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“30 Pints” - The Tony Kornheiser Show | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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“30 Pints”

The Tony Kornheiser Show

Wed Feb 26 2025

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: Episode “30 Pints” Summary

Release Date: February 26, 2025

In the “30 Pints” episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show, host Tony Kornheiser delves into a variety of sports topics, featuring insightful conversations with guest Booger McFarland and sports analyst Tim Legler. The episode is structured into distinct segments, each focusing on current events in the NFL and NBA, intertwined with humorous anecdotes and listener interactions.

1. The Tush Push Strategy in the NFL

Timestamp: 00:00 – 22:55

The episode kicks off with Tony discussing a new NFL offensive strategy known as the "Tush Push." He engages Booger McFarland in an in-depth analysis of the Philadelphia Eagles' utilization of this play.

Tony Kornheiser (00:00): Introduces the topic of the Tush Push and its rising prominence in NFL discussions.
Booger McFarland (14:54): "The Tush Push is essentially a quarterback sneak enhanced by additional support from the running back and tight end, making it a formidable tactic for short-yardage situations."

Booger explains how the Eagles have refined this play, combining sheer mass and strategic pushing to advance the quarterback for crucial first downs. He highlights the offensive line’s strength and the quarterback’s lower body prowess as key factors driving the play's success.

Tony Kornheiser (21:08): "If you can't stop it, it just sounds like jealousy. It sounds like everybody else is simply jealous."

The conversation touches on the NFL's potential response to such dominant strategies, comparing it to historical plays like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s unstoppable skyhook. Booger asserts that unless there's significant injury data, the league is unlikely to ban the Tush Push, suggesting that defenses will need to evolve to counter it.

2. Diana Taurasi’s Retirement and WNBA Insights

Timestamp: 01:34 – 05:53

Transitioning from the NFL, Tony shifts focus to basketball, announcing Diana Taurasi's retirement from the WNBA.

Tony Kornheiser (01:34): "Diana Taurasi is retiring from all basketball. I think she's the greatest women's player of all time."

Tony extols Taurasi’s illustrious career, citing her achievements including three national championships at the University of Connecticut, multiple WNBA titles, and six Olympic gold medals. He contrasts her impact with that of other basketball greats, emphasizing her unparalleled accomplishments.

Booger McFarland (05:53): "He could have kicked the tires."

The segment briefly covers other basketball-related topics, including player contracts and team dynamics, before segueing into humorous commentary on unrelated sports stories.

3. NBA Developments: Lakers and Golden State Movements

Timestamp: 26:27 – 38:54

In the latter half of the episode, Tony brings in Tim Legler to discuss recent NBA happenings, particularly focusing on Luka Doncic's performance and the Lakers' strategic moves.

Leslie Mendelsohn (28:01): "They are able to show some consistency with their defense. That's the question mark all along."

Leslie praises the Lakers' defensive consistency, crediting coach JJ Redick for devising effective game plans that have significantly improved the team's performance. She highlights the addition of versatile forwards and enhanced defensive tactics as pivotal to their recent successes.

Tony Kornheiser (32:47): "LeBron has fired every coach he's ever had except Eric Spoelstra. So he left."

The discussion shifts to Jimmy Butler's transfer to the Golden State Warriors, analyzing its impact on the team's dynamics and performance. Leslie emphasizes Butler's influence on the Warriors' confidence and offensive efficiency, noting his ability to maintain team cohesion despite previous team dramas.

Leslie Mendelsohn (35:22): "His ability to get to the foul line is something that directly helps Steph Curry stay fresh and impactful on the court."

The conversation underscores the evolving power dynamics within the NBA, with player movements shaping team strategies and championship potentials.

4. Listener Interactions and Humorous Anecdotes

Timestamp: 42:39 – 55:58

Throughout the episode, Tony engages with listener-submitted emails, featuring a mix of humorous stories and light-hearted complaints.

Tony Kornheiser (42:39): "From Ruck from the Safeway. Since you seem to be getting confused with the different boxes of toothpaste, we are going to solve your toothpaste problem."

A standout segment involves a humorous debate over an exaggerated story of purchasing 30 pints of Haagen Dazs ice cream, showcasing the show’s signature blend of sports talk and comedy.

Leslie Mendelsohn (55:25): "We only have this life to live, so tell me what you’re gonna give."

These interactions provide a relatable and entertaining counterbalance to the more technical sports discussions, reinforcing the show's engaging and personable atmosphere.

5. Music and Closing Remarks

Timestamp: 26:39 – End

The episode concludes with musical performances from Brett Wiscons and Leslie Mendelsohn, alongside light-hearted banter about upcoming shows and the show's enduring connection with its audience.

Brett Wiscons (51:21): Performs a reflective song pondering life's changes and the importance of living fully.

Tony wraps up by thanking guests and sponsors, encouraging listeners to engage with the show on various platforms.

Notable Quotes:

Tony Kornheiser (21:08): "If you can't stop it, it just sounds like jealousy. It sounds like everybody else is simply jealous."
Leslie Mendelsohn (28:01): "They're stringing together games that you go, 'That defense is actually potentially championship level.'"
Booger McFarland (14:54): "The Tush Push is essentially a quarterback sneak enhanced by additional support from the running back and tight end, making it a formidable tactic for short-yardage situations."

Conclusion

In the “30 Pints” episode, Tony Kornheiser masterfully balances in-depth sports analysis with comedic elements and listener engagement. From dissecting innovative NFL strategies to exploring significant NBA team movements, the episode offers a comprehensive and entertaining overview of contemporary sports dynamics. Guest contributions from Booger McFarland and Tim Legler enrich the discussions, providing expert insights that resonate with both avid sports fans and casual listeners.

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Transcript

Tony Kornheiser (0:00)

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll Talk to Booger McFarlane to get his thoughts on the proposal to kill the tush posh and to explain the tush posh. And we'll talk to Tim Legler about Luke Docic facing his old team last night. But first, let's keep those sales weasels happy. Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. Thank you to Tamara, who sent a bunch of toothpaste, but stop. No more toothpaste. Don't send any more toothpaste.

Booger McFarlane (0:24)

We're good on toothpaste.

Tony Kornheiser (0:25)

Sometimes people in there zeal to be accommodating and I appreciate this very much. Send a lot of stuff and I appreciate that. I really, truly do. But then we get an overload of it and, and, you know, and I thank you all, but I. I can get my own toothpaste. Unless I can't. Unless I can't find what I want.

Tim Legler (0:43)

And you'll return to this topic in roughly nine months.

Tony Kornheiser (0:45)

Yes, but I. I have enough toothpaste right now. This is General George Washington, and you're.

General George Washington (0:52)

Listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

Tony Kornheiser (0:55)

Alrighty then, let's do the open. Let's do some things that we probably won't talk about on the show itself with the guests. Yesterday we're doing PTI and it's about 5 o'clock and we have the scripts in for Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, and Happy Trails. And the Happy Trails script is about Travis Kelce because it's Happy Trails to Travis Kelce's retirement question mark. Because now there's a reason to believe that Travis Kelce is going to come back to the Kansas City Chiefs. And we have some quotes in there for the general manager saying, take all the time you need and so on and so forth. And this is an important story, not just because it's amplified by Taylor Swift, obviously, but he's hall of Fame tight end.

Booger McFarlane (1:34)

Oh, sure.

Tony Kornheiser (1:35)

He's, you know, a very important part of a team that's won three Super Bowls and been to five, you know, so. Yeah, so that matters. Actually, that matters more than Matthew Stafford. If Matthew Stafford was in the same situation who is maybe a borderline hall of Fame quarterback and has a Super bowl win and is great. I love him. But Travis Kelce is more important. So about 5 o'clock we find out Diana Taurasi is retiring. She's retiring from all basketball. She's a member, I believe, of the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. She'd been around in the WNBA for 20 years before that, she was a great player at the University of Connecticut. I think she's the greatest player of all time. Greatest women's player of all time. I, I think that I've said it a number of times on the show. Wilburn can't bring himself to say that because he has three or four or five or six people that he thinks, as he always says, are in the conversation. He thinks Cheryl Miller is the greatest of all time. And he just won't say that anymore. But it's okay. It's okay to say whatever you want to say. And so we can't put it in as happy trails. It's too late to write a new script. And by the way, on, on the large scale, Travis Kelce coming back is a bigger deal in sports than Diana Taurasi retiring. You know, it is, it is. But we get to talk about it in the segment that we do for SportsCenter, which we tape after we tape PTI. And I say she's the greatest of all time. Here's what she's done. She has three national championships at Connecticut. They're not all hers, but she was on three championship teams, national championship teams. She was on three championship teams in the WNBA. She was on six Olympic gold medal teams. That's six. That's 21 years of international experience in which she did nothing but win gold medals. And I said, if you put all these things on a mantle, you need another mantle. She's the most. I will say this without, I have no fear that I'm wrong about this. You may not think she's the greatest female player of all time. She's the most accomplished. She's got more hardware than anyone.

Tony Kornheiser (3:46)

She's got six euroleague championships, five scoring titles, got championships everywhere, all over the world. Yeah, she's the all time leading scorer in the wnba, so she's the most accomplished. So I just wanted to say that now because I've always thought that and I've always enjoyed watching her play. The Justin Tucker story gets a little bit more bubblier as time goes on. We've stayed away from the Justin Tucker story. It's a story just like the Deshaun Watson story. We've reached the point where it's not just one woman or two women or three. We're into, I think, double figures now. But there have been no lawsuits. Unlike the Deshaun Watson story, there have been no lawsuits. Deshaun Watson was punished by the NFL. I think we may be headed down that road with Justin Tucker. I don't want to talk about it because we have accusations, but we have nothing formal. There's no lawsuit, there's no arrest. There's nothing like that. So the United States still in the United States is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It's the presumption of innocence. But when you have the general manager of the team saying these things are serious and concerning, that is a concession on the part of the Baltimore Ravens that they can't run away from this. Even though John Harboy is trying to run away from this. John harbor saying, yeah, yeah, we're just, we're following the rules here and it's tough on everybody's family. Okay, fine. Because you're the coach and you have to have the complete trust of your team and you're the great, greatest kicker of all time. Greatest kick of all time, Justin Tucker. So. So we await to see where that goes. Yeah. Kyle Finnegan back with the Nats. They told Kyle Finnegan, bring it back. They told Kyle Finnegan, you can go. It's okay, we're not gonna pay you what you want. Thank you very much for your time. You can go. And Kyle Finnegan looked around and he didn't find a place to land. So he came back to the Nats on a one year deal. Somewhere between what he made last year and what he wanted, somewhere in the middle which could have had before. But I get what he did. I completely understand.

Leslie Mendelsohn (32:47)

I listen, when it first started out, I was a little bit concerned the first probably six weeks, and they weren't. They weren't fully healthy, and it was really hard to totally judge them. But, you know, I did, like, three Lakers games in the beginning of the year. And so you go in for these coaches interviews before, and I felt like, J.J. you could see, like, detention. You know, he was. He was. He was just, like, stressed out. And I didn't blame him because it wasn't going great early. They got. They lost four out of five on a road trip, and they were just coming off that trip. And you could just see he was wearing. He wears everything on his sleeve. JJ it's not hard to tell, like, what he's thinking. And, you know, like, everybody, you're kind of wondering, like, how is this going to go? He's certainly not going to make a judgment on a guy 20 games into his coaching career. But I think everybody was kind of like, let's see where this goes. You know, LeBron at times can exhibit some body language that has everybody kind of wondering what he's thinking right now and in regards to his respect for the coach. And so there were some of that early on. I'm not seeing that now. I'm. I'm seeing something totally different. I think what. What LeBron, like. Like every player wants, you know, results and the fact that they have gotten this much better defensively over this period of time. And for me, I have always said the number one way that I judge coaches at any level, I could go to a middle school girls game tonight and I could watch the game. And the first thing I'm looking at is defensive connection and paying attention to details on that end of the floor, because to me, that is really where coaching comes into it more than anything else, because players, in large part are going to determine offense. If you have. If you have the horses offensively, you could do creative things and they're ultimately going to. Going to score and they're going to, you know, create. Create numbers for you. But the other end of the floor, there are so many different ways to do things defensively. You've got to figure out a way to match your personnel and figure out a way to get guys to buy in to connecting to each other. So that is where I think LeBron is seeing tremendous growth with his team. And he's, he's crediting JJ for that. And now, as a result, LeBron is giving his best version, energy wise, leadership wise, and all of that. And, and they're playing great. There's no denying it. And they've, they've made themselves a legitimate contending factor in the Western Conference.

Tony Kornheiser (44:45)

Yes, I think it started with the discontinuation of Sen. Sen. Yes, that's Sen. Send the little licorice bites. I used to hide the cigarette smell when coming home at the age of 14 and trying to sneak it. It's gone. Just like Fizzies. They were the predecessor to Liquid iv. And whatever happened to Burma Shave? A shave that's smooth. No signs to see nostalgia's whisper. Burma Shave's memory. I was going to mention Dippity do. You might have missed that one. It's a brilliant email. Yeah, here's from Shad. He's got a haiku for paper billing. Times are changing. Except for Mr. Tony, a proud dinosaur. Yes, that's true. Automated balls and strikes. Okay, this is from Glenn and Allen. This is Norwegian Soft kitten. Yes, our guitarist, Glenn, chuck and roxy. Number 295 was a longtime baseball player being a four year letter winner in high school and a four year starter in college who then played semi pro and adult league baseball deep into his 30s. Glenn was a left handed pitcher outfielder who as a pitcher didn't throw hard and relied on a sinker and a screwball that he kept low and away from right handed batters as his out pitch. One of the great joys in pitching for Glenn was to work the home plate umpire during a game as much as he worked the batters. This started in the first inning as Glenn would start pounding the strike zone at the knees and on the outside corner for right handed batters. Towards the end of the first inning, Glenn would throw one or two sinker screwballs an inch or two off the plate at the knees and see if the umpire would give him the call. Sometimes the umpire wouldn't give Glenn a strike call on these pitches that were just off the plate, but sometimes they would, and on these occasions Glenn would slowly start to expand the strike zone, inching those low and away pitches a little farther off the plate each inning, getting the umpire to expand the strike zone. Over the years, Glenn probably had somewhere from 60 to 80 games where by the fourth of the fifth inning the umpire was giving him four to five inches off the plate if Glenn hit the spot consistently Working the home playing umpire has been a long honored tradition in Major League Baseball. While it could get out of control on occasion, remember Eric Gregg and Levon Hernandez? The ability of pitchers like Greg Maddox and Whitey Ford to work in ump and expand the strike zone was as much a work of art as when Maddox and Ford set up a batter for a particular pitch. While the K zone can be fun for TV viewers, it largely eliminates the ability of pitchers to work umpires and the automation of ball and strike calls will completely end this 150-year-old tradition of pitchers working umpires. While it's certainly debatable whether automated strikes and balls makes the game better or worse, it seems without a doubt that it makes the game less interesting. Can I just say that this is such a great email, isn't it? Such a great sports email and the fact that they then become rock and roll band Norwegian Soft Kitten. They have too much talent. They have too much talent. These two love it. Too much talent. Michael Lamb, Chicago, Illinois wanted to chime in on the continuing college campus Rat Skiller conversation with its own TK show Big Connection. Tulane University also has its own version of an on campus late night restaurant complete with alcohol service for those of or close to legal age called the Rat Skiller. However, what makes my Rat Skiller Edition special is that I've been there with none other than James Carville, who was giving a talk hosted by one of the campus political groups back 12 to 15 years ago. Most of what I recall of his talk was enlightening, albeit hard to understand at points, really. But maybe in this circumstance a few abita embers pre conversation added a little garble to the gambling man's famous drawl. If this gets read, I'll have had four out of six emails hit the air. Do I need to get to 5 and 11 before Chuck and Roxy reach out? From Neil Ayervase, our lawyer friend in Littleton, Colorado, a UPS clerk helping address and mail a package A male stripper making change, care packages of toothpaste, a CVS pharmacist taking care of vaccinations somewhere Blanche dubois shaking her head and thinking and I thought I needed help. It's very good. It's very good. Daniel Shiffrin Miami, Florida Dear Uncle Tony, you're way ahead of me. I thought she was Kitty Carlisle. That's funny. Kitty Carlisle was was on all those talk shows, the game shows. Carlisle actress, singer Linda Carlisle, Brenda Carlisle and Kitty Carl. Yes. And Rick from Nancy and Ron Keefe in Great Falls, Virginia. We watch PTI almost every night. We love it. On a recent show you had the book from the corner of the Oval by Beck, Dori Stein behind you on the shelf. I just went out and got out of the library, started reading it. It's great. Just wanted to let you know we pay attention to what's behind you. Carol got that book at in Rehoboth at Browsebell.