The Tony Kornheiser Show

Episode: "Double cork switchback one-eighty"
Date: February 13, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show encapsulates Tony’s signature style: a mix of witty banter, personal anecdotes, and thoughtful discussion with industry experts. The episode touches on Tony's ongoing ear problem and humorous misadventures with winter boots, before diving into coverage of the Olympics, evolving sports journalism in the D.C./Baltimore area, and in-depth interviews on golf (with AP’s Doug Ferguson) and baseball (with ESPN’s Jeff Passan). There’s also listener mail, the quirky “Bethesda Bagel” segment, and original music features.

Key Discussion Points

1. Tony’s Ear Troubles & Winter Boots Saga (00:42–05:17)

• Tony recounts lingering hearing loss in his right ear after a recent flight, with friends and colleagues offering folk remedies.
  • Michael Wilbon suggests the classic: “You squeeze your nose and you try and breathe through.” (00:47)
  • Golf tee, hairdryer, and hot shower methods are humorously debated and dismissed.
  • Tony admits, “I can’t hear and I can’t see. I’m old and I can’t even think.” (02:05)
• Discussion shifts to winter hazards: Tony’s new Pajar boots (with ice spikes), local DC ice woes, and slips with his dog on treacherous sidewalks.
  • Michael: “These are rated to minus 22 degrees… your 30 degrees in D.C.… you’re going to be fine.” (02:47–02:52)
  • Both remark on the need for improved city snow/ice removal. “You have 48 hours to clear the snow… which nobody does.” (04:30)

2. Olympics Musings: Curling, Halfpipe, and ‘Double Corks’ (05:51–10:25)

• Tony talks about watching the Olympics, intrigued/confused by sports like curling and halfpipe snowboarding:
  • On curling: “It just seems that if you have the last ball, you win… I don’t really understand it.” (06:02)
  • Dissects baffling new-school sports jargon: “She’s doing a double cork 1080. I have no idea what that is.” (06:39)
  • Memorable moment: American Jessie Diggins’ inspirational bronze in cross-country skiing after racing with bruised ribs. “You could not take your eyes off her because you thought, wow, is she gonna live?” (08:22)
  • Michael jokes about athletes’ “broccoli juice” shots. (09:35)

3. Sports Media News: Baltimore Banner Expanding Into D.C. (10:31–14:48)

• Tony reads a note about the Baltimore Banner expanding sports coverage to include DC-area teams, potentially filling the local media void left by the Washington Post.
  • “That’s stepping into the void created by the demolition of the Washington Post sports section.” (12:54)
  • Michael compares subscription prices, sparking debate about the paper’s sustainability and reporting quality.
  • Tony quips about the importance of “All-Met” high school teams and laments the loss of such local sports coverage.

Interview: Doug Ferguson (Golf, Pebble Beach, PGA Tour) (17:19–30:17)

Pebble Beach as Golf’s True Season Opener

• Tony raves about Pebble Beach, calling it “the most beautiful Pebble Beach I'd ever seen. It was a totally cloudless sky… It was gorgeous.” (17:19)
• Doug Ferguson agrees: “It was perfect… You just did not want to leave the golf course.” (17:47)
• Both reminisce about its historical significance and connection to Bing Crosby.

Spotlight on Chris Goderup

• Tony: “[He] won about 60 tournaments before the beginning... What do you make of Goddard?” (19:00)
• Doug: Goderup is raw and powerful, built like Mike Trout from lacrosse, but has matured. “He’s figured that out… he’s got a great, great attitude and a good kid... It’ll be interesting.” (19:30–20:25)

Brooks Koepka’s Return

• Tony: “I thought that was going to be a bigger deal than it seems to have been… How is he fitting in?” (21:14)
• Doug: “He’s walking on eggshells a little bit… The old Cap just didn’t care… I think we’ll get back to that before long.” (21:32)
• On a new PGA Tour ad: “Very deliberate… He ends the commercial… The Tour is trying to milk this.” (22:23)

Slumps and Comebacks: Morikawa & Spieth

• Tony asks about low expectations after their slumps.
• Doug: “Spieth remains, I think, golf’s greatest mystery… He lost probably two or three years of peak Spieth.” (23:56–25:24)

Emergence of Rio Hisatsuni

• Tony: “He’s always at the top… He doesn’t close. He doesn’t win. Who is this guy?” (25:24)
• Doug provides background: strong iron play, but needs to improve putting. “He’s on a heater… but we’ll see.” (25:45)

Rory McIlroy, The Players, and Major Identities

• Tony raises Rory’s comments on tournament status and moving the PGA Championship.
• Doug: “The major thing is laughable… but the August thing really got my attention… the identity of the PGA Championship is that it has no identity.” (27:06–28:57)
• Both agree, “You don’t want to compete on a weekend with football, you stone. It’s crazy.” (28:15)

Interview: Jeff Passan (Baseball Economics & Storylines) (31:19–44:43)

Pitchers & Catchers Report, Spring Training Tidbits

• Tony: "Do we have pitchers and catchers on every team or have they not all reported yet?" (31:19)
• Jeff: “Pitchers and catchers have all reported… most of the position players have reported at this point too. Nobody takes any time off anymore, Tony.” (31:27)

The Dodgers, Baseball’s Broken Economic System, and the CBA

• Jeff: “The system that exists right now is irretrievably broken… If you have a system in which the only meaningful penalty is cash-based... that’s not going to work because there are teams that have way more cash—like the Dodgers.” (32:22)
• On new media rights: “Rob Manfred has a vision he’s going to take over every right of every televised baseball game... There’s a lot of money out there in television, Tony. A ton… If you can triple or more your television rights and then distribute that money reasonably, all of these small market teams… are going to have a windfall then you don’t need a cap.” (36:01)
• Tony: “Do people understand this the way you understand this?”
  Jeff: “Owners don’t understand players… that’s going to be a big issue over the next year as this plays out.” (38:07–39:23)

Injury Bug: The “Hamate Bone” Epidemic

• Tony: “The Hamate bone issue… a bone I had never heard of. Jackson Holliday is out. Lindor is out. Corbin Carroll is out. What is this thing?” (39:43)
• Jeff provides a detailed explanation: “It is a bone that has a small little hook on it that holds some of the flexor muscles in place. It is very susceptible to breakage… But they tend to think that it was just super bad luck.” (39:43–41:06)
• Tony jokes: “I’d try to go to med school to be a Hamate bone surgeon. Because I think that’s big money.” (41:06)

Trade Rumors: Tigers’ Tarek Skubal, Tigers’ Strategy

• Tony: “Do you expect them to trade Tarek Skubal or pay the money this year?” (41:27)
• Jeff: “I do not think they’re going to trade Tarek Skubal this year. I think they want to go and win the American League Central right now.” (41:27)

Max Scherzer’s Future

• Tony: “The warrior god, Max Scherzer—does somebody want him?” (44:03)
• Jeff: “Yeah, I think he’s going to sign eventually… It could be one of mid-season signings.” (44:03)

Listener Mailbag & Banter (45:31–55:44)

Highlights:

• Expert audiologist writes in to diagnose Tony’s ear as likely Eustachian tube dysfunction, offering practical medical advice. (46:30)
  • “You describe sounds a lot like Eustachian tube dysfunction… the usual move is seven to 10 days of an over the counter nasal spray like Flonase or Nasal Cort.” (46:30)
• Much chatter about best coffee ice cream flavors, recognition of Jenny’s as the crowd favorite. (48:35)
• Humorous commentary on company holidays and workplace culture. (50:53)
• Listener invites Tony and crew to his wedding and golf outing at The Club at Glenmore, quoting a review: “Not the best in the area, but in good condition.” (51:49)
• Astronomical tips for dog-walking stargazers; offers to be “the official dog walking old guy who walks around with his phone pointed at the sky.” (52:17)
• Listeners chime in on winter survival, plant-potato reminders, and running beehives for pollinators.

Notable Quotes & Moments

Tony Kornheiser:

• “I can’t hear and I can’t see. I’m old and I can’t even think. And I don’t know why I’m doing these shows, because I… lose myself right in the middle of them all the time.” (02:05)
• On double corks, 1080s, Olympic jargon: “He will say something like, oh, she’s doing a two cork 1080. I don’t know what that means. A double cork 1080. I have no idea what that is. It’s a switchback 900. I don’t know what that is.” (06:39)
• On cross country skiing’s brutality: “This… is a killer thing, this cross country skiing. This is not…” (09:11)
• On regional sports journalism coverage: “That’s stepping into the void created by the demolition of the Washington Post sports section.” (12:54)
• On Pebble Beach’s mystique: “Everybody knows what Pebble looks like. Everybody knows… it always feels like the beginning.” (19:00)

Michael Wilbon:

• On new boots for Tony: “These are rated to minus 22 degrees… your 30 degrees in D.C.… you’re going to be fine.” (02:47)
• “1080 was a great video game on N64.” (07:21)
• On lost local sports coverage: “Subscribe for a dollar.” (13:27)

Doug Ferguson:

• On Chris Goderup: “He’s got a lot of shots. He’s got a great, great attitude and a good kid. And, it’ll be interesting…” (20:19)
• On Koepka’s return: “The old Cap just didn’t care… I think we’ll get back to that before long.” (21:32)

Jeff Passan:

• On MLB's economic system: “The system that exists right now is irretrievably broken… There needs to be something else in place.” (32:22)
• On media rights as baseball’s future: “If you can triple or more your television rights and then distribute that money reasonably, all of these small market teams… are going to have a windfall then you don’t need a cap.” (36:01)
• On hamate bone injuries: “It can break in any number of ways… [but] they tend to think that it was just super bad luck.” (41:06)

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Winter boots, ice, and ear woes:
  00:42–05:17
• Olympics, new sports, and Jessie Diggins:
  05:51–10:25
• Baltimore Banner/D.C. sports journalism:
  10:31–14:48
• Golf w/ Doug Ferguson (Pebble Beach, Goderup, Koepka, etc.):
  17:19–30:17
• Baseball w/ Jeff Passan (CBA, Dodgers, hamate bone, trades):
  31:19–44:43
• Listener mailbag, ice cream wars, odd holidays:
  45:31–55:44

Episode Tone

• Playful, irreverent, and conversational—Tony’s self-deprecating humor frames the show, while Michael Wilbon’s banter and the guests’ expert insights keep things lively and informative. The episode is seasoned with nostalgia, skepticism about sports culture, and affectionate ribbing among friends.

Memorable Moments

• Tony’s total befuddlement at snowboarding lingo and current Olympic events: “A double cork 1080. I have no idea what that is.”
• Jessie Diggins’ cross-country bronze earns reverent awe from Tony: “Is she gonna live? Literally, is she going to live after this effort?" (08:22)
• Jeff Passan’s mini-economics lecture about televised baseball as the future jackpot for the league: “There’s a lot of money out there in television, Tony. A ton.” (36:01)
• Listener audiologist earns a show title: “Official audiologist of the Tony Kornheiser Show.” (46:30)

Music & Regular Segments

• Greta Percha’s original songs are featured throughout, including “If You Don’t Know What You Want” and “Going Through the Motions.” (16:12, 30:40)
• Bethesda Bagel plug (45:31)
• Listener mailbag brings a blend of practical advice, genuine listener clubbiness, and side-splitting stories.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This is quintessential Tony Kornheiser: part sports salon, part morning coffee klatch, shot through with idiosyncratic humor. You’ll get reflections on life, media, and sports, with golf and baseball covered in depth by premier national writers, some harmless tech complaints, and a heaping helping of personal warmth that keeps the show’s loyal audience coming back.