“Have you no shame?”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: “Have you no shame?”

Date: September 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show blends the familiar warmth of Tony’s longtime friendships with discussions ranging from local golf woes and club camaraderie, to sharp observations about a busy weekend in sports—highlighting college football, the US Open, and baseball. Tony is joined by regulars Michael Wilbon and Arch Campbell, plus Pat Forde, all contributing their trademark wit and insight. The conversation ranges from self-deprecating humor about Tony’s golf game to serious reflection on coaching turmoil in college football.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Golf Tournament Recap: Tony’s “Glorious” Struggle

• Tony and Arch regale listeners with their Labor Day tournament exploits at Columbia.
  • Tony acknowledges his game is “progressively worse” (01:35), noting this was his worst round yet: “I had no pars. I usually get four or five. I had no pars.” (01:56)
  • Arch offers the gentle suggestion: “Well, you have to adjust for the tournament expectations. You had pressure.” (02:08)
  • Detailed explanation of net vs. gross scoring for confused listeners (02:56).
  • Michael Kornheiser and Thomas Strand were the standout performers, carrying the team.
  • Comic relief: Tony’s desperation for shop-credit and Arch’s anticipation of a prize sweater.
  • Subject line for the ages: “Have you no shame?” – an email Tony receives ribbing his undeserved team win (09:03).
  • Tony’s self-effacing summary: “I stink. I’m a gagging dog. And that’s what happened. And you and Tom saved me.” (09:57)

2. Nationals Baseball: Signs of Life & Ongoing Frustrations

• Tony and Arch discuss a rare Nats win after a tough streak.
  • The rebuilding Nationals finally beat Miami thanks to rookie pitcher Andrew Alvarez: “He went out. He pitched five innings, lefty. He gave up one hit and no runs.” (11:13)
  • Wilbon and Arch dive into rookie achievements and the barren farm system.
  • Tony on James Wood’s struggles: “He strikes out three times a game. Stop, stop with him. Fix him.” (12:10)
  • A little perspective: “As bad as things are, you can look down at the Colorado Rockies... already eliminated from the playoffs.” (13:08)

3. Listener Community & Show Connections

• Heartfelt and joyful listener mail, notably a moving letter from artist Tom Masser:
  • Masser thanks Tony and the show for laughter during grief and unveils a new painting inspired by Tony’s dog, Chessie.
  • Tony credits the podcast as a connection for listeners “through laughter…the whiplash from grief to laughter was unforgettable and deeply comforting.” (14:16)

4. Back to Sports Business: Labor Day, a New Sports “Year”

• Wilbon: “Labor Day to me is always New Year’s Day... for those of us who live the calendar by sports.” (17:04)
• Recap of a jam-packed long sports weekend: college football, US Open tennis, MLB stretch run, and a surprising NFL trade.

5. NFL: Packers Moves and Wilbon’s Bearish Perspective

• Listener Ben Carton draws historical parallels between key Packers acquisitions and Super Bowl wins, worrying about the Bears’ fate.
  • Wilbon reflects: “You have to have a Hall of Fame defensive player to win a Super Bowl... and we don’t have one. That worries me.” (19:32)

6. Ryder Cup & Golf Picks

• Tony & Wilbon compare the apparent European advantage in the Ryder Cup captain’s picks.
  • Europe’s continuity and experience seems daunting: “They have 11 of 12 Ryder Cup veterans. The United States has five or six.” (21:05)

7. College Football: Stunners & Overreactions

• Consequential wins and losses:
  • Arch Manning’s rocky big debut at Ohio State: “Does not look great... they did not win.” (21:47)
  • LSU finally wins its opener under Kelly, Notre Dame loses to Miami, Alabama gets crushed by Florida State.
  • Biggest story: “Alabama losing, that matters. Okay, right away.” (25:10)
  • Wilbon’s skepticism of TV hype: “Everything about college football is overstated... they just exaggerate all wildly.” (23:36)

8. US Open Tennis: Why the Women’s Draw Rules

• Wilbon is emphatic: “It’s much more entertaining to me. The personalities are much more entertaining.” (25:53)
• Wilbon is all-in on Osaka: “At her best, she’s better than Sabalenka, she’s better than Iga.” (27:17)
• Tony and Michael analyze Coco Gauff’s limitations and discuss the unpredictable women’s field versus the predictability of the men’s.
• Heartbreak for Taylor Townsend: “Eight match points... what are you gonna do?” (30:10)

9. College Football, In-Depth: Pat Forde Joins

• Pat Forde and Tony dissect the weekend’s upsets, focusing on North Carolina’s collapse (37:01) and coaching turmoil at Alabama (43:25) and North Carolina.
  • On Bill Belichick’s new college gig: “It looks like a train wreck right now.” (39:33)
  • Forde on scheduling ‘real’ opponents: “With the playoff, can’t hurt some non-conference bump. You need to play somebody good.” (40:05)
  • Arch Manning’s struggles attributed to a tough Ohio State defense and questionable playcalling: “Steve Sarkeesian, who I think is a good play caller, I thought he called a really bad game.” (42:15)
  • Projecting coaching firings and the high-stakes pressure at Alabama.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tony’s Golf Game
  • Tony: “I didn’t help. I would have gone to the cooler and picked up water. I’d have done... I’ve never had this bad a round with no par.” (09:25)
• On the Podcast’s Community
  • Tom Masser (via Toni): “The whiplash from grief to laughter was unforgettable and deeply comforting.” (14:21)
• Wilbon on Sports “New Year’s”
  • “For those of us who live the calendar by sports, New Year’s Day is yesterday.” (17:04)
• Arch’s Iconic Rib
  • Arch Campbell: “May I read the subject line from one Al Serifino? ‘Have you no shame?’” (09:03)
• On College Football Fandom & Overreaction
  • Michael Wilbon: “Everything about college football is overstated... they just exaggerate all wildly.” (23:36)
  • Pat Forde: “If it’s a juggernaut or a train wreck, it’ll be really interesting and it looks like a train wreck right now.” (39:33)
• Wilbon on Women’s Tennis
  • “Women’s tennis is in an absolutely fascinating place... I hope the second week remains on this path to just fireworks.” (31:42)
• Tony on Perspective
  • “Let us not lose sight of the fact that they gave up 14 points... to the defending national champions at their place. That’s pretty good, right?” (48:38)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–09:41 | Golf Tournament Recap, Net vs. Gross, Tony’s Worst Round, Arch’s Sweater | | 10:42–14:56 | Nationals Baseball, James Wood’s struggles, Listener Letter from Tom Masser | | 16:56–21:42 | Wilbon’s “New Year,” NFL Packers/Bears moves, Ryder Cup captain’s picks | | 21:42–25:22 | College Football Weekend Rundown: Texas/Ohio State, LSU, Notre Dame, Alabama, Belichick | | 25:22–32:05 | US Open Tennis: Women’s Draw, Osaka & Gauff, Taylor Townsend heartbreak | | 34:39–49:10 | Pat Forde on College Football: North Carolina, Alabama, Scheduling, Transfer QBs | | 49:41–65:00 | Listener Mailbag, Bethesda Bagels, Musical Endings |

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Episode Flow and Tone

• The show is breezy, conversational, and self-aware—a blend of playful ribbing (especially Tony roasting himself), insiderish but accessible sports deconstruction, and a strong sense of friendship and community.
• Email segments and stories from listeners provide heart and a sense of belonging, reinforcing that The Tony Kornheiser Show is as much about life as about the box score.

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For New Listeners

This episode exemplifies the show’s signature mix: neighborhood-level camaraderie, sports-pundit gravitas, and the odd tangent—from sweater victories to poignant stories of loss and laughter. Tony’s willingness to mock his own failures, combined with Wilbon’s sharp sports mind and Pat Forde’s expert breakdowns, makes the episode as warm as it is insightful—a fitting kickoff to the “sports new year.”

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Skip: Advertisements, show intro music, formal outro
Listen for: “Have you no shame?” (09:03), Wilbon on sports New Year (17:04), Pat Forde on Belichick’s coaching drama (39:33), and Tom Masser’s heartfelt tribute (14:16).

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk to Michael Wilbon about what he was watching over the long weekend. We'll also chat with Pat40 about a big weekend in college football. But first, Commerce. Previously on the Tony Kornizer Show.

[Arch Campbell]

Arch is now leading the category in terms of woods in bag. He's up to five woods in the bag. Got a new nine wood, seven wood. And hitting them with great success.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. And we're gonna play.

[Pat 40]

Got on seven wood.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

I believe he's a former key member of Team Coco.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right? We are. We're going out as Team Coco. Coco herself is not going to play. I mean, she had emergency sidelines right now, but. Yeah, but she'll be back. But now we're going out as Team Coco. Looking for shop credit. Yes. Glassware as Arch.

[Arch Campbell]

We're just finishing every other hole. Arch, he goes, winter's coming and I need a new sweater.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Korneiser show is on now. I don't want to give away the lead, but Arch is going to be to get a new sweater.

[Arch Campbell]

We have scoring updates.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I, I need to talk about this tournament. This is the last of the holiday tournaments at Columbia. This is the Labor Day tournament. It is the third and last. There's a Memorial Day tournament, There's a Fourth of July tournament. There's a Labor Day tournament.

[Arch Campbell]

Not a major. But in the friendly series.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Not a major. Not a major. You won a major at Columbia. I have won a major at Columbia.

[Michael Wilbon]

I won the Barker Cup.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well done. I had nothing to do with it. Camille Canable, who was 16 years old at the time, made every key shot she could. And I later became a doctor. I believe she's a doctor.

[Arch Campbell]

Well, she knew how to handle high pressure situations.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Just champagne tastes just the same.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just wonderful. So anyway, and you won the coming Scope Cummings Cup. Okay, so I know you get tired of me saying that I can't play golf. I, I, I've played golf, I don't know the last 21 days. 21 out of 22, and I've gotten progressively worse. I have never been as bad as I was yesterday. I've never, I had no pars. I had no pars. I usually get four or five. I had no pars.

[Arch Campbell]

Well, you have to adjust for the tournament expectations. You had pressure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I did not help the team at all. Not even a little bit. If I got, and I got 16 shots. So if I get a few pars, if I get a four, it's a three net. Yeah, that helps. In a tournament, if I get a five, it's a four net. That helps. In a tournament. I got 16 shots. Arch Campbell got 18 shots. Actually got 19 shots. Arch got two on number six. Arch helped once or twice in the net. Not necessarily in the gross. There are two different scores. Let me explain this to you. The gross score is the actual lowest amount of strokes it took you to get the ball in the hole. Per hole. That's the gross.

[Arch Campbell]

Also called golf.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's golf. Then there's an adjusted score, a net score where if you have a handicap, if you get a stroke on X hole and you get a par on that hole, it goes as a birdie. It's great. Okay? We're in it for the net. We're not in it for the gross because two of our players can't play. Okay? Me and Arch, and we're great company, but we can't play. We cannot help you on the growth. We can. We cannot help you. Or other two players are Michael Kornheiser and Thomas Strand. How did you meet Tom Strand?

[Arch Campbell]

I just threw one of the club events at Columbia. A newer member, but I met him this summer.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can I say that he looks and sounds like your brother in law, Ron De Giovanni?

[Arch Campbell]

I can see that he does.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He looks and sounds. He's built the same way as Ron. Wow. But he bombs it.

[Arch Campbell]

A former baseball player.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bombs it off the tee.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right.

[Arch Campbell]

Forgive him for being a Mets fan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, that's okay. He's a. He's a Long island boy.

[Arch Campbell]

But he got that Soto grand slam.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. He grew up in Locust Valley. He's a Long island boy. North Shore, North Shore Nassau, Whereas I was South Shore Nassau. He bombs it. We start out, and my son, who I dearly love and is a fine player the last two times I've played with him, on Thursday and yesterday, is not finding the fair way with the T ball. Is that fair to say that is.

[Arch Campbell]

That is a kind assessment and.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Often.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right.

[Arch Campbell]

I'm trying to hit certain shapes that I'm just, you know, the cuts over cutting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michael is in the rough on, I would say almost every hole. Not the par threes. Not the par threes. Although in the rough on 16, but not the par threes. But Michael's in the right rough, deep on a lot of holes. On the first hole, he's in the right rough. Short and deep. Deep rough. And hits it to four feet. Second shot. Michael continues to make fabulous recovery shots all day because they allow you to.

[Arch Campbell]

Play from the rough. Last Time I checked, not illegal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But to me, if you're in the rough, you're just gonna stay in the rough for three more.

[Arch Campbell]

Part of this is playing certain tease where I'm gonna try and be more aggressive than I would otherwise be and playing with another partner who. Who I trust to be in position and are trying to chase some birdies in this format.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That would be Tom. That would not be me. That would not be me.

[Arch Campbell]

I would never trust you.

[Michael Wilbon]

So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you shouldn't. And so. So Michael, birdie's one and we are off and running. We, Michael and Tom, between them, probably had 10 birdies close to that. Yeah. You know, and a couple of times on the same hole and Arch and I sat and watched and I was distraught, miserable because I was playing so poorly. And Arch was happy because he was smelling a sweater. You know, he thought that would be a good thing to get this free sweater. But we had no idea.

[Arch Campbell]

The two of you looked great in your matching bucket hats driving down the fairway, just laughing, just laughing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's great to be with Arch. Arch Campbell's very.

[Arch Campbell]

I knew from the start he missed a couple drives early, and I thought he's not in rhythm. But then he picked it up. He had some really good drives.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he did. He was. And when you say he missed a couple of drives, he hit them into water and hit them into places where the ball could not be found ever. Like in a thousand years, could not be found. Anyway, he got better. I did not get any better. I was bad the whole time. We end up.

[Arch Campbell]

You had one gentle club toss.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I did, because I just. It was the eight iron. It was the third time in the day I had tried the chip you were teaching me inside of 40 yards. And the third time I just stubbed it and was awful. And just enough.

[Arch Campbell]

A little far out for that toe down chip. But I like where the approach was.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, I mean, I tried. So we end up 61 net. And I think 61 net, it's par 70, so we're minus nine. And I honestly believe that we're going to get a sniff of shop credit, maybe $30, you know, like down at the end, down at the bottom. Because I know people are going to come in in the 50s, because they always do. And I know people are going to come in at 60. And in fact, when I hand in the card and I look at Scott and I hand in the card to Scott, I say 61. He goes, We've had a couple of 60s already, so I know we're not, you know, but I think maybe we're going to get a little. A little bit of shop credit. I had no idea. I thought it was a very small field. We teed off at 8:50. They continued to tee off until 1:50. Oh, wow. It must have been hundreds of players.

[Arch Campbell]

This really felt like the end of the most beautiful late summer stretch we've had in years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Any sighting of Kip Sheeman out there?

[Arch Campbell]

Yeah, he was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you see him? You saw him?

[Arch Campbell]

I thought Kip was in the last tee time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Well, last one, because he had to do three podcasts, you know, so I didn't know that. Anyway, so I get a note. I get a note from Courtney, says, low gross, congratulations. And I write her back and I say, this is obviously a mistake with 63, but it's obviously a mistake. I mean, the low gross is going to come in 60, 58, 59, 60.

[Arch Campbell]

You can create some super groups where if every. Every player brings in three or four birdies themselves, you get to 10 under. Anything, anything at 10 under is a really good growth score.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. So. But we're not going to win. And when I say we won, we. No, Arch and I had nothing. We had nothing to do with it. Michael and Tom did all of it. Tom shot 31 on the back and.

[Arch Campbell]

He missed a hole in one on six by two inches. Just misread the final. You know, the final approach there. Two balls out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow. Two inches to a hole in one. Two inches. And there was no closest to the pin. There's closest to the pin in every tournament in the world. Closest to the pin would have gotten him enormous shop credit on his own. Two inches. I'm serious. And it's 31 on the back. That's four under on the back. 68 on the day. I mean, come on, that's a great day. So we have won. And I have gotten a series of emails and texts from people laughing at me saying, gross, gross stuff.

[Arch Campbell]

May I read the subject line from one Al Serifino? Have you no shame?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. You know, when I write back, I said I had nothing to do. I couldn't help even a little. I couldn't help even a little.

[Arch Campbell]

The best part about this is Al was not playing in the tournament. He clicked into the event to look up your score.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, Right. So.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

And this isn't like basketball would have, you know, your shots going, not going. You can do other things on the court to help you.

[Arch Campbell]

Yeah. He didn't pick Up a man on defense.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't help. I would have gone to the cooler and picked up water. I'd have done. I've never been this bad. I've never had a round with no part. I've never had that. Even as bad as I am. No, I've never had that. I shot 97. It's terrible.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

It was better than 100, but it's terrible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a tournament. I was. I went out. I practiced.

[Arch Campbell]

So two questions. One, from the start, were you nervous and that sort of hurt you on those pitch shots early?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Arch Campbell]

And then two, do you get. Do you get so discouraged when you're playing with somebody you don't know in Tom who is hitting it, you know?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. I was 290 in the air. I was thrilled. I was thrilled to watch him play. I was very pleasant guy. Long island boy. I was. No, I was still. No. I stink. I'm a gagging dog. And that's what happened. And you and Tom saved me. And. And I should say this for people who pay attention to this, neither of them in a critical situation. They made every single putt eight feet and in, right? Yes, Every single putt eight feet in. I made no putts. None. Zero. It's five feet in, Nothing. Zero.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Different kind of consistency.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, consistency. You know, so. But. But. So we got chop credit. We did great.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

That's the. The end result.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Is Archie job credit?

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Arch is getting a sweater.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Archer sweater. Yeah.

[Arch Campbell]

Which is warm for the winter.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

So that's one makes me very happy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nats finally win. The Nats got swept by Tampa Bay. An okay team. Not a great team. Around 500. Yeah.

[Arch Campbell]

They got eight in a row.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. They needed a really bad team to come to town and they got it. The Miami Marlins. And they won two nothing. And they put out there. They put out a pitcher and a catcher who had never played in the majors before. The pitcher is. Andrew Alvarez. Was something like a 12th round draft pick. He's not on anybody's list of major prospects. He went out now. He went out. He pitched five innings, lefty. He gave up one hit and no runs. Do you know the last starter on the Nats to go even to the third inning without giving up runs this year? The answer is no. Nobody. He had the best outing of the year and nobody had ever heard of him. Andrew Alvarez. They won two to nothing over Miami.

[Arch Campbell]

Big curveball and slider. First time since 08 they had a rookie, you know, a catcher and a pitcher debuting in the same game.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

No, he was 2010, I think.

[Arch Campbell]

But then it's a surprisingly small list as to these debut pitchers who get a win early for the Nats. I mean it's a good list. Guy like Strasberg, Mitchell Park.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, so.

[Arch Campbell]

So Jordan Zimmerman.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I thought that they were going to lose every game for the rest of the year. I did. They just kept losing. They don't hit James Wood. Do you know how many strikeouts he has? Do you. Many games they've played, it's going to be about 130, 140.

[Arch Campbell]

Big dip.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Since the All Star, maybe it's 185 strikeouts. It's the most in the National League. He strikes out three. He strikes out three times a game. There. Stop, stop with him. Fix him. Yeah.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Get a hitting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Get him out of the lead off spot. Fix him something right. What's he batting since the All Star.

[Arch Campbell]

Can pull that up for you?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can't be good. He was an All Star. He was in the Home Run Derby. He was great.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Sometimes that's what throws you off, you know, players.

[Arch Campbell]

That's usually for like a contending team where you're trying to, you know, carry that lift, swing back into the second half.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Yeah, fair point.

[Pat 40]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean he's just.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

185 years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

185 strikeouts.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

That's not particular.

[Arch Campbell]

He's going to go over approximately 114.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what he's batting. Yeah. Since the All Star Game. Yeah. One actually.

[Arch Campbell]

This is more. Yeah, it's probably, it's probably worse.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's.

[Arch Campbell]

That's updated in July.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, no, he had a couple of good weeks. He, you know, he had a.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

But as bad as things are, you can look down at the Colorado Rockies.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who I believe were Chicago White Sox.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Are they? Yeah, that's right. They better than Chicago White Sox.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

But the Rockies are the one team and this has been for several weeks already eliminated from the playoffs. Have been for a while.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But they're not going to be the worst team of all time. They've already got 39 wins. So I looked at that this morning. So anyway. Okay, let me just take another minute to tell you something from Tom Masser because this is very, very nice. Tony, you may remember a story I shared back in spring 2023. I was sitting in my car listening to the podcast the morning after my 12 year old golden retriever Lucas passed away in my arms on my fiance's front lawn. I was numb reliving the night before when suddenly my brain melting rendition of the mailbag jingle came on. I let out a ha. And laughed harder than I thought possible. In that moment, the whiplash from grief to laughter was unforgettable and deeply comforting. Lucas wasn't just a dog. He was the inspiration for my painting, A golden retriever at the museum. A golden retriever staring at a painting of a huge floating tennis ball, which went viral in 2013 and has been called the most shared piece of art on the Internet. Wow. Anytime Chessy barked in the background of the pod while I was painting in my Pittsburgh studio, Lucas's ears would perk up and he'd run to the window. I mean, every single time for a long while, I've had it in my mind to create a version of that piece with Chessy as a subject. Nigel kindly sent me a reference photo last spring so I could study her markings. And I thought this week, with the US Open in full swing and knowing Chessy hasn't been feeling her best, was the right time to unveil it. I've also included a few prints for you. A golden retriever at the museum, the new Chessy piece. My museum series, painting the lion at the museum. The Nittany lion staring at a whiteout crowd. That's really cool. And my personal masterpiece, flush the mouse, which for reasons that are would be obvious to anyone if I talked about them. We have not displayed that. Yes. Yet.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

We love it, but we can't display it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

As for that haunting jingle version I recorded in the front seat of my car, I swear you can hear Lucas panting in the back. That silly recording led me to meeting Dan Byrne and even belting out the jingle with him at a Syracuse Mets game and again on stage at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh. I'm glad to call Dan, who is a great painter, a friend. He is a great painter, Dan. Thank you, Tony, for the joy the podcast brings, the memories it brought to me. I hope you enjoy the painting and the prints as much as I enjoyed making them. The painting of Chessy contemplating the tennis ball is going up on the wall in the house. Oh, yes, the other one is on the wall now. So this is just Chessy. So we have great thanks to Tom Masser for everything that he has done. And when we come back, Michael Wilbon will join us. I am Tony Kornheiser.

[Michael Wilbon]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is our friend Jim Dasnide who plays rock and roll. This is a song called see it in your eyes says the single's Release date was August 6, 2025. Via DistroKid through which it'll be made available to stream or download nearly all the major digital stores. That's a hard edged rocker. Both tracks that he's got, he's got two showcase a long standing and ever evolving guitar interplay with guitarist Bruce Hazen, who contributes his magic to every track on the entire album, and long friend and superbly talented John Carlucci, AKA Speedy John on Little Steven's underground garage. Handle the bass solo. Melodic bassist Gary Shelton, who also engineers and co produces, played the bass on Still Learning. That's the next one we're gonna play. And Jim Baznite puts us together. And he's really good. He's really good. Yes. He's contributed a lot to this show. It plays in Michael Wilbon and I will start by saying we're back at work. It's been a long time for me. I'm not saying I've lost it. I'm just saying I may have lost it. I don't know. Are you excited about going back to work?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited about where we are in the season, in the year. Labor Day to me is always New Year's Day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

For those of us who live the calendar by sports, New Year's Day is yesterday. And so we go into this now with a total bang of a weekend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Where you have all kinds of stuff going on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You have college football, you had tennis, you had baseball.

[Michael Wilbon]

Crazy trade, which of course is news and not scheduled. But.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know. No, no, this is, this is the deal. This is it. So I'm always excited about the beginning of this is, you know, this is Pendant races are officially on now. It's about 25 games, 26 games left for most teams. So this is, this is the real thing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me read you this note from Ben Carton. Not Ben Cardin, the Senator, but Ben Carton, who writes make sure Wilbon is aware of this coincidence. As a fellow Bears fan in the dmv, I'm already more annoyed. And the season hasn't even started. The packers acquired Reggie white in Brett Favre's age 27 season. They win the Super Bowl. The packers acquired Charles Woodson in Aaron Rodgers, age 27 season. They win the Super Bowl. The packers just acquired Micah Parsons. And guess how old Jordan Love turns this year. 27. If they win the super bowl again this year, then the Bears are a doomed franchise. I don't think anything in there is something you haven't thought about. Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

I didn't. I haven't thought about any of other Than Reggie. Reggie White, Charles Woodson, who I know personally, you know. Yeah, they acquired him, I guess. Had he been on the Raiders before he came over? I, you know, I hadn't thought about any of it. I'm. I'm okay with where the Bears are. It's not going to be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It didn't bother you that the packers got Micah Parsons?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, no. You get who you get. The only the Bears aren't read. Somebody wrote a really good column. Brad Biggs, who covers the Bears, wrote a really good column about how the Bears weren't ready for that move yet to give up those kind of resources. The packers are in that space already. The packers are a playoff team. They're in that space. Jordan Love is further along than Caleb Williams, you know. Did it make me happy to see him on the Packers? No. You know, the Bears try to move like this a few years ago. 2018 going to get Cleal Mack and he came in and had an immediate impact. He was there for four years. And the thing that doomed that was that that team was really good and they lost on double doink to the Eagles.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

And that team, that was. The Bears had home field advantage. They were really good with Khalil Mack that year. You know, I'm not worried. I mean, the packers are great. They're a great organization. You know, I'm not. I don't look at this move as something that the Bears should be looking at jealously. Only in this way to me, given where I grew up, you have to have and the team I follow, you have to have a Hall of Fame defensive player to win a Super bowl, to challenge for a Super bowl. And we don't have one. We don't have that in that lineup. We may have two or three on offense. May. May. Because they're all young. But we don't have one on defense. And that worries me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, let me go through a whole bunch of things that happened over the weekend. We'll just start. I'm going to start with golf just because I want to start with golf. Your guy, Northwestern zone. Luke Donald. Here's who he picked as his captain's choices. John Rom. Oberg, your boy, Matt Fitz. Matty Fitz, Matt Fitzpatrick. Victor Hovland, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry. That seems a lot better than the Americans picks in captain's picks, doesn't it? Doesn't that sound like a squad to you?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, yeah. But it seems like he's got better players available. I don't think that Keegan Bradley skipped anybody.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did he no, only himself. Only himself.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. Only himself. No, I think we know that Europe knows what he's doing in the Ryder Cup. I think that's been proven.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They have 11 of 12. 11 of 12 are Ryder cup veterans. The United States has five or six.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, they've got. They've got a squad that on paper now, there are times, there are plenty of times we've had what looks on paper to be a better team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

We haven't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

It played out. So we don't know this, but I'm excited about. I'm excited about the Ryder cup and seeing it. It's, you know, for me, you know, you know how purple I am. Tony, there's two guys on that team not on our team. So I'll just, I'll leave it at that. About my rooting interest.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, let's go to college football and then we'll go to tennis. A bunch of things happen in college football, consequential things, starting with the fact that Texas, number one team in the country and, you know, Nobody believes number one, but certainly top 10 team, certainly top five teams. Arch Manning, in his real big time debut, goes to Ohio State, one of the hardest places in the country to win, and doesn't win and does not look good. You know, it does not, let's be fair, does not look. Doesn't look great. Anyway, LSU goes to Clemson and wins. Ilsu hadn't won opening game in a long time under Kelly, Brian Kelly, and they win. Notre Dame goes to Miami. Miami wins at home. A really competitive game. That was a really competitive game. I thought Alabama loses at Florida State. A 2 and 10, 2 and 12. Whatever they were last year to win team, they lose. And last night, Bill Belichick gets his doors blown off at home. I mean, like what, like what stands out to you? Because it was great stuff.

[Michael Wilbon]

Alabama, because Alabama stands out to me because they will fire that guy. Now, the interesting thing is Alabama's not Texas A and M and they don't have that kind of money necessarily. Ready on the hip, $75 million to buy this guy out and to buy out something like that. Caitlin DeBoer, I was like, whoa, that was. The other stuff is all going to be overstated. Everything about college football is overstated. I can't believe anything I hear on television from anybody about college football, because they just exaggerated all wildly because Arch Manning was supposed to be Joe Montana. If I pay attention to what I listened to for the two weeks going.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Into the game, and maybe he Will be. But he wasn't in this one.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, he wasn't. And so. And everybody gets, you know, they'd be saying, well, a three loss team has a chance in the sec, of course, you know, so I don't assign any real value to what I saw. It was interesting. Except Alabama, because they will fire him if they can.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You think they'll fire him in the middle of the year?

[Michael Wilbon]

They'll make his life miserable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Uh huh.

[Michael Wilbon]

Okay. They will. They're doing it already. They did it yesterday. I mean, it's just not, you know, so I. But the rest of it, it's fun to talk about. It's fun to watch. I watched it all. I watched Belichick last night go straight down the field on the first possession and just get hammered. And I watched the other coach say after the game, yeah, we got tired of hearing about. Well, yeah, so I came away from that a little, but I didn't know what to expect from them. I don't know if North Carolina is any good. I have no idea if North Carolina's any good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's the one game that I don't think is necessarily overstated. They got crushed at home. Like, maybe they stink.

[Michael Wilbon]

I mean, the other team was good. The other team's a good program.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

So they're better. TCU is better than North.

[Tony Kornheiser]

North Carolina has been under Mack Brown. A very high quality program.

[Michael Wilbon]

They've been good. They have been TCU good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, but they've been good.

[Michael Wilbon]

But so I, you know, I don't know. His home matters. Belichick has to take time to get his program established. Then nobody's gonna fire him. No, no, he's not in Caitlin Deborah land.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, he's not. No, he's not.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. So that to me, if we're looking at things that are noticeable. Oh, my God. Yeah, Belichick got starch. But things that matter. Alabama losing, that matters. Okay, Right away.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, let's go to the tennis, which was my default position all weekend long. I just dropped in and out of it all weekend long. The top three men are cruising at the moment. Djokovic would be my third sinner last night. Didn't even sweat. Alcaraz hasn't even sweated. I mean, there, you know, Mike, we covered tennis. We didn't see people hit the ball this hard. Not like Alcaraz and Sinner. We did not.

[Michael Wilbon]

We didn't see men or women hit the ball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, no, no.

[Michael Wilbon]

Not even Martina?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Michael Wilbon]

Navratilova, a supreme athlete. You know, we, we saw it From. From Serena Williams. But, you know, I. I pay more attention to the women I've watched the women I've watched, like, 70% of the matches. It's much more entertaining to me. The personalities are much more entertaining to me. You know who my favorite tennis. Women's tennis player?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's Osaka. And she. She beat Coco Gauff badly. She did.

[Michael Wilbon]

Here's the deal. Here's the deal. Coco Gauff isn't as good as Osaka.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

People need to wake up. They need to wake up. Osaka won four majors by the time she was like, four slams by the time she was, like, 23. And then, you know, she had a family. She also had these issues where she's been very open about. And, you know, I have just been an Osaka fan. I know from day one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I am not. You are.

[Michael Wilbon]

So she's back, baby.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, do you.

[Michael Wilbon]

She's taking names and wearing people's butts out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, there are two women in the draw. There are two women in the draw that, to me, are every bit as powerful, every bit as good, if not better right now than Osaka, you know, and that is Witek and Sabalenka. Yeah, they're good.

[Michael Wilbon]

They are. They're on top of the. They're on top of the world.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

But, but, but at their. Their best ain't as good as her best.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't think.

[Michael Wilbon]

We just haven't seen Osaka's best for a while. We've seen it for three years, for four years. She. I think she got to the finals of Australia in 21, and then it was sort of done and you didn't know she's coming back. And I hope she gets all the way back, which, whatever, whatever thing she had to deal with is not as traumatic as Monica Sellers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

And then not being able to get all the way back, because Monica Sellers was my other favorite player of all time. I mean, you know, that just, you know, it's just the way she played, the way her personality, way she was off the court. Loved Monica Sellers. She never got all the way back. She might have gotten to the finals. I don't think she won, but, but, but I'm hoping, really hoping Osaka is a major, major global star, and she's a better player than golf at this point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

At her best, she's better than Sabalenka. She's better than iga. Now they can take her down. I don't know that she's all the way back yet, but when you watch those women play and Didn't Anissa Moba. Didn't she somebody last night?

[Tony Kornheiser]

She won straight sets.

[Michael Wilbon]

Okay. These women are. They got. They got. They got hardware by their names. So I'm way more excited about that. If. Look, if there had been somebody who could crash the party on the men's side, I would be more excited about it. And Shelton looked like he was about ready to do that. He didn't need to. He didn't do. He didn't go out. He got hurt.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, that's what I'm saying. He went out with his shoulder. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

But he was playing great. And it's too bad because, I don't know, he would have had an element that could have boosted him into the company of one of those two, three, because he was playing in the United States and that crowd loved him. And it was just. I just hated seeing him go out like that. He didn't get beat. As a matter of fact, his opponent said, no, I couldn't beat him. So that was a major development to me. So, you know. Yeah, Alcaraz and Sinner look great. I don't know. I mean, what's the one. The American kid who's left?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tyler Fritz.

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, Fritz. You think he can beat Djokovic?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I think he can.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They'll both go out there wearing black outfits because they're both clothed by the same people.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think he can beat him. But that side of. You know, the men's draw, to me, is nowhere near as interesting as a women's draw.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Taylor Townsend, who was going to be the sweetheart of the Open. She was.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Eight match points.

[Michael Wilbon]

I know. That's one of the few matches I didn't watch. Okay, now, so while we know my favorite player, I've talked about the one I'm rooting for. The hardest is from where I'm from because Taylor Townsend is from the south side of Chicago.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Nobody else in this field, men or women, that I know of, is from the south side of Chicago. So I was rooting hard for Taylor Townsend, and when I found out eight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was a gag. What are you gonna do?

[Michael Wilbon]

And she also. She probably just tired. I mean, how many. And by the way, how many match points did her opponent have in blow? Did she blow two or three?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't think any.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

No, there was at least one. I know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. It was not a lot. I mean, because she had to get to the third set to do it, whereas Taylor Townsend had it in the tie. The tiebreak was fabulous.

[Pat 40]

You didn't see that the first set.

[Michael Wilbon]

And I was like, okay, I gotta. Something else I had to do.

[Pat 40]

I don't know what it was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I. What I remembered was. How's it pronounced? Krajchekova.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Krychikova.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. What I remember is she's one.

[Michael Wilbon]

Majors too, like 20 women, French Open and 24 Wimbledon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The women have about 15 people who have won majors in the last five to eight years, whereas the men have three. They have three.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's why the women's side is so much more interesting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's interesting. On the other hand. On the other hand to see if alcohol plays center in a final that you got to sit and watch.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm going to wait.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Everybody watch. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm just saying it's not as compelling in the run up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, that's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

The women. For the very reason that you stay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, it's, it's totally right.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, it's just, it's I, I've been riveted by it. And if Taylor Townsend was still playing, I'd be over the moon to have a Chicago girl out there having beaten a two time champ. Taylor Townsend, who's still in the. She must still be in the doubles. She's the number one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, she's the number one doubles player in the world. Yeah. By the way, and everybody loves to watch Venus Williams.

[Michael Wilbon]

Venus, yeah.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

With Lana Fernandez.

[Michael Wilbon]

Venus, Come on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. No.

[Michael Wilbon]

45 and 22 years old. It's the women's tennis, not just this tournament. Women's tennis is in an absolutely fascinating place. And I hope that the rest. I hope that what's left in this second week remains sort of on this path to just fireworks. Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you think we have enough to talk about today? You think we can get through 30 minutes?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, listen, I mean today, you know, for whoever, whoever wanted to see PTI for an hour, this is what, this is what they should have been banking on right here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Except it's six days a year when.

[Michael Wilbon]

You can do it. No, no, it's every Monday. It's every. It's every single Monday. Every single Monday today at the very least, other than. And probably. Probably. And most Fridays. I mean, the NFL carry. First of all, we could do a whole show today on this stupid trade.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We could do a lot.

[Michael Wilbon]

I mean.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, we could do a lot.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, so that's, you know, it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Probably won't even be mentioned.

[Michael Wilbon]

We're not going to get to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It won't even be mentioned. All right, I'll see you later.

[Michael Wilbon]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tom Michael Wilbon, boys and girls. We'll take a break. Pat, 40, will join us when we return. Talk about college football in depth. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Michael Wilbon]

The Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Once again, this is Jim Baznike whose songs we love all the time. Yes, very comfortable rock and roll. You recognize it right away. You know how the beat goes. This is called still learning. Michael. If people like Jim Baznine independent artists want to send us their tunes, how do they do it?

[Arch Campbell]

Send us your music by sending it to, emailing it to jingles Tony quezershow.com.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Jim Baznite plays in Pat 40. Let me just start with this one minute prey here. Ohio State beats Texas College football weekend. Ohio State beats Texas. Arch Manning does not have a game. He does not have a Heisman game. We understand that LSU beats Clemson at Clemson. A couple of quarterbacks who are going to be mentioned for the Heisman all year long. LSU wins that game under their new coach who ran out of Notre Dame to win national titles. I don't know that they had won opening games. They won this opening game. Alabama loses at Florida State. Florida State 2 and 12 last year, complete collapse. Alabama loses there. Notre Dame loses at Miami. These are good teams. These are very good teams. Miami plays well at home. They got a new quarterback. Who was the quarterback at Georgia? Bill Belichick gets drummed last night. Totally drummed by TCU. His team gives up 48 points. So the question I have, Pat, is essentially talk about these games, rate them in importance. But here's the. Here's the tricky part. Rate them in importance now and later. In other words, which ones of these do we think are not going to be consistent? And which ones of these portend something either great or terrible? That's today's assignment.

[Pat 40]

All right, I'm up for it. Tony. I would say, in terms of.

[Michael Wilbon]

A.

[Pat 40]

Pretty clear window into what the scene is going to be like, I'd say the. The clearest thing was that North Carolina is going to be God awful.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Me, too. That's exactly what I think. Yes.

[Pat 40]

They were so bad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They were up seven, nothing. They went down the field like they were going to win the Super Bowl. That's it.

[Pat 40]

I, like, I was. I spent the rest of the night after that trying to comprehend how a team that could look so good for one drive could then be so bad the rest of the night.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, like, they.

[Pat 40]

I don't know. They. They had seven plays in them, and they like, that's it. We're done. That's all we got. That's the script.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Pat 40]

Now we're terrible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Pat 40]

I mean, I was just. I. I just. I was not shocked that they were terrible, necessarily, but I was shocked. They looked good and then were terrible. And it was just. It's very jarring to see Bill Belichick stand there and just take it like that. He's never had a team give up 48 points before.

[Michael Wilbon]

Never.

[Pat 40]

And he's. He's in over his skis on this one. I mean, maybe he realizes it. Maybe he's, hey, you know what? Fine. I'm going to do this for four years or whatever, But I think there had to have been moments on the sideline where he was saying, what have I gotten myself into with this?

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So I understand the concept of overreacting. I get it. I understand it. But I looked at all of these things in the same way you did and thought, whoa, he might not go the whole season. You can't have this time after time. And TCU is pretty good, I'm sure, but he's Got to get Clemson, he's got to get Florida State. The ACC has a couple, it looks like a couple of good teams this year. SMU may be a good team again. You don't think he could bail, right? You think he, he goes the whole contract?

[Pat 40]

I mean, I, he goes the whole season. I would be shocked if he didn't go the whole season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Pat 40]

But beyond that, I don't know. I think they'd have to reassess. I mean, he just got to ask himself, do I really want to do this? Do I want to be, you know, is this what life at age 73 is supposed to be like? Like getting my teeth kicked in on every Saturday by guys that 20 years ago or 15 years ago couldn't even hold my clipboard? Yeah, you know, it's going to be, I think a real. There would have to be some soul searching of like, what do I want to do in my 70s? Is this it or not? Did I just get into this on a rebound whim because I felt spurned by the NFL and this was a fun new challenge and now it's not fun anymore. And then how to react.

[Michael Wilbon]

I.

[Pat 40]

This will be fascinating to watch one way or the other. I was saying if it's a juggernaut or a train wreck, it'll be really interesting and it looks like a train wreck right now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me, let me take larger and smaller questions here. The larger question is why did all these teams agree to play all these games? Usually you open with the Citadel. These are really good games. Ohio State, Texas. Are you kidding me? These are really good games. Why did they agree to do this?

[Pat 40]

Yeah, I loved it. I think the fans loved it. I think the thought was, especially at the time when these were scheduled, that with the playoff, can't hurt some non conference bump. You need to play somebody good. And if you win, it's a big boost and if you lose, it's not that bad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Pat 40]

And I think for the most part that's true. Like losing for Texas to lose in the Horseshoe by a touchdown, you're fine. Notre Dame's a little bit trickier because their schedule is not great. But still, you go on the road and you lose that game, you're okay. The Alabama loss is bad because they look so bad and we don't know whether Florida State's actually going to be good or not. Clemson, tough loss at home is a favorite against lsu. So, you know, I think that was the thinking. We'll see if that thinking still prevails, Tony, if we end up with a 16 team playoff and people start saying, well, we're just going to, you know, we're going to, we're going to tuck it in and we're only going to play the conference games and go from there and, you know, schedule easy games so that we're healthy and confident. When we go into that, I don't know fully what the parameters are going to be when we, when we head into a different playoff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. It feels like a year ago, but it was only a few days ago. Arch Manning, he'll get better. Yes. Everyone thinks he'll get better, or is this it?

[Pat 40]

I think he'll get better. You know what? I think a couple different things there. First of all, I think Matt Patricia was a brilliant hire for Ryan Day as defensive coordinator. And I think he threw some stuff at Texas that Arch wasn't ready for and even Steve Sarkeesian wasn't ready for. And I will say mid August, I went to a practice at Ohio State and the defense dominated the offense. And I came away thinking, well, the offense terrible because the defense had lost a lot of guys. But now I'm thinking, no, that defense is just really good and really well coached. And so I think they put Arch into a lot of confusion. I think he was naturally nervous and you know that like they came out, the first throw was an easy throw and he bounced it five yards short of his receiver.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And then they, and then all they did was run for the first half. And I thought to myself, if all they're going to do is run, maybe he's not that good.

[Pat 40]

Yeah, I mean, I think they were shook quickly. There he was. And I think Steve Sarkeesian, who I think is a good play caller, I thought he called a really bad game. I thought he never figured out how am I going to get Arch comfortable and how are we going to unlock this thing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was stunned in the series where they were stopped at the goal line. They, they had Arch Manning run the ball twice. I thought, what are you doing? What are you doing? On the last play, he took one step to the right and the entire universe caved in on his head. What are you doing? Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Pat 40]

And that, you know, look, I mean, he's, he's a good, athletic quarterback. That doesn't mean he's a powerful quarterback. I mean, you know, he's not. Jalen hurts on the tush push there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, right.

[Pat 40]

I just, I thought their play calling was they misused Arch and just the whole thing I thought was way off for Texas offense.

[Michael Wilbon]

Agree.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We agree on that. Okay, let's get to. In the long term. In the long term, this may be the biggest thing. It may be bigger than Belichick, because if Belichick's team stinks by the fifth game, nobody's actually going to care anymore. In the long term, Caitlin DeBoer's situation may be the biggest thing of this first weekend. Right?

[Pat 40]

Yeah, yeah, no doubt. I mean, this is a fan base that. That was not happy after last year. And they just, you know, they played so far below. After the first month, they played so far below the Saban standard that, you know, it was like, are we really going to put up with this? And then, you know, the offseason buzz was all incredibly positive. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of experience. All they needed was the quarterback to come through. People fought, and they'll be fine. And then they just laid a massive, massive egg against a team coming off a 2 and 10 season. And so that's one of those situations yet where you look and say, what's going on systemically, like, all right, we know Bill Belichick inherited that garbage hand. Caitlin DeBoer did not. And what's he not doing? There were times in the second half of the game I looked, and they would have guys making effort plays, breaking tackles, and then getting, you know, gaining five extra yards and the sidelines totally dead. There's, like, no juice, no urgency, no, you know, fire there that I saw now. I, you know, I couldn't see the whole field. But you just wonder. He's. He might be too buttoned up, too mellow for this program where every day is just life and death. Urgency for the fans, and it used to be for the. For the coaching staff and the players.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I will suggest this. Please tell me if I'm wrong. North Carolina is not going to fire Bill Belichick. They are not. That's not going to happen. Alabama would fire a coach who is now 5 and 5 in his last 10 numbers that Nick Saban never put up. Never. Right? Never.

[Pat 40]

No, no, never. Absolutely not. And, yeah, I mean, look, that's entirely. If this thing goes really bad, then you just got to look at it and dig deep and come up with $70 million.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. He goes the end of the year.

[Pat 40]

That sounds.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. You go to the end of the year and then you say, we made a mistake here. Right. That's what you do.

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's Alabama. They don't have anything else. They got football.

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

North.

[Pat 40]

North Carolina doesn't care enough about football. To swallow something that big. But, but Alabama, you're right, this is it. This is what they do. And they just can't be bad at it. It's not, they're not wired to be bad at it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. Quarterback movement. The Georgia kid goes to Miami. Everybody says how disappointing the Georgia kid was. I thought Carson Beck, I thought he was pretty good. The BC kid, who I never heard of, goes to Florida State. Right. The BYU kid goes to Tulane. They, they all win. That's college football now. Right?

[Pat 40]

That's. That's it. Absolutely. It's roving quarterbacks looking for the best deal and looking for a place where they, they desperately need you. And yeah, there were a lot of them that came through really well. And the funny thing there, you mentioned Jake Retzlaff at Tulane. He got there in July and you know, when Nico I Am Alva left Tennessee to go to UCLA and then they had a sign and trade basically, and the UCLA quarterback went to Tennessee. That was May when the UCLA quarterback got to Knoxville. The whole thing, coaches say, is, well, we have to have a transfer portal in January and ruin the bowl games and jeopardize the playoff because we have to have our team together for spring practice or it's not going to work. What about these guys? One guy came in in July, the other one came in in May and.

[Michael Wilbon]

They were really good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. All right. Are there, based on this, and this may be too early, are there games on the schedule that you now say to yourself, I want to see that one?

[Pat 40]

Yeah, well, yes, absolutely. Like I want to see lsu, Florida in a couple of weeks. You know, LSU I think becomes more interesting. Miami certainly becomes more interesting. Miami, Florida State, you know, what a great rivalry that used to be when it was the U versus Bobby Bowden. Could we have a return to some of those really big games there? You know, so it's so funny. You do you recalibrate almost instantly in terms of what you're looking forward to, and that's part of the fun of the sport.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I'll get you out of here on this. I need your help on it because I'm sure we will talk about this today on the PTI show. Last year I recall Ohio State going to Oregon and losing at Oregon and Oregon becoming the number one team in the country. So this is a very similar situation at Texas going to Ohio State and losing. But was that in the first game or was that later than the first game last year?

[Pat 40]

Yeah, that was October. I was there. That was kind of mid season and that was a really good game. That was back and forth, you know, and down to the wire. You know, I walked away from that impressed with Oregon, but not saying, oh, Ohio State doesn't have it, necessarily. Whereas, you know, we got to see a little more from Texas. I just thought that was a very disappointing performance. Defensively, they were really good, as I expected, but offensively, they get. They've got to show me that they can. That Arch Manning can be the guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I mean, let us. Let us not lose sight of the fact that they gave up 14 points, you know, to the defending national champions at their place. That's pretty good, right? You take that any day of the week if you're Sarkeesian, right? You take 14.

[Michael Wilbon]

Absolutely.

[Pat 40]

Yeah. Yeah. They did well offensive, defensive. I mean, it's got studs over there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's conceivable. That is the national championship game. It's conceivable. Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sure.

[Pat 40]

Yes. It would not shock me if we're looking at a rematch of those two, you know, somewhere in the depths of January, three weeks later than it should be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you so much for bailing us out. Do you want to plug any podcasts or anything you're doing?

[Pat 40]

Yes, we actually have a renewed podcast. Others receiving votes on Sisi.com, apple, Spotify, YouTube with Gene Wojowski and Brian Fisher, please check us out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wonderful. Thank you, Pat.

[Pat 40]

All right, thanks, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pat. 40, boys and girls. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Jim Baznite]

Here comes Tony's mailbag. Going to read some faxes and your notes. Here comes Tony's mailbag. Going to read sound for all your folks. Going to read some for all you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's my favorite. I can't help. I love the Tom Monster version. It's really good. I love it the most. You want to do the Bethesda bagel?

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Oh, bagel sandwich today. Very happy about that. Bethesda bagels, we love them. You will as well. Just go to BethesdaBaggles.com for the location in the DC area nearest you and pop on in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say. Up in the morning, hanging out to school teachers, teaching the golden rule, American history, practical math. You study them hard, you're hoping to pass. Working your fingers right down to the bone. And the guy behind you won't leave you alone. That's Charles F. Berry. That's all? That's all you gotta know that's Charles F. Berry.

[Pat 40]

Exactly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's it. Thanks to our guests today. Michael Wilbon, Pat40 thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple Podcasts Spotify and Audacy if you get the show through Apple. Please leave us A Review from Mike Mahoney, Good Counsel Class of 1983 now in Cincinnati, Ohio I recently had a David Aldrich moment while reading tonight in Jungle the Making of Born to Run, which just came out to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the album's release. I will say that Michael's father in law is reading the same book or having it read to him like as an audiobook mentioned that which we're going to talk about from Mike Mahoney. Chan mentioned that as well. Just before its formal release, Columbia Records had invited a bunch of celebrities, DJs and influential music critics to the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village on August 13, 1975, so Bruce and the E Street Band could give these folks a preview of the album by playing it live. There was a lot of pressure on Springtine at this time as his first two albums were commercial flops, so these shows were a big deal. Apparently a writer from Newsday was impressed as he wrote, quote, I'm not the first to tell you this, and I'm not going to be the last Bruce Springsteen going to be a monster. It isn't a question of talent, it's a question of time. I just hope I beat Liz Clark to the punch in sharing this blurb from the book with you. That was me. That was me. And I wasn't the first because the first was John Landau. That's right, John Landau quit his job as a rock critic to manage Bruce Springsteen. He said, I've seen the future of rock and roll and it's Bruce Springsteen. So I wasn't doing anything groundbreaking here. I was just echoing John Landau. But he was good. He was good. From Brandon Borzelli in Lebanon, New Jersey. Sure, newspapers were are doomed. It's true. Without a doubt. Anyone with a keyboard and an opinion can pass themself off as an expert in whatever the topic from the basement of their home. You know what not everyone can do from the basement? Teach a young kid straight from the war how to go from eating veal to shooting a police captain and drug dealer in a public place. Two shots in the head, let the gun slip out of your hand. Don't look no one in the eye, but you don't look away neither. Sure, some dirty old basement or person can publish their version of why the Earth is flat or why Subarus will only cater towards the cross country skiing crowd by 2025. But only the Pete Clemenza's of the world can coach the Michael Corleone's of the world. How to take down McCluskey and Virgil Sollozzo. Try the veal. It's the best in the city.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

And wasn't Clemens making like great spaghetti sauce at the time?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes, yes. Whoa, this is a long one. Oh, it's Chuck and Roxy. It's actually Chuck and Roxy. With pictures. Yes. With pictures with Dave Sims. Yes. Wow. Let me and pictures of Lake George. Summer has gone well up here in New York, including our own little trip up to Lake George. That's unbelievable. Which of course consisted of a ride on the great Mini Haha. But sadly, no spin art. The highlight of the summer though, was getting to finally meet episode 188, the Great Dave Sims while attending a Yankee Sox game last weekend. Chuck has started working on a show called Pen Pals here in New York city. And Nancy Mc McKeown from the Facts of Life fame, who was starring in the show, got to come with us and meet him as well. She's a huge Yankees fan, was very impressed that Chuck and Roxy knew the official radio play by play commentator for the team was so generous of him to make time to say hello and take a picture with all of us. All because of you and the connective tissue, the podcast. Thanks again for all the laughs and for making Chuck and Roxy feel like superstars. Well, they are superstars. They are indeed superstars. Here's a haiku from Shadow A new fiscal year. Are we getting 150 or 148? Well, I did 152 in the last year, so maybe 148 from Christian Salcedo. Stony Brook football came to Snapdragon Stadium, replaced Qualcomm, AKA Jack Murphy Stadium and was beaten down by san Diego State 42 nothing. I bet Stony Brook decided to stay an extra day and melt in the sun here in San Diego before having to take a Vienna sausage packed flight back to the East Coast. Chris man sells Forest Hills, Maryland. Forest Hill, Maryland, not Forest Hills. Sally Jenkins is a national treasure. I've been a Post reader since you and Wilbon were taking up actual column inches in an actual newspaper and the sports section has always been great. That said, we will never see the likes of Sally again, whether she was absolutely eviscerating the overlords of the IOC or NCAA or weaving poetry about women's sports. No one ever did it as well as her. She had me in tears for all sorts of reasons over the years and I even had an alert set to let me know anytime she published a word. The Post is lesser for her departure, but the Atlantic Monthly just got a whole lot more interesting. Do you think they have a subscription option where I can just get the issues with Sally I probably do. Yeah, they probably have that Kristen Campbell Boston Lake, New York as an upstate New York native who drove by the Mon Calm after thank God on this, who drove by the Modcom every weekend on my way to camp in the summer, I'm sorry to report is no longer there When I took my kids to Six Flags last weekend, formerly the Great Escape in Storytown usa. Before that we stopped at the Old Navy Outlet that currently stands where the Montcalm once was for back to school shopping. I'm not sure if you ever frequented the Log Jam restaurant, but that is open down the block from where the Montcalm was located. It still boasts an old school salad bar. If you're ever back in the area and looking for your cottage cheese fixed, might I recommend trying New York or Vermont made Cabot cottage cheese or cottage from Maj as my husband likes to call it. As a cottage cheese connoisseur, I highly recommend it. I would happily try that. Thank you for all the years of news from DC. I've been back in upstate New York for over 10 years now after living in Washington for a dozen. The pot is the connective issue to our former home again. Kristin Campbell, Boston Lake, NY Jeff Boyd in Pittsburgh Unlike you, I am burdened by memory and you're mentioning the great columnist Firman Bisher the other day. Yeah, from the Atlantic Journal Constitution. And you know he's it's closing shop the other day brought back an unforgettable moment I spent with Mr. Bisher. In 1965 I was a 17 year old high school senior playing in a well regarded amateur golf tournament called the Dogwood Invitational Atlanta. I'd only been playing golf for a little more than a year and my father managed to wangle an invitation that gave me the opportunity to qualify for the 72 hole tourney. I barely made the cut with a 78, but on the first day shot 71. The leader was future tour pro Jim Jameson at 70. No one at the tournament knew anything about this kid who was in second place and I had no idea what a press tent was. I was a mystery to everyone and my name was mentioned on the 6 and 11 o' clock news on every station. It was my first real tournament other than some high school events, and I was astonished to hear my name on TV and see it in the paper. The next morning. When I arrived at the club for round two, I was inundated by what seemed like hundreds of people. I was literally shaking on the first tee. I barely got the ball off the tee. I had a gallery for most of the front nine until my poor place sent them to other players. I shot 45 on the front. My father, an army lieutenant colonel who missed my 71, came out in time for my second nine, and when I told him I was 45, he said simply, so shoot 35 on the back came close, shooting 36 for an 81. As I walked off the 18th green, there was a man in a tan coat who came up to me and introduced himself. I'm Furman Bisher. I'd like to talk to you. He made quite an impression. We talked for maybe half an hour. He was kind, curious and gracious. I remember him shaking my hand and wishing me luck with a smile. I just shot 81, but he made me feel as if it were another 71. The next day he devoted his column to me in my 7181 tale of the tape. He wrote about with respect and admiration, remarking that pressure is a heavy word, especially for a kid of 17. I ended up finishing 14th, a stroke behind even even younger player named Lanny Watkins, who I was paired with that day, who went on to lose to Marty west in the ACC Championships in 1971, right? Something like that. Somewhere in a box in the attic is a clipping of the column Bishop wrote, the one that made a kid feel like Arnold Palmer. Thanks for the reminder. That's a great.

[Unidentified Female Host/Contributor]

Isn't that great?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a great email from Joe Pearson in Indianapolis. You are right for once. All sport See youe in September was originally recorded by the Tempos and released in 1959. The happenings later version charted better, but is the tempos that appears in American Graffiti. So they got that going for them, which is nice. From Sam Barrasa in Menasha, Washington. Oh, Wisconsin. I'm sorry, Wisconsin. I attended the ultimate old guy radio concert this weekend. It was called the Happy Together Tour. I enjoyed it even though I was not alive when any of their hits charted. However, I think Mr. Tony would really enjoy something like this. Here are some reasons. 1. It started at 6pm was done by 8:30. I was home by 9. At the previous concert I attended the headliner started at 9pm 2 all the acts played four to five of their most famous hits on got off the stage. They all played with the same backing band, so the changeover was instant. The finished band was walking off the stage left while the next arrived stage right. I'm pretty sure you would know all the lyrics to all the songs. Here's the lineup. A little extra info. The Cow Sills they had three of the original members and sung Hair with very little. Yeah the Vogues zero of the original members. Gary Puckett 82 years old and I don't feel Young girl aged very well little Anthony 844 years old and was hilarious and so full of joy. Jay and the Americans not only were there no original members, but the lead singer referred to himself as the third J and the Turtles 0 original members. However, they didn't include the original lead singer of the fictional band the Archies. Once again, I think this tour was made for you, but sadly this was the last night of the tour. Even though many of the artists were in their 80s, I only feared they would fall off the stage a few times and I think there's a good chance they might be back in the future. From Dan Wallsman in Damascus, Maryland. Tony, it's pumpkin spice season. You can get pumpkin spice in your Cheerios, lattes, Oreos, English muffins, cinnamon rolls, Ghirardelli chocolates and pancake mix. Just send me your address. I'll drop off favorites. I hate pumpkin spice.

[Arch Campbell]

Yeah, there's that sound bite.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And one more from Jason, Bullet, Chuck and Roxy, episodes 31 and 364.5 in Saratoga County, New York. I'm sure you know where Ocean View, Delaware is located. Isn't that where you have your charter boat business? You're out on your bike tonight. Everyone, as always, do wear white.

[Jim Baznite]

Yeah, here's the thing.

[Michael Wilbon]

We're not the wonders right now. We're Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

[Jim Baznite]

Driving so long can't see the end many people try they can't pretend to understand that mind they got a lot of time so many know what it's like well I'm not one of them I'm going to use it I spin it around them well I don't need hand me downs Cause I'm on the ground and I can see it Or I can see it babe I can't seen in your eyes Everything changes Everything turns around for you and me we're still on the ground.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm gonna live.

[Jim Baznite]

The good life Nobody can buy and I can see it oh I can see it yeah I can see it in your eyes so I can see it oh I can see it oh I can see it in your eyes so I can see it where I I can't see it babe I can't see your eyes so many know what it's like well I'm not one of them I'm to going it spit it around well I don't need hand me downs cuz I'm on the ground But I can see it I can't see it oh I can't see it in your eyes oh I can see it oh I can see it oh I can't see it in your eyes oh I can see it but I can see it babe I can't see it in your eyes she's been hanging on for all the wrong reasons.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Since she's.

[Jim Baznite]

Getting by the best that she can Maybe then her life could have been better Coulda, shoulda, woulda been better Things are built up inside these emotions you can't hide she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to rise above the wheel Somehow she's learning how. Where is the look that drew him so close? If he could just see it in her eyes one more time Maybe then the future would wash away the bad times but that was so long ago. Another place, another show. She's still learning how to love. You can try to change the world you just cry alone instead Keep those feelings to yourself they are better let.

[Pat 40]

Go.

[Michael Wilbon]

All right.

[Jim Baznite]

But that was so long ago Another place, another show she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to love she's still learning how to rise above the wheel Somehow she's still learning Sat.