“Lost without PTI”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – “Lost without PTI”

Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Michael Wilbon, Chuck Todd, Taylor Twellman, Email Reader/Producer
Episode Theme: Navigating Thanksgiving week without PTI, reflections on sports, media, Broadway musicals, politics, and a deep dive into soccer with Taylor Twellman.

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Main Theme / Episode Overview

The episode centers around Tony Kornheiser and his regular crew sharing their disorientation during Thanksgiving week, when their usual routines—especially the PTI show—are disrupted. The conversation spans Tony’s feelings of being unmoored without PTI, Michael Wilbon's detailed review of the new "Wicked" movie, commentary on the state of Washington sports, political developments in D.C., and a comprehensive soccer discussion with Taylor Twellman. The episode closes with the charismatic Chuck Todd and “Reginald the Monkey” picking NFL games, plus the ever-popular mailbag segment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Disorientation without PTI ([08:26]–[12:02])

• Theme: Tony and the gang express that the absence of PTI (due to unusual network programming) leaves them feeling lost and out of sync ("I'm disoriented without PTI. I guess they have college basketball for three days.").
• Thanksgiving Work Culture: Tony reminisces about the journalist’s life—always working holidays, covering sports.

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2. Local D.C. Scene: Wizards Win & Civic Notes ([02:42]–[04:08])

• Wizards’ Rare Win: Observations about the Washington Wizards' rare home win, notably lacking media enthusiasm and coverage.
  • “It doesn’t appear the Washington Post even staffed the game.” – Tony ([02:42])
• Quincy Wilson’s Achievement: Praise for local athlete Quincy Wilson, Olympic relay gold medalist at 17, and his decision to attend Maryland ([10:34]–[11:21]).

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3. Michael Wilbon Reviews "Wicked" the Movie ([04:13]–[07:01])

• In-Depth Analysis: Wilbon provides a thorough breakdown of the split “Wicked” film, comparing it to Broadway and film-making choices, highlighting memorable musical moments, performances, and the nuances lost (and sometimes gained) by shifting from live theater to screen.
  • “They split Wicked into two parts, which was just a clear money grab... It’s all about trying to get to one iconic shot at the end.” – Wilbon ([04:13])
• Cultural Commentary: Reflects on the meaning of shared spaces for kids (like movie theaters) and the significance of third places in adolescent life.

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4. D.C. Politics: Muriel Bowser Announcement ([07:45]–[08:23])

• Bowser Steps Down: Tony lauds Mayor Muriel Bowser's tenure and says he’d "vote for her for anything," lamenting her departure and lack of successors that measure up ([07:53]).

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5. College Football Rankings & Thanksgiving Traditions ([09:22]–[10:02])

• Quick Update: Tony recaps minor shuffles in college football rankings.
• Golf Talk: Tony and Michael chat about having a rare joint "shotgun start" round ([09:57]).

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6. Soccer Deep Dive with Taylor Twellman ([15:04]–[27:00])

Key Segments & Timestamps:

[15:04]–[17:17] – Lionel Messi’s Dominance

• Messi’s impact on MLS and continued world dominance at age 38.
  • “He’s 38 years old. I’ve never seen anything like it.” – Taylor Twellman ([15:44])
  • “He has a goal or an assist in all 12 [playoff] goals. The last 25 goals Miami have scored, he’s contributed to 22 of them.” – Twellman ([18:17])

[17:20]–[19:41] – World Cup Aspirations & Personality

• Messi’s humility and plans to play in the next World Cup if fit.

[19:41]–[21:39] – MLS Scheduling Shift

• Twellman cheers MLS aligning their season with European leagues, explaining this will save money, make transfers smoother, and avoid NFL/college football TV conflicts.

[21:56]–[23:58] – World Cup Expansion Debate

• Kornheiser and Twellman debate whether expansion dilutes the World Cup.
  • “I love World Cup qualifying because it’s four years, this jeopardy all the way to get there... But I think you’re going to make a lot of people, including myself, a believer that 48 teams can work.” – Twellman ([23:14])

[24:18]–[25:32] – USMNT Coaching & Performance

• Twellman is now bullish on the USMNT, crediting strategic tactical changes for recent form.

[25:32]–[26:47] – Soccer Drama: Mourinho’s Antics

• Laughs over Jose Mourinho grabbing another coach’s nose and the “theatrics” of world soccer.

[26:51]–[27:00] – Where to Watch

• Twellman’s broadcast schedule: Messi vs. NYCFC, Saturday night on Apple TV ([26:51]).

  Standout Quotes:

  • “I've never seen someone at age 38 in my game, which is the number one sport around the world, dominate the sport...” – Taylor Twellman ([16:40])
  • “He’s going to be around for a bit.” – Taylor Twellman, on Messi’s long-term ties to Miami ([19:04])

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7. NFL Picks with Chuck Todd & "Reginald the Monkey" ([29:25]–[45:18])

• Chuck Todd’s Record: Chuck sits just below .500, striving to get over the hump.

• Game Banter: The trio, joined by “Reginald the Monkey,” offer humorous, lightly insightful NFL game picks for the holiday weekend. Picks are laced with personal anecdotes, family tension, and jokes about Thanksgiving turkeys exploding.

  • “A house comes and goes. Turkey’s only once a year.” – Chuck ([31:55])
  • “You see it all the time—every local news—turkey explodes.” – Tony ([31:41])

• Meta Commentary: On the nature of sports gambling, football picks, and generational differences in sports watching (“At what age did Michael start rolling his eyes at Tony’s football facts?”).

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8. Show Traditions, Music, and Community ([14:11]–[14:43], [28:37]–[29:20])

• Ginkgo Balboa’s songs (“On Holiday” and “Jackie McMullen”) are featured as the musical interludes, highlighting the camaraderie with the show’s audience and contributors.
• The ritual of reading fan mail, berating and celebrating the show's running gags and references.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On PTI’s Absence:
  “Early candidate for turkeys of the year is anybody oriented when we don’t have PTI.” – Tony Kornheiser ([08:28])

• On “Wicked” the Movie:
  “They split Wicked into two parts, which was just a clear money grab… But they wanted to get to that one iconic shot.” – Michael Wilbon ([04:13])

• On Messi:
  “He’s contributed to all 12 [Miami playoff goals]. The last 25 goals Miami have scored, he’s contributed to 22 of them.” – Taylor Twellman ([18:17])

• On Thanksgiving Traditions:
  “We worked every Thanksgiving, we worked every Christmas, we worked every Labor Day, we worked every July 4th. That’s what you do. Because sports is on.” – Tony Kornheiser ([08:28])

• On Muriel Bowser:
  “I would vote for her for anything. I think she’s a wonderful mayor.” – Tony Kornheiser ([07:53])

• On Sports Talk:
  “You see it all the time—every local news—turkey explodes.” – Tony Kornheiser ([31:41])

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|----------------| | Episode Disorientation, No PTI | 08:26–12:02 | | Wizards Win & Washington Sports | 02:42–04:08 | | Michael Wilbon’s Review of “Wicked” Movie | 04:13–07:01 | | Muriel Bowser Not Seeking Fourth Term | 07:45–08:23 | | College Football Playoff/ Rankings | 09:22–10:02 | | Soccer with Taylor Twellman (in-depth) | 15:04–27:00 | | NFL Picks with Chuck Todd & Reginald the Monkey | 29:25–45:18 | | Musical Features from Ginkgo Balboa | 14:11, 28:37 |

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Flow, Style, and Tone

The episode blends Tony’s signature blend of wry humor, light grumpiness, and open affection for his guests and topics. The dynamic with Michael Wilbon is as lively as always—Wilbon’s deeply considered opinions (on Wicked and sports culture) contrast with Tony’s pragmatic, sometimes curmudgeonly approach. The addition of Taylor Twellman’s soccer expertise is energetic, vividly painting the scale of Messi’s continued excellence for a mostly U.S. sports audience.

Chuck Todd’s picks segment brings excitable, family-centric holiday banter and comedic asides, while the continued antics of Reginald the Monkey and references from listeners highlight the participatory, in-joke-rich culture of the “Littles” (devoted listeners).

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This Thanksgiving-week episode is equal parts comfort food and a gently chaotic family gathering. There’s plenty for fans of D.C. sports, Broadway, U.S. politics, and especially anyone eager to understand the continuing seismic impact of Lionel Messi in American soccer through Taylor Twellman’s lucid, passionate insights.

Whether you came for Tony’s mailbag, Michael’s theatrical musings, or just a few NFL picks, the show delivers its signature mix: unfiltered conversation, smart analysis, and affectionate laughter throughout.

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For More:

• Listen for Taylor Twellman’s memorable Messi breakdown ([16:39])
• Don’t miss Wilbon’s thoughtful “Wicked” review ([04:13])
• The NFL picks with Chuck Todd are both insightful and hilarious ([29:25–45:18])
• Stay tuned to the mailbag for listener stories, laughs, and fox facts ([46:05–end])

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. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. You've heard me talk about collars and company, makers of the amazing dress collar polo. Well, now they've taken things to the next level with their brand new maverick performance blazer. And you have to check this out. These blazers are sharp, perfect for travel. Why? Because they're wrinkle resistant. Just throw it in your bag. When you get to your destination, slip it back on. No wrinkles, no stress. Finally, no more figuring out how to travel with a blazer. And it's not just about convenience. The Mavic performance blazer is made with stretch fabric so you can move comfortably all day long. Plus, it's packed with smart features and inside security zip pockets, a built in optional pocket square, and even a sunglasses loop. While you're at it, pair the blazer with The Collars & Co. Famous Dress Collar polos. They've already sold over a million of these comfortable polos with the signature dress collar on top. So Visit Collars and co.com use the promo code Tony for 20% off today. Use the code, people. That should send me one of these. Yeah, I'd like to see this. A non wrinkle blazer. Yeah, because then I don't have to carry a steamer around with me all the time.

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[Michael Wilbon]

Previously on the Tony Kornhauser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it's repetitive. They'll do it three or four times or five times in, I don't know, 30 seconds. It feels like a searchlight of some sort.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

To contact something else in their species.

[Michael Wilbon]

They light the fires playing telephone. What's the story, morning glory?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, Right. Yeah. What's the word, Hummingbird? Yeah, tell me quick about you going, Kim. Why did you do that to me. Now I'm doing Bye Bye Birdie from, I don't know, 80 years ago. This is General George Washington, and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. A couple of announcements that we make. First, we want to thank the great Tracy Callahan from Bethesda Flores, who sent over some lovely flowers yesterday. Thanksgiving flowers to Michael and Liz and.

[Michael Wilbon]

The board helping out our table setting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. He does it all the time and.

[Michael Wilbon]

They'Re always a surprise. And they make you smile and they're beautifully arranged.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wonderful Bethesda Florists. If you're around, go there, let Tracy do something for you. The Wizards win a game last night for the first time in either 12 years, they win at home. It doesn't appear the Washington Post even staff the game. It doesn't.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Wire reports.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It doesn't. No. It's a staff writer, but there's no indication that this guy was at the game. There's no quotes. There's nothing like that. And it's very short. It's very matter of fact. It's a home game. They won the game because McCollum had 46 points. 46 points. He's not going to be there. If they ever get good now, they're going to trade him for draft capital. Him and Chris Middleton have. They're not going to be on the Washington team if and when Washington gets good. He had 46. That's why they won. Even. Even the general manager, Michael Winger, couldn't end this and make them lose. Couldn't make them lose, though. I want. He wanted them to lose.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Probably try and bench him tonight.

[Chuck Todd]

Probably.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And 5,000 empty seats. I checked the attendance. At least 5,000 empty seats. People are wise to this. They go, what's the point?

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If the Washington Post. If this is true. And again, I could be wrong. It just didn't appear that it was staffed. If this is true, the Washington Post is saying nobody cares. Nobody cares about this team. Why. Why are we. They're not on the road with them anymore.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's because everyone was in Bethesda with me watching Wicked.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That must be it. Did you enjoy it?

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm happy that I saw this in theaters. Do you mind if I take a minute here, Please? So they split Wicked into two parts, which was just a clear money grab. If you've seen the show, like many other Broadway shows, the second act is a little bit bloated and doesn't really carry the water of the first. They should have found a way to make this one cohesive unit. But they wanted to see this in two parts. And frankly, it's all about trying to get to one iconic shot. At the end. You have this very memorable famous poster where you have the whispering into the ear of Elphaba. And so they have this. This is not a spoiler, but they want to get to that shot which has just like glimmers of Shawshank Redemption in the tree in the background. But it's like at the end of Defying Gravity in Part one, the lights got dimmed and they had this battle scene, which isn't really a battle, but it. It creates this memorable moment. And they never really turned the lights back on. There's so much world building in Part one that is missing, obviously, in Part two. And so you don't have the fun, you know, the college years, the Harry Potter nature of Wicked. And you don't have the same song. So I love as Long as yous're Mine. Unfortunately, Jonathan Bailey, for as ever handsome as he is, not the best singer. And you have this very forced, flirtatious scene that seems much harsher on screen than it would on theater. Because when you have theater, everything's left to the imagination. You have, you know, you just have the characters up there. And then you have for good, which I actually thought was a great version in the movie. Cause you can see all these scenes cutting through Elphaba's mind as she's trying to create this spell that will save her love interest. And then you have the most memorable song in the second act for good, which becomes this, to me, breaking the wall moment between the two actors. And they're trying to think about what friendship has meant to them. And it doesn't even feel like it's part of the movie anymore or even part of the show. And it's just Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who has gone full pop mode in Part two. They're not even trying to pretend it's. It's sort of Broadway version as they show her very defined jawline in profile. It's just sort of what these characters have meant to them professionally, personally, as they've been together. And they've been thrown into the. Into this very intense world of promoting this movie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Have you ever thought of doing this for a living?

[Michael Wilbon]

I read a lot. I think a lot. Oh, I haven't even got. So then I start seeing this take.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Arch's place, because Arch is at the point. Didn't see it, don't want to see it.

[Michael Wilbon]

At one point, I thought they were just going to Start to cut away to at the end credits to, you know, MJ's man in the Mirror. Because every.

[Chuck Todd]

The.

[Michael Wilbon]

The symbolism with the motif of the mirror throughout this entire thing as to what do we see of ourselves. And you think about the, you know, the nature of these. These women growing up through the university and then trying to find their own path as they're fighting for good or this, you know, forced upon you. Wicked. And so you have these. These windows into the person. What do people see? What do you see? Yourself.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow, that was really good. Yeah. I should just shut up.

[Email Reader / Producer]

I should do and hear about me watching Mr. 3000, the director's cut.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I don't.

[Michael Wilbon]

No. And then have you been to a movie in the last couple years?

[Email Reader / Producer]

You get it.

[Michael Wilbon]

You get a seat when you get a ticket. So of course I had to go aisle because who knows what's gonna happen. And then we're waiting in line and you see an army of what appears to be sixth and seventh graders. I know they're general age because of the height differences, if that makes sense.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

And there's something that. It was chaotic about them getting up and down, running around the theater. And then I just had to sit back and say, this is a rite of passage. Like the. Just the. Just the casual flirtations and just hanging out. Like, I'm happy they had that shared space. We talked about how kids don't have these third spaces anymore. Go see a movie. It was fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's wonderful.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Going to. Haven't seen a movie in the theater in years, and I missed that. It's one of the great, great things to do. Well, glad that was such a lovely time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll just go back to other news. Muriel Bowser is not going to run for a fourth term. The mayor of Washington, D.C. i would vote for her for anything.

[Chuck Todd]

Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think she's a wonderful mayor. I think she understands nuance. I think she understands navigation.

[Michael Wilbon]

Year and a half have showed you that more than ever.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think she's really good now, and I'm sorry, she's not going to run because somebody's going to run. I'm not going to like the people who run. So they're not going to be as good. They're not. I mean, she's really, really good. Mayor, we are going to do. You're wondering why we're doing a Tuesday show. We are going to do. We did Monday. We're doing Tuesday. We're going. Today's Wednesday. Oh, okay. Then I got the Wednesday. Yeah, Right.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Today's Wednesday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, I played golf yesterday. On Tuesday, we're gonna do a Thursday show.

[Michael Wilbon]

You back to pti.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I want it. Yeah. I'm completely disoriented. Early candidate for turkeys oriented when we don't have pti. So we'll do a show tomorrow and you're gonna say, well, why would you work on Thanksgiving? Because I was a sports writer and we worked every Thanksgiving, we worked every Christmas, we worked every Labor Day, we worked every July 4th. That's what you do. Because sports is on. And that's what I wanted to do with my life, was be a sports writer. So I never had those days off. And it's okay. So whoever wants to join us tomorrow in terms of guests will try to make the show work with Carville and Ma and Locenfour. Locenfour. I don't care. He's a sports writer.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, we'll spend this. It's Thanksgiving. It's about being with family. I'm happy to be with you guys and I'm happy that we get to share it with our listeners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Oh, absolutely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And we're gonna be with people we like. So that's. That's so.

[Email Reader / Producer]

And. And for those people, every year of.

[Tony Kornheiser]

My life, 22 to 60, I mean, it worked.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah. And for those people looking for an excuse to get from your relatives, if you want a break, listening to the podcast on a walk is a great thing to do.

[Michael Wilbon]

Cousin walk.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What else do I have here? College football rankings. There were a couple of changes. Very small. Miami went up one drew a little bit closer to Notre Dame, but not close enough where you'd say, oh, it's going to be the head to head. And they're going to. They're going to pounce on Notre Dame. Notre Dame's out. Miami's in. We're not at that point yet. And Oregon went one up on Ole Miss, but that's like six and seven, so you don't have to worry about that. If they both win out, they're both going to get in. I played golf yesterday. I'm going to play today. I'm excited. Michael and I are playing in a shotgun situation where everybody starts on a different hole at the same time.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, that's in a shotgun. Thank you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Well, you knew that.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm just.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know if other people. I don't know if other people know.

[Michael Wilbon]

Come on. Since the inception of live, we all know about shotgun starts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. And so we're going to do that, and hopefully it'll only take about 4. 4 hours. Because it's not a tournament. Like, I don't want to see people grinding, you know, grinding over pots. So there's no walking around the green?

[Michael Wilbon]

No shop credit?

[Email Reader / Producer]

No shop credit on the line?

[Michael Wilbon]

No.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Okay, well, it's. Pressure's off.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So it's fine. What else do I have? Do I have anything else? Oh, I did want to mention this. The kid from Bullis High School in suburban Washington, D.C. bullis is in Rockville, is it not?

[Michael Wilbon]

Potomac.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Potomac, right off the falls. Quincy Wilson.

[Michael Wilbon]

Beautiful grounds, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's beautiful school. The kid, Quincy Wilson, who's the Olympic sprinter who got a gold medal for the Olympic relay that he wasn't on, but he was in the qualifying heats, and he got a gold medal. He's gonna go to Maryland. You don't think of Maryland as a track school on any level. I mean, I don't know what the track schools are, but you don't think of Maryland that way. Good for him. Good for Maryland. He stays local and he's like. He. He's the greatest athlete in this area. The greatest high school athlete in this area because his accomplishments dwarf everybody else's. He has an Olympic gold medal. He's got it when he was 17 years old. Yeah, it's an Olympic gold medal. I mean, he's just spectacular. So I'm glad that he's. I'm glad that he's staying.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah. No, that's good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm glad that he's staying. All right. I guess I could. No, I don't. I can't tell the story. I got. I've got to clear it with Michael. If I. I'll tell it to.

[Michael Wilbon]

Whisper it to me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll tell it to Michael through the microphone today, and if he thinks it's a good story, I'll tell.

[Michael Wilbon]

Now, this puts unfair pressure on me because people are waiting for the story tomorrow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a very small thing. It had to do with something that happened when I played golf. Had to do it again. Michael's right. I'm disoriented without pti. I guess they have college basketball for three days. Football on Thursday and. But Tuesday. On Wednesday, they have college basketball. I don't even know.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah, no. You need that as an anchor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I need. I mean, I don't know if I'm lost. Wilbond has to be completely lost. He's completely lost. Yesterday was one of the few days I didn't talk to him, so I have no idea. All right, we will take a break. Taylor TWELMAN. When we return. He's first for us. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Michael Wilbon]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Michael Wilbon]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Michael Wilbon]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Michael Wilbon]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

We got this letter the other day from a band, a duo band called Ginkgo Balboa. Mike Badnarski and Ben Mossbaum here from Los Angeles indie pop duo Ginkgo Balboa. Still grooving since you featured our music back in 2020. Wow. We have two new songs for you. The first is On Holiday. It's a tune perfect for friendship Party playlist This is on Holiday. I don't want to spoil the second one because the second one is completely fabulous. Not the song so much as the title, but we'll get to it later in the show. This is Ginkgo Balboa. This is again on Holiday that plays in our soccer expert and friend of the show and friend of the PTI show. We don't get him on enough because, you know, we just don't. I mean, we're NFL oriented and NBA oriented and stuff like that, but Taylor Twelveman is fabulous. Let's start with this. What is the state right now of the MLS playoffs? Where are we in it? Are we at the end of it?

[Taylor Twellman]

We are at the end of it. We're heading to the conference final and we are watching Lionel Messi tear down this league at a different level than I've ever seen.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is what I want to get to. There's a series of questions because everybody knows Messi, and in fact, in the pink shirt, he's more known in America than ever before. And I don't want to over exaggerate this because he's not LeBron, but he's a great, great player. And he's aging out, as is LeBron. He's a great attraction. I understand that. But it appears that his level of play is sort of beyond what anyone could have expected.

[Taylor Twellman]

It's a great way to put it. I'm actually glad you used LeBron. I said this with Tom Brady. I've said this with Derek Jeter. Not to put him in the level of those, but why do I bring those three names up? Because they kind of. They've tested Father Time, Tony. They looked at Father Time and said, hang on a minute, you're not knocking on my door. Here's the difference with Lionel Messi than all three of those at the highest level of our game. He still, for the first time in 18 years, he led South America. World cup qualifying and goals scored. He's 38 years old. I've never seen anything like it. Now, I've heard my father talk about Muhammad Ali. I saw and lived Michael Jordan, the Tiger woods part as a kid and growing up with that, Tony, and you'll resonate with this, you sit down and watch them. You just do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Taylor Twellman]

And everyone does. So whether now because of streaming and the different viewing experiences that you have when he's playing what Apple TV is telling us, it's all over the world. You stop and you watch because there is greatness. I've never seen someone at age 38 in my game, which is the number one sport around the world, dominate the sport, not be on the field and contribute. Dominate the sport. And for anyone listening to this, it's not an MLS thing. He led World cup qualifying in South America in goal scored. He's 38.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is he going to play World cup for Argentina?

[Taylor Twellman]

He has. And this is where it's amazing too, because you brought up LeBron, I brought up Brady. There's a humility to him that those two don't have. He, he stated two, three weeks ago, I don't, I will not play for Argentina in the World cup if I am a distraction and I can't contribute. Now, you and I both know he absolutely is going to play in the World cup because he knows if he's fit, he's going to do so. But if there is any inclination that he will not be 100% fit in that moment, that's where he will. He will tell Argentina, don't take me, because he doesn't want to be a distraction. There's a different person there than any other superstar. But to answer your question very directly, absolutely he will.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think I recall this, but I could be wrong on the numbers that within the last week he had either one goal and three assists in a four nothing game or three goals and one assist. He had like, right. A totally dominant game.

[Taylor Twellman]

Johnny, they've scored 12 goals in the playoffs. He has a goal or an assist in all 12 goals. He's contributed to all 12. The last 25 goals Miami have scored, he's contributed to 22 of them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow. So this is, to me, the other. The. To localize it for me in Washington, D.C. alexander Ovechkin had a hat trick the other night.

[Taylor Twellman]

Yep.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's 40 years old. There's four people in the history of hockey who have had hat tricks over 40 years old. Gordie Howe had three of them and Ovechkin. And he's not, he's not LeBron or Brady because he doesn't play on a sport that is that important in the United States. But he's. He, he's in this category. Did I read correctly that that Messi is going to stay. He extended, didn't he?

[Taylor Twellman]

Yeah, he extended his contract.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Miami keeps you at a job for the rest of time.

[Taylor Twellman]

I mean, yeah, it's true, truly, if you think about it like he's. Well, one. He. You knew he's going to extend at least for 26, so he can prepare for the World cup and all that. But now Miami's opening A billion dollar stadium in downtown Miami that will open up at the, in the middle of next season. He'll go to the World Cup. He says he's going to play to the end of 27. I think 28 may be in play because of the way he is and the way he competes. But then he'll also become part owner of Inter Miami and they're going to live in Miami with his kids. His two, two of his sons play for Inter Miami's academy. So yeah, Tony, he's going to be around for a bit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I also read, and you will forgive me because you know I'm a neophyte on soccer, but I also read that MLS is changing their schedule to be more in line with schedules around the world. Do you approve of this or do you think that maybe that's not the world's greatest idea? For a variety of reasons, Tony, I've.

[Taylor Twellman]

Been asking for this for almost 12 years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Taylor Twellman]

And I'm, and I'm going to try to simplify this for your listeners because they're very, you know, they understand sports at a business level. Very simply, the transfer window happens around the world. In Western Europe where all the money is, that's where you are trying to export your players to if you're going to sell. In about six, seven years ago, Don Garber said he wanted to be Major League Soccer, a player in the world market. They are exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of players. They're also importing hundreds of millions of dollars of players. But because of the transfer window not being aligned, they are losing 20% on the exports because they're not aligned at the same time and they're spending about 18 to 22% more on players because they've got to convince the player to leave in the middle of a season to come join a season that hasn't started yet. The other aspect is this is every sport in America is trying to avoid their most important games going up against college football in the NFL.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Taylor Twellman]

And I've played in four MLS Cups. I've now called 12, 13 MLS Cups, whatever the number is, we're always on the same day of Alabama, Georgia, SEC final in SEC Championship game, can't have it. And I've got to try to convince people that, yeah, but this is our cup final. We've had a nine month season. Tony. It just makes way more sense to put it this way. The Champions League final in Europe will be on a Saturday afternoon at 2, 3 o'. Clock. MLS if they choose, could be at 8 o' clock that night. You're just aligning yourself with the football, football fan around the world.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That makes sense. I should also tell people that every once in a while, Taylor sends me and Wilbon a text saying, I've set it up. You can come. Come to the games. We'll get you. We'll get you here. You'll. You'll love. And I always go, no.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

By the.

[Taylor Twellman]

Way, Tony, usually playing golf or doing something way more fun that I wish I was doing with you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anyways, it's okay. All right, so. So let, let's move on from, from this because this is a league circumstance. World cup is a much greater thing. World cup even. I mean, I watch the World cup and I'm not a soccer person. I've been to World cup games when they were in the United States the last time. How do you feel about the World cup now, the expansion? Are you one of those people who would say they're really diluting it, Curacao really shouldn't be in the World Cup? Yeah.

[Taylor Twellman]

And you're literally going to put me on the spot and everyone's going to think that I hate love and I hate romanticism and all of that. But the reality is, yeah, I've always been a believer that the World cup qualifying was never broke.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Taylor Twellman]

So the jeopardy that came with World cup qualifying, now Curacao gets into the World cup, but I want people to understand, I think it's an unbelievable story.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's a great story.

[Taylor Twellman]

Haiti, who is in the World cup for the second time in their history, where gangs own their home field. They played and qualified for the World cup game for five years. Tony. It's unbelievable. Now, why am I bringing those two up? Those two don't qualify if the World cup is not in U.S. mexico, Canada. Why do I say that? Because U.S. mexico, Canada would have been in World cup qualifying. Does that make sense?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. They don't have to qualify because they're.

[Taylor Twellman]

They don't have to qualify because they're hosts. So now all of a sudden you've got a little bit of a wrinkle and a glimmer of hope, which is why the cure styles, the Hades, the Surinames were. They were so ready for this because they knew this was their one chance. Tony, I love World cup qualifying because it's four years. It's this jeopardy of all the way to get there. But I just think 48 teams, the way the United States, Mexico, Canada put it on, I think you're going to make a lot of people, including myself, a believer that 48 teams can work. And the fact that you and I are having this conversation in Italy may miss their third straight World cup is remarkable, even with expansion.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I've seen Italy win the Cup. Right? Sure, they've won.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Exactly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Didn't they didn't Canalia, Wasn't he on a Cup winner?

[Taylor Twellman]

I think about. Well, the last time the World cup was here, remember, Roberto Baggio missed the penalty and they lost to Brazil. So for Italy to be even in this situation, Tony, it's unthinkable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How is the new coach doing for the United States? The last time we talked about this, you were not as enthusiastic as you wanted to be.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. How are you now?

[Taylor Twellman]

Great question. Because last time you and I talked, I asked and quite frankly begged through your channel for him to change the style and change, more importantly, the formation. Since he's done that, they've won five in a row against top 30 teams ranked in the world. And I'm not saying I'm some genius, I'm just referencing that because I think he's finally realized, oh, here are the strengths of my group. Here are the profiles of the players that I have to win. He put players in spots to succeed, and quite honestly, I think he's got this team rolling in a different way than they had last time you and I spoke. So there's a different belief within this group right now. And as long as everyone stays healthy, which you and I both know, sports, a lot can happen in six months. Look at Jaden Daniels with the commanders all of a sudden. So I just. I believe that the United States, depending on the draw that happens next week in D.C. that will dictate whether or not you and I have belief that this team could actually surprise some people, get out of their group and maybe go some places.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We did Turkeys of the Year the other day, day on. On pti. And so this could have happened at any point during the year, but we showed Jose Mourinho, who's a very famous soccer coach, grabbing the other coach by the nose, grabbing him by the nose. And the other coach did what? Soccer players who went down in a heap and, you know, was looking for.

[Taylor Twellman]

A red card for 20 seconds and see if there was a red card.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When did that happen? How cool was that? What? Do we like Mourinho? Do we. We think he's a dope?

[Taylor Twellman]

Oh, no, I love Mourinho. I love anyone that's polarizing and that gets my attention. I'd also just ask a simple question. How big was the nose for him to be able to grab it, you.

[Michael Wilbon]

Know what I mean?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Like from distance.

[Taylor Twellman]

Pretty good honker.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From distance. He grabbed it. Yeah, it was really good. The other thing I, when I was writing down questions, I wondered about this. Is there senior soccer, like senior golf to these guys? Can they make some money when they're in their 50s or.

[Taylor Twellman]

I think it. I don't know, Tony. It's a lot like tennis, Tony. Once your body shuts down for like six months and, you know, you're done, I don't think you're. Yeah. I mean, there's over 40 leagues and stuff like that. But to make money the way senior golf is. No, the answer is not. Now Messi will probably create his own league and be able to do it with all of his friends. But essentially he's doing that now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, so I guess so when's the next game that we can watch you broadcast?

[Taylor Twellman]

We got Messi versus New York City Saturday night, 6pm on Apple TV.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wonderful. Thank you for being on. Have a great Thanksgiving.

[Taylor Twellman]

You too, my man.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Great hearing your voice by Taylor Twelman, boys and girls. So it's. He's a delight. I don't know what else to say other than his sport is not my sport and I don't have much. I don't bring much to the table. But it's always.

[Email Reader / Producer]

It's always so great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's really wonderful and he's great on pti.

[Taylor Twellman]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm sure that we will put him on a lot in World Cup. I. I would hope. Unless there's somebody that we have to talk to, but I'd rather talk to.

[Email Reader / Producer]

No, he's always great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, we will take a break and we will come back with Chuck, Todd and Reginald picking games. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Taylor Twellman]

Let's drive.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the Tony Kornizer Show. Tony Korniser. Once again, this is Ginkgo Balboa, and I held off telling you what the second song, the lyric title of the second song was. I'll read from the letter we got. The second song is Jackie McMullen. That's right. We named a song after the legendary sportswriter and we're happy to report that she herself loves the song. A framed picture of her wearing an official Ginkgo Balboa T shirt graces our studio and our Instagram photo attached. It's fabulous.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Isn't that great?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's called Jackie McMullen. That's just wonderful. Michael. If. If independent artists like Ginkgo Balboa want their music played on the show, how do they go about doing it?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it to jingles. Tony KoeniserShow.com Just wonderful.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And she plays in Chuck Todd. And we have to say this. This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. Chuck saved the win with the last game last weekend. Or it's not even. It's just a couple of days ago, really. The Monday night game. That's right. Saved it had San Francisco -7 and they won by 11. So Chuck was 4 and 3. He is 41 and 43. Tantalizingly close to Mount 500, but not yet there. You need like a 5 and 2 week or something like that. You need a big week.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

And so close.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you close. I mean, you're close. Are you ready? Are you ready to go with the games? Ready.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Let's do it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. You're a Green Bay Packer fan in your life. Green Bay is at Detroit. Detroit is a puzzling team because they're. They really should have a better record than they have. But they've also had a very rough schedule. It's at Detroit. Green Bay is getting two and a half. This is a, this is a tough game to pick. Who you got.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

It is. They sort of like, it feels like it's Thanksgiving. You just bet on Detroit right Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Because they're the home team all the time.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Right. You just do that. You're right. There's something off on Detroit. Green Bay's defense is amazing. The offense is the problem there. It's almost as if you could combine Detroit and put the Detroit offense and the Green Bay defense together, you might have a pretty good football team. Give me the Packers. It's less than a field goal. That feels like this game feels like a field goal game. And I have to say, just personally, to care a lot about a game while you're in the middle of doing Thanksgiving cooking.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Sucks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I mean, you know, I'm smoking a turkey and fried a turkey, and that is the. Those are like the prime, like three hours that I got to micromanage everything.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Have you ever had your turkey explode through the roof of your house like other people have?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

No, I have not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fantastic.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I have not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have fried. You know, I've not explode.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I have done things like not used a frozen turkey to put in a fryer. I mean, I sort of follow those basic rules.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

So I haven't had the explosion at my house.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You see it all the time.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Every local news.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They burst out of the cannon shot. Yeah. They just destroy.

[Michael Wilbon]

Fourth November.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

The turkey was a good flavor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's always good. The turkey's. Everybody says it's worth it because the turkey tastes so good. I've never had. I don't. Yeah.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You know, so, you know, a house comes and goes. Turkey's only once a year. Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. This is the big one. This game is going to be the highest rated game of the year. It'll probably be the highest rated game in a number of years. It has three things going for it. It's Thanksgiving. It's got Dallas and it's got Kansas City. Dallas. Kansas City now is a 3 1/2 point road favorite over Dallas. Dallas has reached the point in their last two games, even though one was against a poor team, the Raiders. But Dallas has reached the point where you have to take them seriously now, and they are at home. And this feels sort of like an elimination game from the playoffs. Who you got?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You're right, by the way, when did you.

[Taylor Twellman]

Did you get to the point when.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You would tell Michael what you thought were interesting facts and Michael didn't care. What age were you?

[Tony Kornheiser]

What age was I?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I was probably in my late 40s to early 50s. Early 50s.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Because I'll do this with my son. I'll be like, you know, this is actually the Dallas Texans versus the Dallas Cowboys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I think that's interesting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right? And he says, yeah, he just really doesn't care.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

He just really doesn't care at all. But I know there's this point where you just stop and I just. Michael, just let me know that Harrison just rolls his eyes at me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I will just say that there does also come a point where your children say, and this is a. A direct quote, you know, if you could throw me $100, you know. Yeah. It would really help me out.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Oh, they don't eventually say that. They already are saying that. What do you mean?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, you know, make me feel.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I would love me spot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

But would you?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. Yeah. I can't.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I can't bring myself to do it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I'm.

[Taylor Twellman]

I'm not sure if Dallas is good.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Or if the Eagles just finally. If karma finally caught up with the Eagles, they'd sort of been playing with fire all year like that, and they were eventually going to lose a game that. That. That. That they played that way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think the Eagles are a better team than the Kansas City Chiefs, but no one is as good a football player as Patrick Mahomes. No one. So that's why I blindly go in to the battle with Patrick Mahomes. Okay, you'll take Kansas City. You have three and a half.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Dallas Texans. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, right. Lamar Hunt's original team in the afl. Cincinnati. Getting Joe Burrow back. Getting Jamar Chase back from the spitting incident in which I actually heard him say, if you don't like me, I don't care. But it's not true. It's simply everything you said in this interview is just not true. It's just dopey bravado for no reason at all. Cincinnati plus seven. Baltimore has won four or five in a row. This is at Baltimore. It is a division game. It's not going to. It doesn't set up like one because you haven't seen Burrow in so long. But it is a division game. 7 points. Who you got?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You know, I. I'm letting somebody in my head that I heard earlier say, you know, Burrow always starts out slow, so you can't expect him to be great in his first game. But, boy, I'm afraid of. Afraid of Burrow just coming in and enlighten things up. But Burrow doesn't play middle linebacker. Right. Defensive end does not play defensive line. So it doesn't improve that defense.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nope.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Seven's a lot. I can't do it. Give me Burrow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Taken Three road teams already, just so you know. Three road teams. Here's another.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

It's Thanksgiving road team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Probably a big, even bigger mistake.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Because they got two days to practice. The Chicago Bears are going on the road. They're getting seven at Philadelphia. The prevailing opinion, of course, would be that Philadelphia got embarrassed last week and is going to be much better against Chicago. And Chicago is an 8 and 3 team that has a minus point differential. Minus. It's like totally impossible. But they play close all the time, as does Philadelphia. Usually seven. Will you take seven or will you take Philadelphia?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I really want to do that, but I just. I don't think the Bears are very good. I think they've been more lucky than good. But this is. There's a team like this every year. It feels like that just no matter what they, they, they, they keep winning. But I'm going to Eagle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You take the Eagles. Houston with a shutdown defense. Second best defense in the league. The best is the Rams. It's very close. Statistically. Houston is on the road at Indianapolis, which just lost and looked vulnerable in that particular game, particularly towards the end of the game as Kansas City had its way. Houston getting four and a half at Indianapolis, at Indy. Who you got?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Do you think the Colts choked game or that Mahomes did his Mahomes thing?

[Tony Kornheiser]

If I had to. If I had to line up, I would say Mahomes because I've watched it for so many years. But the Colts, this was like not a great outing. Not a great.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

No. I feel like they gagged that game. I feel like that. That was in. They had control of it and they kind of gagged it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is also. This is a division game as well. And this is more important to both these teams than a non division game.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Still.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Davis, Mills, I don't know. Don't know. I don't know if. I don't know if Stroud is bad. I don't know. Yeah.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I hate to say it this way because I think Stroud's a better quarterback, but I haven't seen much of a difference. No, Mills has been really.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mills has been everything you could ask for in a backup man.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Now at this point, he ought to get. This is it. Which, which is it. The Progressive Insurance doing the backup quarterback ads.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, yeah. He should get a job out of that.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You should get. Yeah, yeah. He's been good enough that he should qualify for that. Give me the Texans. Give me those points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Another road team. Four and a half. Okay. Buffalo road favorite at P. Pittsburgh. Don't know if Aaron Rodgers. I don't know. I have no idea if he's going to play in this game. The Steelers don't ever really pass the eye test. Buffalo really needs to win. Or if Buffalo loses this one, you say, you know what? They're not very good. Something happened and they're not very good. Will you give three and a half and take another road team a a loss here?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

McDermott on hot seat.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Should it should. Also the GM who has no help at wide receiver. None.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah, well. Well, that's what I have a bill saying in my life who just constantly says that. He goes, why can't we find one wide receiver that knows how to get.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We had one. You couldn't keep them.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Stefan Diggs couldn't keep.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Three and a half. That hook scares me. But I'm with you. Just every time you look at Pittsburgh, you just can't. You're like, they're not a playoff team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're not.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

But maybe they neither are the Bills. Give me Buffalo. Another road team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Five road teams, you know, here we go. And we give you the Washington.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I feel judged when you do that old whisper.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's bringing it up. I'm just bringing it up. Here's the Washington game. Denver coming out of a buy at Washington, minus six and a half. It's a lot of points. Jayden Daniels not going to play in this one. Not going to play. May play next week or the week after, but ain't playing in this one. Six and a half. And their season just went down the drain after the Chicago Bears game, as the Bears did last year after the Washington game. Six and a half. Will you make it six out of seven with road teams?

[Taylor Twellman]

Do you even bother playing Daniels at this point?

[Tony Kornheiser]

If he wants to play, you, play him. Yeah, because you got a whole winter, the whole summer to rest or something. Yeah, I think. Yeah, I think you show faith in him and you play him. I do.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah. I mean, Washington's just. They just not doing it without him. Give me. Give me Denver.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, six out of seven.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

That line wants to be higher and it simply isn't because of the. Because it's Denver.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Denver is not particularly impressive. They're, you know, they're off in Denver. I don't know. I don't know. But you'll take. You'll take.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

By the way, Denver just. You're not happy when it's only the Denver game on tv. It's not exciting football. It's not fun football to watch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would say that, you know, Denver is one. It's not as bad as if they gave you Jacksonville, New Orleans, where you would go, I can't. I just can't. It was tough to watch Carol. Carolina's made progress this year, but that was a tough game to watch. Carolina, San Francisco just, you know, it didn't have a lot of juice.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Even the NFC south gets a Monday night game every now and then.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You got to happen. I think you have to.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah, yeah. Some contractual obligation. I mean.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that would be like Atlanta, Carolina. You'd go, no, no, I'm. I think I'm going to have root canal.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Well, you know, if you. If College Football playoff committee were in charge, NFC south wouldn't even get a playoff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, they wouldn't.

[Chuck Todd]

Right.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

They would. They wouldn't be like, no, no, no. We're gonna take. We're gonna.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do I detect your bitter about Miami? Do I detect bitterness?

[Reginald (Monkey)]

We're gonna take the Cowboys with a losing record. Yeah. Anyway, go ahead.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. Good luck with this and have a lovely holiday. And I hope your turkeys don't explode.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I gotta wait, one more thing I gotta tell you. Well, Chuck And Roxy, number 400.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We heard that. We heard, we heard that.

[Chuck Todd]

How many?

[Tony Kornheiser]

They do more podcasts than I do. They do so many podcasts.

[Michael Wilbon]

Like a great number, you know?

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah, that is a good number.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

Yeah. I was happy with the number. I said, that's pretty nice numerology.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So how long are you on for? How long is the podcast?

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't know.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

I think about 30 or 30 minutes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Great. They're wonderful.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

They were really not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, they're really nice. They send me candy once in a while. They're lovely.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

They are like real fans. This is not a troll or anything. True Devotion.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you know this. The podcast here, of course, is. We're not doing anything differently because of this. No. We do this podcast, and if people like it and then like theirs, great. We're happy for that. All right. Have a good holiday.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

All right, I'll see you On News Channel 8.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep. 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 scritch, scritch scratching Watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging with be but grand tap, tap, tapping Sing along, everybody.

[Home Depot Ad Voice]

Nigel's going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

[Taylor Twellman]

Reginald's got the fights by two Sometimes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He throws poo, poo, poo and he's had too much Johnny Walker Blue Reginald had a tough week he has this week all the time. He's 1 and 2 almost all the time. He's 14 and 22. I don't see it for him this year.

[Email Reader / Producer]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doesn't see it for it would have.

[Email Reader / Producer]

To go on an epic run to close out the season. Could happen.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Got to go some three and O's.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Has not given you any indication. Yes. So I went down to the National Zoo and it was a wonderful scene there because as I'm sure you're aware, it was Reginald's annual Thanksgiving dinner. Does it a couple days before the holiday I was catering.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did he have the. The pregnant elephant there with him?

[Email Reader / Producer]

No, they had her on zoom.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Just so they could keep in touch with her, but didn't feel as appropriate to have her at the dinner table.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Email Reader / Producer]

The whole thing catered by Jose Andres. So it was very well done. And as you know, this is Reginald's favorite holiday for he loves celebrating it with the people he loved for years. As I know you remember, Tony celebrate it with red buttons every single year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who wouldn't if he got that opportunity.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Till his untimely death about 20 years ago.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, yes, he wasn't that untimely. He was about 80 at the time. He was maybe 90.

[Email Reader / Producer]

So. But now he's got different set of friends this year around the table. Some of the people I was able to say hi to. Sandy Duncan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Sergey Bupka and MC Hammer, just to name a couple. Eclectic group of friends.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So eclectic. Sergey Bukin, Sandy Duncan. You would not ever in your life.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Took a moment from the. From the dinner to go over some of these matches. Now, the first one we gave him was the very first game on your Thanksgiving. Detroit at home giving two and a half to Green Bay. And Reginald pulled out of his wallet a very old faded photograph of him in studio at the original location of Motown Records singing backup on the way to you do the things you do with the primes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's great. So yes, Primes and the primettes.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yes, he will take Detroit and give the two and a half.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think I might too. I know Chuck is a Green Bay fan. I think I might take Detroit as well.

[Email Reader / Producer]

The next match we gave him was. Was Baltimore at home giving seven to Cincinnati. And this was a more recent photograph that he showed me of him at a crab cake eating contest. Aside Mickey Tyn, Al Bumbre and Ed Reed tells me he's got ties Baltimore.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He'll lay the seven Balmer hunt. Welcome to Balmer.

[Email Reader / Producer]

And the last match we gave me was very excited about this Denver on the road giving six and a half to the Washington football team. And this was again, a rather old photograph from a newspaper showed me of him skiing in Aspen with Alex English, Jason Elam and Carl Mecklenburg.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he will also take Denver as Chuck did. Yes. So we're. Because. Because we are local and we're running away from them because we've seen them. It's not this year.

[Email Reader / Producer]

It's not this year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Last year was last year and this year is.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's a shame they've had all these primetime games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they had five primetime games and they're not.

[Email Reader / Producer]

This is one you feel should be flexed out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it should be.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Should be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, that's good. This week's picks with Chuck, Todd and Reginald the monkey have been brought to you by fanduel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[State Farm Ad Voice]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast. Smart move. Being financially savvy. Smart move. Another smart move. Having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor. State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Taylor Twellman]

Here comes Tony's mailbag. Gonna read some faxes and your notes. Here comes Tony's mailbag. Gonna read some for all you folks. Gonna read some for all y' all folks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The one guy who was actually on pitch is Dan Byrne. In that. Tom Masser is the other guy. Tom Mosser. A beautiful painting of the Penn State Nittany lion facing.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah, the mascot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Facing, facing. A painting of white out of white out. And Tom did that and gave it to the Nittany Lion. Isn't that great?

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah, it's fantastic.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A bunch of pictures. That's just really lovely. Just wonderful. You want to do the Bethesda bagel app?

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yes, Bethesda Bagels. We love them. You will as well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Got hot bagels today.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Hot bagels. Very happy about that. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com forward location in the DC area near Shoe. Then pop on in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say. Clearing skies and drying eyes Now I see your smile Darkness goes softness shows a changing style Just in time Words that rhyme will bless your soul Now I'll fill your hands with kisses and a Tootsie Roll. That's Bruce Johnson. He wrote that song when he was singing with the Beach Boys. He was a late addition to the Beach Boys and has been with them, I don't know, for 50 years.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Didn't art Garfunkel cover that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He covered it. Yeah. It's. It's Disney Girls. Disney Girls. Just great. Thanks to our guest today, Chuck Todd Taylor Twellman. Thanks as well. Today's sponsors Remember, you can listen us to listen to us on Apple Podcasts. Spotify ought to see if you get the show through Apple. Please leave us a review from Jeff Barger in Hillsborough, North Carolina I don't think there are enough fingers and toes around Uncle Benny's table to count the number of littles who will respond to your question about what foxes say. Here's a small sample of the lyrics from the 2013 mega hit Earthworm. What does the fox say? Noel from the Norwegian band Ilvis Y L V I S and if there's any justice in the universe, you will read them verbatim. But there's one sound that no one knows. What does the fox say? Ring ding ding ding ding goring ding ding ding ding ding ding. Go Ring ding ding ding ding ding.

[Michael Wilbon]

Is that now for everyone's Alexa out there? Watermelon? Meow meow.

[Reginald (Monkey)]

You're welcome.

[Tony Kornheiser]

John Holt in Chester, Virginia what does the fox say? Mr. Tony doesn't know. Totally understandable. Nigel doesn't know. Acceptable. But the fact that Michael didn't immediately start singing what the Fox says song.

[Michael Wilbon]

This is my dinner hour.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Totally flushing the mouse. Michael Kornheiser DFF oh no. Dfs that Peter Salato Sydney, Australia I think you have stumbled across something. What does the fox say? Think it's catchy and maybe need to copyright it and I don't maybe make a song about it. Just an idea. I never heard this song. Have you heard it?

[Email Reader / Producer]

I think I when it was mentioned.

[Michael Wilbon]

I was like Michael knowing that yes.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Yeah, but not having children I It's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not in my wheelhouse guy to Gata in Nagoya, Japan I'll leave the ring ding ding ding ding ding ding jokes to the other littles. I won't ask how it is a apparently things that foxes look, act and sound like cats. But there are a couple of reasons why they differ from dogs. One is that they are different animals. Dogs are domesticated wolves. Fox Foxes are an entirely different type of canid, as is the tanuki raccoon dog. Just like lions are different from house cats. Another reason is foxes are not domesticated. Russian scientist Dmitry Belyaev experimented with selecting silver foxes for traits like friendliness and tameness. Traits that ended up coming up along for the ride include shorter curly tails, changes in skull shape, floppy ears, multicolored coats, and tail wagging, much like a domesticated dog. These are the kinds of things you learn as HR middle management for an English language education company in Japan. I've attached a picture of a tanuki for reference, as well as a Shiba inu, which is a dog breed you may find more resembles a fox. Oh my gosh, yes. And I can't believe it's a dog. Brandon Borselli Lebanon, New Jersey Last week I was out for a morning run following the Kornheiser clock. I was out there in the 5am hour. I hear rustling alongside me. I turn and find a fox trotting along my side. I stop. It stops. I move. It moves. I'm in the middle of a street while it's on the grass side of the sidewalk. After 10 to 15 seconds, a fox sprints ahead of me and walks into the center of the road, staring me down like a high noon shootout. I turn and run in the opposite direction. It chases after me but gives up quickly. Between this incident and yours with Chessy, I can't help but think of The Godfather Part 2, when the Rosado brothers went after Frank Frankie Pentangeli but botched the hit and then ran over Willie, Cici or Chichi with the car while escaping. This after the attempt on Michael's life in his home, his bedroom where his wife sleeps, where his children play with their toys, it's a coordinated effort. The foxes are after us. They're bigger than us. Granny Bozo is totally Blanc, not Carden, the official unofficial senator of the TK Show. Dr. Ron, hearing about your encounter with the fox over the weekend and the sound it made got me thinking of very random song that I heard a long time ago. I'm definitely no fox expert. I'm sure there'll be much smarter emails than this one about foxes. However, if you want to know what the fox says, check out the following song. What does the Fox say? By Ilvis is wild. This song is terribly annoying and the music video is much, much worse if you even try to listen to it. I bet you don't get through 30 seconds. But before you turn it off. On a different note, if your name is Fox, apparently you become pretty famous. A small list of famous foxes below. Michael J. Fox, Megan Fox, Matthew Fox Rick Fox, Vivica Fox de' Aaron Foxx with Jamie Foxx and Redd Foxx doubling up on the axes. So if this makes it to air, it will be the one absurd fox email amongst the more informative emails about foxes and the noises they make. No, they're all the same. They're all about this song. Jeff from Madison I assume the fox was trying to get his NFL picks in before Thanksgiving. Or maybe he was just trying to let you know what his Chuck and Roxy number are. Neil Ayerves because of our year, because for years we frequently experienced encounters with foxes in our neighborhood and the varied noises they make, I took some time to learn more about the animals and the meaning of the sounds. While you are not alone in believing that foxes may be feline in origin, they are members of the Canadae family, making them relatives of wolves and dogs. In fact, if you look up the Japanese canine breed Shiba Inu, the resemblance is uncanny because as you noted, foxes are nocturnal, but identifying sounds they make is difficult without actually seeing the animal make the sound and may seem similar to other nocturnal creatures like owls. You can find studies that estimate anywhere from a dozen to 40 different sounds and some that are cat like, all identified generally as barks, shrieks, ratchet bird like calls, growls, whines, screams and whispers. These sounds may be used to communicate with other foxes, locate a mate, alert other foxes to threats, interact with their pups, mark territory and exhibit a grit. That's what I'm saying. They were reaching out to another fox. I'm glad you did not have to experience a screaming or shrieking sound a fox can make. As overused as the term blood curdling may be, it's a more than apt description. The first time I heard it, I was convinced that a small child was being attacked enough to consider making what would have been an embarrassing call to 91 1. Sadly, because of some form of mange, the fox population in our neighborhood has been decimated with concurrent increase in the rabbit population, much to the dismay of our urban gardener. So be very thankful if the continued presence of the volpines in your environs, okay? Josh Nance Greensboro, NC Foxes live in sand traps, you say? Maybe that barking was him trying to give you advice on how to get out of them. Maybe it'll save you three Strokes aside.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'll hang up, stack the left side, you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, there's a haiku from shed about fox vocalizations. Below is a chart. Red Fox Vocalizations no, not that red fox. I would go with Kitchirp or Vixen Scream. Great name and it's all of these types of vocalizations. Yeah.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Handy reference chart for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. From Leslie Thomas in Hillsborough, North Carolina when we lived outside Davidsonville, Maryland, I heard what was a woman screaming her head off outside the house. I turned on every light, went outside with the phone to hopefully scare off an attacker while calling 91 1. Luckily, the call had not yet connected because there was no screaming woman. It was a fox. Country Life was not for me. From Torben Harrison. So Dave Shinen. He has a piano. Eric Robbins, Silver Spring, Maryland I thought David St. Hubbins composed the Sports center theme. And why didn't Dave Shinen include the curling thing from St. Hubbins as well? I'll take my answer off the air from Steve in Severna Park, Maryland. First time, long time. I've been a loyal fan of your entertainment enterprises since the 1990s when I would watch on the Sports Reporters on ESPN while serving in the Air Force in North Dakota. On Friday's show, you mentioned the Curacao Men's World team qualified and the small population of the island. Exactly zero players on Curacao's squad for 2026 were born on the island. According to the reports, the entire team is made up of players born in the Netherlands. I'll hang up and listen while I eat coffee ice cream without the schmutz. If this actually gets read on the air, tell my big bro Dan Coleman to eat it. I will finally beat him at something. Look at me, Ma.

[Email Reader / Producer]

Look at me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mark Larson, Salt Lake City on the topic of microwave bacon, I've been doing this for years. I don't need any specific brand, although thick cut does work better. I put three or four pieces of raw bacon between paper towels, microwave them until crispy. Once you get used to the time it takes in your microwave, you'll get consistent crispy bacon all the time. For me, it's about a minute 30 per power level. I guess it's full. It doesn't say I never bother with pans or ovens anymore. It's quick and easier to clean up than other methods. It's great. From Steve Lenowitz I was in Buffalo this weekend as my former player at St. Dominic's Coaches Canisius University. I saw both of your guys games. They lost to Maryland, Eastern Shore and Kenesha. They're missing two starters and a key sub due to injuries. They have three starters including both guards who have to play most of the game. They play hard, but it's going to be a long season. They have talent, but not enough is available. Thought you'd appreciate the info. Tough week for Binghamton. Okay, okay. Another one from Jeff Barger in Hillsborough. Apparently Hallmark. Another Hallmark football movie is in the works. The Gazebo is Burning. A Raiders love story is a heartburn warming tale. A big city lawyer who comes back to a small town and fails to kill connect with anyone. Dr. Doug Green. Can I be the show's official earned doctorate from Binghamton University? Mine is in education. Well, I earned it.

[Email Reader / Producer]

That feels like a shot, doesn't it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I earned it. Doug, while I love Michael Wilbon, I like you find correcting him to be low hanging fruit on the Monday show, he incorrectly stated that nobody in the NFL is out of it. As you may know, there's one team that's out of it. That would be my New York Giants. One down, 17 to go in terms of playoff chance. Larry Johnson, Austin, Texas. I think the new game is to pick the one game the monkey gets right. Spencer Boone, Great Falls, Montana. You asked what Waymo means. I don't know. I mean Waymo yourself. Thank you, Alan Arkin. Keep up the great work. Kurt in Tulsa. I lived in Germany for many years. If you have a bat that lives in your house, by law you have to let it live there. My friend had one in his chimney, invited me over. No thank you.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's funny. Gua's tune.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you're out on your bike T everyone as always do wear white and have a happy Thanksgiving. But we'll tell you the same thing tomorrow.

[Taylor Twellman]

Basketball Give me, give me, give me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The ball because I'm going to go get.

[Chuck Todd]

It's already dawn and I didn't even see you leave. Now that you're gone I'm stuck alone Being with me look at the floor There's a remnants of the things that we did Time to grow up but it's more fun being a kid. I. Need my scapes on holiday you they say I should try to live a no life how about you and I tonight go on holiday Holiday. I wanna watch. I'm singing. I try to keep things simple bow but it's more fun to play pinball Leaving town with my carry on But I promise I will carry on I text you a postcard of the city next to my heart. Please don't rush me baby. Nights turn into weeks but you still keep me up the one I've been dreaming of and I don't want to text it so I'll be on my next trip Coming to you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh.

[Chuck Todd]

Get the ball rolling Share a sunset and stay up till morning like a two I'm still pulling trying to play it cool and I've fallen climb under my wallet I'm your favorite game and you're Jackie McMullen? Why do you want me to be gone? Please don't rush me me? You know it's touching. Baby, you know it's touching. I want you like crazy yeah, but I always been.