"Bagged potatoes"

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show — Episode: "Bagged Potatoes"

April 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging installment of "The Tony Kornheiser Show," Tony—joined by regulars Michael Wilbon, Ron Green Jr., Buster Olney, and a cameo from Adam Ferrara—delivers his signature blend of sports, personal anecdotes, and lighthearted banter. The episode flows from poignant sports news (Tiger Woods’ decision to seek help, Gary Woodland’s emotional golf comeback) to baseball (with an extended Shohei Ohtani appreciation), then winds its way into a quirkily sincere debate on planting potatoes in bags. Throughout, the show is punctuated by Tony’s wit, friends’ camaraderie, and listener engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Full Moon Debate and Cherry Blossoms

Timestamps: 02:50–06:37

• Tony and Michael ponder the exact timing of a "full moon" as printed on wall calendars. Michael contends the full moon starts on Wednesday night; Tony is unsure and expresses his desire “to know what is the absolute full moon.”
• Haiku shared:
  “It’s not a panther, it’s not a cherry blossom. April’s full pink moon.”
• Quick transition to springtime in D.C., as Michael shares the blooming of his “white bud” tree, and Tony comments on the fleeting beauty of D.C.'s flowering trees.

Notable Quote:

“I enjoy it for three or four days. In the walk up, I just wanted to know what is the absolute full moon?” — Tony Kornheiser (04:30)

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2. Nationals Game Recap and Phillies’ Prospects

Timestamps: 04:16–05:46

• Tony recaps the Nationals’ recent 3–2 loss to Philadelphia—singling out errors by Luis Garcia and the on-field impact of Bryce Harper.
• Michael highlights the Phillies pitcher’s promising future, referencing his Tommy John surgery and his family in the stands.

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3. NHL: Frontier Justice and Radko Gudas

Timestamps: 06:37–09:36

• Tony praises Radko Gudas for facing Toronto after injuring Auston Matthews—highlighting his willingness to “face the music” and engage in early-game fights.
• Michael questions whether such stories should overshadow the hockey itself; Tony suggests it was necessary for Toronto’s fans as a form of closure or justice.

“He could have skipped the game, said, ‘I’m done and I’m not going to go out there and play because it’s a hostile environment.’ He played. ... He got in a fight. ... This is the kind of frontier justice that Gudas did... commendable.” — Tony Kornheiser (08:30)

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4. NBA MVP Debate

Timestamps: 10:09–13:11

• Tony reviews the NBA MVP race with opinions from recent PTI segments:
  • Kendrick Perkins and Pablo Torre back Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA).
  • Tony’s pick? Jaylen Brown of the Celtics:

    “That team went into the year without Jayson Tatum... and they’ve been kept up there by Jaylen Brown being outstanding. I would give it to Jaylen Brown.” (11:41)

  • Discusses the merits of Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Cade Cunningham, and notes Jokic is perhaps the world’s best player, but not Tony’s MVP.
  • Ponders the locker room dynamic and LeBron’s reaction to coach JJ Redick publicly supporting Doncic.

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5. Listener Engagement & Community Moments

Timestamps: 13:11–15:27

• Michael shares a story about a listener spotted on a plane (Madrid-bound!), inviting “the Littles” to engage more.
• Adam Ferrara pops in with a comic update, promoting his Arlington Drafthouse gig while ribbing Tony about never leaving home during Nationals’ games.

“Tony’s going to tell me, no, I’m home watching the Nats. I found the channel, 1261. I had no idea it went that high.” — Adam Ferrara (14:28)

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In-Depth Interview Segments

6. Golf with Ron Green Jr.: Tiger Woods’ Announcement & Gary Woodland’s Courage

Timestamps: 15:40–27:50

Tiger Woods’ Announcement

• Both Tony and Ron react to Tiger’s public announcement that he’s seeking help for personal struggles.
• Ron emphasizes the step’s necessity amid Tiger’s repeated car incidents and speculates about Tiger’s diminished near-term presence (“Ryder Cup captaincy... probably on pause”).
• Ron reflects on Tiger’s legacy:

  “Nicklaus may be the greatest champion. Tiger is the greatest golfer ever... His presence still matters in the game.” (21:00)

Gary Woodland’s Emotional PGA Tour Win

• Ron recounts Woodland’s terrifying ordeal with a brain lesion, surgery, and resultant PTSD—emphasizing his resilience in returning to elite play.
• Tony is floored by Woodland’s openness and competitive perseverance:

  “It is remarkable that he could be a world-class golfer and be going through this in the moment of playing golf.” (26:13)

• Ron reveals that at Augusta next week, Woodland will tee it up—a true feel-good sports comeback.

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7. Baseball Talk with Buster Olney: Shohei Ohtani, Giants’ Manager, and Automated Umpiring

Timestamps: 28:52–39:02

Shohei Ohtani’s Greatness

• Buster echoes Tony’s assertion: “Ohtani is the greatest baseball player ever.” (31:24)
• Both marvel at Ohtani’s dual dominance:

  “He pitches and then he hits as the DH... Whatever he picks up, within a couple days he’s the best guy.” — Buster Olney (33:16)

• Buster shares Ohtani’s unique place in the sport’s culture, including tidbits like greeting umpires every at-bat.

Giants’ College Coach Gamble

• Tony and Buster dissect the hiring of Tony Vitello, a college coach, to manage the San Francisco Giants—agreeing it’s “the riskiest hire out there” and following clubhouse reactions closely.

Automated Ball-Strike System

• Buster discusses early player and fan feedback. Mike Trout loves it; fans are engaged, but catchers fear job devaluation. Buster doubts full automation will replace the home plate umpire:

  “If you do that, that will completely gut the position of catcher.”

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8. "Bagged Potatoes": Planting Experiment

Timestamps: 39:38–41:52

• Buster introduces Tony to the concept of growing potatoes in bags (or large pots) for better yield and simplicity.
• Tony vows to try it in his planters, anticipating a “Thanksgiving bounty.”
• Buster promises that “digging out potatoes in the fall is like Christmas morning... you don’t know what you’re going to get, but it’s spectacular.”
• They swap planting times: mid-May in Montana for Buster, “soon” for Tony and Michael.

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Memorable Quotes

• On Tiger Woods’ struggles:

  “It feels like now his story is divided into three chapters: the golf, then the injuries, and then there’s the drama. And to borrow a line from me, it feels like it’s all sort of painted in Sunday red.” — Ron Green Jr. (18:16)

• On the joy of potato harvest:

  “Digging out potatoes in the fall is like Christmas morning with all the presents. ... It’s spectacular.” — Buster Olney (41:03)

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Listener Mail Highlights

[42:06–End]

• Memorable stories include dog mishaps (dogs eating rabbit poop, corn cobs), childhood connections to rising athletes, Masters and Wrigley Field anecdotes, and a loving shoutout to the Cane Bay High School Choir.
• Tony and Michael offer signature banter, riffing on Tillamook ice cream deals, TV channel numbers for sports, and the challenges of parking at Bethesda Bagels.

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Notable Musical Moments

[15:40, 28:16, 53:19]

• Gus Gustofferson’s new single “Wakes You Up” and his earlier song “A Friendly Place” are featured—linking the show’s theme of daily joy and community.
• Tony gives instructions for independent artists who want to submit music to the show.

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Conclusion

This episode encapsulates everything fans love about “The Tony Kornheiser Show”—sharp sports analysis fused with warmth, humor, and a dash of domestic observation. From Tiger’s tribulations to Shohei Ohtani’s superhuman talent and on to the delightfully quirky “bagged potatoes” gardening experiment, Tony and his colleagues provide a familiar, comforting, yet thought-provoking auditory experience.

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For full enjoyment, listen to the in-depth interviews with Ron Green Jr. (15:40–27:50) and Buster Olney (28:52–41:52). For a smile and slice-of-life wisdom, don’t miss Tony and Michael’s tree blossom chat (03:56–06:37) and the beloved listener mailbag (42:06–end).

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we're going to talk to Ron Green Jr. About Gary Woodland's emotional win last week and of course, Tiger's announcement that he's going to seek some sort of help. We're also going to talk to Buster, only not just about baseball, but about a new idea, which is planting potatoes in a bag. In an actual bag. But first, sales weasels need to be happy. Okay, quick question. Why should your energy boost taste boring? The new Fruity Rainbow shots from five Hour Energy are proof that caffeine can actually be a treat. These bring an explosion of fruity flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. Think sweet, colorful candy vibes, but in a tiny bottle that gives you the perfect boost. Caffeine just got a serious flavor upgrade. There are 17 flavors in the full five hour energy lineup. 17. So you've got options depending upon your mood. But this Fruity Rainbow launch is all about bold, playful candy flavored chaos. And somehow all that big flavor fits into a portable 2 ounce shot. No bulky drinks, no sugar crash, no sticky wrappers. It's a zero sugar treat that's totally sweet tooth approved, which makes it feel indulgent without slowing you down. If you want your pick me up to actually taste fun, this is it. Get candy flavored Chaos with fruity rainbow 5 hour energy shots available online at 5hourenergy.com or on Amazon.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. I just wondered about it. Do you go through Eastern Europe with a rake and then start collecting people and bring them over? Are they pros? Did they have to apply for college eligibility? I mean, I don't Know any of these people? But they function so well together.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Yes.

[Buster Olney]

So all those things you mentioned are true.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Not the rake part.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. So there's a full moon. And I have a question about this for my son, the full moon. If you look at a large calendar, you know, I buy this thing every year with a calendar for each day of the month and the ability to write your diet, take notes. It's a diary. And it says.

[Michael Wilbon]

The diary.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it says the full moon.

[Michael Wilbon]

Much to tell you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wednesday, that's today. But this here is my question. Is it the full moon Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, or is it the full moon Wednesday night into Thursday morning? Because when I took the dog out last night, it appeared to be a full moon. I have this haiku from shed. It's not a panther, it's not a cherry blossom. April's full pink moon. And I. I just really wondered, you know, because it. Which day is it? If it says it's Wednesday, does it start Wednesday night or start Tuesday night?

[Michael Wilbon]

I think it starts Wednesday night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you think it starts tonight?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what I saw was not the.

[Michael Wilbon]

I thought you saw something close to the full moon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, but I want beautiful moon. Yes, but I want it now. I don't know if it's going to be clear tonight.

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't think so because tomorrow is going to be cloudy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was clear. Last chance of storms.

[Michael Wilbon]

We had a weather alert one today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, so it was clear last night. So I'm going to. That's what I wondered. What is the full moon?

[Michael Wilbon]

So how in front of the full moon, how close can you be to enjoy what you think is the full effect? Like so 2 nights ago I sent you a picture of a beautiful almost full moon. Right as the booster was having baseball practice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes, I enjoy it for three or four days. In the walk up, I just wanted to know what is the absolute full moon? And maybe someone will write us for certain when it says the full moon is Wednesday. Again, this is my question. Does that begin Wednesday evening or does that begin Tuesday evening into Wednesday? So I don't know. I just bring that up. There's other things to talk about. The Gnats, of course, the Nats lost last night. They lost three to two. Yeah. In Philadelphia. Came back, good game. They held Philadelphia close. Gave up a home run to Schwaberbaum, made a couple of. Got a run. I think the decisive run. Bryce Harper had something to do with it. He hit A ground ball to Luis Garcia at first. Luis Garcia with bases loaded. Luis Garcia booted the ball. You know he's a second baseman. Yeah, he's second baseman. I don't know why he's at first base. But in any case, the Nats have played well. I'm not angry at anything they've done. They're relieving. Has been. Well, their starting has been good enough.

[Michael Wilbon]

That entire game was who took the man for the Phillies and what he represented for their future going forward. And he gave you a first round

[Tony Kornheiser]

draft pick a couple of years ago who had Tommy John. Yeah, six, seven kids.

[Michael Wilbon]

Mom was in the joke. Nice, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. You know, so was nice. It was. I mean, he was a good pitcher.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, he was a painter. Paint in the corners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I played golf yesterday, which was nice. Played 14 holes in the morning, then got back to go to work. That was nice. Made me happy to do that. Playing with old.

[Ron Green Jr.]

What's.

[Michael Wilbon]

What's your favorite flowering tree? Right now the cherry blossoms have gotten all the attention, but we're entering dogwood season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I was going to say that. What you have. You have a seven a day, seven to ten day shelf life for tree blossoms. And most of them are gone now. Like we haven't seen the azaleas yet. That's not a tree, you know. But the early ones, the cherry, the ones associated with pink and white and cherry blossoms, they're on the way out. Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, so my white bud is just beginning to enter its full bloom. It looks beautiful.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And what is that?

[Michael Wilbon]

It's a flowering tree where the flowers grow directly on the tree limbs. So it doesn't have those big petals that you see on a dogwood most or there's really delicate petals that you see on a cherry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Most of the flowering trees, again, 7 to 10 and they're being replaced by green leaves. Now the flowers being. That's the nature, that's the cycle. That's what happens. I had a couple of things I wanted to talk about. One was the NBA MVP because today's not a basketball show. And one was. Is his name Radko? Gudis. Radko, good. As the defenseman for Anaheim, the guy who took out Auston Matthews. I just wanted to say this. He took out Austin Matthews, knee to knee. And Matthews is out for the season. This happened a couple of weeks ago, two nights ago, not last night. Two nights ago, Anaheim came into Toronto and Gudis, who could very easily. He could have skipped the game. He could have said, I'm not playing load management. I'M just, I'm not playing in this game. He's a villain in Toronto. Obviously he has been suspended a number of times in his career. He's a tough guy. I think he's also the captain of Anaheim. But much to his credit, in my mind, much to his honor, in my mind, he played. He could have said, you know, that's they're not coming back to Toronto this year. He could have said, I'm done and I'm not going to go out there and play because it's a hostile environment. He played and he knew we'd get in a fight. He got in a fight how early opening face off and he got in a fight. And I read about this sort of. This was Toronto's ability to allow whoever wanted to fight him to get the first crack based on seniority. And Max Domi, who is their longest tenured fight guy, said, I want it. And as soon as the tip happened, they squared off. Domi hit him like 10 times. Goodis did not react. Good has took it. There were two other dust ups later in the game. Luckily nobody was hurt in this game. But to me this is a kind of frontier justice that Gudas did. And I thought, good for him, good for him. This is commendable. Wilburn is always telling me and always telling all of you, oh, there's only fights in the NHL. There's no fights internationally in Europe, there's no fights in the Olympics. Gudas is from Prague. He's been in 50 fights so far in his career in the NHL. 50. That's more than Leon Spinks in his career. Gudis said last night, by very deliberately playing in that game, very deliberately making himself available, if you want a piece of me, here I am. And again, I feel that's commendable.

[Michael Wilbon]

What do you think Goot is tune? Yes. My only pushback to that is what happens when that story becomes bigger than the sport itself.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, that happens occasionally. The reason it did is because Toronto in the moment that Auston Matthews was hit and put out for the whole season, Toronto did not defend him.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Toronto took a lot of heat in Toronto for that. My only question here is, does this satisfy the Toronto fans? Is this enough for them with Gudas? I don't know.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think so. Because there's, there's spectral spectacle to that being in that opening play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Ron Green Jr.]

So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Max Domi's father tied Ty Domi. Tough guy. Rangers tough guy. Rangers tough guy. Yeah, that's, that's, that's the genealogy of that family. They're tough guys. They make the league by fighting. The other thing I wanted to talk about. We talked about this on PTI yesterday. Mike's out. Mike said played Jordan's Course with the Socialite last night and. And his son had a great time. Grove, 23 and Pablo was doing the show. We talked about the NBA.

[Michael Wilbon]

They get to play all 18.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. I think so.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm jealous.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think so. Oh, yeah. You got rained out of the last three. Yeah. Well, you'll get back.

[Michael Wilbon]

I had to leave my ball plugged on 16.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You'll get back there, the ball will still be there. Somebody must have marked it, and it'll still be there. Who is the NBA mvp? This was what we talked about yesterday. Kendrick Perkins says it's Shea Gilgis Alexander. Pablo Torre says it's Shea Gilgis Alexander. The. The premise for this was that Luka Doncic is going crazy lately, and The Lakers are 15, 16 and 2 lately. You know, the Thunder's 25, 2 since February 1st. So let's not get carried away with the Lakers. But Doncic had, I think, 42 last night. But nobody thinks that Doncic is the MVP. And in fact, the question that. And the reason his name came up is because his coach, J.J. redick, promoted him, which J.J. redick is supposed to do. The overarching question to me, though, is how does LeBron James feel when JJ Redick promotes Luka Doncic to be the MVP of the league? Does it make LeBron James want to stay another year with the Lakers, one last year? Or does it make him want to go somewhere else and feel unappreciated by the coach that he helped get the job? And LeBron is responsible for JJ Reddick getting that job. Their pals, they did a podcast together, and JJ Redick got this job without any particular qualifications and coached anywhere. Hadn't coached anywhere. You know, got the job. Lakers are doing better. Didn't do well last year, doing very well this year. I wonder the effect on LeBron. Anyway, my choice is Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, because that team went into the year without Jayson Tatum, their best player. And everybody assumed that they'd finished seventh, eighth, ninth. Like Indiana, which went into the year without their best player, Tyrese Halliburton, who got hurt last year in the way that Jayson Tatum got hurt last year. The Celtics are in. I think they're in second place in the East. No. And they're in second. Yeah. They've been kept up there by Jaylen Brown being Outstanding. So I would give it to Jaylen Brown. I think I'm probably in the minority on that. I think the contenders. And as long as everybody understands Luka Doncic is a contender. Not as much, I don't think as Victor Wembanyama who has led the spurs to 25, 26 and 2 lately. Not quite as much as Shea Gilgis Alexander, who was the MVP now and is having almost as good a year. And his team is in first place. Lakers are not in first place. Not as good a year. I don't think as Kate Cunningham was out of it now because he got hurt, collapsed lung. But his team, Detroit was in first place, still is in first place in the east and the other wild card in this. And I would not vote for him as long as everybody understands that the greatest basketball player in the world is Nicola Jokic. His numbers are amazing. His team isn't that great and he hasn't lifted them beyond where they were last year like these other people have done. But he's a great player. Anyway, that's all I've got. We're going to do baseball today with Buster Olney and we're going to do golf with Ron Green Jr. Can I

[Michael Wilbon]

share a message with you first?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Michael Wilbon]

So I got this, a text message that came to me from Mark Finesand who sends a picture and if you zoom in, he's on a plane, one seat up, one lane over. So this is an aisle seat listener listening to the podcast.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really?

[Michael Wilbon]

On his flight from Madrid to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nice. Wow. A little.

[Michael Wilbon]

A little. And a listener. I'm not sure how often he does

[Tony Kornheiser]

listen, find sand, identify himself.

[Michael Wilbon]

I asked. He's going to try and approach him at baggage claim, but there wasn't the time for it. So if you were that listener, send us an email. Let's see what you're doing for the trip.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Where was the.

[Michael Wilbon]

Where was the flight from Madrid?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. All right. I still have a message. You have something to play, don't you? Yeah, Sean, I got a private number

[Buster Olney]

call yesterday which I did not answer.

[Michael Wilbon]

Never answer the message I got right.

[Adam Ferrara]

Hello, Sean, Nigel gave me your number. Thank you so much. He arrived safely in Italy. My cousin picked him up at the airport. And then my cousin left me a voicemail, is like, yeah, I got him. He's fine. But with those thighs, I would not be wearing those shorts. So I don't know what the hell's going on. I'm going to be at the Arlington Drafthouse April 3rd and 4th, and I just wanted to invite all the littles I want to invite Tony. I wanted to invite Michael and. And I know Tony and Michael. They're not coming. They're not coming. Tony's going to tell me. No, I'm home watching the gnats. I found the channel 1261. I had no idea it went that high.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Yeah.

[Adam Ferrara]

Tell Tony when It gets to 1262, sell.

[Buster Olney]

All right.

[Adam Ferrara]

April 3rd and April 4th, I'll be at the Arlington Drafthouse. Just want to invite all the littles down because I love to see them.

[Ron Green Jr.]

And.

[Adam Ferrara]

Yeah. So La Cheeserie. And remember, cash is king. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Adam Ferrara. Adam Ferrara, boys and girls. That's funny. That's wonderful. Glad he sent it. And April 3rd and 4th is this weekend.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Saturday, Sunday or Friday? Saturday.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Friday.

[Michael Wilbon]

Saturday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Friday, Saturday. Okay. Wonderful, wonderful. A lot of people doing comedy.

[Michael Wilbon]

Come on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, a lot of people. Greg Garcia opening for Nate Bargazzi on Thursday, Friday, tomorrow and Friday.

[Michael Wilbon]

And there might be an appearance by you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, you know, I'd like to see Greg. I don't know. I can't stay for all of it, you know, and I have to work out the logistics. But we'll see. Okay, Ron Green Jr. When we return, Ron Green, I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Buster Olney]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is our friend Gus Gustofferson. This is a song called wakes you up which is going to be released tomorrow. It's the first single from a new album that he says he's working toward. The song is about the quiet, peace and joy of waking up early and starting the day right. Something I've always associated with the rhythm of your show. That's very, very nice. Wakes you up. Not Kris Kristofferson, Gus Gustofferson. And it plays in Ron Green Jr. Of Global Post Golf. And I wanted to talk to Ron, and I'm going to talk to Ron. Ron and I and Michael played a couple of years ago at Pinehurst. I'm going to talk to him about Gary Woodland because Gary Woodland winning the other day in that tournament in Texas was something that everybody on the golf tour was happy about. And we will get into that story. But as you know, both Ron and I made a living being reporters. And news overtakes things every once in a while. And there was news last night that Tiger woods is going to seek help. I don't know the nature of that. I don't know if he's going to check in to a clinic or something like that or I don't know the nature of the help. Ron, do you know, the nature of the help and what do you make of what Tiger is doing?

[Ron Green Jr.]

I do not know the nature of it, but it seems like the next logical step in this process. I just go back to where we were, I don't know, barely a week ago, and Tigers playing golf in the tgl, hitting shots for the first time and seemingly forever. And there's all this sort of teasing anticipation. He's going to be tee ended up in the Masters. Yep. Be back to playing golf. And then suddenly we get that news, you know, Friday afternoon, and, I mean, I get a text from a friend of mine and just. It just said it never ends. And, you know, this. His story is. There's so many layers to it. And now we're at this point, and I think without obviously knowing the details of what he's dealing with, it does seem like a good and necessary step. You saw that Brian Rowett, the CEO of the PGA Tour, and Fred Ridley of the chairman of Augusta national, spoke out, said, you know, he needs to take the time to get things right. We'll miss him in the immediate future. But obviously, there is something seems not to be right with him, which, you know, I mean, he. For all the things he's done, I mean, he is, you know, incredibly human and dealing with something that seems to be, you know, obviously a great challenge to him. And, you know, I know a lot of people, the reaction has been sadness, and I get some of that, but because it feels like, I mean, he's this bigger than life. I mean, one of the biggest sports figures of our time and. Or any time. And it feels like now his story sort of divided into three chapters. You know, the golf and then there's the injuries, and then there's the drama. And to borrow a line from me, it feels like it's all sort of painted in Sunday red.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I, you know, I have the same reaction. Everybody has the same reaction, which is, this is not the first time, you know, he's flipped a car. It's not the first time he. He's been in this circumstance. It is not drinking. It is, according to the police, suspicion of opioids. He had opioids with him. They felt that he was under driving under that influence. It's very public again and again and again. Wilburn the other day said, just get a driver. And, yeah, you should not be. You should not be driving. And these are residential streets in Jupiter Island. We mean, you flipping a car. I mean, this cannot have anything like that. And Tiger, for the first time is addressing this now. Saying that he's going to get help. My other. And that's great. Everybody knows that's great because you don't want him hurting himself or hurting others in these conditions. But one of the secondary questions, I think, because Tiger is an enormously popular figure on the golf tour, the younger players adore him. They adore him. He is spoken of as a possible captain in the Ryder cup all the time. Does this. That has to be on hold now. But does this hurt him or does it somehow help him because he is addressing these problems?

[Ron Green Jr.]

Well, I, you know, I don't think the incidents obviously help him, but the fact that he appears to be taking a step toward getting his arms around this would help him. I do think we were perhaps just a few weeks away from the Ryder cup decision. The captaincy in Ireland and next year is his if he wants it. And he is at least not publicly said whether he did or didn't. But I would think this probably puts that on pause for another two years. I think you're right. There's still such a reverence for Tiger.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Now, some of the younger players, they've watched a lot of it on YouTube because some of them weren't even old, weren't even born when he was doing some of the greatest stuff. But everybody knows who he is, and he still has that presence when he arrives in a room, when he's on the range or whatever. When you see him, I mean, he's still Tiger. He may not be playing like he played during the Tiger Slam because, you know, I would argue he has played the greatest golf ever. And I mean, that Jack Nicklaus guy has tended to say the same thing. I mean, Nicklaus may be the greatest champion. Tiger is the greatest golfer ever. And it's just. I mean, you've seen it. I mean, the fireworks, the feeling, the electricity, what he did and the way he energized the game. And I think his. His presence still matters in the game. I mean, he has a very important roles, head of this future competitions committee, driving whatever the reinvention or reimagination of the PGA Tour is, and that's how much they think of him. I would have never thought 10 or 15 years ago that Tiger would get involved in governmental business of the PGA Tour. But I think he. He understands what the tours meant to him and wants to sort of take it from what was a pretty continuous position two or three years ago to a very strong position now and. And build it in the right way. So I think that there's a lot of probably stepping back at this moment, see where we are in whatever it is, two, three months, hopefully come through this. And, you know, he's always been such an intensely private person who's lived the most public life possible, almost that, you know, I think we're going to. It's going to be very quiet on the Tiger front for a while.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree with that. Let me get to Gary Woodland, your friend. My friend Steve Sands said that everybody was elated when Gary Woodland won the Texas tournament. Give a recap as to what Gary Woodland has faced in the last couple of years.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, he was probably best known for, you know, he won the 2019 US Open at Humble Beach. Before that, he had had a love. He was a defending champion Phoenix. It became sort of an Internet sensation for playing with this young lady, Amy Bacherstedt, Special Olympian, who made a par on the famous 16th hole playing with Gary. And the way it just captured hearts that day and there on the Today show, really sweet and got to the essence of who Gary Woodland is. I mean, he's a guy from Kansas, really good players, won five tour events, sort of log cabin solid type guy. And then in 2023, I think he was playing at the tournament in Mexico and he just, it started, he just jolted awake one night, shaken, couldn't control his hands and just consumed with fear. And to hear him tell, it was just this horrible experience. It was caused by a lesion on his brain that pushed on an area that controls sort of fear and anxiety. And it just, you know, it got worse and worse. I mean, you go back and listen to what he said. He said all he thought about was dying. He said, every day I got up thinking of a new way of dying. I thought this was going to kill me. And he would, he said he would multiple times. He would come awake at night and he would literally, it had to do. A lot of it came associated with fear of heights, too. He said I would be holding onto the bed, thinking I was gonna just fall to my death right there. And I'd lie awake at night for an hour or so, just shaking and scared to death, he said. He said it's a horrible experience, he said, because all you want to do is go to sleep to get away from it. But going to sleep was the worst part. And so finally In September of 2023, he had surgery. And that surgery came with some risks. Obviously he didn't have any serious long term effects. It was very successful. But, you know, it didn't solve everything. It made it much Better, but over the course of time and he's getting well wishes and he's playing golf and back to being as close to what he was before then the surgery as it could be. But he developed some symptoms of PTSD and it became significantly more. I mean, it became sort of the defining part of him, particularly when he's out playing golf. And he told a story of he's playing the Napa event last fall, he was an assistant captain for the Ryder cup team and they had players out there and people coming up from behind him seemed to trigger this response and he would just, he said he had to just play golf. And he put sunglasses on. He was crying so bad he couldn't control his emotions. He was, he just had to be somewhere else. And you know, the Tour worked with security and they sort of put people in place with some protocols to help him. But he would, I would duck into bathrooms, I'd play behind sunglasses, I'd finish my round, I'd just go to my car to get away from people. I was, you know the term hyper vigilant, sort of this acute sensory perception looking around for everything all the time. And resurfaced the week he won last week on the story of on the ninth hole on Friday, somebody got too close to him behind, on the rope line, right behind the ninth tee, and it triggered another episode.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is, this is remarkable. I mean, it is remarkable that he would go public with this. It is remarkable. Nobody does that. But it is equally remarkable that he could be a world class golfer and be going through this in the moment of playing golf. It's remarkable.

[Ron Green Jr.]

It really is. I mean, there's so much that goes on the golf and yet he has managed to. He said, I'm as my game is as good or better than it's ever been, including when I won the US Open. You know, he had worked with Butch Harmon for a time. He went back to work with Randy Smith, who Scottish Sheffield's coach, and they sort of found some things and he's been able to, to take his game and just, you know, play through this. And there are obviously moments as he talked about last week that just really put him in a dark place. But he just, his caddies helped and they just go shot to shot and, and he said at one point, I think it was last fall, said I didn't. Couldn't even really see where I was going. I would just, my caddy would tell me where to hit it, what club and all this. But so to get to that point, that's Helps you understand his tears and, you know, the tears of so many people, because he is truly. You hear a lot of people say, oh, that he's a great guy. He's a great guy. Well, Gary Woodland is truly, if you were taking the vote, he might be number one on the good guy list and the PGA Tour, which accounts for just the emotion and the, you know, and. But he tees it up at Augusta next week. I mean, what a story.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you for telling it. You know, I didn't know the details of it. I certainly didn't know that he was still, in essence, under the influence of what's going on, that nobody truly understands. To go through that and to win a tournament on that level is miraculous. Thank you, Ron. Thank you for sharing all of that. Thank you.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Well, thank you. He's a good. His story's a great one to tell and happy to share it, and good catching up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, well, enjoy Augusta. Enjoy Augusta.

[Ron Green Jr.]

I will do that. It's not hard to do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Ryan Green, Jr. Boys and Girls. Michael and I played with him at number 10, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, we played on two.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. That's right. So lovely. Very lovely. We will take a break. Buster Only will join us when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Buster Olney]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Gus Gustofferson]

You think we'd have it all figured out?

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Gus Gustofferson. One more time. This is a song called A Friendly Place. It's from his previous album called Happy Hour Hootenanny Hymns, in case you're in the mood to dig into something from an earlier catalog. Michael. If independent artists like Gus Kirstofferson want to get their songs played on this show, worthy songs that I won't talk over at the end of the show, you can hear them in their entirety. How do they do it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it to jinglesonycortizershow.com and it plays in Buster Only.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And this interview with Buster Only is brought to you by fanduel. Make every moment more. So I sit down last night and I want to ask a bunch of questions, baseball questions. And, you know, obviously I'm going to ask potato planting questions as well. But I write things down, and the first thing I write down is what is the most surprising thing in the first week. And I was so, so hoping that the Nats would pull that game out last night, and then you would be able to say, well, maybe it's the Nats, but. But, you know, not only what is the most surprising thing. But how about Shohei Ohtani last night? Let's talk about him a little bit. What do you make of that man?

[Buster Olney]

You know, he came into spring training talking about wanting to win the Cy Young Award, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

And I think, you know, there are times when players will they say things, you kind of roll your eyes, but you know how driven the guy is. You know, he wrote all these goals down when he was like 16 years old. He's met just about all of them. So for him to focus on this particular goal, that gets your attention. And so then watching him pitch last night, absolutely dominant for six innings. And what was just jumped out at me last night, average fastball velocity about 97 miles per hour. But you think about all the preparation that he has to do to be a two way player, right? To prepare to hit. You know, they show him coming off the field because he's the leadoff batter and the bat boy has to bring out all his equipment because he doesn't have much time to get all his stuff on before he goes to lead off. And yet he's able to maintain this high quality set of secondary pitches. Last night, 17% splitters, 17, 17% sliders, 24% cutters. And they're veering all over the place. And look International League, that includes guys like Paul sk, you know, many other. Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants. I don't think that Otani is going to win the cyang award because he probably is going to have less volume. He pitches once every six days, so he's probably going to wind up like 150, 160 innings. But I'm not going to ever pretend that if he sets his mind to something, he's not able to do it. That was really impressive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The most important baseball player in history is Babe Ruth. The greatest baseball player in history is Babe Ruth. Even as old as I am, I didn't get to see Babe Ruth play. Shohei Otani appears to me to be the greatest baseball player in my lifetime already. Or am I over? Am I overstating it?

[Buster Olney]

No, you're not overstating. In fact, I push back and I think Ohtani is the greatest baseball player ever. I agree with you that Babe Ruth is most important baseball player ever because what he did for the sport at that time. But what Ohtani is doing, you know, Babe Ruth, as you know, was an extraordinary pitcher. And then he made a switch over to being a hitter and it was kind of all or one or all the other. Generally speaking, you know, he's not doing the. That what Ohtani is doing, dominating at the same time, high end pitching and hitting. And, you know, I mean, for him, the thing I always defer in this conversation to other athletes who are just in awe of the guy. And I love from everybody from LeBron James to J.J. watt, when he pitches, you'll see them tweeting out like, oh my God, to be so good at this set of skills. And of course we know, I mean, the athleticism required to do all that is. It's unthinkable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he goes out there and he pitches and then he hits as the dh. Does he have a natural position in the field that he plays and that he might like to play, or is it unthinkable that he would play in the games that he doesn't pitch?

[Buster Olney]

Yet to this point, they really haven't entertained that. You know, but I don't, I have no doubt, and I've seen video of him shagging flies in the outfield or running down balls in the gap that he would be an excellent outfielder. You know, he's a great enough athlete that I think if he decided he wanted to be a first baseman that he could do that. That's, that's the thing. When you talk to Dodger players about these silly, you know, competitions they have in the, in the clubhouse, these little athletic things, ping pong or whatever, whatever he picks up within a couple of days, he's the best guy.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Wow.

[Buster Olney]

And so, but I think that in order to manage the responsibilities of being a two way player, this is the way that, you know, he feels like it's got to be. And look again, defer to that guy because he knows what he's talking about. I think this is going to be his best overall season in the big leagues. In 2022, he had an ERA of about 220. He had 35 homers for the Angels and he was great. He clearly has developed as a hitter since that year and now he's full bore as a pitcher because he's gotten past his second Tommy John surgery. This might be the greatest season we ever see for any player in history. Baseball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's tremendously exciting. He is, he is so charismatic. I mean, he's an oak tree. This guy is so big for a baseball player. And he's tremendously charismatic and has, has a great smile that matters, don't you think?

[Buster Olney]

Yes. And I, and you know, last year I was talking with an umpire and you've seen those scenes where the hitter will go up to the plate. In his first, first plate appearance. And I'll tap the catcher on the shin guard.

[Ron Green Jr.]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

And he'll say hi to the umpire. What the umpires have told me is that Ohtani is the only player in baseball who will come up and say hi to them before every plate appearance. Every single one. Not just, not only in the, in the first plate appearance, but throughout the game. And of course, you know that some of that is cultural, but it certainly stands out to the umpire. He's incredibly polite and he's so respected by his peers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me get off the Ohtani thing, but stay in California and go to Tony Vitello who is managing the Giants. He got a win the other day. This is your sport. I mean, what, what is being said about the decision to hire a college baseball coach to manage a major league baseball team without any previous experience? What are you watching for?

[Buster Olney]

How he's going to respond and more importantly, how his players are going to respond. Look, he's under a lot of scrutiny for how he's handled his post game interviews in these early days. And I have thought about this, you know, is this unfair that I'm focusing on the media is focusing on this one manager in the situation? And the reality is, I mean it's true, like there's heavy scrutiny, but there also is that in his clubhouse, they're all probably wondering how is he going to respond? You know, they, in game two of their season camp Schlitler of the Yankees is throwing 99 mile an hour sinkers. It's crazy stuff that he has dominates the Giants. And after the game Tony's talking about, well, you know, these guys have had emotional at bats, maybe I got them too ramped up with my pregame speech, etc. Etc. Etc. And I read it and I'm glad that you and I are talking because we have both read ball four. You know, the manager of the Seattle Pilots with Joe Schultz and his, what he would say to not a very good team after games was, you know what? Go pound that Budweiser.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pound the Budweiser. Yeah. There he would, he would use, before he said pound the Budweiser, he would use two very specific curse words and then he would say pound the Budweiser. But go ahead, right? Go ahead.

[Buster Olney]

And there is, there is, there are grains of wisdom contained within that thought over 162 games because these guys deal with so much failure. Like the best teams are going to lose 60 games during the year. The best hitters are going to make out 7 out of 10 times. And so I. You just wonder with so much more urgency in college baseball versus 162 game grind that baseball players have to deal with how that's going to translate. And I tell you this, this is the talk of baseball. When you talk with evaluators, managers, this is what they want to talk about. How is Tony Vitala doing in San Francisco?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's so risky. It's such a. We, we mentioned it the other day on PTI because it was Buster Posey's birthday. He's only 39, by the way. Buster Posey. And this hire is the most intriguing and the riskiest hire out there. There's no question about that. What do you think, what do you think of the automated ball strike thing? And if you're CB Buckner, what do you think of it? Maybe different.

[Buster Olney]

I mean, clearly there was one time when they hit or asked to challenge. The way he took off his mask, he definitely look annoyed, right? Yeah, look, I had Mike Trout on a podcast that he do the other day and he was saying he loves it and I think that his statement really stands for the players. Look, these guys go through the course of their season, you know, battling in each plate appearance, you know, pitchers on the mound trying to finish off an inning. And so these games can, you know, turn on one ball strike call. So the fact that they have an opportunity to correct mistakes, especially egregious mistakes, I think it's something that everybody wants, maybe even some umpires. And early on, maybe the part that's been a little bit surprising, not to Major League Baseball, which tested this in the minor leagues, is the fact that the fans get into it so much the other day when a Suarez challenged back to back calls by CB in

[Tony Kornheiser]

Cincinnati and he was right.

[Buster Olney]

The crowd was as loud as if there was a walk off hit. They were into it. So I think most umpires are adapting very seamlessly to this. The one thing I would say if CB was a friend and said, look, it's not personal, like they're just trying to get the call right. It's not about you.

[Ron Green Jr.]

It's, it's.

[Buster Olney]

And it's something that I think that is working well early.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But see, my feeling is that within a year or two, maybe within one year, we're going to take the home plate umpire out of all calls other than safer out at the plate and handing baseballs to the catcher. And it's going to be completely automated because I don't, I just think the umpires are going to say, you're killing us out here. I mean, we're right 95% of the time, but when we're wrong, you're killing us.

[Buster Olney]

No, I think there's no chance that happens, and I'll tell you why.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Buster Olney]

Because if you do that, that will completely gut the position of catcher. You know, all these skills through the years, you know, developed by the Molina brothers, you know, refined by guys like J.T. you know, J.T. rio Muto or Patrick Bailey of the Giants, those would all become obsolete. And, you know, within the players association, there's a lot of feeling of, look, we have to try to protect the catchers. And I think that's shared by Major League Baseball. So they don't. I don't think we'll ever get to the point where it's full abs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, that's good to know. Let's get to potatoes, because it's the beginning of April, it's April 1st, and you sent me a video about planting potatoes in a bag. And of course, my question was, would it ultimately cost more per potato than just sticking them in the ground? But what are your thoughts on the potatoes in the bag that you sent? Because I'm intrigued.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah. So last year, the way you described the ground where you planted the potatoes, I was a little concerned for you. Right. And then there's the question of watering. And so when I saw this, I was like, this is perfect for Tony because it's contained. You could have it in a. In a burlap bag that you could put in the back in your backyard in the middle of sunshine. You know, plant the potatoes in with potting soil.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Potting soil? Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

You know? Yeah. Water it during the year. It's easy. And you would have a. An absolute Thanksgiving bounty of potatoes by the time you get to year's end.

[Ron Green Jr.]

I think this.

[Buster Olney]

This fits your situation better than what you did last year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've got three or four big planters. This is not a prank that I put. That I usually put flowers in, but I'm going to not put the flowers in. I'm going to clean them out. I'm going to put potting soil in there. Potatoes eyes up in there and cover it again. And that's how I'm going to try and do it. I'm going to try and keep it contained in three or four pots.

[Buster Olney]

I can't wait. I mean, I'm already looking forward to September to hear the joy in your voice as you pull them out. As they told you before, digging out potatoes in the fall is like Christmas morning with all the presents and you unwrap them. You don't know what you're going to get, but it's spectacular.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When do you plant in Montana? When is your optimum planting time?

[Buster Olney]

So we're going to plant on March 14. That is going to be the day we'll put everything.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, you don't mean. You mean April 14th? Not much.

[Buster Olney]

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Not March 14th.

[Ron Green Jr.]

No.

[Buster Olney]

May 14th.

[Tony Kornheiser]

May 14th. Okay.

[Buster Olney]

It has been an incredibly mild winter out here in Montana. So I think the weather will have turned enough and we won't have that surprise snowstorm that pops up in the middle of May.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I will let you know how Michael and I do with potatoes in our house. And as always, thank you, Buster. And we will talk soon. Thank you.

[Buster Olney]

Okay, Tony, thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This interview with Buster only was brought to you by fanduel. Make every moment more. We will come back with email and jingle. And I am Tony Kornheiser.

[Buster Olney]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Here comes Tony's mail back. Got your email faxes and you know it's.

[Gus Gustofferson]

Here comes Tony's mailbag.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Gonna read some for all ya folks.

[Buster Olney]

Hey Tony, come on, come on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey Tony, read that mail now, baby. Love that hot pink hangover. Love that. Just love that. You wanna do the Bethesda bagel ad for us?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes, Bethesda Bagel, we love them. You will as well go online to find the location nearest to you. Lot of issues with parking today. There were some deliveries on, you know, Bethesda right down there in Bethesda Row area. But I was able to get in. Bagels were ready for me. Picked up the salmon cream cheese. Great experience. Go check it out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good. That will do it for us today. Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say I got something to say that might cause you pain. If I catch you talking to that boy again, I'm going to let you down and leave you flat. Because I told you before, you can't do that. Those are four lads called the Beatles. That's a long time ago. Great. Thanks to Buster only and Ron Green Jr. Of Global Golf Post. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify Odyssey. Get show through Apple. Please leave us a review from Nick Ferrante. FYI, Tillamook ice cream is buy one get one free at the Fred Meyer on Northern Lights in Anchorage, Alaska. Picture below for proof. Spread the word before it runs out. Hopefully you'll read this email instead of talking about the Wizards anymore. Very nice.

[Michael Wilbon]

Do I need a whole bunch of

[Tony Kornheiser]

tillamook out there, including malted moose shake? This is in Alaska, though. It's sort of for most people. Dan Thorner Bulldog Baseball Coach Bethesda, Maryland that's right. On Monday's show, Wilbourne brought me a David Aldridge moment, one of the best I believe I had, that calls in my life when I'm not acting in my capacity as the official youth baseball coach of the Tony Kornheiser Show. I'm an elementary school teacher in D.C. about 15 years ago, one of the students in my second grade class was T O Rice, son of John and Andrea, family friend of the Wilbonds in both D.C. and north Scottsdale, and brother to Kiki. Even as an eight year old, it was clear that Tio was an exceptional athlete. There were other kids in that class who also went on to be D1 athletes, but Tio stood out. One day, my wife came to pick up our infant son from the school's daycare center, brought him out to me on the playground to say goodbye and saw Tio playing soccer. She instantly remarked, who's that kid? He's an athlete. He absolutely is, I replied, but you should see his little sister Kiki was in kindergarten. As Tio moved on and eventually went to Yale to play basketball like his father instead of Penn like his second grade teacher, I followed his career while also hearing about his sister Kiki becoming one of the best girl basketball players in the D.C. area. It all came full circle when my wife, a proud UCLA alumna, turned on a Bruins game and said to me, we have a freshman from Sidwell, Kiki Rice. I told her, that's the little sister of my old student. And then I reminded her that I had that all the way back when she was in kindergarten. We continue to follow Kiki's career, watching her in the UCLA squad and rooting for them to win both the UCLA and to continue to validate my scouting prowess. So go Bruins. Go Kiki. And hey, Wilbon. I believe I had that hope.

[Michael Wilbon]

This gets Coach Dan a shout out in the carpool line.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's just wonderful. From Larry Harper Jr. Our dog has the same issue. Super fast at scarfing rabbit and deer poop. Before I can stop her, our vet recommends we keep a couple of tubes of this around and give it to her when she has digestive issues. Works every time. What is it?

[Michael Wilbon]

It's a link. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Well, we're. We're. We're giving Chessy pumpkin and Rice pumpkin and Rice yeah. From Jack Aile E I E L I in Philadelphia Dear Mr. Tony, on last week's Friday show you outlined the three outcomes of walking your dog no poop, good poop, and bad poop. I'd like to submit a fourth outcome, which occurs when you're walking your Bernese mountain dog, age 9 months, and she suddenly stops, looks at you directly in the eye, and proceeds to vomit up an entire intact corn cob. What the appearance of said partly digested cob begs you. Remember back to when you and the woman to whom you related by marriage had corn on the cob and you're shocked to find it's been two full weeks since your canine friend surreptitiously helped herself into the garbage can for late night snack. You then look at your dog, the sense of wonderment and awe while you consider what else could be rattling around our ironclad insides. Anyway, it's been three years and the dog is doing fine, although she still occasionally surprises us with the contents of her expulsions. P.S. we're expecting our first child in October, but the woman to whom I'm related by marriage insists it's too early to tell anyone real. So here I am confiding to you and the listeners out there. Jesus Ree. Okay, we're not real. We're not real. From Dennis bounds in Redmond, Washington. It's also channel 1261 for the Seattle Mariners game. Really? I guess out there? Yeah, maybe. Wow, that's interesting.

[Michael Wilbon]

What happens when they play each other

[Tony Kornheiser]

from I GUESS it's on 1261 from Tony in Portland, Oregon. I went to the Blazers Wizards game on Sunday afternoon. It was my wife and kids first live professional basketball game, was an incredible memory and I just wanted to share. P.S. we throttled the Wizards by 35. Man, the Wizards stink. Yes, and trying to stink. Trying to stink. From Brian Swatek with the Masters around the corner and my Monday's emailer, Tim apparently starting the trend is telling our Augusta national stories the new game? If so, I've got a good one from the 2025 Wednesday practice round. My sister won the ticket lottery and generally generously gifted all four tickets to me for my 40th birthday.

[Michael Wilbon]

Now that's a sister.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I brought three of my yes it is. But it's a great thing to get to win the lottery. I brought three of my closest friends and we had an unforgettable, forgettable day at Augusta National Golf Club. We arrived early, sipped coffee, took in the quiet reverence of Amen Corner. We walked the entire course watched our favorite golfers practice, caught some of the par 3 action and unsurprisingly, spent a little too much on merchandise. But the best part of the day came around 6.30pm after the par three contest had wrapped up and the course had emptied. Each of us grabbed a couple of beers before the concession stands closed and we made our way back to Amen Corner to enjoy the moment. As we approached the 12 tee, we noticed about a dozen people gathered with a bit of a buzz. Out of that group stepped Jim Nance, doing exactly what we were doing, minus the beer, soaking in the peaceful perfection of Amen Corner. On the eve of the tournament, my friend Sarah, camera in hand, nudged me and said, go talk to him. I set my drinks down. I walked over just as he was finishing a conversation. I made a quick joke about one of my favorite Nance moments, which thankfully got a laugh. He was kind enough to take a couple of pictures he attached before continuing on. While we stood there stunned. He couldn't have been more gracious and at the moment couldn't have been more perfect. Standing there at Augusta, sharing a laugh with the voice of the masses. That's going to be a tough day to top. To everyone attending next week, soak in every moment. It's truly unmatched. And to my good friend US Army Major Tim Flynn, eat it. Jim Nance is a wonderful man.

[Michael Wilbon]

He understands his role.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jim Nance knows who Jim Nance is and is happy to be Jim Nance. He's a lovely guy. He's just a lovely guy. From William Bennett, the director of choirs at Cane Bay High School. Well, that big wow. It's been a while, but the official choir of the Tony Kornheiser show is making a return trip to D.C. next week. We are bringing 51 students and we'll be performing at the Lincoln Memorial next Friday, April 10th at 4:15pm Would love to see you and the crew there. Maybe you could do a live spot on pti?

[Ron Green Jr.]

No?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, one can hope, right? I hope you and the crew are well with excited to get back to D.C. in a lovely time of year.

[Michael Wilbon]

It'll be beautiful.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A lovely time of year. The Masters is going on somewhere to the south and I may be watching that. Steve gilmore, san angelo, texas. You should help keep the 1261 sales weasels happy and advertise during nats broadcast. Between captain tony's charter boat Service and Farmer Case Front Yard Potatoes, you'd be keeping channel 1261 afloat, reducing the number of times you see a pop of John AD. P.S. i've never been to Maine, but they can eat it. Here's what's interesting about this. I watched almost the whole game last night. They don't have any ad they got.

[Michael Wilbon]

How quickly do you think the ad loads are going to change?

[Tony Kornheiser]

They got Nats ads and they got Papa John. They don't have much more.

[Michael Wilbon]

We need a Koons Toyota. Come on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't have much. They don't Ben Sandler Dr. Ben Sandler, a dentist. I've disliked UConn ever since the Rudy gay recruitment affair. Ask Gary, he'll fill you in. I've disliked Hurley ever since the game. He tried to fight Turgeon when at Rhode island, but I like but like Sansi, I hate Duke, so that ending was a thing of beauty. As Jackie Gleason would say, how sweet it is. Ben Sandler Columbia, Maryland Steve, a sycophant on Monday's pod, you quoted Proko Haram's A Wider Shade of Pale and noted its link to the works of Jeffrey Chaucer. Proko Haram lyricist Keith Reed has stated there is no connection whatsoever. Mr. Chaucer, or Jeff, as his friends, close friends call him, have apparently made no direct comment on this. Right? He did say life is so short, the craft so long to learn, which could be an allusion to Reid's lyric writing ability. But Jeff has refused further comment. You know how writers can be. Yes, and it also matters that he's dead for 500 years, you know? Ward K Vienna, Virginia Going into the final four in the TK Show Biggs Group, Brian Polian is in the lead. Phil's mom is in last place. However, if Illinois wins the tournament and Michigan beats Arizona, then Phil's mom will finish above Brian Polian. That's crazy. How can that be? Yeah, she won't win the tournament because Gary Braun will stay ahead of her if Michigan beats Arizona. Still, I am rooting for Illinois this weekend because I roll with Phil's mom from Eric Spay. At the risk of accusing you of using some Will Bonian geography, I have to call you out for a statistic you referenced in Monday's otherwise Emmy worthy PTI broadcast and what seemed like golden factoid, you asked when was the last time a team located west of Mississippi won the NCAA tourney? And the answer provided was Arizona in 1997. Not only are Texas and Kansas west of the Mississippi, they each have an entire state between them and the Big Muddy River. So the answer to the question is Kansas four years ago and Baylor the year before that and again, Kansas. In 2008, I was given that information by the producers of the show.

[Michael Wilbon]

Name names you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Now. Well, not name names. I was given that information. I apologize. I apologize personally for that being wrong. I sort of thought Kansas was part of that, but I didn't. I didn't bring it up while I waited for the errors part of the rundown to catch this, which it didn't. I do have fond memories of Tony Reali in the old days sitting next to his chalkboard, wanting to eviscerate the two of you for something that was said earlier in the show. I'm sure he would have been licking his chops on this one. All is forgiven. If mistakes weren't made, we wouldn't have flushed the mouse. Thank you for entertaining me daily for almost 25 years. Patrick Sitter, Sioux Falls, South Dakota we'll end on this one and then we'll save the rest of these.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sounds good for Friday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

My wife and I just returned from a visit to Chicago. Thanks to my oldest son's wonderful girlfriend, we went to Wrigley on Saturday afternoon and watched Will Bond's beloved Cubs play your beloved Nationals for an afternoon. I kind of felt simultaneously related to both of you. P.S. since I didn't sell saltines at Wrigley, I threw mouth moistened rolled up hot dog bun balls at the umps. If you're out on your bike, tight. Everyone, as always, do wear white. What's that? Chicken Every night Is the chicken.

[Buster Olney]

Holy God Almighty.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it possible just once you get

[Buster Olney]

something to eat for dinner around here?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's not the dad.

[Buster Olney]

Chicken. Hey, dad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm just saying.

[Michael Wilbon]

Dad. Hey, dad, What'd you have for dinner last night?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chicken. Chicken and rice. I like chicken,

[Gus Gustofferson]

Sam. The birds, they sing, Whistle hard

[Ron Green Jr.]

It

[Gus Gustofferson]

starts his ch Then becomes a song Short bright you will find a rolling ball it's just this there it's always there to wake you up it wakes you up oh w We're laughing every day no matter what you say. We have found a way. We do this every day. Hey yeah. Hey hey hey hey yeah A dark cloud thunders hard it starts its rain and then becomes rainbows A short walk and you will find the water splash it's just there it's always there to wake you up it wakes you up. Laughing every day no matter what you say. We have found our way we do this every day. Laughing every day no matter what you say. We have found our way we do this every day. No matter what you say. We have found our way. Hey yeah. You think we'd have it all figured out we talked and talked the research, it has all been done Seems like there's something blocking us holding it all just out of our reach A peaceful place where we all can live. Maybe life won't be so bad you think? But now we seen some change We've marched and marched the streets it all just seems so strange Feels like there's something stopping us holding it it all just out of our reach A happy place where we all could live. Maybe life won't be so bad. If none now when? If not you, then who, then who? If not here, then where? We'll start it up if you want to this is is what we're supposed to do you think? But now we'd all have done some more We've watched and watched while our phones played a genocidal war it looks like we're being held back what we need is just out of our reach A friendly place where we all could live. Maybe life won't be so bad. If not now am if not you, then who? If not here, then where? We'll start it up if you want to this is what what we're meant to do we'll get so high we'll touch the sky and laugh Our cups we'll be so filled we'll have a fire we'll all sit round and and smile will be so thrilled. Sam. A friendly place where we all could live. Maybe life won't be so bad.