiah Evans who had been 0 for 7 from 3. Evans hit would prove to be the game winner and said of it later quote I'm thinking I've got to get to church. I've got no words for that. I shot it with confidence and it went in. Unquote. By the way, the freshman boozer had 29. Duke is now 9 0.

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm going to talk quickly about another freshman Derek Dixon at the University of North Carolina.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Gonzaga high school is owned from another Gonzaga mention.

[Mike Wilbon]

Hey he have we talked about Caleb Williams yet? Of the three that won, do we.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Have Gonzaga in the audience? Do we have them?

[Mike Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do we have them?

[Mike Wilbon]

Silent.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you. Big finish quickly. The Thunder have started the season 211 and the Avalanche 191 6. Which is more impressive?

[Mike Wilbon]

They both have had sort of easy schedules, but Draymond says he think the Thunder are capable of going past 73.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really? Wow.

[Mike Wilbon]

@ some point you can play tough teams too. LSU's Charlie Weiss Jr. Gonna return to Ole Miss to be the OC through the football playoff. Your.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thoughts? I thought so that Ole Miss made an exception here and I should make an exception for Lane.

[Mike Wilbon]

Kiffin. You know, I think he's not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Leaving. I believe he should coach that team in the playoffs. Grizzlies center Zach eady has averaged 17 rebounds a game over his last.

[Mike Wilbon]

Four. You impressed all the people who thought Zach Eady couldn't play in the NBA. Shut.

[Steve Young]

Up. You were.

[Mike Wilbon]

Wrong. Five star quarterback recruit Jared Curtis switched his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt. What does that say to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You? Since there's an opening, Diego Pavia is probably not going to return. It also says there might be some.

[Mike Wilbon]

Money. Might be in college. They have some money at.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Vandy. They might last one the 17 four pistons at the 9 and 13 bucks tonight. Who you.

[Mike Wilbon]

Got? The Bucs have lost eight of my stakes. The assistants look really, really good. Like they might be the best team in the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

East. The Bucs are gonna be in a paragraph with the Clippers at some point. They are. We're out of time. We'll try to do better the next time. I'm Tony.

[Mike Wilbon]

Cornheim. I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. When are we gonna get to. When is Giannis gonna get his.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Trade? When is that with.

[Mike Wilbon]

Dak? Hi there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Surprise. 30 for 30 presents.

[Steve Young]

Booyah. Can I get a witness from the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Congregation? You can't stop.

[Commercial Announcer]

Authenticity.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Boo. Yeah. Stewart was exactly like you saw him on camera. Off camera. He dialed it up 10%. Can you imagine the impact of young black boys and girls looking at that going, I feel seen. He changed the culture. He changed.

[Commercial Announcer]

Sports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Booyah. Presented by modelo. Premieres on December 10th at 9pm Eastern on ESPN.