“Let’s Go!”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – "Let’s Go!" (October 8, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Tony Kornheiser hosts familiar friends and expert voices for a quintessential blend of sports, life, and banter. Regular guests Chuck Todd and Reginald the Monkey deliver NFL picks, while acclaimed author Jane Levy joins to discuss her new book "Make Me Commissioner," offering her perspective on what ails baseball and how to rejuvenate the game. Amid the laughter and insight, the crew also muses on the mundane glories of potatoes, advertising quirks, and the eternal allure of a full moon.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Agricultural Banter and Home Life (00:14–02:09)

• The Potato Saga Continues: Tony and his guests kick things off by discussing the continued presence (and questionable future) of Tony’s home-grown potatoes, with plenty of jokes about storage, curses, and agricultural misadventures.
  • “The potatoes remain. By the way, the potatoes are right. They continue to be in the kitchen. They continue to be on a paper plate. They continue to age, whatever it is they do or turn to rock. How. Where do I put them?” — Tony Kornheiser (01:14)
  • “I think we need to burn the entire field.” — Michael Wilbon (02:04)
• Moon Musings: A beautiful full Harvest Moon sparks a spirited digression on lunar linguistics and family bonding.
  • “I wanted to say the moon on Monday was at its fullest, but then I thought as an English major, is it more accurate to say at its most full…?” — Tony Kornheiser (02:32)
  • “I like the poetry of most full most.” — Michael Wilbon (03:03)

2. Tony’s Brush with Fame and Commercial Gripes (04:06–08:22)

• Meeting a Fan: Tony describes a heartwarming early-morning interaction with a construction worker who turns out to be a longtime fan.
  • “Are you Tony Kornheiser? And I go, indeed I am. And he comes over and he says, I have watched your show, you and Mr. Wilbon, my whole life. Mr. My whole life. Can I shake your hand?” — Tony Kornheiser (04:06)
• Advertising Annoyances: The panel riffs on the constant barrage of prescription drug ads ("Skyrizi!") and the proliferation of “certified factory technician” claims, finding humor in modern marketing tactics and dubious authority figures.
  • “A certified factory. What factory? What factory? Is there a standardized test here or is this just gobbledygook?” — Tony Kornheiser (06:14)
  • “They used to say four out of five. I want to talk to the fifth. Yeah, I want to see why he's holding out.” — Dave Zirin (07:17)

3. Life Logistics and Sports Gear Dilemmas (08:22–09:30)

• Bike Rack Woes: Michael Wilbon lamenting the trials of transporting kids’ bikes, sparking classic TK advice about just buying bikes at the destination.
  • “It would be cheaper to just have bikes delivered.” — Michael Wilbon (09:03)
  • “I would buy bikes and store them in that house. Yeah, that's what I would do.” — Tony Kornheiser (09:17)

4. MLB Playoff Talk and Matt Damon Filmography (09:30–14:25)

• Baseball Recap: Tony and the crew deconstruct the previous night's MLB games, notably Aaron Judge’s home run (“off the foul pole, very significant because it’s Aaron Judge”) and Vlad Guerrero’s heroics, noting the unpredictability and sometimes misleading TV coverage of key moments.

• Matt Damon Appreciation: The conversation shifts to Matt Damon’s birthday (55), leading to a rundown of his extensive movie credits, with particular reverence for his consistent quality:

  • “Okay. Him and Tom Hanks, they don't make bad movies. They only make good movies. Right. That's all they do.” — Tony Kornheiser (14:25)

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5. NFL Picks With Chuck Todd & Reginald the Monkey (17:07–32:11)

Chuck Todd Segment

• Personal Anecdote: Chuck shares a charming story about meeting a Florida Supreme Court justice at a Miami-Florida State game, highlighting the connective tissue of the podcast community (18:01).
• NFL Picks: The duo break down the week’s NFL matchups, riffing on lines, team woes, and (of course) kitchen sink games.

| Match-Up | Chuck Todd’s Pick | Key Lines/Quotes | |---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------| | Dallas @ Carolina | Dallas (reluctantly) | “Dallas stinks too. But Dallas is probably capable of scoring more points than Carolina...But I hate that hook.” (20:25) | | LA Rams @ Baltimore | Ravens (+7.5) | “This is a kitchen sink game for the Ravens.” (21:30)| | Seattle @ Jacksonville | Seattle (+1.5) | “I'm going to go with Seattle.” (24:10) | | San Francisco @ Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay (+2.5) | “I have lost money three weeks in a row trying to bet against Tampa... I'm not doing it.” (25:06) | | Detroit @ Kansas City | Chiefs (-2.5) | “I think even Mahomes said, yeah, we have too many losses already... I'm going to go with the Chiefs.” (27:54) | | Buffalo @ Atlanta | Atlanta (+4.5) | “I'm going to take Atlanta.” (29:55) | | Chicago @ Washington | Washington (-4.5) | “But give me Jayden Daniels.” (31:08) |

• On MVP Candidates:
  • “The most valuable player in the NFL so far this year is Baker Mayfield. And if it's not him, it's Daniel Jones.” — Tony Kornheiser (24:12)
  • “Baker Mayfield's ... the MVP now. Let's find out in five more games.” — Chuck Todd (26:07)

Reginald the Monkey’s Picks
Dave Zirin narrates the escapades of Reginald, whose betting logic incorporates monkey business, luxury Waffle Houses, and celebrity adventures:

• Jacksonville over Seattle
• Detroit over Kansas City
• Washington over Chicago (33:01–34:50)

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6. “Make Me Commissioner”: Fixing Baseball with Jane Levy (36:21–52:22)

Book Insights & Baseball’s Challenges

Jane Levy dives into the central themes of her book and offers candid critiques of the sport:

• Fan Alienation & the Need for Change:
  • “People, I think, really want to like baseball, but they really want baseball to like them back… The problem is people in the stands don't think baseball gives a damn about them.” — Jane Levy (37:22)
• Applauding Rule Changes: Credits the pitch clock and some limits on shifts for improving the pace of play.
• Proposing Free Admission for Kids: Suggests MLB let all kids under 10 in for free, underscoring the need to rebuild a younger fanbase given the game’s sky-high costs.
  • “Why have them be empty? ... Imagine getting up there... and holding a press conference and saying, we really mean it...” — Jane Levy (38:32)

Structural & Gameplay Reforms

• Pitching Injuries Crisis: Recommends expanding rosters with an NHL-style healthy scratch list, but capping active pitchers to prevent overuse.
• Youth Baseball Issues: Laments the 'country club' nature of youth baseball—pricing out many families.
  • “It's become a country club sport that very few people other than middle and upper class white kids can afford...” — Jane Levy (41:46)
• Gameplay Tweaks: Entertaining but radical notions, including fielding configuration changes and even an “18-foot plexiglass wall in the outfield” to spark more defensive plays and reduce cheap home runs (46:56–47:10).

Technology & Tradition

• On Robo-Umps: Jane is ambivalent about automating ball/strike calls; she prefers the drama and humanity of imperfection.
  • “They're trying to make an imperfect game perfect and I resent it.” — Joe Torre quote via Jane Levy (49:12)

The Analytics Debate

• Draws a distinction between how analytics have (in her mind) improved excitement in football and basketball, but made baseball “repetitive, lacking in subtlety and texture, and boring." (51:54)

Notable Quotes

• “Baseball analytics have made the game repetitive. Lacking in subtlety and texture and boring. It just made it boring.” — Jane Levy (51:54)
• “Yet I watch the gnats every night. I'm just doomed to repeat the insanity of my life.” — Tony Kornheiser (52:04)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No, to get to. Let's just see if eyes pop out on any of them.” — Tony on potato storage (01:30)
• “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. Yeah, that's a. More. Yeah. Okay.” — Tony, suddenly breaking into song and nostalgia (03:30)
• “Every ad... everyone is a certified factory technician. What factory? Is there a standardized test here or is this just gobbledygook?” — Tony (06:14)
• “If we just gave you Chuck Todd, that would be more than enough. But we give you a monkey.” — Tony, introducing Reginald’s picks (31:30)
• “We just finished chapter one... 100%. Baker Mayfield's the MVP now.” — Chuck Todd (26:07)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:14 – Opening potato talk with Chuck Todd and Michael Wilbon
• 02:09 – Full moon stories, family reactions
• 04:06 – Tony’s fan encounter
• 05:11–08:22 – The state of advertising, TV commercial tropes, and more
• 09:30–14:25 – MLB games recap, Matt Damon's movie rundown
• 17:07–32:11 – Picks with Chuck Todd & Reginald the Monkey (NFL Week)
• 36:21–52:22 – Jane Levy interview, “Make Me Commissioner” and the state of baseball

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Episode Tone & Style

Warm, witty, and sharply observant, this episode is a classic Tony Kornheiser mix of sports insights, cultural grumbling, and absurdist observational humor. The banter is personal and vibrant, especially in the interplay between Tony, Wilbon, and guests like Chuck Todd and Jane Levy.

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For New Listeners

This episode highlights Tony’s ability to pivot seamlessly from hyper-local home life to national sports commentary, punctuated by erudite guests and the show’s signature blend of nostalgia and wit. If you missed the broadcast, the above encapsulates all central themes, debates, and the spirit of the “Let’s Go!” episode—no potato or playoff left behind.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show we will get NFL picks from Chuck Todd and Reginald the Monkey. We'll also chat with Jane Levy about her new book, Make Me Commissioner. I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it. But first, commerce.

[Chuck Todd]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. Yes, these are the seeds for next year's potatoes, Right? You cut them up. You put the eye to the sky when you plant next spring.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Chuck Todd]

So these are seeds of hope, not signs of failure in you. You sent me presenting the potatoes. I greatly appreciated that. I did not send you back a video of our potatoes. I think most of the house.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, thousands of potatoes. Yeah. This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show from Steve the Sycophant. On Monday's pod, your sintle ending conversation with Buster only was totally out of proportion. By my calculations, you spent 90% of the time on baseball and only 10% on potatoes, squash and other aspects of agronomy. For those of us who bask in the reflective glory of your agricultural exports, the proportion should be reversed. Please heed this request. Michael.

[Michael Wilbon]

The potatoes remain.

[Tony Kornheiser]

By the way, the potatoes are right. They continue to be in the kitchen. They continue to be on a paper plate. They continue to age, whatever it is they do or turn to rock. How. Where do I put them?

[Michael Wilbon]

The trash can?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, to get to. Let's just see if eyes pop out on any of them.

[Michael Wilbon]

Alright, then we need to find a.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dark, relatively cool place and put them in a Saran Wrap bag.

[Michael Wilbon]

But to be fair, what normally happens is I buy the three pound bag of potatoes, use about two and a quarter pounds and then forget about them and get yelled at because it produces a liquid that stains our cabinets.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so we have to work on where to put these tiny little potatoes that probably are. They have no life to them. They have no life.

[Michael Wilbon]

Keep them away from onions.

[Dave Zirin]

Is there a thought that maybe these potatoes are cursed and we should start fresh next spring?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's the first I've heard of that thought.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think we need to burn the entire field.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So Today in Washington D.C. this morning in Washington D.C. is raining. It has rained. But on the. On Saturday night and Sunday night and Monday night, particularly on Monday night, there was a beautiful full moon.

[Dave Zirin]

Oh yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So just beautiful.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think that's three of these full moons till the end of the year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right? Was this the harvest moon? This was the harvest moon. So this is my question. As I thought about this this morning as I was walking the dog in the rain. I wanted to say the moon on Monday was at its fullest, but then I thought as an English major, is it more accurate to say at its most full? I know there is tallest and shortest, but fullest just didn't have that ring to me that it's a real word. Whereas most full is, I think. Exactly.

[Michael Wilbon]

I like the poetry of most full most.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

I think it.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think it describes the act of the moon going through its different phases and getting to that most full.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, the 28 day cycle of the moon. But did, did the kids see it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, how did they react?

[Michael Wilbon]

It's beautiful. I took them outside. This is again after dinner, when they become a bag of snakes and are just writhing around on the floor fighting. And we have to say, go outside. At which point no one's wearing shoes. And I have to try and find the moon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, well, you have to look in the back of your house and find it. I get there to the side where I live. Yeah. I mean, I walk the dog at an appropriate time and maneuver so I can see the moon. Moon was just absolutely beautiful when the moon. Just gorgeous when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. Yeah, that's a. More. Yeah. Okay. I had, had. I had that experience yesterday when I was walking the dog at 6:15 in the morning. And in the neighborhood is a house being built. And so there's traffic even at that hour of the morning all the time, trucks coming in.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's setting up the staging.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. This was a fellow who, he. He had parked next to the house and he had opened his door and Chessy the dog was intrigued by the open door and walked over to the truck and walked over to the open door and just was sniffing around. And I said to this particular guy, this worker, I said, do you have any food in there? And he said, no, I don't think so. I said, oh, okay. I just, I thought you might have been smelling for food. And I walk away and I get about 30ft and I hear, excuse me, are. Are you Tony Kornheiser? And I go, indeed I am. And he comes over and he says, I have watched your show, you and Mr. Wilbon, my whole life. Mr. My whole life. Can I shake your hand? I said, sure.

[Michael Wilbon]

How great is that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was lovely. Phenomenal. Made me very happy.

[Michael Wilbon]

Thought he's going to come back and offer you a sandwich.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, didn't do that. He said he had no food in there. Okay. Oh, one other thing before I get to the baseball. So if, If You. If you watch television for any length of time.

[Michael Wilbon]

Attack ads.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know what are attack. Oh, I don't care about the. Oh, the attack ads on politics. I don't care about that.

[Michael Wilbon]

It just. It's hard to watch sometimes when you have, you know, elementary school kids, football.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I don't care about those. I expect those. And they'll be gone, you know, by November 10th.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I don't care about those. No, there's. There's just an abhorrent number of drug ads.

[Michael Wilbon]

Skyrizi.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, all of those. All of those drug ads that will save your life except. Except for these small things that could happen to you. Death and. And things close to death. So. But everybody's smiling, everybody's laughing, living a better life. The river looks great. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Taking a run.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fish, you know, the fish are swimming. Hot air balloons. I hate those commercials.

[Michael Wilbon]

Finally, play ultimate Frisbee again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's another type class of commercial out there, which is the bathroom remodeling commercial. Now, there are other types of remodeling commercials, but I'm just going to focus on the bathroom remodeling and I don't.

[Michael Wilbon]

Know, the fake stone siding.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, all of that. I don't know which company is doing this, but I think they're all doing this. And at some point on the ad, they say, everyone is a certified factory technician. And this is meant to make you feel comfortable calling them up and saying, please remodel my bathroom in the next 10 minutes, and it's fine. But let's just think about this for a second. A certified factory. What factory? What factory? Is there a standardized test here or is this just gobbledygook? Which is what I think it is. I don't think. I don't think anybody is a certified factory anything. I think they just say that because it gives them an authority that allows you to say, yeah, sure, come over here, because you're a factory.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Certified factory technician.

[Michael Wilbon]

Again, go back to the rhetorical triangle. This is like watching a. You know, the dent. 9. 98% dentists think you should brush your teeth with this particular toothpaste.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I don't think that's true. Yeah, I don't think.

[Dave Zirin]

Well, they used to say four out of five. I want to talk to the fifth. Yeah, I want to see why he's holding out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I mean, the certified factory.

[Dave Zirin]

Technicians, it feels totally made up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's the other thing. And that's that other ad that they do. Like you're sitting in a car you and your friend and your dog, and suddenly a rock goes through your windshield. And then they tell you, just call us up a safe light, whatever they are, we'll come to you. We'll put a new window on. And it makes it seem like they'll be there in, like, that jingle five minutes. And you'll be back on the road in 25.

[Michael Wilbon]

You are dangerously close to next day blind territory.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

It doesn't work.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It doesn't work that way. It doesn't actually. It's not. No. It looks great. And by the way, this has ever happened to you. It's never happened to me, I'm happy to say. I've never had a rock fall through my windshield.

[Michael Wilbon]

I've had. I've had rocks chipped off of big trucks as you're driving down the highway and you think there's going to be a crack and it doesn't happen.

[Dave Zirin]

Yeah, I've had my. Had to have my windshield replaced and it took some time, but it's harder.

[Michael Wilbon]

Now because there's technology in the glass.

[Dave Zirin]

Yeah, there was something with the rear view mirror. They had to align and senses. Yeah. So it was. It was a bit of a problem.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, I'm experiencing this right now because we're heading out of town for the weekend and I got a bike rack and trying to hook this thing onto the bike rack. Let's just say dinner was delayed last night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is that, that. Is that. Do you have that tool? Thu Thule is the.

[Michael Wilbon]

Thule is the brand that we. We aspire to, but we don't have a hitch on the back of the family car. So I spent hours researching this. There's just four hooks that go into the back of the trunk and. And then you just say, well, we're going to cross the Bay Bridge and hopefully the bikes make it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, most people and the bikes. The kids.

[Michael Wilbon]

Bikes are too small. The frames are too small. You have to get an extra bar to go across them just to get this thing on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Why don't you ask your father to buy the children new bikes when you get to where you're going?

[Michael Wilbon]

Honestly, it would be cheaper to just have bikes delivered.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Exactly. Get shipsticks and send a bike in.

[Michael Wilbon]

Them just to do these bikes for the kids. Send me my bikes. But they arrive in a box and you put them together in 10 minutes. And then you don't have to put them. Put the bike rack.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I. Yeah, I mean, I would. I would do that. If you knew somebody who had a house out there, I would. I would Buy bikes and store them in that house. Yeah, that's what I would do. I'm not telling you what to do, but that's what I would see if.

[Michael Wilbon]

There'S a prime deal for that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Okay. Baseball last night, neither game started out. Neither game started out like you wanted to watch it. First of all, we finished pti and, and I go to watch the Tigers game, which I assume at 6 o' clock is at least in the seventh inning and is a rain delay, you know, so that didn't start till 7 and then the Yankees started at 8 and both games and I stayed mostly with the Tigers.

[Michael Wilbon]

It was hard for you to go back and forth with the FS ones.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, no, no, because it was MLB Network 859. I was on 857 and 859. I didn't utilize the last. Right. I went 857, 859. But both games started out as routes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, Flaherty couldn't get anybody out in the third inning, you know, for Detroit and Seattle went up like three nothing early or maybe, I don't know, four, whatever.

[Michael Wilbon]

Nothing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it didn't look like a good game at all. And the Yankee game was 6:1 in the second or the third and it didn't look like a good game at all.

[Michael Wilbon]

How about Guerrero at that stadium?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the home run by Judge, the way it is delivered to you on television makes you think that won the game. It did not.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was it a third of the game after that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tied? Yeah, tied up. It tied the game. Didn't win the game. It's great. It's off the foul pole and it's very significant because it's Aaron Judge. Yeah. Understand it didn't win and the crowd.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was absolutely quiet at that point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So it was, it was really good for the Yankees. I'm glad the Yankees won. I always want the Series to go four or five, you know, at least four, you know, but that didn't win the game, though. It's, it's, it's metaphorically significant, but it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Does it turn the series?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Dave Zirin]

You wonder if that's the moment that sparks them. And they say now it might again. I mean, coming back from 6:1 is fairly significant.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, if the foul pole is something you always are going to remember, it's.

[Michael Wilbon]

A bummer to see, like with one out, you have that air and shallow left allows the runner to get to second. Then you have the walk and then you have clank off the foul ball.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Vlad Guerrero had a Home run.

[Michael Wilbon]

Did you see the slide?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they dove.

[Michael Wilbon]

He just Full belly flop.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Vlad Guerrero had a home run. Like. Like. I don't think he just started. Yeah. And it was two. Nothing just started.

[Dave Zirin]

By the way, I did see in the Tigers game, didn't I see Victor Robles come around and see more in a close play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Starting in right field. Yeah. Sort of a stunner. Yeah, sort of a stunner. No Gnats were injured in the bullpen last night. Apparently, you know, injured, like trying to not.

[Michael Wilbon]

Could be used in safe, like, situations.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, wouldn't think so. I just wanted to mention this one thing. We are. Happy birthday Today on the PTI show is Matt Damon. Matt Damon is 55. Can you look up the movies? Matt Damon. So I think Matt Damon's a terrific actor. He's just. Just a terrific actor. I'm sure he's been in a couple of bad movies, but let's look at some of the movies he's been in. He's great in the Martian. In his breakout movie that inspired you.

[Michael Wilbon]

Grow the potatoes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. In his. In his breakout movie that he wrote with Ben Affleck because they're buddies. Yeah. Good Will Hunting. He's great. That's great. It's a great movie.

[Dave Zirin]

Mystic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. What is the. What. What is the line? You know, like apples.

[Dave Zirin]

I got another number. How about them apples?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, you hit a cop, you're going in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Come on, I got a number.

[Dave Zirin]

So here's just some of them. Mystic Pizza, which is a true. That was his first movie.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's not starring. No. Roberts.

[Dave Zirin]

School Ties. That was a big movie for him. The Rainmaker, Goodwill Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, rounders. The Talented Mr. Ripley. Dogma Legend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Talented Mr. RipLEY is a fabulous movie. Yeah, yeah, go ahead.

[Dave Zirin]

All the Pretty Horses, Ocean's Eleven.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All those movies are good. Yeah, all of them.

[Dave Zirin]

The Bourne Identity.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How about the Born Identity? How about the two that he did? Yeah, they're great. You can watch them a thousand times. They're great. Yeah.

[Dave Zirin]

Syriana. The Departed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Come on.

[Dave Zirin]

That was just brilliant. The Good Shepherd.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Good shepherd is a great CIA movie. There's a scene in the Good shepherd where somebody leaves the airplane in a way that was not intended. Just a great movie.

[Dave Zirin]

The Informant Invictus. True Grit was terrific. Ford versus Ferrari versus Ferrari. I'm gonna there yet. But. Yeah, yeah, it's just all these things. All the interstellar he was in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, just great. Yeah. Matt Damon. That's what he does. I know somebody who went to a super bowl party with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And it is reported back this was the super bowl where Malcolm Butler makes the interception on the pass by Russell Wilson. And they go insane. They're. Because they're Boston guys. They root for all the Boston teams. They go insane. Anyway, Matt Damon, I should mention Oppenheimer.

[Dave Zirin]

As well, because that was another huge. That's what he does.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Okay. Him and Tom Hanks, they don't make bad movies. They only make good movies. Right. That's all they do. I vote. That's the ticket. I would vote for Tom Hanks president Matt Damon, vice president. Sure. That I would vote for that. Yeah. All right. We will. Who we getting to first? Chuck Todd. That's right, Chuck Todd. When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a group called the Antics. This is a song called Bringing the Daddy around, which is sort of a cool title, I have to say. And I get this note from Mark Tillman says this is Mark Tillman from Mount Laurel, New Jersey, home of Ron Jaworski's vaunted 27 Hole Golf Experience, Ramblewood. We go back to the chatter days. I used to work with your golf buddy Robin Buffalo at the now defunct Chevy Chase Bank. And you've spoken to my high school basketball teammate from Jesuit High in Portland, Oregon, Eric Spoelstrom, a few times on PTI over the years. In any event, please find attached some songs from a builder client of mine's son, Luke Meisenbacher Jr. Who is performing under the name the Antics. Permission structure is below, isn't that nice. Enjoy postseason baseball. Will you be cheering for the former Nats players here in Philly? To a degree. Not Harper so much, but Turner and Schwaber. Although, you know, just adding parenthetically, they're 2 for 21 in the first two games.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah, it's been tough.

[Tony Kornheiser]

2 for 21 with 11 strikeouts. Michael, if people like the antics want to send us their original music, how do they do it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

To jinglesonykoenizershow.com and they play in Chuck Todd. And this week's picks with Chuck Todd and Regil the monkey are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more.

[Michael Wilbon]

Had a great visit to the Murray school yesterday and got to talk about Chuck Todd.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Explain us.

[Michael Wilbon]

I was visiting with one of the football coaches, Coach Genachowski, and I was pick my Mac championship boathouse jacket. If you're in the independent schools, you know boathouse jacket means something. I have 20 years ago. I have kids older than this jacket from when I was coaching. Yeah, a beautiful day to visit the campus. Felt really energized.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chuck was 3 and 4 last week. He lost. He took Kansas City at Jacksonville as I would have, as many people would have, and lost and went to 3 and 4 on the weekend. 15 and 20 overall. Slow start, Chuck. Slow start.

[Chuck Todd]

It is a slow start. I got share. You know, I told you I went to the Miami Florida State game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

And I got to share with you this one funny interaction because of course it has to do with the show.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Oh, good.

[Chuck Todd]

So I'm sitting, I'm, I'm, you know, I got the better than the Saliza seats at Florida State. My wife's on a board, right. So, so I'm sitting in this and it's hard because it's a very social atmosphere and I want to watch the goddamn game. So I'm sitting and I'm, you know, Miami's doing well and all this stuff and, you know, nobody's cheering in this place that I'm at, as you might imagine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, it's state. Yes, it's Florida State.

[Chuck Todd]

But there's one guy sitting in front of me and he's secretly cheering for Miami there too. And he like puts back and you know, we cheer and all this stuff. And then it's close to the end of the game, he gets up and goes and he says, hey, you ever need any help with the Supreme Court, my name's John. Let me know. And I'm like, huh, I wonder who this guy is. So I look and of course, it's a state Supreme Court Justice, John Curiel. I was like, you know, great. You know, So I send a note to the PR person and said, hey, I met the justice. And I felt terrible. I didn't recognize him.

[Jane Levy]

Right.

[Chuck Todd]

All this stuff. Guy writes back and he says, I forwarded your message to go to Psych. The cheese are eight. The connective tissues. Let me finish. I'm a professional and personal friend of Mark Caputo from our days in Capitol press corps. Mark's an old journalism friend of mine. He goes, I went to Mizzou with my. And I'm great friends with TK regular Pat 40. And my nephew is friend of the show. San Francisco's Giants broadcaster, Dave Fleming. Say hello for Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

For me.

[Chuck Todd]

I don't know him, but I feel as if I do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow, that's tremendous. I just. It was like, that's tremendous.

[Chuck Todd]

You know, it's.

[Jane Levy]

It's.

[Chuck Todd]

And of course this happens a lot, but this one, I felt. I mean, this guy, you know, I felt like he deserved a. He deserved a shout out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, good for that. Good for that. Yeah, that's. That's lovely. All right, now the bad part. Now he has games, you know.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dallas is at Carolina. Carolina had a surprising win. Carolina stinks. Let's understand something. Dallas stinks too. But Dallas is probably capable of scoring more points in Carolina. Dallas, if you like Dallas at Carolina, you have to give three and a half. It's a bad number. Three and a half. But what do you got?

[Jane Levy]

You know, this is.

[Chuck Todd]

The hard nosed Gamblers is a. Hold your nose and you should take the home team with that half point. I just can't do it. I think Carolina's terrible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Me too.

[Chuck Todd]

And I know, I know Bryce Young is. There's times he's like, okay, and then. But it's never. And so I'll take Dallas. But I hate that. I hate that hook.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

You could just see them needing a field goal to win the game against these guys because that's what they do. But I don't think Bryce Young scores 40.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, nor do I. And Dak Prescott does. He does score a lot of points there. Did the. Dallas's defense is terrible, but they play in entertaining games because there's a lot of score. The LA Rams are at Baltimore. Baltimore is the biggest collapse of any team in the league this year. Their defense is terrible. They have four losses in which they have allowed 160 points. And that's terrible for any team, but especially a team that is built on defense as Baltimore is. They just traded for a safety yesterday. The Rams are favored by seven and a half. That is a very suspicious number to me. Just in this game. Just in this game to me. But I'll. I'll. I'm asking you what you would do.

[Chuck Todd]

You're not. You're not wrong. I think this is a kitchen sink game for the Ravens.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Me too.

[Chuck Todd]

With.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I don't know if Lamar Jackson's playing. I don't even know.

[Chuck Todd]

Right. There's rumor they're thinking about it and all this stuff. Right. They have a buy next week. Do you want to go one in five? Then you come back. You're probably done if you're one in five, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

You're not making the playoffs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't think so.

[Chuck Todd]

Two and four.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Well, you're in. You're in a weak division now. That's a weak division. Cincinnati is weakened. They're not going to win any more games because Burrow doesn't play. Cleveland isn't any good and Pittsburgh is not really good. They're not really good. So that's winnable.

[Chuck Todd]

You're not a. Joe Flat. You don't think Joe Flacco throws 500 yards with his new favorite two receivers, Jamar Chase?

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he might. If they have an offensive line that can keep him upright, he might.

[Chuck Todd]

Well, that's what I don't. I mean, if Joe Burrow couldn't be kept upright.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chuck Todd]

You think the Statue of Liberty back there, Right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree.

[Chuck Todd]

No, I hear you there. I'm going to take the Ravens and that seven and a half.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would do the same because. And if I lost on this, I would never take them again all year. But. But no.

[Chuck Todd]

Well, I think they're done if.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, right.

[Jane Levy]

5.

[Chuck Todd]

I think that's what it is. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Seattle.

[Chuck Todd]

By the way, the Rams are. This is the type of. They kind of. They get stupid. Right. They don't. They sort of play with their food sometimes in games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree. They should never have lost the game they lost last week. Never.

[Chuck Todd]

So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. Seattle is at Jacksonville. Sam Darnold is actually pretty good. Not great, but he's pretty good. What happened the other night in Jacksonville may be the beginning of the rise of, you know, Trevor Lawrence, who everybody thought was so great in college. It may be. On the other hand, that's such a big win that you can see them just sort of exhaling and not putting up much of an effort, although they are. This is amazing. They are tied for the best record in the AFC? Jacksonville 4 and 1. Seattle is getting 1 1/2 at Jacksonville.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah, I think it's a short week. Even though they're the home team, they can stay home. Boy, they tried to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Should have lost.

[Chuck Todd]

I know Jacksonville won it, but they.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Should have lost that game.

[Chuck Todd]

Yes. Yeah. And you're sort of still a head scratcher there on Mahomes, but yeah. Look, both these teams, Seattle and Jacksonville have been better than I think you would. You thought any of us thought they might be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

I'm going to go with Seattle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Seattle plus one and a half then San Francisco is at Tampa Bay. The most valuable player in the NFL so far this year is Baker Mayfield. And if it's not him, it's Daniel Jones. But I think it's Baker Mayfield because every single week in the last 40 seconds of the game, he's leading that team down the field and giving them a chance to win. San Francisco has a better record than I think they're. Not that their talent because they have great talent. But it's all hurt. It's always hurt. I don't know who their quarterback is this week, although I think Mac Jones is better than most people think he is. But if you like San Francisco, four in one team as well, I believe at Tampa Bay you get two and a half. And this is not an insignificant amount of points because Tampa Bay has won four games by a total of nine points. Ain't blowing anybody out. Who you got?

[Chuck Todd]

I have. I have lost money three weeks in a row trying to bet against Tampa.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

Thinking well, they're not going to do it this week. Well, they're not going to do it this week. You know and obviously I'm, I am a lot poor for the, for the effort there and I'd love to fade them this week. I'm not doing it. They're at home. I'm not doing it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're going to take.

[Chuck Todd]

I'm in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Even though. Even though it is likely they win by one or two and you lose the bet.

[Chuck Todd]

Two and a half. I'm okay with that's. In theory it's still a field goal. Okay. Tie game going in, you know, and then they, they kick a field goal to win it. I just. It may be that this is the Tampa's that team. I mean this was like the cheat. Was it the Chief slash last 11.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And oh and one score games.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah. And Minnesota a couple of years before that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

I, maybe Tampa is just this team. So I'm getting out of.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

I'm.

[Chuck Todd]

I'M tired of being in front of that freight train.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So do you agree on Baker Mayfield that he could be the MVP right now? Five weeks.

[Chuck Todd]

The NFL season is now like what, three chapters?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Chuck Todd]

You know, you know, a third, a third, a third, maybe. And we just finished chapter one. Yeah, 100%. Baker Mayfield's the. There's, he's, he's on his own. He's the MVP now. Let's find out in five more games. Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I agree. I agree with that. Detroit, which I think is at the moment the best team in the league. That's me just saying that Detroit is the best team in the league ever since they lost at Green Bay. They're blowing people out. They're at Kansas City. This is a Sunday night game. Kansas City is 2 and 3. It's sort of shocking. They should have won against Jackson. They should have and they did not win that game. And I don't know where their season goes if they lose this game. And yet I look at Detroit and I think they're the best team in league. And, you know, I apologize if I intrude on everything you want to say because I babble like this, but I think it sets up your bet. So who you got?

[Chuck Todd]

Oh, why do you apologize to me? It's your show. Yeah, well, you know, I mean, you know what I say about you to other people that shouldn't have gotten back to you. I'm sorry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Detroit's getting two and a half. Really?

[Chuck Todd]

By the way, last week Mahomes lost.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Allen lost. Right.

[Chuck Todd]

Well, I mean, Baltimore lost. Right? Allen lost.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

It's something like this week, it was the first time it was Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar, Jackson, all are playing this week from. After an important loss. Potentially.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was something like the first time those three teams had lost on the same day in like 12 years. Something like that. Baltimore, Kansas City and Buffalo. Something like that.

[Chuck Todd]

I'm, I'm sort of have the same feeling on the Chiefs as I did on the Ravens. Like, this is. Yes, this is, you know, not quite as kitchen sinky as the Ravens since it is one more game, but it, they kind of, they kind of, they need, they need to get this one. I think even Mahomes said, yeah, we have too many losses already or something like that. I'm going to go with the Chiefs.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Two Monday night games. The only meaning to me is that we are on ESPN2 next Monday. That's all that really matters to me. Buffalo starts out at Atlanta. There's. There's a Lack of juice for this game in, in the seat that I'm sitting in. Buffalo at Atlanta. Buffalo is minus four and a half. This is the first Monday night game. The second one is Chicago at Washington, which is a much more attractive game. Buffalo at Atlanta. If you like Buffalo, you give four and a half.

[Chuck Todd]

I, I'm not trying to like, pick a. Pick a. Your employer here, but why another two Monday night game week this week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know how it works. There's going to be more. Even this, it's not the last. I mean, I don't know that. No one, no one asked you. No one, no one said, this is why we're doing it. And I was not consulted. I don't, you know, I don't know. I don't know.

[Chuck Todd]

You have.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, you have the.

[Chuck Todd]

You have the top two picks from last year's draft facing off against each other on Monday night. You don't need another game.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

To me, to me, Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels, that's a game that you put out there and you say, you know, you can't go anywhere else but here.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

By itself.

[Chuck Todd]

On an island. Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

So, yeah, anyway, I'm not going to look as long as they. I guess they're separating it out by a couple hours, I hope.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One hour, I think.

[Chuck Todd]

You know, the Bills don't have a defense, by the way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't. I don't know much about the Bills except that I would. I would think that after losing at home to New England. I know, I know I would take them. That's me.

[Chuck Todd]

I don't like that. Four and a half.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

So many points. I'm going to take Atlanta.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Take the home team there, the home dog there. And then, and then this Chicago Washington game, which is a game you, you plan to sit down and watch. You know, you wait days for this. Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels. Wilbond's going to go out of his mind during this particular game. And Chicago is getting four and a half points. Who you got?

[Chuck Todd]

And the game's here, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. It's not in Brazil. I don't know. I assume it's in Washington, man.

[Chuck Todd]

So Caleb, hometown family's there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Zaga High school, man. How many times have I heard that?

[Chuck Todd]

What do you think? Does that, does it make them more nervous playing in front of that crowd? Is there more pressure in this game?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know about that. I think it jacks up Jaden Daniels more.

[Chuck Todd]

That's what I think, too. I'm with you there. I Don't think that it's the. I think Washington's a much better team than Chicago. So on that. But, but, but I do think Chicago is going to get better every week. They do feel like. You can tell. They're more competently coached.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

Than they were last year. That's a huge change. But give me Jayden Daniels.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think I would do the same thing in this one. I would do that. All right. Good luck. Thank you.

[Chuck Todd]

Thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What?

[Chuck Todd]

I need to win?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you need to win. It's almost the kitchen sink for you. You're one week away and then I'm out. Yeah, that's it.

[Chuck Todd]

I know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, goodbye, Chuck Todd, boys and girls. And if we just gave you Chuck Todd, that would be more than enough. But we give you a monkey. See the monkey, he's screwed Scritch scratching, watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging with Bud Grant Tap, tap tapping on his purple attaches not just going too zoo, zoo, zoo Reginald's got the violet spy too. Sometimes he throws boo, boo, boo, boo when he's had too much Johnny Walker Blue. So Reginald was one and two. Reginald's always one and two, it seems. Feels like it. And he's six and nine overall. One and two last week.

[Dave Zirin]

He's still got Mount 500 still in sight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Of course.

[Michael Wilbon]

One week away.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And.

[Dave Zirin]

And it's going to be this week. That's. He feels confident now. When I went down to the national on that poo, along with the Johnny Walker Blue.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what he loves.

[Dave Zirin]

It was very chaotic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

By the way, can I just mention something about Johnny Walker Blue?

[Dave Zirin]

What's that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I. I went through my closet in the PTI studio last week, find a couple bottles and I found a beautiful engraved. This is. I. I wasn't sure that it was engraved, but it was beautiful in the. In the big.

[Michael Wilbon]

The satin box casing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, the satin box with glasses. Like on the left hand side was a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue. On the right hand side were two glasses. It must have been in there for 20 years. But liquor just gets better. Exactly.

[Dave Zirin]

I was gonna say.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, it gets better. So what's the difference? Well done.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Dave Zirin]

So anyway, so when I went down to the National, I should have opened.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It instead of doing the show I just should have done.

[Dave Zirin]

It might be better. It was very chaotic scene when I went down to the National Zoo to. To chat with Reginald. As you know, this is when they do the big harvest from the cooperative farm that he runs. You're aware of that, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Once upon A farm. Is that his. The other one?

[Dave Zirin]

I think that's what it's called. But, you know, some of the people that he runs this with, Jason Worth is a part of this. Hilary Swank and Eugene Levy. So, yeah, they had said this is our project we're going to. And they've gone gangbusters with this. They hold out a half a ton of potatoes, cucumbers the size of canoes, and kumquats as big as volleyballs. So just, yeah, go down and partake in that sumptuous feast. Now, the first match we gave him was Jacksonville at home giving a point and a half against Seattle. And Reginald showed me a photograph, this is rather recent, of him breaking ground for a new luxury Waffle house in downtown Jacksonville.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going Jacksonville.

[Dave Zirin]

He'd invite you, but he's pretty sure that wouldn't work out. So he'll take the Jaguars in that. And the next match we gave him was the Detroit Lions on the road at Kansas City getting two and a half. And this was a lovely photo he showed me of him scaling El Capitan with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, because, of course, they're always together. And Wayne Fonts. So that tells me he's got Detroit. Yeah. Got ties to Detroit again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

As I said to Chuck, I think they're the best team in the league right now. Yeah. But it's, you know, got 12 games to go.

[Dave Zirin]

Exactly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Exactly.

[Dave Zirin]

Now, the last match we gave him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Of course, was given the Washington game. Yeah.

[Dave Zirin]

The Washington football team at home giving.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Four and a half to the Wilbonds.

[Dave Zirin]

To the Wilbones. Exactly. You know, and now he's very fond of Mike, but he showed me a picture of him swimming across the English Channel with Gary Clark, Joe Bugle. And Al Noga tells me he's got times to the ties to the home team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Joe Bugle can swim the English Channel.

[Dave Zirin]

Yeah, apparently. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Let's hope they don't wait till the last play again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that. That was the Hail Mary.

[Jane Levy]

Yeah. Last year.

[Chuck Todd]

Right.

[Dave Zirin]

That was sort of set him off on a big run.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, we will take a break. Jane Levy will join us when in return, she has written. She has written a book. Make Me commissioner. I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it. And let me say that this week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the Monkey have been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. Once again, these are the antics. And this is a song called Eisenhower Dollar. I don't know what that means, but I think that was when a dollar was, was worth a dollar. Not like what we have now, dollars. Totally useless. It's almost like a penny. It plays in Jane Levy Jane and I worked together at the Washington Post for a number of years. And before that, Jane worked with Leanne Schreiber, who I worked with at the New York Times. And she was a sports editor of the New York Times, who I loved and I thought was just about the smartest person I ever met. Jane has written a book. This is a long title, Make Me Commissioner. I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it. So I'm just going to start with the easy stuff. I'm not even going to be antagonistic and say that I think baseball is pretty good now, better than it's been in a long time. But what is the Jane, what is the essence of the book?

[Jane Levy]

Well, baseball needs to be Mr. Tony. Okay, the, the thing is about baseball. People, I think, really want to like baseball, but they really want baseball to like them back. And that's the lesson of the Savannah bananas with all their goofiness and their iridescent, iridescent uniforms is, you know, Jesse Cole, the guy with the nine yellow tuxedos, saw the disaffection, the alienation of affection and zeroed in on what, what the problem was. And the problem is people in the, in the stands don't think baseball gives a damn about them. And every day baseball offers more evidence of that being the case.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let's, let's go through the evidence because again, I mean, I think in the last couple of Years. I certainly think with the pitch clock, I certainly think that that was a very wrong thing with the game. And it would take, you know, 3, 3:15, 3:30 all the time. And now it's under 3 just about all the time. So what are the things that are out there that cause alienation among fans?

[Jane Levy]

Well, costs do. For example, you know, $18 beers do. The fact that you can't take a family of four to a game without breaking the bank. But first I want to say MLB did right by the pitch clock. In fact, you know, there was a rule on the books, it was just never enforced. And before that there was sundown and that enforced, you know, umpires getting things going. Get your butt back into the box. Nobody took strolls down the baseline, the third baseline, to center themselves. I mean, they just, they didn't even take both feet out of the box. They just got in there and hit. They didn't have to think it all through. So the pitch clock was absolutely necessary. The shift banning, the most egregious examples of it, where you had four guys in right field, that is good, but they're still using shifts. You know, the bigger bags were so that they didn't have to teach anybody how to really steal bases. All of them have worked to some extent. And the pace of the game and the like of the game is better. But that hasn't changed the fact that by and large, no, he wants to go to games who isn't already going to games. And so what I think baseball needs to do is do a PR coup. First thing, we're going to let all kids 10 years old and under, accompanied by an adult, get in free. There are swaths of empty seats because baseball has such a gigantic inventory of games and seats to fill. You know, why have them be empty? I actually had a pal who's an economist run numbers based on the Cubs menu. If you went to a game and you took a 10 year old and he got a $12 free seat, or 50, even a $15 free seat, and you bought him a small hot dog, a soda, a Cracker Jacks and a cap, it would have cost the Cubs $4 million, all of $4 million in 2023. And they paid Jason Hayward $21 million to play for the Dodgers that year. So imagine getting up there, whether it was Rob Manfred or me or you, and holding a press conference and saying, we really mean it when we say we want you back. We get it. We get that it's expensive. We get that we need to make it. You Know, grow a new audience because frankly, you and I are getting old. So we're not getting old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've long since passed getting old.

[Jane Levy]

Okay, I was being kind.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me get to this because I mean every. Look, basketball charges a lot more money than baseball. Hockey charges more money than baseball. Football doesn't have this problem. Football sells out everything. But, but I mean, I agree with you. Getting people into the seats is a big deal. I think the Washington Nationals do a good thing when they let kids eat. You know, they get, give them a hot dog and a bottle of water and they. And let kids eat because empty seats are insane. Do you. So you think the free thing. You're looking for family attendance, right? You're looking for families and you build that up over years.

[Jane Levy]

Yes. And you need young kids. Baseball has become the most expensive game for a parent to pay for a kid to play. It's more than football. Yeah. And, and because it's so expensive, again, it's become a country club sport. We used to say that about tennis. Now it's baseball because of travel, ball and equipment. Equipment and you know, showcases and all that crazy stuff. So it's become a country club sport that very few people other than middle and upper class white kids can afford unless they're given scholarships by perfect game and you know, the other alleged nonprofits that are, you know, running youth sports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is there a consensus? I mean, other than what you're talking about, which is economic, which is opening the gates literally and letting people in, you know, which is fine. That's especially if you have a 45,000 seat stadium and you got 16,000 people in there. Are there other changes that you are suggesting or are they non economic?

[Jane Levy]

Oh yeah, I got plenty of them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Go ahead.

[Jane Levy]

I mean, for example, I think the pitching staff has to be completely reconfigured. You know, you can't shred this many elbows every year. You know, they're all, they're shredding like cheap Christmas paper and expect people to want to come back. You can't root for guys who aren't there. It's not healthy for the guys. It's not healthy for the game. Baseball is a $12 billion industry now and that's pretty damn good. It's not as good as the NFL, but it's pretty good. So it's wealthy but unhealthy. So my fix would be to increase the current 13 guys on the pitching staff to 15 or 16 and create an NHL style taxi squad or a healthy scratch list where you would increase.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pitchers, wouldn't that, if you increase pitchers, doesn't that encourage teams to abuse their pitchers and say, get out here and throw as hard as you can for as long as you can. And then when you need Tommy John on Thursday, it's no problem for us because we have more depth than we had before?

[Jane Levy]

No, because you're going to have at the same time a limit of 11 you can designate as active each for each.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so that's what you mean by the cab squad, the taxi squad. Okay.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. Okay. Because I mean, I think that, I think that's a problem. That's an actual plague. And I think it's abuse of players arms starting on the high school level.

[Jane Levy]

Oh, I think it starts, it starts in Little League. There was a kid not long ago who was left in to give up 20 runs in two and a half innings by some, you know, hard ass coach who had to win a little league game in the fall, I mean, or spring or whatever it was. And there are people who keep track of this. Actually, it's a guy at Driveline named Devin Morgan who posts the most egregious examples of arms of children being abused. They're getting preemptive Tommy John surgeries, figuring, well, I'm going to have to have it eventually, so I might as well do it now. The result of that is that doctors, including the guy who created the newer surgery, the just the one that takes less time to recover from the internal brace, they now have an agreement. They won't operate on certain kids because of course, their bones haven't completely growing. Yeah. They're not grown yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Beyond pitching staff, what else would you do, Jane?

[Jane Levy]

Well, I would limit, for example, how many times you could use a guy. I'm prepared to go all the way and say you can't pitch two days in a row. You can't even warm up in the bullpen two days in a row because those throws in the bullpen, which are also max heave, you know, you have to be counted in the number of pitches that are being used each time. In the last seven years, there have been more strikeouts than hits. In the last seven years, there were more strikeouts. I was sorry. More balls fouled off than strikeouts. So the game that has been whittled down to what they call the three true outcomes, the home run and the walking strikeout.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Jane Levy]

So there's some crazy ideas out there that I've, you know, that I've stolen. There's one real major honcho in Major League baseball who thinks there should only Be two outfielders in order to. And you have a second DH in order to get more play in the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Outfield more than you'd have 15 to 13 every day. I mean, these are the greatest baseball players in the world. I mean, that's insane. That's actually insane.

[Jane Levy]

Well, I'm telling you that these are the kinds of things they're batting around.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

There's.

[Jane Levy]

Have you got a good one for you?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Go ahead.

[Jane Levy]

18 foot plexiglass wall in the outfield so that you first, you create great new seats. Because I'd like to sit behind the glass like hockey glass when our Aaron Judge goes barreling into it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Jane Levy]

You cut down on the cheap home runs that way and make people want to develop and acquire outfield arms that can actually, you know, nail somebody at home, like guys used to do from deep right field, you know, can you think of the last time the most important play in a World Series was not a home run or the playoff?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, sometimes it's a strikeout, but it's. I mean, the strikeout is the home run, you know. That's right.

[Jane Levy]

They're basically the same thing.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

So.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I mean, no, it's been a long time since I watched somebody from right field throw somebody out at third and kill a rally. No, it might.

[Jane Levy]

It might have been Roberto clemente in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The 71 World Series. No, there's. There's no question. It's a long time. On the other hand, the other night when Max Muncie ran in and fielded the bunt and threw to Mookie Betts and you can write in a scorebook, five, six, tag. And that's the only time you've written that in your life. That was a great play. That was a fun.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Absolutely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, that was.

[Jane Levy]

Absolutely. And you start. And Dave, you know, Dave Roberts, I don't. The manager. I don't think she called that play. That was movie calling that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, Mookie called that.

[Jane Levy]

Like.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you talk to. Did you talk to current and former major leaguers on this? Did you talk to.

[Jane Levy]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So was there anybody. Was there anybody who stunned you with how smart they were and that gave you to it? You know, who was. Sounded like the next Theo Epstein to you?

[Jane Levy]

Morgan Sword, the executive vice president of Major League Baseball, who understands. And he. Very thoughtful guy. I mean, he's also responsible for cutting down the minor leagues. So, you know, and I have a real issue with that, but he understands that the intrusion of technology and we've got more coming because the robo ump. Enjoy this Postseason, this World Series, it's the last one that's going to be adjudicated thoroughly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you don't like, you don't like the robo ump for ball strike?

[Jane Levy]

I like it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I do.

[Jane Levy]

Or the chat for the challenge. I like it. Challenge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Jane Levy]

I don't. If they, if they put it in full time, I'm out. I mean, baseball is a game of failure. They, they advertise that all the time. You know, that's why, you know, you only succeed one out of three times. So why does everything else have to be perfect? Why you can't be perfect? The best quote of the book is Joe Torre saying, they're trying to make an imperfect game perfect and I resent it. There's always going to be a gust of wind or sun and Willie Davis's eyes in center field or a groundskeeper who forgets to put the top on the drain in right center field that Mickey Mantle steps into and changes the arc of his life and career forever. That's what makes baseball great. You cannot predict and act on the supposition that, that you know what's going to happen the 10th time. Yeah, you can say this is what has happened 9 out of 10 times, but you cannot predict the 10th time and you have to allow for it. And what analytics has done is precluded those improbable place by assuming that they can game out the weather, the glare, that everything that happens to, to a human being in a batter's box. How else do you explain Raj Davis in the 2016 World Series?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't, I don't explain. I. Baseball is filled with that and it is different. It is different than other sports. I mean, other sports have their things. For example, just the other night, Trevor Lawrence falls down, falls down again, gets up, runs to his left, and Chris Jones sort of watches him and just says, well, that's pretty interesting. All right, Jane, the name of the book is Make Me Commissioner. I know what's wrong with baseball and how to fix it. Are you appearing anywhere locally in Washington or you've got any appearances that we can publicize?

[Jane Levy]

There's probably going to be one in Baltimore. I don't have the date yet. I've done three in Washington already there. People are getting sick of me. I just want to say, Mr. Tony, in football, the analytics makes the game more exciting. That's why people are going for it on fourth down. Yeah, same in basketball, where they created the three point shot and that, you know, you have Stephen Curry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

See, I think that ruins I think. I think the three point shot should go at this point. I'm talking.

[Jane Levy]

I agree with you. It. It has evolved into being the same.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dominance over and over. Yes, yes, yes.

[Jane Levy]

But at the beginning it was using analytics to make the game more exciting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you and baseball analytics are bad.

[Jane Levy]

Baseball analytics have made the game repetitive. Lacking in subtlety and texture and boring. It just made it boring.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I watch. Yet I watch the gnats every night. I'm just doomed to repeat the insanity of my life. It's just so awful. That's why it makes me happy when Finnegan and Trine and fail somewhere else like they failed here. Thank you Jane. Good luck with this. Thank you.

[Jane Levy]

Thank you Mr. Tony. Nice to talk to you again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jane Levy. Boys and girls, we will take a break and we will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Jane Levy]

Here comes Tony's mailbag.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Got your email faxes and your notes. Here come Tony's mailbag.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Gonna read some for all you folks.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Hey Tony, come on, come on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey Tony, read that mail now, baby. Love that hot pink hangover. I you know, if they don't want to get back together, they don't have to get back together as long as we can play that feels like there.

[Dave Zirin]

Should be a reunion tour.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So wonderful. You want to do the Bethesda bagel and please, yes.

[Dave Zirin]

Bethesda bagels, we love them. You will as well just go to bethesdabeagels.com for the location in the DC area nearest you. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say when I look out my window many sights to see. And when I look in my window so many different people to be that it's strange. So strange. You got to pick up every stitch. You got to pick up every stitch. And one more time. You got to pick up every stitch. Oh no. Must be the season of the witch Song is great. Yeah, just great. Thanks to our guests today, Chuck Todd and Jane Levy. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Odyssey. If you get the show through Apple, please leave us. A review from Brett Hobbs in Linton, Indiana at my age, I find there are two things I like in my life. The last button on my remote and a good afternoon nap. I still have not used it because I know the numbers. I know the numbers, so I haven't used it yet. From Joe Bianchino in Latham, New York, Our old friend I don't understand why Michael and Nigel are trying to teach you about the last button on your remote. You already know the only thing you need to know about tv. You turn it to the right, it gets louder.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's true.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Eric Fuentes Ruiz, the official pesticide investigator of the Tony Kornheiser Show. Back in May, the woman to whom I'm related by marriage thought it would be a good idea to plant carrots in this year's garden again. My luck with carrots are close to your luck with spuds. Today, after four months of growing, I present to you our 2025 Harvest Sandhills Golf Course ball marker for sale. Ice for scale. I stink at growing carrots. He's got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 carrots. But two of them are really nice carrots.

[Michael Wilbon]

We have a rainbow variety.

[Dave Zirin]

No, just regular orange.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Regular orange but. But two of them are really nice. Much better than my potatoes. Much better.

[Michael Wilbon]

You can add them to your stew.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From MO in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Uncle Tony's description of Kyle and Murray almost fits into his explanation for Cigna. Creatively interesting. Gives no results. Yes, there's no results for Kyler Murray. There's just no results. From Bob Flint in Springfield, Vermont. I was so thrilled to hear fellow Vermonter Buster only suggest that Mr. Tony bring his soon to be award winning squash to next year's Tunbridge Fair. My late grandfather founded Antique Hill at the the Tunbridge Fair and I would be honored with my siblings to give a personal tour before Mr. Tony receives his ribbon. After walking past the pig races, fried dough and contra dancers of course. In the meantime, the lovely Ali or Ali, the official co op manager. Ali, the official co op manager of the Tony Cornheim show, agrees with Buster that it's eyes up next spring, but also suggests putting cardboard underneath then covering with hay. It's magic. She exclaims and says that not only will there be non rock potatoes, but you will also be gradually improving the soil for more award winning crops to come. Let's put that to the side.

[Chuck Todd]

This One.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, it's, it's. It's so nice when people send us emails based on something they just heard on the show and they grew up in the same area, so it's just very nice. Jeff Alexander from Salinas, California, formerly Seattle. I heard the new game is celebrity golfer encounters. While vacationing in the UK back in 2017, my wife and I played a round at Preston Field Golf Club just south of Edinburgh. A round was underway when at some point my wife couldn't find our sandwich. We figured she left it behind on accident and prepared to turn around to get it. Thankfully, it was a slow weekday morning, weren't many players out, so as we got ready to go back and look, a fairly tall chap came walking up with a club in his hand. Tall chap? You looking for this? Me? Yeah. Thanks. Thank you very much. Tall chap. Don't mention it.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Take care. Mr. Westwood. Yes, Lee Westwood came and delivered my wife's Reynolds sand wedge. And he couldn't have been friendlier. He likely saved her from a tricky sand shot with a 9 iron and a 40 pound lost rental fee. Isn't that nice? Here's a haiku for the full moon from she had gather the grandkids, gaze skyward and they'll behold Harvest Supermoon. From David Bradley in Sterling, Virginia. I think a law should be passed that everyone, every time someone yells let's go, you can can punch them right in the mouth. Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

Aggressive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure. From Harry Hawkins. Okay. Of course. Buster. Yeah. You know Harry. Harry works for espn. Harry was Harris caddy. Oh, right. Harry was a caddy at Columbia. Now works for ESPN for years. Of course, Buster and the crew took the subway home from Yankee Stadium the other night. What are you nuts? They'd probably still be on the FDR and track of traffic if they tried to to take a car service to midtown after a playoff game. Come on man. What are you even doing out here? I'm schooled by my cat. From Neil Goldberg in Charleston, South Carolina. I don't usually consider myself much of a sports bettor, especially living in the state of South Carolina, where most of it is still outlawed. However, circumstances had me driving in North Carolina for the weekend where sports betting is in fact legal. While listening to the TK podcast, I thought to myself, wow, I really should listen to some of these guys and place a couple of bets while I'm up here. So I did listen to Jeff Mason or try to get some lobster out of Jason. So did I listen to Jeff Ma or try to get some Lobster out of Jason Lock and Fora. No. I placed two bets for the whole weekend. One on the over of the Navy Air Force game and one on the parlay on Western Michigan and Old Dominion to win by however many touchdowns they were favored by. I did find myself watching a good amount of Navy Air Forces. I always enjoy watching the service academies. Navy's got a guide quarterback, by the way. I think that's Horvath. But I did not even care to check whether Western Michigan was playing on to be or if Old Dominion was playing on Saturn TV. All I know is that UMass and East Carolina and Coastal Carolina must really stink. I wanted to use my winnings to buy a plane ticket to Europe to try to track down Carville and thank him personally. But I can't decide whether he's more likely to be in Madrid or Warsaw next. Oh, well, a lobster dinner will do. James won every college game. James won five and one winning specialist. Yeah.

[Dave Zirin]

Winning your money.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he's. He is. He's winning money for people from Rob Rodatus in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Indeed. Rumble Pony is a decorated horse on a carousel. That's sort of what I thought. Binghamton is the carousel capital of the world. Don't know why. Never been. I lived there and I didn't know that. I mean, I know that, but I didn't know it then. And I never saw a carousel anywhere in Binghamton in the years that I never saw it. I've been to Albertville, Alabama, the fire hydrant capital of the world. And I stopped for Chessy on your trip to Tuscaloosa. Also, Green Bay is the toilet paper. Toilet paper capital of the world. Home of the first splinter. Free toilet paper not made out of wood. Wow. Not a big piece of wood. And from Mike in Jacksonville. Yes, that Jacksonville. Mr. Tony, as I write this from my booth in the Waffle House, I'd like you to know we have not forgotten and you are still not welcome. That being said, love the show. P.S. of course, you'll have the good taste not to mention that I spoke to you. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white. What's that?

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Chicken.

[Chuck Todd]

Every night is the chicken. Holy God Almighty.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it possible just once you get something to eat for dinner around here that's not the chicken? Hey, dad.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

I'm just saying. Up. Working tobacco. Burning tobacco. Covering tobacco. Working tobacco. Burning tobacco.

[Chuck Todd]

Cover.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

It. Bringing the daddy around. Bringing the daddy around. Bringing the daddy. Bringing the daddy. Bringing the daddy around.

[Jane Levy]

Oh, I think sa.

[Eric Spoelstrom]

Pleasant woman with a cheapo masquerade. As she's staring down the bar of a thing, I have my lucky gone so that I can approach her. It's a 1973 SA dollar.