“Junior”

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Tony Kornheiser Show – Episode “Junior”
Release Date: March 17, 2025

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Introduction

In the March 17, 2025 episode titled “Junior” of The Tony Kornheiser Show, host Tony Kornheiser delves deep into the excitement of March Madness, engaging in fervent bracket discussions with regular guests Bob Ryan and Spike Braun. The episode not only captures the competitive spirit of college basketball but also pays a heartfelt tribute to the late sports journalist John Feinstein. Throughout the episode, listeners are treated to expert analyses, personal anecdotes, and lively debates, making it a must-listen for sports enthusiasts and loyal fans alike.

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March Madness Bracket Challenge

Timestamp: 01:21 – 15:40

The episode kicks off with Tony Kornheiser and Bob Ryan diving into their March Madness bracket predictions. The duo engages in a spirited exchange, highlighting their differing analytical approaches and personal biases.

• Bob Ryan’s Picks: Ryan emphasizes upsets starting from the 4 vs. 13 seed matchup, showcasing his selection of Liberty over Oregon (12 vs. 5) and High Point over Purdue (13 vs. 4). He praises High Point’s strategic use of bench players, noting, “Their coach, Allen Huss, has utilized his bench to a degree that is almost unknown, unheard of in high-level college basketball” (04:22).

• Tony Kornheiser’s Stance: Tony opts for the traditional top-seeded teams, including Duke, Arizona, and Wisconsin, expressing skepticism about deep-running upsets. He states, “We can’t look at this anymore” (01:21), underscoring his belief in the dominance of higher seeds.

• Notable Quote: “I have a connection with High Point University... they truly play 10,” – Bob Ryan (04:22)

As the discussion progresses, both hosts outline their Final Four predictions, with Ryan banking on a chalky Final Four featuring Duke, Alabama, Houston, and Tennessee. Tony, on the other hand, aligns closely with Ryan but introduces slight variations, reflecting his unique perspective.

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Tribute to John Feinstein

Timestamp: 21:56 – 36:43

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to honoring John Feinstein, a revered sports journalist known for his incisive reporting and larger-than-life personality. Michael Wilbon joins Tony to share personal stories and reflections on Feinstein’s impact.

• Personal Anecdotes: Michael reminisces about Feinstein’s unwavering dedication, describing him as “a person given to excess” who was “excessively loud, being excessively belligerent, sometimes excessively kind” (26:17). Both hosts highlight Feinstein’s unparalleled knowledge in sports, particularly college basketball and tennis.

• Impact on Colleagues: The discussion reveals Feinstein’s complex relationships with his peers, characterized by intense collaborations and occasional conflicts. Michael notes, “When you have great success, you get treated like 90/10” (28:33), emphasizing how Feinstein’s success influenced his interactions within the sports journalism community.

• Notable Quote: “Junior had an extraordinary ability to get with the right people, and the right people would talk to him,” – Tony Kornheiser (28:25)

The tribute underscores Feinstein’s legacy, portraying him as a formidable figure whose contributions left an indelible mark on sports journalism. The hosts express their admiration and loss, concluding this segment with heartfelt sentiments.

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Additional Guest: Spike Braun

Timestamp: 43:26 – 54:01

In the latter half of the episode, Spike Braun joins the conversation to participate in the ongoing bracket challenge. Spike, a two-time champion of the bracket challenge, shares his predictions and engages in friendly banter with Tony.

• Bracket Picks: Spike employs a mix of traditional picks and strategic upsets, attempting to balance personal loyalty with analytical choices. For instance, he supports Auburn over Georgia despite personal biases, stating, “I'm trying to win this for the third time” (53:22).

• Competitive Spirit: The interaction between Tony and Spike is marked by playful competitiveness, with Spike defending his choices and Tony offering encouragement. Their dynamic adds an entertaining layer to the bracket discussions.

• Notable Quote: “I can't stand Bruce Pearl. I can't stand almost every player on their team,” – Spike Braun (53:22)

Spike’s participation revitalizes the bracket challenge segment, showcasing the diverse perspectives of the show’s guests and enhancing the episode’s interactive nature.

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Listener Emails and Stories

Timestamp: 65:52 – 71:15

Towards the end of the episode, Tony Kornheiser reads and responds to heartfelt emails from listeners, adding a personal touch to the show.

• Fan Testimonials: Listeners share their experiences of how the show has been a bonding activity with family members. One listener, Faith Courville from Texas, recounts how the podcast became a meaningful connection between her and her father during long drives: “The Tony Kornheiser show is a soundtrack of some of my favorite memories and experiences with my dad” (29:02).

• Community Engagement: The segment highlights the show's role in creating lasting memories and fostering a sense of community among its audience. Listeners appreciate the relatable content and the hosts’ authentic engagement.

• Notable Story: Faith’s emotional reflection on transitioning to college while being supported by the podcast underscores the show's impact beyond sports, touching on personal and familial bonds.

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Conclusion

The “Junior” episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show masterfully blends the thrill of March Madness bracket predictions with a touching tribute to the late John Feinstein. Through engaging discussions with regular guests and meaningful listener interactions, Tony Kornheiser delivers an episode rich in sports analysis, personal storytelling, and community connection. Whether you’re a die-hard basketball fan or a casual listener, this episode offers a comprehensive and heartfelt exploration of the passions that drive sports and the individuals who shape its narrative.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Bob Ryan: “Their coach, Allen Huss, has utilized his bench to a degree that is almost unknown, unheard of in high-level college basketball” (04:22)
• Tony Kornheiser: “We can't look at this anymore” (01:21)
• Tony Kornheiser: “Junior had an extraordinary ability to get with the right people, and the right people would talk to him” (28:25)
• Spike Braun: “I can't stand Bruce Pearl. I can't stand almost every player on their team” (53:22)
• Faith Courville: “The Tony Kornheiser show is a soundtrack of some of my favorite memories and experiences with my dad” (29:02)

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Note: Timestamps reference the approximate location in the provided transcript where the quotes occur.

Transcript

[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.

[Bob Ryan]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Bob Ryan]

On the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's a phrase that makeup people use which is to warm you up. And that is to use a certain kind of color that makes you look healthy and makes you look unpale. And yet it doesn't work for me. And I awful and someone. And I'm amazed that this hasn't happened. I'm amazed that someone in a position of authority wherever I work doesn't say, get him off the air. We just can't look at this anymore. We can't. And yet I went back yesterday and you know, and I did it again. You know I did it again. So what are you going for today? Today's look, Tony.

[Bob Ryan]

Juan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. It's all true. It's all true. Okay, this is. This is our special three day blitzkrieg of college basketball picking. This is what we do. We get our friends on. They pick the brackets. We don't do traditional opens. We don't do any of that stuff. We don't do it. Okay? And if we did it, I would go on and on about the Stupidity of not playing a playoff yesterday between spawn and. And McElroy on number 17. And I don't care how dark it gets. That's an iconic hole. I don't care dark it gets. Light it up with cars. That's what you do. Everybody knows the distance. Everybody knows what they have to do. They already played the hole with that pin location that day. To not have a playoff last night and to carry that over till 9 o'clock this morning is stupidity almost beyond comprehension because now nobody will care about that. But I don't have the time to do that in the Open. So I'm not going to do it. We have Bob Ryan. Bob Ryan, who is famous and beloved to us for saying that a 9 over an 8 is not an upset, even though we think it is an upset, because it is a single higher number nine over eight. But Bob takes the position. It's not an upset. Which gets me to where I am now to say we will start in the east is there on it. That's the top right on my bracket, starting with Duke. Is there any upsets in the first round for you?

[Bob Ryan]

Well, upsets begin at 413. So that's, that's where upsets begin.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Bob Ryan]

There's no such thing as an upset until you get to 413. So that, that's, that's should be obvious to anybody who studies the tournament over the years. So that being the case, I have a 12. 5. I've got Liberty over Oregon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really? Okay.

[Bob Ryan]

I've got a. Let's see what else I got here. No. 5. Now this is personal. I have a stake. I have a personal emotional stake in a game and I am going hard, but I can justify it technically. And that is 13 high point over for Purdue. I have a connection with High Point University. I've seen the basketball team play as well and I can tell you they're interesting. In their conference championship game against Charleston Southern, they won 81, 69 and their bench outscored their starters 51 to 30.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow.

[Bob Ryan]

And that is a pattern year long. Their coach, Allen Huss has utilized his bench to a degree that is almost unknown, unheard of in high level college basketball. He truly plays 10. And they've got all those guys averaging between 13 and 28 minutes a game. So anyway, and they've got what everybody Needs is a 6, 9 Cameroonian shot blocker named Bodo. Bodo. That's his last name, not his first name.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Bob Ryan]

And they've got some components, but I'm definitely going hard there. So they're 13 over four. And so in the East. Yes, that's as far as I go in the East.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. But that's. You also included the Midwest because High Point, Purdue is in the Midwest, so we.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking down the right. I overshot. That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's start with East. So you've got Duke. Duke against Mississippi State to get to the sweet 16. Who you got?

[Bob Ryan]

I got Duke and I have to put a provost on Duke. We all know what the deal was with Duke. Is Flag. Okay. I guess they're losing Malik Brown, unfortunately, and that puts a cloud over everything. I'm gambling that he'll be okay. I'm gambling that Duke will survive it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, yes, I'm picking Duke, Arizona, Liberty. You have Arizona.

[Bob Ryan]

I'm going back to. I'm letting Liberty win another game. I'm going to have, this is, I'm going to let them have their moment. It's a chic pick. I'm listening to the cognoscenti in the last few days and they shoot the ball very well. And Aragon isn't totally reliable. Danny Altman is a great coach. I know that. But you're not totally reliable. I don't think so. So I'm going. Liberty to go. They don't go any farther, but I do have them going that far.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, you go to the sweet 16. Okay. BYU, Wisconsin.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah, BYU, Wisconsin. What I got here? Where is it? I know. I got Wisconsin. Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. I got Wisconsin and St. Mary's Alabama.

[Bob Ryan]

Aha. Well, Alabama, but St. Mary's I do have advancing a bit. I have great respect for that coach and Randy Bennett and that program, so. Yes. But not enough firepower to beat Alabama.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Duke. Liberty. I gotta assume you're taking Duke.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah, you got, you got to go Blue Devils. Yes. But Liberty will have something to brag about. They got that far.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wisconsin, Alabama.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah. Alabama.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And into the Final Four, Duke. Alabama.

[Bob Ryan]

Well, I got Duke.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Don't, don't, don't be ashamed of it. A lot of people are going to have Duke that are, you know, I.

[Bob Ryan]

Mean, I, I, I'm going to just say this in the outset. I used to say back in, you know, decade ago or more that the, the pattern of the tournament was you've got three chalks and one mystery guest in the Final Four. In those days. This ain't the year. There ain't no mystery guests this year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't, I agree with that. I agree with that. Okay. Houston. Gonzaga.

[Bob Ryan]

Houston.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Houston Looked very good the Other day. Houston is much better than I think, Kelvin.

[Bob Ryan]

You know, that's the one thing missing on your resume is the big one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know.

[Bob Ryan]

You know? Yep. Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Clemson. High point.

[Bob Ryan]

Well, I got to go. Clemson.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I got.

[Bob Ryan]

I. That's as far as my Panthers are going to go, but I'm going to. I think they're going to have their moment in the sun now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Illinois, Kentucky, Kentucky.

[Bob Ryan]

Shaky. That's just a. That's a mental coin flip for me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And ucla. Tennessee.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Tennessee. I don't believe in ucla.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Houston. Clemson.

[Bob Ryan]

Houston. Clemson. I got Houston. No. No problem. There's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Kentucky, Tennessee.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Tennessee. I like the Vols.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's four SEC teams that I like. Maybe five. Yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

You know, I tried not to. I'm sorry. This whole thing isn't a myth. All this talk about this tournament, this conference. It ain't no myth. It just happens to be the case.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Houston, Tennessee, to get to the Final Four.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, I got the Cougars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You got Houston. Okay. Okay. On the other side, any upsets? South and the West.

[Bob Ryan]

I'm looking. Yes, I got. Well, I don't consider it an upset. Let me just see. I got a 10, 7. I got new Mexico over in Marquette, but that's not an upset, of course. Let's see. Do I have any others down here? I got 11, six. I got Drake. I believe in Drake, I think. Watch out for Drake, by the way. Yeah, I got that. And that's an 11. 6. So if you want to call it upset, go ahead, but, you know, I know it's not an upset. And I got a 10, 7. I got. I got Arkansas over Kansas, but that. That's hardly an upset.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let me just ask you about Drake for a second. Because the University of Iowa fired Fran McCaffrey.

[Bob Ryan]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And this kid in Drake is winning with Division 2 players. Why wouldn't they hire him?

[Bob Ryan]

Well, who says they won't? I don't know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, what do you think?

[Bob Ryan]

Well, I mean, that's a good choice. I mean, that's a very logical thing. It's a very. Yeah, I enjoy. I like that. I like that thought. And so, yeah, we'll see if they reach out to him. But. Right. It's backyard. Right. Backyard. Des Moines.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, yeah, you may as well do it. I mean, that's my feeling.

[Bob Ryan]

No, I think it's. I think that's a great prescient observation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you. Auburn, Louisville.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, I got. I got. I got this. I got Auburn. I mean. And, you know, Louisville. That's going to be a Very interesting first round game, by the way. Louisville. I mean, eight, nine. Should be a very interesting first round game. But this one I particularly like. And. But I got Louisville winning it and I got Auburn beating Louisville.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And Michigan A and M. Michigan A.

[Bob Ryan]

And M. I got A and M, I believe. Yeah, Yeah, I got A and M. I'm not a big. I know Michigan won yesterday, but I'm not a big believer in that team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't particularly like them either. I thought the other team just gassed in the last 10 minutes.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah, but I got A and M. All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Ole Miss. Iowa State.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, excuse me. I've got. I don't even have Michigan. I got San Diego beating them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, you didn't tell me that in truffle.

[Bob Ryan]

I forgot. I skipped over it. I looked over it. I got San Diego beaten them, so I got A and M over San Diego.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, Ole Miss. Iowa State.

[Bob Ryan]

Okay, Iowa State. Now there's a proviso. I learned that they're number two scorer and number one assist man, Keshan Gilbert is out. And that sounds like it could be a fatal blow, but somehow or other, sometimes these things don't go the way they think it will. I think Iowa State will survive that and will get past Ole Miss.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And New Mexico. Michigan State.

[Bob Ryan]

I got New Mexico beating or getting there, but no, then I got one win. Michigan State. I admit I'm an izzo suck up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's fine. He does well in the tournament. He's been a football team.

[Bob Ryan]

I'm an ISO nine times. Yeah. So I'm going with Michigan State that far.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. The second in conference game. Auburn A and M. Well, that's it.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Auburn. But I am a. Buzz Williams, big fan of him. And. And I'd love to pick him, but I can't. Auburn. I respect Auburn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Iowa State. Michigan State.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Michigan State. Yes, I got. Once again, I'm going. I'm izzo centric here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And do you think Izzo will beat Pearl and get to the Final Four?

[Bob Ryan]

No, I do not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You think Auburn will get to the Final Four?

[Bob Ryan]

I think we're going to have the chalkiest Final Four. We're going to have. Yes. We're going to have the ultimate chalk Final Four this year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Florida. UConn. I have to say this. I mean, I sort of root for UConn. Even though Danny Hurley can be annoying, I sort of like him. But in the two or three times I've seen Florida this year when they've scored 300 points, I thought to Myself, that team's really good, so.

[Bob Ryan]

They are good. And. But the most inexplicable result of the season was them losing by 30 to Tennessee the first time. Yeah, that was just that. Still stand. How did. Anyway, I got flawed. And by the way, I have the Sooners beating the Huskies to start.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay. Okay. That's right. That's not an upset for you. That's fine.

[Bob Ryan]

No, not at all. No, it's a nine. Eight. How can that be an upset? It's a coin flip. That's all it is. 9. Eight is a coin flip.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Memphis. Maryland.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Maryland. Shakily. I don't know why, but I do. But I have that. You know, I could be persuaded.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I got Maryland, Drake, Texas Tech.

[Bob Ryan]

I got Texas Tech, but, boy, I'm not. I might. I think I just mentally flipped a coin on that one myself on that one, because I do have Drake getting by Missouri and. But I do have Texas Tech, but I think that could be in overtime. How's that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay? That's fine. Overtime. Arkansas. St. John's oh, here we go.

[Bob Ryan]

Right. You know, the thing everybody out here is looking for is, you know, what Confrontation. Yeah, I got Arkansas over Kansas, and I got, of course, St. John's over Omaha. I got St. John.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I got St. John's you got St. John's you have Patino beating Calipari. No love lost there. No love lost.

[Michael Wilbon]

No.

[Bob Ryan]

It's an interesting. This goes. What a history that is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so now we have Florida, Maryland, and I assume you have Florida.

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah, I do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Texas Tech.

[Bob Ryan]

St. John's I got St. John's I think they go that far.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And then you have Florida because you have a. Yeah, but only that far.

[Bob Ryan]

This is interesting. But I got St. John's I think.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Patino has done a great job this year.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, it's. Whatever you think of the man, the coach is absolutely, absolutely, astonishingly good. He's just good. I mean, this pattern, the numbers. When they put the. I saw the numbers up the other day of first year, second year in the six stops. And it's. It speaks for itself. This. He is a master at this craft.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He walks into this team last year, halfway through the season, he says out loud, this team stinks. He gets rid of half the team, and he's a 2 seed this year. And that's. That's Rick Pitino, right? Bobby. That's. That's what it is.

[Bob Ryan]

It's him. The only. You know, the only blip on his resume, you know, is the Celtic thing, which he Pretends never existed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Bob Ryan]

You know, that was. And it's all his fault. He was the gm. He was his own worst enemy as coach and he coached fine. He GM'd abominably and he behaved terribly, you know, with Rauerbach and all that. Anyway. But when he gets back in his middle year in the collegiate ranks, he's as good as he's ever been.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Auburn, Florida. In house. We got.

[Bob Ryan]

I know. I got Auburn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You got Auburn.

[Bob Ryan]

No, I'm sorry. I got Florida. I'm stick. I got Florida. I got Florida. Florida. Florida.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Duke, Houston.

[Bob Ryan]

I got. I got the Dukes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And to win it, we got a.

[Bob Ryan]

We got Duke in Florida. And I. I am. They're going to be smiling in Durham, North Carolina. And so I. I think four freshmen.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Four freshmen?

[Bob Ryan]

Yeah. Well, yeah, but they're not ordinary freshmen. Particularly one of them, Canopolis. Not a freshman in a sense. In that sense, you know, Malak. The big guy. The big guy's not a. He doesn't play white one. No, I know it's improbable in that regard, except it's Duke, so it's not improbable. And. But when. Again, this is all based on the assumption that Flag will be viable. And if he's not, well, you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've watched Duke play six or seven times this year. There's never been a single game where he doesn't go out with something. Usually his eye has been poked out and he sits for 10 minutes, game after game.

[Bob Ryan]

That's a good point. That's a good point.

[Michael Wilbon]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you, Bobby. Good luck.

[Bob Ryan]

Oh, you're welcome.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bob Ryan, boys and girls. Quintessential American sports writer. We will be back with Michael Wilbon. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Bob Ryan]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Bob Ryan]

You are listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the Rocket Money read. You know what's annoying? When you sign up for something, forget about it after the trial period ends, then you're charged month after month after month. The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them. I hope they forget about it, too. Yeah, they don't forget about it. Did you know that 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month? Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all of your subscriptions in one place. Cancel the ones you're not using anymore, and now you're saving more money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. We were introduced to this about a year ago. Yeah, and I said at the time, this is a really good idea. It's a really good idea. Now I see all the television commercials because it's a really good idea. When they walk up to the people and say, how much do you think you're spending each month? And it's always like 10 times higher than they think it is. See all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money is going. For ones you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals. Faster with rocket Money, go to RocketMoney.com TonyK today, that's RocketMoney.com TonyK RocketMoney.com TonyK use that code.

[Bob Ryan]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

These are the Needmores. Sounds like bowling for Soup. A group I like very, very, very much. Lenny Grasso writes, some of you may or may not know me from my former band's popular Creeps or the Leonards. Reconsideration is my current band, the Needmores. And our first single, Lookin. You can access it by the Dropbox link below and then doesn't send a link. I'm not gonna bore you with who we kind of sound like or who we were influenced by. I'm sure that can be figured out by listening to the song. Hope you like it. There'll be more down the road. Lenny Grasso. It's actually good. It's really good. Yeah. Makes me very happy. The need Moores and look and they play in Michael Wilbon. We're changing up here. When Wilbon is going to post his bracket, we're going to have it on the challenge and all of that, but we have greater fish to fry. So let's just go to your. Give me your Final Four and, and, and let me know who's going to win.

[Michael Wilbon]

Okay? So, like, I love a Final Four like nobody else's. Nobody. And it, you know, I'm sure during the weeks we'll get to it, but you're just gonna say, what, what, what? In my Final Four, I have Arizona.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Arizona from the East.

[Michael Wilbon]

Go ahead, Arizona. I have Houston from the Midwest.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Houston, good team.

[Michael Wilbon]

I have Michigan State from the South.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

And I have St. John's from the west.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Michael Wilbon saying, I don't care what Jay Billis says. It's a football conference. I don't believe in it. Right. That's essentially it. Essentially it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Kinda. Yeah, kinda. I just, I watched a lot of basketball, finally, of men's college, and I just, I'm sure they're all as good as advertised. I'm sure they are. There'll probably be three SEC teams in the Final Four. And I look like a dope, but, you know, I have stuff like St. John's beating Florida.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, I have Michigan State beating Auburn. So I have, you know, there's two, there's two semifinals. I mean, two regional finals right there with SEC teams. I have. Well, I have BYU in Arizona. I have Vandy, like, beating byu. I have Vandy beating Bama because Bama's got, who's a really talented, athletic white kid, big six ten kid, maybe in Alabama. He's apparently out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm like, okay, if these kids are out, then what are we doing? And I have Houston beating Tennessee. So, you know, it's not like I have SEC teams going out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't go out early. They go out in finals. They go out Michigan State, St. John's who you got? St. John's St. John's Richard Patino, Arizona, Houston.

[Michael Wilbon]

I have Houston. And who wins St. John's beating Houston.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What a. That would be absolutely remarkable if St. John's in his second. It would be just absolutely remarkable. So we're getting off this and people saying, why are you getting off this? And we're getting off this because somebody that we loved and somebody that we had difficulty with along the way, John Feinstein died suddenly on Thursday. And we worked with him and knew him as closely as anybody did. Just start. Just start with whatever you want to say and then I'll say what, you.

[Michael Wilbon]

Know, in sort of just talking last night at my house, you know, after dinner, sitting around watching, you know, one selection show or another, and I was, I told Cheryl, you know, we were going to do this talk about June, John today. And so I mean, you know, obviously going back 30 years, Cheryl, you know, been around five scenes a ton. And, you know, she got, you know, sort of special treatment from him because she's a dookie, at least in part. And so she was saying, what's, you know, you guys, you guys seem like you have conflicts. I said, yeah, yeah. And I started telling stories and as I told them, I realized how much I was around John. How much we were around John.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Like last while this is. So we're talking about this around 8:30, 9:00. And I said there were 25 years probably where on the. On tonight, Selection Sunday, there was so much time spent, you know, with brackets and watching the show and there's no Internet yet, which people listening to you don't even understand. And so the first time you saw a bracket was the next morning in the newspaper. Most people was Monday, but Sunday we stayed in the newsroom and tackled over the stuff and screamed and hollered and laughed and had. When I thought about it, Tony, Selection Sunday has probably occupied so many hours of my life, the selection Sundays that. And most of them had something to do with John, that they were like the favorite nights. They were like Christmas Eve for me, Selection Sunday. And. But then of course, when you start telling These stories you're telling them, you're gonna be honest. And I said, you know, there's stuff that Tony and I can talk about related to John, that you can't write. You have to have some context. You have to have all the gray areas you can. You have to portray the back and forth. I was telling her some of the stuff that. That coach Mike Krzyzewski had said during a conversation that Coach K. And I had Thursday morning. And she was just shaking her head like, this sounds like a novel. I said, yeah, yeah. I said, john's life will read like a novel, actually, because some of it you can't believe. And I was telling how much I liked various Verluca's column, how much I didn't like the obituary the New York Times, because a lot of it that writer didn't get, apparently didn't get because it didn't read like it. And I knew we got him. We got him because we were around him when we wanted to be, when we didn't want to be. And it was. You know, I started laughing, Tony. I started laughing out loud because there's so many episodes and capers and, you know, it's impossible to chronicle all of them. But I started just going over some of them last night, like you and I have. And it's just, you know, it's a sad day, sad time for us these last few days. And people think they knew him. And to some degree, people did, because when you write and you make your feelings publicly known about anything, you reveal some of yourself. And John did that in the Post and other places for 45 years. Where I was there, you can add about three years because he's three years older than me. So that's. That's almost 50 years of John Jr. Feinstein stories. 50 years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So the. An example of. I think it's fair to say, and we both love him. That doesn't mean we're not critical of him. That doesn't mean we don't think he was impossible, because there were times when he was impossible. Selection Sunday, for example, at the Washington Post. He would eat the whole pizza. Like a pizza would be ordered. And he would. He would go into a room that wasn't even his room because it was your room and my room or boss's room, and he would eat the whole pizza. And everybody could stand outside with their tongues out.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, all the egg rolls or all the, you know, the mushu pork, whatever.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. There's a famous story of that George tells that ends with the line Junior ate the whole duck. And that's.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what it was. I mean, he was a person given to excess, a person given to. Except being excessively loud, being excessively belligerent, sometimes excessively kind at other times, excessively knowledgeable at other times. When he covered college basketball, nobody knew more about it than he did. Nobody had the context that he did. This didn't start with Knight, because it started with Mike. I mean, the avenue tonight was through Mike Krzyzewski. And that's who Junior knew first. He knew everything about college basketball. He came to know everything about tennis. He really did. He had an extraordinary ability to get with the right people, and the right people would talk to him. He was a dogged, indefatigable reporter. He was just great at it, you know, and then with success, we all are changed a little bit by success. And some of our best characteristics and some of our worst come out with success because people are suddenly not treating you the way they did. You know, not. You know, most people get treated like 50, 50 by the person who's with them. But when you have great success, you get treated 9010. Right. You know what I mean, Mike? I mean, you know, everybody hangs on every word that Junior said. And Junior had a lot of words.

[Michael Wilbon]

A lot of words. A lot of words. And that's what, you know, Barry. Barry Verlouga gets at that. And to be fair, so did New York Times.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I thought George's story was great.

[Michael Wilbon]

See, I haven't seen it yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, it's wonderful.

[Michael Wilbon]

Obviously, I will see it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

George's story is wonderful. It really is. You should read it.

[Michael Wilbon]

When did George's story. Was that yesterday?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was out. No, it was out in Friday's paper. It was out in Friday's paper.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's what I didn't see Friday. But I, you know, all of it. Tony, you. You said something to me the other day. I was in the car. You said, I'm upset with myself because I don't. I no longer knew who his friends were.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

And I said to you, oh, I know who his friends were. His friends were like the third assistant coach on a team at a university or College of 2,800 people that. You know, John, we all, to some degree, lived the formative and even the best years of our lives in gyms. Gyms and locker rooms.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep.

[Michael Wilbon]

And John did that to, as you just said, to excess. And these are people that you wound up talking about with him or that I wound up knowing because of him like, why do I know this person? And you'll run into him. And it's because he knew them and they helped him with a book or column or story or something. And you're like, who is this? So the general public that consumed his work, people who think they knew him, they knew him to a degree not nearly deep enough. You know, probably an inch, a mile wide, an inch deep. But yeah, the excesses that you described, that's what made it. And I was, I was explaining to Cheryl that we all, and by we all, I mean we all went. Periods of not speaking to John. Yeah, not speaking. And I said, of course, Tony's. Tony. Tony went the longest. The rest of us, and Sally and I talked about this. Sally Jenkins and I, there were periods that would end with John calling to say, hey, I need you to tweet something for this book I just wrote. I'm like, I didn't talk to you in eight months. What do you say?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

And this was the nature of it. It was with everyone. It was with every coach. You know, I've talked to quite a few people. Every person in the industry had these stories and you realize, okay, it wasn't just me and you, and I did realize this stuff decades ago, but it's sort of irresistible in the telling of it. He was a great character in a novel, except this is who he was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I mean, I tell this to people all the time. The proudest moment of Junior's life in the business was when Pat Riley said to him, you're loud, you're large, don't ever change. And he didn't. And he didn't. Right. Because if Pat Riley says that it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was, you know, I think the original thing, I think the topic was over Michael Jordan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Over Jordan.

[Michael Wilbon]

Over an 18 year old Michael Jordan. He ran Riley somewhere in a hotel lobby or something. And so, yeah, so these things are. You can't. To just gloss over it and talk about what he wrote or what he produced, would not get at who he was or why he was that way. When Barry. This is sort of inside baseball, but I'm going to tell anyway. So as Veluca was getting ready to write on Thursday, I just, I called him just to do what we're doing now, to chat. And Barry said, this is really hard. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this, writing this piece. I go, why not? He said, because the relationship was complex. I'm like. And so like, who didn't have that? Who didn't have that with him? You know, from Beginning to end. John was the summer intern for George Solomon. After me. I'm sorry, before me. Before you. Before I got to the Post, John was the intern. And then there were, you know, just a number of people that folks were listening to, you actually do know, including David Remnick and Sally Jenkins and Gary Pomerantz. You know, it's just little people, one after another.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mark Masky, Dave Shinen. Yeah. David Aldridge. Yeah, yeah. They were all. Yeah. George had a great eye for talent, and it was. You should read his piece. Because what George says is.

[Michael Wilbon]

Of course I will.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What George says is when Junior told him about the Night Book, that he was going to go off into the Night book, George writes, the thought of him bothering Knight for six months instead of me made me very happy. So I said, sure, do the book. Sure do the book. I mean, he was. Yeah, he was. He's a great figure. He drove all of us crazy. And at some point or other, all of us came back, you know, with him. I told the story. I said this to Matt Schudel, who was writing the obit. He called me. I didn't talk to anybody about this. I didn't talk to anybody on the air. Nobody. And a lot of people asked, and I just didn't even answer them. But I called back the guy from the Washington Post, because the Washington Post. And I worked there a long time, right? And I felt even with new ownership, I owed them that. And I'm talking to Matt Judell, and finally, what I said, this is the kind of guy he is, whether it's. And it's always a dinner, because Junior loved to eat and love to order the most expensive thing on the menu, particularly when someone else was paying for it. I have stories about that I'm not even going to go into now. I'll go into them tomorrow, maybe. But I said if it was a dinner for two or four or six or eight or 10 people at the end of the dinner, nobody said this. What was that guy's name again? No, no, no, no, no, no. You knew his name. You knew his name. He dominated the dinner.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's what he did every dinner, lunch, breakfast.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He dominates these things.

[Michael Wilbon]

And over the years, that's what I wound up doing with him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The last 20 most, going to breakfast with him.

[Michael Wilbon]

Breakfast. And so there was a lot of that. I was trying to think of the first one, and I can't think of the first one, but I remember this in 1984. Oh, my God. It's 41 years ago, before the Olympics. John said, we should go early to Los Angeles and make George pay for it. I'm like, why? We're going to be in LA for a month anyway. He said, no, we should go to Dodger Stadium and see Fernando Valenzuela. I'm like, all right. So we were. We were 25 and 27 and or so John's 27, 28. The complexity continues with the birth date. Everybody has a different one. I've known John for 45 years. I don't know whether he was born in 57 or 56. I'm sorry, 56 or 55. 55. We went to. We went to Dodger Stadium and sat together and watched Fernando Valenzuela in that famous summer. Yeah, well, that wasn't the most famous summer. 84 was one of 81, I think was the first one. And, you know. Yes, he had to know everything about everybody and had to do it aggressively. Tony, the great line I've heard and talking again, talking to coach Mike Krzyzewski was the one. He said, I know you know him. He wore you out till he wore me out. I said, yeah, he wore everybody out. And Mike said, yeah, he full court pressed you every day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what it was.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's what it was every day. And it's like, yeah, that's a great, you know, description, of course, coming from someone who knew him well, differently, and the context that mattered most to him, what mattered most, in order, it would be his children and Duke basketball and then college basketball, if you broaden it out, and then golf. I think even a head of tennis. Others might dispute that. And then the Mets were somewhere very high in there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And the Islanders.

[Michael Wilbon]

And the Islanders.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, and the Islanders.

[Michael Wilbon]

Even though that's been over longer than the other obsessions. But, you know, there were these obsessions and it did. It made it fascinating. It made it fascinating to be at these breakfasts or Chinese food. There was a place on 19th street that nobody, even an older listenership remember, I don't know if you remember, called the Great Wall, which in my mind is the greatest Chinese restaurant of all time. It was on 19th and what is now still 19th and L, and it's on 19th Street. And there were way too many meals there, way too many meals at a place called Darrell's in North Carolina. Because John would just get in the car and drive four and a half hours any given time to see Duke or NC State or Wake or Carolina. And, you know, you can just. You can just. When you've known him this Long over it and over it and over it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He would drive that distance. Now, I'll get off the phone and we'll move on with the show. Mike and I will do this again sometime. He would drive that dist. And then he would take a sport jacket out of the wheel well of his car, which hadn't been cleaned in 14 years, and he'd go, okay, ready to go. He'd put it on. Put on that sport jacket.

[Michael Wilbon]

Ready to go, Indeed. And again, certain things about the people, the roster, Tony, of people who had these relationships with him. And one thing stands out to me, and I'm sure there's some that you will, you know, that I was involved in. I don't remember, and you may not remember this, but we had to be in the Palm. And it was, of course, Junior, you and I were sitting in the Palm, and Big John is in. John Thompson comes in. And at one point, you know, John had asked me, John Feinstein said to me, you gotta reach out. And Big John. And I don't even speak. And he won't speak to me, but you gotta get him to help me. Like what? Why would I do that? First of all. But of course, I got talked into it. So he and Big John, John said, I'm not talking to Feinstein. I'm not dealing with him. And of course they did. And the stories, the columns were great columns. But in the process, in the meantime, since the dinner at the Palm, you and I were not speaking to Junior. You and I were not talking to him. But Big John comes in the Palm and says, I guess it's just you and me, not John. And Big John puts his arm around you and says, I know why you're not talking to him, but you have to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you have to.

[Michael Wilbon]

So just make up and get it over with. Yeah, I expect. I expect this to happen. And of course, he roars in laughter because he knows he hadn't been speaking to him. But yet. Yet he had this ability. John did. And it was through, yes, sheer force of personality and the insight and the memory and, you know, knowing everything about everything. The sheer force of that is what Mike Shashefsky refers to when he says, he full court pressed you every day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what he did.

[Michael Wilbon]

And by the way. And we all turned over. We all turned the ball over.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, we all turned the ball. That's absolutely true. All right, I'll talk to you later. All right, Tom Michael Wilbon, boys and girls. We'll come back with Spike Braun, who's won this thing a few times, hasn't he? Two times two time champion Spike Braun I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash. Saving and investing can feel impossible, what with Stash, it's not just a reality, it's easy. Stash isn't just an investing app. It's a registered investment advisor that combines automated investing with dependable financial strategies to help you realize your goals faster. They'll provide you with personalized advice on what to invest in based on your goals. Or if you want to just sit back and watch your money go to work, you can opt into their award winning expert managed portfolio that picks stocks for you. Stash has helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals and starts at just $3 per month. Don't let your savings sit around, make it work harder for you. Go to get.stash.comtonyk to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. That's get.stash.com Tonyk paid non client endorsement not representative of all clients. Not a guarantee. Investment in advisory services offered by Stash Investments llc, an SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk offer is subject to T's and siege, which stands for terms and conditions. What is Dax, are you tracking all our cars on Carvana Value Tracker on all our devices? Yes, Kristen, yes I am. Well, I've been looking for my phone for In Dax's domain we see all so we always know what our cars are worth. All of them?

[Bob Ryan]

All of them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Value surge trucks up 3.9%. That's a great offer. I know. Sell sell Track your car's value with Carvana Value Tracker. Today you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. This is sent to us by Samantha Joy Pearlman, Joy of Joy and the Wildfire. Who writes we are Joy and the Wildfire, your favorite new indie rock band from New York City. And we would be honored if you featured one of our songs on your show. It would be a dream come true. We're big fans. Wanted to send you a track from our debut album, Aftershocks. The song is called Tears in Brooklyn. We think it'd be a great fit for your audience. Thanks in advance for listening to the songs. Let us know if you need anything else from us or we need more music. Like that's what we're about. We're about more music. Yes. Tears in Brooklyn. We've got a couple from them. I'LL play them probably next week. But Michael, people like Joy and the wildfires want to send us music. How do they do it? Send us music by emailing it to Jingles at Tony Kwanheiser show.com and we have the bracket challenge. This is through ESPN tournament challenge search Tony Konizer show 2025. Yes, it is this year's edition. Password protected. Listen up.

[D]

No exclamation point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[D]

All lowercase letters, listen up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We let you put in two brackets.

[D]

And we'll keep track of that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And then we're also going to share where we're collecting all of the guests.

[D]

From this week and we'll make sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That you can find we'll talk about grand prizes at some point. Oh, they're going to be toothpaste. Yeah, a lot of toothpaste. And shirts that I've worn. And maybe a sport coat or maybe a victory mousetrap. Maybe. Maybe a mousetrap. Wow. Yes. Spike Bruins joins us, joins us now. He has won this thing twice, he and his brother. One of them goes to Michigan and one of them goes to Georgia, I think, and both of them are in the tournament. Spike, which school do you go to?

[D]

I go to Georgia. And I'll save you guys the suspense. I have my team winning and Ike's team losing in the first round.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's good to know. That's good to know. Let's start. Let's go right down. Let's go right down the list. We'll start in the East. Any upsets, which, unlike Bob Ryan, they include a nine over an eight. Anyone? Go ahead.

[D]

All right, I'll start with Baylor taking down Mississippi State. Okay, Baylor's got one of the best freshmen in the country and Vijay Edgecombe Love the way that he plays. And then I'll have Akron defeating Arizona, led by Caleb Love in his seventh season of college ball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep.

[D]

We'll send him to wherever he's going to play overseas. And yet, Tony, that's all I've got for this one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so you got BYU, you got Wisconsin and you've got St. Mary. So let's go to the second round. Duke, Baylor.

[D]

Duke's too good. Even with Cooper Flag. Maybe not at 100%. They just have so much talent and they're so fun to watch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, I've got Oregon, Akron.

[D]

Yeah, I just, I think Akron's a great team. I just have more trust in Oregon and their coach and the way they play defense in March.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, byu, Wisconsin, BYU can score the.

[D]

Ball, they can shoot it. And in March, sometimes All you need to do is get hot from beyond the arc. I've got byu.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's a big one. That is a big upset taking Wisconsin out. Saint Mary's, Alabama.

[D]

Yeah, Bama's kind of the same way as byu. They're both high octane offenses and I love that this time of year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've got Alabama, Duke, Oregon.

[D]

I'm going to go with Duke here. I like Oregon, but I just think.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Again, Duke is too good and byu, Alabama.

[D]

This game, if it were to happen, I think is going to be one of the better games of the tournament. I think this game could easily be played in the 90s or even in the triple digits. But I've got Bama pulling, pulling away here. And one, two, very chalky.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's okay.

[D]

Elite Eight matchup.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's okay. And do you have Duke or do you have Alabama to go to the final?

[D]

Duke winning that one. Final Four.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's go down to the Midwest. Houston, Gonzaga. Do you have Houston? Georgia rather. You have Georgia.

[D]

I do have Georgia. You know, we're probably not going to win, but I think that my dad especially and all my friends down here would be disappointed if they turned on the show today and heard that I picked Gonzaga. So gotta pick Georgia at least one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think you should pick Georgia. There's nothing wrong with that. No, it's your school. You should pick that Houston, Georgia. Then I assume you have Houston.

[D]

Yes, I do have Houston.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And that's fair. They're a really good team. How about Clemson, Perdue?

[D]

Oh, you didn't let me give. Didn't give me a chance to go through my upsets.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I thought. I. I'm sorry. Go ahead, go through upsets.

[D]

All right, so. So I actually don't have Clemson, Perdue. I have McNeese against High Point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, boy. That's going for it.

[D]

Okay, have you guys seen the video of that manager on McNeese who carries the speaker and leads the team out of the tunnel? That's one of my favorite viral videos going around this year. Their vibes are at an all time high and I love that team. I love the way that they play. They play defense. And so I have them advancing to the Sweet 16.

[Tony Kornheiser]

McNeese over High Point. Okay, that's fair. Down at the bottom, do you have Illinois and Kentucky?

[D]

I have the winner of Texas and Xavier against Kentucky. Sorry, we're doing this all wrong.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's okay.

[D]

I've got the 11 seed actually beating Kentucky and moving on to the sweet 16. I think it's going to be Texas. They're very talented team. Again, another young freshman in Trey Johnson. But if it's Xavier, it's okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You still got him. And do you have at the bottom, do you have ucla, Tennessee?

[D]

I do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And who do you have in that one?

[D]

I've got Tennessee winning that one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so now Houston McNee State.

[D]

Houston will end their little mini Cinderella run and advance the Elite Eight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I'm going to assume you have Tennessee going against Houston in the eight.

[D]

I do. Another one two matchup. But I think this year especially the top teams are just so loaded that I think Chuck is going to be okay this year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So do you take Houston or Tennessee?

[D]

I'm taking Tennessee in this one. But this one could again be scored in the 40s.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Be true to your conference at that point. I mean, it's an SEC team. Let's go on the other side. Tell me everything you've got. That's an upset.

[D]

Is that the south or the West?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let's go to the south at the top.

[D]

Gotcha. All right, so I've got the University of California, San Diego feeding Michigan. And that's all I have in that south region.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Ucsd. Okay, so you have Louisville over Creighton. And you got A and M over Yale. And you've got Ole Miss. And you've got Iowa State and you've got Marquette and then Michigan State. So how about Auburn, Louisville?

[D]

I've got Auburn. I think they're a great team. They've struggled late, but I still just think there's too much firepower there. Even with Louisville basically having a home game. And Lexington, Kentucky.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. San Diego. A and M.

[D]

I had A and M on my bracket, but as I'm saying this, I think I'm going to roll with San Diego.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's fine. Ucsd. Okay. Ole Miss, Iowa State.

[D]

Ole Miss. I don't think is that great of a team, but I think they're going to be playing unc, which UNC is a much worse team. I have no idea how they got in, but my dad will tell me. He says it's a TV show. They don't care about whether it's right or wrong. They just want to make the most money. So I think that's the only reason UNC got in. Ole Missile scrape past them. But then I was stated to feed Ole Miss.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And Marquette.

[D]

Michigan State got Marquette winning that in a matchup. A rematch of last year where Michigan State ended up winning. I have Marquette taking down Tom Izzo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, Auburn, ucsd. I'm going to say you got Auburn.

[D]

You'd be correct, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's why they pay me the big money. Iowa State, Marquette.

[D]

I've got Iowa State winning that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Iowa State was number three in the country at one point this year, about halfway through. And Auburn, Iowa State.

[D]

Yeah, I was just not a bad team. Auburn just that much better.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Auburn is a better team. Okay, let's go to the west, the Florida region. Who you got? What are your upsets?

[D]

Yeah, so I have Colorado State over Memphis, which is surprising because I was looking at the just early spreads of the games and Colorado State's actually a small favorite in that one. I think Memphis is. One of their guards are injured and probably not playing in that one. So I have Colorado State over Memphis and Arkansas over Kansas. It's my two upsets in this region.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's fine, that's fine. Texas Tech, you get in. Okay. Florida, Yukon.

[D]

Yeah, I, I love Dan Hurley and a lot of people don't, but I, I just love the way that he's got confidence in his group and he always reminds fans that he's won back to back national championships, but it's not going to be three times in a row. I've got Florida.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Colorado State, Maryland.

[D]

I'm riding with my mom.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was just going to say you better. Kim went there. Better go to Maryland on that one. Okay. Missouri, Texas Tech.

[D]

I'll go Texas Tech here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Arkansas. St. John's yeah, I had to put.

[D]

Arkansas St. John's just because of the whole storyline between Calipari and Pinot. And I love everything Patino's about this year. Give me St. John.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Florida, Maryland, the crab five.

[D]

Tony, I'm going with Maryland. That's going to be the upset of the tournament.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That would be and will assure that you get a good inheritance in your house. Texas Tech, St. John's yeah, St. John's.

[D]

Just plays such good defense. They're. They're so active everywhere. I've got St. John's over Texas Tech and then St. John's against Maryland in the Elite Eight, which I think will be a great game, but Unfortunately I've got St. John's moving on to the final four.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Auburn, St. John's.

[D]

So I've got Auburn winning this one, but yeah, I mean, I'm not, I'm not confident in that pick, but we'll go with Auburn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And Tennessee Duke.

[D]

Tennessee Duke. I think they played a couple of years ago in the tournament. I remember watching that game. I, I believe Tennessee won. I don't think it'll be the same time give me or the same this time around. Sorry, it's still early in the morning for me. Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Give me Duke and Duke. Auburn in the final. Spike. Duke. Auburn.

[D]

Yeah. I think this is probably going to be one of the most picked finals matchups and I've got Auburn taking it home, the number one overall seed. I can't stand Bruce Pearl. I can't stand almost every player on their team. And it hurts me especially going to the University of Georgia to pick Auburn to win it all. But you know, I'm trying to win this for the third time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony, I think you should do that. And always remember that no matter what happens, someone in the SEC will be on probation somewhere down the road.

[D]

Probably one of our football players.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you, Spike. Spike Braun, thank you.

[D]

It's always a pleasure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Spike Braun, who when he started with us had a very high voice, you know. And now he's a man. Now he's a man. We'll take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Bob Ryan]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Bob Ryan]

No purchase necessary. VGW prohibited by law 18/ DNC supply this is the Tony Korniser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Kornizer Show. James Bugg. Thank you very very much. Love it. Thank you so much. You want to do the Bethesda Bagels? Yes. Bagel sandwiches today. Very excited about that. Yes. Go to BethesdaBeagels.com for the location in the D.C. air and Air stew. Then pop it in and you'll be thrilled. And before we get to the mailbag, Let me just say do you want to dance and hold my hand Tell me I'm your lover man Baby do you want to dance? Do you want to dance? Make romance Squeeze me all through the night Baby do you want to dance? Do you want to dance under the moonlight Squeeze me all through the night do you want to dance? It's done by a thousand people. Probably the best received version of that. It was started out as Fast song by Bobby Freeman. Yeah, but I would say Mama Cass's version is the one that people remember. Oh yeah, it's just a lovely slow down version. Thanks to our guests today, we'll have guests all week picking games. Bob Ryan, Michael Wilbon, Spike Braun. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember you can listen to us on Apple Podcasts Spotify Odyssey get show through Apple. Please leave us a review. We're gonna do Brandon Borzelli's tribute to Junior. We're gonna have lots and lots of them, but we're not gonna get to all of them. Yeah, we did get a lot of nice, lovely emails over the weekend and I'm going to talk more about I wrote a list of things to talk about tomorrow, so don't worry about that. I'll be here. Brandon Borzelli Lebanon, New Jersey for many years, a staple on the show provided some of the best one liners or quotes in the show's history. The segment wasn't simply appointment listening, but required listening, whether it was discussing the vaunted Patriot League, the John Wooden story or the sainted Earl woods, or simply listening as the interview was interrupted as they got into a car accident followed by some bleeped out curses. Don't you know who I am? Godspeed, Mr. Feinstein. We all know who you are and your own good walks, spoiled at such a young age won't stop the legend from living on in your writings. I hope the next Lehigh Lafayette game is as epic as your enthusiasm for sports and telling others about it. Thank you Brandon. Dan Fitz, Philadelphia I've been fortunate over the years to have about a dozen emails read on this fine podcast, so I think I've earned the right not to include a subject line in this and future emails. See above. No subject the best menu item at the best restaurant in my neighborhood, a trendy Italian place called Mia Rugazo, is salmon tartare fancy over house made ricotta fancy and served with a pile of potato chips. Not fancy, serve yourself with with. It's an incredible dish and the Chips are the perfect crunchy, savory complement to the mild flavors and soft textures of salmon and rigot. While we're on the subject of my neighborhood, asked Michael if he ever played Walnut Lane in Philly when he was undergrad. If not, his next round there is on me and Michael Saatch, salmon and chips included after the round. Oh, I'm looking it up right now. Of course, I'd settle for Wawa, though. This is about, you know, Bill Isaacson writes us, some years ago, I had the privilege and pleasure through a friend of drinking tor red wine. T o r with the proprietor and vintner of tour wines, Tord Kenward. Tor Kenward is one of the most distinguished and well known vintners in the history of Napa Valley, having spent almost 30 years with Barringer Vineyard and then in 2001 starting tour Kenward family wines. Tor wines are not available in liquor stores, not even Calvert Woodley, but are available for order in a few low level restaurants like French Laundry. Ah. I give this background because Tours served his red wine with, you guessed it, a bowl of potato chips. He told us that red wine loves a little bit of salt, making potato chips a great pairing with red wine. And who taught him this? Tor's good friend, Julia Child. Okay. Okay. Game over. Is that enough for you? So, Tony, with regards to potato chips and wine, I believe you can say I had that. I caveat this to say that I doubt Julia Child was referring to sriracha flavored chips. So tell Dan Burns people to contact your people, who can contact my people to get Dan some tour wine so he can add a stanza to potato chips and wine. I knew I was right. Yeah, I knew I was right. Believe you had that. Faith Courville. Faith Courville in the Woodlands in Texas, class of 29, Baylor University. My name is Faith Courville. I'm probably not your typical listener. I'm a teenage girl from the rural south who doesn't really care about sports. But I've been listening to your show for years now. See, my dad's a devoted little and your show is his entertainment of choice. Whenever we have to drive somewhere, be it 20 minutes up the road or a cross country road trip, the very first episode I listened to was when Michael had to bring you to the Apple store. You were incredibly upset over your placement at the old geezer table. That's three folds ago. I don't remember how many years ago that was, but I know that since then your show has been something my dad and I enjoy together. The Tony Kornizer show is a soundtrack of some of my favorite memories and experiences with my dad. All that to say, once I got my driver's license and car, I took up my dad's habit of listening to the show while I'm driving. It's familiar, and even familiar, you'll have to forgive me for being a touch sentimental. I'm a senior in high school and seems like just about everything makes me nostalgic. Really hit me a few weeks ago when driving to Waco for an accepted students event. I'll be attending Baylor in the fall and the drive to Waco is about three hours from my house. Naturally, I was listening to the podcast. All my life people have said I'm like my daddy, but in that moment I believe them. I won't lie, going off to college as excited as I am is a little scary. But something about knowing that on my drives to and from Baylor I can listen to your show and later talk to to my dad about it makes it feel more manageable. So here's to the next four years of listening to all your stories. Here's to more calls with Carville, who I'm a huge fan of thanks to your show, Wilbon and the innumerable list of amazing people you get to come on the show. To more March Madness picks, the only time I'm invested in sports and Phil's mom. To more stories of what it's really like to live in the D.C. area, to more interruptions from Chessy's parks to more Bethesda bagels. But most of all, here's to more memories. Thank you Mr. Korniser, for giving me and my dad. This is beautiful. Isn't that lovely? Yeah. So many things to talk about over the years. That's just so great. It's just so great. And for those, Taylor is lucky to have her. Absolutely. And for those who're gonna be an English major, she's definitely be a writer. She'd definitely be a writer. And Phil's mom will be joining us tomorrow. Of course. Yes. Mark lynch in Camby, Indiana I think you look great on the podcast. That's funny. Ed Waldman in Fulton, Maryland. Wednesday's show hit the daily double for me. I've been listening forever and I don't think I've ever heard Timmy Kirchen and Jason Lock and Fora on the same day made me very happy. My long ago life as a sports editor, I had the good fortune to work with Timmy at both the Dallas Morning News and Baltimore Sun. Chris Cillizza nailed it about nobody, certainly not any sports journalist, being as joyful about his work as Timmy. But even better than that, when Tim and I catch up about once a year, he never fails to ask me about my wife and kids by name. He's the greatest, period. And I'm proud to say I hired Jason at the sun for his first newspaper internship when he was at Syracuse. It almost didn't happen because the summer before we had a Syracuse kid who was, well, a rum dum and I didn't want to roll the dice. Luckily for the Sun, I realized how good Jason was. The unpaid internship led to a paid internship, which led to a two year internship which led to his job at the Detroit Free Press covering the Red Wings and you know the rest of the story. Proud to say I'm friends with both of them. As always, thanks to you and Michael and Nigel for doing what you do. Is it okay if I change my title to Official Father in Law of the Director of Operations at Augusta National? My daughter in law just got a new promotion. Big promotion. That's great. Absolutely. PPs tell Gary Robinson to eat it. Ted Smith, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania As I pumped out a handful of shampoo from a brand new bottle of Head and Shoulders, another trusted Proctor Gamble brand, this morning, I was surprised to see it was white instead of the traditional turquoise blue that I've come to expect over the years. Although I don't really care what color my product is, I just wanted to inform you that the war against blue dye number one is not limited to your toothpaste. Okay, Tom Miller. Tom from Davidson, where Steph Curry just became an assistant GM. Oh yeah, that's right. Basketball team. Greetings from Colombo, Sri Lanka. It's your 2025 World Cruise Correspondent reporting on day 69 of our 197 day around the world Cruise highlights so far. Fishing for piranha in the Amazon River. All things related to Eva Peron and Buenos Aires as she requested, we did not cry for her. An incredible safari in South Africa. More on that in a moment. And playing with lemurs in Madagascar. I have good news for Wilbon and Detroit football fans Will Bond will be thrilled to know that the NBA dominates the world interest. NBA jerseys can be bought everywhere we have visited so far. Not a single NFL or MLB product anywhere. Detroit fans will be glad to hear that the Lions in Africa were all very healthy. Not a single lion appeared to be injured. No tape or crutches to be found. Could be a good omen for next season. No ice cream parties on ship as of yet. However, a friend of ours did contract a nasty bacterial infection that required hospitalization in Brazil and he needed to be sent home. And finally, I've discovered that it takes exactly 62 days for the woman to whom I'm related by marriage to get completely sick and tired of living in a 322 foot square square foot cabin. Seems I can be a bit annoying at times while she is perfect in every way. More later. Fantastic. From Amy Oberhelman. The concerned fathers of St. Peter's parish are hosting their annual fish fry on Friday, March 28th. That's next Friday. That's not this Friday. Is it next? That's next Friday in the church basement on Capitol hill. Tickets are $25. The fish is from Bobby Vance. That's good. More importantly, the Great Zucchini will be there to entertain the kids and share his picks for MLB and NCAA brackets. Will he be halfway through the tournament? Yeah, how about that? Getting ready to visit the Hammers class. Is he gonna do that? Thanks to a certain auction item from Brian O'Connor in Phoenix before Chuck Todd does his tournament predictions and questions. If Grand Canyon is a real school, I can attest that it is. GCU has a championship golf course which was left for debt. It was revitalized and is thriving. Round is on me. Next time come and visit Wilbond. Notable alumni Bears President and CEO Wilbon's good friend Kevin Warren. Tim Salmon, California Angels Rookie of the year 1993 and World Series champion Jacob Wilson, sixth pick in the MLB Draft with the A's. Horatio Llamas or Lamas. The first Mexican born player to play in the NBA and the inventor of Noggin Boss, Gabe Cooper. What is Noggin Boss? I think those the oversized hats. Okay. I think okay. And from tim Cree in Fort Collins, Colorado. So now we're sharing embarrassing torn Achilles stories. Almost 20 years ago, I tore mine while playing adult co ed City League kickball. Kick the ball rounded first, hit the brakes, heard the audible pop that sounded like a gunshot. The guy at urgent care was delighted to show my wife how he could pinch the skin on my heel. And nothing was moving because it was a total tear. 10 weeks on crutches and working in a building with no elevator on my desk, not on the same floor as the bathroom. Good times, people. Good times. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone is always do wear a wipe.

[D]

What's that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chicken.

[Michael Wilbon]

Every night it's the chicken.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Holy God Almighty.

[Michael Wilbon]

Is it possible just once you get.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Something to eat for dinner around Here. That's not the chicken. Hey, dad.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm just saying.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dad.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm looking to find my way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm looking for a sign. I'm looking for words to say. I'm looking for the time if you can't see me.

[Bob Ryan]

Or what you wanna see.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you can't see me you're gone to have to let me know. I'm looking for the traces I'm looking for faces I know I'm looking, I'm reaching out I'm looking with nowhere to go. If you can't see me what you want to see if you can't see me me you're gonna have to let it show. If you can't see me what you wanna see if you can't see me I'm gonna have to looking for words to say.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm looking always looking at you.

[Bob Ryan]

Everybody knows so preach it to the choir.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Angel darling, you were born atop a cloud but you're still crawling. If I fall into your arms do you think you would catch me? Still I don't think you would. If you shine out of the windows when you think everyone is looking. They won't see you crying. They won't see you crying. Tears in broken Tears in broken. Glisten like an heiress as it squaits into the oneness. I'm calling you a liar cut your tongue out. All your witches turn raising you're still wrung out with your litany of complaints you make us blade of violin. I don't think you'll win. You're posing like an angel but you're never talking. Don't let me see you crying. Don't let me see you crying. Tears in broken Tears in broken Like a full of deep regrets.

[Michael Wilbon]

Back from the deeper breath.

[Bob Ryan]

Feel your felt high with your deep breath.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fill your felt hack with your deeper breath. Fill your fell with your deep regrets. Deep regret. Clear a. Closing doors please. It's time to make a. There's a window to your world and fast. It's closing and the only thing that's left to feel the lo from within. I don't think you'll win and the.

[Bob Ryan]

Value that you'll get out is the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Same as what you. Morning. I hate to see you crying. Still I see you crying. Tears in broken Tears in broken Deeper.