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Tony Kornheiser
Hey, it's Tony. If you're hearing this, it means that Nigel has flushed the mouse and forgot to have me record something new. So who knows who our guests will be today? Maybe Mick Jagger, Sandy Koufax, Dalai Lama. Long hitter, the Lama? Probably not, but I guess you'll have to tune in to find out. But first, let's keep the sales weasels happy. DSW's semiannual sale is back. Take 50% off all clearance shoes in stores for a limited time. Literally every single clearance item at your designer shoe warehouse store is on sale right now. Sneakers, boots, dress shoes. If they're on the clearance racks, they're 50% off. So what are you waiting for? Don't sleep on these savings. Get to DSW asap. It's all or nothing, people. Shop the DSW semi annual sale today.
Bob Ryan
Hey, Ryan Reynolds here, wishing you a.
Michael Wilbon
Very happy half off holiday.
Tony Kornheiser
Because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off. Unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium, but unlimited wireless.
Michael Wilbon
For a great price.
Tony Kornheiser
So that means a half day. Yeah. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow hacker 35 gigabytes of networks busy taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com.
Bob Ryan
Previously on the Tony Cornheiser Show.
Tony Kornheiser
Now you gotta understand, this is the holiday season. Everything's 50% off in a pro shop. Everything. I go. How much is that? You want to take a shot at how much?
Michael
This is with the pro shop discount.
Tony Kornheiser
Or the list price? List price. List price.
Michael
I'm going 150.
Reginald the Monkey
I'll go $75.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, you both underbid. It's 180. So that. That is jolting. But thanks to my son and his friends, I have shop credit. What would I say, Michael? I got about $250 worth of shop credit.
Michael
Well, you'd have hundreds given all the holiday tournaments that you play.
Tony Kornheiser
No, I.
Michael
And with that vanity handicap.
Guest Musician or Singer
Ears.
Bob Ryan
This is General Geor Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser.
Tony Kornheiser
Let's just stay with golf briefly here. Just briefly, because ESPN is putting out all the ads for the TGL series. You know that indoor golf that I found attractive and easy to watch in the winter And Wilbon couldn't stand complex. Yeah. So it all looks. It all looks good.
Michael
And stinger hole.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, What? You know, what does that mean? A stinger hole where you Tee off without a driver.
Michael
It's going to be a Tiger hole where they're going to try and force you to play it. Stinger shot off of the tee.
Tony Kornheiser
Thank you for mentioning Tiger because they mentioned Tiger in all the ads. They say more Tiger. Today is Tiger's 50th birthday, and I asked my son, do you think he will play in senior events?
Michael
I think he will play there eventually. But if you are the PGA Tour, do you want him playing in senior events? As soon as you get him out there playing 54 holes in a cart, you devalue everything that you've been trying to build up over the last couple of years.
Guest Musician or Singer
Right.
Tony Kornheiser
So do you think that they will intercede and go to Tiger and say, please don't do this because it hurts all of us?
Michael
I don't think they have to intercede. I think he is in contact enough with the power players and frankly, his, you know, his recovery process is so far delayed, you know, compared to others, that he's only chipping and putting. And he's, he is very, very intentionally tried to quiet down any talk of him playing.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, he's not going to play soon, but he is now eligible to play in these events. They don't pay nearly as much as the PGA Tour. They don't have any particular prestige. But if Tiger plays in them, things change, right? Michael?
Michael
Again, this is what I was saying last week with Brooks Kappa. You, those of us who watch golf, it's such an aging demo. You have a younger group of viewers who'd actually rather watch influencers play on YouTube. And you look at who would be willing to watch men's professional golf on tv. Older people, they don't recognize a quarter of the names that you see week, week in, week out. You recognize, obviously, the major winners, but you honestly have a better connection with the nostalgia of watching players from the 90s and early aughts who went against Tiger.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Yeah. So we'll see. It is his 50th birthday. It's also LeBron James's 41st birthday. It's pretty good. Double that is for professional athletes. Yeah, LeBron James. Yeah. We don't. We very rarely do this on the PTI show because we're not on this week. So we don't say happy birthday to them. So we do it here. Okay. I've said on this show and I've said on the PTI show a number of times and going back weeks and weeks that I like the Los Angeles Rams to get to the Super Bowl. I'm not talking about winning and I don't know who they're going to play, but I like them to get to the Super Bowl. Except for last night then I didn't like them very much. Matthew Stafford was intercepted more than once and I think he's an MVP candidate. He and Drake may, I think, stand out more than anyone else at the moment, but he got intercepted a number of times. The Rams tied the game late in the game and lost on a field goal late in the game. Here's my problem with the Rams. They keep losing. They lose in odd ways. They lost an odd way was the guy picked up the two point conversion the other day was at Seattle.
Reginald the Monkey
Think it might have been Seattle.
Guest Musician or Singer
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
They lost on a blocked field goal attempt against Philadelphia. They lost really late against San Francisco. So they keep losing. They are now in a position where they're going to finish fifth or sixth in the nfc. They're going to make the playoffs, but they're going to finish fifth or sixth in the nfc. So they're going to be on the road and they're going to have to go on the road. Maybe to Chicago, maybe to Philadelphia. It's cold.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
The Rams are not a cold weather team. They're not as bad as the Miami Dolphins, but they're not a cold weather team. And you say, well, Matthew Stafford played in Detroit for a lot of years. Played indoors. Played indoors in Detroit.
Michael
I know what happened last year in that playoff game.
Tony Kornheiser
I'm in Philly.
Guest Musician or Singer
Right.
Reginald the Monkey
They were up.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Yeah. So I, you know, this is not a good situation.
Guest Musician or Singer
No.
Tony Kornheiser
Late mid to late January in Chicago is horrific and can be really, really bad in Philadelphia as well. It's really bad here today. It, the wind chill is about 10 at the moment and if you're the Los Angeles Rams and you had to play here and it's going to be worse in Philadelphia or Chicago. So I don't like their chances on the other side of that and I'm not going to go on and on about this, but Kirk Cousins is now 4 and 2 as a starter this year since Michael Penix went out the. The Atlanta Falcons, who are owned by a guy, honestly in a football sense is foolish. Arthur Blank is foolish. He gives Kirk Cousins $180 million guaranteed, whatever it is, and then allows the GM to draft a quarterback in the first round. You got to fire the GM. He's got to be fired today because it's, it's, this is ridiculous. This is the Kirk Cousins you hired. He's 4 and 2 as a starter and he finds Bijan Robinson all the time. This is what you wanted and you allowed that to be undercut completely and sabotaged by this general manager picking Michael Penix who isn't bad but also isn't available and soured Kirk Cousins because he had just signed a big deal and then you drafted a guy in the first round for his position. You know the Falcons don't ever do anything right. They just don't including lose the super bowl when they had an 80 point lead in the fourth quarter.
Michael
And you look at with a losing record again.
Guest Musician or Singer
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
And so this complicates that. So there are three games that we thought three games were meaningful. Head to head games on Saturday and Sunday. One of them was the San Francisco 49ers hosting Seattle. The winner will get the number one seed in the NFC when the division get the number one seed, Baltimore against Pittsburgh. The winner is going to the playoffs. And the big drama there is whether or not Lamar Jackson plays or doesn't play. And then you, you know there is a subsidiary question which is are they better off if he doesn't play? Have they looked better without him? And the other one was going to be the head to head between Tampa Bay at Tampa Bay and Carolina. The winner was going in, but not necessarily now if Atlanta wins again in their last game, I think they can beat out Tampa Bay. I think Carolina automatically goes. But it gets. It's complicated now. It's complicated because again Kirk Cousins is 4 and 2 and I had no thought he was going to beat the Rams. No. Why would you? None. So and so all of that is. Is interesting in the football sense and we bring it up because we're not going to have, you know, a traditional football guest today. I wanted to read one other thing here.
Michael
Tampa. I don't even have a tie break over Atlanta based on best win percentage in common games. So you get down to the second or third category.
Tony Kornheiser
So they win.
Reginald the Monkey
Although I'm seeing here on the standings on ESPN says Atlanta eliminated.
Tony Kornheiser
How can they be eliminated?
Reginald the Monkey
I. I don't know.
Tony Kornheiser
I wouldn't. No, they're not eliminated. Okay. I'm just showing they are eliminated.
Reginald the Monkey
That's what this says.
Tony Kornheiser
Eaten with winning. You see the. Yeah. What can I say? This is from Glenn Winters. I'm a couple of years younger than you. I'm a card carrying septuagenarian, bad knees, bad back just like me and assorted other signs of age. On one level I completely understand you're discomforted having to pay the IRS electronically. This is I can't tell you how much this bothers me, enrages me, because they change the rules in the middle of the game. If you're in a position where you have to pay estimated taxes, you get four different bills a year, and the last one is in January. The previous one is in November. And yeah, whatever it is, there's four of them. One of the first, and I've been April and July, April and August, some April and September, something like that. And I've been doing this for years. You know, you pay it. You pay it forward like that. And how can you. If you have four of these things and they send you four different vouchers and they expect you to send a check, how can you change the rules in the middle of the game and say, no, no, you have to pay everything electronically. And so I stand up and I say, I don't know how to do that, and say, well, okay, well, they get your accountant to do it. Okay, I have an accountant. Everyone doesn't have an accountant. Everyone knows how to put a check in the mail and put a stamp on it or. But they don't know how to do it electronically. What are you doing anyway? There's another level in which I take issue. Glenn Winters writes. Let me explain. In the past, you've been generous enough to play some of my original music on your high quality podcast. He's on the. He did the fugue.
Reginald the Monkey
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
The most brilliant thing we've ever had.
Reginald the Monkey
Genius.
Tony Kornheiser
It's fabulous. In the late 90s, I mastered composing on computer using a music publishing program called Finale. F, I, N, A, L, E. It's either Final or Finale. I'll say Finale. I learned to enter every note, every rhythm, every mark of ink you see on a page of sheet music, all with keystrokes on the computer. About a year ago, Finale quietly went out of business. Their technology was out of date, like a rotary phone being replaced by a cell phone. A new product called Dorico, which sounds like a corn chip, he writes, has replaced Finale with up to date technology. I bought Dirico. It's on my laptop. I haven't learned to use it. I'm not sure I will. It was imperative to learn Finale because I was an active composer, writing music that would be performed was painfully difficult to learn. I was frequently frustrated. I often consulted music colleagues for guidance on how to produce certain nuanced effects. But I got it. I climbed Mount Finale and wrote over a dozen operas. But I'm retired now. No one is asking me to write music. Writing music no one wants is like learning to be a good a gourmet chef to make dinner for yourself. Or you could get to Vala. You could spend, I don't know, $6 million on, you know, on a little stove. That's where they make their money. That's where my sympathy for you wanes. Paying taxes isn't optional. We all have to do it. You are educated, intelligent, and accomplish. My theory is that you don't want to pay the price for learning a new skill. And I don't blame you. When faced with finale after a lifetime of writing music with paper and pencil, I too said, I don't know how. P.S. i suspect this might also explain your notorious inability to play the piano. As a guy who taught adult beginning piano students for years, I have a theory. Is it possible that you immediately wanted to play Billy Joel's Piano man or Jerry Lee Lewis's Great Balls of Fire? It doesn't work like that. Adult beginners have to begin with masterpieces with names like March of the Middle Seas or My Puppy. It's all about willingness to pay the price. I have no patience. Learn a new skill in 2026. Then you'll know how. Happy New Year. Glenn Winters, chuck and roxy. Number 237. So I suspect that with tutoring, I could learn how to do this. I suspect. But I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it, and I don't think I should have to do it. And I don't think anybody should have to do it. Now, by April 15th of this year, if the government wants to change it, change it with giving people enough advanced notice. Yes. That they start an entire new year doing this. And also, you know, the assumption. And I will stop after this. The assumption that everyone has access to computers and cell phones is an erroneous assumption. Some people don't because they can't afford them, and some people don't because they choose not to. And this is an important concept that when you just say, okay, just file it electronically. File electronically. Because everybody knows how to do that. Well, they don't. They don't. Everybody doesn't. If you're the United States government, or if you were the local jurisdiction, in my case, the District of Columbia, and you actually, the goal is to get the money to defer the taxes later. If the goal is to get the money, why would you consciously cut out, I don't know, 25% of the people out there who are not going to send you the money, then you're going to have to go after them. And you're going to have to go after them and make their lives miserable, when, in fact, their lives shouldn't be miserable, because they're probably, in my case, perfectly willing to pay it by check. Perfectly willing to do it. And just because it's more convenient for you doesn't make it the right way to go. There's gotta be an ability for some people, old people, to do it the way they've always done it. I mean, I can show you on my records that I've never been late. I've never been late. So why would you say, well, you can't do it this way again? I'm not late with it. You're getting it. You get it. I just. Am I crazy, Michael, you're young. Am I crazy on this one?
Michael
No, I'm not with you. I was pushing back early, but I'm with you now. So it feels like if we had a hard reset, and with it, his final payment, there was a notice that said, just so you know, next year with payment.
Tony Kornheiser
That's fine.
Reginald the Monkey
Yeah.
Michael
You'd be okay with this?
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. It gives you advance notice. And then you go to someone and you say, now, how do I do this? Because little stores, the H and R blocks of the world will pop up and they'll say, here's how you do that. Okay, but. But give. Let there be a notice. Has there been any notice? No. No. Who knows? Accountants know. They know The. Does the average. The average person doesn't know this?
Guest Musician or Singer
No.
Tony Kornheiser
Average person has no idea that this is going on. So, I mean, it's an assumption made by the government. That's an erroneous or something to me. Erroneous. Sean, what do you think? Yeah, I'm just waiting for the little. Hey, we'll send in.
Reginald the Monkey
We'll give us your check shops that.
Tony Kornheiser
Take the payment and charge you like 2%. Not.
Reginald the Monkey
That's what's going to happen. There's going to be a lot of ads for those.
Tony Kornheiser
You know, don't. Yeah, I don't want that. Plus, I don't want more and more people to know everything about me.
Reginald the Monkey
Eventually it'll be like Apple. They'll just reach into your account.
Tony Kornheiser
Just do it. They'll just do it. Yeah, yeah.
Michael
Automatically update.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
Can I. Can I change. Change your. Your mood in one quick second.
Tony Kornheiser
Sure.
Reginald the Monkey
There's one other significant birthday today in terms of great athletes who. The greatest living baseball player, Sandy Koufax. Sandy.
Tony Kornheiser
Today.
Reginald the Monkey
Today.
Tony Kornheiser
Is he 90?
Reginald the Monkey
Yes, 90. The moment. In 1935. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Sandy was ready to come out of the boldness. What a day.
Reginald the Monkey
I'll compile some other name. Del Shannon also would have been. I mean it's a really good. Jim Marshall would have been celebrating a birthday to go away.
Tony Kornheiser
Koufax, LeBron and Tiger, you know, they're in a category by the time I didn't know it's any Koufax his birthday. Yes. Okay, that's good. And. And for those of you who are interested in my attempt to frame some matchbooks over the. Over the course of time, I have an appointment today at 10 o' clock in the morning at Framebridge.
Michael
Are we giving out the location?
Tony Kornheiser
No, I'm not going to do that. There's a number of frame bridges. I'm going to one.
Reginald the Monkey
I'll hold release of the episode till 10:30.
Guest Musician or Singer
Thanks.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, this could be a.
Michael
This could be a full hour appointment.
Tony Kornheiser
All right. Okay. So. Chuck Todd. Chuck Todd. When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser. Now is your time to get into a new Dr. Horton home by taking advantage of its national red tag sales event. This Friday, January 2nd through Sunday, January 25th. Stop by any of its participating communities and find select red tag homes at incredible pricing. So whether you're buying your first home or looking for an upgrade, you don't want to miss the red tag sales event. Starting this Friday, discover the Dr. Horton Difference. Tap your screen now or visit Dr. Horton.com Dr. Horton, America's builder and equal housing opportunity builder. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. What is this, like a Western?
Reginald the Monkey
It feels like.
Tony Kornheiser
It's like a spaghetti western. Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
Sergio Leone.
Tony Kornheiser
That's what it feels like. Wow. Where's Clint Eastwood when you need him?
Reginald the Monkey
Should be popping up anytime.
Tony Kornheiser
I mean, honestly, it really does. This is Eric DeLonge and the Slappy Boys. We're just not what we're used to. From Eric DeLonge and the Slappy Boys.
Reginald the Monkey
It's still great. It's just different.
Tony Kornheiser
It's really different. It feels like something recorded in a bullring in Tijuana. Right.
Reginald the Monkey
There's the banjo.
Guest Musician or Singer
Wow.
Tony Kornheiser
Eric DeLonge and the Slappy Boys. We're gonna hear from them twice today. This is called the Devil's Orphan. We like Eric DeLonge and the Slappy Boys.
Reginald the Monkey
Yes, very much.
Tony Kornheiser
But I will admit I was floored by that intro. I was floored by that. It plays in Chuck Todd and. This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the Monkey are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every Moment more. Chuck had a pretty good week because he closed well. The Chicago Bears were getting three at San Francisco. San Francisco won by four in one of the really good games of the year. Chuck finished 4:3, now 63 and 60. Mount 500 in the distance. In the distance behind you. So that you've been doing well lately. I'm happy for that. There are three games in the NFL of import that have playoff ramifications. We will certainly do them. We'll do the college games, the four college games, and we'll give you the option on any of the other pro games. Okay.
Michael Wilbon
I love it. I appreciate that. Is it the sloppy boys or the sloppy slappy boys?
Tony Kornheiser
I think at one point they were the sloppy boys and somebody said, no, be slappy. Come on now. Be.
Michael Wilbon
Definitely were the band for Carville and Madeline's wedding, right?
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, probably weren't.
Michael Wilbon
Will now say they were.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, that's completely true. Completely true. Okay, let's start with a Saturday game. Carolina, Tampa Bay, to see which team gets a home playoff game, which they will lose from the NFC South, a terrible division. But I will say that I'm surprised that Carolina is plus two and a half on the road. You're going to say. I know it's a. Home field is usually three. Tampa Bay hasn't won in three months. They don't win. They started out great for a while. Baker Mayfield was my MVP. They really. There's something like 1 and 7 in their last eight. So I guess I don't understand the line, but. Who do you like in this?
Michael Wilbon
Our Buddy Simmons thinks that everybody's quit on Todd Bowles. You think that?
Tony Kornheiser
I don't know why they would quit on Todd Bowles. Well, he was. He got. He had that angry moment about three weeks ago where he, you know, dismissed his team. He did dismiss his team, but. Yeah, I don't know.
Michael Wilbon
Is he done if they lose this?
Tony Kornheiser
I don't think so. I mean, he's, you know, he's won the division a number of times. I don't think they'd fire him. I don't know. Unless. Unless a bunch of guys on that team say, let's get rid of him. Which sometimes happens. They pull what we like to call a Giannis onto the compo and they say, get rid of this guy today.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
So.
Michael Wilbon
And are you. Are you bought into Bryce Young?
Tony Kornheiser
Not completely. I mean, I think he's better. Certainly better than he was for the previous two years.
Michael Wilbon
He's so little.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, he's.
Michael Wilbon
See him out there. You're like, oh, my God.
Tony Kornheiser
I mean, Mayfield is small and he's considerably bigger and thicker than Bryce Young.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah, yeah, I got. I. Carolina. I mean, I don't know how you back Tampa here.
Tony Kornheiser
No, that's what I'm.
Michael Wilbon
The way they're playing. Yeah. I don't know how Carolina feels. Feels for whatever reason, the fresher team. Who. Who wins the lot. One of these NFC west teams wins the lottery on this one. Right. Either the. What is it, the Rams or the. Or the loser of the Niner Seahawks. I mean, that's a pretty good. Would you rather. What's better, a buy or playing the winner of this game in your first round matchup?
Tony Kornheiser
This is better.
Michael Wilbon
The five State. I think so, too.
Tony Kornheiser
This is better. This is a win on the road. It's a win.
Michael Wilbon
The.
Guest Musician or Singer
The.
Michael Wilbon
The. Whoever gets to play the winner of. This is an interesting spot to get to the NFC title game. Yeah. Give me the Panthers.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. The next one is Seattle at San Francisco. San Francisco has scored over 40 points the last two games. They have no defense. I understand that, but they've scored 40 points the last two games. I am surprised that Seattle is a one and a half point favorite at San Francisco. I'm surprised by this. Are you?
Michael Wilbon
Especially after the game we just saw. I mean, I. Look, I was sweating that. That drive at the end.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, yes, yes.
Michael Wilbon
If. If they have one more timeout, they call a timeout and have a better play.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Right.
Michael Wilbon
They were clearly rushed. You know, I. Either Josh Allen scored from there. I feel like with a timeout, Caleb would have to. Right. So maybe that kind of. But if you believe defense matters more in playoff games than I. Seattle's right. Seattle. Better defense.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, they do. You know, San Francisco has no defense.
Michael Wilbon
But the motivation. If you're San Francisco. Did Torico say this? You don't even ever have to unpack a bag.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right. Six weeks in a row you're home.
Reginald the Monkey
Yeah.
Michael Wilbon
You know, other than the commute to Santa Clara from San Francisco, which is not exactly the best commute. Give me. Give me the Niners. I feel like they're. Suddenly. They have that great record where. Under Shanahan, where if he makes the playoffs, he's in the NFC title game or he doesn't make the playoffs, that is only. There's only been one result for him.
Tony Kornheiser
When he makes the playoffs, he's made the playoffs, they're in the playoffs, and.
Michael Wilbon
Every time they're in the playoffs, they're in the NFC title game. When Shanahan's their Coach. Okay, so we'll find out this year. So anyway, I'm riding the Niners.
Tony Kornheiser
Here's another one we're going to give you. This is the Sunday night game, I believe. Baltimore, Pittsburgh.
Guest Musician or Singer
Pittsburgh.
Tony Kornheiser
I am surprised by this. Look, Pittsburgh stunk against Cleveland. Yes, I understand that. They were lousy. Baltimore minus three and a half on the road. Yes. They have Derek Henry. He's a great running back. Maybe they have Lamar, maybe they don't. They've won a couple of games, but I'm surprised they're a 3 1/2 point favorite on the road. Are you?
Michael Wilbon
It's a little high, but Boyd at Pittsburgh offense just look anemic.
Tony Kornheiser
Awful.
Michael Wilbon
You know, let me ask you this question.
Tony Kornheiser
And they don't have DK Metcalf again. They don't.
Reginald the Monkey
That's right. Two games.
Michael Wilbon
When the Steelers and Ravens meet next year, will Harbaugh and Tomlin both be the coaches?
Tony Kornheiser
That's interesting. The quarterbacks may not be the quarterbacks either. Will they both be the coaches? I think there's. Yes. I'm going to say yes, they will. What do you say?
Michael Wilbon
I'll take the. No, I don't know which one goes.
Tony Kornheiser
Uh huh.
Michael Wilbon
Right. But I'm, I would, I would take the other side of that. That I'm gonna bet that one of these two just goes somewhere else. Right. It feels like in both cases they're kind of, kind of past their sell by dates with the organization.
Bob Ryan
Right.
Michael Wilbon
Like everybody needs a, you know, everybody's tired of seeing the same shirts in the wardrobe. I don't know. Don't you get that feeling with both these franchises?
Tony Kornheiser
Well, but in, in Tomlin's case, he's going to have a winning season again, a non losing season again because they're nine and seven. I think there's a better chance that Harbaugh goes, but I don't know where. I would have actually thought Harbaugh could have gone to Michigan and said, I'm the sane brother, I'll take the job.
Michael Wilbon
So I don't know, man.
Tony Kornheiser
I think both will get hired. Both will get hired.
Michael Wilbon
I think. Yeah. But I do think the Harbaugh tenure in Michigan is stinkier and stinkier.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, but this is the other. Yeah, okay.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah. Give me the Ravens, man. I will not touch that Pittsburgh team.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. All right. Here are some other games if you want them. Green Bay is plus six and a half at Minnesota. You lost on Green Bay, Baltimore the other day. Green Bay plus six and a half. I guess, I guess Jordan loves not playing. I Guess they're locked in.
Michael Wilbon
They're locked into the seven. Look at their injuries. They lost two more guys in the Baltimore game to season ending injuries. I don't. They're going to put out the entire practice squad.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Michael Wilbon
They're going to be petrified. So that's why that line is what it is.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Michael Wilbon
The only thing Minnesota's no good game for is Malik Willis's free agency tryout.
Tony Kornheiser
Right.
Michael Wilbon
Right. He's going to be the hottest. He's going to be the Sam Darnold of this. I think free agent. I think. I think. I think he'd make a great Dolphin. That in a run first offense he might be the answer. He could be the Jalen hurts like quarterback for the Dolphins under that McDaniel scheme anyway. That's the only reason I could see the packers covering. But I don't want to touch the game.
Tony Kornheiser
You don't want to touch the game. That's fair. That's fair. The Los Angeles Chargers are at Denver. They're getting 11 and a half points in a division game that theoretically has things on the line if Denver loses and New England wins. Yes.
Michael Wilbon
Denver has something on the Denver does.
Bob Ryan
Charger.
Tony Kornheiser
Nothing.
Michael Wilbon
They don't have anything to play for. Right. Other than no. Is it not to. I don't. I'm not doing this to just do a six, seven thing. But I don't know whether it matters much if they're the six or the seven.
Reginald the Monkey
Right.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Michael Wilbon
Right.
Tony Kornheiser
So you don't want to touch it.
Michael Wilbon
I'm passing it sounds like hardball. Somebody knows something there.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Michael Wilbon
Right. They know that Harbaugh's not playing anybody.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. All right. Miami is at New England. New England, the most surprising team in all of football. To me, Miami's getting 11 and a half a division game. Okay. It's at New England. Maybe it'll be cold. It'll be colder than Miami is used to no matter how. But 11 and a half is a tremendous amount of points. Was Quinn Ewers any good? They won a game, didn't they? Didn't they win Miami?
Michael Wilbon
They did and you know they want to run first. I kind of think they're playing for something. I think yours is playing for something. I think McDaniel is playing for something. Not the playoffs, but I think they're playing for relevancy. So that's the one that I'd be willing to entertain because I guess the Patriots are playing for. Do they have to lose to lose the one seed or is it just.
Tony Kornheiser
I thought Denver was the One Denver.
Reginald the Monkey
Needs to lose and the Patriots need to win.
Tony Kornheiser
Is it the same time? I hope they schedule that one o'.
Michael Wilbon
Clock game at the same time.
Reginald the Monkey
They're both 425 stars.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, that's fair. As long as they're both.
Reginald the Monkey
Yeah, you got to do that.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah. So they're putting on. Oh, boy. That means that game's even colder for the Dolphins. Yes, because the sun's already down. Look, it's the only game I would entertain on the. On the list of non entities is the Dolphins covering that huge number.
Tony Kornheiser
I'm giving you the chance to say yay or nay.
Michael Wilbon
I'm going to take it. I'm going to bet my hunch here.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. Miami.
Michael Wilbon
And say that the Dolphins.
Tony Kornheiser
It'll probably be 14 when.
Michael Wilbon
I know.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, let's go to college. This is what we've been waiting for where we got rid of James Madison in Tulane. And you will start with the Miami game. This is a school you followed your whole life. Miami is playing against Ohio State. It's at a bowl. It's not. All these games are neutral site games. That Miami A and M game was one of the worst games. It was torture to sit through until the last three minutes. It's just awful.
Michael Wilbon
I tried being in attendance, but.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, just awful. Yeah, awful. Miami's getting nine and a half. That's a lot. Who you got?
Michael Wilbon
I know. I have. I wear orange and green glasses. I am absolutely biased. I do not understand that spread too hard. There is no good explanation for me. Whatever you think of crystal ball. I know Miami has this reputation that they don't know how to win a big game and they'll choke when it matters. All this stuff. Right. I just. Nine and a half. This is not going to be a two score game. I don't think Ohio State's that much better than Miami. In fact, you know, earlier this year there was a point where there was a serious debate is Miami the best team in the country until they blew that game against Louisville. So I think they physically are the same. But. So nine and a half. Way too much. I think that's a gift. I really do. Again, I know I'm. I know I'm a biased actor in this, but I can't believe that number has stuck at nine and a half.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, Oregon. Which one? It's the third team from the pack from the Big Ten. And the only. It should be the PAC 10. Only team that played last week from the Big Ten. Oregon is at Texas Tech. They are the one team that you would consider to be the underdog. But they are. They are the favorites. They did not get the buy. They are the favorites. Texas Tech. I'm sure there's a lot of people wondering about Texas Tech in the same way that they wonder about Indiana. They wonder, texas Tech, who did they beat? Byu. So what? It's a bad conference for football. What will you do in this one?
Michael Wilbon
So I think this is the, you know, if you look at Oregon, the two, the two times they faced a physical team were Iowa and Indiana, and they lost Indiana and they almost lost to Iowa. I think Texas Tech is, is. Is a, you know, they're built like an SEC team.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay?
Michael Wilbon
Right. They. They went and bought those defensive line. I think this is going to be a slug fest. I think they're tougher than Oregon. I think Texas Tech's going to win. But I don't even have to win, right? They don't have to win for me to win. So give me the points.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay? Alabama is at Indiana. Well, not at Indiana. It's at the Rose Bowl. This is Alabama, Indiana. For the last 50 years, you would have laughed and said, stop, leave me alone. I know, Alabama, 50 years. But Indiana in the last two years has beaten teams. They really have. They got the Heisman Trophy winner. They beat Ohio State. They're the only undefeated team in the country. How much. How many more times are we going to have to say? You have to prove it to us. Although I think you have to prove it in this one because Alabama's Alabama. I'm sorry, Alabama. Alabama getting seven. It's a lot.
Michael Wilbon
So I think we all sleep on Calyn DeBoer. Look, I don't and I don't. I both don't envy the guy. And I also, hey, we all want to have the good problems that he has. You know, we'd all like to succeed Nick Saban. That'd be awesome, right? It means you've got the Alabama job. So, you know, it's not easy. But this dude in playoffs, you know, he was in the fcs. Look what he did at Washington. He strikes me as a good game planner for the team you're playing at the moment. Right. I don't know if he's going to be a great program builder. I don't know if he's going to be the. You know, Nick Saban was also a good politician. And I mean that as a compliment, not as some sort of knock. Meaning. You know, this Tony, you got to be. To be a major to be the coach. Alabama Michigan, Texas. You've got to be a good politician as well as a good coach.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Michael Wilbon
Right. Because of all the donors and all the boosters, all that crap. So I think that's a problem for him. But I don't question the man's abilities inside the sidelines. Right inside on that football field. I like all those points.
Tony Kornheiser
Take Alabama.
Michael Wilbon
I mean, I wouldn't. You take Alabama in points. How could you get Alabama in points?
Tony Kornheiser
I would take Alabama in points, but it would reflect my prejudice that Indiana can't be this good.
Michael Wilbon
What happens if the Big Ten loses all three of their kings in these quarters?
Tony Kornheiser
Then they can shut up when the SEC says, we want more teams than you. But they also could win all three. You know they got three in. I know they got three.
Michael Wilbon
They've got a lot. They've. It. I. I'm obsessed with potential narratives that we could have out of these games. And that's one potential narrative. Right. If both Indian and Ohio State lose.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Michael Wilbon
And they've been one, two all week. And all of a sudden, what it really is, Tony, is that it's a reminder that, can you win in the north in college football? Do you have to be in the Sun Belt to succeed in college football?
Tony Kornheiser
Well, Michigan won a couple of years ago.
Michael Wilbon
I'm not saying. I'm just saying Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana have been exceptions to what has been.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Michael Wilbon
Pretty tried and true rule. Right. And there's one of my favorite maps of all the best high school players in 1980 all came from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Twenty years later, they were all in Florida and Georgia.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Yeah. It's understandable. That's understandable. All right, we got one more game. And this is intersectional, you know, interconference. This is Ole Miss at Georgia. The people at Ole Miss cannot. They're okay now. They won one game. They got Lane Kiffin left, and they still won a game. They played Georgia earlier in the year. They're getting six and a half. Is this in Atlanta? Is this where the.
Michael Wilbon
No.
Tony Kornheiser
Where is this one?
Michael Wilbon
Where's. This is New Orleans, right?
Tony Kornheiser
New Orleans.
Michael Wilbon
This is our Sugar Bowl. We're getting a Sugar Bowl, a Rose bowl, an Orange bowl and a Rose bowl, in case you can. Yeah, I think this is the Sugar Bowl.
Tony Kornheiser
So the Orange bowl is. Which one is Oregon? Texas Tech.
Reginald the Monkey
That's Oregon.
Tony Kornheiser
Texas Tech. Yeah. It's not the cotton with Texas Tech.
Reginald the Monkey
Cotton is Ohio State.
Tony Kornheiser
Ole Miss. Ole Miss plus six and a half against Georgia. I hasten to point this out. The drama of Lane Kiffin has overwhelmed everything else. Ole Miss lost one game, right? They lost one game. That's it.
Michael Wilbon
To the. To the team. To the team we're talking about.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. And then you. Sometimes you get them back. Sometimes you get them back like Georgia did with Alabama. Sometimes you.
Michael Wilbon
Let me. Let me paint another scenario. You know what happens the day after this game?
Tony Kornheiser
No.
Michael Wilbon
The portal opens.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
Michael Wilbon
And half of Ole Miss.
Tony Kornheiser
They're going.
Michael Wilbon
Is going to lsu.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, they're going. Yes. Right.
Michael Wilbon
So I'm buying into the idea that, you know, including the quarterback, by the way. I'm buying into the idea that these guys, they don't care. All dealing with agents who are telling them what the LSU offer looks like.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Michael Wilbon
What's on the table? I. I think, as you said, they won the game that mattered.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Michael Wilbon
You know, and they did that. And Georgia just. That this game gets that. Georgia is like a python, you know, it's. It's a close game at halftime, and then you look up and you're like, oh, Georgia won 31 to 14.
Tony Kornheiser
So you take Georgia. You'll take Georgia. All right. There's a lot of games.
Michael Wilbon
No fun.
Tony Kornheiser
It's, you know, good for you. You've done very well lately. Very well lately.
Reginald the Monkey
Do you want to do any NHL games?
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. You lost. You know what you lost on? You lost on Buffalo. We all would have lost on Buffalo. Yeah, he had.
Michael Wilbon
With real money, Tony on that, too.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, he had the guy open. Yeah, the guy was open. He doesn't miss that.
Michael Wilbon
I allowed myself to get suckered into live betting when that thing was 13. Nothing. I was like, buffalo's winning this game. There's no way they're losing this game. They're going to win this game. So I put more money on just them to win. I didn't even have a spread covering anymore.
Tony Kornheiser
When. When you had. When you saw the. The extra point blocked, you had to want to kill yourself. I mean, absolutely.
Michael
Just.
Tony Kornheiser
So do you.
Michael Wilbon
Do you blame them for going for two?
Tony Kornheiser
No.
Michael Wilbon
You've gone for two.
Tony Kornheiser
No, I don't blame them at all.
Michael Wilbon
It's a crap. The weather's crappy.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Michael Wilbon
You've got a hurt quarterback. You want to get off the field, just win and go home.
Tony Kornheiser
Sure. But they should have won now. They wouldn't have covered because it was one and a half, but they should have won.
Michael Wilbon
A small part of me.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Michael Wilbon
That was hoping they'd kick for the tie and go to overtime, cover the spread another time. But the only people thinking about that are those holding minus three.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, we'll talk to you next week. Good luck. Chuck Todd. Boys and girls, if we gave you just Chuck Todd, it would be more than enough. But we give you a monkey. See the monkey, he's scratching Watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging with Bud Grant Tap, tap, tapping on his purple attach. People can sing along.
Reginald the Monkey
Sometimes he throws poo and he's had.
Michael Wilbon
Too much Johnny Walker Blue.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, so what happened? He had a pretty good week. He was 2 and 1. He's now 19 and 32. He's not gonna make it. But, no, you finished strong. No, you attempt to finish strong. He's got four more weeks of bets.
Reginald the Monkey
It's not here to start the race, it's how you finish it.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. So there you go.
Reginald the Monkey
So I went down.
Tony Kornheiser
Although sometimes if you start and you're 31 lengths behind Secretariat, it's really not how you finish it. That's a very finish.
Reginald the Monkey
And I would like to remind people, if you have not seen that lately, just go look it up on YouTube.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
It's the most astonishing thing you'll ever see. So I went down to the National Zoo. It was a very busy scene down there. Reginald, of course, was setting up for, you know, his big New Year's Eve bash. It's a great time. Very interesting. Some of the guests like to show up a few days early to help set up. Yeah, so I saw Jon Hamm and Dame Judi Dench stringing lights.
Tony Kornheiser
Tremendous.
Reginald the Monkey
Yeah, very happy to be there. Hensley, Bam Bam Mullen stalking the bar.
Tony Kornheiser
So, yeah, that's a name I wouldn't have thought of.
Reginald the Monkey
I don't know if he's working it or if he's a guest. We're going to think he's a guest right now. They wanted to make sure you were still okay with doing the Q and A with the audience, just for two or three hours.
Tony Kornheiser
So I think I'm gonna miss that.
Reginald the Monkey
Okay, well, I'll pass on your condolences. Now, the. Or your aggress, rather. Now, the. The first match we gave him was.
Tony Kornheiser
I don't.
Reginald the Monkey
Did you give this game to.
Tony Kornheiser
I didn't give him a chance. The Washington game. I didn't mention it. I didn't even mention it. Didn't want to put him in that position. Washington getting eight and a half at Philadelphia. Yeah, eight and a half.
Reginald the Monkey
Reginald pulled out as well. This is a very old photograph he showed me of him in a bobsled run with Joe Jacoby, Clint Didier, and the late Great. Joe Bugle.
Tony Kornheiser
So I wouldn't do this. No, I would not take the eight and a half. I would not.
Reginald the Monkey
I think he's thinking that Philly can't move like they've got nothing to play for.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Reginald the Monkey
So maybe Washington. That's.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
Well, anyways, Looking for a cover. Looking for a cover. Now, the next match we gave him was Seattle giving a point and a half at San Francisco. And this was a lovely picture he showed me of him on a cruise down the nile alongside Xavier McDaniel, Ken Griffey Jr. And Steve Largin.
Tony Kornheiser
Apparently, Jim Zorn.
Reginald the Monkey
Jim Zor was supposed to be on.
Tony Kornheiser
The boat, but he got the clothing.
Reginald the Monkey
Had their own colors. Yeah. So he didn't make it, but that tells me he'll take. Yeah, he'll take Seattle and give the one and a half. The next match we gave him was New England at home giving 11 and a half to Miami. So you're a silly monkey. You really shouldn't be taking game for this biggest spread. But he just said, nonsense. And he showed me a very, very old photograph from the newspaper of him plowing the streets of Revere alongside Rico Petrocelli, Phil Esposito and someone who I believe was Whitey Bulger. So that tells me the late.
Tony Kornheiser
The late.
Reginald the Monkey
Late.
Tony Kornheiser
Not the late.
Guest Musician or Singer
Great.
Tony Kornheiser
No, the late. Just the late. The late. I know it's a lot of points. I know Chuck is intrigued and he's rooted for Miami his whole life. And he wants 11 and a half.
Reginald the Monkey
I don't know, because the Patriots playing at the same time, they've got something to play for.
Tony Kornheiser
They have something. And it's whatever the weather is, it's going to be not hospitable for Miami people.
Reginald the Monkey
And he took one more game. Yeah, I was leaving. He said, no, I got one more match. Yes. Ohio State giving nine and a half first to the University of Miami. He showed me a little video of this, must be at least a decade old, of him wing walking on a biplane. You know that Wing walking.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
With Jim Trestle. So tells. Tells me he's got ties to the Buckeye.
Tony Kornheiser
Trestle is now the lieutenant governor of the state, isn't he?
Reginald the Monkey
Maybe Indiana.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, it's not Ohio.
Reginald the Monkey
I'm not sure if it's Ohio, but yeah, because he was blackballed essentially from. Yeah, was show.
Tony Kornheiser
Cause for, like, never would happen now because there are no rules.
Reginald the Monkey
No, no rules.
Tony Kornheiser
There's just absolutely no rules. So. All right, this is great. This week's picks with Chuck Todd and ReginalDamonkey have been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. We will come back with Bob Ryan, the quintessential American sports writer. And I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show. Here's the familiar banjo strain.
Michael Wilbon
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Of Eric DeLong and the Slappy Boys.
Guest Musician or Singer
Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
No, Good, Bad and the ugly.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Yeah. The first song that we played was from a spaghetti western. Ah, we love Eric DeLong and the Slappy Boys. This is called Danielle. It plays in the quintessential American sports writer, Bob Ryan. But Michael, before we get to Bob, if people like Eric DeLong and the Slappy Boys want their original music played on this show, how do they go about it?
Michael
Send us your music by emailing it to jingles Tony koenizershow.com All right, Bob Ryan joins us.
Tony Kornheiser
And there's a number of localized Boston New England stories to talk about. And the overwhelming one to me is the Patriots turnaround. I mean, I understand that you're a basketball and baseball guy first and even hockey probably over football to a degree, but you've lived in Boston for an awfully long time. They went 4 and 13 and then 4 and 13 two years in a row with two different coaches. They bring in an alum, they bring in Mike Vrabel and they're like 97 and 2. I mean, have you, have you ever seen a turnaround like this?
Bob Ryan
Not locally at all, no. Although this league, as you know, is notorious for big one season turnarounds.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Bob Ryan
They keep track every year of how many teams made the playoffs that didn't make the playoffs last year. It's multiple, but in our case, the doom and gloom after Belichick last year was horrible. Gerard Mayo was totally in over his head. He was not qualified to coach this team.
Guest Musician or Singer
So.
Bob Ryan
And then they pulled the plug on him. And getting brable was, was, was this, you know, it was, it was a dream. He has transformed, you know, the attitude there. And that's number one. But number two, you've got to have a quarterback. And let's give them credit for drafting Elliot Wolf. The one name that is not getting enough credit for this turnaround is Elliott Wolf. He's not general manager, but director of player personnel. But it's the drafting of, of Drake. Drake may a couple years, but. And then last year there were a lot of important new players brought under this team that have had roles in all this. So he gets credit too. But it's. Everybody gets a little credit here. The big narrative before the season, Tony, was, oh, look at that. Easy schedule. And guess what? They took full advantage of it. No apologies necessary.
Michael Wilbon
You're not.
Bob Ryan
You don't make out the schedule. That's the way you do it. You stink. And they reward you with a cushy schedule. And they took total advantage of it. And you have to give him credit for that.
Tony Kornheiser
So I would give Vrabel a lot of credit, and I would probably vote for Vrabel for coach of the year over Liam Cohn in Jacksonville and over Ben Johnson in Chicago, both of whom are deserving as well. But I had written down. Is the general manager the same. Is the guy sitting in the general manager spot. Has he been there longer than Vraebl? Because if he has, he's got to get a lot of credit, as you're saying, for bringing players in. It's. It's not just coaching. You have to have talent. Right?
Bob Ryan
No. Right. And I. That is the case that he drafted May. Variable was elsewhere. Yeah. You always have choices. I mean, we've gone through this historically about that. When they drafted Bledsoe, there was another possibility, you know, so.
Guest Musician or Singer
So.
Bob Ryan
It'S such a given. Drake May is a legitimate MVP candidate. Here we go. And that there's others. And if he doesn't win, they'll be weeping and wailing around here. But the fact is that he's had a. He's having a tremendous year.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. You mentioned Belichick earlier. How many people in New England, what do they think of Belichick now with the North Carolina thing and being in the news all the time with the young woman that he's. What do they think of Belichick?
Bob Ryan
Well, to borrow a phrase, that predates all of us. No fool. Like an old fool. I think that's the general.
Tony Kornheiser
I think.
Bob Ryan
No, seriously, that's the general attitude.
Michael Wilbon
People.
Bob Ryan
Our society frowns on those. Let's see, this May, December. What is this? November and February, what is this? Whatever it is, those kind of relationships are not well thought of in our society. Let's be honest. People think, what's the matter with him? What does she get? What does she. You know, and then from the other side, they look at it and you know, and they start thinking, oh, well, you know, she's cashing in, you know, or whatever. I mean, all these thoughts are run. People are not. They don't think, oh, isn't that cute? No, people are not saying isn't that cute? They're saying it's ridiculous. That's what they're saying.
Tony Kornheiser
That's what I would think. And here's a guy, you know, he's the greatest pro football coach of all time. And that just seems foolish. It leads me to this question. It's a sort of an open ended question. We always. I don't know who started this. I don't know who started statues in front of gyms. I don't. But it's a bad. To me, it's a very bad idea. These statues. Where are you on statues of coaches and players and owners? Where are you on statues? I'm kind of neutral.
Bob Ryan
You know, we have our share down at the Boston Garden. You've got, you've got Bobby or going through the air, you've got Bird. So we're certainly not immune from this. And la, you know, you go, they got your statues. I rhapsodized about the Stan musil statue in St. Louis over the over time, if only for the inscription. But I'm, I'm not, I'm okay, I'm at least at the worst, I'm ambivalent and I'm not, I'm not an anti.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I think I've run into anti. Because I have this fear that at some point in front of Madison Square Garden there'll be a statue to Carmelo Anthony. I go, what, what do you. You know, I mean that it's gonna seep down to a level where you go, really? This guy really?
Bob Ryan
Well, you need some. Obviously you need proper judgment. I mean, I.
Tony Kornheiser
Isn't there 1 in LA of Oscar de La Hoya? You know, and I just thought, yeah, is that, is that worthy? I don't know. And then sometimes there's an owner. I don't know that I would put a statue to an owner. Would you?
Bob Ryan
No, no, no. Obviously you got to have a degree of common sense here and, and, but you know, certain people do mean a lot. Like, I mean, I referenced the Stan Musial one.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Bob Ryan
Specifically because there were no. There was no. Yeah. But the one thing you might have to worry about is if somebody goes around and besmirches their image. But now of course you can take care of that by making sure that they're deceased. But anyway, I do reference the Stan usual one, because he was baseball's perfect night, as the inscription says, and he was properly revered in St. Louis, believe me.
Tony Kornheiser
And that's okay. I mean, I'm better with the thing the Yankees do. Not statues, but little, you know, headstones and stuff. I'm better with that. I'm better with that. Oscar De La Hoya is. Yeah, he's got one out in front of the four.
Bob Ryan
I didn't know that.
Michael Wilbon
Okay.
Tony Kornheiser
He's a great fighter, but you know, Oscar De La Stop. By the way, Celtics are better than I thought they would be, aren't they? They're better.
Bob Ryan
Yes, they are.
Tony Kornheiser
How do you explain that?
Bob Ryan
Okay, my thought before the season. I say here's the parameter of wins and losses for them. A low of 37 and a high of 45. 37 things aren't going all that well. 45 things are going very well. They're on their way to that 45 plus. Yeah, they are playing a little bit better than people thought for sure. One reason Jaylen Brown is having a spectacular year. He's having one of the best years of individually of any team in the NBA this year. He's answered questions about in the whether in the absence of Jason Tatum, he can step up and be a number one. He can be a leader, he can be a go to guy. He can be the guy that will withstand the double teams. He can be the guy who can deliver the goods in the fourth quarter. He can do all that. He's done it all so far. He's on the roll now as he enters the game tonight. Nine straight games, 30 points or more. Only one so ever done that and that's Larry Bird. He is. He's done all the things that you would want a leader to do. And so we give him credit. He certainly, you know, you give him credit. But beyond that, Peyton Pritchard took a little bit of a while to relate to adjust to the role of not being an undersized shooting guard only, but being a playmaker and a shooting guard. And after a little bit of a rocky start shooting, he settled into that role very, very well. He's doing both jobs and that's very important. They, they're, they're and, but they are a proposal. They got people on edge here because Joe Missoula is a high priest of the three pointer and, and when they're going in, they look great. When they aren't going in, they, you know, they look embarrassingly bad. And, and he's not going to change that thing. So that's the, you know, they don't have a real viable plan B offensively, defensively, they, they're not bad. They're better than we thought they're going to be. Now one other one ingredient they have that's helped them lately two young men have been their energy has fueled them. One is Jordan Walsh who's a third year guy and six, five, six and a very, very aggressive. And the other is a very interesting story. I'm very excited about this kid Ugo. It's spelled H U G O but you pronounce it Ugo. He's a Spaniard. He's, he's just, he's 20 years old and 19, excuse me. And he's 6, 7 and he plays hard. He, he, he loves people. He, he, he, he is absolutely a force. So they're very happy to have these two kids. They've really been a factor.
Tony Kornheiser
One of the great changes in basketball over the years that Bob Bryant and I have watched basketball in the NBA is the influence and often dominance of foreign born players. When you talk about Jaylen Brown having a good year, the guy having the best year is Nikola Jokic. We are taping this at 8:15 in the morning and there is, you know, he's going to have an MRI on a knee. If this is bad, they're doomed. Right? I mean he's the best player in basketball, right?
Bob Ryan
Yes. His numbers are irrefutable and remarkable. You know, it's come to this and I go down to. This is a tribute to the late Boris Dankovich because He dragged the USA kicking and screaming into the 1992 Olympics and that's what happened. People don't understand. That's how it took about. And that helped the globalization of basketball. But here's what it's come to, Tony. We are now having. You can have a legitimate debate. Have it on your show. A debate that would have been unimaginable well 20 years ago, 10 years ago and that is. Okay, who's the best American player? Think about that. That's. Well, see, think about that. We have a. Well in a run of MVPs of foreign born players.
Tony Kornheiser
Foreign born. Yeah.
Bob Ryan
And we're going to have another one this year. All right. And more than likely. And point is who's the best American player? That's an amazing concept. I don't think people talk about it enough. So you know, I mean right now is it sga? I don't know. We can argue that but.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, he's Canadian.
Bob Ryan
Oh no. He's Canadian.
Tony Kornheiser
He's Canadian.
Bob Ryan
So no thing I love about okc, they have an all Canadian backcourt. Is the reigning champion because Lou Dort is Lou Dort. People have no idea. He's from Montreal. His name is Lou Gwenz. L U G U E N Z Dort. His parents are Haitian immigrants. Immigrants to Canada. So, yeah, even there, the best teams, if they are the best team this year, they got an all Canadian backlog.
Tony Kornheiser
That's two years from now. It could be Cooper Flag two years from now. But not now. It's not.
Bob Ryan
No, no, not yet. But you're right that he's on. That's the projection that it should be Cooper Flag.
Tony Kornheiser
By the way, we mentioned this at the beginning of the show and get your immediate thoughts on it. Today, the same day the following people have birthdays. Tiger woods, Sandy Koufax, LeBron James. Can you imagine a better birthday day than this?
Bob Ryan
I have, Tony. I have been over all over this for 15 to 20 years. Okay. Really spotted this. Oh, absolutely. It's one of my.
Tony Kornheiser
I got to get to it today. Yeah, I got to it today and.
Bob Ryan
All over this 15 or 20 years. I'm not a believer in, you know, astrology, but. But I'd like to hear from astrologists on this. Seriously, you guys, you should go get an astrologist and see if they will tell you about this. I'm very, very serious. I think it'd be fun to find out what they would say. You know, this is remarkable. And I've been all over this for many, many years. Yes. December 30th is incredible.
Michael Wilbon
Birthday.
Bob Ryan
Yeah.
Reginald the Monkey
I have one other name. He's slightly tarnished, but you. This is one of your great moments, Tony.
Tony Kornheiser
Ben Johnson. Oh, yeah. Ben Johnson is the single greatest event I ever went to. Bobby, what's the single greatest event? I would say that Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, given all that it meant and, you know, and given what I was doing at the time for the Washington Post, that's the number one for me. What's not to have a number one?
Bob Ryan
That's right. Well, that's very interesting. You know, I think the most now, this is the most. The event that it shook its own little world because the team in question was so invincible at that moment. And the other team had modest credentials. That is Villanova over Georgetown.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Bob Ryan
Villanova had lost 10 games. I had seen them lose to BC and home. They were beaten by 30 points in the NCAA, in the big east tournament, I believe by Pitt. And then you get to that night in Lexington in 1985. That, that, that's very, very high at the top of my personal list now, you know, you know, my two. I call foundation sports. The sports that I grew up with most were. Were Major League baseball and college basketball. And so college basketball has always meant a lot to me.
Tony Kornheiser
I was at that game too. Yeah, well, Everybody was at that game. Yeah, Georgetown, Villanova.
Michael Wilbon
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
So speaking of which, the sort of reminiscences of, of one's career, what are you and Dan Shaughnessy doing? Are you. You have, I'm told you have a YouTube show. A YouTube show?
Bob Ryan
No, no. We were guests on a YouTube show with our. With Bob Lobel and Mike lynch to Boston. You know, sports casting. You know, I hate that word legend, but you know, notables, luminaries. I like that word. And they're retired, but they do. From their regular duties, but they, they do a podcast and we were privileged to be on this podcast as they were talking about, you know, historical relevant remembrances and so forth. And of course, Boston is, is loaded. We're very blessed. Not just in the 21st century, where we reign supreme, as you well know, most championships, the first team, the city to get all four, et cetera, et cetera. But historically, you know, we win every historical argument. You know that baseball, first major league, was in the national association in 1871. We were a charter member. The National League was founded in 1876. We were a charter member. American League was founded in 20. 1901. We were a charter member. The NHL was founded in the early 20s. We were there. And in 1946 when the BAA came in, the forerunner of the NBA, we were a charter member. So we blow the field away with history.
Tony Kornheiser
So when people. Are these people influencers? I'm trying to learn this term influencers because according to Wilbur, if you're an influencer, you make millions of dollars and people come to you with products all the time and ask you to just put them on the set where you do your influencing. And I don't. It's so unbelievable to me. I can't believe it's true. But have you thought about becoming an influencer?
Bob Ryan
No, I have not. I know they're out there. I know that. I'm waiting. But you know, my. I'm not. I'm not hiding anywhere. If somebody wants to come to me, I'll tell you that, but, you know, they can find me. But no, that's a whole world. There's many things going on that are. That are way over my head, and that's certainly one of them.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I don't. I mean, whenever Wilbond tells me how much money is out there, I go, how can there be any money for this? How can there be any money?
Bob Ryan
I know. I mean, you read, you read things. I read. You know, I'm an assessment reader and I read things all the time. And I'm saying, you know, I just, I can't remote. I just don't relate. You know, you have to accept the fact that the world's going on and you're certain agent and, and you know, you're not part, you're not part of that. And I'm not.
Tony Kornheiser
That is, that's the spine of this show. What I don't understand and why are you doing this to me? I just got through with the, with the stuff about taxes, paying taxes electronically. I don't want to do that. I want to write you a check. Stop.
Bob Ryan
So anyway, I'll give you another, you know, this very simple example. My wife and I, we refuse to do self checkout.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I don't do it either.
Bob Ryan
It's, you know, it's taken someone's job. No, no, I won't do it. And so that's our little, you know.
Tony Kornheiser
No, I wait. I wait at the supermarket with my five items behind somebody with enough food for six months. And I wait because I'm not doing self checkout.
Bob Ryan
I'll tell you the last last couple of times and within the last couple weeks that I have been to supermarket on that, you know, Bob, would you go get one of those? Okay, I did. And somebody has been nice enough to, to say you only got that here. You step in front nice people. That's what you should do. It's what I do. But you know, you know that a lot of people don't do that.
Tony Kornheiser
No, they see me coming, they say get to the end of the line. Get to the end of the line. All right, it's a pleasure to talk with you. Thank Bobby. Thank you.
Bob Ryan
Thanks for having me. Always, Tone. Bye bye.
Tony Kornheiser
Bob Ryan, boys and girls, the quintessential American sports writer. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.
Guest Musician or Singer
Here comes Tony's mail back. Got email faxes and you know, here comes dummy.
Tony Kornheiser
It's an all Eric DeLong and the slappy Boys day. To all the music is a good day. All the music is. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel ad?
Reginald the Monkey
Yes, Bethesda bagels, we love them. You will as well just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you.
Tony Kornheiser
Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled. Last week you brought the little mini bagels. Those were pretty good because they were hot.
Reginald the Monkey
Let me see if I can get those tomorrow.
Tony Kornheiser
Those were pretty, pretty Good.
Michael Wilbon
All right.
Tony Kornheiser
Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say I can't get through this. There are places I'll remember all my life Though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain all these places had their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall Some are dead and some are living in my life I've loved them all. Yeah, I did. I tried to get through this yesterday and I couldn't. Today is a little bit easier. Those are the Beatles. That's John's song. Everybody knows that in my life. It's a wonderful song. Thanks to our guests today, Chuck Todd and Bob Ryan. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify or to see if get show through Apple. Please leave us a review. So from Jordan Shantz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, formerly of Lindenhurst, New York, which you know. Well, I know Lindenhurst, New York. Harrisburg. I know where it is, too. I mean, I drive through Harrisburg on the way to Binghamton all the time on 81. Hey, Tony. Heard a mention of Peter Goldstein, Levittown division class of 79, on Monday's show. Wonder if he knew my aunt or uncle Karen or Michael Gerlach or less likely because she was a little bit older, my mother, class of 73, Ellen Gerlach. I'll hang up and listen. Well, how. Wait, you're not asking me if I know them. You're asking me if someone who was mentioned on this show who I don't know might know your aunt and uncle. Really? Really, Jordan. Describe it that way. Wow. From Jess Cordy. I'm the nephew of the late, great Tommy Nobis. I've communicated through several different ways with the NFL trying to get attention to Tommy Nobis being inducted into the hall of Fame. After several years of communicating that I believe his stats are worthy of being inducted into the hall of Fame. I've never heard back from anyone and I had. Parenthetically, this is a surprise to you. I'm going to start communicating with you, with me, Tony, in hopes that maybe you can help get Tommy Nobis inducted into the Pro Football hall of Fame. If you just look at his stats, you would clearly see he's definitely a Hall of Famer. The Atlanta Falcons, first draft pick ever, Mr. Falcon, number one pick from 1961, one from the University of Texas. His stats are just behind Dick Butkust. He never played for. He never played. Just never played for in a championship situation. Please, sir, just look at his statistics and his short career and see what you think about him being inducted into the hall of Fame. I will contact you every year until I get my uncle into the hall of Fame.
Reginald the Monkey
Feels like a threat.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I remember Tommy Nobis. I remember him at Texas. I remember him with the Falcons. I I was surprised I automatically said he was in the hall of Fame. Maybe when you said short career, maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know how long he played, but I thought he was a great, great player. But don't, don't come back to me all the time. I have no influence with the NFL. Nothing we can do From Steve the Sycophant Various emails about the wonderfulness or awfulness of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas took me back to the early and mid-70s when I resided in that area. One difference became very obvious on Saturday nights as the Missouri side closed up tight at midnight, while on the Kansas side you could keep drinking until 2am Sundays. The Missouri side shutdown continued while the Kansas side shopping centers did a booming business. Eventually the merchants in Missouri screamed loudly enough to get the law changed. Driving on State Line Road required some concentration. If you were driving south in Missouri, a right turn on red was legal. Driving north in Kansas it was not. Plus, there was the intersection where four counties and two states came together. Trying to figure out who had jurisdiction after an accident could be really fun. The good old days from our friend Patrick Sitter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The real reason Wilbourne is rooting for Buffalo in the AFC is because he thinks Buffalo's in the Midwest. Yes, he does. He does. As a Doctor of Letters, you're fully conversant with the many oxymorons we use and accept without acknowledging the irony. Jumbo shrimp, deafening silence, guest host, open secret, unbiased opinion, business ethics. None of those is as rare. As surprising as the one that has appeared on two straight Monday podcast Happy Wilbond. Yes, Happy Wilbond. Very happy. From shad batteries plus rain equals electrocution it's 50 50. So what's going to happen to me, you know, if I have that hand warmer? Alan Gerard, Norman, Oklahoma Hearing Mr. Tony's description of the dry ice balls he dealt with at Columbia, wanted to write in and say that I'm pretty sure he is describing what meteorologists called Graupel G R A U P E L or soft tail. Maybe it's gropel grapple groping opal. It is different from sleep in that it has a coating of rime ice around the pellet, which is why it seemed drier than sleet. Yes, totally dry. Sleet forms when raindrops are partially melted snowflakes Refreeze does not have that rhyme coating. As a meteorologist who has to deal with all sorts of weird vocabulary, grapple is also my favorite meteorological term just because of how unique the word looks and sounds. It's German in origin and comes from their word for pearl barley, which grapple resembles. Yes, it looked exactly like barley. It's also some sometimes called harmony hail because it resembles hominy information for life. That's a really good email. Thank you to Alan Gerard in Norman, Oklahoma. Carl Lawback in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. While I was the only one, was I the only one having a flashback to the battery operated toothbrush debacle? The new battery operated hand warmer will need to have the batteries removed and charged and returned to the hand warmer for them to function properly. Yes, I know how to do that. I was taught how to do that. Okay, good. So I just can't send my taxes in electronically. I can do this. Perhaps Michael can explain or ask the Google machine. No, I know how to do it. Carla Corrado, who we love in Columbus, Ohio, demonstrating that you're a man of the people, I was touched by your lament for the disenfranchised who with no accounting professional to electronically submit their tax returns, will suffer fines because they cannot post through the mail. And your additional concern for AOL users without tech support as they transition to another email server reminded me how deeply you care about the underserved. However, those considerations were underscored as you juxtapose the empathy with a story about borrowing shop credit at your country club to purchase the game changing hand warming muffler recommended by Chris Lemon, the fine golfer who grew up at Columbia. Man of the people meets man who has an entire golf course of himself. Yes, Carla, yes. Yes, guilty. Guilty as charged. Guilty as charged. John Goldblum, who writes us occasionally as a doc. Although I hear you read read many numerous invitations to weddings on the show, I'm sure you've never been to or attend one of these events. Regardless, it makes me feel better to invite you to my daughter Jonavie's wedding to Zach Lumber Zack, as he is known in our family. You know many of the invitees, some of whom have either been on your show or at least mentioned on occasion, including niece Morgan Pressell, cousin Aaron Crickstein, and cousin Jeff Goldblum, wise cousin. Wow. Wow.
Reginald the Monkey
That one we may want to go to.
Tony Kornheiser
You know we need you. We need you. My wife asmita is Indian and we have raised. Raised 4 combination of Hindus and Jews. Hindus, Hindus, that's what he writes. All of whom have had or will have both traditional and Indian ceremonies in the same weekend. Wow. So between the salmon and the curry, I truly believe you would enjoy yourself. Take the weekend to think about it. In the meantime, I'll place you next to Morgan and myself for the table seatings. Isn't that nice? He's Chairman of Pathology at the Cleveland Clinic.
Reginald the Monkey
That's really nice.
Tony Kornheiser
From Beechwood, Ohio, which reminds of Beechwood 45789. You can call me up and have a date anytime.
Reginald the Monkey
Marvelettes, right?
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Brett Hobbs, Linton, Indiana I wanted to let you know that your rant on Apple forcing an update and causing pain in your life was resonating through the digital world. I listened to another podcast called Daily Tech and the hosts of the show related their Christmas visits to families that involve family members begging them for help fixing their Apple phones after the update caused their digital life to be far from what they expected. So Tony, you're not alone in your misery. So rant on and maybe, but I doubt it. Apple will learn that people like their status quo. And he wishes us all happiness and health in the new year. Yeah, good.
Reginald the Monkey
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Because I didn't ask for this and I'm never getting it back. I don't. I need Michael. Come home. All is forgiven. Help me Stephen Benbrook, who's the owner of Zions Gate Records. After wanting to write into the show many times over the years, an incident finally compelled me. I absolutely must share this quick story for the enjoyment of all involved with the stinky show.
Guest Musician or Singer
Show.
Tony Kornheiser
It's Christmas Eve. I'm working in my record store in Seattle. A father son duo are clearly doing some last minute Christmas shopping for what I can only assume is his sister. And the son walks up to the counter and asks me, do you have any post sex nachos? My first reaction was stunned silence and I was asking myself is this person messing with me? Do they know I'm a little. After collecting my wits, I said to them are you from the Midwest? And he says yes. And I say does she listen to any sports podcasts? Of course, the next logical question and he replies don't think so. At this point I realize his sister from is from Ohio. Simply a fan. Has probably seen them on tour in the Midwest. Absolutely made my day. Shout out to some random fan in Ohio for putting post sex nachos vinyl on the Christmas list. Had to share. Been an honor and privilege growing old with you. So that's very, very nice. Steve from Fairfield, Connecticut. Love you guys on the podcast, but must have to stop you at microwave bacon. Come on, Tony. Nothing like rendering it, then using the fat to flavor others like French toast and eggs. Just serving. Just saying. From a chef. And can I be the official chef of the podcast? But I want to be knighted by you if I do. Yeah. So he's. He's saying, don't do that. Don't do the microwave.
Reginald the Monkey
Two fields of thought on that.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, but he's, you know, Michael does diamond, please. Yeah. John and Herndon. I'm in a real quandary. We just bought my son, our only child, a Subaru Forester. Neither I nor the woman related to me by marriage has ever had a Subaru. Subaru. Since you're a doctor and an expert on Subarus, I have a few questions. Does this mean we love our son more than we love ourselves? Have we made the wrong choice? Should we return the car?
Guest Musician or Singer
Which?
Tony Kornheiser
Return the car.
Reginald the Monkey
Turn the car.
Tony Kornheiser
Return the car.
Reginald the Monkey
Do it today.
Tony Kornheiser
Rafi Zach in Hollis, New Hampshire, but formerly a Great Neck, New York, when you said that a certain email by Larry Sanders couldn't be that Larry Sanders, I wanted to make a correction. For the record, while former Milwaukee Bucks player Larry Sanders has been on and off the court over the years, he did most recently play for the Taiwan Taiwan Beer Leopards. And he's only 37 years old, so it's quite feasible that he was the one to write you. But that's not who I was talking. Don't think it was him at the Larry Sanders.
Michael Wilbon
Shit.
Guest Musician or Singer
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Larry Sanders Will Jr. In Keensburg, New Jersey, as me and my family sat down to watch the packers and Ravens game, I muttered, let's watch the backup bowl. My wife mentioned there's a lot of that this week, and she was absolutely right. When all is said and done, there will be 11 backup quarterbacks playing Brissette, Brosmer, Cook, Cousins, Ewers, Huntley, Johnson, Olidoken, Rivers, Sanders, Shuff or Shuck and Willis. Now that has to be a record, future trivia questions, and possibly a Dan Burns song. He's just put it in his head. I can hear it now. One of the craziest things I've ever seen. 11 backup quarterbacks starting in week 17.
Michael Wilbon
Wow.
Reginald the Monkey
I did not know that.
Tony Kornheiser
No, neither did I. And Rich Barajas in El Paso, Texas, who writes us off, and I absolutely agree with Michael at the PGA Tour, cannot just welcome back Brooks Koepka with open arms. Now that he's less left live. He made his choice. There needs to be ramifications of that choice. Having said that, if my high school girlfriend who broke my heart and dumped me 25 years ago wants to get a hold of me, I will not hesitate to get a burner phone that my wife will not know so that we can reconnect. You're out on your bike tonight. As always, everyone do wear white. Come on now. That means everybody just cool out, will you cool out, everybody?
Guest Musician or Singer
Sam. I was good. Left for dead. Stand by my brother on the sho. In the devil he would raise me I learn his evil way oh good Lord, please forgive me oh I never had a chance. I went down to the bank one day and I told them to raise them high or die Put the money in the bag. You get in the bag and that's last they did I ever even really ever choice my friend when the devil demean called me his skin oh I knew my fate was ill. When I roll down past the willow with my pockets pain and free. Even really have a choice my friend Raised by the devil in the blood red meadow I know my fate is. He came on me with open hand and said this is the day you.
Michael Wilbon
My fate is here.
Guest Musician or Singer
She'll put you in a spell she'll be sitting she be fine champagne and looking fine as hell Danielle Daniel Daniel. Well, she'll dance around your head in shades of golden green well, she's going to break your heart one day head back to New Orleans Danielle Daniel. Daniel. Well, she clearly was the right one and I knew swear she greatest things in D Jo that come from Long island maybe you could spot us and on the amount she can play you violin maybe some sweet ji. Daniel. Daniel. And you oh, you miss her but it'll never be for long. In a haze of weed and liquor you'll look up and she'll be gone Farewell, farewell Daniel. Well, she clearly was a cry one and I knew greatest thing since Billy Joe that come from Long Island I hope D When she ain't around well, nothing's fine as hell Danielle Daniel. Daniel. Danielle. Daniel. Daniel.
This episode weaves through Tony Kornheiser’s signature mix of sports talk, nostalgia, playful banter, and reflections on modern annoyances. The main themes include the aging of sports legends (with milestone birthdays for Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Sandy Koufax), the NFL playoff picture, the growing pains of technology in everyday life (especially for older Americans), observations on government processes, and the rituals and foibles of sports fandom. Regulars Michael Wilbon, Bob Ryan, and Chuck Todd participate, with highlight segments on golf (especially Tiger Woods’s future), the NFL/CFB playoff races, and classic debates about sports culture and generational gaps.
Timestamps: 02:05 – 04:09
Timestamps: 04:09 – 09:11
Rams’ Troubles: Tony admits his preseason pick of the LA Rams is looking shaky after odd losses.
Kirk Cousins & Falcons Rant: Tony excoriates the Falcons' management for sabotaging Cousins with the Michael Penix pick.
Playoff Scenarios: Confusion reigns over NFC South and wild card tiebreakers—standings are unclear even to seasoned veterans.
Timestamps: 09:11 – 15:53
Listener Email: Glenn Winters draws a parallel between Kornheiser’s reluctance to file taxes online and reluctance to adopt new music composition software.
Tony’s Riff:
Banter: Michael Wilbon concedes Tony’s point—if a clear notice was given, adoption would be fairer.
Timestamps: 15:53 – 16:37
Timestamps: 16:37 – 17:44
Timestamps: 18:29 – 38:43
Timestamps: 37:43 – 41:19
Timestamps: 17:44, 41:49, closing minutes
Timestamps: 42:11 – 60:13
Timestamps: 60:27 – End
The episode features Tony at his most classic: irascible yet sentimental, mixing sharp sports insight, cultural commentary, and lighthearted gripes about the pace of technological change. His rapport with Wilbon, Ryan, Todd, Reginald the Monkey, and the music choices keep the tone lively, unpredictable, and endearing—offering plenty for sports fans and lifelong Littles alike.