“Farewell to the Washington Post Sports Section”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – "Farewell to the Washington Post Sports Section"
Episode Date: March 5, 2026
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Notable Guests: Mike Wilbon (frequent co-host), Mark Feinsand, Steve Sands

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Overview

This episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show is marked by a heartfelt farewell to the Washington Post’s sports section, with Tony reflecting on its legacy and decline, recounting a memorable gathering of former and recently-departed staff. The episode also weaves in engaging conversations about the current state of baseball and golf, featuring insights from MLB insider Mark Feinsand and golf broadcaster Steve Sands, and offering both nostalgia and sharp commentary on America's sporting landscape and media shifts.

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Main Theme

A Farewell to the Washington Post Sports Section
Tony mourns the effective end of a once-great sports journalism institution, sharing a personal account of attending a gathering for former Post sportswriters. The discussion centers on the value of local sports coverage, the impact of media cutbacks, and the changing priorities of ownership (notably Jeff Bezos). Emotional resonance and a sense of loss underpin the episode, balanced by Tony’s trademark humor and wit.

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Episode Breakdown

1. Quick Banter and Local Weather (01:41–05:16)

• Tony and Mike Wilbon riff on DC’s persistent gloomy weather, melting snow piles, and the impracticality of winter golf.
• Notable quote:

  "Golf course for me is unavailable because although it's open today, it's walking only and it's sloppy... All of that is okay because I can join my son in the simulator room." — Tony (03:24)

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2. The Demise of the Post Sports Section (05:16–12:18)

The New Sports Section

• Tony describes the current Post sports section as "insulting" to locals—a bare-bones compilation of Associated Press wire stories, largely devoid of original reporting or local flavor.
  • The online version is dominated by European soccer/F1 content (06:26).
  • Recent improvements: an "agate page" (with standings/results) returned, but basics have been missing.

Reflection on Staff Cuts

• Tony attended a “goodbye” party at Tune Inn on Capitol Hill—a gathering of Post sports staff past and present, organized by Don Graham.
• Mike and Tony's Arrival:
  Struck by how many unfamiliar faces there were, reflective of industry turnover.
• Notable quotes:

  “…if you were a good enough sports writer to work at the Washington Post, you were in the top 10% of sports writers in the country. It's a great job. Now it doesn't exist.” — Tony (11:06)

• Tony felt like a "museum piece"—appreciated, but out of time.
• Guests at the event included D.C. sports legends—Don Graham, George Solomon, Sally Jenkins, Liz Clarke, et. al.

The Emotional Tone

• Mixed feelings among those gathered:
  • Anger at the way staff were treated by Post ownership, namely Jeff Bezos ("threw them overboard, without any life preservers" — 08:09).
  • Sadness and nostalgia for a golden era.
• Quote from Matt Rennie:

  “Matt Rennie called it an Irish wake. Oh, sure. Yeah. And it was. People felt good and felt sad and angry at the same time.” — Tony (12:18)

• Tony notes the broader damage to local journalism and root-for-success for new outlets like the Baltimore Banner.

Ownership and Legacy

• Bezos’s stewardship: lauded early, then cutbacks for business optics.
• “...for the first eight to 10 years, everybody loved them. ...Then suddenly there's a turn...I'm gonna do what I have to do for my business, for my legacy.” — Tony (15:35)
• Many good people now jobless, and Tony acutely conscious of his own continued employment.

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3. World Baseball Classic and MLB Spring Training

Guest: Mark Feinsand (19:11–32:18)

World Baseball Classic (WBC)

• Import to Players:
  For many, it’s the closest thing to winning an Olympic gold (19:11). The end of the last WBC—Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout—is described as a signature moment (20:10).
• Talent and Excitement:
  This year’s Team USA pitching staff (Skenes, Skubal, Logan Webb) is the best ever, but participation is limited by MLB team concerns over injuries (21:17).
• Player Motivation vs. Team Anxiety:
  Teams can suggest but not forbid healthy players from participating. There are restrictions to protect pitchers. (22:28)
• “These are conflicting circumstances that are both valid.” — Tony (24:03)
• MLB is fully behind the WBC, despite individual owners’ reluctance (26:10).
• “For the good of the sport, this is definitely a positive.” — Mark Feinsand (27:31)

Spring Training Notes

• Yankees, Phillies, and Blue Jays will be strong; Cardinals look unrecognizable and very young (27:43).
• Nationals “stink,” but there’s faint cause for optimism (28:17).
• Pittsburgh’s Connor Griffin is a standout, and the ownership is under pressure to build a winning team around Skenes (29:39).

Drug Suspension Policy

• Braves’ DH (Profar) facing a 162-game suspension for a second violation; notable for the lack of “surprise” in the team’s statement (30:23).
• Tony: “There’s real teeth in these rules as opposed to…NBA.” (31:49)

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4. Golf: Shane Lowry’s Collapse, New Stars, and the State of the Game

Guest: Steve Sands (34:11–49:07)

Shane Lowry’s Collapse

• Sands recounts calling the Cognizant Classic, where Lowry lost a three-shot lead with two wayward iron shots late (34:11).
• “I don't remember a worst shot in a spot like that from a really accomplished player.” — Steve Sands (35:42)
• The loss is seen as “humanizing” for golf, with Wilbon observing the recent chaos and drama on tour (36:40).

Lowry’s Reaction

• Lowry faced the press post-meltdown. “He manned up. I thought that was great…” — Steve Sands (38:09)
• On handling the loss:

  “He goes, I effed up. ...But you gotta get over it.”

  • A story from Lowry’s daughter, reminding him “what’s wrong with second,” lightened the mood (38:39).

Emerging Players

• Jacob Bridgeman and Chris Gotterup are young talents to watch; Sands gives the edge to Gotterup (40:24).

Apparel Oddity

• Tommy Fleetwood’s lack of a sponsor is a running joke, leading to peculiar wardrobe choices (41:29).

TGL (Tech-Driven Golf League)

• Tony calls it “bed sheet golf”—practice-range simulator shots on TV.
• Sands: “It's just not for me because it's not traditional sports. It's not real golf. They're hitting into a bedsheet.” (44:09)
• Sands criticizes virtual putting difficulties and notes TGL’s potential to divert players from PGA Tour events, affecting tournament fields (46:31).

Tiger Woods at the Masters

• Tony and Sands are both skeptical of Tiger’s potential, should he play Augusta after a long layoff.
• “The last thing you want is for him to go out there and not look great. You don't want Willie Mays playing for the Mets...You don't want that from your greatest athletes ever.” — Steve Sands (49:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It is a very insulting sports section. If you live in the Washington, D.C. greater area. It's a very insulting sports section. Doesn't give you anything you want." — Tony Kornheiser (07:33)
• On Bezos: "He has the biggest yacht in the world and told everybody, the Washington Post, come on the yacht. And then threw them overboard, threw them into the water without any life preservers." — Tony (08:09)
• "Matt Rennie called it an Irish wake...People felt good and felt sad and angry at the same time." — Tony (12:18)
• "If you were a good enough sports writer to work at the Washington Post, you were in the top 10% of sports writers in the country. It’s a great job. Now it doesn’t exist.” — Tony (11:06)
• On Shane Lowry's loss: “That was one of the worst tee shots...with an iron in his hand that you’ll ever see from a really, really good player.” — Steve Sands (36:35)
• On TGL: “They can’t [make a putt]. It makes me so happy. They stink.” — Tony (45:23)
• On Tiger Woods: "You don't want Willie Mays playing for the Mets...You don't want that from your greatest athletes ever." — Steve Sands (49:14)

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Key Timestamps

• 02:44: Local weather, DC snow and golf banter
• 05:16: Introduction to the demise of the Washington Post sports section
• 08:09: On Bezos and the staff cuts
• 10:14: Tune Inn event and generational divide
• 12:18: “Irish wake” and emotional climate
• 19:11: Mark Feinsand on the World Baseball Classic
• 21:17: Pitchers’ risk at the WBC and MLB clubs’ perspectives
• 22:28: MLB teams’ influence and injury risk
• 26:10: MLB’s attitude toward the WBC
• 27:43: Spring training trends, Cardinals, Nationals, Pirates
• 30:23: Profar’s suspension and MLB drug policy enforcement
• 34:11: Steve Sands on Shane Lowry’s dramatic loss
• 38:09: Lowry’s post-round reaction and family story
• 40:24: Breakout PGA Tour players
• 41:29: The saga of Tommy Fleetwood’s sponsorship
• 44:05: TGL’s place in golf and effect on the Tour
• 47:35: The looming Tiger Woods question

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Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is at once nostalgic and sharp, with Tony’s signature blend of wit, indignation, and affection for the old guard of sports journalism.
• The decline of the Washington Post sports section is framed as a loss for local culture, press freedom, and American sports storytelling—an “Irish wake” for a great institution.
• Sports analysis is current and lively, especially the balance of excitement and risk in the World Baseball Classic and the relatable pressure and chaos of tournament golf.
• The issue of legacy—of newspapers, star athletes, and teams—is a thread throughout, as Tony and guests grapple with change in both the media and sports worlds.

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Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sometimes I should probably read this myself first. Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Mark Feinstein about the World Baseball Classic. We will also talk with Steve Sands about Shane Lowry's spectacular collapse last week. That was something and more, of course. But first, let's do some commerce.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. How about Trae Young hasn't played a minute for the Wizards and got tossed out of a game. Off to a great start. Got tossed out of a game. Now his debut is supposedly tomorrow night against the Utah Jazz. The two worst teams, both of whom are trying to lose. So this could end up as like a 9190 game and we'll see if Trae Young's any good and then running

[Mike Wilbon]

clock at the end.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, we'll see. Yeah, right. Like the scrimmage in high school. The Tony Kornheiser show is on. Now I need to start talking about dropping the whom. The whom. Yeah, whom is the object is whom. Not who. Yeah, it's whom. So I need to start talking about the weather today. The weather in Washington D.C. there is scientifically there is a drought in Washington D.C. been this way for about a year.

[Mike Wilbon]

We're just at year to, you know, year to day average.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, okay.

[Mike Wilbon]

But we have had been in A drought.

[Tony Kornheiser]

In the last five days, I've not seen the sky. It's been very overcast, very gloomy, very wet.

[Mike Wilbon]

Have you seen Skyrizi?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have not seen Skyrizi, though. I want to go to a doctor and make sure that I can get it. There's been no sun, there's been no blue. There's been nothing. It's very damp, very foggy. Not cold. Not cold. Happy to say, not cold. But, you know, the full moon was gone and it's just wet. It's wet all the time. So it's hard to believe that we're still in a drought. Maybe technically we're out of the drought, but we'll get back in the drought at some point. Golf course for me is unavailable because although it's open today, it's walking only and it's sloppy and you know, and I work and I don't. It's okay. All of that is okay because I can join my son in the simulator room, who's. My son is in the simulator room. I would say. I don't know. Every day, right.

[Mike Wilbon]

Twice a week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You like it?

[Mike Wilbon]

I'm working, I'm trying to get to 160 plus.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's fun on ball speed because ball speed doesn't lie.

[Mike Wilbon]

Ball speed is not. I got it last week, by the way, to 160.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's good, high schooler. That's good. So it's. It's very wet. But. And here's the. But. The snow is melting. We have reached the point. Had there been sun for a couple of these days, there would be no snow. Yes, but there is persistent snow and ice in areas in your yard that do not get any sun. Everybody's got these areas. And that. The ice pack is still there. It has been reduced. In front of my house was at one point a six to eight foot ice mountain. That's down to about a foot and it's shrinking from all sizes. And by tomorrow night, by midnight, heading into Saturday, it's all going to be gone. Yes. Right. All right. So that's really good. And just in time for the next. This is the plow pile, you know. Yeah, that's right. But now it's not.

[Mike Wilbon]

Who knows what's underneath in the soup,

[Tony Kornheiser]

in the supermarket areas or in the shopping centers. When they build a mountain of Snow that's over 10ft, that's not gone yet. That's going to be a while. That is a refrigerator. That's what that turned into. That's going to be a while.

[Mike Wilbon]

But North Bethesda gets different weather.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Well, as does North Scottsdale. As does more exclusive weather. Yeah. Yes. You have to pass a test to get that weather. Yes. But anyway, so. So we're out of the snow, but we have no. It's not nice. It's not attractive.

[Mike Wilbon]

We had a nice weekend, but it was just a tease. And did you see what we're getting next week?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. 80s, 80s, but rain every day it seems.

[Mike Wilbon]

It seems there's at least going to be a couple of clear days and

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll be working on those days.

[Mike Wilbon]

Which is the way. It's too early for weekday golf for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Not going to be able to do any. It really does feel like the. The Scottish Highlands with all the fog this morning. It's a lot. It's a lot of fog. And you get these weather alerts. Dangerous conditions. You.

[Mike Wilbon]

The moors of Northwest.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't. I don't know. Yeah, we're waiting for. Yeah. People to appear that as long as it's not Heathcliff from six centuries ago. Anyway. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about that. But the more important thing I want to tell you is something that I did last night. The Washington Post, as you know, has no sports section anymore. They have a sports section. They print it. It has large pictures and it has stories that no one is interested in. They're all Associated Press stories in it written in a certain style to give you the bare minimum. Tell you who scored what. Tell you where people are in the standings. There's nothing. Any real sense of writing. And I'm not knocking AP guys because they're wonderful at what they do.

[Mike Wilbon]

It's a different purpose.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Different. Yes, it's different. It is to get information.

[Mike Wilbon]

Transactional, you'd say.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's not stylistic. It's to get information to you. That's the rule. Okay, that's fine. If you look at the Washington Post sports section online, it is as if it is being edited by people. In Europe it's always about European soccer. It's always about European F1 races. And then there are these occasional things. So and so in the United States. In a United States sport like baseball or basketball. So and so hurt. It's five inch story. It's insane. There's no point in running it. And they put this stuff in the newspaper. At least this last week they went back to an agate page. If you don't know what an agate page is, it's the page where with all the standings with all the results in the very, very small type. So you can follow what. Where your team is in the NBA or the NHL or what your team is doing in spring training. They at least went back to that, but they didn't have that for a couple of weeks. Which was not just best red while

[Mike Wilbon]

enjoying a bowl of cereal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In the morning. Yeah, yeah. So. But it was. It is a very insulting sports section. If you live in the Washington, D.C. greater area. It's a very insulting sports section. Doesn't give you anything you want. Doesn't tell you anything about your local teams that you couldn't get, you know, in a 30 second newscast on the radio. It's awful. Insulting and awful. Last night, the Washington Post sports staff said goodbye. They said goodbye to each other. They said goodbye to the Washington Post. It was organized. That there was in a Capitol Hill restaurant and bar named the Tune in in the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast. The Post got it from 5:30 to 7:30 exclusively. I went. I was invited. I guess a bunch of the people who used to work there were invited along with the people who worked there until two weeks ago when Jeff Bezos, who I believe if he's not the richest man in the world, is in the top three. Yeah. The amount of money that he was losing in the Washington Post means nothing to him. Nothing. And he has the biggest yacht in the world and told everybody, the Washington Post, come on the yacht. And then threw them overboard, threw them into the water without any life preservers. So I've been told that Don Graham hosted this event last night. Don was there. George Solomon was there. Some people I know there. I walked in Wilbon and I went together. We got there at a little bit after six. I'm not a Capitol Hill guy. I don't know.

[Mike Wilbon]

Just imagining Cheers right now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, right. It's sort of like Cheers. I assume. I'm not a Capitol Hill person. Wilbomb, because Matthew goes to Gonzaga, has to know that area. So he said, look, it's gonna take us 45 minutes to go two miles. And indeed, indeed it did. When we left the PTI studio, the ABC studios, I walk in, Mike walks in. We don't know anybody. Like the first 50 people that we. We don't know anybody. Mike gives everybody big hellos. He doesn't know who these people are. Great to see you again. I haven't. I have not.

[Mike Wilbon]

Never. Nice to meet you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. I worked at the Washington Post when they had their offices on 15th Street. I've never been in the new building. They've been out of the 15th street offices for 20 years. I've never been in the new building. I don't know any of these people. And they know who I am. They smile. I don't know them. I try to find people I know. The further into the back I get, the older people are. They were asked to go in the back. Like the recruiting scene in Animal House for the fraternities Jugdish and Clayton. You just go back.

[Mike Wilbon]

To be fair, you did have a lot to talk about.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So Don Graham is there, and George Solomon, the former sports editor there, and Jeannie McManus is there, and Liz Clark is there. Dave Shinen is there. Gene Wang is there. Barry Zvaluga. John McDonald is one of the greatest photographers, sports photographers of all time. And I have his stuff all over my house. John is there. Matt Rennie is there. Boz is there. Sally is there. So there. There are some people. Rick Mace is there. There are people that I know. At least I know their names. A couple of people come up to me and introduce themselves, and I don't know who they are. First of all, I can't hear, and it's a bar, and it's very loud and, you know, and I can't hear. So we stayed. Mike and I stayed. I don't know. Mike stayed longer than I did. I left at about 7, a little after 7. I stayed for about an hour. I felt really good to be there and really good to share in the anger that everybody had. Because I will. I can say this forever and ever and you won't know it. You just have to take my word for it. If you were a good enough sports writer to work at the Washington Post, you were in the top 10% of sports writers in the country. It's a great job. Now it doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. They'd have no sports writers, which makes everybody sad. I must have appeared like a museum piece to these people. Honestly. I mean, you know, you can sense that they're going, wow, he's. He's here. Well, who is he? You know, I mean, they know he's Tony, but they don't have nothing to say to me. And I understand that. I appreciate that. I must have appeared odd to them. I went in the back, I had a couple of glasses of red wine, you know, because I wasn't driving. They had some food out there. It was not for me. It was deeply fried food.

[Mike Wilbon]

Tater Tots.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, stuff like that. Chicken. Sally said, could you get me a piece of the chicken? I said, which one is the Chicken. It was like four different. Four different vats of fried things. And she said that one.

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it was. Matt Rennie called it an Irish wake. Oh, sure. Yeah. And it was. People felt good and felt sad and angry at the same time. All of those emotions, because it's done. I was sort of thinking that maybe I'd see some people who worked on the desk when I was there, if they were still working, but I didn't see them. If I saw them, I didn't recognize them. I didn't know who they were. If they saw me, they did not recognize me or know who I was. I felt honored to be invited to it. Mike. Mike felt exactly the same way that I did, that we have to go to this. We were. We were there, and we have to go to this. And we did, in fact, go to it. And so I don't. I don't have a conclusion. I don't have an end to a story. I don't have a moral. I just went to this and. And felt good and bad at the same time. And I didn't. You know, I. The people who I know well, I told them, if I can help you get a job, you know, I. Like, I'm rooting for the Baltimore Banner. Oh, yeah. I'm rooting for that thing to be successful and offer jobs. I'm rooting for the people from the Washington Post to work there and crush whatever they print in the Washington Post and show people how to cover a team. The football team, the basketball team, the college teams. Show people how it's done. So I'm rooting for that. But I didn't, you know, I've got a job. I was conscious of the fact that when everybody goes home, I've got a job and they don't. So I didn't want to appear. I don't want to be on the center stage. You know what I mean? I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be as far in the background as I could. And I was with the old people. The old people in the back of the room, you know? But it was. It was both sad and lovely at the same time, you know, it really was. And I think my anger was pretty obvious in certain small conversations. But I think everybody. Everybody shared that same anger that you buy the Washington Post. And by the way, when Bezos bought the Washington Post for the first eight to 10 years, everybody loved them. You buy the Washington Post, and then suddenly there's a turn. You make a turn that says, I'm gonna do what I have to do for my business, for my legacy. And if it means cozying up to certain people who are elected, I'm gonna do that. And if it means shedding things that are not making money. Cuz I don't want people to think that I don't make money. I want people to think I make money all the time. That I'm that guy that you want to work with me and for me. So we're just going to get rid of this. We're not going to care. We're not going to care about the people and give them some severance, pat them on the head and a cookie and. And we're out. So that's how I felt about it. That's how I feel about it. I was very grateful to be invited. And you know, I would tell you that it was a good time, but it was a good time and a bad time at the same time. So we will take a break. Steve Sands is with us today. Mark Feinsand is with us today. Yeah, Mark is next. Mark is. Okay, well you were going to tell me that at some point. Mark Feinstein is next. And we'll talk about the World Baseball Classic and we'll talk about spring training. And I am Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. This episode of the Tony Kornheiser show is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries and fresh pastas. Unlike many store bought options, Wild Grain uses simple ingredients you can pronounce and a slow fermentation process that can be easier on your belly and richer in nutrients and antioxidants. And everything baked straight from frozen in 25 minutes or less. No thawing required. The boxes are fully customizable too. There's a variety box plus gluten free gluten free vegan and a brand new protein box. Imagine having fresh bakery quality bread, pastries and pasta at home without any trips to the store. And don't just take my word for it. They have over 40,000 5 star reviews and they have been voted best food subscription box by USA TODAY for three years in a row. For a limited time, Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box plus free croissants for life. Ask Rob Stronick about that.

[Mike Wilbon]

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This is the Tony Kornizer Show.

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Sometimes we need to feel a heartbeat to know that we're alive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's pretty good. Yes. That's Amy Lynn. Yeah. This is a song called this Phase of life. Andy McBride sent it in and said, I met Amy Lynn. It was was effectively an open mic in the greater Denver area. She's a young singer, songwriter and I'm a grizzled and wrinkly old guy. I heard her play a few songs. I think she's very talented. I thought I'd reach out, see if I could help her with some songwriting. Then I got home, listened to her music on Spotify. I realized I was an idiot. She has a large and diverse catalog of fantastic and touching music. She don't need no help. Ironically, she later invited me to be part of her band as a multi instrumentalist. Our next show is at Bricks on Main and Longmount in April 23rd. Ed Budd, I hope to see you there if you're still in town. I'm attaching two of her songs. This is called this Phase of Life. It's lovely. It plays in Mark Feinsander's Getting Ready for the World Baseball Classic. And I come to this without much knowledge at all. I am vaguely aware that there is a World Baseball Classic. I am certainly aware that Shohei Otani struck out Mike Trout to end it the last time around. But I have no idea in the world of baseball, the depth of it, the import of it, how big a deal Mark is the World Baseball Classic?

[Mark Feinsand]

Well, for the players who are playing in it, it's a really big deal. And you talk to them, they say, you know, winning a World Series is every player's goal, but there's something different about, you know, putting the country on your chest. And we saw the hockey guys start doing the same thing. And this isn't the Olympics. But right now, with. Until Major League Baseball players take part in the Olympics, which may happen in the next. In the next number of games, this is the closest they have. So, you know, and it's at a time of year where the pitchers are obviously, you know, still ramping up for the season. So there are restrictions. So it's not, you know, it's not like you're going out there and seeing. You're not going to see Paul Skins go out there and throw 100 pitches for Team USA. So it is. There are some quirky rules involved. But for from the minute Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end that Last1 in 2023, people have been looking forward to this one. And, you know, you look at some of the talent that's playing in these, in this event, it's going to be a lot of fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How impactful was that moment? I mean, if I still remember that, I'm not. I don't remember anything that. That. Oh, that's Ohtani and Trout, who were teammates for a long time, this could be the greatest player and the greatest hitter in their generation. Right. I mean, that. How big a deal was that?

[Mark Feinsand]

It was a big deal. And I think you see that in the fact that guys like Paul Schemes

[Steve Sands]

and Tarek Skubal, they want to.

[Mark Feinsand]

Are participating this time. People watched that last time, the excitement of it, the. The attention it got and that moment in particular. And a lot of guys said, I want to be a part of that. And Mark DeRosa from MLB Network, who is the manager for Team USA, had to make some decisions because there were more people who wanted to participate than he had spots on his team. But when you're going out there with Skins and Scubal and Logan Webb and Nolan McLean, the Mets rookie who was outstanding last year, you know, you've got probably the best pitching staff that the US has had in this event since it started in 2006. Now, school's only going to make one start.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. Against Great Britain, not against a world power like Cuba or so. Right.

[Mark Feinsand]

In the first. In the first round of pool play to try to help get them to the quarterfinals. You know, Skins, I believe, is scheduled to make two But Skins and Logan Webb said they're going to stick around. And my gut is if they get, you know, pretty deep in this thing, they'll make themselves available as much as they can based on the rules. But you look at the talent on some of these teams, it's not a given. I mean, they'll, they'll get out of their pool for sure to get to the quarterfinals. But you know, the Dominican, Venezuela, Jap and some of these teams are loaded with talent.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me go Macro Micro because you mentioned Logan Webb. There is a fear among general managers, among managers, among owners, that their pitchers can get hurt doing this. They're paying their pitchers an awful lot of money to be in the major leagues, not to be in the World Baseball Classic. And Skubal and Skeens and Logan Webb are very expensive properties. The Giants, we were told, asked Logan Webb to not pitch. And Logan Webb said, no, I want to pitch. How does that work?

[Mark Feinsand]

Well, ultimately this is a, you know, the teams are not allowed to tell players you can't participate unless they're, you know, obviously if you're on the injured list or if you're, you know, coming back from surgery or something, then there's probably a way that a team can say, yeah, that guy's not going. But a healthy player who wants to participate can participate. The team can talk to him and maybe gently say to him, we'd prefer you not go. But again, I think you look at the, the impact of the last wbc, forget on the fans, forget on the event, just on the players and wanting to be a part of it. And some of these guys, this is, this is important to them. And so, you know, yeah, you always risk injury. But again, they have rules in place like you're not allowed to throw more than a certain number of pitches, you're not allowed to pitch from back to back days, things like that, where, you know, they're very similar to spring training roles. And I will tell you this, the one thing that the managers and the pitching coaches from every team, but specifically I know Mark DeRosa and Team USA's pitching coach Andy Pettit, they've been in touch with the pitching coaches of their, of the big league team. For each player, they've been in touch with the manager for the big league team of each player, there's a plan in place. You know, Mark DeRosa, Andy Pettit aren't going to go rogue and say, all right, Logan, we need you to a nine today. You know, that's not going to happen. So it's essentially whatever. You know, they build these guys up in spring training to be ready to pitch. The number of pitches they're going to be allowed to pitch in this tournament, they're just a little more high intensity than they would be pitching in, you know, Mesa against the Cubs B team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So this is, this is what I want to get to. We are in spring training, pitchers are pitching, they are on clocks. You know, everybody understands what is going on, but this is their gold medal opportunity. We had Steve Young on the PTI show a month ago and he was so excited about flag football. He said, if this happened when I was playing, I would take a leave from the 49ers just to be in a flag football tournament just to see if I could get a gold medal. I don't want to minimize what that means, but nor do I want to minimize the legitimacy of the fear that someone has that their pitcher is, is going to be so jacked up emotionally that he is going to get hurt. Right. These are conflicting circumstances that are both valid.

[Mark Feinsand]

Absolutely. And we've seen some injuries in the WBC before, but not the ones that the teams are really thinking about now. You know, we haven't seen a pitcher. It's my memory anyway, and sometimes I'm unburdened by it like you, but I don't remember a pitcher blowing out his arm in the wbc. Edwin Diaz blew out his knees celebrating. Yeah, I think Mark Teixeira in the, in the second WBC took a pitch off his wrist and broke his wrist. You know, things like that happened. You know, I've also seen players break their wrist getting hit by a pitch in a spring training game. So you know that's going to happen just when you're in a competition, competitive environment. But again, the players are, are into it, which I can't say has been the case for all five WBCs that we've had. And when you look at, you know, today I'm Miami. Today's media day for the five teams playing down here. And you look and, oh, the Dominican team, who's going up to the press conference for them? Oh, I've heard of these guys. Albert Pujols is the manager and Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez and. And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Pretty good start to a team, don't you think?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's pretty good. So I have an overarching question. Is baseball fully cooperative with this or reluctantly cooperative with this or wants to get out of this?

[Mark Feinsand]

I mean, Major League Baseball, it's their event, basically. So the league is fully behind it they love it. You know, it's, it's a, you know, spring training games on March 5th. If I came on here, you're not talking to me about, talk to me about this week's Nationals Mets game in Port St. Lucie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Mark Feinsand]

We're going to be watching these games, not like the playoffs, but pretty close because, yeah, some of the early round games are not as compelling just because you've got some powerhouse teams and some, you know, not so powerhouse teams. But, but, you know, the Venezuela Dominican game is going to be must see tv. Right. If US and Japan meet again in the quarters of the semis, that's must see tv. You know, Puerto Rico, there are some really. And for some of the countries that may not be the favorites, there are some interesting stories. I mean, the last WBC Tim Israel advanced out of the pool play, which was like just unbelievable. So, you know, Jorge Posada is a coach on Team Italy. How great is that? You know, there's just, there are stories all over the place that make this an interesting event. And no Major League Baseball is fully behind this event. I think there are some owners that would rather not have their players playing, but I think, you know, for the good of the sport, this is, this is definitely a positive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so you've been in spring training for a while. Other than the World Baseball Classic, is there anything interesting in spring training so far involving new players on new teams, or is it just too early to have any sense of that?

[Mark Feinsand]

Well, I was, I spent a few days over in Tampa, saw the Yankees, the Phillies and the Blue Jays. I think all three of those teams are going to be pretty darn good. I know that's not really going out on a limb. Spent five days with the Cardinals. That team not going to be pretty darn good. Walk to their clubhouse. And I've never walked into a Cardinals clubhouse and failed to recognize more than a half a dozen names. But that is a young, young team. The Card Nets games are going to be really compelling this year. I spent a day over at the Gnats. I will say this stink. They're not going to be very good this year. No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Or last year or the year before.

[Mark Feinsand]

But I think there is some reason for optimism.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Long they're not even on television. We don't even have a place to watch them yet. They're not on television. It just says NATS streaming. What does that mean when I, when I press the blue button on the clicker and I go NATS streaming, nothing happens because it doesn't recognize that. What does that mean NAT streaming?

[Mark Feinsand]

They'll be on TV by opening day. I promise you'll be able to watch your Nationals. And. And my good friend Alexa dad, who I used to work with Major League Baseball, is now your sideline reporter. So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, that's exciting.

[Mark Feinsand]

You will like her very much. Got to get her on the show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Pittsburgh kid. How good?

[Mark Feinsand]

How good seems to be really good. You know, when you're a teenager and you're ripping up major league pitching and even in spring training, that says something. And, you know, Pittsburgh's an interesting team. I've heard a lot of people talk about them as they could be sort of the sexy pick of, you know, for those who want to think outside the box, I'm not sure they're going to be ready to make the playoffs this year, but I will say that when they go out and, and, you know, they signed Ryan o', Hearn, who was an all Star last year at first base, and they signed, they traded for Brendan Lau. They're actually bringing in some people who can hit the baseball, which is what they have not had in many, many years. And I think, I think Ben Sherrington and ownership understand you are on a clock.

[Steve Sands]

You have four years left of Paul

[Mark Feinsand]

Skeens if you, if you want to keep him for all four years and you better be able to score some runs for him or he's going to be winning a lot of cy Youngs with 10 win seasons and 1.9 eras. And yeah, you'll, you'll sell out your ballpark when he pitches, but otherwise this is going to be a wasted period. And if that's the case, next few years, they're going to trade him before he gets towards free agency anyway. But it was encouraging to see them actually sign some legitimate major league hitters. I don't know that they're going to make the playoffs, but I think they're going to be a much better team this year. And Connor Griffin is going to be. Whether he wins a job in opening day or not, I don't know. But he's going to be up there sooner than later and he's going to be part of that team that they're hoping can finally take that next step.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Get you out of here on this Profar. The Braves DH out 80 last year and decides to do it again. What should happen to him and what will happen to him?

[Steve Sands]

Well, the rule is you're suspended for

[Mark Feinsand]

152 on the second failed test. The one thing I noticed the most yesterday when it was announced The Braves put out a statement, as every team does when one of their players, you know, fails a test. It was almost identical to the one they put out last year, except that last year said, we are extremely disappointed and surprised at bubble, blah, blah, blah. Yesterday's statement said, we are incredibly disappointed. That profile. They took out the word surprised and left the entire rest of the statement intact. So, yeah, I mean, you know, I always. I thought when they put the new penalties in place, 80 games was going to be a real deterrent.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Mark Feinsand]

If you were and if you got popped the first time, 162 should be enough to be another real big deterrent. So to see somebody test positive two years in a row and he's, he's appealing it. And so we'll see what happens with, you know, how it finally gets settled. But it's surprising because, you know, I think we've seen fewer and fewer of these since they put the rules in place that they have now. And I think it's. I think for the most part, it's been pretty effective.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's real teeth in these rules as opposed to rules in the. In the NBA. There's no teeth in any of the rules in the NBA. There's real teeth in this. I remember his last statement. He said he took full responsibility. I don't know if he said that again this time. The guys are dope. Okay, come on. 162. You've just lost a whole year. All that money. You've lost all of it. It was like 15 million, something like that. Just really amazing. All right, enjoy the World Baseball Classic. We will talk during it, I think maybe, and certainly after it. Thank you, Mark.

[Mark Feinsand]

Terrific. Thank you, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mark. Fine sand, boys and girls. We will come back. We're having an all sand day. Fine sand and Sands. We have Steve Sands. When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Steve Sands]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

You couldn't see love before your eyes. You hid in the foyer, fought with your knives, holding it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Amy Lynn. She's better than you are. This is called Silver Spoon. It's the second song we've played by her today. It's lovely. Michael. If independent artists like Amy Lynn want to get their music played here, how do they do it?

[Mike Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it to jingles tonyquanizershow.com and remember, we have promo code tkilisten available right now. Get geared up for the basketball tournament, all right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It plays in Steve Sands. There's no other. I understand the Arnold Palmer tournament is a big deal. I understand next week the players is an even bigger deal.

[Mike Wilbon]

But is it major?

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's no. It's not a major. Even though golf is saying it's a march is major. I understand all that. You cannot ask anyone who's involved with golf a first question other than this. What did you think of Shane Lowry? What was that?

[Steve Sands]

Well, considering I was in the Booth calling the 17th hole, it was pretty wild. When he left 15, I was doing the odd holes. Dan Hicks was doing the even holes. When he left the par 3 15th with a par and a three shot lead, I think we all thought, okay, just, you know, get it to the house and this is going to be over. But who that tee shot on 16 was, was nearly shanked almost. I mean, it was so far to the right that it was just a really, really bad whiff on his part. And then he made that incredible up and in from the bunker to save his double. And I thought, okay, he's going to gather himself. And this is one of the cool things about golf. It's played on 18 different, you know, canvases, you know, 18 different holes. It's not like one court like last night with the Thunder and the Knicks in the Garden being able to see each other. So when he walked through the tunnel to get to the tee at 17, he looked ahead and saw Nico Echeveria, who he was now one ahead of. And he saw him hit his shot and then make his putt for birdie to tie him. And that ratcheted up the pressure even more. And then he did the exact Same thing on 17.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Worst shot of all time. He hit it so far, right? What are you doing?

[Steve Sands]

It's funny. I was not funny, but I was talking to someone on the drive home on Sunday night after it, after it was over. I said, I don't remember a worst shot in a spot like that from a really accomplished player. I mean, this guy's a Ryder Cup. Here with Beth Page, you know, clinching the point to get the major. Page, he won a major championship in 2019. He's won around the world. But Tony, he's had a really hard time closing out PGA Tour events. He's now 1 for 6. 1 for 6 after having a 54 hole lead on the PGA Tour. And for a really accomplished player like Shane Lowry, that was a horrendous finish. That was one of the worst goals, one of probably two of the worst tee shots with an iron, by the way, not with a wood in his hand, with an iron in his hand that you'll ever see from a really, really good player. It was a. It was a tough spot for him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michael says it humanized golf. Michael, you. You thought that was a good ending for golf, right? It was.

[Mike Wilbon]

It was chaotic. I just think in recent months, you've just had the. The unbelievable happens every week. You look at what happened at pebble, it just. People are making eagles to close out and get and to make it close. So it's a reminder as to how hard this game is, particularly when you have the pressure at the end.

[Steve Sands]

Yeah, I totally agree. I think that one of the great things about golf, it's kind of like basketball. You know, in hockey, once you get past football and you start paying attention a little bit to the other sports, you realize just how good they are. And the drama this season on the PGA Tour has been amazing. And this past Sunday at the Cognizant, which is not considered, you know, a high level PGA Tour event, man, oh, man, that was incredible drama. It was fun to watch. And by the way, I'm not a ratings person. And you always say the phrase, you know, it's a TV show. But it was the highest rated final round of the Cognizant in years. Because I think people started realizing, whoa, this is getting really good. I think social media helps that. I think the word gets spread around more so now than it did 10, 20 years ago because of that. But it was, it was high drama, man. It was wild. And by the way, Nico Echeveria now has three wins in his career on the PGA Tour. That's the same Amount of wins Shane Lowry has on the PGA Tour. It wasn't like he was a fluke winner. It was just a fluke ending by the other guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How was Lowry after that? Lowry seems like a hail fellow, well met guy. Everybody seems to like Lowry. He did the press conference afterwards. He didn't duck out. How was he after that?

[Steve Sands]

Yeah, he manned up. I thought that was great. I also think it's important. I think it's important not because of what we do for a living. I mean, I don't do the interviews anymore like that. And neither do you on a regular basis. Not writing as often as you do or never. To our chagrin. By the way, we would love to see you right again, Tony. I think it's really important that an athlete does what he did on Sunday. I saw him on Tuesday here in Orlando in Bay Hill and we were chatting and you know, you kind of look at him with your palms up and say, how you doing?

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

And.

[Steve Sands]

And he, and he said, he goes, I effed up because I effed up. I effed up bad. And you know, what are you going to do? You got to get over it. You got to get over it quickly. He said he felt worse for his children who were watching it in person for the very first time. And then he told me a cute story on Tuesday. He said, we're heading home, we're getting to the house and everybody realizes how upset dad is and how upset I am and nobody's saying anything. And my 9 year old daughter looks and goes, daddy, what's wrong with second? And he just kind of giggled and said, you know what? It just put it in his proper context. Children have a way of doing that. They don't care if you win or lose. They don't know any better. And the daughter was still happy that her father finished second. It made Shane smile. And he says he's over it now and he's ready to go play this week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I heard he went to the Seminole Pro member the next day. That's the greatest tournament in the world, right? The Seminole Pro member that you can

[Steve Sands]

have next week at the Players. The best field in golf. Yes, it's just the best field in golf. It's incredible how many players go there. Kiss the ring. That's the fifth major, seminal Pro Am. It's. It really truly is the fit you can have. What did you say that, that March, what did you say? The Players is a major, Marty. Whatever that is, whatever that goofy saying is. The Seminole Pro Am is the fifth major for sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. No, I had spies write me that night saying, oh, Shane Lowry is going to be all right. Don't worry about it. You know, he's going to be all right.

[Steve Sands]

He showed up on Monday and played.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. All right, so this is my, my, my question because I. My golf watching in the last X amount of months has been dominated by these people who are Jacob Bridgman and Chris Goddard. And who should we pay attention to more?

[Steve Sands]

Oh, Chris got her up. Jacob Bridgman is a very good player. Yeah, Chris got her up. Looks like he is going to be someone who's going to be around for a long time. He now has three wins in his PGA Tour career. Yeah. Very good player. He is a powerful, powerful player. If you are a golf fan and want to go see somebody pound a golf ball on the range, go to a PGA Tour event near you and check out Chris Goddard ups action. He's a very, very good player. And I've said this to you over the years, Tony. When these guys start winning, when these guys start getting that feeling of what it's like coming down the stretch, that only helps them in bigger and bigger situations. And Chris got her up. Is a fantastic player. And I think the winning breeds winning no matter what the level is. And Chris got her up. As someone who I think is going to be around for a while, Bridgman is a very good player. I'm going to need a little bit more of a sample size from Jacob. He's got a lot of pedigree coming out of college in Clemson and that kind of thing. But right now, I would take Goddard up over Bridgman for sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They've just dominated the, you know, young people I've never heard of in the last four or five months. Okay, this is the question that I really need an answer to. Tommy Fleetwood, who? Everybody likes Tommy Fleetwood, everybody. Tommy Fleetwood has no clothing deal at the moment, it seems, because every week he shows up with a different shirt from the course where he's playing. What is the deal with Tommy Fleetwood?

[Steve Sands]

I think is his agents working overtime to get him a new deal, and he hasn't quite decided yet, hasn't quite gotten the deal that he's looking for. Tommy, by the way, as you said, is truly, truly. I don't know how he's so great at golf because he's such a nice guy. Usually you have to have a little bit more oomph to be so great in sports, especially an individual sport. He's like the nicest guy in the world. He'll find a Deal. It's kind of a running joke on Tour. He's walking around the list. Yes, by the way, he's the FedEx cup champion. He's the FedEx.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he's going into a. He's going into a pro shop and buying a shirt, wearing it out.

[Steve Sands]

I think, you know, as these events get again, as we. As we get away from football and the events get larger, the players is a huge event this week. Bay Hill is a huge event. A couple of signature events at Riviera and also Pebble a few weeks ago. And then we get to the big one in April at Augusta. Somebody is going to want to have their logo on. Tommy Fleetwood, he's on TV too often. He does interviews too often. And he truly is as popular figure in golf amongst his peers. Seems to be of anybody in the world of. In this sport. He's just a terrific guy and he's out there, obviously a fabulous player. He'll find something. But it is a running joke out here on tour that Tommy Fleetwood can't find a sponsor. It's insane.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I watch the TGL on tv. I think it's a good television show, better than it is live because they take a lot of breaks. Wilbourn doesn't watch it all. And it just is ridiculously angry that I watch and I call it bed sheet golf because you're hitting a ball into a bedsheet. And I don't know if these holes in ones are real or the albatrosses are real, but I, you know, I think it makes for pretty good tv. Not up against a live show, you know, a live golf tournament, but in the middle of the week, in the evening. And they boot us out of ESPN and they stick us on espn, too. And I'm sort of kind of okay with that. What is your feeling about TGL and your thoughts about the future of it? Does it have a future? Because it does seem to have the best players involved.

[Steve Sands]

It's incredible that you love it, considering.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I like, you know, I like.

[Steve Sands]

I'm not going to say you're old, but the stage of life you're in, they're not coming. They're not coming out and trying to get the demographic. I'm seven years old. They're not trying to get us right. I am all for anything that grows the game. I hate the phrase grows the game. I really do. But I am for anything that helps bring in people to watch the sport who may not watch it regularly and say, you know what? Let's give the traditional Sport a chance on Thursday through Sunday after watching that from the best players in the world. Now the best players in the world are getting paid to be there. That's the first thing. As you know. So that's the first thing. The second thing is, personally, this is just my opinion. I'm all for TGL and its success, and I hope it does really well. And I know the people who are involved in it, and they're really good people. It's just not for me because it's not traditional sports. It's not real golf. They're hitting into a bedsheet. They are, you know, is. How accurate is it? You know, is it. Is it, you know, the accuracy of a live golf tournament? Because players are playing and it's happening out right in front of you when it hits a bed sheet, as you say, and it's going in the air. I don't know how that works. I also think this is very picky, but nobody can make a putt on those.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They can't. They can't. It makes me so happy. They stink.

[Steve Sands]

Yeah, but. But Tony, these are the best players in the world. Right? Something clearly is wrong with the green. It's. They're the best players in the world. They make putts all the time on real greens. So I think that's a little bit goofy. But again, they're bringing kids in. They're bringing people in to the sport who wouldn't normally watch it. Personally, I'd rather watch, you know, old school Big Monday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. I understand.

[Steve Sands]

You know, watch a really good NBA regular season game, like last night's Knicks and Thunder game. But it's.

[Mark Feinsand]

It's.

[Steve Sands]

It's fine by me. But I'm glad you like it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And the food and drink is really good. Steve, you should go. Just for the food and drink.

[Steve Sands]

Yeah. I've been once in person. Is a lot different.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is.

[Steve Sands]

Than it is on tv, like you said. But, you know, if people are digging it, go ahead. By the way, they're starting a women's one and Michelle Lee's gonna be in it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have no idea if it rates at all. I have no idea if anybody watches it. It has been for me a way through the winter. Give me something to watch as an alternative.

[Steve Sands]

And that's the point. I'll tell you one thing that's. That's not making people in golf happy about it is it's sneaky taking away some players who would normally play in a PGA Tour event that particular week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The pga, because of the travel.

[Mark Feinsand]

Yeah.

[Steve Sands]

Because they would rather go, you know, play in that thing for one day than stay for a week and play whatever. So let's. For instance, all these great players played the Seminole Pro Am. All these great players played at tgl, but not a lot of great players played the Cognizant.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They did not.

[Steve Sands]

In the Palm Beaches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, they didn't. They did not.

[Steve Sands]

Seems to be a bit of a problem. You know, as far as the PGA Tour, tgl, the sponsors, the TV partners, everybody's kind of like, hang on a second. If they're going to play in that thing, they've got to play in that week's PGA Tour event. But that's. That's not the case.

[Mark Feinsand]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's interesting. All right, we get you out of here on this because it's the question that hangs over everything. Tiger. Tiger, who looks great when he's coaching his team that made the playoffs in tgl, but Tiger dropping hints about the Masters. What. What is the latest on Tiger?

[Steve Sands]

The latest is that we're all kind of waiting to see what he decides to do. I think some people were thinking, oh, if he's healthy enough, he would play the players or he would play something before Augusta. Doesn't look like that's going to happen now. And I just. I just don't understand why he wants to play the Masters, having not played in so long and truly having no chance of beating those guys when you're that rusty and you're having such a hard time getting around. It might be just chatter if he plays the Masters, Tony, it's kind of dipping into that theory when he was late in his career saying, I will never be a ceremonial golfer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Steve Sands]

I mean, let's face it. Can he truly beat the best players in the world over four days tournament when he hasn't played in a year? And these guys are sharp and they're ready to go, and it's a very difficult course to walk. Very difficult course to play. I realize the Masters is his best chance to win another major championship of the four majors, but golly, the timing just seems so bad. I just don't expect him to compete at all. If he does play the Masters, it'd be great to see him play it. Or maybe it wouldn't be. I don't know. It's a very strange deal. But right now he's just kind of floating it out there. I know he's working out. I know he's chipping and pitching. I know that he hasn't walked 18 holes. And you can't take A cart at Augusta. So it'd be very difficult for him to be able to compete against these guys. If he does go play Augusta. It hasn't played in so long, Tony.

[Mark Feinsand]

I just.

[Steve Sands]

I just don't see it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nor. Nor do I. Will Bond doesn't even want to see it. He says it shouldn't happen.

[Steve Sands]

That's the other thing. I think a lot of sports fans are thinking exactly what Wilbourne said, Tony. I think like I said, he hasn't played in so long. He hasn't walked 18 in so long. He hasn't competed against these guys in so long. And these guys are still competing and playing and practicing every single day. The last thing you want is for him to go out there and not look great. You don't want Willie Mays playing for the Mets. You don't want, you know, whoever Joe Namath playing for the Rams. You don't want that kind of stuff from your greatest athletes ever. And if he's considered the greatest golfer of his generation, you know, the last thing you want to do is see him just kind of limp to the finish line.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Totally agree. Totally agreed. All right, we will probably talk from the players. Thank you, Steve. All right, you got Steve Sands, boys and girls. Always great to have Steve. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I am Tony Kornheiser. When everything's happening at once, teams need clarity. Help move work forward with Loom, the AI first video platform from Atlassian.

[Steve Sands]

With Loom, you can quickly record your screen, camera and voice to explain what matters. AI instantly adds a title summary and edits to your video.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So clarity travels with the work. Fewer unnecessary meetings, more effective ones.

[Steve Sands]

It's a team changer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Try loom. [e-mail]

[Alma Advertisement Voice]

youm're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Here comes Tony's mailback. Gonna read some faxes and your notes. Here comes down his mail back. Gonna read some for all you folks. Gonna read some for all of your.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Aw, That's Tom Mosser mainly, but Dan Byrne risks his career by appearing in that. It's just so wonderful. Great harmony. It's just so wonderful. You want to do the Bethesda bagel ad, please? Yes, Bethesda bagels. We love a mule as well. Just go to BethesdaBaggles.com Ford a location in the D.C. area nearest you. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled. Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say. Over. Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no. And it ain't over now because when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Get going. Who's with me? Let's go. That's John Belushi. I can't do it. John Belushi in Animal House. It's fabulous. And they go, Germans. I go, let him go. He's on a roll.

[Thumbtack Advertisement Voice]

He's on a roll.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But that's the best part of that entire speech. John Belushi died on this day. It's gotta be in 1982. So I was gonna say 40. Over 40 years ago.

[Mark Feinsand]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Over 40 years ago. Thanks to our guest today, Mark Fine sand and Steve Sands. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcast, Spotify and Odyssey if get shown through Apple. Please leave us a review.

[Mike Wilbon]

Another. On this day, I'll hold up a photo for those watching on News Channel 8. March 5, 2016. We bring Chessy home.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay. 2016?

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Why do I think she's 13 years old?

[Mike Wilbon]

Well, you know, we adopted her in 2016, so she's probably around 11.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She was born. Born in the fall of 15.

[Mike Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. Yeah, well, she's not 11 yet.

[Mike Wilbon]

Close to 11.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I tell people she's 13. Yeah. I thought she was older. She's still just a puppy.

[Mike Wilbon]

She's not slowed down. I have a picture of this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, well, that doesn't mean you have the date, right?

[Mike Wilbon]

It's the correct date.

[Mark Feinsand]

Okay.

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, let's get to the email timestamps. By the way, thank you so much to Michael Snyder for his email. Thank you so much. Now I'm doing subtraction from Scott Abercrombie, who's part of the Team Spice Boys in Huntsville, Alabama, and goes by the name Mike Honcho. He says Team Spice Boys, the official professional chili competitors of the Tony Kornheiser show, never discriminate with regards to how you may enjoy your chili. Eat it with rice, we don't care. Folks who get upset with how someone else enjoys their food need to relax. If folks are claiming real Texas authenticity, then their chili isn't real either. The original chili was made with dried beef and chilies, but no tomato sauce. Just cowboys on the range throwing whatever they had in the pot. I'll be looking for my invite to the Columbia Chili Cook off next year. Team Spice Boys will be defending our title this weekend at the St. George Island Chili Cook Off. If there are any Littles in the Apple Appalachicola area of Florida. I think that's probably in the West. That's probably in the West. Apalachicola. Come out and say hi. And we'll exchange some TK salutes from Joseph Clower, Joe Clower, Dubuque, Iowa. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. That's John Kennedy at his inaugural address in January 20, 1961. Quote, I was going to vote. I was going to film, fulfill my obligation by voting for the one I thought was best. The one I thought was best was not even Chile, so I couldn't vote for that. Anthony I. Kornheiser, Columbia Chili Cook Off 2026 Neil Arvis A Dear Sultan of shoes Emboldened by Scott Gurney's having established a Canadian franchise network and with the knowledge that the US Would be covered by distribution centers in each of Wilbond's mansions, I put my crack design team together and they have crafted the first Tik Airdrop 1 sneaker and photo attached. You will note the appropriate orange color and augmentation, or better dogmentation in the design. There's a dog. There's a Chessie is on the. On the side. They're lovely sneakers. Lovely sneakers. Is that a putting green on it as well? Putting green. There's Chessy. There's a Canadian American flag, and they are orange with white Himalayan. Very nice. Very nice. With People News Channel 8. They can see it. Okay. I am Gina Morrow, formerly Freehold, New Jersey, and now Seattle, Washington. I related so much to Joe Linardi's experience with his local bagels. That's just so fabulous. Local bagel shop closing suddenly without warning. My entire life growing up in New Jersey, my dad and my two sisters would get bagels from the same place and bring them to my grandparents for breakfast every Sunday. I am talking every Sunday from the ages of 0 to 24 before I moved to San Diego. Over the last 12 years, I've lived in San Diego, Miami, and now Seattle. But every time I would go home, the very first thing I would do is get an everything bagel with cream cheese from Eli's Bagels in Freehold, New Jersey. It was one of those things I looked forward to most. And I would get a bagel from there basically every other morning during my trips back home. My grandparents have passed away, but my dad and younger sister have continued the tradition of Sunday morning bagels together. A few years ago on a Sunday, while living in Miami, my younger sister Facetimed me to give me the horrible news. My dad had gone to Eli's to get their standard order only to shockingly find out not only was it closed, it was closed for good. No warning, nothing. Just closed. Closed entirely. After being open and arguably one of the most popular spots around for 40 years, my dad was confused but went to another local joint to get the bagels and relayed the news to my sister. When arriving at her house she was shocked and told my dad, Gina is going to be devastated by this. The second she told me, my jaw dropped and I gasped. I was indeed devastated. I couldn't believe Eli's and that taste of home was gone. When you grow up in New Jersey and then move out of state, finding bagels even remotely close is almost impossible. So going home and getting one of Eli's bagels was an ultimate joy. Since then, my dad and sister have taste tested several other bagel places around town, but nothing has ever compared to the perfect outer crunch but soft interior of an Eli's bagel. When I go home for a visit, I go to the place around the corner from my sister's house and it's good but still does not compare. I've never felt so bad as when as when Joe Linardi described his favorite Egg harbor place closing up without warning under the COVID of darkness. But at least he can hit up the new location when he needs his fix. Here's to your favorite bagel shop. May it never leave you high and dry. What a lovely email. Isn't that great? What a lovely email from Rob Lowe. Not that Rob Lowe in North Royalton, Ohio on Wednesday's pod. You ended the show with the greatest cutout song. Who made the egg salad sandwiches? I'm happy to tell you I made the egg salad sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs, mayo, touch of brown mustard, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper for taste. Looking forward to hearing about the boat shoes special at your new entrepreneurial adventure. Wynn Mossman in Moscow, Idaho law offices in humble midtown Scottsdale. Celebrating my 62nd trip around the sun while taking in Team USA's Warm up for the World Baseball Classic Yesterday saw Harper, Judge Schwarber and the Big Dumper. A modern murderer's row. I'm no doctor, but having seen that group live and from close range, I can confirm that Aaron Judge is the bigger dumper. Are they playing Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwaber and the Big Dumper. That's a pretty good stretch of bats. Yeah. Who's gonna beat us? Well, England I think is pretty heavily favored, right Jason in Phoenix? I've been pretty busy and just now catching up on the podcast. So I wasn't listening, but now I am. I hope that helps. Poor Steve Kleindorfer. Huntington Beach, North Carolina. Dusty Springfield, Linda Ronstadt. Saltine crackers. That's it. That's the list. Tell Paul McCartney to eat it. I'm just saying, in terms of female singers in my lifetime. Yes, Dusty Springfield and Linda Ronstadt. You know, that's. You know that's the top of the mountain. Mark Elliott, Prospect, Kentucky. Our grandson and his parents live in New Jersey. We drive there from Louisville to visit them from time to time. One time my wife and I took the long way home to make a podcast themed stop at Rehoboth Beach. Bow at the altar of the browse about, eat at the Henlopen Oyster House, eat pizza, walk on the boardwalk. Good times. Anyway, any thought taking the Cape May ferry from Rehoboth to New Jersey? Only a 40 minute drive from Cape May to Egg Harbor. Sure, you lose the 90 minutes it takes you to cross the Delaware Bay, but that should appeal to your sea captain past. I'm prone to motion sickness and it was a bit side to side for me, but I still think fondly of it. It's a nice experience. Plus you could make a quick stop at the Rehoboth house and see if anyone is stealing your water. This is a very good email. Very good. Thank you. Hey Tony, Mike o' Brien from Fletcher, Vermont wanted to inform everyone the frost heaves on our road are really bad this year. What are frost heaves? Not sure.

[Mike Wilbon]

Look it up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, frost heaves. Does that mean that the like a bump of ice or something? Or that the. The roads buckle or something?

[Mike Wilbon]

Oh, frosty is the upward swelling of soil and surface objects caused by subsurface water freezing and forming ice lenses during cold seasons.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so that would affect. That would affect the road. The road surface. Newton from Billy Floor is Flores. I've been living a six hour drive from my parents for 12 years now and before every trip they tell me, don't drive too fast. They've been saying it since I got my license. I assumed I'd aged out of that warning. I have not. I humor them every time and then bravely set the Cruise control to 75 miles an hour on Texas highways 77 if I'm feeling reckless and the wind is at my back. So when you casually mention doing 81 on I95, I realize I am not in fact the speedster I imagine myself to be. Turns out I'm just a cautious man with cruise control discipline.

[Mike Wilbon]

Making your parents cry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I Don't know how to use cruise control. Yeah, I'm always leery.

[Mike Wilbon]

I don't trust it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, don't trust it at all. So, Mike Afdal from Calhoun, Georgia, I'm looking forward to Sean Duffy, United States Secretary of Transportation, to say at his next press conference in regards to the upcoming daylight savings time in terms of. My friend Tony will understand and then appear on the subject. It's a brilliant email. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white ogre. Your Delta Tau Chi name is Pinto.

[Mark Feinsand]

Why Pinto? Why not?

[Amy Lynn (Singer)]

Sometimes we need to feel a heartbeat to know that we're alive Just holding on to the words you tell me makes me want to try to give a little push or shove find the rhythm and all of us hold a heartstring close to me mind there is beauty in your eyes and there's only so much time in this phase of life. Crushing veins and the window panes don't show where you you belong Bottles empty the ink is staining those hands but I know you're strong oh give a little push your sh. Find the rhythm and all of the eyes how the heart stream close to mine There is beauty in your eyes and there's only so much time so much there's only so much time there is so much time so much time in the space of life. You couldn't see love before your eyes you hid in the foyer fought with your knives holding it for holding it near begging for answers finding your own. But I think it's fine to be imperfect holding regret like a silver spoon I think you're my gentle and caring Somehow we're torn in a million directions we're stuck in the stars what if we've kind of holding your hand? It's me and you holding your hand it's. There in your room Galaxies cross finding connections you never were lost suddenly here getting to know your beautiful mind your beautiful soul. I think it's fine to be imperfect holding regret like a sin little bit sp I think you're mine Gentle and caring Somehow we're to in a million directions we're stuck in the stars and what if we find it holding your hand it's me and you holding your hand is me if you asked me I would go if you asked I wouldn't say no if you asked me I would go if you wanted. I think it's time to be holding your heart Silver spoon more than you know I always will hand it's me and you holding your hand it's me and you.