“1261”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show - Episode “1261” (March 27, 2026)

Main Theme:
A classic episode blending sports talk (with a baseball and NCAA tournament focus), signature personal anecdotes, reflections on aging and loss, and the connective tissue of longtime show traditions. Features spirited guest segments with Richard Justice (baseball/NCAA) and Barry Svrluga (media moves, sports writing, and March Madness), as well as plenty of familiar repartee with regulars Michael Wilbon and Michael Kornheiser.

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1. Opening Banter & Personal Stories (02:13–11:15)

• Tony opens with heartfelt sympathy for longtime listener Rich Barajas, who lost his dog. He shares his own struggles walking his beloved Chessie, whose digestive issues have led to several middle-of-the-night outings.
  • Quote: “At 1 in the morning and 3 in the morning and 4:15 in the morning, I’m out on the street walking this dog and she’s got digestive issues. Liquid is coming out and it’s just not great.” (03:00, Tony)
• Debate with Michael and Wilbon about the realities of family dog care, touching on the “special whine” dogs reserve for their favorite person.
• Listener emails:
  • John Robertson thanks Tony for making PTI a multi-generation tradition, borrowing phrases like “we’re out of time” for his classes.
  • Another fan offers Tony ear health advice from an ENT in Alabama, with a humorous aside about Q-tips and neti pots.
• Gratitude for gifts: Shout-outs to Jenny’s ice cream and Dave Spector (Pinot Noirs). Tony jokes about his minimal wine knowledge; Michael teases his memory and research skills.

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2. Nationals’ Opening Day & Local Sports TV (09:39–11:56)

• Nats’ surprise 10-spot on the Cubs: Tony, Michael, and Wilbon are humble-bragging after the Nats’ opening day win—three home runs, big offensive performance from unlikely sources.
• Quote: “Could go 162–0. Cubs can’t.” (09:46, Tony)
• Tony humorously reflects on his ignorance of several young Nats hitters (“Who? The Powerhouse? No home runs last year…”), and the inconveniences of watching games on obscure cable channels.
• Tech/commercial annoyances: Tony jokes about seeing too many Papa John’s ads and chafes about finding live sports on “Channel 1261.”

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3. NCAA Basketball Tournament Recap (11:56–15:47)

• Quick rundown of Sweet 16 action: Houston’s shocking home loss to Illinois, Purdue beats Texas on a tip-in, Iowa over Nebraska with a critical moment where the coach left only four on the floor.
• Quote: “Houston loses at home. That’s a bad look for Houston. That’s a bad out for Kelvin Sampson.” (12:12, Tony)
• Tony laments Nebraska’s exit ("only true Cinderella left"), then notes Arizona’s dominance.
• Picks and bracket chat: Michael notes that Gary Braun still leads their pool, riding Michigan.
• Duke, St. John’s, UConn, and Michigan State highlighted as marquee East regional matchups.

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4. Guest: Richard Justice – In-depth NCAA and MLB Conversation (17:58–30:03)

4.1 Houston vs. Illinois Breakdown (18:00–21:45)

• Richard Justice, Houstonian, is in mourning:
  • Quote: “Illinois did to Houston what Houston’s done to everyone else… played the heck out of defense, shot 27% in the first half, got pounded on the boards.” (18:27, Richard)
  • Illinois praised for “big boy basketball”; Houston’s two freshman stars likely NBA-bound.

4.2 Fairness of ‘Home’ Regionals? (20:17–21:45)

• Tony questions if regionals near a campus create unfair advantage. Richard: “Should have been an advantage, but Nebraska fans travel… that’s why regular season matters.”

4.3 Buster Posey, Tony Vitello, and MLB Manager Risks (21:45–24:22)

• Tony raises eyebrows at the Giants hiring a college coach; Richard is skeptical:
  • Quote: “You can’t coach men the same way you coach college kids… It’s gonna be fascinating to see if he can figure it out.” (22:18, Richard)

4.4 Nationals & Opening Day; Team Previews (24:06–26:00)

• Tony and Richard marvel at the Nats’ young lineup and early offensive outburst.
• Dodgers rated as MLB’s best, but maintaining “culture” after Kershaw is their big challenge.

4.5 Automated Strike Zone Chat (26:06–28:25)

• Richard’s lukewarm on the new “automatic ball-strike” system: “It seemed to delay the game… I’m gonna miss the human element.”
• Nostalgic for manager-umpire arguments: “Are we no longer going to have any more Lou Piniella tantrums, kicking dirt on home plate?”

4.6 Baseball Scheduling Gripes (28:51–30:03)

• Tony rails against opening MLB seasons in cold-weather cities; Richard reminds him the computerized schedule is “almost impossible” to solve.
• Quote: “This is why they don’t have spring training in Minnesota.” (29:32, Tony)

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5. Guest: Barry Svrluga – Sports Columnism, March Madness, and Nats Talk (33:20–45:19)

5.1 Career Update & The Athletic Move (33:38–35:14)

• Barry discusses his move to The Athletic after the Washington Post disbanded its sports department; new gig allows him to keep a DC focus and cover the Commanders, Nats, and Olympics.
• Quote: “I lose some of the stuff I loved doing at the Post… but it’s a great spot to land. And it’s nice because I’m not starting until May, so I have a little mid-career pause.” (34:23, Barry)

5.2 College Fandom & Objectivity (36:30–39:35)

• Tony: “Everybody knows you’re a Duke grad. How will you watch Duke tonight?”
  • Barry shares how years of professional coverage eroded his Duke fandom (“It was all kind of chipped away for me”), but admits he might wear a Duke shirt at home.
• Discussion on objectivity in sports journalism, referencing Michael Wilbon and others who keep rooting interests alive for less prominent alma maters.

5.3 North Carolina’s Coaching Change (40:10–43:14)

• Tony and Barry discuss UNC’s firing of Hubert Davis, and internal politics with Duke grad Lee Roberts as Chancellor.
• Memorable Quote: “I think it’s time for them to look outside the family and make sure they’re hiring the best coach, not just the best coach who wore Carolina blue.” (41:49, Barry)
• Tony and Barry agree the Carolina job rivals Kentucky’s as biggest in college hoops.

5.4 Nats Opening Day Take (43:33–45:19)

• Shared confusion over finding the right TV channel ("I also almost signed up for 100 bucks for Nats TV…")
• Barry thinks the Nats already show “data-focused, evidence-based decision making”—new manager Blake Butera will mix and match for matchups all year.

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6. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There are three outcomes when you take a dog out. Two of them are good… The third outcome is they poop bad. And that’s what we’ve had.” (04:14, Tony)
• “That’s the game you want to see most of all: Hurley versus Izzo—UConn/Michigan State.” (14:22–14:27, Tony)
• On the automatic strike zone: “I’m gonna miss the human element… are we gonna have no more Lou Piniella tantrums, kicking dirt on home plate?” (26:06–27:51, Richard Justice)
• “The challenge [for the Dodgers] is how do you keep what they have going?… Their challenge was, how do you replace the vibe that Clayton Kershaw brought every day?” (24:27, Richard Justice)
• On finding the right TV channel for baseball: “If I see this Papa John’s pizza commercial one more time, I’ll go crazy.” (10:54, Tony)

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7. Listener Email Highlights (45:29–55:35)

• Classic show tradition: Tony reads emails from listeners all over the country, touching on everything from rest stop trivia, NCAA wrestling encounters (“The PTI guy? Blank stare.”), to driving the boys to Braves opening day.
• Reflections on the cultural durability of the show: “These are the days you don’t get back. Opening day resets the clock.” (52:59, Jeff in Indiana)
• Fun claim: A fan offers to be the official “amateur Susquehanna River historian” of the show.

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8. Music and Show Closer Highlights

• Songs by Mercury Rising (“Venus to Mars”) and Dan Byrne (“I Became a Sportswriter”) close and intersperse the episode, with tributes to Tony and old-school sports writing.
• Lighthearted banter about bagels, local eateries, and signature sign-offs.

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9. Timestamps – Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|----------------------------------------------| | 02:13 | Opening banter, dog stories, listener emails | | 09:39 | Nationals Opening Day/cable TV chat | | 11:56 | March Madness, Sweet 16 recap | | 17:58 | Richard Justice segment begins | | 33:20 | Dan Byrne “Sportswriter” song intro | | 33:38 | Barry Svrluga interview | | 43:33 | Nats TV viewing–Barry and Tony | | 45:29 | Email segment |

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Summary:

Episode “1261” blends heartfelt warmth, sports expertise, pop culture zingers, and the intimacy that makes “The Tony Kornheiser Show” a daily ritual for listeners. From the camaraderie over lost pets and late-night dog walks, to the unrehearsed humor about TV channels and cable, to the expertise of Richard Justice and Barry Svrluga breaking down baseball’s opening days and March Madness, the episode delivers a tapestry of sports, nostalgia, and community. Standout quotes about sports journalism, “big boy basketball,” and changing media landscapes ground the show in both its traditions and the ever-moving future of sports commentary.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Richard justice about the start of the baseball season and about what happened to Houston in the Sweet sixteen. And we'll so talk to Barry's Verluga about who he'll be writing for now and about the nats and the Sweet 16 games in DC. But first, commerce okay, quick question. Why should your energy boost taste boring? The new Fruity Rainbow shots from five Hour Energy are proof that caffeine can actually be a treat. These bring an explosion of fruity flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. Think sweet, colorful candy vibes, but in a tiny bottle that gives you the perfect boost. Caffeine just got a serious flavor upgrade. There are 17 flavors in the full five hour energy lineup. 17. So you've got options depending upon your mood. But this fruity rainbow launch is all about bold, playful candy flavored chaos. And somehow all that big flavor fits into a portable 2 ounce shot. No bulky drinks, no sugar crash, no sticky wrappers. It's a zero sugar treatment that's totally sweet tooth approved, which makes it feel indulgent without slowing you down. If you want your pick me up to actually taste fun, this is it. Get Candy flavored Chaos with fruity rainbow 5 Hour Energy shots available online at 5 Hour Energy.com or on Amazon.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. All right, plug your podcast. Yeah.

[Richard Justice]

I drove up to Philadelphia this morning. This morning at 3:30 in the morning. I left my house at 3:30 in the morning to get to my son's house because tomorrow is our big opening day podcast and we want to do it right from his new studio So I got to his house at 7 o' clock in the morning and he's fast asleep. I'm sitting in the driveway of his house waiting for him to wake up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Korniser show is on. Now is Nigel is coughing. Now I'm coughing in sympathy. Do you want to leave the room for a little while? Do you think you'll be okay?

[Michael Wilbon]

It's just Tim making me laugh.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sorry about that.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sorry about that, Eddie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Turned off my mic. Let me get to a few emails first, but not in the email section. First of all, our, our friendship and our sympathy goes out to Rich Barajas in El Paso, Texas, who after 14 years lost his husky Boris, kidney failure. And as he says, After 14 years, they are not just pets, they are more. Yes, oh, absolutely. They are more. I will get to my own pet in a second and you know, and I will tell you what it's like to have a dog. Well, I mean, she's alive, Jesse's alive and we hope. Well, but I'll just say this, that not last night, the night before, she woke me up four different times. She had to go out. She had to go out. I mean, dogs don't want to make in the house. When they have to make. They understand that. They're civilized, they want to go out. And at 1 in the morning and 3 in the morning and 4:15 in the morning, I'm out on the street walking this dog and she's got digestive issues. Liquid is coming out and it's just not great.

[Michael]

I need you to share this with the Hammer. He started to ask for a dog and we said, okay, let's say it's a rainy day. Rainy overnight. Who's taking the dog out?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, that would be dad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, dad takes the dog out. That's how that works. So anyway, so we hope that Chessie is better. There are three outcomes when you take a dog out for a walk. Two of them are good. One of them is they don't poop at all. And one is they poop good. And the third outcome is they poop bad. And that's, you know, this morning. This morning was the second outcome. No poop. So it's okay, I live with that.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's better than.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. That's the second best outcome. The best outcome is normal poop good.

[Michael Wilbon]

So we just, we just think she ate something.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, of course. Rabbit poop or something like that. Dogs eat what they eat and they don't know what's gonna happen to them. And, and that you know, that's. That's what we've had. So I. I get that.

[Michael]

Other outcomes. You have to pick up the sample for the doctor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's would have been impossible yesterday. It's just. It was all. Nothing solid at all. John Robertson writes. I wanted to write you and let you know I've been watching you and Mr. Wilbon on PTI since I was coming home from school in the fifth grade. I'm 34 now. I still enjoy PTI now more recently on the weekly podcast. It's not weekly. We're three times a week.

[Michael]

Will Bon's weekly?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, yeah. Wilbon is every Monday. Before my mother made me do homework, I would always negotiate with her to let me watch PTI first before she made me do it. In all the years since fifth grade you have been consistent in your sports journalism and reporting. It's such a breath of fresh air compared to some of your other colleagues. I'm a criminal justice teacher at Florida Atlantic University and another smaller college community college in Colorado. I continue through the tradition of listening to you and Mr. Wilbon. But now during my commute after work I just wanted to say how appreciative I am for you. I acquired. We don't say the word steal because we never want to self incriminate ourselves. I've acquired a lot of little phrases that you and Mr. Wilbond use in my own classes. I love using terms like hocus, pocus, junk. We're out of time. Try to do better the next time. When ending my class. I love saying same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. My students have yet to figure out where all those phrases come from. Yes. So we don't have young people watching us. That seems to be the answer. But thank you to John Robertson. Thank you to that. And to Daniel. Rocky Rocke. It's either rock or rocky. I suspect it's rocky. I've been a bit behind on the pod but catching up fast. I was dismayed to hear that you're still having ear issues. I'd assumed a man of your social stature would have more than enough connections to get a timely ENT consultation about this. Are you still in need? I'm a thyroid surgeon in the ENT department at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. We'd love to host you here and evaluate your ears for you. It's more than a few years since I've taken care of ears personally, but I have great colleagues for this. It sounds like you station tube dysfunction and it's not uncommon after an upper respiratory infection. It should resolve with time. But doing things like adult dose Afrin, not Children's, Children's. Right. Flonase nasal spray and Neomed sinus rinses can really help. Popping your ears is helpful, too, as it starts to equalize the pressure in your middle ear. Don't use Q tips. Nothing in your ear but your elbow, as one of my mentors told me. Let me know if I can help out with any of this. It's very nice for him to do this. It's getting better, I think. Or it's staying the same. Just doesn't matter. It's just how my life.

[Michael]

You're used to it now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's how my life is. If you and Michael want to come to Birmingham, my four boys and I would love to host you at Old Overton Country Club. It's Head. It's the host of the SEC Match Play tournament.

[Richard Justice]

Nice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Must be a really nice place. Maybe Michael can give them a few pointers. And he'd like to be the official thyroid surgeon of the show. Sure.

[Michael]

We could get a full week if you do a neti pot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. Let me. Let me thank some people for gifts. Sean at Jenny's continues to send fabulous ice creams. Yes. Continues to send them to Michael, to Bonnie. It's just very.

[Michael]

They have the best packaging.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they do it really well with.

[Michael]

With the Bridgerton collaboration.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. With gentle reading. It's really nice. As promised, here is our spring release for the team to enjoy. We also included one pint of darkest chocolate for Tony, because Tony likes darkest chocolate. And from Dave Spector. It has been nearly six years since we introduced ourselves to you, and I wanted to take a moment, say thank you so much for introducing us to the Littles community and the connective tissue of the show. The first wines I sent you back in 2020 were made from grapes grown on other local properties because our estate vineyard was not yet mature. I am proud to say that in this shipment, the wines are made exclusively from grapes grown on our estate vineyard. These wines are all Pinot Noirs. It's. They're great. They're just great. But we also have planted some unique red varietals in our vineyard that will be released in the future, which, of course, you will eventually receive. I hold out hope that you'll make the trip out here on the way to Bandon Dunes someday in. In the meantime, please accept these wines as a token of our appreciation for the mentions, kind words and referrals. We look forward to many more years of providing great experiences and delicious wines to you and the Littles. Yeah. And that spells up. And people go out there and Dave treats him really well. And then he sent a case of wine and the wine is great and it's very, very nice. I appreciate that.

[Michael]

Did you open up the villanelle yet? The villanelle?

[Tony Kornheiser]

What is the villanelle?

[Michael]

It used to be one of their offerings. I'm sure it was in the box.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's just Pinot Noirs.

[Michael]

Yeah. I mean, it's one of the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I didn't know. I didn't look to see specific types of Pinot Noirs. I've just been drinking them. They're all. They all have a blue label. I assumed they were the same, but perhaps. Perhaps I'm not. Is that okay?

[Michael]

Candid.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll go upstairs. Well, you know all this stuff that's great.

[Michael]

It's the power of a computer. But yes, I have a good memory of it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Nats crush the Cubs.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's a nice start of the season.

[Michael]

The first place Nationals.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. Could go 162 and 0. Cubs can't.

[Michael Wilbon]

The Cubs cannot do that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they didn't even get four innings out of Cade Cavalli. They had three different home runs.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The first guy with a home run I never heard of.

[Michael]

They got him in January.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Weimer.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I never. Don't know who he is. He hit a home run. I didn't know what he was doing on. On the roster.

[Michael Wilbon]

First impression.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He hit a home run. Brady House hit a home run. Somebody else hit a home run. Who else hit home run?

[Michael]

You're thinking of Jacob. Jacob Young.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who? The powerhouse. No home runs last year.

[Michael]

Two, I believe.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. It was the worst power center fielder in the league. Great fielder.

[Michael]

Yeah. Known for climbing the wall.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Richard Justice]

Now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And now he got a home run. How often are they going to do that? Downwind to the right when they go deep? Three times.

[Michael Wilbon]

Drop a ten spot. Yeah.

[Michael]

Well, my favorite is leading up to opening day because the excitement that we all have. We get a text from Ciliza and Chuck Todd, just wondering, like, how's the offense going to do? And they put up a 10 spot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Cizza, I think, said that he didn't believe they'd get 10 runs in the first five games. You know, something like that. And now they're excited. Now they're excited.

[Michael]

Words hurt tone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And I watched it on channel 1261.

[Michael Wilbon]

Is that the channel?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's the channel.

[Michael]

Did you have to change your batteries to get up there?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, but if I See this Papa John's pizza commercial one more time, I'll go crazy. I mean, sell some ads. Sell some ads to somebody. Other than that, you know, but it was great to watch. And you can change back to another game. It's not like streaming, right? So like being 10 minutes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. You just. There's no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You just. You just say, no, I'm not going to do it. It's over. It's just. It's over.

[Michael]

Big bull bullpen performance, particularly getting out of that seventh. I think with that double play ball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Very surprised. They played really well. You know, who knows if they'll do it again. They're off today.

[Michael]

They are off today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Off today.

[Michael]

And then the best is later. I get a call from the socialite who just wants to talk baseball that starts needling you as to. Did Tony figure out how to get the game? He's gonna get it on Streaming.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it 1261? It's not streaming. It's cable.

[Michael]

It's part of. It's part of your cables.

[Richard Justice]

Tv.

[Michael]

But they made you nervous. They didn't really give you that update until about under 24 hours before the game started.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No idea. I had no idea. I thought I would have to go to MLB and pay. I would have. I would have paid 100 for the year. For 162 games. I'm not going to watch 162, but I would have paid 100.

[Michael]

Were you listening closely? Did you see Dan Kolka with the hand warmers?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I saw the hand warmers. I saw that after.

[Michael]

That was a Tony move. I was going to text him, but, you know, it's opening day. Got to protect that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

After the. After the establishing shot. He then put on heavier clothing. It appeared to be very windy and cold.

[Michael]

And the scarf.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wilbourne said it got really. He's in Wilburn's in Chicago. He said it got really bad. Really? He didn't want to talk about the game, though. He had a few games he wanted to see. You know, he wanted to see the basketball. I'll be brief on the basketball. In the biggest surprise, Houston loses. They lose at home. We'll have Richard justice on and talk about this. They lose at home. That's a bad look for Houston. That's a bad out for Kelvin Sampson. Two seed losing to a three. It's not so bad, but you lost at home. Purdue beat Texas on a tip in. Texas has lost six games in the last second of a game this year. Texas is a pretty good team. Purdue on a tip in beats Texas. Iowa beat Nebraska There was one play that was rather critical. Near the end of the game, Nebraska only had four people out there. The coach is a bad look for Fred Hoiberg. He took all the blame. You didn't have to.

[Michael Wilbon]

You have to, but he took all the blame.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I felt sad about that game because I thought that Nebraska was the only Cinderella left in the tournament. I was sort of hoping they would win. And to my great surprise, it's not my great surprise that Arizona beat Arkansas. Arizona is a 1 seed. To beat them by 19 is to my great surprise. But I believe I said on PTI yesterday, this could be a 199 game. It was over. Yeah, was over that.

[Michael Wilbon]

108, 89, something like that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They had more points than that. I mean, you know, and afterwards, Calipari said, that team is good. Arizona is really good. A lot of people in our brackets have Arizona winning. That was. That was the game that I thought could go the other way. I thought the Kid ACUFF could drop 50, you know, who knows? And so Arizona proved something there, and they are now those four teams.

[Michael]

Top of our leaderboard has a lot of Arizona picks, but number one is still Gary Braun, who's still with Michigan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well.

[Michael]

And that's his path. Yeah.

[Richard Justice]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's not. There's no reason not to be with Michigan at the moment. They're still in it. They play tonight, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

That's right. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think the better games are tonight. I think the games in the East. Well, you got things. St. John's Duke and Yukon. Who's Yukon playing? They're playing a one. No, they're not playing one. They're playing a three. Michigan State.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's right. Michigan State.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think that's. That's the game.

[Michael Wilbon]

Hurley versus Izzo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's. That's the game you want to see most of all. So, again, I told you about the dog. The dog looks fine now, but who knows? I mean, when there is a special wine that dogs have for the person they trust the most, doesn't matter how many people are living in the house, there is a special wine for the person they know is going to get up and you're asleep. You're not supposed to hear this wine, but it's the special wine.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you hear it. And you know what you have to do? You got to put your clothes on. No matter what the weather. You got to go out. You got to take the dog out fast. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Because there's usually a sense of urgency that accompanies that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Although on one of the walks, we walked for like three or four blocks before she found the spot.

[Michael]

Yeah, they got a spot, you know,

[Tony Kornheiser]

before she found a spot that was suitable. And I'm saying, hey, what are we doing? This one looks pretty good tonight. How about this spot? You know, how about this? Anyway, I hope she's better.

[Michael]

How often do you see another dog walker in one of those late night missions?

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't? I, I've never seen it. I've seen, I've seen people walking around. I have no idea what they're doing. That's a bit dog. Yeah. On one of the walks I saw two different people walking around and this was at 2 in the morning, you know.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, that would not make me feel comfortable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I got my dog.

[Michael Wilbon]

Jesse is so, is a great defense mechanic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Big dog here. Pretty big. Anyway, all right, we will take a break. Is it Richie first or Barry first?

[Michael Wilbon]

Richie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Richie. When we return, Richard Justice. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. This is sent to us by Stephen Matara or Matera. I'm sorry, Matera, who says please enjoy this new release, Venus to Mars from the Staten island based band Mercury Rising. It's got a bit of a 60s feel, which I think might appeal to you. Mercury Rising is fronted by Alyssa Montani, who when not singing like an angel, behaves like an angel in real life. She's the founder and director of Global Medical Relief Fund, a charitable foundation that takes in kids from all over the world who've lost limbs due to illness, natural disaster, violent acts, or from wars being fought in their country. With our team, they facilitate getting these kids prosthetics so they can go on to live better lives. She's truly an amazing woman. And you can see Mercury Rising live on a regular basis at Bay Street Tavern, my bar in Staten Island, New York. Isn't that nice? It is nice. Isn't that nice? Yes. This is once again Mercury Rising. This song is called Venus. Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Venus to Mars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Maybe Venus to Mars.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But it doesn't say so on my sheet.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, I might have missed that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you might have missed that. Some of that. It plays in Richard Justice. I think we have to start with basketball because you're a Houston guy, you're a Houstonian, you live in the city or close to it. Anyway. My first question was under, when I wrote it down under the assumption that Houston would easily win that game last night. How fair is it to have a regional like two miles from the campus? But they lost. That is a stunner to me. What do you make of that

[Richard Justice]

Illinois did to Houston what Houston has done to everybody else these last seven years? They played the heck out of defense. I mean, Houston shot 27% in the first half. That's unheard of. They went seven minutes without making a shot in the second half and they got pounded on the boards. Those are the things that Kelvin Sampson's teams have done this great run. They've had this last seven years. Sweet 16, seven years in a row. Elite a three times national championship game. Last year, it was just, you know, it was. It was a night that shots didn't fall in. They hit. They shot 34% from the field. And if you watch it, they never got into a flow offensively. Now, this is always a problem for them. All year you wondered like, they play defense like no team you have ever seen, Tony. But Illinois played that defense last night and it just wasn't. Wasn't there for them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I didn't know anything about Illinois till about a week ago. And then I watched them and I said, they're really good. That's big boy basketball. They're really good, right?

[Richard Justice]

Yeah. And some of these teams that you've seen, like, if you see Arizona, that's big boy basketball too. And some of these games have been so entertaining. It's been punch, counterpunch, punch, counterpunch. And it is, you know, March Madness is so great. It's like, it's hard to get your mind around all of it. And TV does such a great job job of giving it all to us. And you like, hey, give me an hour to absorb this one. That was a tough one for the Cougs last night. You know, they have two freshmen starting. They're both leaving. Both one will kicks and Flemings will be a lottery pick. The other guy, Sunak, will be a first round pick. So, you know, after the game, Kevin Sampson says you just talk to the guys, figure out who's going to be back and start over.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Do you think it's fair to have, you know, just to get back to the original point, to have a regional like that? Is that fair?

[Richard Justice]

Yeah. Should have been an advantage. The problem is they got Nebraska into their bracket and the Nebraska fans travel and U of H. Fans had hell trouble getting tickets. But that's why you play the whole year and you, you know, you lose two games the whole year and you, you put yourself in that, that position. That's sort of the, the host city is sort of, it's sort of the luck of the draw. You, you couldn't have projected that at the beginning of the year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I was, I was doing something the other day, a happy anniversary on the PTI show to the NC State team that beat the Walton team. And, and they never went anywhere that year. They played the, the regional in Raleigh and they played the Final Four in Greensboro. It was incredible advantage, it seems to me.

[Richard Justice]

Yeah, but you know, the players will tell you sometimes and the coaches, it. The disadvantage is like, hey, can you give me tickets? Hey, can you sign this? You know, like in the coaches emphasize to the players, hey, you got to get all that stuff taken care of beforehand. There are a lot of distractions when you're playing on, when you're playing on the road. Players will say, it's just us. We don't have any friends outside of this room. Even if, you know, you may have 10,000 there, but it doesn't feel that way. So there are pluses and minuses, but every player would vote a just get on a bus instead of a plane.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I think that that's true. I mean, your routine is a little bit more similar. You know, you can sleep where you want to sleep. I don't know, it just seems a little bit better to me. Okay. I move on. In preparing a script today for PTI, Buster Posey is 39 years old today. What do you think of him hiring a college coach, Tony Vitello, to be the manager? Like they're owing one already. It's, you know, you can't make any judgments based on, oh, and one. But how risky Is that hire very risky?

[Richard Justice]

Now, I will say this SEC baseball is big time baseball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep.

[Richard Justice]

He knows a lot of people. He's got a reputation as being a red ass and B, a guy who's smart and can figure it out. So can he figure it out. You can't. You can't coach men the same way you coach college kids. You can't do it. But what in. And that's when you brought that up. That's the first thing I thought about when they lost on opening. I thought, oh, and one, because he. He had moments in spring training where he didn't distinguish himself. He seemed to be in a couple of sessions with reporters. He seemed to still be back in Knoxville, Tennessee, and talking about how he left there and how the perception was and the reporting was out in front of the reality. You know, you guys reported, blah, blah, blah, like, hey, hey, hey. And he got roasted by the columnists of the San Francisco Chronicle, like, are you either here, are you there? Like, grow the bleep up. That's what everybody will be. Will be. You know, that team was managed by Bruce Bochy for so long, you know, and Dusty Baker before that. You know, those are men among men that never got rattled. And here's a guy like six months later, it's like, yeah, and you guys wrote that I was going to leave and I hadn't even taken a job yet. Okay, take a deep breath. You're in a different place now and there are different expectations. And you don't. The job of a college baseball coach is not the same job as a big league manager. And he will. It's going to be fascinating to see if he can figure it out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Most interesting and most risky hire. That's that he did Tony Botello, is that question?

[Richard Justice]

Yeah. But like, on the other hand, the Nationals have put young people in charge, and that was a big one to get.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Richard Justice]

You know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Richard Justice]

10 runs on opening day on the road.

[Tony Kornheiser]

10 runs.

[Richard Justice]

You get that monkey off your back and now you can go on and it starts to feel normal. When you have a one, when you haven't put one in the left side, it does not feel normal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everybody understands the Dodgers are the best team. They're the best team. It's hard to three peat.

[Richard Justice]

Not just that, Tony, they're the best team, but the challenge for them is how do you keep what they have going? Things that you and I would never understand. The culture inside. I hate that word, but that's what it is. And their challenge was, how do you replace the vibe that Clayton Kershaw brought every day, and they've been FaceTiming him about like they have a thing on Sundays. They lift weights without shirts on something just to break up the monotony of the season. And they FaceTimed him. And so, hey, look, the thing you started, we're still doing it. So, yeah, they have challenges, too.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are there other teams that you like out there? Are there other teams where you say, yeah, they are a competitive team. Yeah, they got a chance. Like, I. I think if Tarek Skubal stays all year, I think Detroit's pretty good. And they. They got a kid. They brought up a kid yesterday who had four hits. This kid McGonagall. Four hits.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Richard Justice]

Kevin McGonagall. Yeah, that. That's. That's. I like them, but I also. I'm so intrigued by the Mets. You know, the Mets really roasted when they lost out on some free agents at the beginning of offseason. I, obviously, I. Not obviously I have a bias for the Mets because the guy in charge there, David Stearns, is the best, smartest executive other than Andrew Friedman of the Dodgers that I have ever been around. And like, I was thinking, let him finish his job. And. And I think they put together a really competitive team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you. Do you have any particular thoughts? We asked him about this. Do you have any particular thoughts on the automatic ball strike?

[Richard Justice]

What I saw yesterday, I didn't like in that it seemed to delay the game, you know, too much. It was only like maybe five seconds, but, like, do we need another pause in play? And there aren't that many. There are players that know the strike zone better than the umpires, but for the most part, I think umpires do a great job. I want to see how it plays out. And if the system in place, if they get it right, you know, God help Major League Baseball and Rob Manford if the system starts screwing up yesterday. I mean, start screwing up because there was one kind of miscommunication in a game yesterday where they didn't have a TV feed of it. They had. They had the stat cast diagram of it. We'll see. You know, one thing I noticed through the years is after every game, players on. In the losing team would be incensed almost. Almost every game by some call they did not get. And they all tell stories about it. The great umpires would. Would tell them, like, you know, I blew that one. My bad. That's the human element in it. And I'm gonna miss the human element. Is it gonna. Are we gonna. Not gonna have any more Lupinella, like tantrums, kicking dirt on home plate because the umpires just say, hey, I'm sorry, that was. New York. Gave me that one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I hadn't thought about that. It might take out some of the great action at the plate. Yeah, that would be. That would be a bad thing, now that I think about that. The Lou Piniella thing. Everybody remembers that.

[Commercial Announcer 3]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I hadn't thought about that at all. I was intrigued that they measure you in order to get the appropriate box out there when you're at bat. They measure you. That's great.

[Richard Justice]

Yeah. I think. In three seasons, Alex Bregman has gone from 6 foot with his last season with the Astros to 4, 5, 11, his first season, his only season with the Red Sox to 5, 10 now in Chicago. And somebody. I saw somebody on social media said, oh, my God, in a couple of years he's going to be Jose Altuve.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. And then Eddie Goodell, you know, they don't have one appearance as Eddie Goodell, by the way. I mean, baseball, you know, you know all sports, but you know baseball so well. Why would. How do you. How do you open a season in Chicago in March? How do you do it when you're scheduling this? Why don't you open in only domes and Southern cities for the first two weeks? Why?

[Richard Justice]

I have never figured out the schedule, and I think everyone in the game always has the same issues. What are you doing? What are you thinking about? And if you ask now, it's largely computerized now, but if you ask the people in charge, they would tell you. This was back when it was done, a guy with a big white, you know, a couple of guys with a big whiteboard, they would tell you, my God, last season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What?

[Richard Justice]

What? Get off my butt. Last season I had two teams only playing 110 games. I couldn't get it figured out. You know, it was like. It was so complicated. They couldn't get it. So. Yeah, I don't. I don't know. You would rather not be that way, but.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, this is why they don't have spring training in Minnesota. This is why.

[Richard Justice]

And.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you look at it and you go, wow, that's. That's totally crazy. Totally crazy.

[Richard Justice]

I wonder how they're feeling about spring training in Arizona, though. You know, they had a couple of. They had to move some game times around because it was about 170 degrees.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's never really that hot, according to Wilbon. You just go out at 6 in the morning, you play 18, and, you know, by 10 and everything is great. And you go, yeah. But you could bake a chicken out there. It's so hot. What are you nuts? Richie. Thank you.

[Richard Justice]

Thank you, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Richard justice, boys and girls. It's wonderful to hear his voice. We will take a break. Barry's Verluga will join us and tell us about his new job. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Protein is now at Starbucks and it's

[Barry Svrluga]

never tasted so good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Commercial Announcer 3]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Dan Byrne]

I was never good at sports. I tried and failed at hockey. Too weak to be a wrestler. Too big to be a jockey. Too slow, too small. Too weak. Too tall. So I. I became a sports writer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

As we all did.

[Dan Byrne]

I became a sports writer. Oh, sure, there was that summer. Me out there on the mound. The less Mo Rivera, more like Ezra Pound. I never got to hit with McEnroe or Connors, but at least I got them mad with the questions that I asked them. Too thin, too slow, too late to grow. So I became a sports writer. I became a sports writer. What a whirlwind of a season it has been for young Tony Kornheiser.

[Barry Svrluga]

I entertained Carl Yastremsky and Tony Kornheiser

[Tony Kornheiser]

at the White House.

[Barry Svrluga]

I hosted Jerry Koozman, Boo Powell and Tony Kornheiser at the White House. And let me just say, it was a welcome respite for me.

[Dan Byrne]

We welcome the Seattle SuperSonics, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Mr. Tony Konheiser. Mr. Konheiser has helped himself to most of the complimentary prank fetus. My sports highlights were a few. A home run in the backyard. But I seen the Boston Massacre. Seen Bobby Thompson, too. Had popcorn at the Buckner game. Seen Babe Ruth collar shot for Doug Flutie's Hail Mary. I standin by the trumpet. No legs, no fists, no that. No this. So I became a sports writer. I became a sports writer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That is the brilliant Dan Byrne. And as he says, this is a tribute to you and your sports writing brethren and one of Them one of the best sports writers I've ever read, Barry Zverluga, joins us now. And so the first question obviously is going to be, tell us about your new job.

[Barry Svrluga]

So with the demise of the Washington Post sports department, which we've been over time and again, I'm lucky enough to land at the Athletic, which is obviously owned by the New York Times. Stories can appear in the print version of the New York Times. That's up to other people. But I'll be a D.C. based columnist. Very similar to my old job, weighing in heavily on the Commanders, the NFL team here, but also, you know, dipping in on the Nats and some other stuff, staying the Olympics. I lose some of the stuff that I loved doing at the Post. No masters for me this year, but, you know, I can't complain about anything. It's a great, a great spot to land at. And it's also nice because I'm not starting until May, so I have a little mid career pause here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you get to write what you want?

[Barry Svrluga]

Yes. I mean, with the exception of I'm going to have to go to Ashburn and be around the NFL team more than I did, you know, in my, in my old job. It'll be more training camp, more appearances during the week, but that's fine. I mean, as you know, Tony, the NFL is king and it's a huge season for this franchise coming up. The quarterback has to stay upright. What's the coach going to do? It is what drives traffic and conversation. So zero complaints there. But you know, and I'll be working with Nikki Jabal as the beat writer out there and I'll be working with David Aldridge, who's also at the Athletic. And so there's plenty of stories to go around. We always worry about, oh, how are you going to divide up the labor? The labor kind of divides up itself because there's more than enough to write.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have to say this, that like, and we know this from the PTI show, the NFL makes everything move like, if you can do an NFL story, there's no other story that you want to do. You want to do the NFL. Everybody cares about it. Everybody cares about it. And the drop off in ratings, the drop off in interest when that season is over. Remarkable. I know it angers Wilbond because WILBON Loves the NBA, but you know, you can the NBA. The NBA's ratings are nothing compared to the ratings of the NFL. Absolutely nothing. So you're not writing now. So you're not. Are you going to the Eastern regionals that are today. Right. This is by far the best regional. Are you going?

[Barry Svrluga]

I'm not. I have no ticket and I have no way to get a credential. So I'm in a little bit of a weird, weird spot. And you're right. I mean, what a marquee. This could be a Final Four in terms of brands of schools and coaches and their accomplishments. And that's, you know, it actually would be easier to get a ticket to a Final Four because it would be played in a 50 or 60,000 seat football stadium, not a 20,000 seat basketball arena. That's a hot ticket in downtown D.C. tonight with Michigan State, UConn, St. John's and Duke. Just a really, really good regional.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everybody knows that you are a graduate of Duke. How do you feel you're gonna be able to watch Duke tonight without having any professional stuff to do? How do you feel when you watch Duke?

[Barry Svrluga]

It's weird, Tony, because I obviously have a long text chain with college friends, you know, weighing in on everything about, you know, North Carolina's coaching search and what are the matchups against St. John's and what's the interest, injury status of Patrick Nabonga or Nagongba. Sorry, I can't say that correctly. All the stuff that people get into the really nitty gritty on, and I'm kind of almost a bystander unless I have some insight that I've gained professionally. My fandom for Duke basketball was worn away a long time ago because, you know, 25 years ago or more, I covered the University of North Carolina as a beat at the Raleigh paper. And then I came here to cover Gary Williams and Maryland when they were still in the acc. And if Gary. Ever since that, I was sitting at the old Comcast center, now Xfinity Center, I guess, and said, and, you know, pulling for Mike Shasheski and Duke, he would have bitten my head off. So professionally, there was no way for me to, you know, when I was in school, I rooted for the team even as I was covering the team for the school paper. But professionally, that was worn away a long time ago. So you're right. Like, tonight would be a time when it wouldn't be inappropriate for me to, like, oh, if I had a ticket, friend got me a ticket and would I go down there and wear one of the few, you know, Duke pieces of clothing that I have? I'm not sure. I don't. It's such an alien thing because, you know, if professionally, just years ago, it was all kind of chipped away for me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But you can wear it at home. You can watch at home and wear a Duke shirt.

[Barry Svrluga]

Sure, I sure could. And maybe I will. I don't know. I mean, it's just an odd spot because, you know, it's funny to me, you talk about Wilbond. I've always thought that. I don't understand the Northwestern sports writers who kind of have this path to root for their team or their school, even as they're, you know, supposed to be impartial and, you know, just watching from the side without bias. I just, I know for myself that as I was working those games, as I was, I've covered Duke in a national championship game more than once. I mean, I covered Krzyzewski's last game against North Carolina in New Orleans in the Final Four a few years ago. And I remember feeling all the feels, but not because of Duke, but because of the moment and those two rivals meeting in that scene at that time. I just don't, I don't have a sense of when the last time I felt like, oh, my God, I'm living and dying with Duke basketball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wilbourne can feel that way about Northwestern. So can Rick Tellender, so can other guys. You know why? Because their school stinks, okay? They're not competing for any national championship. So you don't, you don't have to worry about that. You mentioned Krzyzewski's last game. Hubert Davis knocked him out, knocked him out of Cameron and knocked him out of coaching. And five years later, Hubert Davis is gone from North Carolina. How do you feel about Carolina firing Hubert Davis? I spoke to a bunch of Carolina grads who expected it. I thought he could at least get one more year considering his best player was out.

[Barry Svrluga]

Yeah, the best player being out thing is, is huge. But it's amazing how the optics of that last game against VCU played into this. I mean, it's not just, just that they lost. It's that they had a 19 point lead with eight minutes left. And I think there are, there were coaching decisions there that kind of led people to look at bigger issues that had, you know, kind of defined Hubert's 10 tenure over time there. It's a really, really interesting situation at Carolina right now because you've got an athletic director who's essentially being pushed to the side, a new athletic director who's already on staff and is going to replace him. And you have a Chancellor, Lee Roberts, Cokie Roberts, his son, who's a D.C. guy, but he's also a Duke grad who's Very involved in. He was involved in the Bill Belichick hiring on football, and he's very involved in this men's basketball situation. I know there are Carolina people that are saying, wait a second, we're having a Duke guy decide the future of our men's basketball program? That's crazy. He's not a Duke guy in this situation. He's very much a Carolina guy. And I think, you know, this thing has always been in the family at Carolina. And they did this back when I was covering the team. They went from Bill Guthridge to Matt Doherty because Roy Williams initially turned them down. I think it's time for them to look outside the family and make sure that they're. They're hiring somebody who is the best coach, not the best coach who wore Carolina blue.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's a really big job. You know, I don't. I think you have to be of an age to understand what a big job that is. There's 70 years. There's Kentucky, there's North Carolina. You know, maybe there's Kansas, there's ucla. Those are the biggest. They're bigger jobs than Duke. They're bigger.

[Barry Svrluga]

Way bigger. And I think I would take UCLA out of that mix because I think to have.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's only wooden, probably.

[Barry Svrluga]

Yeah, well, but it's also. That job is overshadowed by the Lakers and the Dodgers and LA and Hollywood. And it's like to be North Carolina or Kentucky. You've got to understand how. How much a focus for everybody in those areas that basketball team is. And yes, you're competing against Duke for attention. And yes, you're competing against NC State for attention. And there are other schools nearby, but colored that state from Wilmington to Asheville, Carolina blue, because that's the priority for so many people there. And it's, it's, you know, waking up. You talk about the NFL being king, and you're totally, totally right. From coast to coast, the NFL is king. If you wake up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 365 days of the year, there's a lot of people whose first thought is about the men's basketball team, not about the Carolina Panthers or any other NFL entity. It is. They live, breathe, exhale, inhale, all of it. Men's basketball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree with all that. You know, that's. That's why everybody I've talked to, their wish is Jay Wright. Because there's no question that Jay Wright is great, but Jay Wright's not going to take that job. He's just not going to take that job. By the way, I Watched the Nats Yesterday on channel 1261. I didn't know I had a channel 1261. Did you watch as well?

[Richard Justice]

I did, yes.

[Barry Svrluga]

And I didn't know. I also almost signed up for 100 bucks for NATS TV all year. And then somebody, I ran into somebody and they were like, no, no, no. If you have Comcast or xfinity, it's channel 1261. And there it was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I got saved. Al Serafino sends me a direct message saying 1261. Like I was ready to sign up too. And I would have done it for 100 bucks. I mean, I certainly would have done it. But now they, they seem to be on an actual channel. What did you think of the game? They scored 10 runs.

[Richard Justice]

Yeah.

[Barry Svrluga]

And that's just not going to be replicatable. I mean that's, you know, Jacob Young is not going to hit 162 homers, so. But in James Wood, you know, their best player had his worst game over 5 with 4 4ks. What I would say is that in that first game you can feel the regime change already. That, that this is going to be a data focused, evidence based decision making process in, in not only in roster construction and players that they pursue, but in, in game decision making. And that yesterday meant, you know, a bunch of pitchers, a bunch of changes for this new, you know, five year old manager, Blake Butera. Yeah, and I think they're going to do that a lot. They're going to go with matchups and put their players in the best position that the data says they should put them in. And that's probably means they're going to win a few more games than they should given the roster and the holes that they have in talent. You know, it's always better to win on opening day, particularly when you have that day off to guard against rain. The next day it feels like you're almost two and oh, you're carrying that high for 48 hours. And a lot of things went right for him. Yesterday was a fun game to watch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you can go 1 in 10 if you went 1 and. Oh, you can do that. That's okay. Barry, thanks so much for being on. Enjoy your time off and we will certainly chat. Thanks.

[Barry Svrluga]

Thanks a lot, Tony. Appreciate it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Barry's Reluga boys and girls. We'll take a break. We'll come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony K. They say you should

[Commercial Announcer 3]

learn something new every day. Like how you should only drink Jagermeister at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, ice cold like Those frozen cavemen they find. Which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think of Jagermeister? Well, if you served it warm, he'd probably throw it in your face, say unga bunga and storm off. And nobody wants that. So drink it cold or not at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jagermeister Liqueur, 35% alcohol by volume. Imported by Mast. Jagermeister U.S. white Plains, New York.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the Tony Kornizer Show. That's not just a local champion. No, that's not a national champion. It's a world champion.

[Michael Wilbon]

World champion.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chris Ullman. World champion. Binghamton's own yes, Chris Ulman. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel after the.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes, Bethesda bagels.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We love them.

[Michael Wilbon]

You will as well. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area near Stew. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say they furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale. The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale. But when Pierre found work, the little money coming in worked out well. C' est la vie, say the old folks. It goes to show you never can tell. Charles F. Berry, kids. Thanks to our guest, the Coolerator. Thanks to our guest today, Richard Just and Barry's Verluga. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Odyssey. If you get the show through Apple, please leave us a review from Rick Devins Survivor on Survivor, I live to see another day on the islands. Quick Survivor story on the islands, castaways aren't supposed to talk to the crew even though they're everywhere. So every time I see a crew member I didn't recognize, I'd whisper under my breath, are you Garcia? I was convinced Greg Garcia's son was on the crew because he'd mentioned it on the podcast. I wanted to hit him with a little cheesery and bond over my alma mater, Virginia Tech's Chipotle. I tried this with like half the crew. Never found them. Show wraps. I can finally talk to everyone openly and I find out there's no Garcia on the crew for season 50. Imagine all the pent up lacheese I have now. Rick Devins, brilliant Eric Myers. Last weekend he's in Decatur, Indiana. Last weekend I attended the NCAA D1 Wrestling Finals in Cleveland. As I made my way back to my seat, I was delighted to see that I was seated next to the Binghamton University section. Below is the conversation I had with the 20 something sitting next to me. Me. Who's the most famous Binghamton University alumni? Kid Billy Baldwin? Me. No, it's Tony Kornheiser. Kid Blank Stare me. The PTI Gay guy? Kid Blank Stare me. Or maybe Flo from Progressive. Okay, I heard of her. It's probably her. While I disagree, I enjoyed the conversation. Hopefully I recruited a new Little. Yeah, I'm not that big a deal, you know, to everybody like that. Who was the guy? The PTI guy? The CNBC host or msnbc?

[Michael Wilbon]

I forget whose name it was. The carver was Ari Melda.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. He had no idea. Okay. PTI had been on for 20 years at that point, not 25. He had no idea. From Bo Drake In a somewhat recent episode, you remarked on your preference of the Maryland House versus Chesapeake Peak House when traversing I95. This made me appreciate that the tissue of the show is connected not only through other Bigs and Littles, but also time and space. As I stopped into one of these rest stops on a drive home to Philadelphia, I was greeted in the men's room by the fact that a 6 foot tall person would be able to walk across 85% of the Chesapeake Bay without ever getting their hat wet. And I thought, huh. I bet Mr. Tony has read the same snippet. However, it is not this remarkable fact regarding a body of water that has me reach out to you. In the past few weeks, I took a trip to Cooperstown, New York to visit the Baseball hall of Fame with some dear friends. As we walked through those hallowed halls, I was once again reminded that other Bigs and Littles have likely marveled at the same plaques, memorabilia and history in this shrine to America's pastime. But perhaps the more significant landmark in Cooperstown, yes, is the beginning of the Susquehanna River. You have the full quote which travels I hope he does this. Which travels 444 miles before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay, bisecting the Maryland and Chesapeake Houses along the way. As a regular traveler between D.C. and Philadelphia, as well as a regular traveler across the state of Pennsylvania, I frequently cross the Susquehanna river and almost always left, as Mr. Tony might say, a gape. Part of my reverence for the river comes from the fact that it cuts through the Appalachian Mountains, meaning it predates the mountains, which are the tallest range during the time of Pangea 175 to 300 million years ago. Coming back to my point of the TK show connecting us across Time and space. I was wondering if you might tell us, Littles, what it was like when the decision was made to reclassify the Susquehanna from a creek to a river. If the role is not already taken, could I be the show's official amateur Susquehanna river historian? Regardless of my acceptance, I'm grateful for decades of stories and perspective. It's the mouth of. It's right there in Cooperstown, the mighty Susquehanna River.

[Michael]

You did that walk every morning, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, always. I'd walk and look at it, look at the plaque. Then I'd do something else, maybe play golf.

[Michael]

Now, the Odessaga and their tea service is great, but to get the full experience, you have to stay at the Mohican Motel.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I stayed there with my parents when I was a kid. It was awful. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Is this the plaque?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's the. Presented to the village of. Yeah, that's the plaque. Yeah. Chris McKenzie. I've never been to Maine. He's from Branchville, South Carolina. But that will change in July. Riding my motorcycle from South Carolina to Barb Harbor. Bar Harbor. Don't worry, my helmet and jacket are both white. I may even swing by the border and Yell, goodnight, Canada. Dr. Doug Green from Endicott, New York, writes in Monday's conversation with Wilbon. He asked this rhetorical question twice. How do you beat Goliath? As if Goliath were a prohibitive favorite. Please let him know that I'm in the David Goliath Face off. That in the David Goliath Face off the smart money had David. I've included a photo of Benigni's wife Bernini's sculpture of David from the Borghese Gallery in Rome as evidence. As you can see, the little stone little David is getting ready to sling is about the size of a big orange. If you as that. If you have that coming at your noggin at more than 50 miles an hour, you are in. You are in one of those the bigger you are, the harder you fall situations. To answer Michael's question, how to beat Goliath, the answer is to get a sling. The idea that projectiles beat handheld weapons isn't new. Yeah, it's a great. Wow. What a beautiful statue. Isn't that. What a beautiful statue. Papa them in Paris. That Paris. French soccer players don't openly speak of hoping for, let alone deserving, the Ballon d'. Or. That's the MVP of soccer.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes, of the World Cup.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think that the NBA MVP claim is just who Wembanyama is unapologetic about his ambition without ever Overrating his talent. I suspect he would have probably said it even if he had grown up in Japan. Jeff in Carmel, Indiana as you read this, I'm merging onto I75, heading from Carmel, Indiana to Atlanta with my two boys bound for Braves opening day. They're convinced this is the year we finally take down the Dodgers. No hedging, just that beautiful kid confidence. Adults lose right around the time we start complaining about parking. We'll spend the drive breaking down the lineup like we know something. Blame any losses on analytics and argue whether the gnats are actually bad or just Tony. Says they're bad but still watches every inning and checks the box score. Bad box score was great. Today there will be one Bucky stop. Too many sacks. Hold on. Gotta get water.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's probably my fault it's been bucking the show.

[Michael]

Got to know what they get from Bucky's. Ring the bell for some brisket.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There will be one Bucky stop. Too many snacks and at least one argument about walk up music. And a full weather report about how it was nicer yesterday will be nicer tomorrow. Somewhere between the Bucky's Beaver nuts and the first glimpse of the field, it'll hit me. These are the days you don't get back. Opening day resets the clock. The world makes a little more sense when baseball's back. La Cheeserie from somewhere south of Indianapolis.

[Michael]

That's everything. It was like watching the game with my boys yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Great, right? Yeah, it's great. It's great. I used to love watching with you from Michael Norwood who we met at Pinehurst.

[Richard Justice]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Professional development and career coach honors Carolina. Next time I see you on the putting green at Pinehurst, we will definitely have something to discuss. Oh yeah, changing. Changing coaches. Absolutely. Include Chan. Yes. From Sean Peterson. Just a shout out from a Harper College grad in the early 80s. Love your work as well as Wilbond. Nice to see literate people discuss sports and bigger issues Connected. Don't always agree, but you listen to each other. By the way, I thought Colonials was classy as a nickname for Binghamton. Not a fan of bearcats. Me too. And it was Colonial houses.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, it was Houses.

[Michael]

Big with the Realtors.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Mark Lynch. Mark the owner Lynch Camby, Indiana. I heard the Bed Sheet golf league was a good expanding. I own the Cambie Commanders and would like to submit our team as a candidate. Our roster includes Eric the architect, Lozi Kurt the realtor, Calvin Gavin the financial advisor, Tandy Kevin the unemployed Cross. My team is valued at over $250. And they truly shine on nine hole munis from David hall in Hartford. Alabama Braves GM Alex Anthropoulos has finally become serious about fielding a contender with a signing of Dom Smith.

[Richard Justice]

Oh boy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A non power hitting bench player in the traditional power hitting position is just what they need. John in Virginia, I heard you talking about the Wizards tanking. I was thinking the NBA should treat the Wizards like the major soccer leagues treat teams with the worst records. The Wizards should be relegated to the G League and have to earn their way back to the majors. P.S. tim Kirchen has avocados older than the Nats manager Ted Smith. Not Red Smith, but Ted Smith in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm afraid you're a little behind Time with Waymo Amazon has a much more frightening self driving taxi coming out soon called Zookeeper Zoox Z O O X Zooks. Here's the description. Zoox's toaster shaped vehicles have carriage style seating, sliding doors, and no steering wheel, raider or brake pedal. I'm guessing we won't be seeing you in the airport line waiting for one of these puppies anytime soon.

[Michael Wilbon]

No thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And from Steve Gilmore in San Angelo, Texas, Dear Admiral Agriculturalist, sure, being the minority speaker of the House is a big deal, but does he have Richard Dent on his tax check? Of course not. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone as always, do wear white.

[Barry Svrluga]

Who is Tony?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Cornhouse?

[Barry Svrluga]

Who is that?

[Richard Justice]

It's a PTI guy on espn. Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he had no idea. No idea.

[Singer]

When havoc and confusion weigh heavy on you. You're losing touch. Don't know what to do. I'll be there for you when you feel Feel the world spin and can't slow it down. For God has smile Nothing's worthwhile. I'll be your clown. I'll bring the moon. I'll bring the moon and you bring a star.

[Richard Justice]

You bring a star.

[Singer]

There you will. You ride the Milky Way Lead us to Mars. Bring us tomorrow. When things get dark and scary

[Dan Byrne]

and

[Singer]

the day comes undone. There's no way of knowing which way you're going. I'll pull up the sun, I'll bring the moon and you bring the star.

[Barry Svrluga]

You bring the star.

[Singer]

We'll ride the Milky Way Lead us tomorrow. I'll bring the moon and you bring the star. We'll ride the Milky Way Bring us to the. You know we got it all darling the universe and all. It's all a thrill of such splendor. Love that's so tender. A love that's so strong. Even though I know you're not even mine There's a place somewhere in time we'll find a galaxy and we'll make it all we'll find the stars, baby Venus to heart. Can you bring stone SA.

[Dan Byrne]

Never good at sports I tried and failed at hockey Too weak to be a wrestler Too big to be a jockey Too slow, too small, Too weak, too tall so I became a sports writer. I became a sports writer oh, sure, there was that summer Me out there on the mound the less Mo Rivera, more like Ezra Pound I never got to hit with McEnroe or Connors but at least I got them mad with the questions that I asked them Too thin, too slow too late to grow so I became a sport to ride I became a sports writer. What a whirlwind of a season it has been for young Tony Kornheiser.

[Barry Svrluga]

I entertained Carl Yastremski and Tony Kornheiser

[Tony Kornheiser]

at the White House.

[Barry Svrluga]

I hosted Jerry Koozman, Boo Powell at Tony Kornheiser at the White House. And let me just say, it was a welcome respite for me.

[Dan Byrne]

We welcome the Seattle SuperSonics, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Mr. Tony Koenheiser. Mr. Koenheiser has helped himself to most of the complimentary frankfurters. My sports highlights were a few. A home run in the backyard. But I seen the Boss Massacre. Seen Bobby Thompson, too. Had popcorn at the Buckner game. Seen Babe Ruth collar shot for Doug Flutie's Hail Mary. I Standing by the trumpet, no legs, no fist, no that, no this. So I became a sports writer. I became a sports writer.