The Tony Kornheiser Show – “Blue Danube”

Episode Date: September 26, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Mark Feinsand, Jason La Canfora, James Carville, Jeff Ma

Overview

In this jam-packed episode, Tony Kornheiser brings his signature blend of sports analysis, humor, and conversational banter. The show dives deep into the final weekend of baseball’s regular season with Mark Feinsand, transitions to NFL insights with Jason La Canfora, and closes with betting picks and playful life commentary from James Carville and Jeff Ma. True to form, Kornheiser and his guests weave together analysis, storytelling, and irreverent asides for both sports die-hards and casual listeners.

Baseball’s Down-to-the-Wire Weekend

Guests: Mark Feinsand
Timestamps: 01:17 - 15:59

Key Points

• Potato Fiasco Banter:
  Kornheiser provides a humorous recap of his potato harvesting woes, serving as a quirky prelude to the sports discussion.

  • Quote: “Everybody knows the problems with the potatoes. It's a meager yield. It was terrible.” (01:59)

• National League Wild Card Race:
  Kornheiser and Feinsand dissect the final wild card spots:

  • Mets vs. Reds: If the teams tie, the Reds own the tiebreaker.
  • Brewers' Motivation: The Brewers may rest starters, having clinched and focusing on postseason health.
  • Feinsand emphasizes: “Their focus right now is on making sure that they are healthy going into the postseason… They’ve earned the right [to rest].” (03:25)
  • Marlins as a spoiler for the Mets.

• The Art of the Collapse:

  • Tigers vs. Mets:
    • Kornheiser and Feinsand agree the Tigers’ collapse (once leading by 15.5 games) is historic.
    • Feinsand: “You're talking about historical collapses along the lines of the Red Sox in '78 and the Phillies in '64.” (05:49)
    • The unexpectedness of the AL Central race: “I wasn't even paying attention to the AL Central literally until about six days ago…” (05:49)
  • AL Playoff Picture:
    • Red Sox, Detroit, and Houston all in the wild card mix.
    • Tony: “Both the teams that Detroit and Cleveland are playing have skin in the game, or am I wrong?” (07:56)
    • Feinsand clarifies tiebreakers and potential matchups.

• Predictions and MVP Debates:

  • Feinsand leans Cleveland over Detroit to win the division, citing momentum.
    • “You’d have to think that Cleveland is going in as the more confident team this weekend. But baseball’s weird…” (10:01)
  • AL MVP:
    • Debate: Cal Raleigh’s 60 HR season vs. Aaron Judge’s all-around performance.
    • Feinsand: “Judges numbers in every other statistical category are so far above and beyond Raleigh's that I just can't… put Raleigh ahead of him.” (11:27)
  • NL MVP:
    • Otani vs. Schwarber. Feinsand says: “Kyle Schwarber doesn’t pitch.” (13:07) Otani’s two-way play is the difference.

• Home Run Surge & Era Context:

  • Kornheiser: “Four guys over 50 home runs—that's highly unusual, is it not?” (13:56)
  • Feinsand on modern HR feats: “Hitting 60 home runs now is more impressive… Because you don't see starting pitchers a third or fourth time… You're seeing these freakish relievers... For hitters to be able to go out there and do what they do, it gives you an idea of just how good these guys are.” (14:45)

NFL Deep Dive & Storylines

Guest: Jason La Canfora
Timestamps: 16:42 - 32:01

Key Points

• Quick Listener Banter:

  • Reads a listener email about Geno Smith’s reliability as a prime-time interception. (17:48)

• Thursday Night Football & Seahawks:

  • Seattle stands strong despite injuries. La Canfora sees playoff potential:
    • “They’re going to have a top 10 defense... they're a good team.” (18:15)
  • La Canfora on Kyler Murray: “Never bet Kyler Murray as a home favorite… Seattle’s a playoff team.” (19:23)

• Quarterback “Ruined in NY” Hypothesis:

  • Kornheiser: “If you are a quarterback for the Jets or the Giants... your career is going to be ruined.” (20:23)
  • La Canfora blames franchise ownership more than coaching.
    • “The owner fancies himself a football man. He's not a football man.” (21:00)

• Jackson Dart Starting over Russell Wilson (Giants):

  • La Canfora: The Chargers defense is a nightmare for young QBs, predicts a rocky debut.
    • “Minus 160 to throw a pick... I’m surprised it’s not minus 200. I think he will try to do too much.” (24:19)

• Baltimore at Kansas City & Ravens’ Defensive Decline:

  • Kornheiser: “Baltimore... Their defense has given up 96 points overall. It's the second worst in the NFL.” (24:56)
  • La Canfora: Traces roots of the problem to personnel, coaching staff issues, and lack of leadership. Calls for recalibration on both sides of the ball.
    • “This isn’t Holodina, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. That was the spine… It's now a rookie. Malachi Starks, who looks like a rookie…” (26:23)

• Atlanta Falcons’ Offensive Troubles:

  • Michael Penix is struggling; offensive coordinator Zack Robinson is “woefully over his head.”
  • La Canfora: “You have all these top eight picks on offense, and none of them ever see as much of the ball as they should… I think they hired the wrong offensive coordinator.” (29:06)

• PLUG: Want to Bet?

  • Jason highlights his betting show, celebrating recent NFL wins and plus-odds parlays:
    • “We destroyed Thursday Night Football… Stuff that could actually hit.” (30:48)

Picks and Gambling Corner

Guests: James Carville (from the Danube!), Jeff Ma
Timestamps: 33:14 – 49:55

James Carville’s Segment

• James checks in from a European river cruise and provides both football picks and travel commentary.
  • “The big event of the trip is I saw the vehicle that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in, probably the most significant event of the 20th century.” (34:27)
  • Discusses the beautiful Austro-Hungarian scenery along the Danube.

Carville’s Picks of the Week

• Virginia +7 vs. Florida State (hoping FSU looks ahead to Miami; takes the home dog) (34:54)
• Air Force “team total” OVER 29.5 vs. Hawai’i (“The Rainbows got a rainbow for a defense… Air Force will score 30 points.”) (35:23)
• Atlanta +1.5 vs. Washington (“Take Atlanta on a bounce back.”) (35:59)
• Rams -3 vs. Colts (“Lay the points. I agree with that one.”) (36:23)
• Eagles/Bucs OVER 43.5 (36:40)
• Penn State vs. Oregon (leans Penn State despite fear: “The quintessential, you know, 10 and 2, 9 and 3 team… but I’m going to go Penn State.”) (37:12)
• Colorful closing note: “LSU’s best defensive player is dating the daughter of the oldest coach.” (38:07)

Jeff Ma's Segment

Ryder Cup Betting & Analytics

• Explains the complexity of Ryder Cup betting.
  • “There’s bets about who will get, you know, to five points first or who’ll get the first point… There’s all sorts of things.” (39:36)
  • Highlights DataGolf's analytics for the European team:
    • “The U.S.—the European team is much more analytically driven… Eduardo Molinari runs the analytics for them and they’ve done things to sort of gain small edges.” (43:27)
• Tony and Jeff discuss the historic and psychological components of Ryder Cup competition.

Notable Betting Discussion

• Both agree last week’s Rams-Eagles finish was one of the “worst beats” ever for gamblers.
  • Jeff: “I agree with you that one’s a really bad beat. The only time you felt like you might have a chance to lose is when this last play happened… so undescribable.” (45:10)

Jeff Ma's Picks

• College:

  • Ole Miss -1.5 vs. LSU (“Ole Miss should be favored by closer to a touchdown…”) (46:41)
  • Stanford -3 vs. San Jose State (“Stanford just has more talent.”) (46:50)
  • Oregon +3.5 at Penn State (“Oregon's been a juggernaut this year… I'll take Oregon.”) (47:43)
  • Alabama +3.5 vs. Georgia (“Probably should have lost to Tennessee; close game.”) (48:00)

• NFL:

  • Rams -3 over Colts (“Pretty tough spot for Indy.”) (48:31)
  • Jaguars +3.5 vs. 49ers (“San Francisco just is so beat up… I like Jacksonville as an underdog.”) (49:12)

• Bet the Process Guest:

  • Matthew for Shane, founder of DataGolf, discussing golf analytics. (49:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tony on the Show’s Packed Nature:
  • “We're guest loaded today, we're not even going to do an open.” (01:59)
• Feinsand on Tigers Collapse:
  • “You're talking about historical collapses along the lines of the Red Sox in '78 and the Phillies in '64.” (05:49)
• La Canfora on NY QB Curse:
  • “If you are a quarterback for the jets or the Giants… your career is going to be ruined.” (20:23)
• Carville’s River Cruising Life:
  • “The big event of the trip is I saw the vehicle that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in, probably the most significant event of the 20th century. That was fun.” (34:27)
• Jeff Ma on Stanford/Academics:
  • “Who said I respect Stanford as an educational institution?” (47:12)
• Tony on Ryder Cup:
  • “I think the United States will do very well in singles, and they always do. They are deeper.” (42:34)

Episode Flow & Tone

• Signature blend of Kornheiser dry humor, irreverence, and deep sports analysis.
• Lively, conversational format—guests encouraged to riff and banter.
• Rush of high-stakes sports talk broken up by personal anecdotes, eg. Tony’s potato drama and Carville’s travel stories.
• Smooth transitions between segments with betting, analytics, and life musings.

Key Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Guest(s) | Start Time | |---------------------------------------|---------------------|------------| | Potato Yield & Baseball Intro | Feinsand | 01:17 | | NL/AL Playoffs & MVP Debates | Feinsand | 03:25 | | NFL Thursday Recap & NY QB Talk | La Canfora | 16:42 | | Reviewing Young QB Pitfalls in NY | La Canfora | 20:02 | | Baltimore’s Defensive Demise | La Canfora | 24:56 | | Atlanta/QB & Offense Issues | La Canfora | 29:06 | | Want to Bet? Plug | La Canfora | 30:48 | | James Carville’s Picks/Life Abroad | Carville | 33:14 | | Jeff Ma on Ryder Cup/DataGolf/etc. | Jeff Ma | 39:36 | | Jeff Ma’s Picks & NFL Analysis | Jeff Ma | 46:00 |

This summary captures The Tony Kornheiser Show’s signature style: smart sports talk with wit, candor, and an appreciation for both big headlines and the charm of life’s little asides.