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Tony Kornheiser
Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will go around the NFL with Dan Graziano of Georgetown, and we'll talk some baseball with Mark Finesand. But first, how about little commerce?
Nigel
Not all meals are created equal. For instance, breakfast has the spicy egg McMuffin for a limited time, and lunch doesn't. McDonald's breakfast comes first.
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Nigel
Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Dan Graziano
And then in the 10th grade, my teacher came to me and she said, listen, my English teacher, she goes, list, you're funny, but I got a class to teach here. If you can shut up the entire class, I'll give you the last five minutes. She goes, you can get up the last five minutes and whatever. So I would just sit there and think about what I was going to say. Then she'd say, okay, here you go. And I would go up there and just. I'd be like, all right. So we took the Christmas tree out of the attic last night.
Nigel
This is General George Washington, and you're.
Greg
Listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. So I got. I got a text from Melman yesterday, from Peter Melman, because he's listening to the show and he's, you know, listening to Garcia and how he's going to do stand up. And Melman occasionally does stand up as well. Oh, five good minutes. So. And. And loves it. Loves to do it. And so he. He got in touch with Greg, you know, he texted Greg. So, I mean, I guess maybe they'll work. I don't think they're going to work on material, but they'll talk about. That's great.
Tony Kornheiser
And love that.
Greg
Yeah. And then Melman pointed out, he said, I was going to call about Billy Bob Thornton and Joe Pantoliano. And he knows Pantoliano because he says everybody calls him Joey Pants.
Mark Feinsand
Joey Pants, Right.
Greg
So he says, but you corrected it in time, so I didn't have to do it. And I realized now I totally flushed the mouse on this. Totally. I mean, I had the wrong guy. My neighbor. My neighbor David sees me and he just looks at me and he goes, no, it's. It's Billy Bob. He says, it's it's, it's, it's based on his show Land. Land man. Oh, that, that, that scenery in the background, it looks like. I said, well, I've never seen Land managers. Oh, Landman's really good.
Mark Feinsand
It is good.
Greg
Says, and it's Billy Bob Thornton. And I, you know, and then I said to him, wow. I mean, Billy Bob Thornton has been again nominated for an Academy Award. He's a very accomplished actor. He may have won an Academy. I think, I think we played right.
Mark Feinsand
Yeah, Sean, didn't we?
Greg
He won a adapted screenplay Academy Award for Slinger.
Tony Kornheiser
So he's.
Michael
And more importantly, he was Bad Santa.
Greg
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's tremendously talented. And I said, why would he do a commercial for T Mobile? Why?
Mark Feinsand
The answer.
Greg
And David says, well, you say this all the time. The answer to all your questions is money. So that must be it. But yeah, I got it wrong. It's. It's Billy Bob and you. Nigel corrected that.
Mark Feinsand
Yeah. Although initially it looked like Joey Pants might have been in some sort of T Mobile ad, but then I think, I think they might have been Michael that determined it was Billy Bob Thornton. I can't remember.
Tony Kornheiser
Did you have that, Michael?
Michael
Absolutely not. But I was doing some quick googling of the. Nigel was not going to go against your word.
Mark Feinsand
He's back you up? Sure.
Michael
He's coming up with some AI back. No, no, trust me, it was who you thought it was.
Mark Feinsand
Yeah, I. Foiling me once again.
Greg
So. So it is Billy Bob Thornton.
Mark Feinsand
Yes.
Greg
You know, that doesn't mean that everybody's going to rush out and buy T Mobile or anything like that. I don't know.
Mark Feinsand
By the way, somebody emailed and said and there were a bunch on this and we didn't, we didn't print a lot of them up, but mentioned the favorite Joey Pants movie which I'd forgotten he was in was Midnight Run as the.
Greg
Oh, he in it.
Mark Feinsand
He was the bail bondsman that was always with.
Greg
With. He's a very, very good character.
Mark Feinsand
Absolutely is very good. Love him.
Michael
But this right here is why for these commercials you would use actors that you recognize because it just gets you to. It has you remember the moment more.
Greg
Yes.
Mark Feinsand
Hooks you in.
Greg
Flush the mountain moment. Flush the mouse moment for me. I got it wrong. I got it wrong. But it was.
Michael
Got a loud wrong, you know.
Greg
Yeah, I did. I was really an idiot.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, we have news.
Greg
We have a new revolution toaster.
Mark Feinsand
Oh, yes.
Greg
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
And our great thanks go out to Tom Claf and to Bruce Levinson.
Greg
This is like the total state of the art revolution. The revolution Toaster is the best toaster.
Mark Feinsand
In the world, without question.
Greg
And. And this is totally.
Michael
There's a learning curve to the toaster. You have to know your settings. But once know it, it is the most consistent toasting you're going to find.
Mark Feinsand
Oh, yeah.
Greg
My problem is the panini press. Yeah. It shows pictures of everything. And I. And you know, do I want it this way? You know, like, how much, how brown do you want the toast to be?
Dan Graziano
Right.
Michael
It shows you the level of doneness.
Greg
Yeah. And, you know, after a while, I just throw up my hands. I say, I, you know, I don't know. I mean, you know, and I actually find myself saying to the toast, just make it the way you like it.
Michael
Surprise me.
Greg
I mean, yeah, I' reached that point. I'm so old that I'm now talking to toasters because, you know, I'm. This happened to me.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, here's another time. Here's another time. Yesterday, this happened to me again.
Greg
I. I've had this problem. Do you want to revisit the territory Ahead problem that I've had? Oh, they wouldn't. They never refunded my. I. I bought a sport jacket. I returned it. They said they were going to credit my American Express. Never did. No, they never did. Okay, so I called him again yesterday. No, well, I'm going to, I'm going to explain the proof. I called them again yesterday. And you get somebody who's offshore. That is the terminology for not anywhere near America, so that they can be working 24 hours a day for far less wages than they would here. Okay. Every company does this. Okay. Not small companies, but large companies do this. And I go through this thing about. And she says, yes, we looked it up. Here's when you bought it, here's when you returned it, and here's when we credited you the money. I say, okay, great, thanks. So, because I am not the most trusting soul in the world, I called American Express and I said.
Tony Kornheiser
They said they did this.
Greg
They said they didn't. I said, they said it was. It was back in the account on April 27th. No, it wasn't. Says, we get. We credited you. American Express credited you because of what you had said about all of this. But they never did territory. Had. Did not. They did not credit you. So I said, well, could you. And here's the catch 22. I said, could you do something about this? And they said, no, there is a limited amount of time when we can, as an advocate, go back into one of these purchases that you have made and try to end the dispute. But. But you can't do it after 60 days. So now. So they're just telling me they've credited my account. They have not credited Mike. They're just telling me this.
Michael
But your account was credited. It was through Amex.
Greg
Through Amex. For a lesser amount of money than it should have been. I love American Express. I'm not angry at them at all. They went out of their way to, you know, because I've been a customer for so long. They just said, I. We're just tired of talking. Talking to you. We're going to give you some money back. Shut up. Okay, But. But the company that I bought this from maintains they did this and they didn't do it. And the only other explanation is they credited some other guy. You know, like somebody else is sitting there with $143 then, not knowing what.
Michael
What it's about, last name. I'm going to check my Amex account from late April, a certain window of interest.
Tony Kornheiser
I didn't get it.
Greg
This happened to me once.
Michael
I ordered something from a. From a Golf, you know, a Golf online company, and they claimed it was delivered. And I had to go through Amex saying it was never delivered. You know, weeks later, I found out that had been dropped in the bushes at my neighbor's house. And Amex totally took care of it.
Greg
Well, yeah, because they're good.
Mark Feinsand
Yeah, they are.
Greg
I'm not buying from the territory ahead ever again.
Michael
But they didn't.
Greg
Credit unit. Well, if they. That's different. Now they're going to have to call me personally and say, look, it's our mistake. Yeah. You know, it was sent to X, not to you.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, fine.
Greg
That's when I wasn't up for it. I stopped. It was 00 in the fourth. Fromer Valdez for Houston was striking out every single person on the Nats.
Michael
Do you remember how good he was in that World Series a couple years ago?
Greg
Yeah, he's. He's a really good pitcher. And he struck out. Of course he struck out. Josh Bell swinging twice. Of course, it's your favorite moment.
Michael
But who struck out right before Josh Bell in the third inning?
Greg
Alex called it.
Michael
Yes.
Greg
Yeah, he. I'm. I'm telling you, Valdez had a ball that dropped. Did it drop? A foot and a half.
Michael
A foot and a half.
Greg
It was, you know, he was. Looked great. And then for the Nats, the guy. Lord. Lord looked great. Lord was throwing at 97, 98. Throwing it past people. What's Lord's first name. It's not Jack Brown. It's not Jack Lord. He was an actor. No, it's not Sterling Lord, who was a talent agent. No, it's not Brad Lord. Okay. And then I read today, I read that the Nats won. And I can't get too angry at Josh Bell because he apparently scored the first run.
Michael
Oh, my goodness. He scored from first on a low hit and was chugging the entire way, I think. I can't think.
Greg
I can.
Mark Feinsand
Love to see that.
Greg
He's not the fastest guy. He's not. But he got up to speed. Nathaniel Lowe hit. Hit him in. And like Nathaniel Lowe is problematic for me. I really like Nathaniel Lowe. I think he's a really good fielder. I think he's the best first baseman they've had in seven to 10 years. But every story about him says he is under producing at the plate. He has a lower batting average, he has lower power numbers. But they also concede late in the story that with runners in scoring position, he's batting over.300. To me, that, that, that. That's the saving grace of Nathaniel Lowe. Okay. Situation gets out a lot when he's the first batter up in the inning. Okay.
Michael
Which makes sense for a bad team.
Greg
Yeah. So. But now they say the most recent story said he's probably going to be moved. They're going to move him. They're going to move Kyle Finnegan. Kyle Finnegan can be moved. That's not a problem for me. But they may move Alex Caller. Jacob Young. That's.
Mark Feinsand
But not Mackenzie Gore.
Greg
Right.
Mark Feinsand
We think that he'll do that.
Greg
Was not in the stories today, but, I mean, everything is subject to change. I don't know. Did you watch the game, Michael?
Michael
Yeah, I stayed up with it. Riley Adams had the go ahead home run, and then it actually looked like Finnegan was going to give up a home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Greg
Was Finnegan only pitching the ninth? Did he come in in the eighth or was it only the ninth?
Michael
I think it was just in the ninth. We had four.
Greg
Did he have anybody on base?
Michael
No.
Nigel
Wow.
Greg
He usually lets the first guy on. Yeah.
Mark Feinsand
That's the move.
Greg
Right. Usually likes to pitch to the winning run early in an inning. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
All righty.
Greg
And is anybody. Sean, you have anything? Feel free. I got on the. I got on the line this morning. I said, sean, are you there? Sean, are you there? Yeah. This is great.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, now we'll come back with.
Greg
Dan Graziano and who's fitting us in between SportsCenter and Get Up. I'm Tony Kornheiser.
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Dan Graziano
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Greg
You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Tony Kornheiser
This is Splitsville.
Greg
We have played their music before.
Tony Kornheiser
Splitsville. This is. They're an indie group. This is a song called I Hate Going to Hutzler's. It's an insanely catchy consumerism takedown with a sound that slots nicely between 80s new wave and 90s alt rock.
Greg
And it's references to Baltimore, where Splitsville is from. Yeah.
Mark Feinsand
And I guess what's it?
Greg
Hustlers. Hutzler's.
Mark Feinsand
A store, I guess.
Greg
Yeah. I hate going to Hustlers. I love the title. I thought, when I first read it, I thought it was Hustlers and I thought it was like strip club.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, no, it's Hustlers. Anyway, they're very good. They're just a very good band. Splitsville. They play in Georgetown Zone. Dan Graziano, who is on location somewhere.
Greg
Are you in Miami?
Tony Kornheiser
Are you at the Dolphins training camp?
Dan Graziano
That's where I am this morning. Yes.
Greg
So. So we just saw him for, you know, for full disclosure. It's about a quarter to eight in the morning on Tuesday and we just saw him do a Sports center hit. And you wear. Is that. That's not an Oakmont shirt. What shirt are you wearing? That's a golf shirt, isn't it?
Dan Graziano
Yeah. So it's Baltus roll. So what happened is Baltus roll.
Greg
Fancy. Fancy.
Dan Graziano
Well, so. So Greenie, you know, has been working on becoming a member there for a while now, and he is. And so he had a bunch of us out there last week. It was like me and I felt really big time Tony. It was like me and Adam Schefter and Orlovsky and Brian Windhorst and Taylor Twelman. And we had a. We had a blast. And it was. My game's not in that kind of shape. But I told Greenie, you know, I'd wear the shirt when. When I was on get up this week. So we're on there later today. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna.
Greg
Yeah. Very fancy. Baltasroll, two courses, upper and lower. Very fancy. If you're playing with Twelveman, Twelman's a plus. Twelveman's a real good player.
Dan Graziano
Real good. I don't know. There were multiple times where I looked around, thought, I don't know what I'm doing here. But I was. I was very glad to be invited. Beautiful. Unbelievable place.
Greg
Yeah.
Dan Graziano
And, yeah, I didn't embarrass myself. So that was my goal for the day.
Greg
All right, let's forget about the NFL for a second. Let's go player by player here. She's a Long island kid, I think. I think he's a Roslyn kid. I'm not sure. But is Schefter any good?
Dan Graziano
So there it was, two foursome so that Schefter was in the group that played behind me with Windhorst and Greeny. We reached with a member. So I don't know. I think. I don't remember what he said he shot. But yeah, I mean, I would think Adam, given his schedule and the fact that his phone was always ringing, is probably too distracted to be like a really locked in, you know, that's what I was kind of player. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Greg
And plus, if he's bringing a phone with him on the course, that's a bad thing. But if he doesn't, he has no job.
Dan Graziano
So I don't think he can go if they don't let him bring his phone.
Greg
Yeah, I think eight. I don't think he can possibly play 18 and concentrate because he's got this. What about Orlovsky? Orlovsky.
Nigel
Pretty good player.
Greg
Big.
Dan Graziano
Yeah.
Greg
He's a tall guy. Is he good?
Dan Graziano
Tall and lean? Yeah, he's really good player. Like, he and he and Twellman get off the tee about the same. So bombs, right? Like. Like just this super athletic looking swing and they're, you know, the best tee shot I could possibly hit is not going to be in that neighborhood. So. But I think, you know, he's not on Taylor's level in terms of like scoring. Right. Approach us. He may have broken 80, but I think Taylor shot 70. So.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Greg
So I mean, when you say that, that, you know, you're not on their athletic level.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, there's a reason.
Greg
One played 10 years in the NFL and one played eight years in the MLS. They're actually athletes. Yeah.
Dan Graziano
Professional athlete in any sport. Like, if you never played golf before, you're better than, like, three months. Right. They're going to be good at it. Like, that's just the way they are, that they're special. You know, it's. It's. Yeah, it's a different. They're born with something different than. Than.
Greg
Did Greenberg take everybody for food afterwards and put it on his own tab? Was he? Yeah.
Dan Graziano
I mean, we sat on the patio there, which overlooks both 18th greens, and we had. We had some drinks and some snacks, and we had. Oh, they set us up nice lockers, gift pro shop, gift cards. Like, you know, it was a great day, man. It was. It was the great final day of summer vacation.
Greg
That's lovely. I won't even mention that Wilbon and I were not invited to this thing and that Wilbourne should have been because he went to Northwestern. Greenberg went to Northwestern.
Dan Graziano
Hey, Wilbon would be probably the most annoyed of anyone for not, I would.
Greg
Say, I'm gonna bring it up on the air today. Oh, no, great.
Dan Graziano
No, I gotta get invited back. I gotta play better.
Tony Kornheiser
You will. I'll just say that.
Greg
Schefter told me.
Dan Graziano
Yeah.
Greg
I won't put it on you.
Dan Graziano
Perfect. There you go. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Let me get to the stories in the NFL that I find completely interesting. And Wilbon and I differ on this totally.
Greg
Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons. I just think that nobody has as much fun as Jerry Jones. And Wilm thinks Jerry Jones is a dope and a plague and cost himself a lot of money. And I said, yeah, he costs himself a lot of money, but he's running the show. He seems to have a good time. And my position was, if you thought this was contentious, Michael Parsons has not yet taken this position. I hate it here. Get me out of here. So I think he'll be signed, and I'm wondering what you think.
Dan Graziano
I'm totally with you. I think he will be signed. They always get these guys signed at this point. If you play for the Cowboys and you're this caliber of player, you know that waiting till the last minute is the play. You're going to get everything you want.
Greg
Yeah.
Nigel
And I.
Dan Graziano
You're absolutely right about Jerry Jones. I think he. This is like. Like WWE for him. Like, it's like, you know, he's like, let's pay attention. Like, let's. Let's let's stir the pot. Let's keep people talking. And I think he has a lot of fun with it. So. No, I don't think it's contentious. I think. I think it'll get done. And the fact that Micah is there and like participating, you know, where we see other guys not showing up or showing up and holding in, I think it's all. Yeah, I think this is all headed where it's always been headed, which is to a long term contract from Outcat and Dallas.
Greg
Nobody has more fun than Jerry. Would you rather have Jerry Jones as your owner or Woody Johnson? Are you kidding? It's 100 to 0 on that. I mean, Jerry Jones, your team is always. Even if your team stinks, your team is always going to be relevant to your day because of Jerry Jones. He's going to make it exciting, Right? Right.
Dan Graziano
Absolutely. And it's made him a lot of money. It's made the Cowboys very valuable. He is. There's no doubt that's who he is. He's a. He's a. I don't want to say carnival barker. That sounds insulting, but he's that kind of level of, you know, outward sort of salesman of his product and, and he does enjoy it.
Greg
He is to football what you want to be to broadcasting. Entertaining. He's entertaining. Why should. Don't condemn him. Let me move on. Let me move on to Aaron Rodgers. Another guy Wilmot hates, hates Aaron Rodgers. But I thought what Aaron Rodgers did, the way he reached out to Terry Bradshaw, I thought was completely brilliant. And if I were a Pittsburgh steelers fan and 48 hours ago I hated Aaron Rodgers, when that happened, I would have said, now I like him. What do you think?
Dan Graziano
I think not to the same extent as the guy we were just talking about, but I think a lot of what Aaron does is at this point is pretty performative and I think, you know, but image conscious. So maybe he feels like I'm a Steeler now, this is something I need to do. And if that's the case and it made that impression then, then good for him. Ultimately, it's all going to come down to how healthy is and how he plays. If he's as healthy as he was two years ago or if he plays like he did last year, then the Steelers aren't going anywhere. And he knows that. But I mean, you know, when he got to the jets, he was. He was Mr. Good Soldier. Right? Like he was. You know, we heard how great he was in the building with other players.
Greg
Yeah.
Dan Graziano
Coaches were impressed. Yeah. He can Charm you. And, and I think that's, that's what he's trying to do. Getting good graces with Pittsburgh because, you know, if he knows if they do struggle, like it's going to fall on him and the fans aren't likely to cut him much of a break.
Greg
No, I wouldn't think. I don't know.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I agree with that. I'm curious about Shador Sanders in Cleveland.
Greg
Only because he dropped to the 32nd round and there's like eight guys. It seems like there's eight guys who are trying to become quarterback in Cleveland as the. Sean Watson can't play this year. Do you hear anything about what's going on there? It seems top heavy. It does.
Tony Kornheiser
It doesn't seem good.
Dan Graziano
And then Kenny Pickett is now hurt like he's a guy they really wanted to get a look at. So. And he's. We don't know how much time he'll miss. So that might elevate one or both of the rookies up the depth chart a little bit. It's. I think, you know, Cleveland is, is throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall, hoping it sticks. They have two first round picks next year in case it doesn't and which it doesn't usually in Cleveland. So I wouldn't be surprised if, if all these guys ended up starting games.
Greg
At some point this season, that would be exciting.
Tony Kornheiser
If every.
Greg
It's like, you know, I mean, Joe Flacco, he'll. At some point he becomes the oldest player in the history of the NFL to start a game.
Tony Kornheiser
He's got to be.
Dan Graziano
Yeah.
Greg
The Bengals finally signed that kid who they wanted to have a clause in the contract that they could take his money away, but they signed him. So that worked itself out.
Tony Kornheiser
But they have not yet signed Hendrickson.
Greg
Who'S their best defensive player on a bad defense. What's.
Tony Kornheiser
What's likely to happen there?
Dan Graziano
I think a deal probably gets done there at some point. Like right now they've offered him a one year extension and he wants more than that. He's going to. He's 30 years old. Like they're, they're not as sold on guarantee. They don't like guaranteeing money in future years anyway. They hate that. Like on principle. They did it for Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, but especially if you're 30. So he requested a trade. They let him explore. He couldn't find it. He wants to be there. They want him there. I think it gets resolved at some point. Does that mean they add more money? Does that mean they add a year. Does it mean they fluff it out so everybody. So it looks good? You know, we'll see. But I think ultimately that's what. That's where it ends up.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, is there any story out there that, like, we are not aware of, that you've heard of and nobody.
Greg
Else has heard of that may blow up into something big?
Dan Graziano
I mean, if there was and I told you about it now, like, I don't think my bosses would be thrilled with me. Right.
Greg
Like that, like to get you on PTI, I mean, you know, get you some FaceTime.
Nigel
Good point.
Dan Graziano
I'll take that one over.
Greg
But, yeah, it's not like you're going back to Baltas Roll. I mean, you're not. That was a one shot.
Dan Graziano
You're ready to sink that. Yeah. Thanks a lot.
Greg
Yeah. The important thing to do what you in the future. And Baltas was great. It is. It's one of the top 20 courses in America. But you got to know somebody at Augusta, like, that's, you know, you got to try the Augusta connection, don't you think?
Dan Graziano
I think so. I mean, now that, you know, now that I've been to Baltas Roll, like, my standards have changed significantly. Of course.
Greg
Of course. Oh, of course.
Tony Kornheiser
All right.
Greg
Your phone sounds like you're in a wind tunnel, which is fabulous. You know, I was.
Dan Graziano
I was outside and I thought it was windy and noisy, and then so I went inside and now there's an echo. This is. This is. These are the perils of. Of travel, you know, and trying to do this stuff and working in around sportscenter hits and everything. I mean, you know, champagne.
Greg
But we like you. We like you. You know, we're.
Tony Kornheiser
We're thrilled to have you on.
Greg
We're thrilled.
Tony Kornheiser
Georgetown's own.
Greg
We're thrilled. All right.
Dan Graziano
Maybe better. I don't know.
Greg
I go to work. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Dan.
Dan Graziano
Hey, always my pleasure.
Greg
Diego Graziano, boys and girls. And we will take a break and Mark Feinsand when we return.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Greg
I'm Tony Kornheiser.
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Greg
This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Dan Graziano
Tony Kornheiser show.
Tony Kornheiser
This is a song by Sam Starr.
Greg
It is called Golden Retriever and the.
Tony Kornheiser
Lo the note that we got that accompanies it is from Jeff in Arnold, Maryland who said, I'd like to submit my nephew Sam Starr song Golden Retriever. Sam's going into a senior year at the State University of New York at Oneonta's. Very talented musician. We do have some connective tissue to the show as our Uncle Bob was an employee at Calvert Woodley for many years. I've enjoyed listening to your shows for years, going back to the wtem days. Hope you'll be able to share Sam's talents with the Littles lovely Golden Retriever.
Greg
Yeah, the dog song.
Mark Feinsand
Who doesn't love a good dog song?
Tony Kornheiser
Everybody loves a Golden Retriever.
Greg
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Song plays in Mark Feinstein and I mean, I suppose that I should ask.
Greg
All about trade rumors. I'll get to that eventually. I don't really care about that as.
Tony Kornheiser
Much as these other things.
Greg
I care about the, the Aaron Judge situation because I'm, you know, I don't know how serious this is. It said that when he gets back off the il, which I always call the DL, but the IL that he's going to be the DH on the Yankees. But wouldn't you worry, Mark, wouldn't you worry that this thing might need surgery, that it's not going to be that easy a comeback for Aaron Judge?
Nigel
Well, I think when it comes to the elbow situation, hitting doesn't seem to bother players nearly as much as throwing. And you can just look no further than the fact that, you know, we've seen players DH following Tony John surgery immediately. You know, Ohtani did it. The Yankees have so much money invested in Aaron Judge for so many more years, they're not doing anything to jeopardize his long term health. So if they're going to send him back out there to dh, they have to feel pretty darn confident that he's not going to do any damage to it. You know, it's a big blow to them because if he can't go out there and play the outfield well, then John Carlos Stanton probably can't play because there's talk that he's going to work in the outfield again. He. But then he's going to get hurt because that happens every time. So, you know, it's sort of the trickle down effect of what it means if Judge can't play the outfield and obviously if he can't come back at all, then, you know, effectively their season's over.
Greg
It's such an odd thing to me. The Yankees have a lot of people that I would consider to be good hitters, but when Aaron Judge goes into a slump, the entire offense goes into a slump. Nobody seems to say, okay, it's on me, I'll carry the team for five or six games. Why is that?
Nigel
It's a good question. And you know, it's really weird to think that one guy. Because it's such a. It's not a one man game by any means, but you're right, he slammed into that wall at Dodger Stadium a couple of years ago. 22, I think it was. The Yankees were rolling, they were in first place, they had good record, their offense was clicking. He broke his toe or whatever that toe injury was. He had that when he, when he bashed his foot into the concrete part of the wall. And for two months he was out and they couldn't hit their way, you know, out of a paper bag and, and it was really bizarre. I don't know the answer to that. I think, you know, he's really good, but he can only come up once every nine times. Right. It's maybe the confidence of a pitcher knowing they don't have to face him or maybe the confidence of a lineup knowing that he's going to be up at some point. I don't know. It's really a sort of a bizarre phenomenon because, you know, the same other hitters in that lineup, they should be able to, to get the job done. But you're right, when he's out of there, they're just a completely different team.
Tony Kornheiser
They are, they're much worse team.
Greg
We were going to do a PTI story yesterday about the Yankees with Judge and the Mets getting hot and we decided not to do it because Mike would have just said I hate I95 and that would be the end of the story.
Tony Kornheiser
But the Mets appear to Be getting hot at the right time, right?
Nigel
They appear to be, yeah. You know, and it's funny because just, you know, a couple weeks ago I was talking to people and the Mets are probably going to need this and this and this and this of the deadline. And now all of a sudden the Mets are looking at their roster and like, I don't really need that much, you know, maybe a bullpen piece or two, you know, if the right starter is there. Perhaps there's a world where they trade for, where they trade for a starting pitcher. But, you know, the Mets are pretty well rounded team overall, and I think there's not a whole lot for them to do. You know, they're still, they're still battling the Phillies. There's. They're in first place by what, a game, Game and a half. But I, you know, I'll be interested to see the Phillies. I expect to be the more aggressive team because their bullpen stinks. And they added David Robertson, who will help them once he's able to start pitching, which should be pretty soon. But I think there's probably another bullpen piece or two coming in Philly. There's talk about them adding another bat. So, you know, I'm always fascinated this time of year we talk about these teams and these races and then all of a sudden by Thursday at 6 o', clock, they could look a lot different based on who's on what team.
Greg
Yeah. Speaking of pitchers, Scherzer and Verlander are still out there. They're on different teams than they've ever been on before. Right. Scherzer's in Toronto and Verlander is in San Francisco. How are they doing? And they're hall of Fame guys. How are they doing?
Nigel
They are hall of Fame guys. Verlander got off to, I mean, easily the worst start of his care.
Greg
Oh, yeah.
Nigel
And, you know, I'm not sure that, you know, he's one of those guys you're looking like, is he hanging around to try to get to 300 wins? Is he, is he.
Greg
He's not getting a 300.
Nigel
He's not getting a 300 dot we're pretty much done with ever seeing 300 again. Yeah, like, I don't think that's anything we're ever, ever going to see from any pitcher in the game's history. CC Sabathia might be the last 250 guy we ever see at this point. Scherzer is not having a great year. He's made seven starts, he's got a five era, but he's on a First place team and you know, the Blue Jays are really good. Scherzer is starting to pitch better. You know, he didn't execute one start in the first three months of the season. They got hurt right out of the chute. And since he's come back, he's had a couple of decent outings and a couple of okay, medium ish outings, but you know, pitch really well against Detroit the other day and that's a pretty good team. So I think there's a chance that despite a regular season that is certainly going to wind up being underwhelming by Max Roser standards. You know, he could be making a playoff start for, for the Blue Jays and have a chance to go out there and have one more sort of shot of glory in October.
Greg
Just fascinating. I mean that, you know, Scherzer was for a minute and a half on the Texas Rangers team that won the World Series. If Toronto wins the World Series, he would pick up rings, you know, for, you know, an hour and a half's work.
Tony Kornheiser
Just very odd to me. Love Scherzer, obviously. Prediction question.
Greg
Cal Rawling, the record for catcher home runs is only 48. Only because so many people have gone past that. Catchers don't because it's a tough position. How many you think he'll hit?
Nigel
Well, I think they're 41 right now. I mean, I think he'll get 50 at least. I think he will break Sal Perez's catcher record. You know, I, I do. I think he's gonna get The Aaron judges 62. Probably not, but yeah, I think he'll, I think he'll be able to, to get past Sal Perez and have the catcher record, which is a pretty good, pretty good record. I actually think, you know, this Judge injury opens it up for Raleigh to potentially jump in and steal the mvp because, you know, it's, it's, it was sort of a foregone conclusion that Judge was going to win his third MVP award because he is just having a historically good season. But the Mariners are, you know, 57 and 50. They're only, I think, three games behind Houston. They're in a wild card spot at the moment. And if, if Judge misses, you know, judge only misses 10, 15 days, then I think, you know, he still has the inside track on that award. But, but we don't know what he looks like when he comes back with the elbow situation. You know, the Mariners make the playoffs and Raleigh hits 50 plus home runs. Yeah, I think, I think and on top of that, that is, you know, the best defensive Catcher in the game at, you know, arguably the most important defensive position in the game. I think Raleigh is going to have a decent, decent case to win that award.
Greg
Had you ever heard of Nick Kurtz before the other night? Did you know who he was? I'd never heard of him.
Nigel
I, I had heard of him. I had, I had seen him play a little bit. I think I actually was there when he got drafted, if I recall. But I certainly. You know, it's funny, the A's are not a team I watch all that often for several reasons. Mostly the fact that they play most of their games on the west coast and I live in New Jersey. So, you know, it's not ideal. Yeah, he was, he was drafted last year as the fourth overall pick, you know, by the A's. And, and he's been unbelievable. I mean, forget, you know, look, that one game, everybody's going to point to that game and be like, wow, that.
Greg
Game runs all year.
Nigel
He's, I mean, he's got 23 home runs, he's hitting over 300. I mean that, that game pushes OPS over a thousand, which is pretty impressive. But yeah, the aims have a, you know, a really bad record. But they've got some really interesting young players who I think if they can figure out some pitching and playing in that Sacramento ballpark, I'm not sure they're ever going to figure out pitching as long as they're playing there because their home road splits in Sacramento versus away from Sacramento make Coors Field look like a pitchers park. So, you know, pitchers are not going to want to go there while they're playing in Sacramento. But if you look at that lineup with Kurtz, with Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, who they signed to a big extension, or at least big by a standards, you know, they've got some, some good young players to build around there. So once they get to Vegas in a few years, I think that's, you know, they, they have the makings of a very interesting young team. Oh, and Jacob Wilson, who was a starting all star this year, so can't forget him. So it's, it's nice to see them put, put a product on the field where, you know, if you're going to watch them, they're at least when they're up at the plate, they're interesting.
Greg
Yeah, I just wish they'd put that product on the field in a major league stadium in Oakland.
Tony Kornheiser
But that's just me. I'll get you out of here on this. Please tell me the brewers are Going.
Greg
To destroy the Cubs.
Nigel
Please, please tell me destroy seems like a stretch. I think these two teams are pretty, Pretty good and pretty close in. You know, I think this is going to be a really good race the whole way here. But, you know, the brewers are good people. People overlook the Brewers. They. Every year, it's sort of like, well, they're not going to do this again. They're not going to pull another one of these rabbits out of their hat. And then they do out there, and they do, because their front office knows what it's doing. Matt Arnold is a disciple of the Tampa Bay front office. He worked with, with Andrew Friedman and Eric Neander, and I'm Bloom. And, you know, this is. This is a front office tree that is now running, I think, five or six teams altogether around the league. And they do a lot with a little. They don't sign the huge free agents. They don't, you know, they trade guys before their contracts are up because they have to do it. But they, they seem to be there every year that, you know, Jackson, Cheerio is a star. He's 21 years old. He's going to be there for a while. Yelich has found a little bit of a career renaissance after, you know, battling some injuries for a few years. And, you know, I think. I think the brewers and Cubs are going to treat us to a really fun. A really fun race over the next two months, but they've got.
Greg
They've got seven games left.
Nigel
I picked the brewers to win the division, so I'm going to stick with that. Plus, I know if I said I picked the Cubs, you'd be upset with me, so, yeah, I'm going to stick with the Brewers.
Greg
Yeah. I mean, just to have Wilbourne's heart broken would be. It's too good because they're going to make the playoffs. They're good.
Mark Feinsand
Oh, yeah.
Greg
They're both very good teams. They're very good teams. Thank you, Mark. Thank you. Thank you.
Nigel
Thanks, Tony.
Tony Kornheiser
Mark Feinstein, boys and girls. We will take a break.
Greg
We'll come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium wireless. Better get 30.
Dan Graziano
30.
Greg
Better get 30. Better get 20. 20. 20. Better get 20. 20. Better get 15. 15, 15, 15. Just 15 bucks a month.
Tony Kornheiser
Sold.
Michael
Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
Commercial Voice
Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra.
Greg
See mintmobile.com you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Dan Graziano
The Tony Kornheiser Show.
Greg
Don't you wish you could play guitar like Eric Shaw?
Dan Graziano
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
You can't.
Greg
It's really good.
Tony Kornheiser
You want to do the Bethesda Bagel ad for?
Mark Feinsand
Yes, Bethesda Bagels.
Greg
We love them.
Mark Feinsand
You would 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.
Tony Kornheiser
That'll just about do it for us today. But before I get to the mailbag, let me just say and in terms of introduction yesterday, Nigel started to look through songs that were big hits in 1962. And he said to me, there's this song.
Greg
I've never heard of this song.
Tony Kornheiser
Never heard of it.
Greg
Wolverton Mountain.
Tony Kornheiser
And I go, yeah, they say don't go on Wolverton Mountain if you're looking for a wife Because Clifton Clowers has a pretty young daughter and he's mighty.
Greg
Handy with a gun and a knife. I'd heard the song 65 years and I remember that now. I don't know who did the song Wolverton Mountain, though the word, the name mark sticks in my head. But I don't know who did it. But I can quote the lyrics.
Mark Feinsand
I'm seeing Claude King.
Greg
Claude King. Never would have had it. Never would have had it.
Mark Feinsand
Once again, a little bit of Johnny Horton in him.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. They say don't go on Wolverton Mountain if you're looking for a wife Because Clifton Clowers has a pretty young daughter. He's mighty handy with a gun and a knife.
Greg
Who comes up with Clifton Flowers? Who does that?
Tony Kornheiser
Exactly. Who does that? Thanks to our guest today, Dan Graziano, Mark Fine Sand. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcast, Spotify and Odyssey if you get show through Apple. Please leave us a review.
Greg
Jason Bullitt, our friend, you know, from the Syracuse team, right?
Mark Feinsand
That's Jason Morell.
Greg
Oh, okay.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Greg
Jason Bullard is our friend from upstate New York. Are we?
Mark Feinsand
I believe so.
Tony Kornheiser
Saratoga County.
Mark Feinsand
Oh, sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Chuck and Roxy, episode 31. Just wanted to promote the Summer of Little's event taking place at the beautiful and historic Saratoga Race course in my beloved hometown of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this Saturday, August 2nd. The Littles of New York's capital region, headed by Kevin McCabe, Chuck and Roxy, episodes 249 and 354 will be among the thousands in attendance for the Whitney Handicap. The event will start when the gates open at 11am and go all afternoon and into the early evening. I, on the other hand, will be hitting the virtual Sol on zoom.
Greg
What does that mean, shot on live?
Mark Feinsand
I don't know.
Tony Kornheiser
I don't know. On zoom. More details at Summer of Little's document. Yeah, Saratoga is where you go for the races. Greg J in Palm Harbor, Florida, thinking that Joey Pantoliano looks like Billy Bob Thornton is on a level of thinking Toronto is the jewel of the Midwest. Thanks for the laughs. Bill Masters. Tony. Yes. You're old. The only thing they have in common.
Greg
He's talking about Pantoliano and Billy Bob.
Tony Kornheiser
Is their actors and they are Carbon based Tony T and Brooklyn in D.C. bill Russell, Dr. J. I mean, I was watching the Nats Braves game on TV when you got inducted into the Wall of Fame. So you got that going for you, Derek. Tony. Not in any hall of Fame. There isn't a Style Section hall of Fame.
Greg
No, I'm in a couple of halls of fame.
Tony Kornheiser
But you know, I mean, the biggest thing to me, yeah. Was the honor honorary degree. Ken Vestola, who is our official retired professor of electrical, computer and systems engineering from Del Mar, New York, now the home of the man, the myth, the legend, Elliot Olshansky.
Greg
Oh, yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
He writes not only are Barbara Streisand. Remember I said a couple of kids from Brooklyn. Not only are Barbra Streisand and Neil diamond, both from Brooklyn, but they both attended Erasmus Hall High School, although Neil did not graduate there since his family moved to Brighton Beach. Others who attended this high school include Jeff Barry, who wrote Do Wa Diddy Diddy the Do Run Run. Then he kissed me. Be my baby Chapel of Love Leader of the pack in River Deep Mountain High with his wife Ellie Greenwich, actress Clara Bow, folk singer Oscar Brand, Betty Comden of Camden and Compton and Green, NBA star Billy Cunningham, sportscaster Howard David Al Davis, record exec Clive Davis, cartoonist Mark Drucker, Bobby Fischer, world's greatest chess champion, actress Susan Hayward, Mo Howard, pitcher Wade Hoyt, comedian Marty Ingalls, Roger Kahn, Sid Luckman, author Bernard Malamud, Doug Moe, Marky Ramone, Jerry Reinsdorf, NFL coach Sam Rigliano, Beverly Sills, one of the greatest opera singers of all time, Mickey Spillane, Eli Wallach, Sonny Werblin, Mae west and my mom, one more thing. Mercurochrome is a brand name for Merbromin, which was banned in the United States and Europe in 1998 because it contains mercury.
Greg
Yeah.
Mark Feinsand
Oh, kill you.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. Will Lavelle in Tysons, Virginia. You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Ms. Sage Corey and Mr. William Lavelle. Details are sparse at the moment as I only proposed 24 hours ago, but I know these things take a while to reach you. I figured I'd get this one out early. If this makes it to Uncle Benny's table before the end of 2026 and you're curious about the particulars, such as the date, the venue, or even the state it will be in, please send me an email. Hopefully we'll have a few of those details sorted out by then. We await your response. In the meantime, please tell Bill and Linda Lavelle to eat it. Happy to do that. Rob Frederick in Catonsville, Maryland. I'm catching up on the pod. After spending last week with the family in Rehoboth Beach, I had to laugh when Adam Vilsack from Pittsburgh said he was rocketing past Michael Bootsy and the hammer stuck behind the pedestrian paint trucks. It's hard to imagine anyone flying through the 25 mile per hour stretch that is Ellendale, Delaware. The mere mention of Ellendale brings back 40 year old memories of riding with my two brothers in the back seat on our way to Rehoboth. Once we hit that 25 mile slowdown, my stepfather Skip would tell the three of us to duck down low proclaiming this town doesn't allow kids. And we had to hide until we passed through. It was stunts like this or having us lean forward to make the car go faster or instructing us to cry if we ever got pulled over. That made the long car ride so memorable. Skip is no longer with us, but memories like this live on. The good ones are never a burden. Isn't that nice? I should have done stuff like that.
Michael
I never so good. While you reload the card at Funland.
Greg
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Mark Roulier in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Love both parts of the Billy Joel documentary. During Part two, I kept waiting for with bated breath for the detailed story of how Billy collaborated with Tony Beeson on I have a Piano wasn't there. Maybe it'll be on part 3 or news channel 8.
Greg
I have not seen it yet.
Sam Starr
Yet.
Greg
The part 2 part 2.
Tony Kornheiser
Haven't seen it yet. Want to Ali Fuller in Bend, Oregon, which he says is four and a half hours away from Band and dunes. Though I add parenthetically, we have amazing golf here in my home course. Ben Golf Club just celebrated 100 years.
Greg
This summer, as is Rehoboth beach celebrating.
Tony Kornheiser
100 years this summer. I wanted to give you an update on your old Eulet High school. Go Bulldogs pal, the great Jimmy Steinman. Yes, I know it is quite unsettling to be getting an update about an old friend from beyond the grave. Jimmy having left us for actual paradise and not just the one by the dashboard light over four years ago. Anyway, I was killing time before it was finally time to put my two boys to bed and watching Zillow Gone Wild on hbo. Max. And to my delight, on season two, episode two, they featured Jimmy Steinman's Connecticut home. When it came on, I shouted, you.
Greg
At high school.
Tony Kornheiser
My husband looked at me with such confusion. The house itself is wild and on the market for a cool 18 million. In case you're interested in a of piece piece of your old pal the cheeser race.
Greg
So what I had heard about this house was it only had one bedroom. It just had one bedroom.
Tony Kornheiser
Jimmy built a house with one bedroom.
Greg
And it's got, you know, music rooms and it's enormous and all of that, but it's only got one bedroom. 18 million seems like a lot for one bedroom.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, seems like a lot. Danny in Ocean Isle beach in North Carolina, I was at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame yesterday. I saw the Rascals plaque. I figured you knew their names. Great time there. Have you been? And yeah, it's got Eddie Bugatti and Felix Cavalier and Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli.
Greg
Have I been? I've not been to the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. I never went in Times.
Tony Kornheiser
I was in Cleveland. I never went, which is stupid. Phil Destito in Rome, New York.
Greg
You gotta go.
Tony Kornheiser
You have to see Garcia open for. For Bargazi. He can do eight minutes. I'm sure Garcia can have a. Have Bargazi set you up with parking to get you in. See Garcia is open. Get out of there before anyone notices. Just think of the endless material you can use for the next show's open. Think of the pride you would have to see one of your own make it in big in a new field. Don't worry about the potatoes. Michael can handle them. Mr. Tony. Go for us littles. You got this.
Greg
When is that?
Mark Feinsand
I think it's August 21st of the 22nd.
Greg
Something. Oh, we have a high school. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
There's two days.
Mark Feinsand
It's a Thursday and a Friday.
Greg
We got to go to one of them, I guess.
Tony Kornheiser
Haiku from Sheriff. Welcome to Funland. Really loud, smells bad. And where memories are made. And from Jim in Lutherville. I hope you don't mind, but occasionally I print and distribute T shirts printed with what I call classic Kornheiser comments. They are limited edition assorted sizes in 100% cotton. Last week you said something that I thought was T shirt worthy. You said I'm not a Funland guy. I think it's going to be a big hit and it comes at a great time. Is I am running out of the I went to the nail store T shirts. Please remind my fellow littles to use the codes. Brilliant. If you're out on your bike time as always do wear white.
Dan Graziano
Excuse me. Can I help you? Well, I'm here to pick up my date.
Tony Kornheiser
Could you ring Fawn Lebowitz for me?
Sam Starr
I hate going to huds loose. It's just fall as the family. I think I lost you. I love fingernails that sparkle red and render everything to shreds like yours too when they cut me like they used to I started your freaking household Needs all these caramel creams and Ariel sweaters why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better? Desperate window dressing ruthless advertising we chips back to things cause we're supposed to all our currency reads out of many one I don't think that means what I'm used to I started to freaking out so needs all these caramel creams and Oreo sweaters like any you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better N n n n n n n N N N N N n n n it will be because all we want is everything.
Greg
And.
Sam Starr
It all starts it's just full of stuff and the way I think I lost you I guarantee that we don't need all these caramel creams and Oreo sweaters why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better? Let's run away to Dewey Be skinny dude as we please no matter the weather why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better? Why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better? Why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for anything better? Why can't you see that you and me we could negotiate for any everything matter.
I
He was my golden retriever.
Dan Graziano
Right.
I
By my side when I need him Hear them puppy dog eyes that I can't deny when I see him I'M sorry, Golden Retriever? I couldn't be who you needed? Times are very tough? You're taking up my time? And I need it? Golden Retriever? I wish I could hold your trust? But what we had was some good puppy love? Sometimes these things don't work out and it sucks? But I bid you farewell? Goodbye and good luck? He was my golden retriever? Right by my side when I need him? Hear them puppy dog eyes? That I can't deny? When I see him? I'm sorry, Golden Retriever? I couldn't be who you needed? Times are very tough? You're taking up my time? And I need it?
Sam Starr
1, 2, 3, 4? Sam, it.
Podcast Summary: The Tony Kornheiser Show – Episode “Clifton Clowers” (Released July 29, 2025)
Presented by This Show Stinks Productions, LLC
1. Introduction to the Episode
In the episode titled “Clifton Clowers,” host Tony Kornheiser delves into a variety of sports topics, primarily focusing on the NFL and Major League Baseball (MLB). Alongside regular contributors Dan Graziano of Georgetown and Mark Feinsand, Tony navigates through current events, player performances, and personal anecdotes, all while maintaining his signature blend of humor and insightful commentary.
2. NFL Insights with Dan Graziano
a. Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons
Tony and Dan engage in a spirited discussion about Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and linebacker Micah Parsons. They explore the dynamic between Jones's exuberant management style and Parsons's rising prominence in the league.
Dan Graziano shares his optimism: “I think he [Micah Parsons] will be signed. They always get these guys signed at this point. If you play for the Cowboys and you're this caliber of player, you know that waiting till the last minute is the play.” ([17:18])
Tony Kornheiser weighs in on Jones’s influence: “Nobody has more fun than Jerry. Would you rather have Jerry Jones as your owner or Woody Johnson? Are you kidding? It's 100 to 0 on that.” ([19:10])
b. Cleveland’s Quarterback Quandary
The conversation shifts to the Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation, highlighting the uncertainty following Deshaun Watson's absence.
c. Player Trades and Team Strategies
Tony and Dan discuss potential trades and team strategies, emphasizing how front-office decisions impact team performance and player morale.
3. Baseball Breakdown with Mark Feinsand
a. Aaron Judge’s Injury and Impact
The segment addresses Aaron Judge’s elbow injury and its ramifications for the New York Yankees.
b. Scherzer and Verlander’s Performances
Discussions turn to star pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, analyzing their current seasons and future prospects.
c. Emerging Talent and Team Prospects
The conversation explores emerging players and team dynamics, particularly focusing on the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics.
4. Golf Segment with Dan Graziano
Dan recounts his recent experience at the prestigious Baltas Roll golf club, emphasizing the camaraderie and competitiveness among well-known sports personalities.
Dan Graziano shares his excitement: “I was very glad to be invited. Beautiful. Unbelievable place.” ([14:55])
Tony Kornheiser humorously notes the exclusivity: “We just saw him do a Sports Center hit. And you wear. Is that. That's not an Oakmont shirt. What shirt are you wearing? That's a golf shirt, isn't it?” ([13:39])
5. Commercial Insights and Humor
Throughout the episode, Tony and his guests interject with humorous takes on various commercials, notably dissecting an ad featuring Billy Bob Thornton versus Joe Pantoliano.
Greg admits his mix-up: “I got it wrong. It's Billy Bob and you.” ([03:51])
Mark Feinsand adds context: “Somebody emailed and said and there were a bunch on this and we didn't, we didn't print a lot of them up, but mentioned the favorite Joey Pants movie which I'd forgotten he was in was Midnight Run as the bail bondsman that was always with.” ([04:07])
6. Listener Engagement and Emails
Tony reads and responds to listener emails, sharing personal stories and humorous anecdotes that resonate with the audience.
Listener Jeff from Arnold, Maryland submits a song: “I'd like to submit my nephew Sam Starr song Golden Retriever...” ([26:01])
Listener Mark Feinsand shares updates and invitations: “Will Lavelle in Tysons, Virginia. You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Ms. Sage Corey and Mr. William Lavelle...” ([43:05])
7. Musical Interludes
The show features musical segments that complement the discussions, including tracks by Splitsville and Sam Starr, enhancing the overall listening experience.
Splitsville’s “I Hate Going to Hutzler's” is introduced as “an insanely catchy consumerism takedown with a sound that slots nicely between 80s new wave and 90s alt rock.” ([12:55])
Sam Starr’s “Golden Retriever” concludes the episode with a heartfelt rendition, aligning with listener Jeff’s submission. ([51:04])
8. Closing Remarks
In his final remarks, Tony reiterates key highlights, thanks the guests and listeners, and promotes upcoming events and sponsor messages, maintaining the show’s engaging and community-oriented atmosphere.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps:
Dan Graziano [01:29]: “We took the Christmas tree out of the attic last night.”
Greg [02:07]: “I realized now I totally flushed the mouse on this. Totally.”
Mark Feinsand [04:12]: “But this right here is why for these commercials you would use actors that you recognize because it just gets you to. It has you remember the moment more.”
Greg [05:11]: “I find myself saying to the toast, just make it the way you like it.”
Mark Feinsand [17:22]: “They are, they're much worse team.”
Dan Graziano [19:08]: “He is to football what you want to be to broadcasting.”
Nigel [28:33]: “They appear to be getting hot at the right time.”
Greg [35:34]: “He's got 23 home runs, he's hitting over 300.”
Conclusion
Episode “Clifton Clowers” of The Tony Kornheiser Show offers a comprehensive exploration of current sports narratives, blending expert analysis with personal anecdotes and listener interactions. Tony Kornheiser, along with Dan Graziano and Mark Feinsand, provides listeners with engaging commentary on the NFL and MLB, all while maintaining the show's entertaining and relatable tone.
For those who haven't tuned in, this episode delivers a mix of sports analysis, humor, and community engagement, showcasing why "The Tony Kornheiser Show" remains a staple for daily talk show enthusiasts.