“Hinky Dinky”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: “Hinky Dinky” – December 4, 2024

Introduction In the episode titled “Hinky Dinky,” host Tony Kornheiser delves into a variety of topics spanning sports, politics, and current events. The show features regular guests Chuck Todd and Richard Justice, along with the entertaining presence of Reginald the Monkey. Throughout the episode, Kornheiser navigates nostalgic retrospectives, heated debates on college football playoffs, in-depth NFL game analyses, and lively listener interactions.

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1. Nostalgia in College Basketball ([01:53] – [06:18])

Tony kicks off the show by reminiscing about memorable moments in college basketball, specifically focusing on Georgetown's storied past. He recalls the heartfelt interactions between coaches and players, highlighting the unique bond between John Thompson and Louis Carnesecca.

• Tony Kornheiser: “Nothing that I have ever attended brought me greater joy as Big John opening his jacket that day. I agree... And John hugged Louie... It was a joyous moment.”

Richard Justice and Chris contribute by reflecting on the Big East Conference's golden era, discussing legendary players like Bill Wennington and the impact of coaching legends. They explore how television and big-city dynamics shaped the conference's success.

• Chris: “Miss those days. It’s sort of like early to mid-80s through the kind of mid-90s ish.”

Notable Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser ([05:37]): “This season, Instacart's here for hosts and their whole holiday.”

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2. College Football Playoff Controversy ([06:18] – [23:03])

The conversation shifts to a heated debate over the College Football Playoff selections. Tony argues in favor of Alabama over Miami, citing strength of schedule and conference performance, while Chuck Todd passionately criticizes the committee's decisions and the perceived bias towards SEC teams.

• Tony Kornheiser ([19:30]): “I will give you Alabama's credentials. Different than Miami. Miami has not beaten a single ranked team.”

• Chuck Todd ([21:02]): “This is not a playoff. It's an invitational. And Miami was told you're not invited.”

The discussion highlights the complexities of playoff selections, including factors like strength of schedule, conference dominance, and the influence of television contracts.

Notable Quotes:

• Tony Kornheiser ([20:06]): “If it was just for TV, TV has everything to do with it.”
• Chuck Todd ([22:25]): “When did in college football a three-loss year ever seem like a good year?”

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3. NFL Betting and Game Analysis ([23:03] – [33:13])

Tony and Chuck transition to NFL betting insights, analyzing upcoming games and sharing their picks against the spread. They discuss teams like Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and the Cleveland Browns, providing statistical breakdowns and personal opinions on player performances.

• Tony Kornheiser ([26:07]): “Cleveland is getting six and a half at Pittsburgh... Jameis Winston has the worst ratio of touchdowns to interceptions.”

• Chuck Todd ([30:27]): “This week they've caught up and I think this is finally a line that even if the one score game type of thing, I'm going to go with the Chiefs this week.”

Notable Quotes:

• Tony Kornheiser ([32:28]): “How is it Joe Burrow's fault?”
• Chuck Todd ([33:13]): “See the monkey, he's scritch, scritch scratching.”

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4. Player Suspension and Team Dynamics ([43:34] – [47:54])

The discussion turns to the Houston Texans linebacker Aziz Al Shire’s three-game suspension due to repeated unsportsmanlike conduct. Tony and a listener dissect the implications of the suspension, the team's stance, and what it means for Al Shire’s future with the Texans.

• Listener ([46:32]): “John Runyon in the NFL statement said, 'lacked sportsmanship and respect for the game.'”

• Tony Kornheiser ([47:07]): “They believe in him. ... It was a brutal hit.”

Chuck Todd expresses skepticism about the punishment’s impact, suggesting that Texans’ management's support of Al Shire may shield him from long-term consequences.

Notable Quote:

• Listener ([46:23]): “The NFL has determined through their actions that he's a dirty player.”

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5. Major League Baseball Trade Speculations ([50:26] – [54:31])

Tony engages with a listener regarding Louisa Rice's potential trade in MLB. They analyze his performance metrics, contract considerations, and the broader implications for teams like the Padres, Yankees, and Red Sox.

• Listener ([52:20]): “His walk rate is... he doesn't walk. He doesn't hit home runs, he hits singles.”

• Tony Kornheiser ([54:28]): “He's really a great player. Thanks Richie.”

Notable Quote:

• Listener ([54:14]): “Juan Soto doesn’t do walks or home runs, he hits singles.”

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6. Listener Mailbag and Anecdotes ([56:04] – [64:57])

In a lively mailbag segment, listeners share personal stories, corrections, and humorous anecdotes. Tony reads various emails, including reflections on past sports events, personal experiences with iconic figures, and lighthearted jokes.

• Listener ([57:19]): “I was visiting my grandparents at a nursing home... recognized him immediately as Luke Harness.”

• Tony Kornheiser ([63:07]): “Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity... say no to the nutmeg.”

Reginald the Monkey and other characters add playful commentary, enhancing the show's entertaining dynamic.

Notable Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser ([63:07]): “Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity.”

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7. Closing Remarks and Musical Guest ([64:03] – End)

Tony wraps up the episode with reflections on listener contributions and personal updates, including his ongoing struggles with his voice. The episode concludes with a musical performance by Beef, featuring Tony’s friend Perry Eaton, whose song “Something in the River” adds a melodic close to the episode.

• Tony Kornheiser ([40:19]): “I'm on a second kind of steroid cortisone medication.”

Notable Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser ([41:02]): “I didn’t know he was going down. And that’s the thing that makes you wonder, like, how do you know when a player is going down?”

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Conclusion “Hinky Dinky” showcases Tony Kornheiser's signature blend of insightful sports commentary, engaging debates, and relatable storytelling. The episode's diverse topics and interactive segments make it a compelling listen for both regular followers and newcomers seeking a comprehensive overview of contemporary sports issues.

Notable Quotes Recap:

• Tony Kornheiser ([19:30]): “I will give you Alabama's credentials. Different than Miami. Miami has not beaten a single ranked team.”
• Chuck Todd ([22:25]): “When did in college football a three-loss year ever seem like a good year?”
• Tony Kornheiser ([32:28]): “How is it Joe Burrow's fault?”
• Tony Kornheiser ([63:07]): “Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity.”

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and engaging moments from “Hinky Dinky,” providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven’t tuned into the episode.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, Chuck Todd will call in to make his weekly picks against Reginald the Monkey. We'll also talk to Richard justice about what's going on with the Texans this year. But first, commerce. Why get all your holiday decorations delivered through Instacart? Because maybe you only bought two wreaths, but you have 12 windows. Or maybe your toddler got very eager.

[Chuck Todd]

With the Advent calendar.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Or maybe the inflatable snowman didn't make it through the snowstorm.

[Chuck Todd]

Or maybe the twinkle lights aren't twinkling.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Whatever the reason, this season, Instacart's here for hosts and their whole holiday. Get decorations from the Home Depot, CVS and more through Instacart and enjoy free delivery on your first three orders, service fees and term supply.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Craven the hunter, who uses all the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Methods of the animals on December 13th. Once you're on his list, there's only one way off. Are you like your father? He puts evil into the world. I get rid of people like him. Who's next? Witness the making of a new Marvel villain. You think you have some kind of honor? You're a criminal, just like our father. Aaron Taylor Johnson is Craven the hunter. Rated R. Under 17, 90 minute without parent.

[Chuck Todd]

In theaters December 13th.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornhauser Show. Nothing that I have ever attended brought me greater joy as Big John opening his jacket that day. I agree. And having on the copy of Lou Carnesecca's sweater. And then John hugged Louie. And you need to understand this. John Thompson was 6 11. Louis Carnesecca was 5'five John could have picked Louis up and tossed him into the air and he hugged him. And it was. You are correct 100%. It was a joyous moment. This is General George Washington and you're.

[Richard Justice]

Listening to the Tony Kornhauser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So as long as we're gonna play that clip and Chris is here with us, and Chris is a Georgetown guy, I am. Your thoughts on Louis and the way that in a league where the coaches didn't necessarily love each other, they almost all loved Louie. And John, who was a polarizing figure without any question. And a great, great coach, loved Louis more than anybody. Loved Louis. Yes.

[Chris]

So, first of all, sorry to hear about your diarrhea.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah. Is that. No, it's the dog's diarrhea. It's not mine.

[Chris]

No, no, I think I had it right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, no, I have the cough. No, it's the dog. Fact check, dog. The dog has the diarrhea.

[Nigel]

The dog has the cough.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have the cough.

[Chris]

I don't listen to the show closely when I'm not on it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chris]

So it made me feel like, my gosh, I'm now old because I was. As soon as you and Wilbon started talking about Roli Massimino and Carnesecca and, you know, I mean, I hate him. But Boeheim, and he obviously belongs in that conversation. I mean, those. That was the Big east of my youth. And it made me both nostalgic and kind of sad in that, like, my kids are like, why do we play Syracuse? They're in the acc. And I'm like, what are you. Yeah, like, yes, we. Yes, they do the we. Like, it's a little bit depressing. I get the confidence, realignment. I understand Georgetown is a basketball school, not a football school, and therefore it's kind of, you know, on the outside looking in. But, man, I mean, miss those days. I mean, I miss. I miss Big Monday, you know, the Big east game and then the Big 12 game. I can't. I. Big 10, whatever they had, you know, ESPN had. I miss all that stuff. And Karnaseka was sort of part and parcel of that Big east, right? Big east feast. What the three teams in the Final Four. I was thinking back, you know, the guy I remember the most. This is so obviously you're right. Barry and Mullen were obviously the big stars. Mark Jackson, but you know who I remember?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bill Lennington.

[Chris]

Bill Wennington.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Canadian center. Canadian center was like an outside shooter.

[Chris]

Before big guys were outside shooters. I don't know why. He had like a very brief career in the NBA, but that was a great, great. It was just, it's. It is evocative of my. That is like right in the wheelhouse of when I started caring a lot about sports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So when I was young, very young, there was no question that the ACC was the best basketball conference. And if you put me against the wall, I'll go ACC all the time, even now. But there was a period of time when the Big east took over college basketball. And it was the brilliance of Dave Gavitt, who was himself, I believe, a Dartmouth graduate. And then he became the coach at Providence. And then he said, why don't we. Because there was no league. There was the ecac, you know, a loose confederation of teams, the eas Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. But they didn't have championships or anything like that. And people floated in and out and Dave Gavitt said, why don't we take all these big time schools? And this was the important thing from these big cities and why don't we put a league together, a big city league? Because that's how you get on television. You have big cities because television is about the amount of people who tune in. And if you have big city schools playing in big arenas. And he insisted on big arenas, not little campus band boxes like McDonough. You go downtown and it worked. I don't know that it would work now. I don't know that when Lord and Taylor is no longer a store, but just something you order by mail order. And we're seeing.

[Chris]

And the J.C. penney catalog barely exists.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'Re seeing a change in retail, and let's be fair, sports is retail. We're seeing a change in retail that we're not all familiar with, accustomed to or comfortable with. So I don't know that the Big east in its original form would work now, but boy, it worked. That you had, you had New York City, Washington, D.C. boston, Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island. The first year they expanded to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You had Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You know, you had the Connecticut school stores is in the middle of nowhere. But that is still metropolitan New York to a degree. It's in between Boston and New York.

[Chris]

It's big city, it's in the Acela corridor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's big city stuff. And they put that all together and it clicked immediately. And they had these coaches. The amount of coaches who won national championships is rather incredible. You had a nine team league, it's not a 15 team league, it's a 19 league.

[Chris]

And the. I was just thinking back again, totally nostalgic of the. And this I think goes to how central the conference was and how important the coaches were. Just look at the players that went through there. I mean, Ewing is obviously, you know, but, but there, there was, there was Sleepy Floyd and you, these are across eras, but. And Derek Coleman and Mullen and Billy Donovan, I mean, you know, and Pearl, Washington and you know, Walter Berry and I mean, it's just, it was just an incre. Run, you know, it's sort of like. I don't know when I would. For me, it's kind of like early to mid-80s through the kind of mid-90s. Ish. But man, I would love to read a book about that. Maybe I should write that book. I mean, I would love to read a book about that moment in sort of culture, in sports culture.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Because it's, you know, just go call Mike Trangisi and say let's sit down for 10 hours, you know, and. Because he'll do it, he knows, because.

[Chris]

Most of those folks are still alive. Who were involved in the sort of.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is Gavin. I don't think he is. Some of the coaches have passed.

[Chris]

I know some of the coaches have passed and I don't want to talk to Jim Calhoun, so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, Jim Boeheim's still here and he can, he can talk. All of us.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Didn't Gary coach?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Gary coached for a few years, Boston College. He wasn't. Yeah. And Gary is a national champion winner, though not at bc. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. Let me get to one other thing and let me just, you know, use the phrase that I liked. Well, I believe I had that. I believe I had that. Alabama was going to be ahead of Miami. Yes, I believe I had that. Others on this show didn't have that. A lot of people scream. And by a lot of people, I mean Wilbon how much he hates the college football ranking show. I love the show. And I felt that a three loss Alabama team because Miami had its second loss. And even though Miami's losses are better, the losses to Syracuse on the road and Georgia Tech on the road are better than two of the three Miami losses. Oklahoma on the road where they only scored three points and Vanderbilt, they're better. But when you get in a room with a bunch of athletic directors, you're going to go down the sports statistical rabbit hole. And the most important thing to some of these people is strength of schedule. It's the only way that they can balance out. When you don't play the same teams, you don't even play the same teams in your own league that others in your league play anymore. So strength of schedule matters. Miami is 61st and Alabama's 15th. Okay, that matters. Someone stands up and says, well, what are you talking about here? How can you put Miami in Their schedule is candy compared to Alabama's. And Alabama has a win over Georgia and a win over South Carolina and Miami doesn't have anything like that. And if you think there's going to be an explosion about from Miami people, wait till you see what happens if Clemson beats SMU and Clemson gets in and South Carolina, which beat them head to head, not game one last week, beat them head to head. Where do you see what those people have to say? And Clemson would get in on an automatic. It's not that they're being selected. They're not going to be invited. They're going to get in on the automatic bid. So I'm not surprised at all that Alabama is going to get in over Miami because of strength of schedule. There are a couple of things that can Confound this and change it. If Boise State loses in their conference championship, there's nobody in America that's going to stand up and say, wait, Boise State's out. No, we're not. Boise State's other loss is at Oregon by three points. And Boise State has a Heisman Trophy candidate, the running back, Junti. Yes. And people want to see Boise State. They do. They really want to see him at home. They won't see him at home if they lose, but they want to see him at home because of the blue field. And Boise State's going to knock Alabama out if that happens. The other thing that could happen is if SMU loses to Clemson, people are going to say, well, can we still have smu? Because they're ranked higher right now than Alabama. I think they're three numbers higher than Alabama. So those things become in play, can still knock Alabama out. But Miami's not getting in. I don't think Miami's getting in. I don't know that you're going to revise this ranking system and get Miami in.

[Chris]

Not with. Not with the. The truth is the vast majority of these teams have played all their game. I mean, there's a few, like you said, there's a few maybe pieces, but not. I mean, there's not another week of game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Nigel]

With these permutations, you look at the power of what a projected bracket looks like. Imagine this for programming. Could I interest you in a first round matchup of Alabama, Notre Dame?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Nigel]

I don't know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Winner gets smu, you know, I mean, this is, this is what you want to see.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Are we making the case for the playing game?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I'm not. No, not. They shouldn't have expanded to 12. Made all the sense in the world. They went. They went. They deserve whatever criticism goes out there. And some of it has become stupid. Like, there's no stupider criticism in all of sports than the 65th team in basketball saying, well, how Right. We got hosed. Sure.

[Nigel]

But you could see Alabama getting the old Syracuse special, playing game at the 11, goes to the Final Four or something.

[Chris]

You know what? You know what? All this debate and criticism is good for espn. I mean, like, that's the thing. It's like, oh, gosh, we're having a long debate for hours and hours on sports talk radio about this. That's exactly the. The point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can spend, and I'm not using the wrong number here, you can spend billions of dollars as ESPN has to acquire the NBA. Billions of dollars, which is why the NBA is at the forefront of sports centers. Even now at the beginning of the season, when it doesn't matter, when this nonsensical Emirates cup is on and nobody understands the permutations. Don't get it. Nobody.

[Chris]

You know what my takeaway from the Emirates cup is? They do different courts. That's my big time. Like, oh, this is a cool looking court. That must be it.

[Reginald the Monkey]

That's it.

[Chris]

That's my know about it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nobody knows who's in it, who's not in it or anything like that.

[Chris]

Well, Simmons does.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, you can spend billions as ESPN has on that, but the College Football Playoff will outrate that by a factor of 10. The College Football Playoff is second only to the NFL Football Playoff. Yeah. All right. Everything else is, as we used to say, hinky dinky because football drives the bus. Football drives the bus. We'll take a break. We'll bring on Chuck Todd, who may or may not be angry about Miami. I think we can predict he will be being on the outside. I'm Tony Cornhager.

[Announcer]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Chuck Todd]

The Tony Kornheiser Show.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Reginald the Monkey]

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[Nigel]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Nigel]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a band called Beef, but it's got an extra E, so it's Beef. There's a song called Something in the River. Cam Tabata by I hope I pronounced that right. Tobata by sends us this. The lead vocalist is my friend Perry Eaton, who hopes in time this song will become the official opening tip off song of the Celtics, or at the very least the Maine Celtics. It's off the Beef album, somebody's favorite. It's available everywhere and if you're in Boston, you can catch him live at Brighton Music hall this Saturday. It's pretty good. Yeah.

[Reginald the Monkey]

This is good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's pretty good tune.

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Cam says, please send my best to Chessie, my own dog. The competitive eating champion Ricky Bobby is no stranger to answering nature's sometimes alarmingly urgent call in the middle of the night. It plays in Chuck Todd. Chuck Todd had another great week. Lost the last game, the night game, but was 5:2 and is now 56 and 33. So if you bet straight down the line with Chuck Todd, you are plus 23. You're making a lot of money and I'm going to get to all the games this week. But I cannot resist asking a guy who grew up in Miami, Florida how he feels about Miami getting completely shut out of the playoffs because they lost again just this weekend. They're behind Alabama, a three loss team and they're a two loss team. I'm hoping for some outrage here.

[Chuck Todd]

So I guess what Miami should have done is not scored a touchdown in a game because Alabama did that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chuck Todd]

Alabama scored three points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Three on the road.

[Chuck Todd]

Three points on the road against a team that's barely bowl eligible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

So I do have that correct. Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

I. There's no part of this that makes any sense to me. And even because all of this assumption about how good is the SEC versus the acc, well, last time I checked, is the Georgia State or Georgia Southern that beat Vanderbilt. I'm confused, but I believe it's some Sunbelt school. Yeah, Vanderbilt at some point. Does that matter? It's the Vanderbilt, the team that beat Alabama. Does that matter at all? I mean, I just. The whole thing is. I don't. In all fairness, when you make this an invitational, I promise you, the NFL's TV partners would love to say, really? Can we dump the New Orleans Saints here or the Atlanta Falcons? This NFC south business, it's terrible. Why don't we just put the Cowboys in here? I mean, that's essentially what they're doing with Alabama. It's like, okay, what excuse can we find a plausible reason to put in this Marquis school, even though they may or may not. May or may not be relevant in this? You know, look, I expected this. The SEC and ESPN care about each other a lot more than they care about the SEC contract. They've made that crystal clear. But I just, you know, And I hate putting you in that position, but. And I hate talking about media companies and their role in this, but they're playing a role in this. This is not a playoff. It's an invitational. And Miami was told you're not invited. And now you wonder why everybody's trying to second year in a row that the College Football Playoff. And again, this is not a playoff. It's an invitation. On. I wish they'd stop the words playoff. If it were a playoff, there'd be metrics. There were a playoff. They'd say, no. Three lost teams get in without winning the conference. That's a metric. This is just somebody's opinion in a programmer's shot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll push back slightly because I've been on the other side of this the whole time and talked about this yesterday, that the whole thing was going to come down to Alabama or Miami. I will give you Alabama's credentials. Different than Miami. Miami has not beaten a single ranked team. They have not. Now, that's not their fault because the schedule is made two or three years in advance and plenty of these teams.

[Chuck Todd]

Were ranked at some point this year. They did beat. It's always like, well, your ranked victory counts if you're an FCC team and that week they were ranked. But if they're no longer ranked, you seem to get credit if the SEC not Miami Louis ranked.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, what I will say.

[Chuck Todd]

I bet I hear you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. What I will say is that two teams that Alabama beat, Georgia and South Carolina are ranked and Georgia is a particularly good team. Though had they lost to Georgia Tech the same way Miami lost to Georgia Tech, we'd be talking about an entirely different issue. Much of what you're saying is true. My feeling has always been that in the latest round of expansion between the SEC and the Big Ten, they've gobbled up some really good teams and they are significantly better conferences top to bottom than the ACC and the Big 12. And this seems to be the result of it. You know, this is where that committee went for that particular reason. Does TV have something to do with it? No, TV has everything to do with it. But if it was just for TV.

[Chuck Todd]

We'D have Colorado TV show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Chuck Todd]

But you're not wrong about that. But let me give you one other like real credential here. Okay?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Chuck Todd]

On Miami, there are two losses by combined nine points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

Again, 33 points for Alabama and again they got whipped. They didn't show up for a game. Whatever you can say Miami showed up for every game. They have the number one offense in the country. Don't you want to see how they do against the so called best athletes in the sec? I mean, even if you want to make the TV show argument, Cam Ward's one of the best things on tv.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Heisman finalist. And that's why you have to have Boise State in there too. You have to.

[Chuck Todd]

So I, look, I actually, I'm going to hold out a little bit of hope here. I still think that they may rethink this because I mean I'm going to get a little, a little off the beaten path here, but I think that this college football playoff is going to be, there's going to be an anti, somebody's going to file an antitrust, some sort of antitrust violation against this because they're basically preventing the ACC from being a full participant when you look at their records and all of this. So I, you know, I just think for their own politics out of the ACC has earned two teams into this playoff. That would be my argument. Big 12 hasn't, but the ACC has all year long. One, two or three ACC teams have been ranked in the top 12 all year and you're now suddenly saying they're a one bid league just like the Big 12. I think they've earned two bids.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I really do. But that's good. I wanted you to be upset. You're upset.

[Chuck Todd]

No, I'm upset.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

Which I had. I wish. I know this whole SEC argument, but let me one other thing. When did in college football a three loss year ever seem like a good year?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Only if you were 2 and 10 the year before. So if you were Florida State next year and you finish eight and three, it's going to seem like a real good year.

[Chuck Todd]

I understand that. But you know, once again, no, the ACC is getting screwed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But this is, this is. It's 12 now. It's 12. And once you expand, 12 is ridiculous. It should be 8. Should be 8. 12 is ridiculous.

[Chuck Todd]

Want to know why everybody's trying to get out of the acc?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. To get in the playoffs right here. Sure. All right, let's do games. Because you're hot.

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know if it helps you to be angry, but we're hot.

[Chuck Todd]

I know when you're picking angry, it's usually not a good. When you're betting angry. Terrible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Every single line changed overnight by 1/2 point. Every single line, some up, some down. Green Bay starts this off. They're at Detroit on Thursday. They have gone from three and a half, plus three and a half Green Bay to plus three at this point. I don't know about you and I'm going to say something now that I don't know to be true. But it is very hard for me in a Thursday game, following Sunday games, short week to bet against a home team that's just me. And this is.

[Chuck Todd]

Both of them played Thursday. Tony. This is a full week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, they both. Okay, okay. Then I take all of that back. Oh, they were Thanksgiving games, both of them.

[Listener]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. So then I take all of that back. So then it's a legitimate game. Green Bay plus three at Detroit.

[Chuck Todd]

I just, I think this is divisional game. You take the underdog and being indoors, you know, this is, this was the point last year where Jordan Loves suddenly became good. A top 10 quarterback.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Good.

[Chuck Todd]

He hasn't had that game yet. I think partially it's been injuries and things like that. And they haven't met it with Josh Jacobs and the running game. But you know, the Detroit defense, a little bit suspect here. A little bit suspect. This could be a. This could be just a really fun game. Like we watched Monday night, to be honest, could be a shootout.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you got Green Bay plus 3. Atlanta goes to Minnesota. Minnesota is one of those teams with a very good record that still creates doubt in your mind. Atlanta is a dog. Atlanta stinks. You know, they get Kirk Cousins. There's a big play early in the season and in the preseason for Atlanta and Green Bay, those two teams, because not so much Houston, because Houston proved it last year. So Houston was a continuation and this was a big hype sort of thing. And Atlanta last week was Kirk Cousins. Are you kidding me? Four picks and no touchdown passes for $45 million a year. Atlanta is getting five and a half. They're in such a lousy division. It really doesn't matter if they win or lose. And Minnesota probably has to win. What do you got?

[Chuck Todd]

This is supposed to be the Kirk Cousins homecoming.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chuck Todd]

Game. I don't know what you want to call it. And that's the only reason I'm even contemplating Atlanta here. I don't believe in Atlanta. I'm. God, I'm so mad. That is one of the few I lost this weekend. And I felt like, at least financially, I was on the right side. And he threw those four interceptions. Yeah, I mean, they, you know, Atlanta did everything they could.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You like that? Four interceptions.

[Chuck Todd]

Did you like that? But I'm with you, Minnesota boy. You know, Atlanta lost a game they should have won. And Minnesota won a game they should have lost.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

Last week. So I'm going to reluctantly take it. This is stinky. You got it. I'm going to take the stinky Atlanta team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. That's fine. Cleveland, which is a very fun team to watch with Jameis Winston, but not a good long term bet. Really not a good long term bet.

[Chuck Todd]

He didn't cover.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jameis Winston does this all the time. Jameis Winston has the worst ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. Current active quarterbacks. Cleveland is getting six and a half at Pittsburgh. Division game.

[Chuck Todd]

It is. They just played a couple weeks ago the first snow globe game with these two.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

Cleveland one and Cleveland one. I don't. I. It's a lot of points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a touchdown. Yeah. Seven.

[Chuck Todd]

That the way Cleveland lost. I can't bet on him. I can't do it. Give me Tomlin. Give me the Steelers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Seattle goes to Arizona, gets two and a half down from three. But someone like me asks this question. What are you talking about? Seattle continues to win and leads the division. I understand they're going to Arizona, but Seattle seems to show up every single week. And you're giving them two and a half. Really? That's my. Look at this. What's yours?

[Chuck Todd]

This is another one they played two weeks ago, I believe, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

And here they go again. I'm just going to take the home team in the divisional game, and Arizona needs it slightly. Who do you trust more here, Kyler Murray or Geno Smith?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I love to watch Kyler Murray, but he doesn't win all the time. Geno Smith wins more games, I think, than Kyler Murray.

[Chuck Todd]

Seattle seems like they should be better, though. You know, you watch them in a game and you're like, that's a pretty good team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

And then they're like, oh, they're six. Six. You know, you're like, why aren't they better? But they did make Aaron Rodgers cry last week, so I do love that for them. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah. Okay, Buffalo. Suddenly, people now look at Buffalo and say they're a Super bowl team. I should try to remind these people what happens to Buffalo on their way to the Super Bowl. They lose and get eliminated. And that's how it works. And when they play really good teams and the Rams are not a really good team, when they play really good teams, they actually lose. Buffalo. If you like Buffalo in the sunshine in Los Angeles, you give five.

[Chuck Todd]

I really don't. This is one of those where there's no reason to take the Rams. I don't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. Right now, they're not a good team.

[Chuck Todd]

And yet it. Would it really shock you if McVeigh found a way to win this game? It wouldn't, but I'm just. I think this is. This looks like a train right now that you don't want to step in front of.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so you'll take Buffalo Bills. Okay.

[Listener]

Yep.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

Yep.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And I think I would take Buffalo here, too. I'm just. I'm just trying to get away from that Buffalo as a Super bowl team thing. I'm getting away from that.

[Chuck Todd]

Well, because we know what happened. Yeah, that's what you said the minute you say it. I had a colleague who was at that game, and I said, Was it really 70,000 fans or was it 50,000? And no one could sit down and they're like, oh, no, it was sold, Sold out. And all I kept thinking is, how long does it take you to leave that parking lot with all that snow? That's all I thought about half the game. Oh, my God. What time would I leave to get out of this market?

[Chris]

Welcome to middle age, Chuck.

[Chuck Todd]

I know, I know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, here's the game of the week. Well, no, Green Bay Detroit is one of them, but charges at Kansas City is a really attractive game. Chargers are now getting three and a half. Kansas City is. They're the Willendas. Are you going to bet they're going to fall off the wire or are you going to say, wow, the Willendas don't really fall off the wire. They win every game. And you just say, how did they do that? And they're beating bad teams by a point. It's, it's. They're not impressive except in the totality of the fact that they win all the games. Now, there are points involved here, so just winning isn't enough. If you like the Chargers and Jim Harbaugh, you get three and a half at Kansas City, which is a big number lately for Kansas City.

[Chuck Todd]

Well, the real problem for Kansas City is that they're a member of the acc, so they're not going to get. They're not going to get an invite on this thing right now. The afc, not the accent. I tried.

[Listener]

I tried one more time.

[Chuck Todd]

You know, I think Vegas, though, is caught up to the. This is the first time, you know, you've. They've been undercovering, you know, they've not been covering these spreads and you've been waiting sort of for Vegas and for the betters to catch up. I think this is the week they've caught up and I think this is finally a line that even if the one score game type of thing, I'm going to go with the Chiefs this week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Giving three and a half. Now, Cincinnati, and I mean, I go on television and podcasts and say this all the time. Cincinnati's defense is killing Joe Burrow. They're killing him. He has the most touchdowns of all the passers. He has the most yards of all the passers. This is the greatest statistic of the year. Cincinnati, in games, they have scored 38 or more. 38 or more, they are 1 and 2. The rest of the league is 21 and O when scoring 38 or more. Cincinnati is giving 5. Cincinnati, they don't win. They're giving 5. At Dallas, they're giving 5. What do they have to do to prove to you that they don't win? Who you got?

[Chuck Todd]

This is the Simpsons game. You know what they're doing here, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Chuck Todd]

Like anime. So on Monday night, the only reason this game survived Monday night is because they spent all this money animating Joe Burrow and animating the Cowboys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, really?

[Chuck Todd]

Yes. You're gonna be able to Watch it like you're watching the sim football game with this on the Simpsons.

[Chris]

So terrific.

[Chuck Todd]

Separate. Yeah. This could be. This could be a lot of fun, you know, if. You know. And it's not. It's no man in cast. But it's going to this whole Simpsons game. Give me the Cowboys to cover that. That's too many points. Because if Cincinnati wins, are they winning by more than a field goal? Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't win.

[Chuck Todd]

Likely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't actually win.

[Chuck Todd]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Chuck Todd]

So five and a half. Why don't. I'm.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I find it amazing. I tune into ESPN and I find people who I guess are my colleagues by definition. Killing Joe Burrow. It's all Joe Burrow. What are you talking about? How is it Joe Burrow's fault?

[Chuck Todd]

Last week we had the Dan Marino conversation and then he goes and has another Marino like game and you're like, oh, no. Yeah, this is really. This could be coming to fruition.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How is it his fault exactly? The defense gives up all these. How is it his fault?

[Chuck Todd]

Well, he's the middle linebacker now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's really weird. All right, good luck.

[Chuck Todd]

Thank you, sir. Thanks for letting me rant. I appreciate that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a show about ranting.

[Chuck Todd]

There you go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Great ranch shows of all time.

[Chuck Todd]

Little TK salute for the CFP committee.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, Chuck Todd, boys and girls. And if we just gave you Chuck Todd, that would be more than enough. But we do more than that. We give you a monkey.

[Chuck Todd]

See the monkey, he's scritch, scritch scratching.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging with Bud Grant Tap, tap, tapping on his purple attache Nigel's going to the zoo, zoo, zoo Reginald's got the vibe spy too Sometimes he throws his bl.

[Chris]

Boo, boo, boo when he's had too.

[Chuck Todd]

Much Johnny Walker Boo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey are brought to you by FanDuel's sportsbook. Make every moment more. Nigel. You caught up to the monkey at some point. Another bad week. One and two. Yeah. He's 16 and 20 overall.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Yeah, he was at Mount 500 and then quickly fell off it. So I did go down to the National Zoo last night, as it often is. It was a fairly chaotic scene there as he was getting ready for the lighting of the Christmas tree at the National Zoo. An annual wonderful event. Big fanfare, as you might expect. Lots of celebrities already in place for it, including Angela Merkel. Was there. The former really was a chancellor. Chancellor.

[Chris]

Madam Chancellor.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Madame Chancellor. Bake McBride Believe won a World Series with the Phillies.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Are they dating at any point?

[Reginald the Monkey]

I didn't appear to be there together. I think this is. You know, they have Reginald in common. I was a big fan of Reginald and John Lithgow, the great actor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There you go. So.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Yes. Who was.

[Chris]

He really is a connector.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Big booty. Big booty. John Lithgow a big booty. Exactly.

[Reginald the Monkey]

So the first match we gave him was this Thursday with the Detroit Lions at home giving three to the Green Bay Packers. And this was a lovely old photograph that Reginald showed me of him playing snooker with Denny McLean, Mitch Ryder and Smokey Robinson. Tells me he's got ties to the Motor City.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going Detroit.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Yes. He will take the Lions and give the three. Now the next.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Don't you find it interesting? Well, you may not because you're too young to understand this, but Mitch Rider's group was Mitch Rider in the Detroit. Detroit Wheels was always the Detroit Wheels. But it's Detroit. Correct. Detroit. I never. I never quite got that.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Always loved that pronunciation of it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Detroit Wheels.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Exactly. Now, the next match you gave us.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, you can sing Devil with a Blue Dress in your head. Go ahead. It's okay.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Was the Vikes at home giving five and a half to the Falcons? And this wasn't surprising. They just pulled this picture out of his wallet of him and Bud Grant barbecuing in the middle of a blizzard, both in T shirts, shorts and flip flops. Tells me he's got ties to Minnesota. He'll give the five and a half. And the last one we gave him, he was a little bit, you know, out of sorts. He kept that on the Washington football team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're on the by.

[Reginald the Monkey]

On the by this week. So gave him the Chargers getting three and a half at Kansas City. And this was a very old photo of him surfing off of La Jolla with Dan Fouts, Tony Gwynn. And Charlie Joyner tells me that he's going San Diego. Even though they're not in San Diego anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going San Diego.

[Reginald the Monkey]

The old school ties.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. That's wonderful.

[Chris]

Charlie Joyner.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the Monkey have been brought to you by FanDuel's sportsbook. Make every moment more. We will come back with Richard Justice. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Sponsor]

This is the Rosetta Stone Read. Are you looking to learn a new language? Maybe have a trip planned for the holidays? Like going to Hamburg to see a Beatles tribute band play Come get me Deiner Hand. That's a great song. Sort of I want to hold your hand, but in German, and you want to understand every word. If that's the case, you'll want to use Rosetta Stone, the most trusted language learning program, which is available on desktop or as an app. And it's the program that truly immerses you in the language you want to learn. Rosetta Stone has been a trusted expert for 30 years, with millions of users and 25 languages offered, like Portuguese, Korean, Dutch, many more. Utilizing fast language acquisition, Rosetta Stone immerses you in many ways know English translations, so you really learn to speak and listen and think in the language. Plus, it's convenient with desktop and app options, and it's an audio companion that gives you the ability to download lessons offline. And best of all, it's an amazing value. Lifetime membership has all 25 languages for any and all trips and language needs in life. It's normally a $399 program, but with our code you can get it for just $199. Don't put off learning that language. There's no better time than right now to get started. And for a short time, listeners to the Tony Kornheiser show can get Rosetta Stone's Lifetime Membership Holiday Special. The offer will not last long. Visit Rosetta Stone.com Tony that's unlimited access to 25 language courses for the rest of your life. Redeem your holiday offer at Rosetta Stone or as a gift that keeps giving.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the Tony Kornizer Show.

[Nigel]

This is the Zip Recruiter Read. If there's one thing you know about me, it's that I love to work with my hands, especially putting office furniture together and making pots in my kiln. This actually works better in my voice because I can do some of those things I can't. Clown what was the nail you were looking for from the hardware store?

[Tony Kornheiser]

10 inch nail.

[Nigel]

But those things take such a long time. And if you're an employer, the wait.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The board is 8 inches long. I have to put a nail right through it. Don't I need 10 inches?

[Nigel]

And if you're an employer, you know that hiring people is on the list of things that take too much time. But now there's Hope. Thanks to ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter finds qualified candidates fast. And today you can try it for [e-mail] Tony let ZipRecruiter find top talent for your roles in no time at all. See why 4 out of 5 employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And if you go to ziprecruiter.com Tony right now you can try it for free. That's the same price as laughing so hard that your side cert or getting a compliment from a random stranger. Again, ziprecruiter.com Tony ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Richard Justice]

I hope they do something about the three pointer. There's far too many of them. It makes the game dull. I hope that with the veneration of Gretzky and Ovechkin, people don't forget about the great Bobby Hull. I hope that Matt gets another job, whether it's in football or some other line of work. I hope they put the peanuts back in cracker Jack. And I hope that Mr. Tony gets his voice back.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Aw, sweet dance.

[Richard Justice]

Sounds like my great, great, great grandfather. He sounds like Mr. Burns on the Simpsons. He sounds like Pete Seeger at the very end. I'm saying this as a friend. I'm hoping eggs Benedict continues to have Holland days. I'm hoping Nigel gets to see old England for the hol days. I'm hoping Chopin comes back from the dead for one last pollen maze. I'm hoping lock and for it lasts as long as Tommy Mac. And I'm hoping Mr. Tony gets his voice back.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The brilliant Dan Byrne. I am touched. I'm flattered. Thank you very much. My voice is coming back, but it is not. It's not back, you know, and I'm going to see a doctor in a little while today and see if that helps. I'm on a second kind of steroid cortisone medication.

[Nigel]

Worked through the first Z pack.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I got through that. I had the last one today, so we'll see. Okay. That plays in Richard Justice. And we are fortunate not only to have Richard, but to have Richard living in Houston where there is a football story of consequence, where the Houston Texans linebacker pronounced his last name correctly. For me, I know it's Aziz Al, but I don't want to get it wrong.

[Listener]

Yeah, it's Aziz All Shi.

[Chuck Todd]

Er.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Shire.

[Chuck Todd]

Shyer Shire.

[Listener]

Yeah, Shy in the middle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Listener]

Hey, did that Dan Burns song have the line sound like Sounds like Pete Seeger at the very end?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, at the very end. It made me a little nervous.

[Listener]

I'll just say that. Tony. Ouch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that made me a little nervous, you know, because I don't want to be on the side of the Clearwater and go over and drown in my dotage or something like that. All right, so we have a. We have a. Nigel, could you look.

[Listener]

Up when Pete Seeger died, he was. I think he was like 120.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He was an older fellow, I think. Pete Seeger, I don't know.

[Listener]

I'm sorry. I am in Houston and I'm. That's 150 miles from Austin, which home of the Texas Longhorns. And let me just say this, my heart is so warmed by your comments about the SMU Mustangs. This guy, Rhett Lashley that coaches the team, he has done. He has had so many touches to do the perfect thing. You know, SMU has a little history. The death penalty.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Listener]

When he took over the team, they had a poster made. All roads lead to Dallas. And at the center of that poster was a drawing of a gold Trans Am. If you don't know the history of the gold Trans Am, that was the car Eric Dickerson got from Texas A and M and then signed with smu and it became sort of a like smu. Oh, we can't have Eric around our program. We can't. You know, he, he, you know, he accepted money from our rich guys. Not only that, they did the poster and then they did a TV commercial with a gold Trans Am driving into Dallas. And the camera pulls up alongside and it's Eric with a thumbs up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's.

[Listener]

Rhett brought Eric back to the program. Anyway, I'm sorry, at. I just got a little tang.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's my favorite school for the reason that I repeat all the time. Because they said to the acc, don't worry about the money. We got enough money.

[Sponsor]

We got plenty of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just let us in the door.

[Listener]

They do have plenty of that. And as you know, it sometimes cuts both ways. Yeah, you sometimes have too much money to give to players.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, well, yeah. Let's get to Aziz Al Shire and his three game suspension, which caught me. I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying it caught me a little unaware because I just sort of assumed that when you're thrown out of the game, that's the punishment. I didn't know that there was the possibility that you could get more. And he got three. And the letter that he got said, you're a repeat offender, you're a bum. Don't even come back and appeal on this. Even though he's going to appeal, he has the right to appeal, but you're a bum. And that's why we're getting rid of you. How is that going over in Houston and with the team? Because D'Amico Ryan's certainly seemed to defend this player. Not play, but player.

[Listener]

Yeah, yeah. John Runyon in the NFL statement said, lacked sportsmanship and respect for the game. Now, in defense, if you slow down the hit, he does lead with the forearm and the helmet. It's a brutal hit. I mean, you look at a hit like that and you go, he could have killed Trevor Lawrence. And then afterwards got in a fight. And as he was being escorted off the field, he's engaging the fans. It was a terrible, terrible look. Now, repeat offender, he did have a hit on Caleb Williams. It was not illegal, but it was a late hit. He. He. He had an incident with a Bears running back that day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He also.

[Listener]

There's a clip of him you can see. He had his. In another. In another era, he had his hand up around Tom Brady's neck. Ironically, Tom Brady was one of the people that came to his defense yesterday and said, hey, there are late hits and there are hits that are in a gray area. You have a player going 100 miles an hour, a quarterback going down. Al Shair apologized to Trevor Lawrence. He said, I didn't know he was going down. And that's the thing that makes you wonder, like, how do you know when a player is going down? Can you be sure? Because some quarterbacks have used. They faked it, right? They fake it. And the US Means the reaction. Fury is the reaction here. The general manager here, Nick Cassario, the Texas general manager, never says anything. He's one of those people that can talk 8,000 words and not say a word. He showed up yesterday with ownership Cal McNair and his wife Hannah by his side and basically use the word bs, inconsistency, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And it's clear that they love this kid. He made a mistake. He apologized for it, but they love this kid. He was with Demico Ryan's four seasons in San Francisco. They brought him here. This is his first season here. In terms of community service and what you want a player to be, he's been fantastic. You'll like this. He did a thing. This kid was homeless for a while before he went to Florida. Atlanta. 10 years old. His father left the family and he lived on the street. And he has done some homeless events here. And he has always asked the media relations department. I don't want the press there. This is just me and these men that I'm going out to talk to. So in terms of all that. They love the kid and they were furious at the penalty. On the other hand, you know, if you look at the play, it makes you cringe. It's one of those plays that you go, I don't want to see that again. And those shots of Trevor Lawrence being in the cart afterwards, I don't know if you noticed, but one of the trainers, one of the Jaguars trainers, actually had his hand on Trevor's right shoulder. Like, oh, my God, they're worried this guy's going to fall out of the cart. So that's. That's. That's where we are. It was a brutal hit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The NFL has determined through their actions that he's a dirty player.

[Listener]

Right. Well, and John Runyon said that he's a former Houston Oiler.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Listener]

Lacks respect for the game. Like, you can go to YouTube, you can Google it. There was the hit on Caleb Williams, which was. Was a brutal hit also. It was. I don't think it was an illegal hit. I don't think he was fined for it. And, you know, I guess he's a player that plays on the edge, but to me, the biggest endorsement of him, D'Amico Ryan is one of the finest people you will ever meet. And he wanted the guy on his team. He was with him for four seasons in San Francisco. He clearly knows him. It was a bad moment, though.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you don't think then, because D'Amico Ryan's isn't going anywhere, you don't think then that a year from now this fellow will not be playing with the Houston Texans because he'll be cut or traded?

[Listener]

No. Well, you know, in the NFL, you're always looking to replace a third of your roster. I can't tell you how he has played. Their defense has played pretty well. But in terms of his character and he. If he. If he gets moved, it won't be because of that. They believe in him. And I mean, look, your general manager doesn't talk. That often comes out and he has the owners with his by his side, and he basically rips the heck out of the NFL. And the process that it went through and the consistency of the penalties that are handed down, that tells you where they are.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Okay. The team itself is pretty disappointing this year. Right. CJ Stroud has gone backwards a little bit.

[Listener]

Well, I would say. I'm not sure I would buy that he has missed some throws, but, Tony, it's the worst offensive line I've ever seen.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Listener]

The left guard is a speed bump. They. He was. He was sacked. I think they've like three guys. He's been sacked 41 times. That's three more than all last season. Only Caleb Williams has been sacked more. And like as you know the history and certainly with David Carr we have it in this city. When you let a little quarter a young quarterback get hit a lot, you're putting that quarterback's career at risk. You can ask Troy Egman about it. He got beat up early in his career and when Norv Turner came in the first thing he had to do was resurrect Troy's psyche. And that's what you risk doing with that. He's got his nine interceptions or four more than last season. But that penalties, I think they're the second most penalized team in the league. Their highest paid player is their left tackle, Laramie Tunsall. He leads the NFL in penalties. That's a reflection of what the offensive line is be has been. They play the Cowboys on a Monday night game a couple of weeks ago. First play of the game. First play of the game. CJ Stroud throws a 77 yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins and background NFL teams practice the first play extensively the day before the game. They consider it a big moment in the game. Our first play, Laramie Tunsil was called for illegal man downfield. He was illegal man downfield on the first play of the game and called back a 77 yard touchdown pass. And I just think, you know their defense is pretty solid but they're, you know, offense comes and goes and they're just a tick off in everything they do. And C.J. stroud has been a tick off, although I think he has been hit so, so much. They, you know, they, they've only beaten one good team really. They beat the Bills, but they lost to the Packers. Yeah, they lost to the Lions. Close games. They lost to the Vikings. Another close game. They have a by this week then it's Dolphins. They're eight and five. Dolphins, Chiefs, Ravens and Titans. So they could lose three of those four. But they're in a division where they're the only team with a winning record. So they've got a kind of a pass to the playoffs. What happens after that? It would be hard to be optimistic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I want to switch to baseball. I won't even go into the fact that Laramie Tunsil is of course the guy who in college was getting high, videoing himself getting high and saying how much money they had illegally paid him. Anyway, you sent me a note or I think you had the note sent to me that Louisa Rice is going to be traded again. Three batting titles and he keeps getting. What is his deal?

[Listener]

I become obsessed with the guy since you asked me a couple of months ago, like what is the deal? This guy must be trouble. He, his salary is going to go from 10 million to 14.6 million. That's its first year of arbitration. He is a three time batting champion. Nigel and I talked about this yesterday. His on base average was.346 last year. That's pretty good. But what are the two things? Teams want an offensive player special. They want walks. Juan Soto. They want home runs. Juan Soto, he doesn't do, he doesn't do either of those things. And the Padres payroll is going to jump from something like 169 to 216 with all their arbitration guys and the fact that they, Bogarts and Tatis are going to make $46 million. So they got to cut, they're going to, they're going to have to trim some payroll to stay under the luxury tax. And he, they're with, at the point with him whether they sign him to an extension, a long term extension or they find that they, they get rid of him. Now in the, you know, every time he's been traded by both the Twins and the Marlins, he's brought a pretty good hall of prospects. But his walk rate is, is. I think he had 16 walks and 500 plated appearances last year. In other words, he doesn't walk. He doesn't hit home runs, he hits singles. And that's not as valued a commodity as it once was in the game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Three batting titles with three different teams. It's weird. Let me, I'll get you out of here on this. And it's all speculative. I'm sure that Boris is feeling his oats now, especially after the Blake Snell deal. But where do you think the Soto number will settle?

[Listener]

I think it settle it in the neighborhood of 13, 14 years north of 600 million. How much farther? I don't know. But you have the big boys playing with this. The Red Sox need to make a statement. They've been crushed in locally the last couple of years for not spending money. The Mets have the second best general manager in the game and David Stearns and an owner with the deepest pockets. All the things we talked about with Louis arise. All the things that David Stern values in a player Juan Soto brings to the table. So it's going to get crazy. You know, the Yankees are not just going to let him walk. Don't ever, ever discount the Dodgers. You know The Giants are a dark horse but to me it seems like it's the Mets, Yankees or Red Sox. And when bidding gets like that, it could go, the number could go anywhere and then there's not going to be much action. I don't think until that happens. And then after that that opens the door for teams. Would they switch with the Yankees, lose him? Would they switch to Bregman? Would the Red Sox switch to Bregman? Pete Alonso, Santander? And then the trades that could be coming. Do the Blue Jays trade Vlad Guerrero? You know, Luis Robert could be traded there. There could be a flood. The floodgates could be open for, for the true off season but Juan Soto has to get off the market first. I think that the winter meetings are next week in Dallas and if it go I'd be stunned if he's still a free agent this time next week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow, that's interesting. We all wait with the please not the Mets bated breathlessness to see I.

[Listener]

Think they're the leader in the clubhouse. The Red Sox badly, badly want to get this deal and the Yankees don't walk away from guys that his skill set is what you value.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's really a great player. Thanks Richie.

[Listener]

Thank you, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Richard justice, boys and girls. We'll come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First. Like, you know, to check the date of the big game first before you accidentally buy tickets on your 20th wedding anniversary and have to spend the next 20 years of your marriage making up for it. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Tony Korniser Show. O come all ye littles hopeful and expectant O come now it's time for Mr. Tony's Me. We've got your emails, faxes and your notes. Perhaps today he'll read yours. Perhaps today he'll read yours. Perhaps today he'll read yours. Most likely he won't. The Reverend Mark Schaeffer and the Schaeferette.

[Reginald the Monkey]

The Schaefer.

[Nigel]

Was that Soliz on 10 or 2?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was.

[Chris]

I'm glad you heard my unique blend there, little vibrato.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You want to do the Bethesda bagel Force? Yes.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Can I make a self Correction.

[Listener]

Sure.

[Reginald the Monkey]

I want to thank Dan Russell who pointed out that it was not Woody Hayes who said only three things can happen. You pass the ball and two of them are bad. It was in fact Darryl Royal from the Texas Longhorn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I got that wrong.

[Reginald the Monkey]

But never get it wrong.

[Chris]

It was in fact Confucius.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Yes, I believe it was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Handling.

[Nigel]

This is a lot of grace.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Bethesda Bagels. Never get that wrong. We love them. You will as well. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location of the DC area near Shoe, then pop one in and you will be thrilled.

[Chris]

Bagel sandwiches today, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Chris]

Right, guys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Monday.

[Chris]

Never get invited on bagel sandwich day.

[Nigel]

There's a reason.

[Chris]

Yeah, I feel it's getting personal.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Not by accident.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mail bag, let me just say I don't like you, but I love you. Seems like I'm always thinking of you. Oh, whoa, whoa. You treat me badly. I love you madly. You really got a hold on me. That may have been one of the very early songs by William Robinson. May have been, may have been. Yeah, may have been pretty good. Our thanks today to Chuck Todd and Richard Justice. Thanks to today's sponsors as well. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple, Spotify, Odyssey. If you listen on Apple. Please leave us a review.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Oh, I did look up Pete Sieger died at the age of 94 in 2011.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I got some time then. Yeah. From Sean Griffin in Leesburg, Virginia. About 20 years ago, I was visiting my grandparents at a nursing home. Speaking of Pete Sieger in Queens on Christmas Eve, I got into an elevator heading down to the main floor, and standing in the corner was a short, older man wearing perhaps the most hideous sweater I've ever seen. Not an ironic, ugly Christmas sweater, mind you. This was the genuine article. I recognized him immediately as Luke Harness. I said, merry Christmas, coach. He was there to visit an elderly aunt who must. Must have been as old as the hills, given that Louis was pushing 80 at the time. He was as gracious and lovely as Ewan Wilbon described him. He was positive proof that even a man diminutive in stature can rise to the level of giants. Sean Griffin, Leesburg, Virginia. I was in LA with my brother Ag. So you know who this is coming from. My brother Agee in 1984, who was transferred there by E.F. hutton. And we went to the Olympic basketball game and I recognized Lou sitting by himself. And I introduced myself as being a Queens boy. And he couldn't have been nicer at the same Olympics I saw Mary Decker fall. Regards, dg. It just Life is just wonderful.

[Reginald the Monkey]

He's everywhere.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Adam Cubitt. Thank you for mentioning Frankie. Elasia brings back memories of his mom, my lifelong my elementary school nurse. Wow. In Oceanside. She's the reason I've been a lifelong St. John's fan, even though I went to Binghamton. By the way, my uncle Barry Winkler was a basket player on the Harvard College basketball team when you were there. Yeah, that's true. Adam Cubitt. Very nice. Tom Gilroy, Evanston, Illinois, by way of Huntington, Long Island. Long time little you might remember me from such episodes as Bootsy's first dinner at the Palm and also as the guy who sent you leonces his pants. Oh, thank you for the wonderful trip down memory lane this week while remembering Louis Carneseco. My dad coached football at St. John's in the 1970s, and as a result I got to hang around the athletic department from time to time. Louie has always been revered as the best of the best among us, and he wasn't a bad basketball coach either. During the mailbag segment of the show, my ears perked up at one note in particular, one gentleman wrote in to talk about his Niagara Purple Eagles and their victory over Binghamton. Surely I wasn't the only one who noted the coincidence. You see that 1985St. John's team you mentioned earlier in the pot went 314 on their way to the final four. Everybody knows three of those losses were to Georgetown. How many? Remember the only other loss that year happened in early December too. Niagara. I would not have known that. Keep up the great work. Please tell Brett Calvin to eat it. Brett. Okay, so now we have pictures of monkeys. This is a long one from Mike Pennell, Economic Unit Chief of the US Embassy in Dhaka, and he writes greetings from lovely Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the banks of the Buragonga River. I want to share an update on the possible whereabouts of at least one of the escape rhesus monkeys. As you can see from the photos, I think one jumped a plane to Bangladesh and is enjoying an uneventful retirement in Dhaka's Justin Shahabuddin Park. Since I lacked Nigel's courage and translation skills, I was unwilling to ask this monkey for his Thanksgiving picks. Regarding your future trips to New Jersey, I strongly recommend taking U.S. 50 east over the Bay Bridge and then U.S. 301 all the way up into Delaware, avoiding Baltimore and nearly all of i95 in Delaware. For convenience, you can stop at the Bay county rest area about 40 miles east of the Bay Bridge on 301. The ride is pleasant. Almost no trucks, very little traffic. There's a toll on Delaware 301, but you actually save money because this route avoids tolls in Baltimore and the Delaware I95 toll plaza. I'll try that, probably. I'm gonna put this aside. 30 minutes?

[Chris]

Yeah, I was gonna say 20 to 30.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what?

[Chris]

Sounds lovely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what from Dave Marin Tossin and turnin in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the A block on Tuesday I heard you say I didn't sleep at all last night. Yet no follow up lyrics. You really were under lyrics and it's not I didn't sleep at all. It said I couldn't sleep at all last night. Got to thinking of you. You know that's tossing and turning. It's Bobby Lewis.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Bobby Lewis, that's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Toss it and turn and Bobby Lewis. So okay, Wynn Mossman, our friend in Moscow, Idaho, if you insist on pronouncing my name Wayne not win when my emails are read, could you also pronounce my nephew John's name Jane when his emails make the cut? Also tell me eat it. Dave Lombardo, Saratoga Springs when it rains, it pours in Albany. First we secured Elliot Olshansky, and then on Friday, November 22nd, we had a speaking appearance by Chuck Todd for the New York State Writers Institute. I attended with the sole intention of dropping lecheeserie and vanishing into the night, but ended up sticking around. Got to chat with Chuck about New York politics. As the official New York State government correspondent for your show, it's a real treat to talk shop with someone who I grew up admiring and now I can say nominally as my colleague. And please let Elliot know, if he hasn't realized it already from the emails, that you can't flush a mouse in the Capital Region without hitting a little Alex Law in New York City. Trying to get a better sense of what Chessie's wine is like. Is it closest to the wine you make when a the Hallmark Channel is on in your house before Thanksgiving, B Wilbur goes into Some sort of I 95 based diatribe, or C you have to spend more than an hour at any sort of public or social gathering or d you're stuck in traffic crossing the Bay Bridge, I'll hang up and listen. Sally the Knitter in Troy, Michigan, reading the sports page in today's Last Friday's Detroit Free Press. And there it was in print. Sos Flush the mouse. Have a great day.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Oh yeah, we looked that up. It's legit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We're very happy.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Love to see that all happening Ryan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

In Atlanta While listening to the pod on my commute home last week, a truck drove by that advertised next day hay. The truck had a Texas license plate and was completely empty. So I guess they delivered all that sweet, sweet hay. But I live in Atlanta. Next day hay from Texas. That's customer service. That's all I got. What a dumb email from Kevin Flutie to Phelan 11:23 84 for the win he was aiming for Kornheiser. I'm told that's from Kevin Heilbronner and Wake Forest.

[Chris]

The end zone, people.

[Reginald the Monkey]

End zone everyone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm in the end zone. Patrick Sitter It's Thanksgiving week. I thought I'd once again send in the Garrison Keeler pumpkin pie quote. That way you can have it handy if anyone references it. Pumpkin pie is a living symbol of mediocrity. The best pumpkin pie you ever ate wasn't all that much different from the worst pumpkin pie you ever ate. Unquote. No offense to any littles in a nutmeg state of Connecticut, but according to my late grandma from Rugby, North Dakota, the key to making a better tasting pumpkin pie, or in Garrison Keeler's case, a less mediocre tasting pumpkin pie, is to not add nutmeg. So if your pumpkin pie recipe lists nutmeg as an ingredient, say no to the nutmeg. Some of my grandchildren the hammer takes this person. One of my grandchildren loves pumpkin pie.

[Nigel]

They brought it back to dinner last night.

[Reginald the Monkey]

It's got great taste.

[Chris]

Pumpkin pie is delicious and I will fight anyone that makes no sense. I mean just in general, but also about pumpkin pie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Jason McConachey in Burke, Virginia. I had the pleasure of attending my first Neumeyer Flyer production Friday night at the Barns at Wolftrap. A highlight was seeing Tom Lofgren and the band perform from the Beatles Revolver album. I was a bit confused about the song called Taxman. I thought that was sung by Sean and called mailbag mailbag Dr. John Goldblum. So he's Morgan Pressel's uncle, right?

[Reginald the Monkey]

Yes, that's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. He's at the Cleveland Clinic. He's chairman of Pathology there. Your recent recitation of the lyrics of Daydream Believer prompted my own daydreams of summer camp in Maine as a wee child for two reasons. First, Daydream Believer was written by the great Jon Stewart. Not that one. Who was a master American singer, songwriter. Yes, and founding member of the Kingston Trio and traveling musician with the tragic Robert Kennedy presidential campaign, 1968. Take a listen to Wingless Angels. The album played on constant repeat by my camp counselor at Camp Belgrade in Waterville, Maine. Related to that, my fabulous counselor was the one who dragged me and six other seven year olds to Portland, Maine to see my first of over 100 Springsteen concerts. Although this camp counselor changed my life forever by starting me on my Springsteen saga, he would, in this day and age, be arrested for abducting children without parental permission and dragging them to a real rock concert. That's what Daydream Believer reminded me of. Jim in North Lutherville I believe in being part of the solution, not the problem. This week you expressed the need for someone to speak about the Dallas Cowboys. I'd like to offer my services first. They stink. I can elaborate when we connect. I'll tell you up front. I've never technically been to Dallas. I was there briefly at the airport on a layover. My home base is actually Lutherville. Technically North Lutherville. I'll wait for you to make your next move. Very funny. Doc Bradley writes in Once again, I am floored by the music from your contributing artists. Sean Tweedley song Fighting demons from the November 20th show is a great song. I've added it to my YouTube playlist first to give it a thumbs up. Thank you for the new music you bring to the attention of your listeners. You're doing the Lord's work. All right. Maybe not the Lord's work, but something like a lesser angel. Someone on the low end of the bureaucracy of heaven. Like the work of the angel in charge of restocking office supplies. Waiting on Snow in Burlington. Brilliant. It's a brilliant Jim Tippett in Bethany beach during last week's trivia night at Bear Trap Dunes in Delaware, the question was asked about which American chocolate bar is revered in Japan and available in multiple flavors. Fellow little Colin Chastler and I, or Chaseler and I both gasped at our good fortune. Our teammates were in awe until we confessed learning this important fact on your fine program, at which point both our spouses simply rolled their eyes. Information for life, indeed. It's Kit Kat. It is. Yeah. Yeah, it's kit Kat. George McGuff still southeast of Charlotte. Unfortunately, the Carolinas have a history of monkey escapes. Many years ago, the woman I'm related to by marriage took our children to a family zoo about an hour north of Charlotte. This zoo had many exotic animals along with farm animals. As part of the day, they allowed patrons to take pictures with tiger cubs. Both my children participated in this, and at the end of the session they offered to sell My wife a tiger cub for $250.

[Chuck Todd]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thankfully. Now back to the monkey escape. They had an older chimpanzee who escaped from the facility. He evaded capture for a few months. In that time he was front page in TV news story. There were supposed sightings of him most every day, but they couldn't seem to catch. He developed into a sort of a folk hero. Most folks were actually cheering for him to remain free. Finally, he was captured and returned to the facility. Two weeks later, wiser minds took over and the zoo was closed down. One of the more embarrassing chapters in North Carolina history.

[Chris]

You want a tiger cub? Take one of these home.

[Reginald the Monkey]

Buy two, I'll give you a deal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One more Chris Bans till Maryland. You surprised a story about monkeys Got such a response from the Littles. Really? On a show that has a chimp picking games against the spread. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white. Mom, press the crease in my chino. Cause chinos I like to look deep.

[Musical Guest]

You come back around by the 1st of September. You waited so long. And there's one thing you better remember. There must be something in the river. Yeah, once all my life I've been waiting inside. But it's hard to when the sun finally shines on the city. There must be something in the river. City life's calm in the view. Massachusetts welcome to unknown. There must be something in the river. Yeah, I know there must be something in the river. Neighbors complain about the noise on the street. But this city's got heart and the heart's got a beat somehow the kids just want to get free. Yeah, I see people change as the years go by. But the water still moves like clouds in the sky. And I know there must be something in the river. There's almost time for the tons of fire. I'm blinded by the wind of it all. And I know there must be something in the river. Yeah, I know there must be something in the river. The so much I may see Sometimes you might feel alone. You can guarantee somewhere down line you lose your way. I want to be okay. You can always come back home.

[Richard Justice]

I hope they do something about the three pointer. There's far too many of them. It makes the game dull. I hope that with the veneration of Gretzky and Ovechkin, people don't forget about the great Bobby Hull. I hope that Matt Eber Flew gets another job, whether it's in football or some other line of work. I hope they put the peanuts back in cracker. Jack. And I hope that Mr. Tony gets his voice back. He sounds like my great, great, great grandfather. He sounds like Mr. Burns on the Simpsons. He sounds like Pete Seeger at the very end. I'm saying this as a friend. I'm hoping they makes Benedict continues to have Holland days. I'm hoping Nigel gets to see Old England for the holidays. I'm hoping Chopin comes back from the dead for one last polonaise. I'm hoping Lock and Flora lasts as long as Tommy Mac. And I'm hoping Mr. Tony gets his voice back.