“Bombo Genesis”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show — “Bombo Genesis”

Date: February 20, 2026
Main Participants: Tony Kornheiser (host), regular contributors, Barry Svrluga (Washington Post), Tim Legler (ESPN)

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Episode Overview

This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" blends Tony’s signature blend of sports commentary, real-life anecdotes, and the whimsical as the Winter Olympics wind down. The centerpiece features Washington Post columnist Barry Svrluga reporting from Italy on Olympic stories, hockey, and the quirks of travel, while ESPN’s Tim Legler breaks down where the NBA stands heading into its post-All-Star sprint to the playoffs. As ever, Tony delivers digressions into weather panic, ear problems, troubles with checks and technology, and listener emails that veer from health advice to nostalgia and sports absurdity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Weather Panic - The "Bombo Genesis" Phenomenon

• [01:14 – 02:29]
  • Tony opens with “Bombo Genesis,” a newly encountered weather term igniting anxiety in the D.C. region.
  • Jokes about the ominous sound of any term with “bombo,” likening it to disaster.
  • Contradictory forecasts: “There's a 30% chance of 3ft of snow and a 30% chance of an inch or two.”
  • Humor about D.C. weather reporting and public overreaction.

"Anything that says bombo at the top is bad. Bombo Genesis." — Tony ([01:38])

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2. Olympic Commentary and Absurd Vocabulary

• [02:29 – 06:27]
  • Tony reflects on the inscrutable language used by Winter Olympic commentators, sparked by listener emails about ski tricks (“triple cork 1980,” “nose butter”).
  • Replay of a commentator translating Olympic trick jargon supposedly “for my good friend Tony Kornheiser.”
  • The group marvels at the bizarre, highly technical terminology and Tony’s reputation crossing over into Olympic broadcasts.

“It is a vocabulary with which I am completely unfamiliar. Familar, yeah. And so I just sort of listen and watch and wonder what's going on.” — Tony ([03:48])

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3. Ear Troubles and the American Healthcare Slog

• [06:27 – 08:44]
  • Tony laments his ongoing hearing loss, new medications, and the Catch-22 of getting an ENT appointment.
  • Amusing bafflement: “It's my ear, why am I spraying stuff into my nose?”
  • Rants about the apparent impossibility of timely specialist care in the U.S.

“You will be dead, murdered by whatever it is that is eating at your ears or nose or throat before you can actually get an appointment [with an ENT].” — Tony ([08:06])

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4. Checks, Technology, and the USPS

• [08:44 – 13:31]
  • Complaint about missing checks: Tony, a stickler for balancing his checkbook by hand, discovers three checks mailed on the same day never cleared.
  • Frustrations with theft, USPS malfunctions, and being told to “do it online;” Tony’s resistance to adopting online banking.
  • Discussion of “admin nights” where friends help each other with modern adult chores—an uncomfortable necessity for tech-averse folks like Tony.
  • Tony admits, somewhat aghast, that he doesn’t even have a computer, prompting gentle ribbing from the group.

“People go into mailboxes on the street and steal the letters... So I would know, if that had happened to me, if my checks were stolen, I would know because they'd have been cashed by someone else.” — Tony ([09:33])

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5. Riviera Golf/Weather & Olympic Preview

• [13:31 – 14:44]
  • Banter about the Riviera golf tournament: bundled golfers, modifications for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
  • Tony notes that unlike Pebble Beach, Riviera is not on the ocean, so no risk of golfers falling off into the Pacific.

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[INTERVIEW] Barry Svrluga from Italy — Olympic Dispatch

[16:10 – 31:09]

a. The Pull of Sports and the Olympics

• Barry, a Duke alum, debates with Tony whether he’d ditch Milan/Alpine Olympics coverage to attend Duke vs. Michigan basketball in Washington. He’s tempted but loyal to the job.
• Barry describes the exhaustion yet exhilaration of Olympic coverage, the joy of covering stars like Mikaela Shiffrin, and the travel contrasts between Cortina and cosmopolitan Milan.
  • “You quickly get a sense of how cosmopolitan it is and how big it is... there are lots of streets where you’d have no idea the Olympics were going on.” ([19:05])

b. Olympics Men’s Hockey—Tension and Pressure on Canada

• U.S. is favored to meet Canada for gold but Barry notes the unpredictability after tight quarterfinals.
• More pressure on Canada: “It means more to Canadians; they live it; they breathe it. It’s their sport.”

“I was there in 2010 in Vancouver when it was the U.S. and Canada for gold, and it went to overtime, and Sidney Crosby scored the game winner for gold on home soil. And there’s top five things I’ve ever seen.” — Barry ([22:20])

• Both Tony and Barry gush over the excitement of 3-on-3 overtime, even if purists dislike it.

c. Mikaela Shiffrin’s Triumph—Ending the Psychoanalysis?

• Tony asks if Shiffrin’s dominant gold ends the era of relentless analysis of her psychological state. Barry says the discourse will change, but her introspection will remain part of her appeal.

“The next four years are no longer going to be about the failures of Beijing and what would have been the failure of Cortina... When Mikaela Shiffrin skis like herself, she wins slalom races by margins that, you know, would be Secretariat to Belmont.” — Barry ([26:09])

- Provided astonishing context: Her Olympic gold margin (1.5 seconds) was as large as the seven previous finals combined.

d. Speed Skating—Competition vs. the Clock

• Tony expresses discontent that speed skaters “race the clock” vs. head-to-head, unlike runners or swimmers—it feels less viscerally competitive.
• Barry agrees there’s something fundamental about competing directly against another human, but notes Stoltz and skaters accept the nature of their sport.

e. Olympic “SkiMo” (Ski Mountaineering) Ridicule

• Tony and Barry laugh at the idea of hiking up mountains to ski down when a lift is available: “That’s why I would buy a chairlift ticket.”

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[INTERVIEW] Tim Legler — NBA Sprint and Storylines

[32:47 – 46:13]

a. NBA Sprint Post All-Star Break

• The league is entering the “sprint” with 25-30 games left; intensity, playoff seeding, and games matter more, but injuries still cloud the picture.

"You can feel it immediately, the difference in the air, in the building... as they get ready for the stretch run to the playoffs." — Tim Legler ([32:59])

b. Knicks/Pistons as Litmus Test

• Knicks lost (badly) to the Pistons—again. Tony and Tim discuss how the Pistons have outclassed New York three times (84-point cumulative margin).

“You might want to start watching Cade Cunningham because this guy is a legitimate superstar. He’s going to be in the MVP consideration this year.” — Tim ([35:01])

c. Oklahoma City’s Regression

• After looking invincible, OKC has faded since losing three times to the Spurs in 10 days. Mental fatigue, championship hangover, and missing key players have cooled their hot start.
  • Tim thinks their best basketball is still ahead as the playoffs near.

d. Boston Celtics’ Surprising Surge

• Despite losing their best player (Jason Tatum), Boston have rallied, Jalen Brown is having a career season, and Joe Mazzulla finally gets credit as an elite coach.

"Jalen Brown has taken his game to a level offensively... most guys don’t find another gear this deep into their career." — Tim ([39:46])

e. James Harden’s Role with Cleveland

• Tony bemoans Harden’s “run-out” history, but Tim defends the trade; Harden’s passing will elevate teammates, but doubts remain about playoff reliability.

f. Tanking, Load Management, and Injuries—The NBA’s Chronic Problems

• Tony and Tim debate which is the biggest problem for fans: tanking or load management? Tim says extended injury absences are now worse for fans than routine rest or tanking.
• Adam Silver is finally making noise about penalties for tanking, but Tim is skeptical it will fix deep-rooted problems of availability for stars.

“The NBA is affected more than any sport when those guys aren’t available. It’s just a different product when you tune in and you don’t see those guys.” — Tim ([44:08])

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Memorable Quotes and Moments

• Weather Panic:

  • “Anything that says bombo at the top is bad. Bombo Genesis.” — Tony ([01:38])

• Olympic Commentary Absurdity:

  • “It is a vocabulary with which I am completely unfamiliar. Familar, yeah.” — Tony ([03:48])

• ENT Appointments:

  • "You cannot get an appointment in the United States of America for an ear, nose and throat doctor ever." — Tony ([07:54])

• Vintage Technology Frustrations:

  • “People find hard to believe. You do not have a personal computer.” — Michael ([11:53])
  • “I’m gonna have to buy one.” — Tony ([11:58])

• Olympic Hockey Pressure:

  • “There’s more pressure on Canada because it means more to Canadians. They live it; they breathe it.” — Barry ([21:44])

• Shiffrin’s Dominance:

  • “When Mikaela Shiffrin skis like herself, she wins slalom races by margins that, you know, would be Secretariat to Belmont.” — Barry ([26:21])

• On NBA Injuries and Fan Experience:

  • "The NBA is affected more than any sport when those guys aren’t available." — Tim Legler ([44:08])

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Notable Timestamps

• 01:14 – 02:29: Discussion of “Bombo Genesis” and DC weather hysteria
• 16:10 – 31:09: Barry Svrluga live from the Olympics in Milan
• 23:01: Barry’s memory of the 2010 Canada-USA hockey gold game
• 32:47 – 46:13: Tim Legler on the NBA’s stretch run, the Knicks, Pistons, Thunder, Celtics, and league challenges
• 26:09 – 27:59: In-depth praise for Mikaela Shiffrin’s legacy and historic margin of victory

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Listener Emails and Community Humor (47:00 – end)

• The back half of the show, as usual, features listener emails riffing on medical advice, childhood sports memories, Doug Moe anecdotes, regional ice cream flavors, parenting stories, and the joys (and woes) of obtaining a heated towel rack in Paris—classic “Little” community color.

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Closing Notes

Throughout the episode, Tony maintains his self-deprecating, curmudgeonly charm, displaying a unique knack for connecting elite sports with ordinary life’s complications—broken hearing, lost checks, snow panic, and the inexorable march toward digital living. The discussions with Barry and Tim deliver both serious insight and plenty of wry humor for listeners craving both substance and a sense of “show family.”

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For further engagement:
Original music (“My Puck” and “Ancient Aliens” by Gus Kristofferson) played throughout, with instructions for indie artists to submit music to [e-mail].

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Summary by The Tony Kornheiser Show Podcast Summarizer

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Barry Zvaluga over in Italy. As the Olympics wind down, we'll chat with Tim Legler about what to expect around the NBA as they begin the sprint to the end of the regular season. But first, how about a little commerce? 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. Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[B]

Both have fan bases that'll travel and there are tons. Michigan's got the largest living alumni base in the country, and then Duke has

[A]

a lot of people on the East

[C]

coast and D.C. is not a lot of people in D.C. so both will

[B]

have fan bases there.

[A]

And it'll.

[B]

It'll get a lot of attention and

[C]

be a really good thing.

[A]

My son says the tickets are going for hundreds of dollars. Maybe more, maybe thousands.

[B]

Well, maybe I'll sell mine.

[D]

If that's true,

[A]

The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. That was Jay Bilis. He will be here tomorrow night. Here in Washington D.C. the coroner skips. The rain is gonna stop. Look, you don't wanna know what's after the rain. You don't wanna know that. I'm reading the Capitol Weather Gang last night and I see a word I've never seen before. Bombo Genesis.

[E]

Bombo Genesis.

[A]

Bombo Genesis.

[D]

It's a new dance.

[A]

Bombo Genesis is some, you know, thing that happens in weather that's bad. Anything that says bombo at the top is bad. Bombo Genesis. There are some people, not just Kevin Sheehan, predicting 3 of snow.

[D]

Every time I turn on WTOP, they say, Please don't listen to your weather apps.

[A]

No, there's. Apparently it's a 30% chance of 3ft of snow and a 30% chance of an inch or two of snow.

[C]

3ft of snow.

[E]

That's a big gap.

[A]

Yes, because if the bombo genesis forms in exactly the right latitude and longitude that it explodes over Washington D.C. and then goes up the coast and destroys everything. Destroys Philadelphia and New York and probably.

[D]

Well, luckily the rain took out all the snow Crete, so we have space for it.

[A]

Yes, and if it's real snow, snow will melt yeah. You know, it's the concrete that won't melt. Do you have this? Are you gonna play this thing? Yes. Can I explain this? Yes. Do you want me to read the emails first or play the thing? I'll just play the thing. Play the thing. Everyone needs to listen. Well, they don't need to listen to this, but everyone who's listening should continue to listen. He's doing a triple cork 1980. So not only is he spinning a ton, but he's also adding that slight carve and the butter he's almost beat together. And it's just adding an extra bit of flavor to the spin itself. And the judges love additional moments of interesting things added.

[C]

So to translate that for my good

[B]

friend Tony Kornheiser, that is a five

[A]

and a half rotation spin off axis with the cork.

[B]

Yup.

[A]

Simple as that. Did that actually happen on the air? Like that happened?

[D]

Found an alternate feed.

[A]

Did that happen on the USA network? Did that actually happen?

[E]

I'm unclear. I think one of the emails.

[A]

We have two emails.

[D]

It's good that your Comcast was stuck on USA for days.

[A]

That's unbelievable.

[E]

I believe that was legitimately over the air.

[A]

Okay. Because as you know, I have been saying, what are these people talking about,

[E]

these made up names?

[A]

It is a vocabulary with which I am completely unfamiliar. Familiar. Yeah. And so I just sort of listen and watch and wonder what's going on. This is from Jason JC Mermack in Hanford, California, but originally from Yorba Linda, California, second time, long time. I previously emailed you when sand entered the hall and now I'm here with snow. I was watching the free ski big air final tonight and one of the skiers performed a nose butter launch into a triple corkscrew.

[D]

Describing a shard.

[A]

I'm not sure if it was Todd Walsh or Tom Wallace, but one of the commentators mentioned he was translating it for his good friend Tony Kornheiser as a 5 and a half rotation spin off axis. Are they actually friends or perhaps listeners to the pod? You've pointed out the absurdity of the trick names and the even greater insanity these guys display by careening down a steep hill and then flinging themselves high into the air. It is truly both scary and amazing to watch. Thank you for your Olympic commentary on both the pod and pti. It has reinvigorated my interest, which in turn has helped get my children interested in want wanting to go to the 2028 Summer Games in person. And from Danny McCullough. He writes, Longtime listener here from Los Angeles, California, while Watching the men's free ski big air final the other night, which the USA skier Mack Forehand took Silver in, and wondering, just like you did the other day with Wilbon, how you can tell any of these twisting, somersaulting tricks apart from each other. I was delighted when one of the commentators who referred to you as my good friend Tony Kornheiser laid it all out in layman's terms in the attached audio he sent the audience. I hope this helps you, as I'm still a bit in the dark about what I saw. This is amazing to me.

[D]

So we had a lecheeserie at the Summer Olympics.

[E]

Right now we've got my good friend Tony Quidditch.

[A]

I don't know these fellows.

[D]

Not yet.

[A]

Right. And I didn't know that I had said it on pti. I knew I had said it here. But it is, as I said before, a vocabulary which I'm unfamiliar. And if you're just commenting on it and you know this sport, it's nothing to you to say, you know, a double corkscrew 1460. That's what it is to you. But to the rest of the world is unfamiliar with a very, very niche sport, it would be nice. And when the guy says an extra pat of butter on it, I think that's pretty good. I think that's pretty good. But if they said that on the Olympic air, I'm stunned.

[D]

And these skating events give you the space to throw in the technical vocabulary.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I was thinking about this when you were watching Best in show the other night.

[A]

Just such a great movie. Such a great movie that, yeah, this is what you would hear on Best In Show. So, you know, I'm grateful to whoever said it. Hopefully, that means they watch either they either listen to the podcast or they watch PTR or both.

[E]

Hopefully. Right after he said that, he asked his broadcast mate how much you think I could bench press his Polk fan.

[A]

And to think, all right, I have been given new. Here's my problem with this. I have been given by my doctor. I've been given new things to take to get hearing back in my right ear. And I think I'm getting some of it back. But I think, Michael, you would say you're not really getting something.

[D]

You're just adjusting to the levels.

[A]

You're deluding yourself into believing that you're getting anything again.

[D]

I love whenever you go do the hearing test and you have to look left and right and you just look straight ahead.

[A]

Yeah. Because I don't know what's going on because I hear nothing because I have the ears of someone my age. In other words, I'm deaf.

[E]

Well, and you've also spent many decades with headphones.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, so I was given a spray and I was given a pill. The pill I take every night.

[D]

You know, decongestant.

[A]

I don't know what it is. It has a long name. I don't know what it is. And the nasal spray I take twice a day. And. And this is my question. It's my ear. Why am I spraying stuff into my nose? Why your sinuses? If I went, okay, but if I went to a. An ear, nose and throat doctor, wouldn't that guy go into my ear and not my nose? If I could get an appointment. You cannot get an appointment in the United States of America for an ear, nose and throat doctor ever. No, you can't. You will. You will be dead, murdered by whatever it is that is eating at your ears or nose or throat before you can actually get an appointment. These guys must make the most money in the world where they don't have to see anybody or they take appointments six months in advance.

[D]

And every couple of years. Every couple of years, the advice changes as to what nasal spray. They're being pushed by their own partners here. Now, as someone who listened to balloon surgery promos on the local radio and went and got it, I feel like an expert here. No, this is. They're trying to clear out your passages. I asked initially when you described yours if you were suffering from any clenching, just because I also know that if you clench at night, that can affect your ears as well.

[A]

I don't think so, but I just

[D]

figured with the stress around travel.

[A]

Well, maybe, but I would like to again, I would like to see an ear, nose and throat guy. But you can't.

[E]

We could squeeze you in in 2032.

[A]

Yeah, that. You can't. This would take 10 minutes. It's not going to take any more than 10 minutes. Even when we chat, it's not going to take any more than 10 minutes. So, I mean, let's do it. I can't do it. Okay. So now, yesterday I got back, for those of you who are old enough to do your own checking, to balance your checking account yourself, as I do, as I have done for 60 years, balanced my own checking account. You know that at some period of time in the month, your bank, the bank that has the nominal. You know, what is the word I'm looking for? They own your checking account, Right? They are. You have to.

[D]

They just hold your account. Yeah, they hold your account, manage your account.

[A]

They will send you a list of all the checks that have been cashed in a about a month long period. I said this the other day. It's the decline of America that the United States Postal Service, which is the most reliable government agency in the world and which provided millions of people entre into the middle class of the United States of America. It's not working anymore. Certainly not working for me. And I don't understand this. People go into mailboxes on the street and steal the letters, open them up, take the checks out or the cash out and then rewrite the checks or something like that. So I would know, if that had happened to me, if my checks were stolen, I would know because they'd have been cashed by someone else. I'd have. It would come out of my account, whoever cashed them and whatever name they wrote on there, it would come out of my account. So these. Nigel, these have not. Just one, these have not. I'm missing. Last month I missed out of about 30 checks that I wrote. They're not accounted for.

[D]

11, 11.

[A]

Three on the same day mailed. The checks were written on January.

[D]

Suspicious.

[A]

Three on the same day mailed. And there's only three post offices that I use and I don't drop them in letterboxes anymore. I go inside the post office three on the same day. One to Comcast, one to DC Water, and the third one to the Washington Post. All three.

[D]

Do you remember where you were that day? If you were. I do know which post office.

[A]

I do.

[D]

Because that seems like a sorting issue.

[A]

Yeah, I do know. That's, that's exactly what I think, that these three on January 10, they are lost forever in the, you know, which

[D]

actually is probably the best case scenario because you track, you find it early, you talk to the companies and hopefully they give you that forgiveness. But that's much better than fraud.

[A]

Yeah, so I haven't, I haven't been the victim of fraud, but I've been the victim of what seems to me mistakes or neglect at this point. And I feel bad about that. And I'm not the only one. Carol went to the post office the other day to ask about, inquire about when the pickups were and the deliveries were. And the woman at the post office said to her, do it online. You have to be crazy not to do it online. So I'm facing this. It's not an existential problem, it's an actual problem. I'm facing this problem of I will go into my bank And I'll say, tell me how I do this. I don't even have a computer. I have a phone, but I don't.

[D]

This is what people find hard to believe. You do not have a personal computer.

[A]

I'm gonna. I gotta buy one.

[D]

You had a laptop from the Post 35 years ago.

[A]

Yeah. I don't know where it is.

[D]

But you've not had a personal computer since?

[A]

No. No. So I'm gonna have to buy one and I'm gonna have to do all this stuff on there, because if I understand this correctly, I will be able to pay my bills out of my checking account as if this was a check. In other words, the mathematics would still be the same. Yes. It would be quicker. I don't understand how it'd be safer, but maybe it would be safer. But this is three on the same day. Three on the same day. They're lost. They were put. Not just my checks. A big bag of checks was put somewhere, and it has disappeared.

[E]

11 for 33.

[A]

That's a lot. So I'm batting on the hall of Fame numbers.

[D]

Have you heard about this trend called admin nights where people get together to do all the sort of basic life stuff that you sort of have to do? Like, you know, for you, it'd be managing your checkbook. But we can just schedule a time where, you know, particularly when baseball season is around, you sit there going, on this third Thursday of every month. We sit down, we come over and help you, and we do your, you know, your online checks and, you know, make sure that you're not doing auto pay just to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. But, you know, once you have all these passcodes saved, it's. It'll be much faster for you.

[A]

I always forget my passcodes. Yeah. Every time I sign into something, they say, did you forget your password? And I go, never do it.

[D]

That's a Michael question.

[A]

I do. I've forgotten it. Of course I've forgotten it, because I haven't done this in a year.

[E]

Should the password be Ask Michael?

[A]

Yeah. No, I don't know. You know, careful with that.

[D]

Dangerously close.

[A]

I don't know. By the way, Riviera.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

The people were bundled up yesterday.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Must be cold in Southern California.

[D]

Have you seen Akshay with his hand warmer? The last.

[A]

It's the same one I've got. Yeah. The same one actually charges John Elway uses in football games. Yeah, same one. Yeah. So. But they look pretty bundled.

[D]

Yeah, they do. And I think the weather will change. This is interesting. Because you're looking at a, a very famous golf course within the architecture world. But you're also looking at a preview as to what will come around for, for the Summer Olympics because they made some changes to the fourth tee box as well as 18.

[E]

Yeah, Rory got off to a good start, didn't he?

[A]

Yeah, he's in second place.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

Jacob Bridgman is in first place. And this is an important thing to note. Riviera is not abutted by the Pacific Ocean. It's close, so yeah, but it's not abutted by the Pacific Ocean. And so he can't fall off the side of the course and end up in the water and the sand. Cuz there is no water and sand at Riviera. So whatever causes him on Sunday to make us all wait two hours, he'll

[D]

stir long hours from the 16th tee,

[A]

two to three hours. It's not going to be that. It's going to be something else. We will take a break. Who is Barry first? That's right, Barry S. Verluga, all the way from Italy.

[E]

That's right.

[A]

When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This episode of the Tony Kornheiser show is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries and fresh pastas. Unlike a lot of store bought options, Wild Grain uses simple ingredients you can actually pronounce in a slow fermentation process that can be easier on your belly and richer in nutrients and antioxidants. You can choose the variety box gluten free, vegan or even their new protein box. It's made weeknight meals simpler, weekend mornings cozier and honestly just adds a little calm to my routine during the winter months. There's nothing like having an artisan bakery in your freezer to chase away the winter chill. Now is the best time to stay and enjoy comforting homemade meals with Wild Grain. I highly recommend giving Wild Grain a try. Right now, Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box plus free croissants for life. Free croissants for life. Rob Stronach availed himself of that. He's thrilled when you go to wildgrain.com Tony Kay to start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free croissants for life when you visit wildgrain.com Tony Kay or you can use the promo code Tony Kay at checkout. Look, I Like this stuff. It's really good. Try it. It's really good.

[E]

You like eating it and you like making it, right?

[A]

I do, yeah. No, it's really good. This is the Tony Kornizer Show.

[F]

Hey.

[A]

This is a song called My Puck, P U C K. By someone named Gus Kristofferson. Not Kris Kristofferson, Gus Gustofferson, who writes. I hope you're all well. I wanted to send you a quick and genuine thank you for playing to my songs on the show last year. I'm a very new, very indie musician, and you playing my songs gave me a real bump in listeners and morale. It meant a lot. He's got a new single that came out earlier this month or earlier this week called Ancient Aliens, a bluesy tune with some harmonic in it. I've also attached another song called My Puck, which is about growing up on the Canadian prairies, where hockey isn't just something you watch, it's something that quietly shapes who you are. So he's rooting for Canada against. If they get to the United. He's rooting for him to win the gold medal, but I'm sure it'd be sweeter if they get to the gold medal game against the United States. Oh, sure. We'll know that by the end of the day. And he plays in Barry Zarluga, who's out there out in Cortina in the Alpine area of the Winter Olympics. As we heard from Pat40, you just can't go back and forth every night. It's a real long trip. Before we get to the Olympics, I need to ask you this. You're a proud graduate of Duke University. Duke's playing Michigan right here in Washington tomorrow night. Do you have any desire to go? Would you just bag the Olympics and come back and watch that game?

[C]

I mean, I have an extremely long and detailed text exchange with college friends, several of whom have paid hundreds of dollars to attend that game.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So there's a little bit of a poll, and it's a. You know, two national title contenders playing a couple of Metro stops from my house. Like, that's. That's appealing, right? It's not as appealing as finishing the Olympics in Milan and having some lovely Bolognese at the end of the day. But, yeah, there's a. There's a poll there, for sure.

[A]

That's what I would think. Can you watch it? Is it going to be available to you to watch?

[C]

Not among the things I have investigated here. So I got to Milan yesterday, down from the mountains, actually, so that I Could go to the women's gold medal game. Yeah, yeah. And then do the. Do the men's semifinals. And you know what? I hope everybody's hoping for a U.S. canada final on Sunday. So among my tasks has not been checking the cable guide at my hotel in Milan to see where the CDF broadcast of Duke Michigan is going to be.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, you could call Jay Billis and just try and get him to speak into two different microphones, one directly into your ear and one, you know, to the rest of the world.

[C]

Do it.

[A]

Yeah, he would do that. He's a Duke guy, too. Are you ready for the Olympics to end?

[C]

Yeah, Tony, you know how these go. I mean, they are exhilarating and exhausting all at once. I really was happy to be in Cortina through the Alpine, certainly with how it worked out for Michaela Shifra.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

But sure, you know, you feel some ownership of some stories. And if I'm being honest, the reason I came to these Olympics are, you know, some percentage Lindsey Vaughn and some percentage Michaela Shiffrin just having some history with them going back decades. And obviously the arc of Shifrin story was pretty fascinating the way that she. She finished it off. So I was happy for that. And then, you know, also happy to come to Milan, which, as you mentioned, I was with 40 in the, in the mountains. He was. We were dinner partners on more than one occasion because, you know, not everybody was up in our little, little village. But it's kind of nice once you get here to get a change of pace. I walked around the city this morning. I have no feel for Milan. I've never been here. And you quickly get a sense of how cosmopolitan it is and how big it is. So big that, you know, there are, you know, lots of streets where you would have no idea that the Olympics were going on here at all because it's just, you know, a city going about its daily life. But the hockey stuff was great last night, obviously, and should be great over the next. Over Friday night and Sunday afternoon, too.

[A]

Sadly for me, the hockey is going to cause us to put the PTI show on live today because the United States game starts at 3:15. And when it's over, like the last time when they went into ot, we had to do the show live and the game was not decided. I don't know. I was surprised to see, I guess, that Slovakia was seated in the top four. That the seatings worked out. Are they that good? Are they a real threat to the United States?

[C]

So we're going to put that in the category of things that I will determine as the game goes on. But, you know, I think the whole thing has been set up for it to be the U.S. in Canada for the tournament. But I would also say that after a group stage play that was, you know, largely blowouts and not riveting stuff, you got to the quarterfinals, and three of the four games went over time.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And we all know that anybody who even is a casual sports fan and turns on playoff hockey when it's overtime, when it's overtime and elimination is in play, there's no tension like that in sports. I would argue, take that same philosophy, apply it to the Olympics, put nations and loyalties to country over, you know, regional biases. And I think it's that to the nth degree. It was certainly the case last night in the women's game, where it's almost preordained that the US And Canada will play. There will be real tension. I'm going to go to the Canada game in the afternoon just because, Tony. I think that in a weird way, and maybe not even in a weird way, maybe in a very normal way, there's more pressure on Canada because it means more to Canadians. They live it, they breathe it. It's their sport. All the stories of, oh, I could skate before I could walk. Like, you know, I had a pond in my backyard. It was frozen from, you know, September until May, and we skated, and that was a way of life. I feel like the burden is on the Canadiens not just to get to the final, but to. To win gold. And I think I mentioned this before on this show, maybe earlier in the Olympics, like, I was there in 2010 in Vancouver when it was the US and Canada for gold, and it went to overtime, and Sidney Crosby scored the game winner for gold on home soil. And there's top five things I've ever seen. I mean, just an amazing, amazing thing. It could be replicated on Sunday.

[A]

I would just say this, and I'm not the world's greatest hockey fan, but when they go to three on three, that's fabulous. That is just fabulous. I loved watching it. I loved it, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it kind of lessens the chance that you're going to be playing until

[B]

one in the morning.

[A]

That's right. That's right.

[B]

Open.

[C]

And, you know, last night, they go to three on three. Each team had a really good chance before Megyn Keller got the breakaway with an amazing move and put it away. But that, you know, it was four minutes and change into overtime. People could say, purists could say that that's a contrived way to finish it. I'm with you. It's exciting. And it, and it, you know, it assures that we're not playing hockey for three and a half hours.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Let me go back to Michaela Shifrin, and I know that, that you have known her for a long time and I've written about her many, many times. The fact that she won, and she won by a huge margin, and I'm assuming you're a skier. I am not. But I'm assuming that huge margin ends all doubt about who's the goat in this deal and who's not. Do the psychoanalytics now go away, or is that just who she is? And for as long as she skis, she's gonna, you know, put herself on the couch afterwards? And that's just who she is. In the same way that John McEnroe, when John McEnroe lost tennis matches, you sat there for an hour and he went over his whole life. He went over his whole life, you know, And I just wonder, is that all gone? I would assume, Barry, that even with the other gold she has won, this has to be the most precious. Yes.

[C]

Because of what preceded it, for sure. And I think the answer to whether the psychoanalysis is gone is no. Because she's who she is. She's going to answer a question in a thoughtful and interesting way, and she's never going to blow off a question as stupid or offensive.

[B]

She's.

[C]

She's going to consider it. And that leads to some pretty in depth analysis by her own choosing. Like it is her choice to explain that stuff to, you know, me, if I'm the reporter or another reporter, because she's not this box that only I can unlock. She's very open with a lot of people. But I would say the tenor of it changes, Tony, that the next four years are no longer going to be about the failures of Beijing and what would have been the failure of Cortina. Now she's very, very cognizant and conscious about pointing out, look, what we do has a lot of variables involved, variables that can change over the course of an hour. When one skier skis and another skier skis, the conditions change, etcetera, etc, etcetera. The problem is that she has been so dominant in winning seven of the eight slaloms that were on the World cup this year, coming into the Olympics, the only one she didn't win, she came in second. Like, she has taken the variables out of place so frequently that it makes it seem like they don't exist. And therefore the only acceptable outcome is a victory. Where it's probably a little more complicated than that. But what she did Wednesday in that slalom, and this is what I wrote, was not something out of the ordinary for her. She did not have to summon some greater than superpower to win gold. She had to allow herself to ski like Michaela Shifrin. And when Michaela Shifrin skis like herself, she wins slalom races by margins that, you know, would be Secretariat to Belmont. I mean, it just. That's. That's what it is. It is a trouncing. I didn't have this stat when I went to write, and I've woken up in the middle of the night twice since then being like, I can't believe I didn't have this stat. She won the two runs by 1.5 seconds. If you go back to the previous seven slalom Olympic races, which I think dates back to 1998 in Nagano, the combined margin of victory of those seven is 1.51 seconds. So this is a sport that is measured by blinks of an eye, and she turns it into a sport that should be measured by a sundial, because she just kills people. And she killed it on the Olympic stage in the last race of these games, and that rights a lot of wrongs. And now, whatever happens, four years from now when she will be 34 and a lot closer to the end of her career than the beginning, she has three Olympic golds and one Olympic silver. It's an unassailable legacy.

[A]

Yeah, and she was fortunate, of course, because there are events, multiple events that she participates in, as opposed to Lindsey Vonn, who crashes on the first turn and she's out, and the quad God, who falls twice and doesn't have another shot. And even Chloe Kim, who gets silver, and that's her last event. So I wanted to just ask briefly on. On Jordan Stoltz, and I'm probably being a fool on this because it's the way speed skating is, and I'm not knocking speed skating, but I said yesterday on the show, in the Summer Olympics, eight guys are stretched out across the track, and Usain Bolt knows who he has to beat, and he sees these guys. And Stoltz is out there yesterday trying to beat a time, and the guy who's out there with him, he's not trying to beat that guy that, you know, it's seemed a little less satisfying, a little less fair to me. Or am I just being old.

[C]

Well, no, I don't think you're being old. I think if you're. If you're Jordan Stoltz, you know what you signed up for and you know how you have to measure yourself not against a man, but against the clock. But I agree with you. Having watched, I think what's satisfying about the Olympics, sports in general, in general, but the Olympics specifically is we're talking about human performance and human performance maxing out. Like we can debate, should the quad God have tried to go for all those big jumps? And was that part of his undoing, that he went for too much? He was trying to maximize human performance. I think you're talking about Usain Bolt racing against seven other people. I have seen Michael Phelps or other swimmers see someone in the lane next to them and know exactly what they have to be, not with their head in the water wondering about a clock. And can that impact human performance? Can you draw something out of yourself because you know the person next to you or three lanes over is pushing you? I think the answer, as we've all studied athletes, would have to be yes to some degree. Is it quantifiable? Is it something that we're kind of fixtualizing?

[A]

Maybe, maybe.

[C]

But I also think it's probably real. So put that on Stoltz. Like, he knows what his sport is. He knows the format. There's nothing unfair about it. But when you're talking about take the time away, take whatever the world records are away, make it. Don't even put a clock on it and put a human versus a human. You can't tell me that there's not like a competitive element there that is drawn out because you're. You're competing against somebody else.

[A]

Totally agree. Totally agree on that. Thank you for all of this. I'm not going to bother you with ski mo or whatever they call this dopey thing where you walk up the mountain and then ski down the mountain, Ski mountain and ear there's a lift.

[C]

Do they know there's a lift?

[A]

That's what I said yesterday on pti. I said, this is not appealing to me. I don't want to climb up the mountain. That's why I would buy a chairlift ticket and I would go up there. All right. Enjoy the rest of it. We will talk when you get home. Thanks, Barry.

[C]

Appreciate it, Tony.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Barry Zvaluga, Wonderful, wonderful writer. We will take a break. Tim Legler will join us when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser. My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink. Then straight to the gym. Pre K pickup back home to meal prep. Time for my fire station shift. One more Celsius. Gotta keep the lights on when the three alarm hits. I'm ready. Celsius live fit. Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate [e-mail]

[D]

your little one grew 3 inches overnight. Adorable. Also expensive. Sell their pint sized pieces on Depop and list them in minutes with no selling fees because somewhere a dad refuses to pay full price for the clothes his kids will outgrow tomorrow and he's ready to buy your son's entire wardrobe right now. Consider your future growth Bird budget secured. Start selling on Depop where taste recognizes taste. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details.

[A]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show once again. This is Gus Kristofferson. This is called Ancient Aliens and he writes the end of his note. Last year's four nations NHL tournament was any indication. This Olympic gold medal race is going to be absolutely electric. Yeah, yeah, he wants Canada to win. You know, I, I would like to, I'd like to see Canada in the United States. Oh sure, Canada's usually better. Michael, if people like Gus Gustofferson want to send in their original music and get it played on this show, how do they do it?

[D]

Send us your music by emailing it to [e-mail] and it plays in Tim

[A]

Legler, who's back on the beat with basketball after a few days off, the NBA has resumed. What have we got, about 25 or 30 games left now? Are we in the sprint area at this point?

[B]

Yeah, totally in the sprint area. You know, and unfortunately we still have a number of guys that are dealing with injuries. You know, you would hope that as you get ready for this stretch of the season, Tony, when every game just is more magnified, the intensity picks up. There's more at stake every night when you're talking about seeding and standings and play in tournament and all that. And there are still a number of guys that are, that are out that are going to dramatically affect how this late stage of the season goes. But yeah, this is it now. You come out of the break and it's just, you can feel it immediately, the difference in the air, in the building and with the teams and the intensity as they get ready for the stretch run to the playoffs.

[A]

So Wilbon yesterday, you know, got on his high horse and said that the Knicks had better beat the Pistons in Massachusetts Garden. They had better do it. And with. With great joy, I noticed that they did not. And now, and I want. I'm going to say to Will Bonte, well, what happens now? Well, nothing happens now because there's 25 more games. But what. Is there any. Was there any special meaning in your mind in that game last night?

[B]

Yeah, there was. I thought I felt the same way. Look, I wasn't going to say, hey, they have to win the game necessarily, but they had to at least get to the point where they went toe to toe with this team who has physically, absolutely manhandled them, you know, this year. So now that's three games, three losses, by a total of 84 points.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

And.

[B]

And this one, this one felt like okay. You know, they basically got knocked out in the first two. They lost by 31 and by 38. So now you're saying, okay, they're at home. You've got everybody out there now. You've got to go ahead and stand up and maybe you lose the game, but you've got to be in the game with a few minutes to go where there's meaningful possessions. And the Detroit Pistons did it to them again.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, they do what they want offensively, but more importantly, they're significantly better defensively than the Knicks. And I think that's what shows up in Kate Cunningham. Look, if you're not. If you're not really watching the NBA every night, if one of these people that kind of casually watches other teams other than your own team, you might want to start watching Cade Cunningham because this guy is a legitimate superstar. He's going to be in the MVP consideration this year.

[A]

Will Bond's got him as MVP right now. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. He's going to get votes. Will he win it? I don't know. When you still have Shay Gilgis Alexander out there, that, that could be difficulty. Jokic missing a month could, could. Could really hurt him. So Cunningham is going to get maybe more votes than we thought. I think he'll be first team all league. I don't know if he'll be mvp, but this guy is a specimen. He is big, physical, but he's also got a burst of quickness to him. And he's most importantly, Tony, for me, the thing I love about Cade Cunningham, he's all business. His demeanor never changes. He's so stoic with his expression other than every now and then, you occasionally see more intensity out of him, but he's not out there to entertain. He's out there to dominate you. And he did it again last night to the Knicks.

[A]

That team is built, the Detroit team is built along the same formula as the Oklahoma City team was built. They lost for a long time. They had draft picks, they made intelligent signings or whatever they've done. Oklahoma City won a title last year and then started out this year as if they were never going to lose a game. And they have receded. Why do you think they have receded so noticeably? Not that they're not a championship team, but, you know, they were killing it and now they're not.

[B]

Yeah, I think what happened was to the Thunder, listen, they came off of a year where she won a championship with this young team. No one expected them to get out of the gate quickly. In fact, you would have been understanding, I think all of us, if they start the season nine and seven because the off season was so different for them and they're so young and they gave their best three players about a billion dollars in guaranteed money. So, you know, everything feels different coming into the year. But that's not what happened. Instead, they come out of the gate 24:1 and there was this inevitability about them and about the season and how this was going to end up and they were going to be a back to back champion. And then they ran into the San Antonio spurs and the spurs beat him three times in 10 days. And I think it sent a notice almost to everybody that, hey, you know what, maybe they can be had. Maybe there is a vulnerability there. I personally think they at some point, the exhaustion of winning the championship, having an extended summer, it was different for everybody. And then getting out of the gate like that, we start talking about are they going to win 75 games, are they going to break the record of the Gold State Warriors? And I think the whole thing took a mental toll on them. And then when they hit that wall, it wasn't just the spurs, some other teams got them and you started to see like, hey, maybe there is something there. All in all, I think you're going to see Oklahoma City's best basketball happen. Now they've dealt with injuries like every other team. That's part of it, Tony. They've had guys out all year that are really important for them defensively. But I just think there was a certain point in the season where it was almost a mental fatigue finally kicked in with this group. It didn't happen at the start of the year, which you would have expected. Instead, it kind of hit him in the middle of the year. And I think their best basketball is coming.

[A]

Yeah. The most surprising team to me, and probably to you is Boston. You look at a team that loses their best player and they, they're buoyant, they stay up near the top. Excuse me for frog in my throat. And there is a notion now that Jason Tatum might indeed return this year in the playoffs. What do you make of Boston?

[B]

Yeah, has there ever been a bigger X factor that could be injected into a playoff race? Jason Tatum, I mean, you know, you're talking about a guy himself who's, you know, know, perennially a first team all league NBA player. So Boston for me is interesting story because no one expected this level of success. And I think it's ironic that it took these circumstances for Joe Missoula to finally get the credit he deserves as one of the smartest, brightest, toughest coaches in the league. Because this guy already won a championship. And I still feel like he was never given enough credit. It almost took this for people to understand like how good this guy is, how smart he is. And Boston has been the biggest overachiever in the league. Maybe I'd put team like Phoenix in that category too. Has been a great story. But the Boston Celtics legitimately look like a team that you are not going to want to play even without Tatum. I don't know that anybody is going to want to play the Celtics in the seven game series because of how smart they are and how they still can absolutely shoot you out of the building. A lot of nights from the three point line and Jalen Brown has taken his game to a level offensively that, that I think has been really impressive because most guys don't find another gear this deep into their career. Even if circumstances dictate you have to do it because Tatum's out. That doesn't mean you can do it right. Jalen Brown doing it the way that he has an average, basically around 30 points a game and being that star, go to guy that drives the engine with a starting lineup that you look at most nights ago. How is this team winning? They are able to do it because they're very connected. Brown's been incredible. And then Joe Missoul is one of the best coaches in the league.

[A]

I watched a clip today of Cleveland winning and James Harden who he bothers me because he runs out on teams. Jimmy Butler bothers me, he runs out on teams. Kevin Durant bothers me the most. I'm glad Phoenix is doing well because he runs out on teams. But James Harden is still a great player and they look Good, don't they? I mean, that's an important acquisition.

[B]

Yeah. And here's why. And some people had a problem with the acquisition. I said the day the trade was made, it was absolutely worth the risk. You know, they had, they had good chemistry and Darius Garland is a very good player. But you're talking about now bringing in somebody and look, he's got to answer the bell in the playoffs because that's hard to issue.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

He's not. And it's, it's been and it's, it's a long history of it. You know, where he has key moments in series, they're like pivotal games and series and he has struggled. And when you have a player that dominates the ball to the extent he does and on those nights he doesn't have it, when you, when you have to have this win, I don't know how you overcome it, because there's no other way for teams to play that he's on. They only have one way to play. If James Harden's on the team, you give him the ball, you run high ball screen, you run ISO. He's so physically dominant. Some nights there's no answer for him because his passing ability is so good too. But on the nights he doesn't have it, he's not aggressive, he's not making shots. Well, what do you do now if that's how you run your offense? So there's no doubt he's still a physically dominant player. Here's, here's why I said it was worth the risk, Tony. He will make their bigs and their shooters better to a greater extent than Darius Garland could because of his ability to find people after he's collapsed your defense, he's so good at rewarding bigs with pocket passes and lobs and then, you know, the kick out three pass that he can make, it's a different level than a guy like Darius Garland. So the supporting cast around him is going to improve because James Harden's ability to find them. Now will he, will he be there? You know, when it's 2:2 and it's game five and you have to have a big performance, he hasn't been moment.

[A]

He hasn't.

[B]

He has struggled in that situation in the past and that's why I'm still skeptical that he will do that. But there's no doubt the physical talents and what he could do to a defense, it's a, it's just a different floor than Darius Garland can get to.

[A]

Yeah, I'll get you out of here. On this, the Phoenix owner yesterday said everything that I have been saying about tanking, how bad tanking is. Wilbon insists that load management is worse than tanking. I don't think so. I think you are defrauding your ticket holders when you tank and it appears that maybe the league is taking this seriously. What are As a former player, who knows how much a team can be improved by tanking and getting a higher draft pick? What are your thoughts on tanking?

[B]

I actually, and actually, look, there are three issues with the league. Tanking is one of them. I think load management is one and I think player availability from injuries. Those are the three things that are really bothersome for the league just from a span standpoint, from a network standpoint, from just an interest input, competition standpoint. I think load management of the three is probably the least of my concerns. Good, because you're not really talking about that many nights that that's going to affect the product now. It's something different than guys in my generation ever did or understand. But it is what it is. It's part of the modern NBA star players get off some nights and that's the least of my concerns. For me, actually, I think the biggest concern of all is the players, how long players take to come back from injuries. I think that's, that's probably the biggest concern because I think teams now, they exercise so much on the side of caution because of the financial commitment to these players. And now they have performance staffs and they have all of these metrics that go into it. And, and they're so concerned about preservation, preservation of players and keeping them fresh, trying to make them available at the end of the season when they need them. As a result, like similar injuries to what guys may have had, you know, 15 years ago, they just take longer to come back from. And that means more nights where you don't have your best players. And our, our product, the NBA is affected more than any sport when those guys aren't available. It's just a different, it's a different product. When you tune in, you don't see those guys. It's just different. It feels different. From a viewership standpoint fan and just general interest. The tanking situation, although yes, it's bad when you have teams that are not trying to win, you know, in a professional competitive environment is a problem. But it's still limited to a certain number of teams, a certain number of nights, and at least fans can look at a schedule and say, I don't really want to see that team play Anyway, so I'm not going to buy a ticket to that game because you know what kind of where they're at. You know, teams got 12 wins, you know, in January. You're not going to buy a ticket to that game in March when they're coming into town. At least you have a buyer beware situation there. The injuries and the load managers are harder to predict as a fan and that's what I think about the fans that are spending money to go to the games are investing their time to watch the games. That's. That's the part to me that's, that's harder, the tanking look. Adam Silver is coming down. He wants to want to throw a hammer down on these teams and he's done it already with some of these fines he's already talked about. They're going to look at this hard in the off season, try to figure out what they can do about the situation where teams are actively not trying to win games. The other stuff is going to be harder, especially the injuries to start players and not having guys available for marquee matchups. That's been tough because this year it feels like there are so many guys that have dealt with injuries across the league that are the faces of the league, the faces of franchises.

[A]

I've learned something good. Thank you. Thank you, Tim. That's great. Thank you so much. We'll talk soon. Thank you.

[B]

You got it, Tony.

[A]

Tim Legler, boys and girls. Wow, that was really good. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[F]

Here comes Tony is. Here comes Tony's mail back gonna.

[A]

Kane Bay High School in South Carolina. We always like listening to that.

[D]

I'll be thinking about that when I hear the Hammers performance of Hot Cross Buns on the recorder.

[A]

Is that what he's doing today? Okay, that's great.

[E]

Green sleeves yet?

[A]

That's great. They want to do the Bethesda Bagel.

[E]

Yes, Bethesda Bagels. We love them. You will as well. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled and want to give a shout out to sycophant Steve and the Fairfax Wind Symphony has a concert this Sunday at 3pm at George Marshall High School. Admission is free and he says there's going to be a fantastic euphonium solo.

[A]

Oh, boy.

[E]

Featuring Phil Frank. So, yeah, head on by the old

[A]

Euphonium the old euphonium.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, before we get to the mailbag, let me just say your everlasting summer? You can see it fading fast? So grab a piece of something that you think is going to last? Well, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held one in your hand? These things you think are precious I can't understand? Are you reeling in the years? Stowing away the time? Are you gathering up the tears? Have you had enough of mine? That's one of the great underrated groups of all time. Two guys, Steely Dan. They're just. Their songs are so smart. Pretty good. So smart. Thanks to our guests today, Barry Zverluga and Tim Legler. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Odyssey get showed through Apple. Please leave us a review. I do want to extend the sympathy of everybody on this show to the friends and family of Ron Jones, who was a little who has passed away and there will be a celebration of life for him. And now we get to the email. Alex Silva, Newport, R.I. formerly of Fall River, Massachusetts. Appreciating the half pipe and the figure skating and the other subjective sports in the Winter Olympics is like jazz. The sport is really about the tricks the athletes don't do. Yeah, yeah. Carlton. Carlton Conley in Belgrade in Serbia. I wanted to get your analysis of Norway's winning big air jump. The right nose, butter, double bio 16:20 safety. I'll hang up and listen. You know, just enough, you know, Come on.

[E]

Got the great car and the butter.

[A]

Come on.

[D]

Good for you.

[A]

Rob Lowe. Not that Rob Lowe. North Royalton, Ohio. How could the McDonald's story not start like this? It's 9:00 o' clock on a Sunday. The regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man yelling at me while I'm getting two muffins to win. I mean, come on. Come on. Patrick sitter, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Special trip to McDonald's for a $5 breakfast. Bartering to get late fees reduced or removed. Are you having money issues? Is Michael's inheritance in danger? Do we need to hold a bake sale from Pete in Albany? I fly a few times a year. I suffer from the same ailment as you. My flight home always ends with both of my ears clogged. An intense pain that lasts for weeks. A few years ago, I went to an ENT while I was still in the midst of pain and asked if there was anything he could do to provide relief. He sat down, paused, looked me in the eyes and said, did you know that in World War I German fighter plates fighter pilots would pierce their eardrums so they could endure the pressure changes during dog fights? Silence. I stared at him. He stared at me. Finally I said, so can we pierce my eardrums today? Or he replied, no, I just thought you'd enjoy that story. Then he told me to use Earth plugs the next time I flew. From Andy Shaner in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. I know that you're not that kind of doctor or a science major, but hang with me. The active ingredient in Afrin is Oxy metazoline hydrochloride. The pronunciation isn't important, but I looked at the strength on the labels. The adult version is.05% and the kids version is 0.025%. Afrin for Kids is the same exact stuff, just half the dosage. Just shoot two shots up your nose instead of one. Also, why is there a McDonald's in the Louvre? Where else are the thieves supposed to eat from? Jim Cudahy in Locust Grove, Virginia While not a cure for your ear issues, while working on a summer job on the road crew at the Virginia Department of Transportation during college I was offered a number of unconventional remedies from VDOTs not quite ready for med school crew. For a bad case of poison ivy, I contracted. My favorite by far came from a guy we just called Porkchop. He said the sure cure for my poison ivy was to rub steel wool on the affected area and then pour, wait for it gasoline on it.

[B]

Nope.

[A]

There were a lot of nodding heads when Porkchop made the suggestion.

[E]

What I'm gonna know.

[A]

Oh, okay. This is a salute to Doug Moe from Neil Airbase. Thank you for Tuesday's melancholy trail salute to Doug Moe, one of the most beloved, flamboyant and colorful figures in Denver sports history. Colorful figures described not only his personality but his language, much to the frequent chagrin of parents who took young children to nuggets games and sat in the vicinity of the team's bench. Doug was unique in many ways, not the least of which was his disdain for traditional coaching techniques such as film study, analytics and designing set plays, giving rise to a plethora of anecdotes. Once, in trying to design a last minute play, got so frustrated they smashed the whiteboard on the floor and shouted, just give the effing ball to English 1. Alex English one time, Doug started carrying a briefcase on road trips, leading players and staff to wonder if he had lost his mind and started using notes and analytics only to find that the briefcase was full of information for his fantasy football team. Doug's legacy is cemented not just by his winning record, but more so by the continuing affection of his former players, from hall of Famer Dan Issel to his personal whipping boy Bill Hanslick, all of whom could relate to being berated for 48 minutes on the court and being taken to dinner by Doug after the game. As intense as he was during games, Doug never lost perspective. At a press conference after being fired by the Nuggets, Doug popped champagne for the reporters to celebrate being paid for not working. Tony, you might recognize a story Doug told about his high school experience. Doug attended and played for Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, the alma mater of Barbara Streisand, Neil diamond and Bobby Fischer. He could never get enough basketball. So during the summers when most of the leagues were affiliated with religious institution, Doug changed his name to play in Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leagues, the latter of which he played as Doug Moskowitz. I got to know Doug as a participant in the Denver Media Fantasy Basketball league, where after every each draft he abused every pick I made and categorized me and everyone else in the league as just another stiff, his favorite insult. Even worse, Doug was so intent on winning that he regularly scooped up players before any of us could get them stiff. Indeed, it's a very nice thing. By Neil Arabis Andrew in la In Brooklyn and then Manhattan, where I grew up, coffee ice cream was almost ubiquitous. It was the third flavor almost everywhere. There's a choice of three after vanilla and chocolate. Other parts of the country number three was strawberry. But here we rarely saw it except in a ghastly concoction called Neapolitan. Yeah, three flavor striped mishmash of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. Almost everyone I knew was a coffee ice cream fan. A singular treat was going to Lundy's in Brooklyn, the largest restaurant in the world per Guinness. 3000 plus seats when it opened and ordering homemade pie with coffee ice cream on top. Then I went to LA for college and discovered the Baskin Robbins of Baskin Robbins Ification of ice cream, including such flavors as Rocky road and coconut Pineapple swirl. Dido. Finding plain coffee ice cream in a restaurant was like waiting for Godot. So I started asking my college mates about coffee ice cream. My unscientific survey disclosed that more than 90% of the people who liked it either came from New York or had a parent or came from New York. Wow. The coffee ice cream diaspora is a real thing. Now let me go and try find some real pizza from Chad Once is a mistake. Twice as a coincidence. Thrice a vendetta. Yeah, yeah. That about the checks. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe they were after me. Dwayne Buck, Brambleton, Virginia. We recently returned from a trip to Paris which included a champagne and wine tasting. I was enjoying all the champagne I could drink. Since my girlfriend's a wine drinker. I wasn't really paying attention until Somalia mentioned the wines from the Willamette Valley are on par with French wines. I took all of it. I took all of my being not to yell. Willamette. Damn it. Our hotel was in the Saint Germain neighborhood and featured something I've never seen before. A heated towel rack. Take that, Sansi. Oh, Sands is used to that.

[E]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[A]

Sands is used for that. From Brandon Borzelli in Lebanon, New Jersey. Have you considered walking into the post office and just yelling representative to see if that helps with the missing checks? From Tyler Etchencamp in Lincoln, Nebraska. I send my sympathies for your struggle with that slow thaw and Snow Creek currently impacting the DMV. Here's a weather update from Nebraska. Tuesday, February 17th. A high of 76 Fahrenheit. Record high temperatures across the state. For the state. Wednesday, February 18th. A little cooler. 63 Fahrenheit. Thursday, February 19th. Blizzard conditions, 28 Fahrenheit, 3 inches of snow, 40 mile an hour wind gusts.

[E]

That's whiplash.

[A]

Michael Benedetti in Scottsdale, Arizona. Not North Scott. North Regular Scottsdale, not Wilbon Scottsdale. Manatees might not be fish, but they can swim from D.C. to Pittsburgh in less than two hours. That's funny. Jeff and Madison, Wisconsin bear down. Hammond Bears. Doesn't really hit the same, does it? No, it doesn't. Hammond, Indiana, taking the Bears. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone is always do wear white. Here's the thing.

[B]

We're not the wonders right now. We're Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

[F]

Hey. Hey. When I was 8 years old, my dad took me to my first hockey game. It was the Oilers versus the Cakes. The puck went off Bill Ranford's glove and my dad caught it and gave it to me. When I was 10 years old, my mom would take me to guitar. Every week. We listen to Johnny Cash on the radio. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. When dad was 8 years old, his school burned to the ground. It was there he learned to speak English while at home his mom spoke Ukrainian. Dad went to the rink to skate on the ice. When mom was 10 years old, her mom taught her to garden in the

[A]

sun

[F]

they know how to grow anything. I live downtown and buy my veggies at the store. Wow. Now here I s I don't know much about what it means to be from the old countries. The Oilers, my favorite team. They're owned by a billionaire zoo in the homeless shelter in our community. I will play my guitar and call that the. That it is. I'll cheer for our team. That bastard won't take my puck from me. That bastard won't take my puck from me. Well, I don't know who's in charge of what I have to wait Name it's got a heavenly touch could be angels, demons God's all rich in Al. It's got a powerful hold There's a straight hero Wealth I've never known. Up in the sky so high the God say Must be smiling on us today. Way up in the sky so high the gods they must be laughing at us today. Well, I don't know who's in charge of what I have to blame it's got a heavenly touch could be angels, demons, God's all right in Al. It's got a powerful hope there's strength here and wealth I've never known. Way up in the sky so high the gods they must be smiling on us today. Way up in the sky so high the gods he must be laughing at us today. Sat so high, the God say Must be smiling on us today. Way up in the sky so high, the God say Must be laughing us today.

[E]

Come

[F]

take me away.

[B]

Come

[F]

take me away.

[B]

Come

[F]

take me away. Come take

[A]

ra.