“2nd and Short”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show

Episode: “2nd and Short”
Date: July 3, 2026
Podcast: This Show Stinks Productions, LLC

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Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging episode, Tony Kornheiser is joined by recurring guests Sally Jenkins and Bob Ryan for in-depth conversations that blend sports, cultural touchstones, and signature wit. Core topics include a revealing look at Sally Jenkins’ involvement in the Netflix documentary on tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, insights into their unique friendship, and a breakdown of a head-scratching NBA trade involving Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics with Bob Ryan. The crew also explores recent sports developments in baseball and soccer and shares their thoughts on contemporary and classic tennis commentary, the longevity of athletes, and a few musical interludes.

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Key Discussion Points

1. US Adaptive Open Announcement & Inspiration

(00:58–02:22)

• Tony shares listener Nancy Conravey’s announcement about the US Adaptive Open golf event at Woodmont Country Club, Rockville, MD (July 6–8), encouraging everyone to attend.
• Michael Wilbon: Highlights the accessibility of the course, adaptive features, and the inclusivity for golfers with various disabilities.

  "You look out there and you see players driving carts into bunkers, driving up onto greens… It's a wonderful event." – Michael Wilbon (01:24)

• Tony, Michael, and Kippen Martin underscore how inspirational these events are for both golfers and spectators.

2. MLB Round-Up: Suspensions & Slumps

(02:22–03:57)

• Nationals’ players and recent suspensions: Tony and Kippen debate the impact (or lack thereof) of these penalties.
• Tony vents about the Padres—despite high expenditure, they underperform, and a managerial firing seems imminent.

3. Soccer and VAR (Video Assistant Referee) Debate

(03:57–10:52)

• Tony attempts to explain VAR; laments technology’s disruption of soccer’s flow, especially after witnessing controversial calls in the Croatia vs. Portugal match.

  "It's not as smooth and as clean as tennis or balls and strikes… it takes away often from the flow of the game and the spirit of the game." – Tony (05:01, 05:49)

• Discussion of “flopping” in soccer and its impact relative to calls in American sports.

  "People anticipate contact, go down… and writhe around in pain … as soon as the ball is put back in play, they're up, they're ready." – Tony (06:31)

• Michael and Tony agree the low-scoring nature of soccer amplifies the significance of officiating decisions.

4. International Soccer Preview

(09:43–10:52)

• Review of US Men’s National Team prospects vs. Belgium and the challenge facing England playing at Mexico City’s high altitude.

  "Azteca stadium… in 89 games, the Mexican national team… have lost twice." – Tony (10:28)

5. Feature Interview: Sally Jenkins on Evert/Navratilova Documentary

(12:39–25:59)

A. Behind the Scenes of "Martina & Chrissy"

• Sally describes her producer role and journalistic origins in the Netflix documentary.

  "I wrote a story … the film is triggered by that story … and then I have a producer credit on the film. I went with Martina back to Czech Republic and did interviews with her for the film." – Sally Jenkins (13:48)

• Martina and Chris’s openness about personal struggles, especially with cancer, is key to the film’s emotional impact.

B. Unique Friendship & Rivalry

• Both are candid and supportive of early detection and public sharing, hoping to inspire others.

  “They let cameras follow them into meetings with cancer doctors ... They really made an effort to kind of bare themselves, which I appreciate a lot about the film.” – Sally (12:39, 17:13)

• Contrast in upbringings: Martina’s modest roots and culture shock after defecting; Chris’s disciplined, tennis-centric childhood.

C. Legacy & Competing With Age

• Tony asks about Chris Evert’s recent cancer recurrence and their decisions to go public.

  “If it hadn't been [detected early], you know, she might not be with us right now. It’s given her the ability to fight.” – Sally (16:06)

D. Wimbledon, Serena, and Commentary

• Sally’s admiration of Serena’s comeback at 44; speculates on her tournament prospects.
• She and Tony praise Andy Roddick’s commentary, lamenting John McEnroe’s long dominance of U.S. tennis broadcasts.

  “Agassi and Roddick are the two best commentators on men's tennis right now, and they should be on air a lot more than they are.” – Sally (23:42)

E. On Athlete Longevity & Ovechkin

• Sally defends older athletes staying in the game.

  “We’re really robbing ourselves of these fabulous third acts when we push athletes to retire prematurely.” – Sally (24:13)

F. Taylor Swift Wedding Banter

• Playful speculation about surprise musical guests at a rumored Taylor Swift wedding.

  “I have to think Stevie Nicks, who's apparently one of her best friends ever. And I have to think Haim...maybe like a Keith Urban or somebody.” – Sally (25:14)

Notable Sally Jenkins Quotes

• “They have a black box relationship, Tony. You can tell when you're with them … there's stuff they've only said to each other.” (14:29)
• “Martina, you'll see in the documentary, the first tournament she wins… has no one to hug. So she hugs a telephone pole.” (20:51)

6. Bob Ryan: Jaylen Brown Trade Analysis

(27:19–38:01)

A. Initial Shock & Trade Details

• Bob is dumbfounded by the Celtics trading Jaylen Brown for "incredibly overrated, overpaid, non-productive Paul George."

  “My theory is that the 76ers have kidnapped Brad Stevens and replaced him with an AI-generated robot in Boston. It's stunning.” – Bob Ryan (28:10)

• The return: Two late first-round picks described as “a 14-year-old kid awaiting his first game with the AAU.” (Bob quoting Gary Washburn, 29:00)

B. Analytics vs. Intuition

• Contrasting analytic stats claim the Celtics perform better without Brown, but Bob and Tony are skeptical.

  “He's too good for that. I can't believe the numbers.” – Tony (31:45)

• Bob holds out hope this is just “part one” of a roster revamp.

C. Team Dynamics & Future Prognosis

• Questions about Brown/Tatum chemistry and whether internal friction prompted the move.

  “Is there another move coming?” – Tony (30:03)
  “That is to me a highly logical [assumption]. I can't believe that this isn't the beginning of something.” – Bob (30:17)

• Both Bob and Tony await Brad Stevens’ public explanation.

D. Effect on East Rivalry

• Philadelphia is seen as major beneficiary; the trade tips the balance.

  “You wake up in Philadelphia and your team is much better today than it was yesterday.” – Bob (35:14)

• Brief speculation: Could Philly even try for LeBron?

E. Soccer & World Cup

• Bob is a passionate World Cup viewer, critical of the offside rule.

  “Offside, it’s the most useless thing in sport.” – Bob (36:30)

• U.S. team discussed with cautious optimism; “We have a puncher’s chance with Belgium.” (37:04)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On VAR and Soccer Flopping:
  “They're trained to defraud the game and use that to their advantage.” – Tony Kornheiser (08:48)
• On Brown Trade:
  “If Brad chose to do it, I’ll set myself up. I am a huge Brad Stevens admirer... but this is the first time there’s reason to question him.” – Bob Ryan (34:06)
• On Athlete Longevity:
  “We’re really kinda robbing ourselves of these fabulous third acts when we push athletes to retire prematurely.” – Sally Jenkins (24:13)
• On Announcing Golf Events:
  “Every single putt goes in the hole. And to see the players play through everything... it is inspirational.” – Michael Wilbon (02:13)

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Other Highlights

Musical Features

• New songs by Heather Lloyd (“If We Come Too Late”) and Kippen Martin (“Madeline”) are featured throughout the show.
• Reminder of a Simon & Garfunkel tribute concert at Alexandria’s Birchmere (12:00–12:39).

Listener Letters and Jingles

(38:39–47:17)

• Lighthearted mailbag with stories about golf, memories with family, and movie comedy debates.
• Recurring bits about Tony’s potato gardening and goose encounters on the golf course.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• US Adaptive Open Announcement: 00:58–02:22
• MLB Suspensions & Padres Rant: 02:22–03:57
• Soccer & VAR Discussion: 03:57–10:52
• Sally Jenkins on Evert/Navratilova Netflix Doc: 12:39–25:59
• Jaylen Brown Trade Analysis with Bob Ryan: 27:19–38:01
• Listener Letters & Jingles: 38:39–47:17

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Summary Tone

The episode is marked by Tony’s signature blend of warmth, skepticism, and humor; guests Sally Jenkins and Bob Ryan bring both expertise and personal anecdotes, maintaining a conversational and engaging feel that regular listeners—and those new to the show—will find inviting.

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This summary omits sponsor messages, show intros, outros, and promotional spots to focus exclusively on substantive content.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Sally Jenkins about her involvement in the Netflix documentary about Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova. We'll also talk to Bob Ryan about why the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers for basically nothing. But first commerce.

[Sally Jenkins]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser show, when

[Tony Kornheiser]

the Dutch coach came off the field, they said, have you already resigned? That's a tough crowd, right?

[Bob Ryan]

It is a tough crowd, but it's no different than Bo Schembechler in Michigan.

[Sally Jenkins]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, when the Michigan fans say

[Bob Ryan]

he's a Michigan man, you follow where

[Sally Jenkins]

I'm going with it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Bob Ryan]

Ronald Kooman is 100% Dutch, and he managed that game as if he hated the Dutch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've never seen.

[Sally Jenkins]

The Tony Kornheiser show is on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's do an announcement. Announcement first, because this is a big deal to me. This comes from Nancy Conravey in Abita Springs, Louisiana, if I pronounce that correctly. And so would you please tell all the littles out there that the US Adaptive Open is again at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, on July 6th through 8th? It's an event. That's what she says. So do you. That everyone would enjoy watching whether they enjoy golf or not? Admission is free, so spend some time being inspired. Do you want to explain what it

[Michael Wilbon]

is and what's so great about this is they have. Parking is available. It's right across from the Best Buy, right off of the pike, and you can enter directly onto the course. I think it puts you out on, like, hole number 12 or 13. And this is a golf course that is designed to be inclusive of players of all abilities. So you look out there and you see players driving carts into bunkers, driving up onto greens, playing tees that stretch all the way from what you would consider tournament tees that you see sort of every weekend wherever you're playing. And you have tees that go all the way up, you know, an extra 100, 200 yards in the fairway. It's a wonderful event.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can you explain who the golfers are and why they're.

[Michael Wilbon]

These are golfers that have different disabilities, and there are different categories.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Physical and. And cognitive.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. I mean, I can pull up the. The full list of as to what are the qualifications.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wonderful thing.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. And again, a USGA event, this is different than just playing golf with your friends. Every single putt goes in the hole. And to see the players play through

[Tony Kornheiser]

everything, every possibility, it is inspirational. There's nobody who's ever gone to it, who hasn't come back, you know, teary eyed, saying, that was a wonderful, wonderful thing. So we mentioned that. There's nothing much to talk about with the Gnats did not play last night except for the suspensions.

[Michael Wilbon]

Couple Nats are sitting down.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Wilson Contreras was suspended for seven games. Cade Cavalli for seven games. Meatball Nicholas suspended for three or four games. This has no real effect on. It's a start, right? Nicholas none, because he's a starter. Cavalio missed one start. Wilson Contreras go. Missed seven games.

[Kippen Martin]

Seven games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's different. Yeah, it's different. A pitcher and a, you know, a starting pitcher, not a relief pitcher would be a different deal too. But. So the Nats came out of that better than. Than Wilson Contreras came up.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah, but do you really think that's going to derail the Red Sox in their quest to be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, the Red Sox aren't any good. The Red Sox aren't any good. Speaking of baseball, the Padres stink. They lost the other day 22 to 3 to the Cubs. They led the Dodgers last night 6 nothing and lost 12 7. They have spent a tremendous amount of money. Tremendous. Wilbon always roots for them.

[Michael Wilbon]

You're getting close to a decade of this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Tremendous amount of money on players like Machado and Tatis and some pitchers. They stink. That manager is going to be fired. He's going to be the fourth manager this year to be fired. The first one was the Phillies, the second one was the Red Sox. The third one was the Mets and the fourth one's going to be the Padres. He's going to be. They're going to have to fire him. Let me get to the World cup now.

[Michael Wilbon]

Let's see you try and explain var, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I can't explain var. What? VAR is a computer chip. Yeah, it's a computer chip that tells. That isolates where people are physically at any moment in time. And it comes up because much like in football, soccer has gone to technology whenever it is available, even though it ruins the flow of the game and even though people. I'm not sure people like it. Maybe half do, maybe half don't. I don't know. It's not as smooth and as clean as tennis or balls and strikes. And it has much greater effect. Much greater effect. I'm not the world's biggest soccer person. I was watching last night, Croatia against Portugal. I was just, you know, was on and I just watched it and I saw a few Minutes of it. Let's not go crazy here. I saw a few minutes of it. There was a call made. Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, has never, ever, ever had a goal in a knockout round match. Never.

[Michael Wilbon]

Let's see if we can change that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, so at one point, there's some action around the goal. It's Croatia against Portugal. There's some action around the goal, and it is determined by video that the Croatian guy fouled the Portuguese guy. And so a penalty kick was awarded, and Ronaldo took it, and he nailed it, got his first goal ever. This was his ninth knockout round. He's one of the great. Like, he'd been a dog in these kinds of games. If he'd been messy and Wilbon hated him, Wilbourne would have destroyed him. But. But Wilbourne likes Ronaldo, so he got this goal later on with. They were in that thing where you don't know how much time is left, and there's time. There's no clock. You don't really know. It's at the discretion of somebody.

[Michael Wilbon]

Even then, you're just waiting for the whistle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't know. You don't know what's going on. With what seemed to be about 3 seconds left, Croatia scored a goal, and they took it down. They consulted these video things, and they took it down. I just. That's difficult for me. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it takes away often from the flow of the game and the spirit of the game. There's one other thing that happens, and then Michael has something to talk about. He noticed something else. One of the things that bothers me in soccer is the flopping. It's like Joel Embiid times 10 million. People anticipate contact, go down, hold their knees, hold their ankles, hold their groins, whatever it is, and writhe around in pain, looking to get a penalty on somebody else. As soon as the ball is put back in play, they're up, they're ready to play. Everything is great. So they're frauds. And it's not one or two guys. It's everybody.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's the entire field.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's.

[Michael Wilbon]

Everybody's afraid when they're trying to do it, just to slow the game down and get, like, a little break, obviously, before they started the hydration break. I'm actually okay with that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The hydration break.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, I'm okay if. Like, if you want to just take it extra. Yeah, take an extra half a minute.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But what you're not okay with is all the holding. Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

So when you think about the impact of these VAR calls you have. You have. Every single play is being held, and it. Those are the moments that actually seem to have an impact on the pace of play and the rhythm of the game and the potential for scores or offensive moves that come 3, 4, 5, 6 passes down the field. But, man, apparently the VAR stuff happens every single week. We're just not paying attention to it. Because we watch the World Cup.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean, this is the first time that we're really exposed to soccer. Please don't tell me it's a beautiful game. Please just.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, the other thing is that you're

[Tony Kornheiser]

trying to refrain from telling me it's beautiful. Say you like it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Honestly, it's like what you see every weekend in football where you freeze frame anything and you can see a hold. And then it comes down to the eternal question of is it a catch or not a catch? And they try and predict. Here's the natural motion that we expect a player to continue with if he was actually pushed versus if he falls or flops.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The difference is there are so much fewer goals in soccer. It's. Football has more scoring. Excuse me? Well, football has more scoring.

[Michael Wilbon]

You look at the bills. I mean, there's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, but the odds of one of those calls affecting the outcome of a soccer game is far greater.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Proportionately. Than affecting the outcome of other sporting procedures. It just. It just is. And I don't know. I mean, I. It's not that I don't. I mean, I'm not a soccer guy. But if you find fault with it like this, the soccer poets go insane.

[Kippen Martin]

Yes, they do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, and just.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, it's the. It's the knowing glances that you see on the players as the camera goes, you know, around the field, and they look happy that they're getting away with something.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Kippen Martin]

Yes. Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're trained to defraud the game and use that to their advantage. I get that. It's okay, but it has. It appears to have proportionally a greater impact on their game than a call in a football game or a call and like a call in a basketball game. It's like a. 10,000 calls.

[Kippen Martin]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. This is.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, the closest thing you would. No, the closest thing you'd see would be something that could lead to a suspension in a future game. The same way you're seeing that play out with either a yellow or red

[Tony Kornheiser]

card card that the American guy got. And he's a very great player. He's as important, everybody tells me, as pulisic is maybe more important, the red card prevents you from playing the next day. And if you do look at the contact, it doesn't look. No, it neither looks intentional nor terrible.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, it doesn't most of these things at least look intentional.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah, that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That didn't really look intentional.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right. And then you think about time served for the rest of that game and what it meant.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Kippen Martin]

Well, what really puts you all in jeopardy for that match, you know, against Belgium? Well, the next one. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We have Belgium. Yes, it put us in jeopardy for that one. Except that Bosnia Herzegovina isn't any good. Yes. They're ranked 61st in the world and we're ranked 15th.

[Kippen Martin]

Belgium will present lots of difficulties.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, that's. Yeah, that. I mean, Belgium is. Is a different kettle, you know, But Belgium. Belgium's not Spain. Belgium's not Argentina. Belgium's not France.

[Kippen Martin]

No. You know, it's Belgium didn't mention England.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, England's getting hosed.

[Kippen Martin]

Thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was about to say they have to go play at altitude. A mile and a half up. Is it in Mexico City?

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Azteca stadium, where in 89 games, the Mexican national team, in 89 games have lost twice. Lost twice. England has no chance.

[Kippen Martin]

A home match for them at altitude. It just seems like they're saying to us, no, we don't want England to ever win.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, England, no. And the coach even said, we have no chance to acclimate. No, they have no chance.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah. I don't know what.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It seems unfair.

[Kippen Martin]

It feels a bit unfair.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, it seems. I guess it seems unfair. All right, we'll take a break. We have a very generalist kind of show today. Generalist journalists Sally Jenkins and Bob Ryan on the show today. And we will be back with Sally when we return. Yes, that's right. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Sally Jenkins]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Heather Lloyd. This is a song called if We Come Too Late. And I have a note here from Ronnie Newmeyer that says, it's been a minute or two, but I wanted to let you know that. Friday, July 10th, that's next Friday at the Birchmere in Alexandria. Neumeyer Flyer is presenting the Simon and Garfunkel Songbook, a full band tribute covering all the Simon and Garfunkel hits and deep cuts. Tickets are on sale at the Birchmere official website. Show features the vocal and instrumental talents of Tom and Mark Lofgren, Heather Lloyd and Kip and Martin. Your fine podcast has played songs by all them previously Heather, who's singing now, has a new album out called Panic Room With a View. And I've attached one of the songs from that album called if We Come Too Late. I also have a song from Kip and Martin called Madeline. So we will hear that later in the show, and you can buy tickets to that. And it's gonna be good because everything they do is really good. Plays in Sally Jenkins and the woman to whom I related by marriage about a week ago, asked me if I saw this documentary on Martina Navratilova and Chris Everett. And I said no, because I don't even know how to use the TV anymore. I've stopped. I've stopped watching television if it's not the gnats, you know, And I don't know that Chrissy and Martina are playing second and short. So, no, but I said, is Sally in it? And you said, yes, Sally's in it. Because I immediately thought of the story, Sally, that you wrote a couple of years ago that should have won a Pulitzer Prize on their relationship. Tell us about the documentary and tell us your relationship to it.

[Sally Jenkins]

Well, first off, they really give it up in the documentary. I mean, the thing that makes it good is Martina and Chris. They let cameras follow them into meetings with cancer doctors where they don't get great news. I mean, there's. Martina lets someone stick a tube down her throat on camera. I mean, it's pretty grainy. It's good stuff. It's a lot better than most sports documentaries. You guys, I think Will agree, is pretty slick hagiography, you know. And the thing I love about this documentary is that it's not that it's. The tennis really holds up. It's riveting. Their relationship is riveting. So I'm really proud of it. I have a couple of different involvements. I wrote a story for the Washington Post that it's essentially, I think the film is triggered by that story, and it's sort of based on that story. And then I have a producer credit on the film. I did some work on the film. I went with Martina back to Czechoslovak, to the Czech Republic and did the interviews over there with that whole segment that's in the film about her defection and her family and all of that stuff. So, yeah, I was pretty involved in it. The director, Rebecca Getlitz, though, she's the one who really made it happen. She. She got a level of trust from them that really makes the film.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Have they mentioned the film to you? Are they happy with it, or is one happy and not the Other are both happy or both unhappy?

[Sally Jenkins]

I think they're both happy with it. They. It was at the Tribeca Film Festival. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and they were both there with their families, and they seemed really, really pleased with the film. Chrissy thinks that she always comes off as the villain, which is pretty funny because that's a flip of their playing relationship.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. They continue to be best pals, right?

[Sally Jenkins]

They're very close. Yeah, they are. They just. They have a kind of a black box relationship, Tony. They. You can tell when you're with them in the room that there's stuff between them that nobody else gets. You can feel it. Right. Like there's stuff they've only said to each other. Like, even their spouses don't understand what it's like to play a final on center court, you know, against the other great player of the epic. And they. They know things that no one else really can. Can know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I covered them.

[Sally Jenkins]

And cancer is like that. Cancer is like that, too, by the way. You know, unless you've actually felt chemo, I don't think anybody knows what chemo feels like except someone who's been through it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I. I covered them. I go all the way back. First time I ever covered Forest Hills was Chris Everts ultimate semifinal match on center court with Billie Jean King. I mean, she. She just burst upon the scene like, as Bruce Springsteen would say, a supernova. And Martina, when she defected, I mean, this is. This is a huge story. I have an awareness of them. I have an appreciation for their intellect. I always thought Martina was just about the smartest athlete I ever was around. Chris announced that her cancer had returned. This was about a week ago. This is, I think, the cancer that she lost her sister to as well. Were you. I don't know how to. To ask. You're a pal of hers. She does. She did this publicly. I, you know, I wondered. Do you have to do it publicly? Has she reached that point in her life where it is important to do it publicly because it helps others?

[Sally Jenkins]

Yeah, I mean, that's the whole. That's the whole deal with both of them is they, you know, they're all about, you know, early detection. And, you know, Chrissy, fortunately, was detected early. If it hadn't been, you know, she might not be with us right now. It's given her the ability to fight. So. Yeah, the reason they went public with it is they want women to get checked regularly. And because that's the lifesaver here, they're also, you know, I Said this in the film. It's a funny relationship because, you know, Chrissy, early in her career, in 73, when you were at that open at Forest Hills, which I would have given anything to have seen, she put her armor on early and she's been slowly but surely taking her armor off ever since. Martina was the opposite. You know, she comes to this country very guileless, very naive, very sort of open because she grew up in this communist country where you had to, you know, you couldn't speak openly. And she has gone in the opposite direction. She's actually put some armor on as she's gotten older and more experienced. And so it's a very interesting thing. But both of them are very open about their cancer and about their relationship now and what competition did to them, how it damaged the friendship for a while, how they managed to put it back together, you know, and I really respect that because for Chrissy, it's not easy. It doesn't come natural, you know, especially. And for Martina, it doesn't come natural anymore. And so they really made an effort here to kind of bare themselves, which I appreciate a lot about the film.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, you know, I remember very few things in my life other than rock and roll songs, but I do remember when Martina defected, and I remember that within, I don't know, three or four months, she had gained about 20 pounds.

[Sally Jenkins]

Yeah. Pancakes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And she said, well, you know, I can't believe I can walk into a supermarket and there's food. So I buy the food and I eat the food. And then she became. She went. Got lean again and became like the most fit tennis player of all time. But she ballooned. You remember that, don't you?

[Sally Jenkins]

Oh, totally, yeah. Well, look, you know, one of the things I learned going to the Czech Republic with her was, you know, I didn't realize just how poor she was growing up. I mean, they had the basics that they needed, but they lived in basically, her and her sister and her parents. There was no hot water. Her father found an old boiler and tried to rig it up, so they finally had some hot water in the house. But, you know, she grew up. They went to the tennis club, the little local tennis club, because they were to take a hot water shower. They lived in basically in a very small sort of studio, essentially a studio apartment that was so small they kept their shoes out in the hallway. You know, things like that. You know, she grew up with. Not a lot, I'll just tell you that. And, you know, to come to this country, I think was. She was bedazzled by just the, the plenitude.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I mean that happened to a lot of hockey players who defected early also. Their families would just, just go and eat. They were just because they were afraid. I think Martina once said this. She said, I went there one night, I said I thought it couldn't happen again in the morning. So I went back in the morning and bought more food because, you know, who knows when the food is going to run out. I mean, Chris Everett grew up the child of a tennis teaching pro. I mean, you know, comfortably middle class family I would say, right?

[Sally Jenkins]

Yeah, I would say, yeah. I mean, look, her dad taught tennis at public, you know, he was not some guy giving lessons in Palos Verdes. You know, he was giving four dollar an hour tennis lessons at the public courts in Fort Lauderdale at Holiday Park. And they had, and you know, they had four kids. I mean, I don't think that was a sumptuous up rearing either. You know, I think it was a crowded house and I think Jimmy Everett, her dad, had a lot of integrity. He refused to raise his prices once his daughter became a star, which was, I think she gets her integrity from him, you know. But you know, so I think that they were both kids that were isolated in a lot of ways. You know, Chrissy was taught by her father, you can't have friends, you have to practice all the time. You can't go to sleepovers, you can't go to birthday parties. And then, you know, Martina of course came from this very isolated country and so they were alone, you know, these two kids, they were really alone. Martina, you'll see in the documentary, the first tournament she wins, she doesn't have anyone to hug. She's over here. She wins a tournament, there's no one to hug. So she hugs a post a telephone pole. And there's a picture of that in the film. You know, they were really lonely kids and they kind of sought each other out, you know, when they're 15, 16 years old and they become very close friends as, as young teenagers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Where is the documentary airing? What channel?

[Sally Jenkins]

It's on. It's on Netflix. You can get it on demand on Netflix.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pay for that. I think Carol pays for Netflix, which means I paid for Netflix. I've never actually seen it. Don't know what it is. Have you been paying attention to Wimbledon? What do you think of Serena coming back?

[Sally Jenkins]

I loved it. 44 years old against a 20 year old. When you haven't played in four years and you've got two, two children, one of them three years old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Sally Jenkins]

I mean, it was. It was remarkable. The fact that she pushed. Pushed Maya Joint to the wall was remarkable to me. I mean, she looked rusty. She didn't look old. That. That was what was interesting was she looks like she's two weeks of match play away from being able to, you know, be a quarterfinalist, be a semifinalist. And if you can get.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really.

[Sally Jenkins]

Anything can happen, really.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Semifinalist.

[Sally Jenkins]

Okay, who do you. Quarterfinalist. Let's start with. Let's start with the quarters. But, Tony, who do you see out there who can really threaten Serena? I mean, with 120 mile an hour?

[Bob Ryan]

That.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That one.

[Sally Jenkins]

Who else?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. I don't know any of their names anymore. Because women's tennis has sort of gone the opposite way of men's tennis has two people that everybody knows and everybody wants to see them play. And women's tennis, every other major is a new person who you've never heard of winning. So it's.

[Sally Jenkins]

Or Coco Gauff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Cocoff.

[Sally Jenkins]

Legit great player. But, you know, look, when you have Serena's mental fortitude, you know that if you can achieve a certain level of consistency, in addition to having those weapons that you have, you know, the forehand.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you think she'll do it? You think she'll stay out there?

[Sally Jenkins]

I think she's. I think she's gonna make it to. I think she's probably feeling her way through and. But here's the thing. You can beat people in the head before you ever go out there if you're Serena. So, like, you know that if you can keep the ball in the court a certain amount of time, the person on the other side is going to make an error. Right. And that's what I see. I don't see too many people who can keep the ball and play enough, and I think that that may be one reason why she's playing footsie with this whole idea.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Have you been watching the telecasts at all? I mean, other than Serena?

[Bob Ryan]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How great is Andy Roddick? I had no idea.

[Sally Jenkins]

And he's been fabulous. He's been fabulous. If you listen to his podcast, look, one of the great frustrations.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's got a podcast, too. Everybody's got a podcast.

[Sally Jenkins]

His podcast is heaven. Oh, my God. His podcast is the best. One of the best things in tennis. No, he's terrific. Here's the thing. I wrote about this a while ago, about a year ago, John McEnroe's chokehold on tennis commentating and a few other people out there Too. Has been really frustrating because if you really follow the game, you know that there are commentators out there that are so brilliant. Andre Agassi, without even trying, is one of the most interesting commentators in tennis already.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've never heard of him.

[Sally Jenkins]

Yeah. Oh. Agassi and Roddick are the two best commentators on men's tennis right now, and they should be on air a lot more than they are.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Roddick's really good. I haven't heard Agassi. Roddick is really good. Oh, one. One last thing. I know that you're not at the Washington Post, you're at the Atlantic. I get that. But your entire career, you had the opportunity to see and think about Alexander Ovechkin, who's coming back at least for one more year. Are you okay with that? Do you think it's good? Do you think.

[Heather Lloyd]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Get out of here.

[Sally Jenkins]

No, no, no. I love it when athletes do this, because we're all wrong about the age thing in sports. I mean, if we don't know that by now, after this year, you know, Lindsey Vonn wins a bunch of World cup races. You know, Serena comes back and goes three sets at Wimbledon on center court at the age of 44. I mean, you know, we're really kind of robbing ourselves of these fabulous third acts when we push athletes to retire prematurely. You know, things that athletes do when they're past it are some of the most fun things I've ever watched. Remember Jimmy Connors as Mr. Midnight at the US I do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was there.

[Sally Jenkins]

Yeah. I mean, these things can be spectacular if we allow athletes the sort of room and ego to pursue them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, I'll ask you one more question. Are you going to the Taylor Swift wedding at Madison Square Garden tomorrow?

[Sally Jenkins]

I wish. I wish. I'd love to hear the Post Wedding concert.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's. Well, that's the thing. Who's gonna play? If you've rented out the Garden, who's gonna come and play? Right? I mean, that's.

[Sally Jenkins]

Well, I gotta think Stevie Nicks. I have to think Stevie Nicks, who's, like, apparently one of her best friends ever. And I have to think Haim.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Sally Jenkins]

And I have to. And I have to think maybe like a Keith Urban or somebody.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think she'll get up there? So you don't think the Zombies are going to play? I was hoping for the Zombies, I think. Do you think she'll get up there?

[Sally Jenkins]

Sort of. I think playing music might be her favorite thing to do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Sally Jenkins]

You know, doesn't she strike you that way, like you know, it's not her work, it's her life. She lives music.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean.

[Sally Jenkins]

I mean, I don't know, maybe the National. Those guys are great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know any of these people. You know, I don't know any of them. That would be great if you went anyway.

[Sally Jenkins]

Bon Iver. Do you know Bon Iver?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, but I know Bonnie raid.

[Sally Jenkins]

Mr. Michael, get him up to speed.

[Michael Wilbon]

After a Vegas cancellation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Bonnie Raid is my age. I know her.

[Bob Ryan]

I'm sorry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jackson Brown, Bonnie Raider. James Taylor. I know James Taylor.

[Kippen Martin]

The association.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The association, I doubt is going to make it. I doubt it. So maybe they'll fly the Stones over.

[Kippen Martin]

Who knows? That would be great. All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thanks, Sal.

[Sally Jenkins]

Loved it. Love talking to you guys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sally Jenkins, boys and girls. Just lovely. We'll take a break. We'll bring in Bob Ryan, the quintessential American sportswriter. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This is Kippen Martin, song called Madeline. And once again, next Friday night at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Neumeyer Flyer, Ronnie Newmeyer and Pals are presenting Simon and Garfunkel's song book. Everybody's gonna be there.

[Kippen Martin]

That's gonna be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm not gonna be there. I don't go out. But if I did go out, I would go, yes. So I don't drink beer all the time, but when I do it, this.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And this song. Michael, if. If people, independent artists want to get their music played on this show, how do they do it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us some music by emailing it to Jingles, Tony, quezershow.com and a big month ahead. We have a promo code. Johnny O tkbday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, it's my birthday.

[Michael Wilbon]

Big birthday coming up. Sharing with the Hammer. I can't double up with certain summer sales they have, but go check it out.

[Bob Ryan]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you. Kippen plays in Bob Ryan, the quintessential American sportswriter. There's a trade, I don't know, 36 hours ago, something like that, that Boston made with Philadelphia, that is in my mind. Are you kidding me? That Boston trades Jaylen Brown, a guy that I thought was the MVP of the league last year, for the incredibly overrated, overpaid, non productive Paul George. That's it. I mean, say there's two number ones, but if Boston, you know, and Philadelphia play well, those number ones are, you know, 26, 27, 28. They're not. They're not valuable number ones. You've spent your life Paying attention to basketball and certainly the Boston Celtics and everything about basketball in New England. What do you make of this trade?

[Bob Ryan]

When I first had I heard about it while driving, I may have driven off the road. Fortunately, I was, I was landlocked. We knew something, you know. All right, here's my position. When all this was playing out about what's going to happen with Brown, I said publicly and privately in Brad, I trust if Brad makes a deal. Okay. If Bradley doesn't make a deal, okay. Well, now I'm saying what was I thinking? And my theory working on Tony is that the 76ers have kidnapped Brad Stevens and replaced him with an AI generated robot in Boston. It's stunning. Not that he was traded, but you got to get something better. And everyone, I mean capital E, boldface, everyone agrees to that that no one in the league can understand and many other reasons. Not only is he. I won't go so far as to say he's 36. He's not. His best days are behind him. But the contract is onerous. If you were to take a poll of general managers in the league, I would bet and say who's got the worst contract in the league. And I think that the majority would say Paul George and the Celtics took this thing on the draft picks. There's lots of swapping involved potentially. And if that and the other things, you can't keep track of it all. Although my favorite analysis of it, my colleague at the Boston Globe, Gary Washburn, said that the 2031 pick that they're going to get is a 14 year old kid awaiting his first game with the AAU. So I like that. But it's stunning. We weren't ready for this to be the outcome of the Brown thing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So much like you having watched Brad Stevens over the years, I assumed there was another move coming, that this was part one of part two or part three. Is there another move coming?

[Bob Ryan]

That is to me a highly logical. So that is my logical assumption. Now. I just glanced at the paper and there's sort of a semi categorical statement that they don't have anything else planned. I can't believe that. I can't believe that this isn't the beginning of something. I can't believe they're going to think they're going to go start the 26, 27 season with, you know, with this core roster without adding to it or changing it in some way with as it now stands, you know. Yeah, they've added Mitchell Robinson and that's another story for another day because There's a highly flawed player who's got one enormous upside. He's the best offensive rebounder in the league. I really believe he is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But you can't put him on a foul line. You can't.

[Bob Ryan]

And the downside is you can't keep him in the game at times. So we know that. They know that because they were. Joe Missoula was a leading Hacker Mitch guy last year.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

And. Okay, so now one interesting thing about Brown, and I mean, and I'm just throwing it out there because, you know, I'm not a big major fan of analytics in any sport. They've taken over to the detriment of our interest in the game and our enjoyment of the game. But, you know, you're probably well aware that there are analytics that range from him being the 11th best player in the league to the 51st best player in the league, and that they're. There is an irrefutable number that the Celtics actually were better off with him off the floor last year than on

[Tony Kornheiser]

8 and 2 when he was off the floor last year, 36 and 6 in the last three seasons. I look at this, I said this last night on pti, maybe this is analytics, but. Because I can't believe these numbers. He's too good for that. I can't believe the numbers.

[Bob Ryan]

Well, I know it. So maybe, maybe, you know, Brad, smarter than we think. Even we thought he was pretty smart. So there's contradictory evidence there, you know, about Brown. We know what we saw. What we saw was a guy who was 10 years was one of the top worst, you could say, 15 players in the league and, you know, could easily have been first team all league this year. Nothing against Cade Cunningham, but you could easily replace him with Jalen Brown, and many of us thought they should have. You know, he's a quality asset to a team. There's no question in my mind. I don't care about these analytics and. But it's caught everybody, you know, we're stunned and wondering, you know, what is the ultimate motivation here, you know, in terms of, you know, why couldn't they wait? There's all kinds of serious scenarios where they could have waited and not made this particular deal for Paul George. I saw one number today that I didn't know about, I'd forgotten about, by the way, in the analysis of George. And we all agree he's over, you know, he's over the hill and all that, and he's injury prone and then. But he was 22 for 40 on threes against the Celtics in the playoffs last year. You know, maybe that resonated and Brad said, I don't know why.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's go backwards. Why do you think they traded Jaylen Brown at all? Why?

[Bob Ryan]

That's the thing. The parlor game we play is what's the difference? What is the relationship on and off the floor between he and Jason Tatum? And to the best of our knowledge, they certainly get along. They're not enemies or anything. There's kind of an inherent battle about supremacy perhaps on the team when the game starts. We thought they had conquered that. They have won a championship together. Yes, I have done it. And it's not that easy. You know, you don't ever pooh, pooh a championship. People are doing it by saying, well, they played teams that were missing some guys, they did well. These things happen all the time. Bill Russell's teams did, too. Nobody's questioning those championships. So. Yeah, that's a good question. What is the inner dynamic there? That we can only guess. I thought it was working fine, you know, Tatum's. But in Brown's mind, maybe he thinks he's a better player. He's not. Tatum is a better player. But the need to trade him, I didn't think it was acute, frankly, from my outsider's viewpoint. But as I said, if Brad. I'll go back to what we started with. If Brad chose to do it, I'm. I'll set myself up. I am a huge Brad Stevens admirer and fan. I consider him to be a friendly acquaintance, as a matter of fact. And now I really like this guy and I admire. I think he's done a fantastic job. His talent judgments have been really tremendous. We have had no negative things to say about him from the minute he came here as a young coach. And this is the first time that there's reason to question him about what he's thinking. And he hasn't spoken yet. And that's what we're waiting for. Everyone's waiting. Brad's rationale, we haven't had it yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

In division, in division to a rival making that other team now, making Philadelphia better than Boston right now.

[Bob Ryan]

Better. No question they're a threat to the Knicks now, if they're blessed with good health. We know that that's the given in every sport all the time if they're blessed with good health. But if they are blessed with good health, that they're working right time. They've got a tremendous top three with four with MD Maxey Brown and VJ Edgecombe. If the Celtics had managed to pry VJ Edgecombe. We would have felt a little bit better about this. A young stud, that BJ Edgecombe, I'm telling you, he may be Andrew Toney on training wheels. Keep your eye on that kid. He's really good. And they now have four really solid quality players to start with, and they're much better. I mean, you wake up in Philadelphia and your team is much better today than it was yesterday. You've got a smile on your face.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They could go after LeBron now. LeBron's going to play for a buck and a half. They could go after LeBron.

[Bob Ryan]

That's the great pro. Again, I can't. There's so many possible scenarios about that. I think the greatest one for LeBron would be San Antonio. Be the. Be the. Be the big brother for you know who. Wouldn't that be good?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you following the World cup, by the way?

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, avidly. I'm so fascinated by it. I'm just reading now and marveling about yesterday. And I hate, first of all, I hate offside in all sports. I detest offside. It's the most useless thing in sport. And somebody lost a goal or the buzzer. Last day, Croatia.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Croatia, yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

On an offside, a stupid offside. But I'm following this. I'm following our team. I'm following all the story. I'm interested in Argentina, Cape Verde today. Just because of those plucky Cape Verde guys. Oh, yeah. I'm all over it. I'm really enjoying it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think we have a chance to get to the final Eight?

[Bob Ryan]

I think, yes, we have a chance. We got a tough game with Belgium. We have a chance. We have a puncher's chance in that game, that's for sure. And if we do that, we have totally accomplished our goal. I think we've accomplished our goal already. We had to do this. We had to get this where we couldn't get. Tony, your favorite new verb. We didn't get grouped, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, that's right. Right. We didn't get grouped.

[Bob Ryan]

We didn't get grouped so that. That. That was the number one thing. We couldn't afford to get grouped. So. So we're doing fine and beat Belgium, and it's a. It's a success. And then anything that happens from here on is a disappointment, but not a disaster.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, no, I agree with that. This guy already, Pochettino already, is the greatest coach that we've had in the history of American World Cup. He's from Argentina. And Kelleher pointed out to me that after the game he was singing Take me home, country roads to the place I belong. West Virginia. He's never been to West Virginia. He doesn't know where it is. No chance.

[Bob Ryan]

You don't think he paid a visit to Jerry West?

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know I don't. Cabin Creek? I don't think so.

[Bob Ryan]

Actually, he was born in Cabin Creek, was more euphonious. He actually lived in Chalin. C H E Y L A N A little bit of Jerry west trivia for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's good to know. Good to know. Po Chettina. Thanks, Bobby. Thank you.

[Bob Ryan]

Okay. Anytime. Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bob Ryan, quintessential American sports writer. He knows all about the Celtics. Nobody understands it this. Not even Wilbon, who likes Paul George, understands this.

[Kippen Martin]

It's baffling.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nobody understands this. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Sally Jenkins]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Heather Lloyd]

Here comes Tony. Tony's mail back. Got your emails, faxes and your notes. Here comes Tony's mail bag. Gonna read some for all you folks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Our thanks to Ronnie Newmeyer and Tom Lofgren for that rendition that we liked very, very much. You want to do the Bethesda bagel ad?

[Kippen Martin]

Yes, Bethesda bagels. We love them. You will as well just go to bethesdabeagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Then pop on in and you will be thrilled. And before we get to the mailbag, let me just say, let us be lovers. We'll marry our fortunes together. I've got some real estate here in my bag. So we bought a pack of cigarettes at Mrs. Wagner's Pies and walked off to look for America. That is the genius of porcelain. And it's a song called America. It's brilliant. Thanks to our guests today, Sally Jenkins and Bob Ryan. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Audacy if you get the show through Apple. Apple Podcast. Please leave us a review.

[Michael Wilbon]

Quick rerun the the impairment categories for the Adaptive Open include intellectual impairment, lower limb impairment, multiple limb amputee, coordination impairment, seated player, short stature, upper limb impairment and vision impairment. I want to use the correct terms.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's good. That's good. Okay. From Greg Pawlik in Aurora, Ohio. I'm finally catching up on the podcast after eight weeks of not being able to drive due to multiple neck fractures. I previously wrote in about my annual golf trip with my brothers son and nephews, which took a tragic turn during A misguided attempt at body surfing. But I assume it didn't meet the literary criteria for the little audience as it was a bit heavy on sentiment. The good news, however, is I'm back on the course. My head has never been steadier during my swing. I'm getting sentimental again with this message. Sincerely hoping that you, Michael and his sons get to share an experience like this. Back in 2009, played around with my father and my then 14 year old son at Atwood Lake Resort near my hometown in New Philadelphia, Ohio. On the sixth hole of a par three executive course, my dad stepped up, was five iron, hit a low liner that cleared the ground by about 6ft, caught the fringe on the front of the green, took two hops, rolled all the way into the cup. I've attached a picture that sits on my desk at work from that day along with a scan of the plaque that hung in my parents house. It's currently displayed in my garage. Next are photos of my dad participating in the Richard Petty driving experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Another great experience I shared with my dad, one of my brothers. Beyond your regular guests, the most enjoyable part of your show is hearing about the experience you share with Michael and his children. I hope you cherish those moments and they get to see Captain Tony or Farmer Tony or however listeners are referring to you on the day you get a hole in one playing with them. My dad passed away just over four years after that hole in one, never getting the chance to see his grandson graduate from high school. So this memory remains incredibly special to me. It's very, very nice. And it's a plaque. It's very nice.

[Michael Wilbon]

July 2nd. Last night we were laughing at dinner. Do you know what happened? July 2, 2019? No. It's the day that you hit a goose with a golf ball. Oh, we're on the 15th. Okay, we can reset this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, that's it. We'll hold this.

[Michael Wilbon]

You see the geese walking across the tee and you start to shoo them away with the golf.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Come on, come on, honey.

[Michael Wilbon]

You step up to the ball. Liz is sitting there with Bootsy in the cart. I go, you better not lie this one hit it thin. You hit it thin and you hit a goose.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't kill the goose though.

[Michael Wilbon]

You did not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Goose was fine.

[Kippen Martin]

Goose was fine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Goose walked away, then flew away.

[Michael Wilbon]

That wasn't even the most memorable thing that happened on that front nine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, that was when Carol drove into the water. Drove into the pod, took card into the water from Reese in London. Dear Uncle Dr. Captain, are you sure you haven't planted magic beans? Keep an eye out for a goose laying eggs very tall, where they're really big. Yeah, really big. Dina, near Donora. For the first time, I planted potatoes. One variety is still green, but this variety was ready. And every time I thought I dug them all up, there was another. And she sensed.

[Kippen Martin]

Oh, my God. God, that is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She sends pictures of red potatoes that. Just a hundred of them.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Bob Lane. Occasionally mailer Bob Lane from Midland, Michigan, when you purchased your first house on Long Island, I envision you with a full head of red, not orange, hair, channeling Neil diamond by reaching into your pocket, paying for it in cash. That probably impressed the woman to whom you're related by marriage even more than when her old boyfriend gave her a poem of Bar Dylan lyrics.

[Heather Lloyd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Matthew Thomas in Bowmanville, Ontario, in Canada, near the midwestern city of Toronto. Being a film bus buff, I couldn't resist respectfully submitting Some Like It Hot and Young Frankenstein for consideration of the greatest movie comedies ever. Would you consider these four for a movie? Mount Rug. Look, they're very good. Some Like It Hot is a brilliant one.

[Kippen Martin]

Yes. Billy Wilder, I think, Right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. It's a. It's a sophisticated, brilliant comedy. It's not, you know, the comedies I'm talking about. There's no food fighting. Yeah. It's a different kind of comedy. Young Frankenstein. Yeah. But that's not even his best movie.

[Sally Jenkins]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Blazing Saddles is his best.

[Kippen Martin]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Steve the Sick of Wednesday Show. You referred to Animal House in the original Hangover as the two most brilliant comedies ever written. Let's calm down, Little Sparky. Are those two laugh fests great? Of course. But please let me mention just two other movies. The Producers, for which Mel Brooks received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Woody Allen's Annie hall, winner of the Oscar for Best Picture and three other Oscars. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. Yeah, they're great.

[Kippen Martin]

They are great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everybody loves Annie Hall. Yeah, everybody loves. Yeah, they're great. I just gave my two. I gave my two because they were so surprising all the time. Just so surprising. From Brian R. In New York City, LeBron has the chance to do what Jordan never could make the playoffs with the Wizards. That will end the goat debate. Oh, Wilburn went crazy. Jeff Alexander, Salinas, California. My family and I are making our biannual trip to West Yellowstone area next week. Hopefully, Mr. Hobbs will be working on the day we sojourn into the park so we can yell the cheeseree at an obscene volume at his grocery store. Also, we'll be staying a few days at my sister and brother in law's potato farm in Northwest Montana. I'll let them know you said hello and that you'll see them at the Potato Expo 2027 in Denver on the 5th through the 7th of January 2027.

[Kippen Martin]

We got to book space for that

[Tony Kornheiser]

from Seth Shaner in New Albany, Ohio I write to you to enlist the help of Littles every to share a story of a frightening night here at my home. The other night, my wife shook me awake at 12:43am to tell me that the garage door was opening. The opener is not far below our bedroom and you can clearly hear it when it opens or closes. I rushed downstairs and investigated. There appeared to be no one around. I have cameras facing my driveway in the street from my front door. Neither were activated by motion. I have now learned that sometimes one must change the frequency on the garage door opener if it begins opening or closing randomly. I'd never heard of such a thing. Do you or the Littles have any advice? I'll hang up and listen.

[Michael Wilbon]

Is it catching a neighbor's fob?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't. I. You know, my only advice would be

[Michael Wilbon]

maybe the snores at the right frequency.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, take the door and smash it into bits and get a new door.

[Kippen Martin]

Or get a priest because they may need an exorcism.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know from Steve Gilmore in San Angelo, Texas Dear Potato man so Brian Windhorse disclosed that he was getting makeup done during the live podcast. For full disclosure, I'm not having makeup done while writing this email from Jeff Greenfield. I'm 42, I'm a grown man and I've been listening to every iteration of this show since we moved to Maryland from Forest Hills when I was five years old. Since moving right back to New York as an adult, my favorite things to listen to were the local D.C. weather reports and CVS excursions in the neighborhoods of Northwest D.C. that I've spent so much of my youth visiting friends and family nearby. It always made me feel closer to home, no matter how far I was. You can imagine my surprise and delight on Monday when I started hearing about your golf outing at my local course and describing the surrounding area to my neighborhood. Even your visit to Walgreens. I actually yelled out to myself in the car. I know that Walgreens. That's my Walgreens. Just one question. Why didn't you call first? I will hang up. He's from Island Park. Island Park Is a little bit north of Lido beach at Long Beach Island Park, I believe.

[Michael Wilbon]

Still off the southern state.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, well, island park is off Long Beach Road. You take Long Beach Road north, you go through Island Park. As soon as soon as you get over the bridge, you're in Island Park.

[Kippen Martin]

Lido is Lido Beach. That's not where we get the song. The Lido Shuffle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I wouldn't think so. Okay, that's Boss gags.

[Kippen Martin]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. From Marsha Thompson in Ocean View, Delaware, you know where Bear trap is located? Do you think the Pope is responsible for the White Sox success this year? Possible divine intervention. I'll shut up and listen. I hadn't thought of that. That's hard to argue. Billy Flores in Houston, Texas, in reference to the Bears Hallmark movie. Shouldn't we be looking for gazebos in Hammond, Indiana? That's funny. And one more. Don't worry about Paul Skeens. He's hanging out with Livy Dunn. Dg, if you're out on your bike, tank everyone, as always, do wear white.

[Bob Ryan]

Harry, if we make an effort today, we might be able to save August. August? Tomorrow's the 4th of July. And we will be open for business. It's gonna be one of the best summers we've ever had.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Unless you're eating.

[Heather Lloyd]

Do the ribbons in my head look far too girlish for the grave? Do we put our hearts away Away says it's time I'd rather never foolish maybe I'm too old to do this but we don't get to choose our pride and yours might not be mine Cuz if we come too late to all we love by the only road there was doing not yet Dance for as long as we can now for as long as we want not for as long as we want. Oh. Couldn't wander any faster had to weather every night Couldn't gather all the treasure

[Sally Jenkins]

in a day

[Heather Lloyd]

Wisdom in my eyes but always is the time Gaining like an enemy and I try not to agree. If we come too late to all we love by the only road there was do we not dare to dance for as long as we can if not for as long as we go if not for as long as we want. Oh, The lines on my face like the lines on the page Can I say the heartbreak for the song it breaks so I. I'm gonna say. Cause we all come too late to all we love by the only road there was and it is there we will dance for as long as we can not for as long as we want. If not for as long as we want. Not for as long as we want. Come on, Sam. Your first sweet ride. That model built in 92. We drove all around our hometown in that car your parents bought for you. Carefree were we made a line the wind was blowing through our hair. Now just a memory, Madeline. For now our days are fraught with care. Our worries climb from day to day. Oh, I suggest we get away. And I recall one summer day when a song came on your radio. We sang a long Sweet Madeline. With words we'd only heard before that day things changed. Sweet Madeline. My voice was ringing strong and clear. I've never felt this way before. It was coming from my heart sincere. You are a dream, a dream to me. You sang along in harmony. Oh, Madeline, let's take a ride. We'll play the music loud. We got plenty of time. Time to get nowhere in particular Singing. No matter line I often ride down that winding highway in my mind I hope that one day we arrive at the crossroads with reality so on summer days, at days end when of work and we have done our share. The wind is whispering in the trees and the fireflies they dance on air. Come away, sweet Madeline. For my soul it feels like dancing too. Oh, yeah. Just take the keys in this hand of mine. It don't matter where we're driving to know Let the destination be unknown. Just start her up and let her go.

[Bob Ryan]

Ooh.

[Heather Lloyd]

Oh, Madeline, let's take a ride. Roll the windows down we got plenty of time to get nowhere in particular.