“Elder Fraud”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show — “Elder Fraud”

Date: July 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" features broad-ranging discussions that begin with sports—specifically, World Cup soccer, baseball’s quirks and milestones, and tennis—before flowing into characteristically Tony territory: local DC logistics, personal gardening woes, and his signature humor. Regular cast members Chuck Culpepper and Bill Simmons join Tony, along with expert segments from Buster Olney. The main sports focus centers on Team USA’s World Cup ouster, the fall-out around it, global soccer controversy, MLB surprises, and a sprinkling of tennis and Washington DC life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. World Cup Recap and Team USA’s Exit

Guest: Chuck Culpepper (Soccer Analyst)

• The USA was resoundingly beaten by Belgium—surprising less for the loss than the one-sided ease of Belgium’s win.
  • "I think it's the latter…I'm surprised it wasn’t a bit more competitive and that it looked like it did from the very first seconds." — Soccer Analyst, [21:04]
• Tony and Chuck explore how a minor controversy about player Folarin Baligan may have galvanized Belgium.
  • "It is possible that angered the Belgian team…gave them a common purpose beyond what they normally would have." — Tony, [22:42]
• The discussion touches on the red card controversy.
  • "I kind of don’t want it to be [a red card]…but everybody I know who’s watched the sport forever says yeah, that’s part of the deal." — Soccer Analyst, [24:47]
• Reflections on all three North American host countries (USA, Canada, Mexico) being eliminated at the same stage.
  • "It just kind of looked like okay, that’s where they landed, because that’s where they should have landed." — Soccer Analyst, [25:52]
• England's dramatic victory over Mexico: Tony argues, from a columnist’s perspective, that the "winning locker room" was the story due to their unlikely win (down a man, thin air, etc.).
  • "Everything is against them and they lose a guy. The fact that they won that… the column is the winning locker room." — Tony, [27:08]
• Christian Pulisic’s underwhelming tournament and America’s tendency to “jump ahead” in sports hype.
  • "We have this irrational exuberance that hasn't been fulfilled yet… we do, we sort of jump ahead of what the reality is as a culture." — Soccer Analyst, [29:04]
• Will Coach Mauricio Pochettino stay? Analysts agree it’s unlikely.
• Is there ever going to be the long-promised American “soccer boom”?
  • "I've heard this for 50 years…We're never the best country in the world. It's not our game. The NFL is our game…" — Tony, [31:32]
  • "A boom in interest, yes. A boom in quality? I'd say no at this point." — Soccer Analyst, [32:06]
• Tournament prediction: France seen as most likely winner.
  • "I just…think France all along…Part of it is they play a form of the sport that's really beautiful, and I would like to see that prevail." — Soccer Analyst, [33:20]
• Comparing Messi to Tom Brady:
  • "In great praise of Messi, said, he's Tom Brady. And there's no higher compliment for an aging athlete than to be compared to Tom Brady." — Tony, [34:10]

2. Soccer Officiating & “Fixing” Theories

• Emotional aftermath of Argentina’s wild comeback vs. Egypt, with accusations of match-fixing:
  • "Egypt has accused FIFA of fixing the game for Argentina. The coach went wild. The players went wild too." — Tony, [07:14]
  • Noted quote from Egyptian coach:
    • "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition…Sometimes external factors…go beyond the technical aspects…" — Bill Simmons (quoting coach), [10:59]
• Frustration with soccer’s opaque stoppage time system:
  • "Nobody, not even the coaches, know how much time is actually left…If you don't want to put a big clock up…fine, but they don't even let the coaches know." — Tony, [09:45]
  • "It really feels like the fix is in. Yeah, it really does." — Tony, [10:25]

3. Baseball: Streaks, Surprises, and Shohei Ohtani

Guest: Buster Olney

• Recognition for unsung heroes and statistical oddities:
  • "A guy named Tolbert on Kansas City…had 12 consecutive hits. That's unbelievable!" — Tony, [03:16]
  • "Based on his history, the chances for him to come up with a streak like that are something like one in three and a half million…" — Buster Olney, [38:45]
• Shohei Ohtani’s 300th career home run and his growing historical stature:
  • "He hit his 300th home run yesterday…he certainly may end up as the most impactful baseball player of all time." — Tony, [40:44]
  • "I'll say the best baseball player of all time…he's pitching great and he's an elite hitter at the same time." — Buster Olney, [41:02]
• Handling of young pitchers and the “lost art” of letting them chase history:
  • "The days of the rogue manager…giving the pitcher a chance to do something special…Those days are gone." — Buster Olney, [42:37]
• MLB team performances and trade deadline speculation:
  • Padres’ expensive, underperforming roster
  • Disappointments in Seattle and Toronto; candid exploration of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s All-Star snub ([47:46])
• First-half MVPs: Caminero, Shohei Ohtani, and Jordan Alvarez.

4. Tennis at Wimbledon

• Recaps of high-profile matches: Coco Gauff's win, Naomi Osaka's loss.
  • "Coco Gauff can win this thing…she's now reached the semifinals in all four different majors. That's a rarity at 22." — Tony, [11:45]
  • "I watched Naomi Osaka fold against Mahuva. She’s folded in each…she got to crunch time…went down the drain." — Tony, [12:05]
• Discussing the men’s bracket and Novak Djokovic’s “GOAT” status.
  • "He's one major away from being undeniably the GOAT. If he wins this thing at 39 years old…" — Tony, [13:19]

5. Local Life & Gardening

• Metro Red Line closures, bus lanes, and Bethesda traffic woes ([04:37])
• Tony’s potato gardening struggles and Buster Olney’s encouragement ([36:00])
  • "If they could text, you'd be texting them…How are you doing?" — Buster Olney, [37:10]

6. Listener Mailbag & Notable Messages

• Humorous reader mail on hot dog contests, Coney Island trivia, and nostalgic television ([51:09] and beyond)
• Quips about soccer “poets” and American sports hype
• References to competitive eating, speed golf, and renowned (or obscure) tennis players

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Layers and layers of corruption. You can't get through the corruption. No, you can't drill through the corruption. There's so much corruption."
  — Tony, on FIFA’s reputation, [11:22]

• "We always go out in the same spot. We always go out in the round of 16. It's who we are. It's not our game. The NFL is our game."
  — Tony, [31:32]

• "Teams don’t go off script anymore…Everything is top down."
  — Buster Olney, on baseball management, [42:37]

• "I'll say the best baseball player of all time, because he's doing these things…Babe Ruth never really did that."
  — Buster Olney, about Ohtani, [41:02]

• "See Belgium beat us in the NFL. Not gonna do that."
  — Tony, [31:35]

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Highlighted Timestamps

• [07:14] — Egypt accuses FIFA of fixing the game against Argentina; coach and players "go wild"
• [09:45] — Tony’s rant on soccer stoppage time and transparency
• [10:59] — Bill Simmons quotes Egyptian coach’s scathing FIFA remarks
• [21:04] — Chuck Culpepper on why Belgium’s dominance over the USA was shocking
• [25:52] — Analysis: All three North American hosts eliminated in same round—just and predictable?
• [27:08] — Tony on why England’s win over Mexico “is the column”
• [29:04] — On Pulisic & American sports hype: “irrational exuberance”
• [31:32] — Tony’s classic “not our game” commentary on U.S. soccer
• [34:10] — “He’s Tom Brady”—comparing Messi’s late-career wizardry
• [38:45] — Buster Olney explains Tyler Tolbert’s 12-hit streak odds
• [41:02] — Shohei Ohtani called “the best baseball player of all time”
• [42:37] — The “lost” tradition of letting pitchers chase no-hitters
• [47:46] — Dissection of Toronto/Seattle underachievement and Vlad Jr.'s All-Star skip

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is marked by Tony’s warm sarcasm, collegial ribbing, and the blend of expert guest analysis and playful banter fans expect. The conversation moves fluidly from serious sports talk to the trivial, all with an undercurrent of world-weariness and wry optimism.

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For New Listeners

This summary covers the substance: if you missed the episode, you’ll come away with a clear sense of the major sports events, the show’s irreverent attitude toward soccer and its foibles, fresh MLB storylines, and the best in quirky, off-topic mail and Tony anecdotes. The episode is everything longtime listeners expect: topical, clever, and unafraid to veer into the idiosyncratic mix that makes “The Tony Kornheiser Show” unique.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show we will chat with Chuck Culpepper about the World cup and his thoughts on Belgium thrashing Team usa. We'll also talk to Buster only about baseball and potatoes, probably mostly about potatoes. But first, commerce. Heat up your fourth of July at the Home Depot with our wide variety of grills under $300 and make every gathering one to remember. Give your outdoor space a glow up whatever your budget is with savings on seasonal plants. So starting at $5 with the grill fired up and your backyard set to perfection, you'll be able to invite friends and family over to kick off the party. Start celebrating with low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot. Prices may vary by store.

[Bill Simmons]

Exclusions apply.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Seehomedepot.com Pricematch for details as soccer takes

[Chuck Culpepper]

center stage this summer, Comcast helps bring the experience home to America. As the exclusive Spanish language home of the tournament in the U.S. telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever since. 700 hours of programming, live on site presence at all 104 matches and with multi view and real time 4K Xfinity

[Tony Kornheiser]

will deliver the most innovative and immersive

[Chuck Culpepper]

sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox and FS1.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Learn more at Comcast corporation.com.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Buster Olney]

You know, 10 miles away right there,

[Tony Kornheiser]

you know, on the, in Queens though,

[Buster Olney]

on the Cross Island.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, on Queens.

[Buster Olney]

Well, it's, it's always been clear to me, is Elmont in Queens or is it in Nassau County?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kind of half and half. I think half of the track is in Elmont, Long island, which is in Nassau county and half of the track is in Queens or was in the old track.

[Buster Olney]

But we, yeah, so we weren't that far. But, but it did make me think about like Chick Anderson and I just said he's eating like a tremendous machine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. I can't tell you how many emails and texts I've gotten praising Jeremy Shapp's appearance. We have him annually and people love him and I love him. So we're happy with that. For those people who watched PTI yesterday and you had to find it because we were bumped off ESPN to ESPN2 and justifiably because the Djokovic match was still going on in its fifth hour yesterday. A five set match with I think three different tiebreakers, tiebreaker at the end, 10 point tiebreaker that Djokovic won. So if you couldn't find Pti, you may have missed this, but I was. Question came to me at the end of the show. How do you think Paul Skeens is going to do tonight? And I said, well, I think he'll get his velocity back up because his velocity has been down lately. I think he'll go six innings, two earned, eight Ks. Six innings to earned, four Ks.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Oh, I was close to get spotted. Four runs at first, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was close on that. Yeah. The O'Hearn drove in 10 runs last night.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Wait, three in the third.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's not the most amazing thing in baseball. His 10 runs batted in. A guy I never heard of. There's a guy named Tolbert on Kansas city who had 12 consecutive hits.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, no walks. No, no errors. No, none of. No, no, no hits. Hits. 12 consecutive hits. That's unbelievable. That's actually unbelievable.

[Chuck Culpepper]

So hit.

[Buster Olney]

Did.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's, that's actually unbelievable.

[Bill Simmons]

What was the line, what did you say for Skins?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I said six, six innings, two earned, eight Ks. And he had six innings, two earned, four Ks.

[Buster Olney]

Wow.

[Bill Simmons]

Well done.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you listening to the show?

[Bill Simmons]

Yes. No, I was just looking up. I, I, I was just.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you think I made this up?

[Bill Simmons]

We just like you could fit that

[Chuck Culpepper]

baseball preview into all that soccer talk.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll get to soccer.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And for those of you expecting me to talk about the Nats. The Nats lose. It's a dull game.

[Chuck Culpepper]

I don't, you know, a slow game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I didn't care for the game one way or the other. I thought they left Alvarez in much too long. I didn't know what they were doing. And you know, they're just trying to

[Chuck Culpepper]

get to the break at this point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, it's discouraging. Are they under 500 now or are they at 500?

[Chuck Culpepper]

There's still a game over.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Still a game over. It's discouraging to, to look at the crowd when Houston is no draw at all. There's nobody there. You know, Houston, a team that had won. Not only have they won World Series, getting Nats beat them in the World

[Chuck Culpepper]

Series, the entire area feels pretty empty in middle of July right now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it really does. So, okay, so you see this with

[Chuck Culpepper]

traffic, except if you're on Wisconsin Avenue driving through downtown Bethesda, watch out for the bus lanes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What is going on?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Well, they're shutting down certain stops on the red line. So you've seen them put of the no parking signs the last couple weeks and I guess, you know, at the start of July, They've implemented this where if you get out at Friendship Heights on the Metro train, you get out and you take a bus that'll take you up the pike.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So they're only going north, they're not going.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Well, they're going to go south as well. But I'm saying that, you know, so

[Tony Kornheiser]

they're dedicated bus lanes now.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Dedicated bus lanes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Cars can't go. Are they also still dedicated bicycle lanes?

[Chuck Culpepper]

If you are outside, if you're trying to. If you're outside of the medical buildings, they are honking at you to get out of there. Yeah, the Barlow building.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I would imagine that. I mean, those are all the drop offs. Those are high density buildings.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow. Okay. What was the biggest.

[Chuck Culpepper]

You didn't say for the Dylan Cruz pinch hit at bat? Basically.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I noticed, I noticed.

[Chuck Culpepper]

The unluckiest hitter, apparently with all the metrics about hard hit balls, he is the unluckiest. I think he's up there. It's the storyline you always hear.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what happened?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Strikes out swinging.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, well, then he didn't hit the ball hard. Yeah, he didn't hit the ball at all if he struck out. I noticed early on that C.J. abrams was the DH last night.

[Chuck Culpepper]

C.J.

[Tony Kornheiser]

and they had. What's his name? That's somebody I can't stand at shortstop. I'm sure it was. I'm sure it was either Tanya or Vivas and I just don't. I'm not fans of theirs on any level. No, but I did notice that, that the outfield was young. Oh, so was Nunez. It's short. Okay. But was Vivas was at third or was he.

[Chuck Culpepper]

He was at second, Me was at third.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Bill Simmons]

I don't know who's on first?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, who's on first? What's on second? I don't know.

[Chuck Culpepper]

At that point of the summer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anyway, anyways, I didn't pay much attention to that game. I paid attention yesterday to. And I'm not. Look, I'm not going to try to pretend I'm a soccer person. I'm not a soccer person. I'm glad we're out so we can stop talking about soccer at great length, I hope on the PTI show, but I'm not sure that's the case because, you know, if 20 million people watch these games without the United States, you have to talk about them. I appreciate the position that I'm in, but I did watch the Argentina Egypt game and when I say I watched,

[Chuck Culpepper]

I mean it's on in the background.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I looked at it for about five minutes in the first half and realized that Egypt was up to nothing and thought, whoa, what if Egypt beats Argentina? That's huge. Then they were up to nothing in the second half and then there was

[Chuck Culpepper]

a phone call that was made deep

[Tony Kornheiser]

into the second half. They're up to nothing now. You've already lost Brazil and now you're going to lose Argentina. These are, these are. There's only eight countries all time that have won the World cup and they are two of them. And they're about to go out. They're the strongest South American countries. And then in a 12 minute span, I don't know how this is possible. Argentina scored three goals and Egypt has accused FIFA of fixing the game.

[Chuck Culpepper]

The coach went wild.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The coach went wild.

[Chuck Culpepper]

The players went wild too.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fixing the game for Argentina. What are they, what do they say about the fact that Argentina scored these goals?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Sure, you were missing before you got to that second goal. There was another second goal that got taken away on review for a play that happened at the far end of the field that I don't think should have gone to review. So their issue was the tying goal, under the same rules that they applied to the Egypt goal, should have at least been looked at. And if FIFA wanted to have a clean game, at least say, we're putting it up for you to see. It is clear by this rule. The same way that they do with the offsides, where you never actually know where the ball is when they're showing you the line. Right. But at least then they have some, you know, they have something to stand on. So their whole players went wild. It seems like there is a complete momentum shift in the second and there are some substitutions that just made it look like it wasn't a question of if, but how quickly Argentina would win. I will say you're seeing this alternative. Once you get to stoppage times, all of a sudden you're playing for goals.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And people try to score quickly. Yeah, people try to score. So I have two things to say. One is, is, you know, very unremarkable, I guess. I mean, these goals. They went in. Yes, they went in. I mean, Argentina. There was a period of time when it appeared that Egypt had 50 people on the field all lined up in front of their own goal. Frank Isoli yesterday called this packing the bus.

[Bill Simmons]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is a term, a soccer term, apparently. I had never heard it before where it looked like all they're trying to do is play defense. And yet two of those times Argentina scored this Is not my biggest issue. My biggest issue, and this is, maybe nobody else cares about this. When they go into extra time or stoppage time, whatever they call that thing where it's up on the screen and it says plus 5, plus 7, plus 10, whatever. It says to tell you how much time is left beyond when time expires. Time expires at 90 minutes. And then there's more time, right? There's more time because they don't stop during the game. Even when people lay on the ground for five, they don't stop. Okay. That's the way you want to do it. Okay. But nobody, not even the coaches, know how much time is actually left.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, if you don't want to put a big clock up for people like me, okay, if this is your convention and this is how you do it, fine, but they don't even let the coaches know.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Now, what I do find amazing is when you're watching it, you can actually feel the rhythm of. And go, I know. You know? We see the plus seven. You go, I know. Okay. They're going to let this team get one last possession. If anything doesn't materialize, they're going to blow it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It really feels like the fix is in. Yeah, it really does.

[Chuck Culpepper]

That, to me, does not feel like the fix because you're trying to follow the rhythm of the game. But.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, but they always give them. It's sort of like, all right, we'll see what happens with this last.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And if you don't get this one, that's it, game's over.

[Bill Simmons]

That's how it feels.

[Chuck Culpepper]

I always do, like, at the end, though, you're trying to predict, like, is this going to be a seven? They never. They never have it, like, on a clean round number.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is not. This is not how we play sports. Not in this country, it's not.

[Chuck Culpepper]

But that's why you like the Argentinian goals, where you see, like, okay, I see the pass, I see it go in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I saw the play, scored a goal.

[Bill Simmons]

Did you? Do you want to hear the exact quote from the Egyptian coach?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, sure.

[Bill Simmons]

Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects of the world champions received the support at every level.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Is he going to watch the rest of the tournament? I think that was the last.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's probably right. He's probably right. I mean, I would. Who knows?

[Bill Simmons]

Well, it's not like FIFA's above FIFA is just with the IOC.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's the most layers and layers of corruption for 100 years. Layers and layers of corruption. You can't get through the corruption. No, you can't drill through the corruption. There's so much corruption. I also watched a bunch of Wimbledon yesterday. I watched Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula, which is totally predictable. Jessica Pegula has once gotten to a major final and lost, but most of the time goes out in the round eight or something like that.

[Bill Simmons]

Round of.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Round of four. And Coco Gauff can win this thing. She's very good player. She's now reached the semifinals in. In all four different majors. That's.

[Bill Simmons]

That's a rarity at 22.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's a rarity. I watched Naomi Osaka fold against Mahuva.

[Bill Simmons]

Mohova Mujova. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She's folded in each. She got to crunch time in both sets and went down the drain. She got to a tiebreaker in the first set and was down 5 1. Not gonna recover from that.

[Bill Simmons]

And then it was like four all in a second.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She got broken and then she lost love.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, you know, I mean, everybody was, oh, you know, Wilbon loves Osaka, but it's not her surface.

[Bill Simmons]

No, I think that's the best she's done.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is the best she's done getting into the quarters. I watched Sinner beat some guy. I don't know who the guy was.

[Bill Simmons]

It's. It's. I think it's pronounced Lehechka, but it looks like the hecka.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I don't think it's always thinking

[Bill Simmons]

it's Bill out there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So, you know, and Sinner's supposed to do that.

[Bill Simmons]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The number one seed. He's supposed to get to the semis. But here's who Sinner's going to play in a semis. Going to play Novak Djokovic. Now, people who listen to the show know I don't like Novak Djokovic, but I have enormous respect for what he has done as a tennis player. He's one major away from being undeniably the Goat. I mean, I don't know how you say no, because he'd have 26 majors more than anybody ever if he wins this thing at 39 years old and he played a Canadian kid who was the number three ranked kid. Can you pronounce his name?

[Bill Simmons]

Felix O.J. aliassim.

[Tony Kornheiser]

O.J. aliasi.

[Bill Simmons]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a great match.

[Bill Simmons]

Comb FAA.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was a fabulous match.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah, it was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Djokovic didn't Wilt in the heat, I mean, in the first set he brought the doctor out because his calf or something, something was bothering him. But he played four more sets without doing that. And he was. He rose to it. He rose to it. He won it. He won a 10 point tie break and got out early like it was at one point, was up like 8:3 or 8:4 or something like that. In all the clutch moments that he had to perform, he performed. This is undeniable. And Alcaraz is not in the field. If he gets past Sinner, he's going to win. That's tough match. That's a very tough match. Sinner is number one. He's number one for a reason. No, he is the best player. He or Alcaraz, they are the best players in the world. Djokovic is ranked seventh at the moment and beat the number three yesterday. Beat the number three. Djokovic never ranked seven. In the last 20 years, he hadn't been ranked seven. Right. You know, I like his chances and I do.

[Bill Simmons]

Did Sinner win this? I think he won Wimbledon last year, didn't he?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Maybe, Champ, maybe. I mean, Sinner and Alcaraz win everything. Everything they're entered in, they win. Other people don't win.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Hasn't played in a while. But Alcress hasn't played in a while.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I mean, Australia, yeah. He missed French and he's missed Wimbledon and maybe he'll play in the US Open. Maybe not.

[Bill Simmons]

Hopefully.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, when you, when you sit out this long, maybe you just like eating. Maybe you don't want to play anymore. So, you know, can you bring me another pint of that? You know, another pint of ice cream? Because I like that.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Anyway, that's what Jess Pugula has committed to the DC Open at the end of the month. So we can take you with the boys to go watch her.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good. I'd like. You know what I have. I said this publicly. I think I may have said this publicly. I know I've said it privately. I have tremendous admiration for Jessica Pula and I'll tell you why. She comes from a family of extraordinarily rich people who own the Buffalo Bills and they own the Buffalo Sabres. And she don't have to do this. And she works as hard as anybody.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She's out there working all the time. She's, you know, she doesn't. A lot of people in that position wouldn't do it. And she's out there battling all the time. So I admire Jessica Pegula. I just don't Think she's. She hasn't shown greatness yet?

[Bill Simmons]

No, not yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, see if she does anyway.

[Chuck Culpepper]

And we have the final round of the U.S. adaptive Open later this year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You went over there?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Yeah. How was it? Took Boosie to Woodmont South. He got to walk the entire course. And the highlight for me is on our very first hole. So we walk in on the 13th. There is a player that went viral about a year ago, Chazzy Bowker.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, Allen knows him.

[Chuck Culpepper]

He had a hole in one in a practice round. And I see this great approach from what felt like 180, 190 out to a back pin on that hole. Bootsy's applauding him. He comes by, looks at the kid, throws him a golf ball. One hops. I reach out, catch it. The boy is beaming. I take a photo of him with Chazzy in the background. He's playing golf with Allen this week.

[Buster Olney]

Okay.

[Chuck Culpepper]

And Ronnie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. So.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So now you need to hear this story that Alan told me. Alan is talking to chassis. Now. Chazzy is four foot four.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Yes. He's in the short stature category, where he's tied for first in that category overall. He's a couple off the big lead.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Allen says to him, you know, we give putts at some point, you know, we gotta establish a boundary inside of which we give putts. And he says, chassis said, inside chassis. And he lays down and he says, inside a chassis, that's a given pot. So, you know, Alan loves him.

[Bill Simmons]

It's a good marker.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Alan loves him. So that's that. You know, if you. If you get a chance to go, it's a. It's an uplifting circumstance. An uplifting circumstance. We will take a break. Chuck Culpepper. We're going to talk about soccer. Chuck's going to talk about soccer. I'm going to ask some soccer questions. Chuck's going to talk about soccer. I'm Tony Cornhole. This is the Tony Kornizer Show. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. And every goal changes everything. And now FanDuel is giving you a reason to root for every single one. Introducing every goal pays. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored in that match. That's right. More goals means more bonus bets. And all you have to do is turn on your token. From the opening whistle to the final kick. Let there be goals on FanDuel. Visit FanDuel.com podcast to get started now.

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Must be 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana. Permitted parishes only. Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia or Wyoming. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See [e-mail] gambling problem call 1 or visit fanduel.com RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Call 1-800- NEXT STEP or text NEXT STEP to 53342 in Arizona 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chad 1-800-9withet in Indiana 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas 1-877-770 stop in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1-800gambler.net in West Virginia or call 4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY in New York or visit OASAS.NY.gov gambling standard text messaging rates apply. Sports betting is void in Georgia, Hawaii, Utah and other states where prohibited.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Bill from the Bill Simmons podcast.

[Bill Simmons]

FIFA World Cup 26 fans, listen up. Is the official beer sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 26.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Bill Simmons]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Open US Residence 21 begins on December 1, 2025 ends on July 31, 2026. Multiple entry periods. Visit www.mcglobaltra.com SuperiorAccess FIFA World Cup 2. 6 for free entry, entry deadlines, prizes and details. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Nothing Goes as planned.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Andrew Bell. We played Andrew Bell last week and we had nothing to say about Andrew Bell. And as Andrew Bell writes, well, for a minute there I really thought Michael was going to get that printer working, so we didn't have that. But he writes regardless. It was still fun to hear the music on the show, so thank you and in case you want to try again, here are a few more songs you're welcome to use this is called In My Veins. This is Andrew Bell. We're gonna play him twice before, twice today. He says, as I tried to say before, thank you for the many years of laughs and entertainment as I've traveled around the country for work. This is his work. Again, this is In My Veins. Andrew Bell, who's very, very good, plays in Chuck Culpepper, who was hit the jackpot by hanging around Cape Verde, Cape Verie almost beat. Who'd they almost beat? Argentina. Right?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, like, that would have been, given the fact of how Argentina beat Egypt yesterday with three goals in, I don't know, 45 seconds, you know, to knock out Argentina would have been a huge deal. So we'll get to all of that. But, I mean, I'm using your soccer expertise because I have none. We'll start with the obvious question for our audience. Are you surprised that Belgium beat the United States or are you surprised with the ease Belgium beat the United States?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I think it's the latter of the two. I'm surprised that it wasn't a bit more competitive and that it was. Looked like it did from. Really. From the first seconds.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

And made me think of this old interview I did with a former Premier League player, but an American one, one of the Americans who's played in England, named Jay Demerit, who played for a club, Watford, that went from the second tier in England up to the top. And it was about 20, almost 20 years ago. And I asked him one time, what's the difference between the two? And he said, when you're playing in the second division, you see someone coming at you and you have the thought, he's coming at me. And when you play in the top division, by the time you finish the thought, he's already atop you. So I've always thought about that. I thought that was a great way to describe it, what it feels like. And to me, that's kind of. That's how that match looked. Belgium looked faster and, you know, keener and more tactical, more ready, more everything. It just looked like, okay, those were great wins over Paraguay and Argent and, excuse me, Australia, Bosnia. But it looked like what I had been curious about before the match was, will this be a step up in quality? And I kind of thought it wouldn't necessarily based on Belgium not looking all that dazzling in previous matches, but it did. It just looked like, oh, okay, we're in the top league now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

See, I don't know how this works. The Folarin Baligan thing. I don't know how it works. But it does seem to me that it is possible that, that so angered the Belgian team that it gave them a common purpose beyond what they normally would have. I don't know that it had any effect on the American team, but it might have had an effect on the Belgian team because afterwards they tweeted out what was it, overturn this or something like that. Do you have any thoughts on that?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I think that's absolutely right. I agree, you know, wholeheartedly with that, that there's a reason that coaches, like, let's just think of great coaches we've, we've experienced, like say Nick Saban, don't want any outside distractions, you know, and it's not being control freaks about it, I don't think. Although maybe that's part of it, but it's about, you know, not lending any kind of particular focus to the other side. Something that they might, that might make them concentrate in a better way or might make them, you know, more say, attentive to detail that needs to be done to play like Belgium did. And I think, I mean, I guess it's pretty clear from the dancing in the locker room and everything afterward that it did give them something.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I guess for me, I mean, I look at this like a veteran sports writer. Like, for me it's, well, was the red card deserved? I mean, forgetting who makes phone calls for a second if you possibly can forget that? But forgetting how high up the ladder it goes. Did the guy deserve a red card? If he did, he's out. If he didn't, I'm fine with him going back in. What are your thoughts on that?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

This is where I listen to people who have followed since their, you know, since they were single digit aged and didn't start loving the Sport at say 30 like I did.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

And everyone says, yes, it's a red car. I kind of don't, don't want it to be because I look at it and I think I don't see harm there. I see sort of potential harm. And I guess that's why it's the, the rule or whatever. But yes, I, and then, you know, you bring in the factor of the slow Mo. Slow Mo video that you watch, which makes it look worse, which always did not used to be part. Right, right. So, yeah, I, I think I, I kind of don't want it to be a red card. I don't think it should be. But everybody I know who, you know, who has watched the sport forever says, yeah, that's part of the, part of the Deal. But in a way, I was kind of glad that he was back because I just didn't think he did a horrible thing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you find it ironic or is there something more to it than just irony that all three host countries got bounced in the same round and it appeared that they'd gotten easy draws in group to get them to that round? Am I overstating this?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

So in the cases of the US And Canada, it kind of looked like they got to the round where that fit, you know, and maybe Canada, even a little bit beyond. But in the case of Mexico, it's just this. I mean, there have been so many great matches in this tournament that it's hard to finish talking about one before another one pops up. And a lot of great three, two matches. And the England, Mexico match in Mexico City was one of those. And you know, England was down to 10 men for a long time there, 40 minutes, just a nerve wracking thing. And so I do think Mexico possibly, you know, Mexico has its long history of losing in the round of 16. It's happened over and over and over and over again through the last, say, 30 years. I do think, though, I could have seen them maybe as a quarter finalist, you know, a legit quarter finalist. So. But with the US and Canada, I kind of think just from how it looked, Canada against Morocco and the US against Belgium, both losing by three goals, it just kind of looked like, okay, that's where they landed, because that's where they should have landed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I mean, as an old sports writer, as a columnist, you always say, what's the column here? Most of the time I usually think that the losing locker room is the column. But in the case of Mexico, England, I would have gone winning locker room because that the odds on them winning, that when they walked in there, they're at 7,500ft in altitude, which cannot be approximated anywhere in England. They have three days to acclimate. They're at a stadium where the other team has played like 89 games and lost twice. Lost twice. Everything is against them and they lose a guy. And the fact that they won that, to me, you, you. The column is the winning locker room. That's what I think. What do you think?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Yes, and it was, it was what England fans have looked for for a long time. It had this quality about it of. I guess some people say courage is too strong a word, but I think there was some courage in there. Had some. Had this sort of. People have seen England for a long time as, okay, there's this build up this grand national expectation before all these World Cups, and then there's kind of this lukewarm aspect to them and sort of where. Where's the fight like that? Well, that was. I'm trying to think of anybody in the whole field who I'm sure I can come up with someone who showed more fight than that. And that was really inspiring. And, you know, I was thinking about how it could unleash a lot of purple copy into English publications, you know, and. And that all of it would be warranted.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, no, I agree with that. Let me go local again. Wonder boy Christian Pulisic, you know, famous for having Hershey candies designed in his honor, gave us nothing, no goals, zero goals. What do we make of that?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I do think it's kind of. I think we always tend to jump ahead of what's been established. Actually. It kind of drove me nuts the way the U.S. beat Paraguay and Australia, and then we're already talking about winning the whole thing when there's so many layers left, so many hard, hard tears to go. And I sort of think there's a parallel there a bit with him, which is where we, you know, we're so excited about someone and we. We have this irrational exuberance that hasn't been fulfilled yet. And that's. That's where we are with this, too. And I don't. I think about irrational exuberance in both cases sometimes. And it's fun, you know, I guess I'd rather feel exuberant, even if it's irrational, than to feel not exuberant. So there's that element to it. But it's just we do. We sort of jump ahead of what the reality is as a culture, because it's. We. We love our hype.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. The coach, Mauricio Pochettino, I guess they're. You know, everyone wonders, will he stay? Will the United States want him? It's four more years till this thing happens again. It's a tremendous amount of time. Do you think this guy's going to stay here and coach this team for four more years?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I never go to gambling windows. I don't like betting. I have other vices. But if I would say no in this case, I would say there would be some lure in Europe that will bring him back there. But it would be great. I just think there is something about him that I think would be wonderful to have around and, you know, maybe not couldn't wish for the duration of, say, the French manager, but it's, It's. There's something about him that was maybe different from all his or a lot of his predecessors. I don't want to leave out Bruce arena, who, in his first run, did an extraordinary job getting the US to the 02 quarterfinal. So. But this. This man brought something to it that was really compelling and really. And the way he sort of became an American in a lot of ways.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, he's saying, take me home, country roads.

[Buster Olney]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, if you can do that from Argentina, you can do anything, you know? Although, maybe. Well, who knows? Yeah. It just seems like a long time. You know, the soccer poets are out there saying, there's going to be a boom. I've heard this for 50 years, since Pele got to this country. There's going to be a boom. And by next Tuesday, we're going to be the best country in the world. We're never the best country in the world. We always go out in the same spot. We always go out and around the 16. It's who we are. It's not our game. The NFL is our game. Let's see Belgium beat us in the NFL. Not going to do that. But do you see a boom? Do you see a legitimate boom? Because I never do.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Oh, yes. Is my first answer that this time, because it was so. So loud and so enthralling for a while that I could see kids going out to the, you know, outdoors, to the street, in front of them in the. In the heat and. And practicing and so on. And then you run into this thought of, well, everyone is down now on our youth leagues and how they function and the contours of them and the money involved in them, and is this the way to do it? And apparently it's not. And so a boom in interest. Yes. A boom in quality. I'd say no at this point, because

[Tony Kornheiser]

at some time Billy is out there and says, why can't I use my hands? I can use my hands in the other sports. I want to use my hands, but I'm. I'm that guy.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

We used to be the land of goalkeepers, you know, that was our. Because of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

And then now we have this goalkeeping error that you just feel. My heart shattered for the guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So is there a team that you think is going to win this?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I do. I thought France all along.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I think their quarterfinal with Morocco is very scary. Very, very scary. But I. I just. I think part of it is they play a form of the sport that's really beautiful, and I would like to see that prevail. So I've sort of thought France all along. And I've thought if they get into a match with Argentina, then they'll maybe have that thing that Belgium had against the US because they lost to them the last time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That would give you Mbappe and Messi. Somebody said to me the other day in just yesterday actually in great praise of Messi, said, he's Tom Brady. He's. He's Tom Brady. I mean, and there's no higher compliment for an aging athlete than to be compared to Tom Brady. Right.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

I think there's a, there's a lot in that too in terms of, of the entire approach to the sport as well. You know, he and I, I think Mbappe's, I would place him pretty easy. He's a lot younger, so we don't know yet, but pretty close to that as well in terms of the sort of dedication and the lack of, you know, a whole lot of extra noise around them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It gives me great joy when you're on this show. Thank you, Chuck. Thank you.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

It gives me great joy to be on. Thank you so much, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chuck Culpepper, boys and girls. We'll take a break. We'll go to Buster. Only we can talk to him about the flowering potatoes. The flowering potatoes. And talk to him about baseball when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage

[Chuck Culpepper]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Or finally break down that long article

[Chuck Culpepper]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Gemini and Chrome is here for it, ready to make anything online make sense. There's no place like Chrome. Check responses.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Chuck Culpepper]

Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Now take Duracell.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Woe is me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Andrew Bell. One more time. This is called the Ladder. Michael. If people who are independent artists like Andrew Bell want to send in their original music to play on the show, how do they do it?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Send us your music by emailing it to jinglesneycornizershow.com. this sounds like could be the captain's bedtime song.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a lovely song.

[Bill Simmons]

Yes, it is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Andrew Bell plays in Buster Only. And, you know, we're. We're going to get to baseball, but we have to start with potatoes. So in the last week, Washington had four days, over a hundred. And at least twice a day I went out there to water the potatoes, not knowing if I have to water potatoes or not. Not. Not having any idea, but doing it, treating them like other plants. I lost many of my tomatoes. I lost them to the heat even with all of this watering. But when you see.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Not the plants, just the fruit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just the fruit. Yeah. Not the plants. So. Because I watered it a lot. But when you see the stalks of the potatoes coming out of the bags and they're 2ft high, at least with flowers, I worried that we hadn't planted potatoes, but we had just planted flowers. But you want to reassure me? Yes.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah. It's 100%. I think all these signs are great. You know, the fact that you're cheating, treating them like your children, that's great. Going out and watching them over them every day. You know, I'm sure that if they could text, you'd be texting them, you know, on a regular basis saying, how are you doing? So I get that. And I will say, and I mentioned this to you before, we did a PTI segment last week that, you know, I'm making a phone call because I'm trying to find out information about the Phillies. The Phillies and how they're progressing. And I'm talking with a member of their front office. And the first question is, how's your crop doing?

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Great.

[Buster Olney]

Because of my conversations with you. And this person relates all that. And so I get the feeling, and I, you know, I grew up on a farm, but I can't pretend that, like, I have super deep knowledge on it. But I know you and I are pretending like we do, and that's really great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hope it works. Hope it works.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was gonna. We're halfway through the baseball season. I was gonna ask you a lot of halfway questions, but two things happened yesterday that I think take precedence. One is in the history of baseball, setting up Shohei Ohtani for where he is ranked. He hit his 300th home run yesterday. Dodgers lost the game, but he hit his 300th home run. But more amazing to me is somebody named Tolbert, who I don't know at all on Kansas city, who had 12 straight hits. I couldn't even believe that the record was 12. I couldn't believe that.

[Buster Olney]

No, And I don't think anyone does. In fact, I saw, and I wish I could give credit, but it was some website this morning on social media, and it posts that given his history as a utility player, he's basically been a utility player and a pinch runner for him. Based on his history, the chances for him to come up with a streak like that are something like one in three and a half million. You know, this is not a top prospect coming up and just raking.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

This is someone who's got an opportunity to play and, you know, in a classic style. His 12th hit last night was an infield single. And, you know, he. You could see in the grin that he has that he understands that, you know, this is like winning the lottery over and over and over again. So pretty cool in a sport that's so much so filled with failure that you get a player who gets an opportunity like that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So three of his hits last night were infield hits. Three of them. You know, I mean, it's not like he's banging home. It's not Kyle Schwaber sitting there like a coiled snake. It's not that. But 12 in a row, it's hard to imagine because, I mean, that eliminates the possibility of an error, eliminates possibility of a walk, eliminates the possibility of a strike. All these things that happen to everybody did not happen to him.

[Buster Olney]

I know. Yeah. And I. I mean, it's one of the great things about baseball, my time covering the sport is you get players who are, you know, sort of at the fringe of. Of the. Of the game in there, and they have those moments. When I was covering the Orioles back in the 90s, they had a. You know, they acquired a third baseman named Jeff Manto, who I think hit five homers over the course of two days. You know, his dad was a judge in the Philadelphia area. We got to, you know, learn something about it, and he knew it. Like, just talking with him on a daily basis, I would see him as a coach for years after bump into him, and we talk about how cool that was that he had that opportunity. I think that's how everyone's feeling about Tyler Tolbert today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's go to Ohtani. 300 home runs before the end of his ninth season is a rarefied air for Ohtani. And everything Ohtani does, everything he does, indicates that, I don't want to say the best baseball player of all time, but he certainly may end up as the most impactful baseball player of all time.

[Buster Olney]

Yes, I'LL say the best baseball player of all time because he's doing these things. He's pitching great and he's an elite hitter at the same time. And Babe Ruth never really did that. That's the guy he's always compared to. And I've been thinking about this because he's been dealing with nagging injuries this year. He's had bicep issue where in his last start as a pitcher, so that when he was taking swings, he didn't feel completely comfortable. And so they pinch hit for him late in that game and then he sat out the next day and Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, said, that's gone away. It's just something that he's had a couple times. He's maintaining that he's had this issue with some soreness in his left knee, which is a big deal because as a pitcher, that's your land leg as a right handed pitcher. And all of it is a reminder to me that this is all fleeting. Right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

And that we should enjoy this. This is getting to watch, you know, BABE Ruth in 1927. This is Getting to Watch Ted Williams in 1941. You know, Mickey Mantle, 1956. It's a great player at his absolute peak. And it's not going to last. You know, 32 years old. You do wonder if in, you know, three, four years he'll make a decision, as Ruth did, to go to being a full time hitter. But right now, man, is it fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. What would you have done? How do you feel about the Marlins manager taking the kid out with seven innings of a perfect, Not a no hitter. Now a perfect game. How do you feel about that?

[Buster Olney]

Yeah, as I was watching it, I was thinking there's no chance that he's going to get a chance to get to the end of the game because they don't, they don't do that anymore. They don't go off script anymore. Teams don't, you know, they have their script before the game and they stick to it. And he said that before that, before that game they talked about Perez having 90 plus pitches. He gets to 92 after seven and then they pull the plug. The days of the rogue manager, the powerful manager, you know, giving the pitcher a chance to do something special, make history, throw 130 pitches the way Johan Santana did and getting the Mets first, no hitter. Those days are gone. Everything is top down. And look in the Marlins are a great example that they're even calling pitches from the dugout, you know, and that is a radical change. And they're having success doing it. So I thought there was no chance that, you know, that he was going to be able to finish that game. It, it really is pining for, you know, him to go, you know, 120 pitches, 130 pitches, that's like wishing for, you know, 5 cent milk. It just doesn't happen anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, I was, you know, I thought it was an awful decision. But by the same token, there are two teams in baseball, the White Sox and the Marlins, where I say, wow, that it just seems like they're doing something right, so maybe I ought to shut my yap about this. You know, that's how I felt.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah, but I think you and I, and I agree with you, like, I want the kid to have an opportunity. I think it's a special thing. You know, I remember once talking with Billy Beane about the pitch counts. And, you know, it was suggested in a meeting with the A's that, hey, we're going to restrict this guy to 180 innings. And his answer was, well, what's the science behind that? Why is it 181, not 181innings? Why is his number same as that other guy's number? You know, I get it that they're looking to protect these guys, but I don't think there's an exact science. And you can't tell me that he couldn't extend to 110 pitches to make it happen. But it just doesn't happen anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everybody talks about the Mets and how the Mets are a disappointment. They spend all this money and they're no good. And that's all true. The Padres spend a lot of money. The Padres have hitters, they have pitchers. The Padres are, I think, right at.500. They're way behind the Dodgers. Do you have an explanation for them? Is their manager in trouble?

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

No.

[Buster Olney]

Craig Stamen, of course, in his rookie year as a manager, used to pitch here. Well, yeah, right, exactly. And I mean, I say that they've had a lot of managerial turnover with AJ Brower, general manager out there, so maybe they could change. But I don't think that's anyone believes that's the reason. The fact is, you know, Peter Seidler was the owner there. He built what has been is an amazing atmosphere in San Diego where now they're drawing over 3 million people, where they consistently are the number two drawing team in baseball, which is just shocking for a small market team to get to that point. But there was a Faustian bargain in building that. And that is they invested a lot of Money in older players and guaranteed contracts to guys like Manny Machado and Xander Bogarts, who and folks around baseball at the time they did those deals was like, man, at the back end of those, it could get a little bit ugly. And we thought going into the year, you know, the Marlin, the Padres had the best bullpen in baseball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Buster Olney]

But they also, because of their, you know, financial obligations, some of those older players, they didn't have a deep rotation, they didn't necessarily have a deep lineup. And it's all kind of fragmented in part because not only the investment, the older guys, but Jackson Merrill, who you know from, from your area, who is a number one pick, was tremendous as a rookie and he's kind of fallen off. So it's going to be an interesting decision to see where the Padres, what they're going to do before the trade deadline. Preller usually goes big one way or the other. And if you were to put Mason Miller out in the trade market.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean, it occurs to me that they are having a bad year, but not as bad as Seattle and Toronto are. Having Seattle and Toronto look like they were built for the long haul. What happened to them?

[Buster Olney]

Yeah, and I think Seattle remains a sleeping giant in the American League this year. You know, they're a team to watch. The Blue Jays are really hanging on the fringe of competing. The shocking thing there, and I think if you were to drop a list of, you know, the 10 most surprising things in baseball this year, the fact that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Has half the home runs this season, more than half the season have been played, half the home runs and he hit last October when he dominated when, you know, I wrote a long piece at the outset of the season quoting Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, he run the Dodgers, other guys in the Dodgers, talking about how great Vladdy was and the expectation within the sport that this was going to be a year in which he can compete for the MVP race. To see him be among, you know, the lowest producing first baseman in baseball is a shock, but I think Seattle is going to find their way out of it. They have a lot of talent on that roster. I think they were, you know, people aren't going to complain about this stuff out loud with teams, but there are a number of teams who felt like they were affected by the WBC because of the different preparation that's put in with those teams. And they had a bunch of WBC guys and I think the best days of the head are ahead for the Mariners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me just get back to Vlad Guerrero Jr. For a second. Do I have this correct? He walked away from the All Star Game like he was voted on and said, no, Right?

[Buster Olney]

That's right. And there are times, I must say that when, you know, veteran players, you know, turn down the opportunity to go to the All Star Game, you know, the. Well, I have to take out the garbage.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Buster Olney]

I need to wash my hair. Those type of excuses that sometimes you hear. I think in this case, it's actually Blatty's respect for the game that he understands that, you know, he's there because of, you know, the fan vote based on what he did last October and in past seasons. And I think it was a sign of respect to the game and other first basemen, the American League saying, you know what? I haven't earned it. I'm going to sit out. I'm going to tend to my back, which he's had some soreness this year, and I'm not going to play. This is a case where I get it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree with that. And one last thing. A first half kind of question. First half MVPs, in your mind. I had written down Caminero and Shohei.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah. Or Jordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros, who. I remember Dusty Baker. When a few years ago in Dusty, last year's manager, Alvarez missed a few games at the end of spring training. And I said, you're going to send him down minor league rehab assignment. And Dusty looked at me like I was crazy and said, no, that guy, his swing is such that he's going to be 80 years old and he's going to wake up from a nap and you can send him out. He's going to hit a line drive someplace. His swing is so simple and so great. He's having a phenomenal season. Junior Camin Arrow. You know, I had Albert Pools on my podcast earlier this year, and Poole said to me that when Aaron Judge moves on into retirement, Caminero is going to be the next Aaron Judge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow.

[Buster Olney]

He just turned 23 years old on Sunday. Sunday, he's hitting a bunch of home runs, as he did last year when he hit 45. The thing that jumps out to Albert, to everyone, is he's doubled his walk rate. You and I have been watching baseball for a long time. That does not happen. Where a young player goes from being, you know, a very aggressive swinger, maybe over swinging, maybe reckless, to having played discipline, that doesn't happen. And we're seeing it with Junior Caminero. So, yeah, he's also one of those guys. And I agree with you, Shohei you know, unless he got hurt, he's going to be again the MVP in the National League.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Amazing. Buster, thanks so much. It's always a great joy for me to talk to you. Thank you.

[Buster Olney]

Likewise. Tony, I'll talk to you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This segment with Buster only has been brought to you by FanDuel. Play your game. We will come back with email and jingle. I am Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Pickums Tony's mail bag. Got your emails, faxes and your notes. This Mr. Tony's mail back. Gonna read something for all of your folks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Brandon Costello, we always like him. Yeah, it's lovely. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel ad, please?

[Bill Simmons]

Yes. Bethesda Bagels, we love them. You will as well just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Then pop on in and you will be throwing Thrilled.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Good luck navigating Wisconsin Avenue.

[Bill Simmons]

The bus lanes. That's a nightmare.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say what would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears, I'll sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key Or I get by with a little help from my friends. That's the first song in the sergeant Pepper album, the most important album ever made. Yes, sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. And it sung by the least of the singers of the Beatles, Ringo Starr, who turned 86 years old yesterday and is universally beloved.

[Bill Simmons]

Yes, everybody loves, everybody loves Ringo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thanks to our guests today, Chuck Culpepper and Buster. Only thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and ought to see if you get show through Apple podcasts. Please leave us a review.

[Bill Simmons]

Do you think Pete Best is not a fan of Ringo?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He might not be, but everybody else is. From Phil destito in Rome, New York, which is in upstate New York. Mr. Tony Cannolis dipped in water. That's sacrilegious. You know how many places and neighborhoods a person could get shot for this? I understand it's an eating contest, but come on. There's only one thing you dip a cannoli in and that's coffee. That's it. That's the list. Change the rule from Neil Ayervase. Dr. Spud. Yes, Secretary had had a hay bucket. But did he have a vomit bucket? I thought not. Andy Shaner in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Joey Chestnut may be the reigning champion, but the godfather of competitive eating is Kobayashi, who won Nathan's contest six consecutive times from 2001 through 2006. Although one contest he couldn't win was featured on the greatest hour of television ever aired, man versus Beast, where he lost to a Kodiak grizzly bear. On the same show, a sumo wrestler took on an orangutan tug of war, and car length Lewis raced against a zebra. They don't make TV like they used to. P.S. i'm in Massachusetts for work this week, so I'm hoping to go from Marblehead to reveal.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Yeah, I remember that show.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Oh, gosh.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The notion that you think an eating guy could beat a bear is insane.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Because if you put 2003.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you put 300 hot dogs in front of the bear, they're gone in four seconds.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what. Come on now. Alex Lau, New York City. Not only has Coney island not removed its rides. Well, then why does Carol tell me this? Not removed its rides, but its most famous ride, a wooden roller coaster named the Cyclone, celebrates its hundredth birthday next year. Like a cyclone, you must have been just a little boy when it opened. Also, is it just me or is Wilbond turning into a bit of a soccer poet, claiming that watching and reading about soccer helps him understand the world? Settle down, Sparky. You're watching a game, not reading. The Economist.

[Bill Simmons]

We got an email on this. I didn't print it out. I wasn't sure of the accuracy of it, but apparently there was this Coney island in Cincinnati, Ohio, that was shut. That was shut down. It's not the one in New York. It's amusement and water park, just like the one.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Get out of here, Elder fraud.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Get out of here. From Terry Gans in San Carlos, California, who says, I'm having Nathan's tonight. Little known as the that the original lyric for MacArthur park included, Someone left the hot dog in the rain. Love the infant jewelry.

[Bill Simmons]

Jimmy Webb.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's very funny, Stephen. In Belfast, in Ireland. Never mind your soccer poets. How about those hot dog poets, huh? George McGough in Waxhaw, still southeast of Charlotte. I'm definitely not at the level of the participants at Coney island on the 4th, but back in college, I won our yearly hot dog eating contest at Lehigh University. We had to eat 10 hot dogs in the shortest amount of time. I don't really remember my time, but I did beat nine other participants, so I got that going for me, which is nice. Yeah. S.K. flanagan, Master USNS Amelia Earhart. Really yeah, he flies the Amelia Earhart plane.

[Bill Simmons]

Oh, no, I think it's a ship.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, it's a ship.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah. Yeah, it's a ship.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Why is a ship named after her? Shouldn't planes be named after her?

[Bill Simmons]

Well, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good day. Been watching a while. Big fan. I was watching the July 6th broadcast and your first kiss with Amelia Earhart was especially awesome. Since I'm entrusted with operating the ship in support of the United States Navy. Keep on keeping on. That's great. That's wonderful. Scott Flanagan, that's really wonderful. Thank you. Bringing up names like Amelia Earhart and Mary Richards really dates you. The problem is I know them also.

[Bill Simmons]

Dg.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, of course. From Mark Powell in Camillus, New York, which is a Syracuse suburb, apparently. I didn't know that. Been listening intently to your talk about the US Adaptive Open. As one of our former Syracuse Crunch stick boys is playing in the short stature category, I would like to report that he had a hole in one on the opening day of competition. I'm certain it occurred. I'm reading here. I'm certain it occurred after you recorded the Monday show shout out to Ricky Riley on his first career hole in one. And on the big screen stage, no less. It doesn't say which number. Thanks for all the layouts. Into the world of a fellow Hoff waf. Been listening since the ESPN days. Can I be the official retired professional hockey strength coach of the show?

[Bill Simmons]

Sure.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Also, we missed you in Rehoboth. When we were out there for our annual One Percenter week at the beach house. We weren't stalking, we were just walking our dog. From Matt Morime or Morim, I hope I pronounced that correctly. Eagan, Minnesota, I want to thank you for the decades of entertainment you you've given me. I watched PTI from the beginning when I was in college. When I met the woman I'm now related to by marriage 20 years ago, she would nicely sit in the same room with me while I queued up PTI on TiVo. When I would talk about the show over the years, she would ask, is that the two guys that yell at each other? And that would be yes. I now listen to your podcast religiously and never thought a true Minnesota boy would be so intrigued by Washington D.C. area sports, local utility issues and age handicapped technology problems. What a life you all live. Fast forward to this year. We were planning a trip to your neck of the woods for our kids lacrosse tournaments in Philadelphia, Delaware and Maryland. We have five days in between tournaments and needed a nice place to have Some east coast fun. I put in my vote for Rehoboth Beef. Right away, I was asked by three lacrosse moms why they. And I replied, tony Korn has a place there. Must be nice. My wife then had to explain to our friends who you are and why she knows who you are. I was so proud. Okay, I'm happy to report we will be staying in Rehoboth beach next week, and we're all super excited. The lacrosse moms have told everyone that we're staying there because of you. I don't have high hopes in seeing you with our travel schedule, but if you're out walking at night, I'll be the one wearing white. We're planning to hit up Bethesda Bagels before we leave town after our Maryland tournament. I can't wait for the massive eye roll for my wife when I tell her why we're there. Isn't that nice?

[Chuck Culpepper]

Where are we staying in Rehoboth?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. I don't know.

[Bill Simmons]

And if you're in Rehoboth, you got to check out surf bagels as well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they have good bagels. Yeah, very Bagels. From Steve in Arlington by way of Silver Spring. Our good friend Rick Devins has a new endeavor. I don't watch Big Brother, but we will need to appoint an honorary reporter to provide weekly updates so we can follow along. Do you have an idea of this?

[Bill Simmons]

I just. He sent a link to a Variety column and said, yeah. Oh, Big Brother. It's a huge show. It's been on for decades, I think. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you allowed to go from Survivor to Big Brother?

[Bill Simmons]

Apparently you are. Yeah. But he's. It was a big press release. He's gonna be a part of that. So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Cliff Skaggs, please, Dimitri, please give Dimitrov some good words. Based on the superb, comprehensive tennis he played versus Young Ferry, Gregor had a remarkable performance in a losing effort. Probably one of the best matches of his career was witnessed by the one whom he patterned his game after. A fellow by the name of Federer isn't baby fed. Isn't that. Dimitrov isn't out.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Culpepper]

Yes.

[Bill Simmons]

Yes. We love Gregory.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jim Lean. Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Catching up on the pod while recovering from ankle surgery. Heard you mention Liditz, Pennsylvania. It's in central Pennsylvania, not far from Lancaster, and it's an awesome small town. It is the home of Aaron's Books, and they are a regular sponsor of Chuck and Roxy's podcast. How about that? Okay. That's nice. Chris Kavanaugh in Cincinnati. I'm headed to Louisville this weekend for the Kentucky Open Speed Golf Championships. I wondered if I might see you or Michael or any other bigs there. Vying for shop credit and bragging rights. I fully expect to see Sansi providing wall to wall coverage for the Golf Channel. I'll be sure to give him a hearty little cheeserie if you can tell Lee Sellers to eat it. That would really set the tone for a competitive weekend. For the uninitiated. Speed golf combines your golf score with the number of minutes it takes you to play 18 holes. So shooting 90 in an hour and 15 minutes equals a score of 165. Most players use three to five clubs carried in a junior bag and run from shot to shot. Combatants go off every four minutes and each has a spotter who also records their score. Last day. Last year on day two of the event, Jason Hawke Hawkins shot a one under in 51 minutes.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm hoping not to get stuck in the fairways like Mr. Tony or suffer a bipsick type situation. And to finish in under 80 minutes each day. I don't know if we'll make the A block of PTI on Monday. I stand at the ready for five good minutes. Isn't that.

[Bill Simmons]

That's fascinating.

[Soccer Analyst (possibly a guest or expert)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Drew David Andrews in Adelaide, Australia. We can get Washington Nationals games here in Australia. Tony, eat it America. I can't get. I can't get that.

[Chuck Culpepper]

See you later mate.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And from Tim Cree in Fort Collins, Colorado. Did you see that? Right. Ryerson was subbed in for Norway in the second half. Don't tell me you don't remember him cuz he sure as heck fire remembers you. It's a brilliant email. If you're out of your bite tight everyone as always do wear what she may get. Shut up N stop saying stress. It's not stress. It's not.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Stop.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Stop it.

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

Nothing goes as planned. Everything won't break. People say goodbye. In the arms special way. All that you rely on. And all that you can fake. Well leave you in the morning. Find you in the day. Oh you're in my veins and I cannot give out oh you're all I taste tonight and so side of my

[Bill Simmons]

mind

[Andrew Bell (musician)]

oh you run away Cuz I am done by you found oh you're in my things and I cannot give you out. Everything will change. Nothing stays the same. Nobody here is perfect. Oh but everyone to play. Oh all that you rely on. And all that you can say. We'll leave you in the morning. We'll find you in the day. Oh you're in my veins and I cannot eat you out oh you're all I taste tonight inside of my mouth oh you run away cause I, I were you found oh you're in my veins and I cannot get you out. No I cannot give you out. No I cannot give. Oh no I cannot get you out. Everything is dark. It's more than you can take. But you catch a glimpse of sunlight shining shining down on your face your face oh your face oh you're in my veins and I cannot get you out oh you're all I taste tonight inside of my mouth oh you run away cause I know what you found oh you're in my face I cannot get you out. Oh I cannot get you out. No I cannot give you out. I know I cannot give you Woe is me faithless you and selfish me I will leave a key for you outside my doorway. Woe is me what if by the land are two by sea so won't you leave for me or lie outside your doorway what matters I hear a climb all this clatter between my ears I find does it matter if I can't clear my mind There's a right and a wrong time. Woe is me Saddam man on you in faithful me I will be the one to gave on you discreetly slow your speed turn yourself around and follow me Cuz I will be the one who prays upon you sweetly doesn't matter there to hear. All this clatter between my ears I find does it matter if I can't clean my mind that's right and the wrong time. All matter. All this clatter between my ear. Does it matter if I fake leave. That's right there for wrong time there's a right.