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“Budweiser and Fresca” - The Tony Kornheiser Show | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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“Budweiser and Fresca”

The Tony Kornheiser Show

Wed May 07 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Budweiser and Fresca" | The Tony Kornheiser Show

Episode Information:

Title: Budweiser and Fresca
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Production: This Show Stinks Productions, LLC
Release Date: May 7, 2025

Introduction

In the "Budweiser and Fresca" episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show, host Tony Kornheiser delves deep into the intricacies of the 2025 NBA and NHL playoffs. Joined by esteemed guests Bob Ryan, the quintessential American sportswriter, and PK Subban, renowned hockey commentator, Tony navigates through heated discussions about playoff performances, coaching decisions, player health, and memorable personal anecdotes from listeners. This episode masterfully blends expert analysis with engaging personal stories, providing listeners with a comprehensive overview of the current sports landscape.

NBA Playoffs Analysis with Bob Ryan

Timestamp: 00:00 - 25:26

High-Seeded Teams Struggling: Tony and Bob discuss the unprecedented trend of higher-seeded teams losing their opening playoff games at home. Tony remarks, "four road teams win game one" ([02:14]), highlighting concerns about consistency and performance under pressure.
Celtics' Three-Point Strategy: A significant portion of the conversation revolves around the Boston Celtics' reliance on three-point shots. Bob criticizes, "the three-point shot... is the worst thing to happen to basketball in my lifetime" ([25:26]), emphasizing how it has distorted traditional gameplay.
Jayson Tatum's Performance and MVP Talks: The duo debates Tatum's current form and his standing in MVP conversations. Tony mentions, "Jayson Tatum is hurt, that he's hurt" ([27:48]), while Bob counters with observations on Tatum's resilience despite injuries ([28:05]).
Cleveland's Health Issues: The health of key Cleveland players like Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter is scrutinized. Tony points out, "Cleveland is the perfect example... they have injuries" ([28:56]), stressing the impact of player health on team performance.
Coaching Awards Controversy: Tony questions the awarding of Coach of the Year to Kenny Atkinson over J.B. Bickerstaff, leading to a discussion on the criteria and biases in such accolades. Bob states, "It's a silly award because generally speaking, they ignore a guy who has got the best team" ([23:01]).

NHL Playoffs Insights with PK Subban

Timestamp: 29:00 - 47:34

St. Louis Blues' Playoff Struggles: PK Subban and Tony analyze the Blues' performance, especially their defense against teams pulling their goaltenders. Tony notes, "They led the NHL this year in goals allowed when the opposing team had pulled its goalie" ([39:06]).
Sam Bennett's Aggression: The episode touches upon Sam Bennett's on-ice aggression and its implications. Tony questions, "Is Sam Bennett a sneaky, dirty player?" ([41:43]), while Bob defends Bennett's playing style, emphasizing the high stakes of playoff hockey.
Coaching Strategies: Discussion on Craig Berube's coaching decisions, with Bob acknowledging, "Craig Berube is the nicest guy in the world... but when he's in that mode, he's got his team" ([41:43]), highlighting the balance between personality and tactical decision-making.
Player Health and Performance: The health of players like Anthony Edwards is debated. Tony mentions, "Anthony Edwards was terrible last night" ([31:57]), and Bob emphasizes the importance of player health over immediate game outcomes ([28:07]).
Jeff Gilgeous-Alexander's Motivation: The conversation speculates on what drives stars like Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander, with Bob praising Gilgeous-Alexander's unique combination of skills, stating, "We basketball fans are being blessed with his presence" ([29:50]).

Horse Racing Discussions

Timestamp: 05:25 - 08:37

Preakness Stakes Controversy: Tony expresses disappointment over Sovereignty not running in the Preakness, discussing traditions and the implications for the Triple Crown. He states, "Sovereignty is not going to run in the Preakness... I'm saddened by this" ([05:25]).
Impact on the Sport: PK Subban agrees, emphasizing that decisions like these are detrimental to horse racing's legacy ([07:55]). Tony suggests, "Make it three and four if you want to" regarding the spacing between Triple Crown races ([08:02]).

Listener Emails and Personal Anecdotes

Timestamp: 09:08 - 56:48

Dad's Chips in Stores: Multiple listeners share amusing stories about spotting Tony's dad's chips in various stores. Tony narrates, "I spotted a wall of my dad's chips... naturally I gasped" ([51:06]), accompanied by humorous exchanges with guests.
Road Work in Local Areas: Listeners inform about ongoing road and bridge work, with Tony providing detailed updates to assist fellow community members.
Graduation Stories: A listener shares their unique graduation experience, receiving Tony's books as a gift. Tony humorously remarks, "they stink. They're just collections" ([56:00]).
Birthday Wishes and Trivia: Emails include birthday greetings and playful trivia questions, such as the "Skippy or Jiff" peanut butter debate. Tony adds personal touches, discussing his preferences ([54:33]).

Concluding Remarks

Timestamp: 56:53 - End

As the episode wraps up, Tony reflects on memorable moments, including a nostalgic golf lesson with Byron Nelson and humorous interactions with guests and listeners. He emphasizes the blend of sports analysis with personal stories, creating a relatable and insightful listening experience.

Notable Quotes:

Bob Ryan on Celtics' strategy: "I believe that the three point shot... has distorted the game of basketball" ([25:26]).
Tony Kornheiser on Sovereignty: "I'm saddened by this. I'm upset by this" ([05:25]).
PK Subban on coaching decisions: "They got to do something to amend that" ([08:02]).

Conclusion

The "Budweiser and Fresca" episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show offers a compelling mix of expert sports commentary and engaging personal stories. From dissecting the challenges faced by high-seeded teams in the NBA and the strategic maneuvers in the NHL playoffs to sharing heartfelt listener tales, Tony Kornheiser ensures that his audience remains both informed and entertained. This episode stands out as a testament to Kornheiser's ability to blend serious analysis with lighthearted moments, making it a must-listen for sports enthusiasts and casual fans alike.

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Transcript

Tony Kornheiser (0:00)

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk about the NBA playoffs with the quintessential American sportswriter, Mr. Bob Ryan. And we'll look at the hockey playoffs with a man who calls me Corny PK Subban. But first, commerce.

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Tony Kornheiser (1:13)

Previously on the Tony Kornhauser Show. So, yeah, she took a job as research project manager, School of Public Health at Harvard. And so, yes, it'll be a different spin class that has to deal with her now. All right, so this puts us into. Into the swimming realm. And one of her teammates in college. Yes. Was Katie Ledecky, or were they separate? Yeah, they were teammates at Stanford. By the way, it's not a bad resume. Stanford, Harvard. It's not bad.

General George Washington (1:41)

It's not bad.

Tony Kornheiser (1:42)

It's not Binghamton, but it's not bad. This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. All right, so I'm not gonna talk about the basketball games or the hockey games at the top of the show. Even though the Washington Capitals lost and we're outshot. Hello, 33 to 14. Which is ridiculous.

Michael Wilbon (2:04)

It's about the shots you don't take.

Tony Kornheiser (2:05)

I'm not going to talk about that because PK Suban is going to come on the show and talk about hockey and Bob Ryan is going to come on the show and talk about basketball. So I'm going to leave that alone.

Tony Kornheiser (12:56)

Okay. And then I get this other thing. It says, good evening. It comes to the mailbag at the Tony Kornheiser show. I have finally decided to take this into my own hands and reach out. My father in law is David Carpenter, who was Tony's college roommate. He listens to the show religiously and follows along very closely. I would love to help. Put them in touch. Please let me know how. Annie Carpenter. Okay. So every once in a while, Nigel gets an email from someone and says, do you know this person? Says he went to school with you at Harper College. You know, this person, says he met yet the super bowl on a corner. Do you know this one? Do you know that one? And most of the time I don't know them. Although every once in a while I do. Mike Landau, who went by the name of Otto at camp, sent an email some months back. And of course I know Otto. And Barbara the other day, Barbara Vinier, the other day. Barbara Vinier, who has written a book and had been the president of a number of community colleges and was very highly respected in the academic world. And Barbara lived. Barbara lived across the hall from me at 20 Conklin Avenue. Well, someone lived in the apartment with me at 20 Conklin Avenue, and that was David Carpenter. David Carpenter from Glens Falls, New York. David Carpenter, whose diet consisted of Budweiser and Fresco and also would occasionally eat Cheerios. Dry out of a. Out of a container. David would do that. I have enormous fond memories of David Carpenter, who later, I think, went on to room with Jimmy McSparrin, who was another upstate guy. But I really, you know, I thought David was very, very smart. He's from upstate New York. For some reason, it sticks in my mind that he had something to do with the prison systems in upstate New York. But I'm not sure about that on the outside. Not. Not on the inside. Right. Although he may have been a guard. He may have been a guard. I don't remember. He was dating a girl who did not go to Harper College. I thought. And my memory may be completely wrong because I'm unburdened by memory. I thought her name was Jeannie Donato. And it's possible that they got married. And it's possible that that results in the son who was married to Annie Carpenter. And when she says, I would love to help put them in touch, how hard is it? David, how hard is it? That's not. I'm hiding under a rock. If you listen to the show, you know where I live, you know where I do, you know everything about me. So if you want to get in touch with me, it's really not that hard. I hadn't thought to get in touch with you. It didn't come top of mind to me. But yes, I would love to. I would love to talk to David Carpenter and catch up after all these years. So, Annie, thank you very much and we will take a break and Bob Ryan. Well, join us. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Mother's Day is almost here, and it's the perfect time to reflect on everything moms do to make life better. Whether it's the home cooked meals, the endless support, or those little moments of wisdom, moms always find a way to show up. Maybe it's bringing over your favorite food without being asked. Maybe it's how just being in her house makes everything feel right. Or how she still believes you can do absolutely anything. And yes, some moms even treat the family dog like their grandchild. So this year, send her happy flowers for Happy Mother's Day from the Boucs company. That's short for Bouquets. And I've got 25% off for you too, so you can spread that happy around. Bouchs aren't your typical flowers. They're cut fresh from top quality farms, which means they're bigger, more vibrant, and last way longer. Some are even grown on the side of a volcano. No kidding. Pick a cheerful bouquet or send a flower subscription so mom gets fresh blooms again and again. It's easy. Just choose your flowers, select a delivery date and you're done. And why stop with mom? Share the love with aunts, grandmas, wives, anyone who deserves it. Mother's Day is May 11th, so don't wait. Go to Boogs.com. use the promo code Tony for 25% off. That's B O U Q S.com promo code Tony. Use the code, people.

Tony Kornheiser (17:48)

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Bob Ryan (36:01)

Well, I mean, you first have to come to reality that anything can happen in a hockey game. And you know that over time as you gain experience, especially at the professional level. So, you know, I don't know. I've always felt as a player when I step on the ice that I haven't seen it all and to expect the unexpected. And as a defenseman, you know, it's that times a million. And like for me, if there's anybody that's going to lose sleep, it's always the D man at the end of the day because even you know, with your goaltender, you're the last line of defense. So you always think, you know, could I have done something different? But in this situation, to be up to nothing, be in complete control of the game and lose that way to me, I don't know how you come back from that. Like, I don't know how you sit through the whole summer and not think about it, right? Because, you know, when you really think about their team, they had a legitimate team with legitimate goaltender, legitimate defense, which is very, very difficult to put together in the salary cap era. And they were able to do it. Like, you know, if you look at their defense again, you probably put that same decor together. So when you think about it, I always, you know, over time, you remember certain players and teams that couldn't get it done or, you know, had great teams and couldn't get over the hump for that group. That's a moment when you see, like, Mark Scheifele out and Hellebuyck not playing his best. Like, you know, that's your opportunity to take advantage of that. Like, it could not have been set up any better for them to win that hockey game. That's what stings, right, Is when you look at it and, like, all the odds are in your favor and it doesn't happen. Sometimes that can make it easier, though, Tony. And that's my point, is that that's hockey, and that's what we always say, is that the game is so quick now. It's so fast. In my time, maybe I wouldn't have accepted that. But now with the game, I mean, the puck is constantly moving, it's bouncing. Players are so skilled. Like, how quickly that puck went outside the dots, to the half wall, back into the middle and into the back of the net, all within, like, it seemed like a second and a half. It happens so quickly. So that's how you have to see the game. Like, fans oftentimes criticize the referees for missing calls. But, like, it's not like basketball. Like, hockey's like 10 times faster. Like, the guys are moving so quickly. The puck is moving so quickly, the guys are thinking so quickly. Sometimes in real time, it's difficult to catch things. And imagine being a player now with all that adrenaline and the noise and everything going on, and the game's moving so fast. That's how good you have to be. You have to be two steps ahead. And, you know, for St. Louis, they fell behind. They lost their composure for a few seconds, and that's all it takes.

Bob Ryan (41:43)

Yeah, well, first, first and foremost, it says Craig Berube's got to do what's best for his team. And you know, people need to understand in the playoffs, this is like no one's giving an inch. Not the coaches, not the trainers, not the players. No one's giving any inch or any inch of sympathy rather, to any team. So you have to understand that Craig Beruba is the nicest guy in the world. And. But. But when he's in that mode, he's. He's got his team. And the same thing for Paul Murray. So I wouldn't get too caught up in the coaches and everybody going back and forth. That's a part of the game. But on the ice, I mean, of course, players play on the edge. I played on the edge. I mean, damn it, I wanted people thinking they had to be careful around me. Like, I didn't want anybody skating around me thinking that they were okay. No, you had to have your head on a swivel. So that's not a bad thing to have. And Sam Bennett plays on the edge, but he's always played on the edge. He's always been that type of player, and that's his game. And, you know, I think he does a lot of other things out there that are really well outside from how he uses his body. So I think that when you become a Stanley cup champion and you go to the finals, two now, possibly three, if they make it back to the finals this year again, you know, people are going to be critical of your team and their style works for them. It doesn't work for the other 30 or 31 teams in the league. So, you know, I think there's some envy there with the toughness in the way that Florida plays, but they're not going to worry about it. And I didn't think that that played like people to think. And I don't know about Anthony Stolar's symptoms. We don't know. Like, I don't know why he was sick on the bench. I don't know where that came from. I don't know if he entered the game sick. I don't know if that was done in that moment. But I have to think that based on what I saw, like, with my eyes, like that whatever was caused wasn't caused in that moment. Now, I'm not going to come out and say it because I don't know that. But based on my eye test, I would say that that came from something else. Like, I wouldn't say it even came from that. So, you know, in that situation, I think people are making a bigger deal out of a play that's a nothing play. Like, that play happens a lot. And even you looked at yesterday with Aiden Hill when they. I can't remember who it was, I think it was Connor Brown. That's exactly who it was. Made a nice move from the outside to the inside toe dragged inside on Theodore and went in for a backhand. He gets bumped and he collides with Aiden Hill in the crease. And right away the ref's arm goes up and they call him. And he hit Aiden Hill like five times as hard as Sam Bennett hit him when he went through the crease. So, you know, it's so it's all, it's just being objective and it's in Toronto, so everything's heightened. Nothing plays for Lutoni.

Bob Ryan (45:02)

Well, and aside from that, I think Carolina had like 90 or 89 or 90 something shot attempts, which is insane. I can't remember the last time I saw that many attempts thrown at a net in the playoff game. I said this on the air last night, Tony, after the game or during the game rather, that it was embarrassing, you know, because I, I haven't seen Washington play a game like that probably since before Spencer Carberry had gotten there. You know, that was like, that's the sluggish team that didn't really have an identity, didn't really, really know how they needed to play, was just trying to hang on, like that's not who the Washington Capitals are. Like they're a team that gets up and you saw that last game that when they did get out the skate, they were fine. I don't know if they just couldn't find their game. You know, I wouldn't be panicking around this game at all, Tony. But I definitely be assertive if I'm Spencer Carberry with how I addressed my team last night after that game or today rather, because it's inexcusable. You can't come out like that in front of your fans at home for game one of the second round against a team like Carolina that, you know, on any given Sunday doesn't matter what day of the week it is those first 10, 15 minutes of the game, it's like it's globally known that they come out and fire as many attempts at the net as they can. So this should not have been a surprise right this is the way Carolina plays. So I just think it wasn't their day and in our sport that doesn't fly. It's not good enough to say that it's not your day. You have to exhaust more of an effort than that. And I think for them they're better than that. That was the frustrating thing last night is that I wish Carolina would have pumped them seven nothing and the game wasn't that close because Carolina deserved to be up by seven goals. They just don't have enough scoring in their lineup. And listen, they ended up scoring enough to win. So I'll give them that. They were the better team yesterday. But you know, Washington playing at their best game should have put more goals on the board and should have been more present in that game. So, you know, Tony, I know you're a fan. You live in Washington.

General George Washington (58:45)

Do you remember when the girls were little? All the things we thought we lost along the way? Guided by the stars above Aided only by our love Looking back they were the good old days. Just like the time we were stuck in the middle and we learned it's hard to make somebody care. Yeah, we knew that it was wrong but it didn't last for long. We were just lucky to get out of there. You won't ever have to be alone. You won't ever have to be alone. You won't ever have to be alone Are you won't ever be alone so let's get you home. Gonna need you just like two rounds ago when you said that It'll be the greatest thing this world has ever known yeah, you're making quite a mess but we don't love you any less Thinking it's time we try and get you home but you don't ever have to go back there alone Hell, you don't even have to go at all. All you won't ever have to be alone all you won't ever be alone so let's get you home Gonna get you home gonna get you home gonna get home deep. Do you remember when the girls were little? I'm just following you Something to do it's out of the ordinary? You don't have to put it away? Think that it's your win? I keep saying that you don't need to follow me? You keep talking about anesthesiology? You don't know where you've been but you know where you're going? Thank you for patiently waiting on the thing for which I faintlessly know? Oh, it's just out of reach? So I just got to leave it alone? And I'm just about ready to go? You keep turning up down in the underground? Throwing all your around? Making everybody sound better than they should? That's how you flow in? I keep saying that you don't need to follow me? You're still talking about anesthesiology? I don't even know where I am but I know where I'm going? Queen of Carolina still waiting on the thing for which you famously know? She's just out of reach? So you just got to leave it alone? Leave it alone? And I'm saying what you already know? Oh, Queen of Carolinas. To wait on the thing for which I'm famously no. Oh, she's just out of reach? So I just got to leave it alone? Leave it alone? I gotta leave it alone? But you see what I already know.