“Go to the safe room!”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: Episode “Go to the Safe Room!”

Release Date: January 24, 2025

Hosts and Guests:

• Tony Kornheiser – Host
• Jason Lock – NFL Insider from Odyssey
• James Carville – Political Commentator and Betting Enthusiast
• Jeff Ma – Sports Analyst and Betting Expert

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1. Personal Anecdotes and Life Updates

Jury Duty and Unwanted House Guests [02:04 - 05:37] Tony kicks off the episode with a humorous yet relatable story about his experiences with jury duty and an unexpected mouse infestation at home. He recounts being selected for jury duty multiple times, expressing both surprise and reluctance:

Tony Kornheiser [02:04]: "I have to say, I was amazed they chose me for a jury. ... I'VE gone two or three other times where I was not picked."

Transitioning from jury duty woes, Tony shares an amusing yet frustrating encounter with a persistent mouse that eludes his attempts to catch. His wife, Carol, reports seeing a mouse entering a “safe room” — a compacted garbage area. Despite his efforts, the mouse remains elusive, leading to discussions about the adaptability of rodents:

Tony Kornheiser [03:09]: "So I'd never had a mouse on the main floor before. ... I don't know where the mouse is."

High Energy Bills and PEPCO Troubles [05:12 - 08:59] Tony shifts gears to discuss his unexpectedly high electricity bill of $787, a significant jump from his usual $410. He delves into conversations with PEPCO representatives who attributed the increase to deregulated delivery charges, despite Tony’s unchanged energy usage patterns. He speculates on the impact of space heaters used in his studio room to combat the freezing temperatures, questioning the rationale behind PEPCO’s billing practices:

Tony Kornheiser [06:13]: "But I didn't see it. I have no idea where it is. ... I don't think they live alone."

He expresses frustration over PEPCO's stance and wonders about the billing practices in colder states like New Hampshire, where prolonged cold weather might justify higher energy consumption:

Tony Kornheiser [08:59]: "How do they double? How do they go up so high? Higher than ever."

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2. Sports Discussions

Australian Open Semifinal Recap [10:03 - 13:18] Tony provides a detailed recap of the Australian Open semifinal match between Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys. He highlights Madison Keys’ remarkable comeback in a tiebreaker, which he considers the match of her life:

Tony Kornheiser [10:28]: "But Keys breaks back. They go to a tiebreaker. ... She wins 10-8."

He reflects on Madison Keys’ career trajectory and the emotional significance of this victory as she prepares to face Irina Sabalenka in the final:

Tony Kornheiser [12:44]: "What an opportunity to beat the two in the one back to back, and you win a major."

Novak Djokovic’s Injury and Career Longevity [13:00 - 14:44] The conversation shifts to Novak Djokovic’s early retirement from a semifinal match due to a muscle tear. Tony questions the frequency of Djokovic calling for medical assistance and discusses his ongoing debates about Djokovic's standing among tennis greats:

Tony Kornheiser [13:07]: "Doesn't he call for the medic a lot?"

He touches upon the opinions of former players like McEnroe, who regard Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer as superior to previous legends, while also acknowledging his personal reservations about Djokovic’s style and relatability:

Tony Kornheiser [14:44]: "My friend David ... says you have to stop this. You're just an idiot."

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3. NFL Insights with Jason Lock

Coaching Changes and Team Strategies [20:36 - 32:27] Tony welcomes Jason Lock, an NFL insider from Odyssey, to discuss recent and potential coaching changes in the NFL. The conversation primarily focuses on the Chicago Bears hiring Ben Johnson and the New York Jets bringing on Aaron Glenn. Jason provides an in-depth analysis of Ben Johnson's career trajectory, highlighting his interactions with NFL executives and expressing skepticism about his readiness:

Jason Lock [22:07]: "He changed representation... weeks ago that this was going to be different."

Regarding the Jets’ hiring of Aaron Glenn, Jason questions the decision, pointing out Glenn’s inconsistent playoff performances and the potential risks involved:

Jason Lock [26:05]: "They blow the big lead in San Francisco... and Jared Halbesberger was on the sidelines."

Jacksonville’s Potential Hire: Liam Cohn [29:23 - 32:27] The discussion turns to Jacksonville possibly hiring Liam Cohn from Tampa Bay. Jason criticizes the Jaguars' decision, emphasizing the volatility of coaching positions in Jacksonville and the challenges Cohn might face:

Jason Lock [30:35]: "And this place, coaches go there, get fired, they never coach again, man."

He further elaborates on the Jaguars' front office dynamics, expressing doubt about the team's ability to turnaround under current leadership:

Jason Lock [31:50]: "I can't cosign it... takes more than just hiring the right coordinator to get your organization turned around."

Baltimore Ravens’ Performance Issues [32:27 - 35:45] Tony and Jason analyze the Baltimore Ravens' surprising underperformance despite their historical success and strong roster led by Lamar Jackson. Jason attributes the Ravens' struggles to critical turnovers, penalties, and inconsistent offensive strategies:

Jason Lock [33:35]: "They have Lamar Jackson, ... average 7.3 yards per play."

He highlights specific game issues, such as ineffective run support and defensive lapses, questioning the team's ability to maintain their winning streak:

Jason Lock [35:45]: "If they're that silly and that soft mark, then they really do just want to win the back pages."

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4. Sports Betting Picks with James Carville and Jeff Ma

James Carville’s Betting Picks [41:33 - 43:30] James Carville joins Tony to share his betting picks for the week. His selections include:

• Kansas City Chiefs minus a half-point.
• Khalil Shakar over 54.5 receiving yards for Buffalo.
• Curtis Samuel plus 1.5 catches for Buffalo.

Tony questions some of the choices, noticing the emphasis on Buffalo despite backing the Chiefs:

Tony Kornheiser [41:57]: "Plus 1.5 catches. Even though you're taking Kansas City, you're making two prop bets on Buffalo."

James defends his picks by emphasizing the Chiefs' strong lineup and Buffalo's potential for high-variance gameplay:

James Carville [42:13]: "This game opened lower and it's kind of been climbing up... the Chiefs have got playoff Mahomes."

Jeff Ma’s Betting Picks [43:23 - 50:31] Jeff Ma shares his predictions, focusing on:

• Commanders plus six points.
• Kansas City Chiefs minus one and a half points.

He discusses the dynamics of point spreads and the implications of in-game events, such as missed extra points influencing the final outcome. Jeff also touches on his reluctance to bet on the over/under for this week due to uncertainties surrounding player health and coaching strategies:

Jeff Ma [43:55]: "Take Garrett Nussmeier to win the Heisman... reach more financial goals."

Tony encourages Jeff to share more about his strategies, while Jeff explains the complexities of betting on tight games and the impact of strategic plays like safeties:

Jeff Ma [47:34]: "He's doing what is the most optimal thing for his team... taking opportunities to maximize advantage."

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5. Listener Emails and Stories

Jury Duty Anecdote [57:06 - 57:24] Tony reads a listener’s humorous story about being excused from jury duty due to his relationship with a defendant’s attorney, leading to an amusing courtroom scene:

Tony Kornheiser [57:06]: "He was my divorce attorney. ... telling me, 'this is not a common club.'"

Squirrel Deterrent Fiasco [65:22 - 65:22] A listener shares his unsuccessful attempt to deter squirrels from his flower pots using a store-bought solution. Tony humorously narrates the failed effort and the listener’s ultimate surrender to artificial flowers:

Tony Kornheiser [65:22]: "They jumped back in and did the same with the other cotton ball... wearing you down."

College Campus Confusion [66:20 - 66:21] Tony recounts a personal childhood story about misnavigating to Wake Forest University, leading to an unintended three-hour drive to Winston Salem instead:

Tony Kornheiser [66:20]: "My dad plotted the course on a map... directions to Winston Salem."

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6. Closing Remarks and Future Teasers [54:08 - 68:03]

Tony wraps up the episode by thanking guests Jason Lock, James Carville, and Jeff Ma. He highlights upcoming segments and encourages listeners to engage with the show on various platforms. Tony shares snippets from listener emails, intertwining them with personal anecdotes and maintaining the show's signature blend of humor and insight.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Tony Kornheiser [02:04]: "I have to say, I was amazed they chose me for a jury."
• Tony Kornheiser [03:09]: "We have mice. I don't know where the mouse is."
• Tony Kornheiser [06:13]: "But I didn't see it. I have no idea where it is."
• Jason Lock [26:05]: "They blow the big lead in San Francisco... and Jared Halbesberger was on the sidelines."
• Tony Kornheiser [10:28]: "She wins 10-8. This, apparently, to Madison Keys, is the match of her life."
• Jeff Ma [47:34]: "He's doing what is the most optimal thing for his team."

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Conclusion

In this episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show," listeners are treated to a blend of personal anecdotes, in-depth sports analysis, and engaging discussions on current events. Tony's humorous take on everyday mishaps like jury duty and battling a mouse infestation sets the stage for more serious conversations about energy challenges and the evolving landscape of the NFL. With insightful contributions from NFL insider Jason Lock and betting experts James Carville and Jeff Ma, the show offers valuable perspectives for sports enthusiasts and casual listeners alike. The episode concludes with entertaining listener stories, maintaining the show's charm and relatability.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk to Jason Locanfora about some more coaching changes around the NFL. Plus, James Carville and Jeff Ma will call in with their weekly picks. But first, as always, kids, commerce.

[Nigel]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Here's a riddle for you. What do yoga mats, a toothbrush and a Hyundai have in common? I'll give you a moment. Time's up. If you guess they're all fun, well designed, super useful, you guessed wrong. The answer is you can order all those things on Amazon. That's right, you can now buy a Hyundai on Amazon. The same place where you order yoga mats, a toothbrush, and pretty much everything else, all from the comfort of your home. And the best part, you won't even have to break down a car sized Amazon box after because you'll pick up your Hyundai at the dealer. I mean, picture this. You're in your PJs, snuggled in on your couch. You pull up Amazon on your phone and you start the process right there. You locate a nearby dealer, pick your color, your options, check the price, and with a few dotting of some eyes and crossing of some T's, voila. Your Hyundai is ready for pickup. It's that easy. Just remember to put on some real clothes before you head over, will you? Hyundai now available on Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Limited availability only through participating Hyundai dealers in select markets. Yeah, sure thing. Hey, you sold that car yet? Yeah, sold it to Carvana. Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy. The guy who wanted to pay me.

[Nigel]

In foreign currency, no interest, over 36 months.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, no.

[James Carville]

Carvana gave me an offer in minutes.

[Nigel]

Picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just like that.

[Jeff Ma]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No hassle? None. That is super convenient. Sell your car to Carvana and swap.

[Michael]

Hassle for convenience.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pickup fees may apply. Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Michael]

Well, they can hold you over. They haven't completed the voir process, so there was at least a possibility that I would have had to go back this morning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think everybody should do it once. Yeah, I mean, I was. I have to say, I was amazed they chose me for a jury. Yeah, sure, I was amazed. And I was, you know, as long as I had to be there, I was gratified. I've gone two or three other times now. I'm too old. They don't even call me anymore. But I'VE gone two or three other times where I was not picked. Although a couple of lawyers wanted to talk to me afterwards about sports questions. The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. All true. That's all true. Here's something else that is true. Yesterday morning, I was in the living room, and I heard Carol not shriek, but exclaim. Exclaim from the kitchen. And I go in and I said, what was that? We have a mouse in the garbage.

[Michael]

In the garbage.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mouse in the garbage. He said, I opened up the garbage to put something in.

[Bootsy]

No, this. This is a trash compactor that is set into the cabinets.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes. It's not a separate can.

[Michael]

It's a deep infiltration.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So she said, you know, I saw a mouse go to the safe room. And I said, okay, well, what happens. What happened to the mouse? And she said, the mouse jumped out of the garbage can and went into the area where the garbage. It's not a can. Where the. What do you call it? A compact.

[Bootsy]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Went into the area where the compactor lives. And I thought to myself, well, then. Then the mouse is dead. Then the action of the compactor will kill the mouse. But I opened it, and the mouse wasn't dead. I don't know where the mouse is. Like, I don't. Where things are sealed off. Like, this island in the kitchen goes down to the floor. It's not like you can crawl under something unless it is. Is that right?

[Bootsy]

Oh, yeah.

[Michael]

So, yeah, they can fit in ridiculously.

[Bootsy]

Small, and they often travel in between the floors and then through your walls.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I'd never had a mouse on the main floor before. Well, I had the little mouse and I. The first thing I thought was Chessy. Jesse was asleep.

[Bootsy]

I mean, these are working hours past a shift.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. She was asleep. So I felt, okay, if I see it, I'll try and get it. Like, I got the last one. And then I said, well, you can't flush it, though, this time. You can't flush the mouse this time. Okay. But I didn't see it. I have no idea where it is. I don't think they live alone.

[Bootsy]

Oh, no. If you've seen one.

[Michael]

Yeah, there's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's a.

[Michael]

There's a family. I mean, there's a bunch. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I've never heard them. I've never seen evidence of them.

[Bootsy]

It would make sense you'd start to see them after we've had the cold.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Stretch that we've had, because they're looking for warmth. Yeah. Yeah.

[Bootsy]

This is probably a fifth generation mouse that's been living in your house.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I, you know, people say, well, wouldn't you see mouse poop? I haven't seen any mouse poop. I've never seen evidence of mice in my house. I've never seen that. I'm not saying I don't have them because I think everybody has them, but I've never seen them.

[Bootsy]

And they are very good at coexisting with us and adapting to our patterns or waking hours.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you doubt that Carol saw the mouse you think she saw?

[Bootsy]

She explained it to me in great detail. I'm pretty sure she saw a mouse.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. I asked her if it was bigger than the last mouse, you know, the. The flushed mouse, and she said it was bigger, was substantially bigger.

[Bootsy]

They've been training, was the size of a bird.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, I didn't know. I don't know how big it is. So we have a mouse.

[Michael]

Do we need to get Lieutenant Gerard on the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've called somebody. We've called somebody.

[Bootsy]

You escalated this. You went straight to the top.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I went to Adcock.

[Michael]

Oh, yeah. Trappers, they are the apex predator.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean, you know, and they don't. They don't kill them. They find them, they trap them, they release them. And I don't care where they release them, as long as they don't release them. Like, near my house.

[Michael]

Can we give them a house that we'd like them to be released in?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have lot of homes like the houses. Anyway, so that. That went on. I learned something. I've talked about my electrical bill. I've talked about how incredibly high it is. I think I gave the number. Right. I think I gave.

[Bootsy]

Oh, you gave the number.

[Tony Kornheiser]

$787. It's like I never had one over 410. Right.

[Bootsy]

The bigger number is the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The disparity.

[Bootsy]

Yeah. The difference between one month to the next.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I had a conference call with a few people from PEPCO yesterday. And their position essentially is, look, our meters are correct. We can track your kilowatt hours, I'll tell you that. You know, on December 11, you had this many. And on December 26, you know, and I said, well, what are. You know, what are these Delivery charges? Like $200 in delivery charges. And it was explained to me that they were deregulated. I don't understand it.

[Michael]

The Gambino family has to get their tax for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. What is that called? Wet my beat.

[Michael]

Got to get the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wet my beak, you know, And I thought, well, are you delivering into. Because nobody's ever come to the house. Well, you're saying of electricity. Nobody's done that and said, here's your electricity.

[Michael]

Here's your electricity, Mr. Cohen.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't understand what that means to be delivered. But then they told me something interesting. The milkman, they said, do you know what. Do you know what is the biggest electrical drain you can have? Nigel knows because I told him. Yes, Michael do.

[Bootsy]

You also told me before that I would have guessed, you know, something with, you know, laundry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Space heater.

[Michael]

Oh, yeah, that's right. Space heater.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Biggest thing. So we have space heaters because the studio room, it's freezing. It's in the 40s.

[Bootsy]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So it's too cold.

[Bootsy]

When I first got this bill and I asked, did anything about your. Your daily living, your habits, did anything change? You go, no, nothing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've had. We've had that in the winter. We've had that for a couple of years.

[Michael]

Yeah. We haven't had this spike yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We haven't had a spike like this. So now somebody is going to come over from Pepco. They're gonna walk through my house. They're gonna repeat everything that was said to me on the phone.

[Michael]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they. Because, like, the other thing they say is, oh, everybody got a high bill. And then everybody who was on Pepco said, let me tell you what my bill was. So it's sort of like, let's justify charging this kind of money because we're all being hit in the same way. And I understand that we have not been over freezing in five or six days. And the other days. Yeah, the other days were around freezing. There was, you know, one day was 42 and everything else. Yeah, or 12, you know, and it doesn't. Your high is still below freezing, so that's going to cause a big spike in electrical use. But, you know, I don't know. You know what it made me think? What are the bills like in New Hampshire? Like, where it's cold for months? What is. What is your electricity like? And if I find out that somebody living in New Hampshire has a $200 bill, I'm going to say, get me that. Get me that guy's bill.

[Michael]

Did I not tell you the time when I was living right next to Lake Winnipesaukee?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's cold there.

[Michael]

And I made such a small amount of money at the radio station I worked at that my heating bill didn't get paid? So my heating got cut off in the middle of the winter. It was dismal. I had to make some phone calls. And, you Know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I told them. I assure them. I assure them I'm good for the bill. In fact, I sent the check in five days ago. That's not that.

[Michael]

It's not the point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The point is how do they double? How do they go up so high? Higher than ever. Higher than ever. You're telling me it hasn't been this cold ever? It has been.

[Bootsy]

You added a second space heater.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know. I know. Which is on occasionally, but it's on when it's on. It's on for four or five or six hours. Yeah. Like to throw these space heaters out the door.

[Bootsy]

Well, the. The mice have to keep warm.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So now we have mice.

[Michael]

Can you list them as dependents?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. I mean, but I don't know how many there are. But if this is a good, warm house, spending a lot of money on heat, maybe they're going to tell their friends, I got the place for it. Don't worry about it.

[Bootsy]

He's good for it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, they play the Petulas Clark song. I got a place where the music is fine and the lights are also. Anyway, I got a place where we can go. I had this wonderful experience yesterday morning that I wanted to tell you about. I got back with the dog. I don't know. Round 7. Get back with the dog. We have slow walks because I have to walk very, very slowly. There's ice all over my neighborhood as there is all over D.C. and it's.

[Bootsy]

Dark for most of your walk.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dark, you know, when I have to walk really slowly, even with the crampons, I have to. I got to get a new yak track because one of mine is wearing.

[Bootsy]

Welcome for that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you very much. Appreciate that. I'll put it on today. So I get back and I turn on the television and the Australian Open is on. The semifinal match between Igaontech, who has won the French Open like 30,000 times and is a second seed here, and Madison Keys, who I hadn't heard from in years. Yeah, Madison Keys, when she was 22 years old and an up and coming player, made the finals of the US Open. She lost to fellow American Sloan Stevens. From that point on, neither of them has done anything. They haven't been in any finals. So this is. So Madison Keys beats Iglish Witek. And it was really great tennis. It was great to watch. They were hitting the ball, you know, a hundred miles an hour at each other. I thought that Keys was going to lose. They're on serve in the third set. It's 5:5 in the third set. And Witek breaks keys to six. Five. She's going to serve for the match. It's over. Keys breaks back. They go to a tiebreaker. A tiebreaker I'm sort of kind of unfamiliar with. It's first to 10, not. Not first to seven, and win by two. It's first to 10. I don't think you have to win by two. I think it's first to 10. And Keys goes down three. One, goes down four, two, maybe even five. Three wins. She comes back, as she did in the third set. She comes back. She wins. She wins 10. Eight. This, apparently, to Madison Keys, is the match of her life, because as she sits down after the match and puts a towel to her face, she weeps. She weeps into the title, into the towel. She gets Irina Sabalenka in the final arena. Sabalenka, I think, is going for her third straight Aussie Open. Yes. She's the one seed. I do. I think Madison Keys is going to. I don't know enough about women's tennis anymore to be able to tell you for sure, but what an opportunity to beat the two in the one back to back. Oh, I mean, that's. You beat the two in the one back to back, and you win a major. People remember that forever. Especially that's your career.

[Michael]

Yeah, especially that's your career, especially at 29 after all of this. I mean, you sort of better do that than win early and then just sort of be around.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't think she's going to win. I mean, you have to pick Sabalenka.

[Michael]

You have to pick Sabalenka. But Sabalenka does have a history of her game going sideways.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is that right?

[Michael]

At various periods. Got that much more under control, particular serve. But when she's on, she's very tough to be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you see that Djokovic retired?

[Michael]

Retired?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, in the first set. Tiebreaker with Zvoriev. Why? What did he say?

[Michael]

He had an injury. It was like a muscle tear. And he said that as it went on, you know, had it taped up, and he was like.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It just.

[Michael]

The pain was too much.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doesn't this happen to him a lot lately? Doesn't he call for the medic a lot?

[Michael]

He does, and he had.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he's 37, which is old for.

[Michael]

Tennis, and he had to withdraw from a match, I think, think in the French Open in the quarterfinals. Same sort of circumstance. Just was like, I can't go anymore. You know, Now I know we're not particularly big fans Of Djokovic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I know. Is Wilbon still going to say he's the goat? Well, he'll give him a pass on this. I see.

[Michael]

But the. Where he's won this tournament 10 times.

[Tony Kornheiser]

10 times the fans booed finals 12 times.

[Michael]

Booed him mercilessly as he walked off.

[Bootsy]

The floor, thumbs up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael]

And he's like. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it's like they booed him.

[Michael]

They did. Because I guess you're expecting, you're expecting an epic, you know, five set match, you know, five hours and after one set you're gone. But still, do you think they would boo Rafa Nadal on at the French?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think that, do you think that when he lied two or three years ago to get into the country and he was deported for lying, do you think that they think he's a, he's a bum when we don't love him? Could be.

[Michael]

There was some. There was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, people remember that. Tennis fans are going to remember that. Yeah, he got deported. He got deported. He didn't. They didn't say you can't play tomorrow. They said, get out of the country.

[Michael]

And for like two years. I think. Yeah, yeah, that could be it. I know there was a, there was a broadcaster who was, I don't like him. Laying into him and saying he was overrated and that he's not overrated. And that led to, you know, Djokovic declining to do a post match interview on the court because he's like, until that guy apologizes, I'm not going to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's not overrated.

[Michael]

No, he's not overrated. Might not be my favorite player, but you can't overrate overrated.

[Tony Kornheiser]

My friend David, who follows tennis, says that he has heard McEnroe say repeatedly that these three guys, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, are better than everybody else ever, including him, including Laver, including Borg, including everybody that Sampras, they're the best ever. And Djokovic, head to head with them, beats them. Yeah. It's not by wide margins, but he beats them. Is he as stylish as Federer? Of course not. Is he as relatable as Nadal who's out there working so hard? No, he's not. No, he's not. Again, I don't like him. But his tennis is such that you cannot automatically rate them over him. You know, you can't do that. Now. I put labor over him and I think Connors could beat him head to head. That doesn't mean I think Congress better player. But my friend David says You're an idiot. You have to stop this. You're just an idiot. Maybe. You know, I've always thought I could be an idiot. So we'll take a break. Jason Locke and Fora. When we return, we'll talk about football. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Korneiser Show. Tony Kornizer Show. This is the Rosetta Stone Reed. It's a new year, so how about a new you? If that's what you're aiming for, then don't just settle for something like shaving your beard off. Go big or go home. Learn a new language like Korean, Greek, or Russian. And there's no better way to learn a new language than with Rosetta Stone. They've been a trusted expert for 30 years with millions of users and 25 languages offered. Utilizing fast language acquisition, Rosetta Stone immerses you in many ways. There are no English translations, so you really learn to speak, listen and think in that language. Plus, it's convenient with desktop and app options and an audio companion that gives you the ability to download lessons offline. Best of all, it's an amazing value. Lifetime membership gives you all 25 language courses Rosetta Stone offers for 50% off, which is a steal. People start the new year off with a resolution you can reach today. Listeners to this high quality podcast can take advantage of this. Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off, visit rosettastone.com Tony that's 50% off. Unlimited access to 25 language courses for hello, the rest of your Life. Redeem your 50% off@Rosetta Stone.com Tony Today you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This is the Rocket Money read. You know what's annoying? When you sign up for something, forget about it. After the trial period ends, then you're charged month after month after month. The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them.

[Bootsy]

I hope they forget about it, too.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they don't forget about it. Did you know that 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month? Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all of your subscriptions in one place. Cancel the ones you're not using anymore, and now you're saving more money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. We were introduced to this about a year ago. Yeah. And I said at the time, this is a really good idea. It's a really good idea. Now I see all the television commercials because it's a really good idea.

[Michael]

When they walk up to the people, they say, how much do you think you're spending each month? And it's always like 10 times higher than they think it is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

See all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money is going. For ones you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com TonyK today that's RocketMoney.com TonyK RocketMoney.com TonyK use that code. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Dan Byrne]

A flag was thrown, A flag is down Whatever just happened doesn't actually count Mr. Tony did an interview Mitch Albom was the guest Littles they were crying the stories were the best but Mr. Tony didn't shovel the walk outside his house A flag was thrown Mr. Tony flushed the mouse dry your tears pretend you never heard the interview with album never actually occurred Nigel read the bagel ad but accidentally said Chris sunk Michael he let Bootsy the hammer and the captain on the lawn Wilbaugh was spotted in Green Bay wearing a Packer sweater the folks down at lecheeserie they ran out of cheddar A flag was thrown, a flag is down Whatever just happened doesn't actually count A flag was thrown, a flag is down Whatever just happened.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doesn'T actually count it's the brilliant Dan Byrne with whistles, which I like. Do you think that's about Patrick Mahomes as well as everything else? It could be. It could be. It certainly could be. By the way, this Sunday Dan Byrne is in town. He's playing at Jam and Java. Now it conflicts with the NFL games, so he knows that. Yes, not getting the biggest crowd in history, but he's at Jam and Java if you'd like to go see him. He plays in Jason Lock and Fora. We are joined by Odyssey NFL insider, Jason Lock and for a host of the podcast in the huddle covering the entire NFL. And I think we should start with coaches.

[Nigel]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Dallas job is still open. The Bears hired Ben Johnson. The jets hired Aaron Glenn. Do we assume that Jacksonville is indeed hiring Liam Cohn, who's the. Who is the offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay?

[Nigel]

Yes, I think so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, let's, let's just go with them. The Ben Johnson Wilbon is, is. Wilbourne wanted this guy. Wilbon wanted him. He was the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in play last year. Apparently didn't want any jobs last year. Why would he want the Chicago job and what are your thoughts about him getting it?

[Nigel]

Well, you know, he had some interesting interactions with these various NFL owners and executives and kind of, you know, in the opinion of some people who talked to him, kind of got cold feet or didn't really have an understanding of what he wanted from these processes or, you know, some wondered after the fact, why did we spend all this time with this guy anyway if it was clear he wasn't really ready to leave and this wasn't a priority for him or, you know, he just kind of wanted to stay where he was. And I don't think a lot of those things were handled, you know, all that well. In fact, it was kind of ham handed and it was reaching a point where people were going to talk to him again. You know, they wanted to kind of have a sense that this is, that this is for real.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. That he wants a job. Yeah.

[Nigel]

Not a fact finding mission for you to continue this long term career arc where one day I'll leave Dan Campbell and I'll be totally ready for it. It. That's not, you know, that's not really what this is all about. And he changed representation and there were some strong signals sent to the market that I wrote about the Washington Post, you know, weeks ago that this was going to be different. And if you're going to leave and you believe in Caleb Williams or you believe he's less damaged goods than, you know, Trevor Lawrence, or you don't believe some of these other teams have a path to a quarterback and, you know, it's a team that he knows really, really well from having prepared to play them twice a year. And it's in the division that he already has a book on all those teams. So you hit the ground running and I mean, yeah, he loves Dan Campbell. He wanted to be with Dan Campbell forever. Now he wants to take Dan Campbell's staff with him. Right. He wants to leave Dan Campbell as threadbare as possible, which, hey, that's, that's professional sports. That's how it works. But like he can hurt the best team in the division by leaving. He's already prepared for the personnel that he'll be facing by and large on the other teams in the division. That's a pretty good chunk of your schedule right there. And if you think Caleb Williams could take a jump in year two, I get it. And I get why in the past, some of these other guys he might not have wanted to work for under any circumstances. He just, the way he played the game wasn't. It's kind of like this link Liam Cohen thing. And you know, there's. I get it. Like this is these, these guys are kind of ruthless robber barons and anything goes. And that is a, you know, a double sided sword. But, you know, he didn't leave the greatest impression with some of the people that he interviewed with that he was ever really serious about leaving in the past.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, he's leaving now, so he's serious about it. And the Bears, they did this a few years ago with Matt Nagy. They took a guy who was the offensive coordinator off a really good offensive team with a really good quarterback, and it failed. What are the chances this fails?

[Nigel]

I mean, they haven't succeeded in a long time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Nigel]

I mean, so was the last Bears coaching hire where you're like, yeah, that turned it out, you know, great. I mean, lovey, I guess. Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And then they fired him. Yeah. Yeah.

[Nigel]

And that, that turned pretty quickly after the Super Bowl. So I don't give a lot of people the benefit of the doubt there. I do think their front office will be restructured again. It's another one of these staccato deals where the GM has got a lot to prove. The GM might be on his last legs. GM should have been out of there already and the coach has a clean slate. So, you know, what does that portend if this year doesn't go swimmingly for Caleb Williams 2.0? So I certainly think there's, there's always in that front office, in that, in Hollis hall, there's always a couple of two or three things you look at and say, that could be a problem. That could be a problem if you fix the O line on the fly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Nigel]

And this guy's never done the job like he hasn't done this before. And there is usually a learning curve. And that's probably bad news for the front office.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the same thing with the Jets. They hire people all the time. They fire people all the time. Just hired Aaron Glenn, who played there, who has to know the history of the team and is taking this on anyway. And that is, to me more of a disaster in the making than the Bears. What do you do with Aaron, Rod? Why do you take this job if you're Aaron Glenn? And he wanted this job?

[Nigel]

I mean, it's a, it's the fulfillment of a career ambition. I mean, he transitioned from player to coach.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Nigel]

Worked his way up the ranks and you know, you're not hot forever. You're not guaranteed that, you know, another cycle, things go differently. Is that team due for a downturn? Anyway? I know they're getting personnel back on defense, but you know, Aaron Glenn's last couple of playoff performances are pretty, pretty. They blow the big lead in San Francisco and he gets run out of his own gym by Washington rookie quarterback. Yeah, so I think it was probably it, it, you know, to have the number of interviews he had in a cycle where there weren't a lot of dominant hot guys and Belichick decides to go to college, etc. I think it was time to pounce. Why there? I mean, he knows the area, he knows the team, he knows exactly what he's getting into with Woody Johnson. Their GM search has been a cluster, so, you know, he may emerge from that with a little more power than a first time head coach might have other places, I mean, there are pieces on defense. I mean, first of all, that's his side of the ball. And while I think that defense got overblown and overrated, even, you know, the last full season under Robert Salah, I think you can run on them. I think there were some warrants, I think people were figuring them out. There are certainly players there who are making a whole lot of money or on the cusp of making a whole lot of money, who've done some good things in this league. Buffalo's a good team. The rest of the division is just like you. Right. They're trying to get their own way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Nigel]

Figure it out. So, you know, I, I, I get it. That's another one though. I, I have, I, I can't suspend disbelief. Like I've seen Woody Johnson for far too long, I've watched it far too closely and I can't, I can't co sign it. I can't, I can't give it the sort of seal of approval because it takes more than just hiring the right coordinator to be your head coach to get your organization turned around.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Does Aaron Glenn, will he have the power, should he want to, to say, get Aaron Rodgers out of here?

[Nigel]

I mean, I, I don't know how you take the job without spending a considerable amount of time talking about how you want your team to look. Yeah, what, what you think matters in terms of how guys conduct themselves. You, I would think he wants to establish a sort of as bad as They've been for as long as they've been a very sort of communal, selfless. We've got a lot to prove to everybody. A guy who can't play anymore, being on TV every week talking craziness. You know, I just. Being on the back pages all the time, like, being so full of himself. I. I don't know. And making all that money to not play football that well anymore. I. I don't see how he would want anything to do with that. I mean, it should have been a non starter. I think it. I think it is a non starter, frankly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

For that owner. So if that becomes an issue, shame on all of them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

Becomes an issue, then, Tony, they won't win seven games. It will. It will torpedo the season. It will. And frankly, it'll probably be a hole they never get out of. Like, if they're that silly and that soft mark, then they really do just want to win the back pages. They don't want to win football games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, let's get to Jacksonville. Liam Cohen was the offensive coordinator at Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay was an unknown offense this year to the general public. They were really good. They rated high in every category. They scored a lot of points. They seemed to know what they were doing. Jacksonville's. I can't even imagine coaching at Jacksonville with any confidence at all. It's very possible Trevor Lawrence is a bust. It's very possible he didn't look to be when he came out of college, but it's very possible he is. It's a. It's a terrible place for coaches. Why would you take that job just to be a head coach?

[Nigel]

This guy's got. I mean, you want to talk about the poster boy for ambition, it's him, okay? And so he, like, he's the opposite. Ben Johnson there was he. He bounces around a year here, a year there. I go to McVeigh, I get that seal of approval. I go to college, I come back to McVeigh, I do one year in Tampa, they won't need me to stay around. I'm going to exploit that leverage as much as I can. Which again, I mean, that is entirely. You know, that's how some people play the game. I don't believe Shot Khan knows what he's doing. I think I agree with you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And that place, coaches go there, get fired, they never coach again, man.

[Nigel]

So he wanted a job. This was his best chance to get a job. They became infatuated with him. I don't quite understand why, you know, the way he handled this with the Bucks is bad eyebrow raising, to say the least. This to me would be a very odd, like, foundational jumping off point with my new boss to all this stuff that went down the last 24 hours. It makes them all look kind of foolish and it looks, makes them all look desperate. And like, I, I, I don't know, man. Like, I, I would want someone who's at a very different point in their career. If I'm the Jacksonville Jaguars, I don't know why I'm going to fall in love with what I think is this, you know, this, this, this McVeigh guy. There isn't a, like, Sean McVeigh's a unicorn. First of all, like, they need to understand that the hit rate on Sean McVeigh disciples will probably end up being, you know, one at every five or six is really what you thought you were getting, which I guess would still be higher than Belichicks, but still. I don't know, Tony. Like, I would have gone like an adult, like Todd Monken.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Nigel]

And said, hey, can you help me down here? I don't know why I'm going to fall in love with this, you know, this guy I've convinced myself is some kind of Svengali, even though he hasn't even coached in, in this league all that long. I mean, the whole thing with Trent Balky, I mean, how could Shot Khan not have known when he knew early in the season he was firing Doug Peterson, that was the time to also fire Trent Balky. You don't let Trempowchi do contract extensions for you in season, late in season. Like, it's just, it starts at the top. And this, I would be shocked if this works now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't think it's going to work. Dallas is still open. The Raiders are still open. Saints are still open. We'll leave them. Because I'll just ask you this as I know how much you know about the Baltimore Ravens once again fizzle. Once again. Lamar Jackson, first half, two separate turnovers, Mark Andrews things. Shocking, but it happened. There's a statistic that you're aware of. I'm sure they've won 78 games in the last seven years. They're the only team ever in the NFL to win that many games in that period of time and not make the Super Bowl. Your thoughts?

[Nigel]

Well, it was the, it was the same thing with the Peyton Manning Colts. And then that following year they broke through. I don't know that, that the Ravens will or won't, but I certainly know Lamar Jackson is the single Biggest thing that franchise has going for them, and it's not even close. So that keeps them in the mix that you're going to win 70 or more of your games, you're going back to the playoffs, and maybe at some point in time, you know, you won't implode. But Lamar Jackson is the reason they average 7.3 yards per play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure, he's a great player.

[Nigel]

Derek Henry, I mean, six of his first eight runs went nowhere. Like, Derek Henry was tiptoeing. Derek Henry was fanning the pass protection. Derrick Henry was dropping balls, and Derrick Henry was on the sidelines because they needed to move quickly and they needed to protect the quarterback and they needed to throw the ball to get back in that game. And Jay Flowers didn't play in that game, and Rashad Bateman got hurt in that game and Lamar Jackson let him down the field with Justice Hill and Tylon Wallace, and then the tight end couldn't catch the ball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nigel]

I mean, I, you know, they've. They've produced as a team, they've taken the ball away from the other team two times in Lamar Jackson's career in the playoffs. Like, this is a defense that led the NFL a year ago. Right. And turn in takeaways. First defense in NFL history to have lead the league in points allowed sacks and turnovers. And they couldn't turn anybody over in two games last year. They couldn't turn anybody over the two games this year. Again, two total takeaways like. And the offense was bad in a lot of those, but they rolled up over 400 yards despite the turnovers. They had 150 more yards than the Bills. They just are not a really sharp, smart football team. They tend to be their own worst enemy with critical turnovers and penalties. And I don't know how you sort that out. I, I don't. I don't. I mean, it's just these. The way things sort of happen. But nobody around here who watched this team, if you would have said, well, if, you know, could they go to Buffalo and average over 7 yards per play and move the ball all over the place and hold Josh allen on their 150 total yards and lose? And you'd say, sure, turnovers and penalties. We've seen that drill before.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Nigel]

I, I don't know, man. It's very hard to explain, but it seems to be somewhat in their DNA. And there's things they should have done as, as offensive play callers that they didn't and adjustments they should have made sooner. And there's things you just can't account for, like Mark Andrews having that horrible of a football.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it never happens. It really doesn't. Not to him. All right, plug your radio show for us.

[Nigel]

You check me out every day from 2 to 6 on inside access on 157 Defender. Listen to us anyway on the Odyssey app and check me out in the Washington Post writing about the NFL and you can check me out on CBS Sportsline handicapping the NFL and the NBA and college basketball. And we'll see. We'll see what else we can branch out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, just keep working.

[Nigel]

Basketball lately.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just keep working. All right. We'll talk to you next week. Thank you, Jason. Yeah, that was Odyssey, NFL Insider. Jason Lock and Forum. Make sure to follow in the huddle on the Odyssey app or subscribe wherever you get your podcast. He knows so much, you know, I mean, I got Wilbond telling me all about Derrick Henry and then I got Jason just saying he fanned on blocks, he tiptoed, he didn't do anything and I had to get him out of the game. Who are we going to trust? We're going to trust Jason. We're going to trust Jason. James Carville and Jeff Ma when we come back. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. This is the stamps.com read. Flexibility in your workday means you can decide when and where to invest your time, like focusing on the important parts of the business that only you can do. With stamps.com, tedious tasks like sending certified mail, invoices, checks or documents and packages can be done on your time, not someone else's. Stamps.com simplifies your postage needs and adds valuable flexibility back into your workday. Stamps.com handles all your mailing and shipping needs wherever, whenever. If you own a business. This is very good, right? Sure. I mean, if you have a lot of mail that's going out and you can do this yourself.

[Michael]

Oh, it saves you time, saves you money.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's really great. Yeah. You know, you have access to all the USPS and UPS services you need to run your business right from your computer or phone anytime, day or night. No lines, no traffic, no waiting. Have more flexibility in your life with stamps.com Sign up to stamps.com Use the code Tony for a special offer that includes a four week trial plus free postage and a free digital scale. No long term commitments or contracts. Just go to stamps.com code Tony, you should do this.

[James Carville]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Kornheiser Show. Well you wake up in the morning.

[Nigel]

Boy you hear the ding dong ring.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Then you look upon the table bar.

[Nigel]

You see the same darn thing. You find no food upon the table bar. There's no fork up in the pan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But you better not complain. Boy you get in trouble with the.

[Nigel]

Man and the midnight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a great drum. It's a great drum.

[Michael]

Really is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's the traditional James Carville walk up music. Midnight special by Paul Evans. James is 2 and 2 last week. That's okay. James is 60 and 55. One of the great comebacks in history. If you bet every time with James Carville, you have made money. This year there's only three games left. So he is going. Unless he does crazy prop bets he's going to finish above 500. Before we get to the betting though, how much snow and what's New Orleans like with snow?

[H]

It was locked. It was like 10 inches. And you know, we don't have any wow in the skill in getting rid of it. But it's. It's much better today. The highways are still closed. A lot of them closed yesterday. But they're opening and it's going away. Another two days it'll all be gone I expect.

[Tony Kornheiser]

10 inches. Wow.

[H]

It's unbelievable. It's most since 1895. It was all over the place and it snowed for a long time. Like about hours.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I would imagine that if it. If the temperature wasn't too terrible and the wind wasn't too terrible, people went outside and took pictures and called their friends and neighbors and frolicked in the snow. Right.

[H]

A lot of that. I mean, you know, if a thing would last for 36 hours and it would just all go away, you'd pay for it. There's still, you know, slippery sidewalks and, you know, the streets with a lot of shade. You know, New Orleans has a lot of trees.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[H]

Those kind of streets are still icy yesterday afternoon. I suspect they're still kind of icy this morning. But the main thoroughfares are fine. The more traffic, the less if you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It'll melt it and you'll. You'll be back in the 50s within a week. Right.

[H]

I think about a weekend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Okay. That's good. All right. I should say. This week's picks with James Carville and Jeff Ma are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. Who you got? What do you got for us?

[H]

I got the Chiefs minus a half.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[H]

One and a half, I guess. I got Khalil Shakar Over 54.5 yard receiving.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hold on. Hold on a second. Over 54.5 yards receiving. Who is. Who is this? Who's doing this? Khalil?

[H]

It's a receiver for Buffalo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Right.

[Nigel]

And it.

[H]

Curtis Samuel, another Buffalo receiver, plus 1.5 catches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Plus 1.5 catches. Even though you're taking Kansas City, you're making two prop bets on Buffalo. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

[H]

But Kansas City has got. His name is Cajones or something. I don't know what his name.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What else again?

[H]

I mean, I think these games are going to be really, really good. And another thing I'm looking forward to is LSU women play South Carolina this afternoon at 4:00.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. We're bounced off ESPN. We're on ESPN too, for that. And I understand that. I do.

[H]

They couldn't play yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[H]

Play yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. But I get it. I mean, South Carolina, LSU is something that's going to draw a couple of million people. I get it.

[H]

But as our best sportswriter said down here, one of our best sports. Right. We hadn't beaten since 2012. So let's not call it a rivalry yet. You hadn't won since 2012. United.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Okay. So are you betting the Washington game at all?

[H]

No, but I'm obviously pulling for Washington.

[Nigel]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. So these are three bets. These are three bets on the Kansas City Buffalo game.

[H]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right.

[H]

Okay. We'll talk for Washington.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We know you're going to pull for Jaden Daniels.

[H]

ESPN had the 10 top MVP candidates.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[H]

In the top nine, four LSU players. The top nine players in NFL four play LSU.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So Daniels, Burrow, Stace Jefferson. Yeah. Yeah.

[H]

Much argument there.

[Michael]

No, it's hard to argue with any of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. No, you don't want to argue with that. You might tell that to Brian Kelly and say maybe you'd like to win some more games bringing these people in. Right.

[H]

Take Garrett Nussmeier. Right now, I'm going to tell you, my first bet of the next season is 800. Plus 800. Take Nussmeier to win the Heisman.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[H]

And if the total is plus ten and a half, takeaway. Athletic has us number four going in there next year. We're going to be scary good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's good to know. It's good to know. All right, James, stay warm. Say hi at home. Bye, James. Carville, boys and girls. Jeff Ma joins us now. Jeff had the best week of everybody last week because Chuck Todd had a losing week. Reginald was 3 and 1, James Carver was 2 and 2, but Jeff was 4 and 1 and was looking at a clean sweep. Had Notre Dame covered. Right. Didn't make that and sort of lost that late. You, you should talk about the games where the point spread came into play late to agonize a lot of people, including you.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Jeff Ma]

I mean, it's funny because a lot of times when you bet these games, you know, the recreational batter doesn't really care about the number they get, whether it's, you know, if you're James Carville, you're fighting for every half point that you can get on the TK show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But you're inventing half points. Inventing them. Yes. Yeah.

[Jeff Ma]

The recreational better is often not thinking about it, but if you look at something like the Kansas City game last week, which when we put it in, it was like eight, but it went up to as far as nine and a half. And I think it ended at nine because of a safety by 11 and then took that safety to push it to nine. And you know, a lot that made a lot of people unhappy. You know, you met, you mentioned the Notre Dame Ohio State game, and that was a game where obviously Ohio State was covering pretty easily. But then all of a sudden Notre Dame comes back, makes two two point conversions, and you're in a situation where if you're Ohio State, you're not having Ohio State minus eight and a half. You don't feel very good that they're going to score again. But of course, they throw that bomb, almost score a touchdown, use all the clocks just to kick a field goal, and then all of a sudden, you know, that's the difference between winning and losing with the point spread. It's pretty. It's pretty crazy. And also, you know, interesting. Again, what. In that Eagle, the kicker.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kicker was missing. Yep.

[Jeff Ma]

What's that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

The kicker was missing in the Eagles game?

[Jeff Ma]

Yeah. Well, you know, you had the situation where the Eagles. The Quan Barkley broke that thing. He ran it in. They go up by what should be 14 at that point. So if you're holding Eagles minus 6.5, you feel pretty good about it. But as soon as Elliott misses that extra point, it's now 13, you know, you're a backdoor touchdown away from losing. And that's exactly what happened. Now, you know, Philly, the Rams also drove again, so they really didn't kind of make that game close at the end. But, you know, these, these half points and these missed extra points and, you know, even. Even in that Baltimore game where that line was. Was, you know, one and a half, you had a situation where when they went for two and didn't get it, there was a good chance that they could win that game by one point at that point and actually not cover, but win, which is pretty hard when you're only giving one and a half points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I want to go back to the Kansas City thing. From a. From a football standpoint, taking that safety was smart. You're trying to kill the clock. You're running around back there, and if they don't tackle you until you run out of the end zone, you can take 10, 12 seconds off. I mean, I don't. People will say, oh, Andy Reid knew about this. I don't believe that. I believe he's making a smart football play. Didn't you.

[Jeff Ma]

Oh, he's absolutely not. He's not. He doesn't care about the point spread. People that think that are crazy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Jeff Ma]

He's doing what is the most optimal thing for his. Now, the big thing that you worry about in a situation like that is probably a blocked kick or a returned kick. And in the situation where you're able to set up and not worry about a blocked kick, there's all sorts of reasons that, again, the only way they lose that game is by one really quick score and onside kick. And so you're just. You're basically taking that option out by doing it. Now, is he being overly cautious?

[Nigel]

Probably.

[Jeff Ma]

But that's why he's a successful coach, because you take every advantage.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Absolutely. Absolutely. By the way, so had you gone five and oh, you'd be much. You have to win them all. I mean, unless you have prop bets, you have to win the next three to finish at 500. Everybody else, including a monkey, is going to finish at 500 or over. So we are rooting for you. Who do you want this week?

[Jeff Ma]

And we're going to take the Commanders plus the six. This game opened at four and a half and has gone up to six again. I think people were like a little bit overreacting on Bakers were overreacting to what they saw from the Commanders. You know, obviously playing such a great game against the Lions. And so it's gone up to six and so ultimately at six, I like the Commanders.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What else?

[Jeff Ma]

And then I'm going to take the Chief minus the one and a half. Similarly, this game opened, I think at Chiefs minus one, it's gone up to one and a half. There's thoughts that it might go up a little bit more. But again, I think you have a situation where, you know, this is going to sound so cliche, but you're getting Mahomes. Playoff Mahomes. The defense, I think is much better. They did not look very good against Houston at times last week, but I think this is a game that they. They will win. And again, only giving a point and a half. I like them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I thought it opened it too. I thought it was Buffalo plus two when it opened and no, no, I.

[Jeff Ma]

Think it opened lower and it's kind of been climbing up. I never thought to. I mean, it depends what you say. Where it opened. Like it opens offshore. Some of the most, you know, repertoire Offshore books first. And I saw one. I looked right away and was one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so those are the two you're not. Now you want to. You want to an over under bet last week as well. Are you going to do anything like that this week?

[Jeff Ma]

I'm sure I'm not going to do anything like that this week. It's tough because obviously, you know, both games I don't see any real edge on the total. You know, I think that maybe that Buffalo total at 48 with these teams is probably a little bit high, but it's hard to bet under when you got Mahomes and Josh Allen. And then there's a lot of uncertainty in that Eagles game. I mean, the health of Jalen hurts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Jeff Ma]

Is questionable.

[Nigel]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

His knee.

[Jeff Ma]

Yes. Yeah. You have two, four, two coaches that are going to go for it a lot on fourth down. So you're going to have like high variance on the totals that you could have very long slow drives or you could have, you know, like turning the ball over at your own 31st to give the other team a short field. So I just think there's too much uncertainty on the total.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, thank you, Jeff. Chessy is agitated here. I think Chessy is betting the other way on these games. You, you might have heard her barking in the background. We will talk to you next week. Thanks, Jeff.

[Jeff Ma]

Okay, thanks, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This week's picks with James Carville and Jeff Mobb have been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more.

[Bootsy]

I think Chessy wanted the bills of plus.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chessy is now attacking Nigel's pants because she's trying to herd Nigel. That's what she does. She's a herd dog. Yes.

[Michael]

She's trying to guide me in the right direction through my pant leg.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's wild. All right. We will take a break and we will come back with email and jingle. Yes, email and jingle. I am Tony Kornheiser.

[I]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. Here's Pat Baz. Kids. Here comes Tony. Oh bag. Email faxes and notes. Here comes Tony Mayo B going to read some for all of you folks. He's going to read some for all of you. Lovely. Love that tune. Love it. Wanna do the Bethesda bagel ad?

[Michael]

Yes, Bethesda bagels. We love them. You will as well. Just go to bethesdabaggles.com forward a location in the DC area nearest you. Then pop one in my friend and you will be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, here's a song that we get to before the Mailbag I lived with the decent folks in the hills of old Vermont where what you do all day depends on what you want and I took up with a woman there Though I was still a kid and I smiled like the sun to think of the loving that would. Did nobody knows that song? I know that song that is called Yankee Lady. It is by Jesse Winchester. I think it's his only hit.

[Michael]

I think so. And I was amazed when you pulled that the other day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Got that one. Yeah. Well done. Let me thank Jason Locanfour, James Carville and Jeff Ma for coming on the show today. All J's today. It's J Day. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Odyssey if get showed through Apple. Please leave us a review from Kenny Lane. I went to camp once with a Kenny Lane. This is not that same Kenny Lane. He was a doctor. He went to University of Rochester Medical School.

[Michael]

It's like a colleague of yours, fellow doctor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, he was a real doctor, a medical doctor. Kenny Lane in Albany. My closest childhood friend is the artist whose print someone sent you of the father and young son on the golf course. Wow, Michael, you brought that over to the house. Yes, his home and gallery are in New Orleans. He sent me a number of Pictures from around St. Louis. Lewis Cathedral of the snow. Living in upstate New York, I was not especially impressed, but appreciated the novelty for those frolicking about. You know what else they don't have besides snow machines? Gloves. He wore socks on his hands. He did, after all, have to protect his bread and butter shout out to Peter O'Neill Gowry on Royal Street.

[Bootsy]

I love that picture. Yes, there's a picture of us in Nova Scotia, I believe, walking on the beach. And I always think of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, so it's lovely. The connective tissue. Andy Shaner, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Snow machines I believe in most places in America, even the cities that don't have them, they're called snow plows. Or is this a donkey situation? Maybe the people at Pepco targeting their plow got word to the worker men who drive the plows to avoid your street. Either that or they're prepping your neighbors for the arrival of the US Skating team that also enjoy Nigel and Chessy's protein bars. Stay warm. It was minus 12 in my car on Tuesday morning.

[Bootsy]

That name again, Mr.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Plow. Kenny Ray, Fort Walton Beach, Florida how does the Capitol weather gang measure snow in units of bottles of Basil Hayden. Okay. This is. That's a drink. And this is how people measure it in Florida. Yeah. Where Kenny Ray is. Because they don't have any other way to measure it. They stick the bottle down and then they count the inches. Yeah. Yeah. Tony t. In Brooklyn, D.C. my mom and I laughed at your style columns together when I was younger. I've listened continuously since the TEM days. My respect for you is immense. But come on. Pepco wasn't targeting your block with random power outages. It was the monkeys. Be careful, Tom from Kelowna in British Columbia in Canada. Who's the official gas fitter of this show? It sounds like you're going to have to have a meeting with Pepco to make peace after your family's power was affected by the surplus bill business. Tell them that. All right. You'll have to pay your bill to clear these false charges, but you are a superstitious man, and should Michael's power be shut off on Championship Sunday due to a crash into a transformer or by someone hanging streetlights or by the house being struck by lightning, you will blame people at Pepco. And that you cannot forgive. Thank you, Marlon. Jeff Gibson in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. Here's my only jury duty story story. I was picked with a group of people to enter the courtroom as possible jurors. When the judge asked us if we knew either attorney, I raised my hand. Since the defendant's attorney was a friend of mine, he asked me to stand and explain my relationship. He was my attorney a few years ago, your honor, I explained. Care to expand? The judge responded, yes, your honor. He got me out of a life sentence. He was my divorce attorney. The courtroom erupted in laughter. Except the judge. He then asked me to approach the bench, where he scolded me in front of everyone, telling me, this is not a common club.

[Michael]

You see a chance for a good joke, you always make the joke.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what I would think. Rick Franzosa Episode 252 Northeast Cincinnati but not far from Tony Beeson. No piano, but I have several guitars. While I never served on a jury trial, I did serve on the Claremont County, Ohio grand jury a number of years ago. Two mornings a week for two months, each case would be presented to the grand jury by the county prosecutor, and we would decide if the case should go forward. It was interesting at first, but as the months went by, we began to get a little punchy. One of the last cases presented was a pair of enterprising young men who stole a couple of horses, trailer included, and drove off to a horse auction in St. Louis to make some money. Even though this was the early days of the Internet, the horse owners community were well aware of what had happened and the boys were immediately arrested. After the prosecutor left so that we could deliberate, the guy next to me sat back and said, well, the draw horse thieves, that's a hanging offense. The prosecutor returned, puzzled to see the grand jury convulsed in laughter. Aaron in Milwaukee, something I thought the crew would find interesting. Another podcast I listened to talked about Jaden Daniels, his training methods. He's a huge virtual reality fan and has invested heavily in VR communities. He puts on a headset and trains with game footage at 1.7 speed, almost twice as fast as normal. So in real games everything must appear slower and he can process even faster. Compare that to Caleb Williams, who before the season started, confidently said the NFL appeared slower in his eyes. Yes, and this is the second year in a row where the first two picks were quarterbacks and the pick at number two was significantly better than the pick at number one from Nathan Ackerhelm in Charlotte, North Carolina. If Reginald is looking for work in the off season, I recommend he become Ryan Day's new golf cart driver. Not sure if you've seen the video of his drive at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, slamming the cart directly into a wall in the tunnel by the lock. Did you not see that? I never saw it.

[Michael]

Well, you need to describe it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Straight in.

[Bootsy]

I was like, what are you doing, Austin Powers?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was exactly Austin Powers. Todd Hodgkinson, Polk City Poach Salad Annie Polk City, Iowa Dr. TK on the pod last Monday, you were talking about Caitlin Clark sitting with Taylor Swift and you wondered how a girl from Iowa could end up rooting for the Kansas city chiefs. As 25 year old resident of the Hawkeye State, let me enlighten you about how Iowans choose their sports teams. Iowa has no professional sports. The closest we have are minor league affiliations with the Cubs, the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Timberwolves. That said, unless they grow up in a house where their father is a delusional Chicago Bears, Blackhawks and Cubs fan, as my child does, most kids in Iowa come of age with the freedom to root for any sports team they choose, this often results in a lot of bandwagon tomfoolery. Over the last three years, the neighborhood kids have replaced their Golden State Warriors T shirts with nuggets and Celtics gear, and my neighbor, who has no known association with Catholicism or college degree, has been religiously flying his Notre Dame University flag since Christmas. More likely than not, the rooting interests of Iowans are as a result of geographical influence, with people living in the northern part of the state growing up as Vikings and Cheeseheads. Those on the Missouri river border as Broncos or Chiefs, and those closer to the Mississippi riverside of the state as Bears or Colts. Being centrally located between Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and Chicago, the capital city, Des Moines is somewhat a mixed bag, but it makes sense to me that Caitlin Clark, who grew up in West Des Moines, would be a lifelong Chiefs fan. If you buy into the geography theory I postulated, I could go on about how MLB blackout restrictions were blacked out by six teams and regional sports network contracts also shaped the rooting interest people living in Iowa. But that is a dissertation for another day. It's very interesting. It is. That's very interesting. It is Andrew Koh in San Francisco when you read the email on Wednesday show about Pepco using Salesforce, I thought, wait a minute, I know that company. I work there. What most people don't know what the heck Salesforce is. It's actually quite common for salespeople and customer service people to use it, and more for Michael than you. But Salesforce also powers a lot of websites. For example, the help site of Bootsy has issue with his Legos. Lego even has a chatbot to handle basic questions, but you can type representative and be sent to a live person. Wow. And if you need a worker man from Home Depot to come to the house and you build new protection for your tomatoes, they're also dispatched using Salesforce. The show has been great for my career at Salesforce as I found other littles at Salesforce. Shout out Conor O'Gara I also work with many people based on the DMV and they're always shocked by my knowledge of DC Weather, the Purple Line and Bethesda Bakers. Thank you for the laughs. Okay, John Murray in South beach. Say hi to Dan for us. Would you please remind James Carpool at the super bowl being in New Orleans at Luke Russet will be his house guest whether he likes it or not. Based on Luke's previous days at the Carville Madeline residence. Luke will drink all their good bourbon to start and then the rest of the liquor and wine. God forbid if the Bills are playing because he will invite friends and there won't be a table left intact in the place. Please tell John Weiner and in Cincinnati to once again eat it. Okay, Michael Masson this is long. This is. But it's got pictures at the end first time, long time. How you doing? Should we blow him up and not read Greetings from frozen Ann Arbor by way of New Orleans. Hopefully Carville and T Boy have dug themselves out from the historic NOLA snowfall. I'm not one to write into a podcast, but over the last few weeks the universe demanded an email. On the December 30 pod, I had my first David Aldrich moment when you talked about Stan musial and a St. Louis restaurant. Then last week you mentioned Joe Garagiola on PTI as being the first bad baseball player to become a beloved TV personality. You see, the woman to who I'm related by marriage is one of Joe's granddaughters. Okay, well, Eddie Longos, his wife is also one of Joe's granddaughters. Really? Yes. And Stan Musial is my father in law's godfather. Photos attached of original menus from Stan Musial and Biggie's My father in law, Steve Garagiola has been a much beloved news and sports anchor reporter in Detroit for over 40 years until his recent retirement. Now spends his days either playing golf, painting, cooking or going on his ventures with my three boys. Like Michael, I'm on the journey of life, raising little crumb snatchers age 9, 7 and 3. Life is hectic but happily full.

[Bootsy]

What are you just stepping on Legos?

[Tony Kornheiser]

My wife and I, along with an ultra talented artist from New Orleans, are launching a multimedia company starting a line of hybrid animal plushies called Zabunkis hitting the market this spring. We'll be sure to send Bootsy the Hammer and Captain a box of that for some R and Z with our six original characters. You'll like that, Michael. Working in TV post production, I've been fortunate to cross path with the life with the likes of the Gary Braun in the past year, as well as Aaron Greenberg, who is Greg Garcia's longtime right hand man and post producer. This show and the guests you bring on are more than just a podcast. It's a thread that connects listeners with a community of genuinely warm, kind and smart individuals from all walks of life. Given the state of the world today, these hours I spend with you, Michael and Nigel are needed more than you think. Michael Masson Post Supervisor Eddie Longos he must know him. He'll write us again. Yeah, I'm sure I mentioned Eddie. He must know him from ed Deroziers. About 10 years ago I was at the beach in New Jersey. I was talking to a fellow at our neighbor's house. He said he drove Wilt to the game in Hershey. He was a friend of the owner, and Wilt didn't want to go because of sore hamstrings. According to this gentleman, Wilt only agreed to go because he could sit sideways across the backseat of his Cadillac. Also, we have mutual acquaintances, Lenore and Michael Martinez from Columbia. Lenore was a club champ 1,000 times. Mike Martinez was a lawyer for Marriott. They're my relatives. Oh, that's. Well, that's wonderful. I got the most wonderful email from Bill Melchioni, who used to play with the Sixers and played with the Nets, who I covered when I covered the Nets, and he knew Wilt well, and he talked about Billy Cunningham driving him all over the place. And he loved Wilt. He said he's just a wonderful person as a teammate.

[Michael]

That's great, really.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Was Mack Geshwind or Geshwind? I don't know. Indian Wells, California I feel your pain. My problems with squirrels with flower pots rather than tomatoes. But the war was the same. I tried every method that friends or Google recommended, even the weird and disgusting ones, to deter the pesky creatures from eating the flowers in my pots. All to no avail. In desperation, I went to my local nursery and was assured they had the sure method to solve my problem. They sold me a can of their Surefire deterrent liquid and a bag of cotton balls on a small wooden stake. Instructions Soak the cotton balls in this stuff. Stick a couple in the pot. Squirrels will hate it. Leave the pots alone. Problem solved. That night. Isn't it usually coyote urine? Yeah. That night, I eagerly followed the instructions. Next morning, I watched out my back window as a squirrel approached, jumped into a pot, and jumped right back out.

[Nigel]

Ha.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Take that, varmint, I said out loud, doing my best Yosemite Sam impression. The squirrel sat there a few seconds, looking up at the pot, then jumped back in, grabbed the cotton ball, pulled it out, jumped down, deposited beside the pot, jumped back in, and did the same with the other cotton ball. Then he jumped back in and began to eagerly eat my flowers. I couldn't help but admire his ingenuity, but I had one more ultimate weapon. The next day, I filled my pots with artificial flowers and declared victory over the squirrels. I know some might call it surrender, but I have my pride. I would suggest my remedy to you for your problem, but artificial tomatoes are probably not what you're looking for. If you find anything that really works, put it on your podcast and I'll give real flowers another chance. In the meantime, good luck. Those little guys are smart and persistent, and they can Wear you down.

[Michael]

Yes, they can.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Jay Yander in Old Forge, Pennsylvania. John from Charlotte wrote a recent email about North Carolina confusion that reminded me of a funny story. During my teen years in the 90s, my mother and father took my sister and me to see well over 100 college campuses in preparation for our college selection.

[Michael]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

During a visit to my aunt's house in Raleigh, my parents decided to take us see Wake Forest University. My dad plotted the course to Wake Forest, North Carolina on a traditional map and we were off. When we arrived in the town about 20 minutes later, we drove around in search of the campus. After 20 minutes of fruitless hunting, we drove around fruitless hunting. My dad stopped at a gas station, nonchalantly asked the cashier where the Wake Forest campus was located. Cashier nonchalantly gave my dad directions to Winston Salem, North Carolina. Yes, three hours west of Wake Forest, North Carolina. Wake Forest University is in fact in Wake Forest. Not in Wake Forest, but it's in Winston Salem. We know that. We've been there 30 years later and our family still loves telling the story. According to my dad, it's the only mistake he's ever made, says both my dad and I. Both my sister and I graduate from Pitt. Okay. Christian Jones, Fort Worth, Texas Listening to Monday show, I couldn't help but smile listening to Wilbon give his prediction on the Ohio State Notre Dame game, deftly positioning himself to be right regardless of the outcome. Best I can tell, Wilbonian Prosecution Gnostication has three steps. First, declare that the favorite probably will win. Second, declare that the underdog has a 30 to 35% chance to win and cite a totally unmeasurable reason they might it's college game. Third, and most importantly, declare that you are not one of those people that would be shocked by either outcome. Yeah, Mike, we know. And one more PG and I decided to cancel our LA trip to visit the kids. I hope Greg Garcia won't be too disappointed. Regards, dg. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white. Yes.

[Bootsy]

That's three points to win the Super Bowl.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You'll never be a kicker, Eli. You'll just have to be a quarterback like me and dad.

[Dan Byrne]

A flag was thrown. A flag is down. Whatever just happened, does it actually to will it count? Mr. Tony did an interview. Mitch Albom was the guest. Littles, they were crying. The stories were the best. But Mr. Tony didn't shovel the walk outside his house. A flag was thrown. Mr. Tony flushed the mouse. Dry your tears. Pretend you never heard the interview with album never actually occurred. Nigel read the bagel ad but accidentally said croissant Michael. He left Bootsy, the hammer and the captain on the lawn. Wil Bond was spotted in green Bay wearing a packer sweater. The folks down at lecheeserie, they ran out of cheddar. A flag was thrown, A flag is down. Whatever just happened doesn't actually count. A flag was thrown, A flag is down. Whatever just happened doesn't actually count.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's an angling participle.