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- [00:00]
Tony Kornheiser
Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, I'll Talk with Jeanne McManus about the end of the Washington Post sports section. Plus, we'll preview the super bowl with Jason Locanfora. And we'll get our picks as usual from James Carville and Jeff Ma. But first, let's keep the sales weasels happy avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint, finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app. Download Today.
- [00:38]
Jeanne McManus
Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.
- [00:42]
Tony Kornheiser
And we're on two, and Jordan is coming up the other way, seven or eight, whatever it is. And I see Jordan. And Alan says, there's Jordan. So I start to walk over to Jordan. So Jordan, he's beaming. He's beaming, gives me a big hug. And we talk about Wilbon. Of course, the text. I said, where's your boy? What am I doing here before him? And he just makes fun of Wilbot. And I, of course, call Wilbot and tell him all about this.
- [01:12]
Jeanne McManus
The Tony Kornizer show is on now.
- [01:15]
Tony Kornheiser
Alrighty then. There were a couple of things I was going to do today to start the show. I was gonna talk about Jenny's ice cream. Cause we got a bunch of Jenny's ice cream. Yes. And I was gonna talk about this new candy, kinder or Kinder Bueno. I don't know how it is exactly pronounced. Which we have tried and which the boys have tried. Boys have had a big week. Yeah. But this. Yeah, they've tried everything. They tasted ice cream, candy. But there's greater news than this in my life and in the lives of people who work at newspapers and who live in Washington, D.C. and that is the gutting of the Washington Post sports section and metro section and soon, style section, I'm sure.
- [01:53]
Unidentified Singer
Books.
- [01:54]
Tony Kornheiser
I would have told you there's no book section. I would have done this on Wednesday, except it wasn't official. People had heard about it. People were afraid of it. People were convinced it was going to happen, but it wasn't official. And the one thing you learn when you work on a newspaper is get it right. So I held back. But Jeannie joins us now because we both worked at the Post for a million years and I think you start with the two responses. One is the emotional response. And then, you know, I think you have to force yourself to say, from a business standpoint, is this a practical thing for the Washington Post to do? So I'll ask you both.
- [02:35]
Jeanne McManus
Well, emotional response. I'm just trying to keep this in perspective. I mean, I'm of a certain age. We've all experienced grief and loss, so I'm trying to keep this in perspective. But I keep getting messages and texts from friends who feel a personal loss themselves and feel my loss.
- [02:57]
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
- [02:57]
Jeanne McManus
And, you know, I really value that. And it makes you realize how much the paper is a part of not just everybody's day, everybody's life, but just our whole world. I mean, I'm a native Washingtonian. I grew up on the Washington Post. The way Don Graham talks about it, reading the comics and then reading the sports section. So, you know, it is an emotional loss from a business point of view. Here's the question I keep asking. What's the plan? What? The plan, it's been called, I think, by Will Lewis, quote, a strategic reset. What does that mean? Does it mean you want to be the Wall Street Journal? Does it mean you want to be Politico? I don't. I don't get it. And, you know, there's lots of conspiratorial thoughts. I know, you know, we think that way because we're journalists, but if this were motivated solely by Trump, why didn't they kill the national staff who's been just bearing down on him, who have been doing wonderful, assertive reporting on the Trump administration? I don't get it.
- [04:16]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I mean, my feeling is the same way. When we started to hear about this within the last month, the people on the staff that I talked to, Matt Rennie for at least a month, was saying that, you know, deep cuts are going to happen. We could lose the entire section. And, you know, my first response is, of course, I worked there, and I worked in newspapers. All I ever wanted to do. I called kindred about this, and Kindred said to me, all I ever wanted to do in my life is go to games and write about them. And that was exactly the way I felt and just wanted to be a newspaper sports writer. And I just felt, well, how. How could you do this? How could you get rid of a sports section, a unifying thing in a city? You know, I. Politics is divisive and sports is unifying, and people go to the sports section, even if they're not sports fans, they go to the sports section. If you lived in Washington, D.C. i was amazed when I came down here a million years ago, what a hold the Washington football team had on the city, how important it was to every strata in the city, and that that import is still there. It's certainly there. It was awakened not this past season, but the season before when they had a really good season. And people come in from England, and they come in from the Wall Street Journal, and they come in from California, and then they just say, yeah, we're just gonna throw this thing out. We're gonna throw the sports section out. We're gonna throw the metro section out. I'm gonna paraphrase Remnick here because. Called Remnick because remn. And he said, you know, the job of the metro section is to put the mayor in jail if he or she deserves it. And I said, the job of the sports section is to fire the coach if he deserves it. That's. That's the job. That's what. Now, that's not there. There's this huge trade. Anthony Davis, who I don't think will ever play a minute in Washington, but. Okay, but he gets traded here, it's covered by wires. You know, this would. This would be an A1 story, right, Gene? It's an A1 story.
- [06:10]
Unidentified Singer
Yeah.
- [06:10]
Jeanne McManus
And I mean, to have something covered by the wires, it's just like a knife in your heart to see that. With all due respect to wire reporters, but, you know, Tony, we had an incredible advantage. We had two executive editors in, Ben Bradley and Len Downing and a publisher, and the wonderful Don Graham, who were very knowledgeable about sport.
- [06:34]
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Loved it.
- [06:36]
Jeanne McManus
About the importance of a sports section in the paper. Now, that's a blessing and a curse, of course, because they'd be breathing down your necks.
- [06:45]
Tony Kornheiser
They'd be in there.
- [06:46]
Jeanne McManus
They'd be in there if you missed a story. We also, though, had a wonderful sports senator, George Solomon, who would occasionally put his finger in their eyes and say, back off. We had that. This is George's favorite expression. We had that. You know, we had that six months ago. Whatever. But anyway. But they. They valued the sports section. They. They held us to the same, you know, bar that they held every other reporter. There was incredible accountability reporting in sports, you know, investigative reporting, wonderful feature writing in sports, and that was expected of all of us. You know, when I first became deputy sports senator, some people said to me, oh, you get all the games? I'm just like, are you kidding me? We look at the sports sector, how much more it is than just box Scores and games, although those are very important, too.
- [07:45]
Tony Kornheiser
It's. Look, I loved it and you loved it, and I grew up wanting to be on a newspaper. And now I face the reality that the capital of the United States of America does not have a newspaper. Does not. Not a full newspaper. And I would ask you. We're old. Where are the next papers coming from? Or are there no papers? Does everything go online without any particular standard of how you express your opinion? You know, because anybody has access to the Internet. What's next, do you think? You think this will be. There'll be a rally to get. Somebody will try and put together something like a newspaper?
- [08:20]
Jeanne McManus
No, Tony, you're more of a Neanderthal than even I am. There won't be paper, but there's certainly a void. I would think that somebody could dive into and say, okay, here is a city of 800,000 people and what, eight or nine sports teams and college sports that doesn't have a source for reliable reporting on sports. So somebody, I would think, could dive into that abyss and come up with some sort of a digital, you know, option for us. I don't know who that is. I don't know where their money is, but if there is such a person, I would hope they would hire all of our dear friends who have lost their jobs. I just. That's where my ache really is. I really ache for them. I mean, Masky. I've been editing Masky since he was a sophomore at uva when he was a stringer covering Virginia football for us. I mean, my heart just grieves for him.
- [09:20]
Tony Kornheiser
I made sure to call Maskie. I made sure to text for Luga because he's over in Italy. I made sure to call Shinen, called Gene Wong, called Matt Rennie. People that I had actually worked with called Chuck Culpepper, who I never worked with, but wanted him to hear. Yeah, hear the message, which is, you know, if there's anything I can do, anything, I'm. I'm happy to do it. I. I have. I'll just say this. I won't say I have the best sort of resume in. In newspaper working, but nobody has a better one. I work for Newsday. I work for the New York Times. I work for the Washington Post. Nobody's got it. It's not better than that. And I'm not talking about what I did there. I'm just saying that that's where I worked, okay? I worked for great newspapers. I can no longer get a job in my chosen profession at the Washington Post. Can't get one because they don't have a sports section. I can't get one at the New York Times because they got rid of their sports section and bought something called the Athletic. That is different than working for the New York Times. I guess maybe I could work at Newsday, I don't know. Wilbon was telling me last night that, you know, Chicago Tribune isn't any good. And then. And the LA Times doesn't cover locally anymore. The best sections, best sports sections in the country throughout my entire career, where, you know, we'll go from east to west are the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times. They were the best.
- [10:42]
Jeanne McManus
You know, Dallas was good, too.
- [10:45]
Tony Kornheiser
A lot of others were good, but I mean, those were the best. I was really proud. And to your point, when people send me messages of condolences, I write this back, I'm okay, I've got a job. The condolences should go to people on the Washington Post sports staff who thought they had climbed to the top of the pyramid in their chosen profession and then were just thrown over the side into the water. Like, what happens? Where do they go? Right, Gene? Where do they go? What do we do for them?
- [11:12]
Jeanne McManus
Who had worked incredibly hard to reach that position? The other thing about sports sessions, and it's true of metro sections too, they are entry level reporting positions. They are a way to get new blood youth into the institution of a newspaper. You don't have rookies coming to the national section or the foreign section, but you have them coming in through Metro and sports and then you watch them rise. I mean, look at the success of, for example, a metro reporter named Bob Woodward.
- [11:45]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [11:45]
Jeanne McManus
How did he do? Yeah, yeah.
- [11:46]
Tony Kornheiser
How did he do? How did David Remnick do when he joined the Washington Post as a sportswriter? How do you do after that? Did you win the Pulitzer Prize? Because I haven't won the Pulitzer Prize. Do you edit the New Yorker? No. Yeah, that's, you're, you're right about it. So I, I don't, I don't want to, to make this about, you know, what happened to me. I've never even been in the new building. I mean, I'm out of there for almost 20 years. You know, I loved what I did, but I don't feel this in the way that somebody who just lost his job feels it. Right. I mean, it's unbelievable.
- [12:23]
Jeanne McManus
Right, right. And as, as much as we like to make it about ourselves, Tony, in this case, it really is not about our. No, it really is. And I mean, how do you possibly. You can't possibly rebuild a sports section. Suppose somebody else decided to buy Jeff Bezos paper.
- [12:46]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [12:47]
Jeanne McManus
Contact him on his yacht and see if you'd be willing to sell the paper. Like, how would you possibly begin to rebuild the foreign staff? That it's like standing in war zones when they get the message that they're laid off. Or the entire sports section, you just couldn't possibly rebuild it.
- [13:05]
Tony Kornheiser
How does the New York Times survive? What is the difference between the New York Times and the Washington Post? That the New York Times. I don't know if it's thriving, but it certainly is surviving and has, I think, a larger impact than it's ever had.
- [13:19]
Jeanne McManus
It's thriving because here's what they had. They had people making smart, imaginative decisions. They bought the Athletic. Okay, maybe you don't like the athletic as much as you like the New York Times sports, but New York Times was not where you went to sports. You went to the New York Post, the New York Daily News. So that was a smart decision. They bought puzzles. People subscribed to get puzzles. I'm one of those puzzle nerds. I do them all every morning. I've already done all of them. Okay. They bought. They came up with this fabulous cooking section. I've stopped using cookbooks. If I want to find a recipe, I go to New York Times cooking. They bought wire cutter. It's like a consumer product.
- [14:03]
Jason La Canfora
Yeah.
- [14:06]
Jeanne McManus
That's where they make their money.
- [14:08]
Tony Kornheiser
Well, and they are still. And I, I don't know if I'm right on this in terms of the impact, but they're still a family owned newspaper. They still have skin in the game. Bezos does not. He does not. He's the richest person in the world. You could. I mean, everybody writes this. You could turn over the couches in his house and get enough money to fund the Washington post losses for 10 years.
- [14:30]
Jeanne McManus
That's right.
- [14:30]
Tony Kornheiser
He's got hundreds of billions of dollars. And a billion is so much more than a million, than 100 million, than three. I mean, it's just so much more. Is he the villain in this piece in your mind? Or are his henchmen the villain? Or is it good business for him? For him?
- [14:48]
Jeanne McManus
Well, I don't know about business because I can't tell what the hell their business plan is. Okay.
- [14:53]
Tony Kornheiser
Right.
- [14:55]
Jeanne McManus
But I would call him a villain. Yes. Because when he bought the paper, he said, I'm going to provide this Runway for great reporting and great journalism. And somewhere along the line, I'm not blaming it on his marriage, whatever. But something turned and he left the business of running the paper and he left it to this guy, Will Lewis, who is supposed to be the publisher. However, his name is not on the masthead, but he's the one who's sort of wielding this axe. He's the one who fired Sally Busby because she wouldn't run a story that reflected on him poorly. He's the one that decided we were going to have a third newsroom with soft stuff and then second newsroom with opinion and a first newsroom with hard news. Well, that never happened. Whereas the people of the New York Times are making very sound, imaginative and financially strong decisions. This guy is just, you know, clueless. And Jeff Bezos is on his yacht.
- [16:03]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, yeah. There was no obvious compromise here. I mean, just people got lopped off and they saw it coming. Can a paper survive, do you think, these days can. Can what we think of as a newspaper that comes to your house every day, can that survive anywhere?
- [16:21]
Jeanne McManus
Oh, I don't know, Tony. I mean, I think the New York Times is doing as good a job as anybody. I don't see the Boston Globe that much or any of the California. Well, I sometimes see the San Francisco examiner, but I mean, the paper. Paper is pretty thin rule. I mean, I don't know when their first edition closes, but they often don't have NBA games in their first edition or in their final edition.
- [16:50]
Tony Kornheiser
The current Washington Post has all wire copy. They sent a couple of. Don't be, don't be fooled here. They're going to give you a lot of good Olympic coverage. But when that ends, those people are fired. They're going to have to come back and you're not going to read that anymore. You're just going to get wire copy. The Washington Wizards last night, a terrible team that should be investigated for fraud, beat Detroit. It's one of the biggest upsets of the year. And there's a six inch wire story on it. That's all there is, a six inch wire story.
- [17:17]
Jeanne McManus
So, you know, that was another tell for me. When I heard first of all that they weren't sending someone to the Olympics and then that they were going to send four people. And when I heard that they weren't going to send anybody to spring training, I thought, now those are people making those decisions who have no understanding of a sports section, who have no understanding that you cannot send four people to an Olympics. Olympics does not take place in one arena. And an Olympics takes place across a huge geographical swath and spring training does two things. First of all, it fills this incredible void between when the NFL season begins and March Madness begins, and the NBA is kind of in a lull. Okay? That's what spring training does. But spring training also gives the reporters a chance to really talk to players, to really talk to the coaching staff, to really get into the blood of that team. And if you don't send reporters to spring training, you're never going to have that.
- [18:18]
Tony Kornheiser
Thank you, Jeanne. I would tell everybody, and I know you would agree with me. If you can read Sally Jenkins piece in the Atlantic, read it because it will. It'll explain how we feel, right? It'll explain.
- [18:29]
Jeanne McManus
Also read Alexandra Petrie in the Atlantic, another very good one.
- [18:32]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, thanks, Jean.
- [18:34]
Jeanne McManus
Okay, bye, Kee.
- [18:34]
Tony Kornheiser
Jeannie McManus, boys and girls. We will take a break and we will talk to another Washington Post alum when we come back. Jason Lock and fora I'm Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. It's the last call for football on FanDuel. One final Sunday, one last kickoff, the final chance to place your bets before the NFL season closes its tab. This is Super Bowl 60, and FanDuel is making sure you're in on it. If you're a new customer, bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets if you win. So whether you're backing the favorite, riding with the underdog or building one last same game parlay, make it count. Because after the super bowl, the season's over and football is officially done. Last call for football on FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of Super Bowl 60. Visit FanDuel.com podcast to get started.
- [19:25]
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- [20:47]
Jeanne McManus
You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.
- [20:50]
Tony Kornheiser
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- [21:46]
Jeanne McManus
This is the Tony Korneiser Show.
- [21:53]
Tony Kornheiser
This is a band called Bees Deluxe. Song is called the Deep Blue Sea and they send us this note. We are so grateful to you for playing our song Nitro several years ago. Now Bes Deluxe has returned from the International Blues Challenge in Memphis where we represented New Hampshire and we killed it. Made it to the semifinals and beat out most of the other bands. We have a new CD in the works. We wanted to share this preview the Deep Blue Sea with you. As you'll hear, we're not your average blues fan. Hope you enjoy this and can find a way to put it on the air. Included a photo of us as well. A lovely photo. Bees Deluxe. They play in. Well, let me just say this. If Michael, if you if independent bands like Bees Deluxe want to get their music played on the show.
- [22:31]
Jason La Canfora
How do they do it?
- [22:32]
Tony Kornheiser
Send us your music by emailing it to jinglesonyquinizer show.com and I'm not really sure what season we're in currently, but we do have a new code@johnnyo.com tk suit s u I T suit up for all your flying needs. Oh, yeah. TK Suit. Flying suit. Yeah. I have a flying shirt, but as I said the other day, it has huge holes in it. Yeah, I like the idea of cutting off a piece. Let's see. Carry it with me. Yeah. Jason Lockenfour is going to join us and Eric Robertson writes. Please give a big shout out to Jason Lockenfur and his sidekick, Beltway Ben. Ever since following their one and BET show, I have a 12 and 5 record. I'm up 9.33 units. Jason, can explain to you what units mean. Whole family got top sirloin the other night. And at this rate, we might even have a paid, paid summer vacation. So congratulations on Wannabe, which we will get to. I want to talk about the coaching hires and I want to talk about your thoughts of the super bowl, but I can't bring you on without asking you about the Washington Post. What just happened? We just had Jeannie on and you worked at the Post. What are your thoughts?
- [23:28]
Jason La Canfora
It's devastating. I got out of college in 96, and so I've kind of been doing this, but writing about sports professionally since then. So that's 30 years and 28 of those I was at the Post. It's just. It's hard to fathom in real time, even though I knew it was coming. Get your head around this new calibration that the Washington Post does not exist in the sports. You know, what we would have said reporting, I guess now they'll call it content, space whatsoever that. That we are at a moment in sports where it's intersecting with politics at such an extreme rate. Not that it hasn't always, but no one can ignore it anymore. And we are on the cusp of an Olympics, which I guess is technically started, and we're hosting the World cup for the second time ever and spring training starting and there's a Super bowl happening and the Washington Post isn't. I mean, and look, the guys who are staying less than those guys. And I understand what they're doing in the Olympics. But like, the story isn't that the Post is doing all this amazing journalism. The story is that the Post doesn't really exist anymore in anything close to the form that we lived with it for generations. I, I mean, it's the thing I'm most proud of in my career is being associated with the paper and having the opportunity to serve a bunch of different roles over a decade and a half and to be gone as long as I was gone and to be welcomed back immediately when I had the chance to write about the NFL once again in some capacity that wasn't, you know, completely owned by the league or owned by cbs. The amazing people that I was allowed to rub elbows with and share press box with with and share cafeterias with and share media bus rides, you know, with media shuttles. Like, it's something I always thought I'd be able to talk to my kids or grandkids about, you know what I mean? And maybe like, hey man, like, are the archives going to live? You know what I mean? Like, am I going to be able to find something I wrote, you know, from Finland 20 years ago? Like, I don't know, Tony. It's, it's. I knew it was happening. I got my head around it. I felt like I had my head around it. And then when everything was formalized with those announcements, it really threw me into a tailspin that I'm frankly still in. It's just one of these pillars that you never take for granted, even in real time. And this is about one thing and one thing only for me. And then I'll shut up about it. This is about tearing down institutions that are there to provide, that seek truth, that seek the light, that strive to educate and edify and buttress our culture, that serve to hold to account those who are now more willing and able than ever to tear those very standards and practices and norms and pillars down. This is a billionaire who wants even more unfettered access to a president and even more ability to lead his businesses in whatever corrupt and anti human ways he wants to. It's a coalition of Bond villains who have got together to destroy the media and whatever was left of those who would hold them and this disgusting government in check. That's what it's about. It's not about really, for me, anything else than that. It's not about the money. He's rubbing the money in everybody's face. It's about taking this thing and destroying it and destroying everything that it. And those, I don't know, thousands of people over the years who worked there believed it.
- [27:22]
Tony Kornheiser
We'll go to football. I wanted to talk about coaching hires. There's like 10 of them or 11 of them, whatever. There are Are there any one or two or three that stand out to you either for good or for. Whoa. What's that?
- [27:36]
Jason La Canfora
I mean, I think, again, we've hinted at this in the past. I think what Baltimore and Buffalo and Pittsburgh did like, it just feels a little too comfortable and a little too convenient for me.
- [27:47]
Tony Kornheiser
Mm.
- [27:48]
Jason La Canfora
You know, I think those were always going to go in a certain direction unless something truly jarring happened that got the powers that be to see things other than through the portal that they, you know, most likely saw it through before they even started interviewing people, which was the Bills and the Ravens were going to stay within their sort of incubator, and they look at Joe Brady and Jesse Mentor as products of their DNA and their climate and their culture, their pristine personnel departments. I would say they've got issues in all of those areas, but they have pushed back on that through words. Indeed. And then Pittsburgh, it's a Pittsburgh guy who they've known forever, who they've been familiar with forever, who they've been hanging out at combines and Super Bowls with forever. That. That has a resume that looks a lot like Mike Tomlin's recent resume. He goes about it in a different way, but, boy, it just. It kind of feels like more of the same, only without. You know, he's not Mike Tomlin. He's not. He's not the leader that Mike Tomlin is. He's not the Galvanizer, and he can't motivate like Mike Tomlin, certainly not at this stage of his career. So I think all three of those teams might be. Find themselves really missing what they had. And I understand why most of them moved on, but I think Andy Reid. I'm convinced Andy Reid is the biggest winner of this offseason in the afc and that the brain drain that's going out of that conference and the adults who've left that conference being replaced with, in many cases, people you're hoping and praying can do the job, but you have no idea if they actually can. I look at the staff that they're building, and I don't know, man. I. I don't know. Like, I think New England's going to feel real good about where they are in that division. I think the AFC north is a shell of what it once was, and I look out for the Chiefs.
- [29:40]
Tony Kornheiser
Do you like any particular hire, do you think? Oh, I think they may have gotten it right because these teams are dreadful. Most of the teams.
- [29:47]
Jason La Canfora
Most of them are good. Look, I mean, there's ten tone. History will tell us. Seven will Be object failures will never get even a second contract with the teams they're with, let alone a whiff of getting a chance to coach anywhere else again. One will be a truly inspired generational hire and two will prove they can coach in the league and they'll have opportunities elsewhere. But, you know, the idea that they're going to transform franchises or are the culture changers that they're hired to be, they'll probably be less than that. I mean, some of these places, like, what is Cleveland? You know what I mean? Like, what is Miami? What is Arizona like? I think we know what they are. You know, I covered the three. The three teams that have been competitive in the AFC recently, where the standard is higher. All those coaching hires, not just the head coach, but the staffs in large part have left me wanting more. I mean, I'm not a Clint Kubiak guy at all. I think he's an offensive coordinator and not a head coach. But I mean, they're going to get Mendoza. Tom Brady's going to be involved.
- [30:51]
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
- [30:51]
Jason La Canfora
Like, could the Raiders, like, they're going to have a lot to sort out here with Max Crosby, but could the Raiders actually take a step forward? You know, I think halfway is an interesting resume. I mean, going to Miami, that's tough. I think Halfley has a chance to be, to be good. And look, I think Jesse Minter in Baltimore, like Jesse Minter was going to deserve a job. The staff he's putting together, if I'm a Ravens fan, it should scare the bejesus out of me.
- [31:23]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I don't. I don't, you know, the people involved and I don't know the people involved, but. Okay, all right, we'll move on. Let's move to the game. New England, Seattle. Your thoughts?
- [31:32]
Jason La Canfora
I. I might be just the most square analyst in the world. This has looked to me like a good matchup for Seattle since within an hour of us knowing they were playing each other a couple Sundays ago. Or I guess one Sunday, two, whatever. Yeah, two. I'm good at that and I still see it that way. Cone. I mean, I think they have the better offense, defense and special teams. I think they have the quarterback who's probably the healthiest, and as I know, Sam Donald turned it over more than anybody else. But in terms of what they're going to have to do to win this game, I think they have the quarterback who's probably in the best position not to F it up, and whichever quarterback effs it up the least is probably going to be the last one standing. I don't. I don't know. I mean, Rabel's a really good head coach, but this is uncharted territory for Rabel and McDonald just might be a better head coach. I like Seattle. I think as long as Sam Donald doesn't turn into a double agent, I think Seattle could win this as a low scoring game. I also think Seattle had the number one offense in the league and you know, air yards per tip could if there are explosives, if the defenses do have holes, if there are explosive plays on special teams. I would prefer Seattle in a high scoring game as well because I think they have more explosive difference makers on offense. The New England offense for me is just a little too much plow horse. It's a little too much three yards in a cloud of dust unless they really lean on Henderson or in the passing game. Five yards and a cloud of dust. Like May throws a really good deep ball. But I mean are Hunter Henry and Stefan Diggs going to beat this zone defense deep? I just have a hard time seeing it and his shoulders a little messed up. So. I think Seattle was proved to be the best team coming out of the best division in football. And not only did they have to run that gauntlet in the regular season, they then had to go through and slay the Dragons again in the playoffs. And they did. And yet they did it with a buy that they earned and they did it at home because they earned that too. But I think McDonald will have them prepared. And I think Drake May with those weapons, with an offensive line that's been janky, with a young left tackle who's been exposed and with, you know, maybe a bum shoulder. I just think it's going to be tough ask for him to generate enough points to win the game.
- [34:03]
Tony Kornheiser
Don't disagree. Don't disagree with any of that. The one thing I would say that you haven't said, but you really said it anyway. I'd be very surprised if New England won by a lot and I would not be very surprised if Seattle won by a lot or a little. I would not be. Why don't you plug one back for us?
- [34:19]
Jason La Canfora
You can check me and the aforementioned Beltway Ben hall out seven days a week. We're pretty much at 11am Eastern all the time now. We are trying to give you guys the best chance to make some plus money wagers seven days a week to get a little bit of the house's money back. We're in pretty much any market that you guys would be interested in. Soccer basketball, soon to be baseball and baseball futures, obviously football. You can catch us on YouTube, you can catch us on Twitter. We break down every bet. We show our work. We open and close every show with how we've done since we started the show, how we did last night in this case, last night was not great for me. I will have a kangaroo kicking my ass on the show. Don't ask, just watch. And you can get all our content@wannabetwithus.com and if you are in the industry out there and you're looking for an NFL writer, I would love to cover the NFL for you. My resume is all over LinkedIn because, well, I'm trying to make some more money, Tom. You know how that goes.
- [35:23]
Tony Kornheiser
Thank you, Jason. Jason La Confora. Boys and girls, we will take a break. We will come back with James Carville and Jeff Ma last time around for the betting season. I'm Tony Kornheiser.
- [35:33]
Jeanne McManus
This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.
- [35:36]
Tony Kornheiser
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- [36:55]
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- [37:25]
Tony Kornheiser
You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show where you wake up in the morning boy.
- [37:33]
Jason La Canfora
You hear the ding dong ring. Then you look upon the table bar.
- [37:39]
Tony Kornheiser
You see the same darn thing.
- [37:43]
Unidentified Singer
You.
- [37:44]
Jason La Canfora
Find no food upon the table bar.
- [37:47]
Tony Kornheiser
There'S no fork up in the pan.
- [37:51]
Jason La Canfora
But you better not complain, boy you.
- [37:55]
Tony Kornheiser
Get in trouble with the man. What a great beginning that is. What a great really is. From Mark in Manhattan before the football season is over. Just got to say Carville is the best. Just the best. That's it. That's the email. James Carville joins us now. And this week's picks with James Carville and Jeff Ma, brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. You were 4 and 2 last week because everything was a double play. You're 57, 55 and 2. If you knock a few out of the park on this and Jeff Ma goes down the drain, you can actually catch and pass. Jeff. Matt, how do you feel about that?
- [38:30]
Jason La Canfora
Well, that's the strategy here. 57, 55 is. Is not acceptable. That's mediocre. So as we were kidding, you know, you went to the plate to bat. You said, I'm going for the downs. Okay. I mean, you think we're going for the downs. Okay.
- [38:44]
Tony Kornheiser
All right. What do you got? What do you got?
- [38:47]
Jason La Canfora
Double play, double play. Seahawks minus 4.5. Okay, double play. Under 46.
- [38:54]
Tony Kornheiser
Under 46.
- [38:57]
Jason La Canfora
Single play. Ramondre Stevenson over 23.5 receiving yards.
- [39:04]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
- [39:05]
Jason La Canfora
Charge Holani over 1.5 receptions.
- [39:09]
Tony Kornheiser
Is that a single as well?
- [39:12]
Jason La Canfora
Saying all is the same.
- [39:13]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. Okay.
- [39:14]
Jason La Canfora
The singles, George had over 1.5 receptions. Kenneth Walker under 75.5 rushing yards.
- [39:23]
Jeff Ma
And.
- [39:23]
Jason La Canfora
Drake May will throw an interception.
- [39:27]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, so you've got two, four, six, eight. You've got eight bets on the line, counting doubles, right?
- [39:33]
Jason La Canfora
Correct. And we're going for it. We have to. Mr. Ma.
- [39:37]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. What are you most confident in?
- [39:43]
Jason La Canfora
Maybe. Maybe down to the under. Maybe.
- [39:47]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [39:49]
Jason La Canfora
You know, true. It's. It's not. If you're going for a double play, you got to express some confidence.
- [39:53]
Jeanne McManus
But, you know, we.
- [39:56]
Jason La Canfora
I think we're like three or four in a row on the Super Bowl. We've been hotter. You know, we were hot last year and year before last. We cooled off a little bit this year, but we could. If we. We do this, we could end up pretty good. Let's see.
- [40:08]
Tony Kornheiser
I understand the under, you know, because I've seen Seattle win 13 to 3, you know, against a good team, 13 to 3. They don't have to score a lot. Sometimes they do, but they don't have to. All right, we got all your bets.
- [40:22]
Jason La Canfora
Okay, man.
- [40:23]
Tony Kornheiser
It's a great pleasure, as always. Thank you, James.
- [40:26]
Jason La Canfora
Thank you, John. Thank all of you.
- [40:28]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, James Carville, boys and girls. And right following James Carville, we've got Jeff. Ma. Jeff was 1 and 2 last week, which isn't great, but he's 54, 45 and 1, and nobody can catch him. The only way Jeff can screw this up is to do 23 prop bets and lose them all. He's too smart to do that. He went to MIT before we get to the game, the Waste Management happens this week, Right. That starts. It starts Thursday, right? Yes. So we're Friday, and that's Thursday. Were you were out there?
- [41:01]
Jeff Ma
Yes, Yeah, I was just out there. I just the 60 rounds.
- [41:05]
Jason La Canfora
It's.
- [41:05]
Jeff Ma
Yeah, I was at 16.
- [41:06]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [41:07]
Jeff Ma
For some hospitality there and, you know.
- [41:09]
Tony Kornheiser
Did you throw any beer at anybody?
- [41:11]
Jeff Ma
Did you take off your shirt? Yeah, there's. There's signs that literally say you throw stuff, you're out. So really, it's. Yeah, it's a. It's a kindler, gentler Waste Management Open now.
- [41:22]
Tony Kornheiser
Last year. Yeah, last year was bizarre and over the line in everybody's estimation, right? It really was.
- [41:28]
Jeff Ma
No, it was two years ago was a really bad year because the weather was really bad and you couldn't walk on a lot of the grounds, and people were sliding and breaking their arms and things like that. This year it was like 75 degrees and perfect. I mean, Scottsdale, North Scottsdale is amazing.
- [41:44]
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Not just Scottsdale, only North Scottsdale. Only near Whisperock. Only. Only there. No, but I thought. I thought the behavior last year was such that everybody sort of took a step back.
- [41:57]
Jeff Ma
I think they're trying to refine things. Yeah, I mean, it's a good word. We did the program that I run, Access, which is part of tr, which is my job, my day job now. We did an activation There. I think I mentioned to you guys that there was a guy when we were doing this serious meeting that just gave me a lecheesery out of nowhere. And he actually sent you an email he's offering for. His name is John Glenn. Not that John Glenn.
- [42:22]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
- [42:23]
Jeff Ma
And he offered you and Michael a spot at the Waste Management Phoenix open program if you guys ever want to make your way out there.
- [42:30]
Tony Kornheiser
I didn't see that. He did. Did he do that today? I didn't see that.
- [42:33]
Jeff Ma
No, he sent it a while ago. And it's a, it's a good. He runs Nigel the Fairmont and he's, he's very, you know, adamant about, you know, connecting with you guys and it concierge weaves in all the David Aldridge moments and whatnot.
- [42:46]
Tony Kornheiser
Really?
- [42:46]
Jason La Canfora
He was.
- [42:47]
Jeff Ma
Yeah.
- [42:48]
Tony Kornheiser
Wow. I remember him sending that email. Well, I will tell you this, this is a true fact. Next year the super bowl is in Los Angeles and Wilbon and I have agreed to go to some sort of function in Phoenix after the Super Bowl. And Wilbourne says we can drive there. He says a four hour drive. But Wilbourne math is like, it's probably an eight hour. How long a drive is that, do you think, Jeff?
- [43:15]
Jeff Ma
It's not four hours.
- [43:17]
Tony Kornheiser
It's more. Right? It's got to be more. It's got to be more.
- [43:19]
Jeff Ma
In any case, there's a, there's a website called Google Maps.
- [43:23]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [43:23]
Jeff Ma
You can just enter those things in and you can figure out how long a drive.
- [43:26]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, I think I've heard of that. Google Maps. I think I've heard of that. So maybe if I'm out there, you.
- [43:31]
Jeff Ma
Could take away more maybe.
- [43:32]
Tony Kornheiser
I'm not taking away. I'm not, I'm not doing that. No. Melman's done that. I'm not doing that. All right, let's go to the game. You got one better. You got a million bets.
- [43:44]
Jeff Ma
I have a couple bets.
- [43:45]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
- [43:46]
Jeff Ma
I'm going to, I'm going to take, I'll wait to see who I'm going to take in the game.
- [43:50]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
- [43:51]
Jeff Ma
But there's a couple like we on bet the process this week we had a guy on our show named Matthew Davidow who's one of the sharpest sports betters out there. And we talked a little bit about this game and one of the things we like is the Kenneth Walker under on rushing yards. So that's 73 and a half. And you know the, the interesting thing about this whole Kenneth Walker thing is that he, you know, last week he's.
- [44:14]
Tony Kornheiser
The only runner now.
- [44:16]
Jeff Ma
Runner now. But they, they are very afraid of him being in pass protection.
- [44:22]
Jason La Canfora
He's small.
- [44:23]
Jeff Ma
He doesn't really have like, he's. It's just like it's a whole situation. So he. He gets a lot of the running snaps and honestly, like, you know, I think the Patriots will be clued into this, so they're going to have to mix things up a little bit. And I just don't see him getting enough attempts to really go over the 73 and a half.
- [44:39]
Tony Kornheiser
So you take the under on that. Okay.
- [44:42]
Jeff Ma
Under on that.
- [44:42]
Jason La Canfora
Right.
- [44:43]
Jeff Ma
And then a kind of an interesting one is they have a prop that how many players attempt to pass and it's always two and a half where if you bet the over, you actually have to like you get paid to bet the over, meaning like you get 2 to 1 or whatnot odds. We think this is price poorly because neither of these teams really have someone that you would naturally think about. Cooper cup is the only person on that team that's as a position player. And Patriots really have had no one. They have. The only way I think this doesn't this goes over is if there's a fake punt of some sort and like there's a pass with that.
- [45:18]
Tony Kornheiser
So you'll take the under? The under. Two and a half.
- [45:21]
Jeff Ma
Under two and a half, yeah.
- [45:22]
Tony Kornheiser
So you're saying it'll only be May and Darnold?
- [45:25]
Jeff Ma
Yes, that's what I think.
- [45:27]
Tony Kornheiser
So how would this work if one of them got injured and another quarterback had to come in, would that would be the over then, right?
- [45:34]
Jeff Ma
Yeah, you'd lose. And that's why there's a lot of allure to taking the over. But like that's why there's value to taking the under.
- [45:40]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, all right, what else then?
- [45:43]
Jeff Ma
I'll just bet the game.
- [45:44]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
- [45:45]
Jeff Ma
You know, I think that it's. It's a tough game obviously because the Patriots have played three games in pretty poor conditions and their offense hasn't looked good. I think that, you know, everyone thinks Seattle is sort of the elite team, but I think there's a world where the Patriots scheme some stuff up. Probably Drake May runs a little bit more than usual and the Patriots defense has played really well. I think a lot of this is going to be game state if the Patriots can get up and force Darnold into some situations where he's uncomfortable. I think he could. You know, he had more the most turnovers in the league this year. So even though he played incredibly well last week, he's. He's still turnover prone and can turn up with the ball. And if you turn the ball over the super bowl, you're not going to win. So I like the Patriots plus the.
- [46:27]
Tony Kornheiser
Four and a half this is. So I'm interested in your thinking and, and all that because, I mean, I look at this game, I think Seattle was in the hardest division in the league. I think they were dominating in the hardest division in the league when they had to be. I would be. I don't know if there's a bet like this. I would be much more surprised if the Patriots won by a lot than if Seattle won by a lot. I mean, I would be. I think Seattle is pretty much better in every way. I don't know about the points and who knows what happens in any one game, but on form, I mean, New England got pretty lucky in that. The game they played in Denver, they were playing against a quarterback who'd never thrown a pass in two years. It seems like they've had a. An easier path. Do you agree or not? Or not?
- [47:11]
Jeff Ma
Yeah, of course they've had an easier path. Although they played against three very good defenses, so. And generally they played against, you know, recently some good defenses, and that's what's. And also in very challenging conditions. But again, that's why this is kind of hard, because the Patriots have played incredibly well defensively going up to this, but, you know, they haven't placed. Played the best competition out there. We actually did an event on Tuesday and we had Christian Kirk come to the event because he's an avid golfer, the wide receiver for the Texans, and I kind of asked him some questions about the Patriots and the Patriots D. And he, you know, he said the Patriots D is no joke.
- [47:48]
Jason La Canfora
They're very good.
- [47:49]
Jeff Ma
And so, you know, it'll be interesting to see what happens. But I like getting the points and I think your point is probably valid. Like, in other words, if you're betting this game, some interesting lines are like alternative lines that you can get where you can get Seattle minus, let's say seven and a half or minus 10. A half.
- [48:05]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
- [48:05]
Jeff Ma
And you get, you get favorable odds to that. So, like, for $100, you might win 300 in those situations if that happens. So sounds like that as Tony Kornheiser, prognosticator, that would be your bet that's in.
- [48:17]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, that, that. Well, I'd be less surprised if Seattle won by a lot than if New England. Wait, so do you sit like, on a big couch and interview people? Is that part of the job in.
- [48:29]
Jeff Ma
My life right now.
- [48:30]
Tony Kornheiser
No, what you're saying when you talk to this wide receiver who at the golf tournament.
- [48:34]
Jeff Ma
Well, we. We did an event at a place called grass clippings, which is lighted par three. And one of the things we did for that event is we did like a short game lesson with this guy, Parker McLaughlin, who's known as the short game chef. And he's like an incredible flight lines. Yeah.
- [48:49]
Jason La Canfora
And he.
- [48:50]
Jeff Ma
He taught Mark Hubbard, who's a pro, and then also Christian Kirk. They did like this kind of like interactive short game lesson as part of this event. So I wasn't sitting on a couch.
- [48:59]
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. All right. But you were. But you were interviewing to a degree.
- [49:03]
Jeff Ma
No, I was. Parker was doing all this stuff, but I do some of that stuff. But yeah, like I want to do. I've been talking to some golf agents about maybe doing some speaking events for corporate where I interview golfers and talk about their analytical process.
- [49:16]
Tony Kornheiser
That would be fun. Yeah, that would be good, actually. Do you find golfers to be smart or dopes beyond comprehension?
- [49:23]
Jason La Canfora
Most of the time it goes one.
- [49:26]
Jeff Ma
Way or the other.
- [49:30]
Tony Kornheiser
You know, I don't know. I don't know. I think the smart ones are interesting. I do think. I don't think it helps to be smart. I don't think it helps to be smart in golf. I'm not sure it does. I don't know.
- [49:42]
Jeff Ma
I think it helps in your preparation. I don't think it necessarily helps. Right on the course. Like, we actually kind of asked this to these guys about like what their mental preparations were. And then basically they talked. They both talked about there being like a trigger. So we were doing a. We were doing a comparison of being a wide receiver in the NFL and being a PGA pro. And the whole idea of there being a trigger that just shuts down your analytical side and just lets the act you're, you know, your leticism take place.
- [50:07]
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, that's all right. All right, Good luck with this. We'll talk soon. I always enjoy. I enjoy this these three months more than the rest of the show. I really do. I mean, I just think this is fun. Thank you, Jeff.
- [50:19]
Jeff Ma
Thanks, Tony.
- [50:20]
Tony Kornheiser
This week's picks with James Carville and Jeff mob been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more and we will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Cornheiser.
- [50:29]
Jeanne McManus
You're listening to the Tony Cornheiser show.
- [51:03]
Tony Kornheiser
Love that. University of Missouri marching band. Love that. So good one. Did the Bethesda bagel land for us. Hot bagels today. It's great. Very excited about that. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you. Then pop one in and you'll be thrilled. Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say Dear sir, madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write. Will you take a look? It's based on a novel by a man named Lear. I need a job so I want to be. Well, I would be a newspaper writer, not a paperback writer. Those are the Beatles, of course. Thanks to our guests today. Jeannie McManus, Jason Lochin Ford, James Carville, Jeff Ma. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. If you you want to remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcast, Spotify and Odyssey. If you get shot through Apple, please leave us a review.
- [51:40]
Jason La Canfora
Now.
- [51:41]
Tony Kornheiser
I need to know more about Gene's approach to Wordle. How many attempts did it take her this morning? She's wordle is a big deal. It's a very I don't do it. I bet she, I bet she's a winning strategy. I'm not even sure how it works, but everybody loves it.
- [51:52]
Jason La Canfora
Yeah.
- [51:53]
Tony Kornheiser
I don't know if Tony remembers this with his limited capacity, but I told Tony about Chris Goddard up last year before Tony or anybody else heard about him. I walked with him at the Cognizant here at PGA last year and he missed the cut by one. He was staying across the street at Mirasol at my best friend Richard Katz's house. Since then he has skyrocketed on the pga, bought a house in Palm Beach Gardens and plays out of the Bears Club. Some story. DG boss doesn't lie. He's leading today, right? He's already won this year. But I'm saying that he's he's in waste management. He's. He's ahead of the field. Chris Lindsey, Takoma Park Chris Lindsley, loved your stories about meeting Gretzky, LT Smoltz and Jordan at Grove 23. Only one thing would have made it those days better would have been to run into a fivesome of wander suarer Dominic Smith, the Beltway Midoran, Michael A. Taylor and Lee Smith in the grill room. Would have loved to hear that. Another week or so before pitchers and catchers from Bob Brown, longtime listener since the ESPN radio days first time emailer. You've been my walking elliptical buddy for years. So on early Tuesday in the morning, what's a resistance? I'm busting tail on the elliptical. You regale us with your trip to Palm Beach Gardens, a place I got to know very well in my college days. You list off the courses you played, the publics you visited. Then you mentioned your foursome at Grove 23, which includes Greg Feniger. Hey, I know that guy. In the early 1980s, for each spring break, I would pile in a car with three to four college buddies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, drive down I75 through the night and arrive at my cousin John's apartment in PBG about 10am Saturday morning, ready to hit the beach in Lauderdale. At the time, my cousin, an Ohio native, was working on the groundskeeping crew at the golf course at Lost Tree Village, another home of another noteworthy Ohio native named Jack. During those years, John shared the apartment with yet another Ohio native who worked with him at Law street, the aforementioned Greg Feniger. John and Greg were gracious hosts, putting up with our shenanigans for those weeks and laughing at our beach and bar exploits. However, I think they appreciated the fact we would always purchase enough beer to last well past after we left. Fast forward 40 plus years. Greg is retiring from the superintendent job at Grove 23. And John just retired after 32 years as a superintendent. Another nice track known as the Bears Club. Congrats to two guys who rose to the top of their profession through hard work and perseverance. That's really nice. From Bob Brown. Eric Fulton, Rockville, Maryland. So the new game is how many legendary athletes recognize you at another legendary athletes course? Gonna have to sit this one out, Zach. I think I have a better chance of actually being an astronaut. Gary Van Giesen just had to congratulate you. You finally out. Name out. Name dropped. Wilbond, which is no easy task. A very good day indeed. It was years in the making. Jamote Davis. I was on a text chain with Robbie Gould Gold and I told him I would not watch the skating. It's a robot thing, obviously. Mike Chapitt, Aiken, S.C. inquiring littles need to know. We're able to grab a condo in Del Boca Vista. There's still nothing available. Chris g. In Monroe, N.Y. upstate. Just so I get this correct, you had Gretzky introducing you to his son. Ran into John Smoltz. You made LT laugh and got to bust Wilbones chops with mj. But the highlight of your highlight of your your trip was a public sub. Come on here, man. Don't forget the soup and the chicken noodle soup. It was really good soup. Please tell Bruno G. To eat it. From Adam Haynes. What? No update on nutmeg prices at the Publix Brett Hobbs Linton, Indiana Yellowstone turned down my application for summer employment this year. I was wondering if your summer intern position is filled yet. What I can bring to the table is a knowledge of Midwest boundaries. Thanks to living in Indiana, I own my own gardening tools. I've hunted and killed nine mice in my life. You don't have to worry about paying me as I retired from Federal Service, so you are in reality paying me anyway. Also, if hired, I can find a way of letting go of a couple of bottles of my 1976 vintage Boone's Farm wine for me. Lai Davis in Lakewood, Colorado on Monday show you open with a riveting CVS story and mention their extra bucks program and their famed receipt length. I thought, hey, I know that extra bucks program and receipt length. My mother in law was a marketing executive at CVS and was part of the team that developed both on Volunteer to come on the show to discuss both at length, pun intended. Does that count as a David Aldrich moment? If the role is not already taken? Can I be the show's official son in law of a former CBS marketing executive from Kelly Pierce in Alexandria, Louisiana? Chuck and Roxy 408 on Monday's podcast you said you cannot control your phobias. You cannot control your fears. Well, actually you can. In fact, you can conquer these phobias and fears even without Xanax. This can be done in a relative short period of time with some active work with a trained therapist. Michael and Nigel were right. Just start flying more and regularly. I've been practicing psychology for 30 plus years. Maybe we can work something out like bartering with Bethesda bagels. But seriously, the cognitive behavioral therapy that helps overcome phobia may also help with your golf game. On another note, last week Last week my wife and I were visiting my daughter in Savannah, Georgia where it snowed. We also went to Leopold's Ice Cream and thought about you, Michael and Nigel. Incredibly yummy. If you're golfing in Hilton Head, I highly recommend it. Also I have some can have some sent to your home if you like. Just mail me an address. My favorite airport goes on the special pile. Don't offer that if you don't need it. From David Epstein in New York I loved hearing about your hall of Fame day. About a decade ago I had one of my own. I'll be at a different hall. A few days before Christmas, three friends and I went to lunch at Marea M a r E a, a high end restaurant on Central Park South Manhattan. We were seated in the back alcove next to one other large empty table, the only empty table in the restaurant. We'd been there about 10 minutes when in walked two men, one of whom needed to be identified to me, David Geffen, and one recognizable to all, Bruce Springsteen. The two men chatted a bit and eventually Geffen walked away. We tried not to stare and thought it funny that Bruce would be alone at this large table. We also commented how nice it is in New York City someone like Bruce could dine and not be bothered by fans. It wasn't more than a minute after we made that remark that much to our chagrin, someone did indeed approach Bruce at that table and engaged with him. We were momentarily annoyed until we realized the would be acosta was stink. The two rock stars stood and chatted and we commented to each other about the cool coincidence of this encounter. About five minutes later in walk three women, a young woman we didn't recognize, Judy Styler and Patty Scalfa. By then, that's Bruce's wife and Sting's wife. Yes. By then we of course realized this was no chance encounter as David Geffen rejoined the group and this was a high powered holiday gathering. Our meals arrived a few minutes later and my friend Michael had just raised a fork full of his favorite pasta when his hand literally started shaking motion with his eyes. And I realized that standing a foot from us, Nigel called it Monday Sir Paul McCartney. Paul was literally close enough for me to touch him, but I exhibited at least that much self control. We spent the rest of our lunch doing three things, eating, trying not to stare, and preventing Michael from sending a bottle of wine to their table. I still haven't made it to the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, but I do have this going for me, which is nice. That is. That's. That's. Yes, that better than mine. That's better than mine. Joby and Kino Latham, New York. I'm writing this email in my car. My plan was to offer condolences at the loss of the Washington Post sports section in too many ways, the Post itself. But then I looked down, I saw my odometer. 25252. That's good. By the way, today is 26. 26. Yes.
- [58:27]
Unidentified Singer
Yeah.
- [58:27]
Tony Kornheiser
If you are born on that day like Ron DiGiovanni Jr. Oh, it's his birthday. You have two six two six. This is some Washington Post things that I'm going to read here from she had. Please accept my condolences on the demise of the Washington Post sports section. I enjoyed reading it for 40 plus years. Brian in Phoenix the second time I've emailed the show, the first time a couple of years ago to congratulate my baby brother on being named sports editor of the Post. As we all know, my brother's time at the Post, along with the rest of the sports department, is coming to an abrupt end. It pains me that his lifelong dream of working for this great paper has been abruptly cut short by people who clearly don't value good journalism. He will be fine, as plenty of suitors will come his way looking to acquire his services. As someone who grew up reading the San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune and our local Vallejo Times Herald, really is a shame to see a once great industry suffer such a slow death. To the excellent writers, editors and staff, please hold your heads up high. Thank you for providing the best stories and professionalism over the years. You will all be sorely missed and I wish everyone the best of luck in your future endeavors. To my brother Jason, your friends and family are so very proud of you. What you've accomplished. The first and only African American to hold the title of sports out of the Washington Post. You brought great pride to the Murray name. We can't see what your next act is. That's really sweet from this brother. That's really sweet. Ooh. This is a picture of Marty Zad and Shirley Povich. And this is from Marty's grandson, Marty Zadrovic. The picture below sits on a shelf in my room where I see these two men smiling as I begin and end every day. They remind me to pour myself into my work as they both did for 130 years. Between the two of them, seeing them reminds me to give my best to the institution and the people who have trusted me to shepherd it from yesterday to tomorrow. Shirley and Marty and Lenny and George and Sally and so many others like yourself recognize that the Washington Post deserved their best because the institution was bigger than them and they wanted to pass it onto the world better than they found it. The current donors, administrators have not done that. They have failed in their stewardship and they have failed all those who worked so hard before them. I have long, I imagine wherever they are, Shirley and Marty are smiling like they were at Madison Square Garden where this picture of taking. But they are not smiling now. Scott, Michael Povich, Kornheiser, Kindred Justice Wilbon, Boswell, who would rightfully object to me not listing him second. Zverluga, Clark, Culpepper, Janes, Lura, Brewer, Jenkins, the others. I missed the bandwagon and fight finished the best sports section history. That's nice. I feel like a friend. I listened to and got smart every morning for about 50 years is just gone. I am bereft, as I'm sure you are too. From Scott Michael. Yeah, yeah. From the Steve the Sixth fan, I'm sure. Dear Satch, on Friday you'll have plenty to say about what the Atlanta calls the murder of the Washington Post. Since my stay in the D.C. area from 1979, same as mine, the Post has been a part of my life. Every morning I'd open up the paper and read in order, sports style, Metro in front, followed by any special set. I kept a stiff upper lip when you and Wilbon departed, even though things weren't the same very recently, I barely adjusted to having Style Sports Metro mushed together. Now, with sports apparently killed and the book section ax, it's time to cancel my subscription. I'll never have that feeling of anticipation again. When I'd walk out onto the driveway in the morning to grab the Post, I'd add a comment about Jeff Bezos, but you couldn't say it on the air. Rest in Post. Washington Post. Rest in peace. Washington Post. Andrew in la. No clever or amusing salutations. They just profound loss for the sorrow of a great friend. And if I feel this way, what must you be feeling? It'll be almost 80 degrees today in LA, but I will wear black. That's nice. Yeah, all of these are nice. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white.
- [61:47]
Jason La Canfora
Nothing's writing on this except the First Amendment, the Constitution, freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys up again, I'm gonna get mad.
- [62:26]
Unidentified Singer
From the coast of Spain to the Gulf of Mexico there's just one place those fish can go I like sharks, I like their teeth I like swimming in the deep blue sea it's hard to breathe when you're under the surf it's hard to float when you're wearing a coat Take off your clothes, don't wear your shoes. I like swimming in the deep blue sea. The Tierra del Fuego the water is cold as ice in the Hudson river the mercury rises and it feels nice I try not to drink when I'm rising I like swimming in the deep blue sea from the coast of Spain to the Gulf of Mexico with just one place those fish can go I like sharks, I like the tea I like swimming in the deep blue sea. Sam.