“Seeds of Hope”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: “Seeds of Hope”

Date: October 6, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Michael Wilbon, Dave, Buster Olney

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Overview

Monday’s episode of “The Tony Kornheiser Show” dives into a whirlwind of sports recaps—from wild college football upsets and nail-biting NFL games to the drama of the MLB playoffs. Tony is joined by regular contributors Michael Wilbon and Dave to break down a weekend full of surprises and strange moments. Baseball expert Buster Olney later stops by for an in-depth look at the postseason, the Yankees' implosion, bullpen theory, and Tony’s own gardening mishaps (complete with potato woes). The show’s trademark banter blends nostalgia, expertise, and plenty of self-deprecation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. NFL and College Football Roundup

[00:56–14:55]

• Surprising NFL Week:

  • Tony marvels at the unpredictability this weekend. Dramatic moments included:
    • Arizona’s disastrous end zone fumble:

      “Some guy from Arizona is about to score on an 80 yard run and just lets the ball go before he gets into the end zone … his team ends up losing to Tennessee, a team that had never won all season.” (01:01)

    • Tony references the “Holy Roller” Oakland Raiders play and is surprised the fumble-advance rule hasn’t changed more.
    • Baker Mayfield’s “MVP-worthy” performance for Tampa Bay (29/33, 329 yards):

      “Their point differential in those four games is nine points. That’s all it is. Amazing.” (02:18)

    • Washington’s unexpected win over the Chargers in California
    • Dak Prescott’s value to Dallas amid a struggling defense
    • Jaden Daniels emerging as a critical piece for the Commanders
    • Michael Wilbon:

      “You gotta have a quarterback.” (03:34)

• Uniform Critiques:

  • Tony and Dave roast the Buffalo Bills’ white alternative uniforms:

    “Hated them … That’s not the Buffalo Bills to me.” (03:59)

• College Football Chaos:

  • Shocking upsets: Penn State loses to an 0–4 UCLA (fired their coach two weeks ago), Maryland’s collapse from 20–0 up, Texas (Arch Manning’s struggles), Alabama’s late bad beat, Miami’s rise.
  • “Bad Beat” anecdote: Tony calls gambling friend Jeff Ma after Alabama blows the spread with a meaningless late TD.
  • Mike Locksley and James Franklin’s job security discussed.

2. MLB Playoff Breakdown

[08:31–13:24, 32:41–48:39]

• Yankees and Cubs Flounder:

  • Yankees “crushed”—allowed 22 runs in two games. Tony doubts if they can recover at home, Buster Olney agrees on their dire spot.
  • Candid moment about Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s future:

    Buster: “No. … The owner likes this group of people running his team. … Until that changes, they’re going to remain.” (39:49–40:46)

• Pitching Performances:

  • Tony marvels at Shohei Ohtani pitching and musing on whether his outings at the plate suffered on pitching days.
  • Discussion of Teoscar Hernández’s game-saving home run after outfield blunder.
  • Dodgers and Phillies discussed as possible best teams in baseball; either could exit early due to playoff matchups.
  • Milwaukee dismantles the Cubs with an 8-run inning.

• Stat and Strategy Analysis:

  • Playoff structure (“does the bye hurt?”): Home teams are 4–2—not as much trouble as Tony and Wilbon expected.
  • Use of ace pitchers out of the bullpen—Kershaw for Dodgers:

    “Kershaw has done this in the postseason … his message to Dave Roberts all year has been, ‘Hey, whatever you need.’” (46:20–47:04)

3. The Mark Sanchez Story – A Weekend Oddity

[13:54–14:55, 29:52–32:30]

• Tony and Wilbon dissect former NFL QB Mark Sanchez’s bizarre headline—an apparent altercation involving stabbings at a hotel. Alcohol noted as an obvious factor.

• Wilbon: “When alcohol is involved, everything is possible … That’s what the reporting and statements from police suggest.” (30:12, 32:06)

• Tony: “When this is all said and done, he will go to some sort of treatment, don’t you think?” (30:56)

4. Tony’s Gardening Fails (with Expert Consultation)

[34:26–36:32]

• Tony laments his rock-like potato harvest and accidental giant squash.
• Buster Olney, the resident “farm consultant,” offers hope:

  “These are the seeds for next year’s potatoes … These are seeds of hope, not signs of failure in you.” (34:59–35:13)

• Brevity of the advice: swap potato and squash locations, freshen soil, keep going next year.

5. Banter, Nostalgia, and Listener Emails

[49:17–end]

• A flood of listener emails reflects warm commentary on Tony’s lifestyle musings, food, vacations, and the show’s reach—a tribute to its community feel.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the Absurdity of the NFL Weekend

• Tony Kornheiser: “The rationalizations, I freely admit them. … This weekend was great. You had baseball playoffs … you had things going on in front of you in the red zone, which were almost unbelievable.” (00:56)

On Baker Mayfield’s Emergence

• Tony: “I believe ... the three leading [NFL MVP] candidates would be Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones of Indianapolis and Dak Prescott. ... The question for years and years, is Dak worth the money? Yeah, he’s worth the money. Defense isn’t. Dak is worth the money.” (02:05)

On Penn State Football

• Tony: “Is there an honest future for James Franklin at Penn State?”
  Wilbon: “I did talk to people … who think they will sit down at the end of the year and they will move on from James Franklin …” (27:53–28:46)

Gardening and Potatoes

• Buster Olney: “These are seeds of hope, not, not signs of failure in you.” (35:08)

On Mark Sanchez

• Wilbon: “When alcohol is involved … everything’s on the table.” (30:10)

On Playoff Baseball

• Tony: “It looks bad. Well, let me ask the obvious question. If they get swept … does Aaron Boone lose his job?”
  Buster: “No. … The owner likes this group of people running his team.” (39:48–40:46)

On Kershaw’s Role

• Buster: “Kershaw has done this in the postseason. … If you need me to start, I can do that. … It’s his victory lap as he finishes up this hall of fame career.” (46:20–47:04)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• NFL Recap & Surprises: 00:56–07:15
• College Football Upsets: 08:05–09:50
• MLB Playoff Overview (Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies): 09:50–13:27
• Tony’s TV Channel Confessions: 12:30–13:27
• Golf, Turkey BLT, and Weekend Life: 13:27–13:54
• Mark Sanchez Story: 13:54–14:55; 29:52–32:30
• Buster Olney’s Gardening Tips: 34:26–36:32
• In-depth Baseball Playoff Coverage: 36:32–48:39

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Final Thoughts

“Seeds of Hope” exemplifies the unique blend of humor, nostalgia, and deep sports discussion that defines “The Tony Kornheiser Show.” From NFL head-scratching moments to the existential pain of Yankees fans, listeners are given equal parts rant, reason, and reassurance. Regulars like Wilbon and Buster Olney bring credibility and comfort, while Tony’s gardening tales provide a universal lesson in humility—and, of course, hope.

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Want more?
Because this episode is packed with recap, debate, and laughs, it is perfect both for sports obsessives who missed the games and those who simply love the candid camaraderie.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk with Michael Wilbon about the baseball playoffs, the big games from college and pro football, and also about the bizarre Mark Sanchez story. And we'll dive back into baseball with Buster Olney. And yeah, we'll also probably ask Buster for some gardening tips. But first, commerce. Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. Why would you go to a structure built by man when you. You'd go outside into the natural environment that you ascribe to having been created by God? If you are a believer, that's pretty much what you would believe. You'd rather be outside. And if somebody says, well, he can find you better inside. No, no, no, no, no. He can see everywhere. You know, he knows what you sleep and he knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake, right?

[Show Announcer]

The Tony Korneiser show is on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The rationalizations, I freely admit them. So if you like sports at all, this weekend was great. You had baseball playoffs, you had college football, you had pro football, you had things going on in front of you in the red zone, which were almost unbelievable. You have some guy from Arizona is about to score on an 80 yard run and just lets the ball go, just lets the ball go before he gets into the end zone. So he doesn't get that score and his team ends up losing to a team, Tennessee, that had never won all season.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Had not won all season. And Tennessee recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown that was kicked around and kicked around and kicked around. And I'm one of those people that thought you couldn't do that anymore. That years back that because the Oakland Raiders, the Holy Roller, used to do that deliberately, that there was a rule made that you cannot deliberately.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Ken Stabler just roll the ball out so that their guy could fall on it. At some point, like when I was.

[Dave]

Watching first grade base, the pitcher's help would roll the ball to first to secure the out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, I mean, I didn't, you know, they allowed it to be a touchdown. I'm sure that it was completely legal. But I was sitting there saying, hmm, I didn't think you could do that anymore. And then Tennessee comes back and they beat Arizona. Arizona is a. Is not much of a team. And Kyler Murray is exciting to watch, but he gets no results. He gets no results. Tampa Bay won again at the last second of the game. They won on a field goal on the last second. BAKER Mayfield went 29 of 33 for 329 yards. They have won four games. They're four and one. Their point differential in those four games is nine points. That's all it is, is nine points. I just. That's amazing. Indianapolis, I believe that if you voted for MVP right now, the three leading candidates would be Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones of Indianapolis and Dak Prescott. Because Dallas, terrible on defense. You have to score 40 to win. And he does. It does and he does. So like the question for years and years, is Dak worth the money? Yeah, he's worth the money. Defense isn't. Dak is worth the money. I got so many things wrong. I never ever thought that Washington would beat the Chargers in California. I just didn't.

[Michael Wilbon]

Certainly not if they got down early.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They were down.

[Dave]

They didn't get a first down to the middle of the second quarter.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I never thought they would win. And this lead me into my small spiel here, which is you got to have a quarterback.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, Jaden Daniels is that quarterback. He was out for two games. And now you see, and it's not that his statistics were all that overwhelming. It said he knows how to run his team, he knows how to execute what they want to do. And that's. I did not know.

[Dave]

And you could see the comfort building as the game went on, which is why it was nice to have Brady in the booth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. I didn't have the Bills or the Eagles losing at home.

[Dave]

What did you think of the Bills uniforms?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hated them. The white uniforms. Hated them. Did you?

[Dave]

Straight out of Batman and robin in the 90s. Hated the freeze.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just hated them. Yes. Yeah, it doesn't. That's not the Buffalo Bills to me. But I went to sleep. It was six, three and half lost at home.

[Dave]

Got exciting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I thought that the Bills would win. They're playing the Patriots. Who are no good.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Except now, you know, this kid Drake May looks like he might be good.

[Dave]

Drake May scramble to the right all game, but particularly right before the two minute warning. Gets a first down out of nowhere, which is how they're able to set up that. You know, eventually it was like a 50.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There are two guys who I think came in at the same year in sort of the middle of the first round. Drake May and Bo Nix. They're better than I thought they were going to be. They're pretty good right now. Some people come back to earth. Jackson Dart came back to earth. He had two interceptions. The Giants didn't win.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's the day ball effect, though.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, well, maybe, yeah. But, but you have to have, you have to have a good quarterback though. The games get very, very exciting. Seattle, Seattle lost. You know, that was, that was a very exciting game. It was at the Tampa Bay.

[Michael Wilbon]

That was the Tampa Bay game.

[Dave]

Their unis look great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Very exciting game.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I mean, I thought that Darnold made a mistake late, Donald was picked off late, and Baker Mayfield goes down the field. These, it's. They're easy to watch. All of these games are easy to watch and surprising just about all the time. College football on Saturday, James Franklin and Penn State, they lost to an 04 UCLA team that had fired their coach like, like two weeks ago. They lost. They're coming out of this disappointing loss at home to Oregon. They are ranked three in the country and they have now lost two in a row. And the UCLA loss is terrible. And you have to say to yourself, is there a future, honestly, is there an honest future for James Franklin at Penn State? Is there an honest future for Mike Loxley at Maryland? They're up 20 to nothing. 20 to nothing at Maryland in a home game. They lose 24 to 20. And I know you're going to say, well, who cares about Maryland football? Some people care about Maryland football. You just lose games like this. He wins six games a year. He goes to the Tostito bowl, whatever it is, and everybody seems to be happy. But they don't beat anybody good. Nope. And Washington isn't even any good. They went 3,000 miles to lose and you didn't let them lose. They were ready to lose. Texas. Oh, Arch Manning, it's. I sort of feel badly, but he's not.

[Dave]

It's okay. He has that Warby Parker deal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Does he have a deal? Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

And sure, he's making lots of nil money, but yeah, it's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He doesn't look like the quarterback we thought he was going to be. No, he just does not. Alabama. Alabama won. They beat Vanderbilt. Now you say Vanderbilt, but Vanderbilt was five and oh, and Alabama is now pretty good. Miami was the beat. Florida State at Florida State, Miami's got to be one of the two or three best teams in the country, right? Sure.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was the Alabama game, was that the one you called me about? The bad beat where the guy ran for a touchdown very late in the game?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Dave]

Okay, this is going to his notes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Going to my notes. It's a great because I called.

[Dave]

Not a voicemail.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I called Jeff Ma. Yeah, Jeff ma had Vanderbilt plus 11 and a half at Alabama. That's a one score game. For the whole game. Jeff Ma is counting his money. Alabama doesn't even want to score at the end. They don't take a knee. They hand the ball off. And the guy runs 25 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the game. And so it's a 16 point game and not a nine point game. And Jeff Ma loses. I call him, I say, I'm so sorry, but I'm laughing. I said, I know I'm laughing. I know I'm laughing because I've never seen anything like this. This is worse than the blocked field goal because that's a competitive play. This is not a competitive play. This game is over. It's not a competitive play. And he says, I didn't see it. He says, but you have to live. You have to live with that. It goes from nine to 15. It's a fourth and three. They're not even trying to score. It's not their intent. And. Yeah, and so that's the worst beat that I've seen. Carville 5 and 1 again. Carver wins every college game. These games you've never heard of. Carville wins these games.

[Dave]

He knows how to pick them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. Baseball is the baseball games that I watch. Even the bad baseball games are great fun for me to watch. The Yankees are getting crushed. We're going to have Buster only on to talk about this Yankees. Have they given up like 22 runs, something like that in two games? They're not close in either of these games. They have to go home to new. They have to win three in a row. And they certainly have to win two, three and four in New York. I don't know that they can. I mean, they were getting beaten so convincingly, don't you think?

[Dave]

I mean, the video free face after that start.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, oh, he doesn't. Yeah, he was never good in that.

[Dave]

Were you staying with it when they interviewed? Yes. Savage's parents?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. Were they in the. I've never heard of him. Did. How many strikeouts did he have? He didn't allow any hits.

[Dave]

No, no, this was. He had 11 strikeouts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Savage.

[Dave]

Yeah. Yeah. Franchise record for no hits but postseason, five in the third inning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So they look bad, the Dodgers. That was the best.

[Dave]

They're driving back to Jersey that night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay. The, the, the Dodgers game was the best game because it went back and forth. And you had Otani on the mound. Yeah. Ohtani had one bad inning where they kept going to right field. His. The righty batters would hit line drives to right field and they scored three runs other than that he struck out seven or eight or nine or something like that in six innings.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, now, this was interesting to me, and I want to ask Buster about this. Please remind me to do it. Ohtani was 0 for 4 at the plate, all four strikeouts, three looking. Three looking. I. I guess I'm curious. What in his career, when he pitched for the Angels, what was his batting like during the games when he actually pitched? Is there a correlation that him pitching makes him less effective as a hitter? The Tigers are now 1 and 1. The Tigers lost last night. You know who came in to save the game and didn't?

[Dave]

Ethaning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Hello. Kyle Finnegan.

[Michael Wilbon]

Phi double N E with a toe tap.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Two thirds of an inning, three hits, one earn.

[Dave]

Oh, it gets better.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Leads off with a strikeout to Randy Rosarena. Cal Rawley with a double J Rod brings him in. Then you have a soft single, and eventually you can't get out of the inning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. And they have to take him out.

[Michael Wilbon]

You've seen that movie 100 times.

[Dave]

We've seen the sequel.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So Scubal seven minutes. Google won that game. You would say, okay, the Tigers are going to win. But no, he didn't win that game.

[Michael Wilbon]

Polanco. Right. With two home runs off.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Dave]

I went back to the box score. So Skubal, not just. He doesn't just go seven innings. He has seven first pitch outs for the efficiency that gets him through seven.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. How many pitches did he throw?

[Dave]

I don't know. Overall, I got. I got nine strikeouts, but I can look up total pitches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So that. That's a series. The Mariners proved that's a series. Although it goes to Detroit now, where Detroit can win. They can win two games in Detroit and win the series.

[Michael Wilbon]

97 pitches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. The Dodger game, though, TE Oscar Hernandez, who was very lazy on a. On a hit to right field, and it went by him and. And the people in the booth said he's not a good fielder, but didn't even look like he made an effort. And next time he was up, he hit one over the moon, you know, and they win the game as a result of that. I mean, the Dodgers, the Dodgers and the Phillies, I think, are two of the three best teams in all of baseball. One of them's going out early because of the luck of the draw. And Milwaukee crushed the Cubs. Milwaukee got eight runs in one inning. I know I'll say this to Buster, but the Yankee game yesterday. So I'm going back and forth on my television set on Comcast 861 is the red zone. FS1, 857 is FS1. So I have to. I sit there and punch in the numbers, which can't do in streaming because you can't get out.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's difficult.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can't get out.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, it's so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But this is not streaming. This is cable. And each time I punch. This is exactly what happened to nothing. Toronto, three, nothing next time back. Five, nothing next time.

[Dave]

I missed the Grand Slam as well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nothing next time back. 11, nothing next time back. What? What? That's what. And that. And so there was no game there. And I got.

[Dave]

Do you not use the last button?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know what that is.

[Dave]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, do you punch in the numbers every time?

[Tony Kornheiser]

The numbers. Oh, 8, 57.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's gonna save you a little bit of time.

[Dave]

So with your clicker, you can press last and it'll show you about. You can set it for different things, but it'll show you, like the 10 last channels and what's currently on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I just want to go back and forth.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, this will get you there quickly.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Dave]

But this. This is a fast way to toggle between.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, well, I didn't know that. How long has that been around?

[Michael Wilbon]

Just the beginning of time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so it's called last. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't have that. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

What's the.

[Dave]

Yeah, we'll show you the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, it's a. I also played golf. I played golf Saturday and Sunday and had a turkey BLT afterwards.

[Buster Olney]

Very happy.

[Dave]

The turkey BLT knocked you out. I show up to watch the first quarter of the Commanders game with you. I tried to bring one of the boys and you're napping.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Napping? Yeah. I don't play very well, but I, you know, I'm so old that I get tired even in a cart. I had a good time. I always have.

[Dave]

I took the Raven snap myself.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

What's he gonna do?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, and then there's this story. Oh, we'll get to will. Bottom of this. Mark Sanchez. Oh, story of the weekend. What do you do?

[Dave]

Can't park there.

[Michael Wilbon]

What are you doing going on? There's lots of questions.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Real cushy job. Because I know, because I had that job. You have a real cushy job and it's going to pay you for 20 years.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Except it's not going to pay you next week. Like you're not going to be back in the booth. You know, old Sanchez is 30 or close to 40.

[Dave]

38.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, 30. I didn't. Was that old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah, he's been out for like 15 years. 16 years out of college. He was a great college quarterback at usc.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, he was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So that. What are you doing getting stabbed and stabbing back and being arrested and charged? Yes, there are misdemeanors, but there's three of them, you know, just what are you doing? All right, we will take a break and we will have Michael Wilbon when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Guest or Co-host]

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[Buster Olney]

Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a group called Tonic. This is sent to us by Tim Reed, who's the founder of We Rock Cancer and he writes this is Tonic. They'll be performing this year at the Concert to Rock cancer in Tysons, Virginia on October 11th. That's next week. The annual concert event is held by We Rock Cancer, an organization dedicated to making free early detection cancer screenings widely available at concerts and other events. Arrive early for free skin cancer screening. Get it? Yes. And then enjoy. Tonic. October 11th at Capitol One hall in Tysons. Tickets are at werockcancer.org or Ticketmaster. This is called you wanted more. It plays in Michael Wilbon, who at least the start of his weekend was wonderful because Northwestern won. You didn't beat a quality opponent, but you won the game. How was the game?

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, you told me it wasn't much a game. It was a homecoming game. We decided philosophically to go in a different direction and have an opponent that, you know, you could be paid to bring in. I mean, everybody has those, those games once, even once the conference season starts. Louisiana, Monroe, in this case. Last year we played Ohio State.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Crazy, right?

[Guest or Co-host]

So we went. We went the other way. It Was a beautiful. It's insanely, historically beautiful time in Chicago because it's 80 degrees and perfectly sunny in October. There's not a leaf that's changed colors yet. So it was a beautiful weekend, like you said, for Northwestern and. Yeah. Big win at home. And the Cubbies, on the other hand, while a great many of us at the Northwestern game, we're keeping one eye on the Cubs who were down, you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Know, eight, eight one in the second inning, eight one in the second inning.

[Guest or Co-host]

That didn't go well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Cubs and the Yankees are getting crushed. Those two teams.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, at least ours is still one number with game two tonight. Game two tonight in Milwaukee.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

And, you know, it was Craig Counsel, who I have thought and think has done an incredible job with the Cubs this summer all season. He blew it, and I hate that he did not take accountability for it. He started Matthew Boyd, the Cubs all star starter. He started him on short rest. And. And when you start somebody on short rest and he has his only bad outing of the season, own it. Don't come back and say, well, it happened. No, no, no, no, no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Be like, maybe like Sean McVeigh. Sean McVeigh said, My bad call. My bad call.

[Guest or Co-host]

So you and I call on credit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Counsel, by the way. You and I, we're wrong on a number of things over the weekend. A number of things. But one of the things that we are wrong on is our hesitancy, our wonder about whether or not if you have the buy, it hurts you. Five of the six home team games were one. Home teams, five and one.

[Guest or Co-host]

So only Detroit, but the home teams are two and two. Well, no, that's right. Five and one, Detroit and. Okay. And the Cubs haven't played game two yet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what I'm saying. There have been six games there in six games, two each in the American League, one each in the National League. And the home teams are five and one. And so consequently, my sense. And your sense that the buy is going to hurt. You did. Didn't. It hasn't.

[Guest or Co-host]

Has not happened. But I'm claiming victory because I had. You asked me on Friday if I thought both upsets could take place, Philadelphia and Buffalo.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, I did not.

[Guest or Co-host]

And Buffalo lose. And I said, yes, yes, you were right. I do believe they can lose.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You were right.

[Guest or Co-host]

It's just time. I mean, nobody's going undefeated. There's no 85 bears or dolphins out there. No, there's nobody who's that great. And so it's not a catastrophe that they lost. They're Going to lose. And they're going to. They're both going to lose again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

None of them going 16 and 1 either.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I agree completely with that. This weekend prove that some small things happen. Watching the red zone, the early games. There are so many comeback games over the course of the day. If I was an Arizona Cardinal fan, I'd be smashing my head into the wall. I mean, who is this guy Mercadero? What are you doing?

[Guest or Co-host]

It's every week, it's every week somebody decides to slow up miles an hour. And we listen, we saw Jamar Chase do it. He backed in the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Backed him, but he held the ball.

[Guest or Co-host]

He held the ball this time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That was terrible.

[Guest or Co-host]

You know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that Arizona and, and, and they, you know, they, A lot of teams lost with significant leads. They allowed comebacks to happen. I was, you know, I mean Tampa Bay and by the way, Baker Mayfield should be in the top two to three for MVP. He was 29 of 33. 29 of 33 for 329 yards. They've won four games by a total mike of nine. Can you believe in them? I don't know.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, I mean, you know, I think most people thought they were going to win that division. A smattering of people thought Atlanta, but nobody thought New Orleans or Carolina was so sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. I just, I don't know.

[Guest or Co-host]

Is their division to win? Is their division to win. They're a good team. Yeah. The ball's in the air. When they went was. It was, you know, it was that case for Kansas City last year. Teams, you know there's going to be a team or multiples that win games that way. So. Yeah, I thought, I mean that that was a thrilling game yesterday between Tampa and Seattle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, that was. The Tennessee game was a thrilling game at the moment.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yes, it was. Yes, it was. And so, you know, I, those. I don't know, Tony. I don't think 10 point leads and 14 point leads. The commanders were down 10 early. Should have been down 17. I don't think that those are huge leads anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't appear to.

[Guest or Co-host]

All people do is go for it on fourth down. They don't punt it. They don't particularly play defense the way we, you and I are accustomed to seeing teams historically play defense. So I don't think these 10 point leads in the first quarter are a big deal at all.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't seem to be. I am corrected here. Nigel corrects me. The home teams are four and two. I forgot that Philadelphia was a home team and lost to the Dodgers, that was a trip 4 and 2, but that still I thought they could be owing, you know, 1 and 5 or something like that. And they're not. Let me stay. Let me stay with the NFL. Because the biggest, I believe the biggest surprise in the NFL is the Baltimore Ravens. They have now allowed their one in four, and in those four losses, they have allowed an average of 40 points a loss. They just gave up 44 to Houston, a team that was averaging 16 that couldn't score in Baltimore. What do you make of them?

[Guest or Co-host]

They're bad. I mean, they've allowed the most points in the league. There's no mystery to it.

[Buster Olney]

They're there.

[Guest or Co-host]

They've had, they had a bad season like this, I think about five or six seasons ago, to me. So this is a franchise that has flexed on its defense for 25 years.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Guest or Co-host]

Going back to the early Ray Lewis.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Guest or Co-host]

And so they don't have that. But to me, what is of more concern, immediate concern, is Lamar Jackson ain't that guy anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doesn't seem to be.

[Guest or Co-host]

He's not, he's not. And I don't know if he's hiding an injury. If the, if the, if the hits he's taken have just taken a toll, bigger toll in a general way. I mean, you know, people talk, people make crazy statements about even great players and how long they're going to play and the franchise is going to be great for 12 to 15 years. No, it isn't. And you really hope that a player can be great for eight year run. Maybe. Maybe. Can it be longer than that? I don't know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was with Brady, but it's a different type of quarterback.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, so. I mean, Brady is the exception to all these. I don't, I don't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

I don't count Brady.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can't look at Brady that way because he is, in fact the, the exception. He's the exception.

[Guest or Co-host]

Yeah. And I don't know if, I don't know if Josh Allen is that he takes a lot of hits too, even though he, Nobody can stop him now. But you get this window of maybe, if even for the physically superior players. And yes, I put Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen in that group. You have to, you know, how long does it last? How many, how many cracks at this does Buffalo get with Josh Allen being able to play this way? Is this something that Lamar Jackson can gradually or suddenly bounce back from in November and December? I don't, looking at him now, I don't think it is. And of course he didn't play yesterday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, he's out and he may not play the next game. You know, so, I mean, you look at the overall NFL and one of the things that we are taught at the end of week five is that those things we thought about in week two are not necessarily true. You and I both, but you more than I. You love the packers and the Chargers and now you can't. Yeah, you can't love them now.

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, you can love them. You can love them. They're going to be playoff teams. They're not going to be 16 and 1. It doesn't mean you can't love them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Chargers were beaten by Washington and that shows you what.

[Guest or Co-host]

But who's not to love Washington? Well, I mean, nobody said the Chargers had to be better than Washington. The Chargers are a really good team who are. Have a really good coach and they're going to figure out how to get their way from 3 and 2 to 8 and 4, and we'll see what happens as they get down. This is not 1960s college football where the team stack players and go. Everybody goes 10, 0. This. This is not that. You're going to have losses and what are you going to. Who can bounce back from them and find something sustainable, you know, around Thanksgiving? That's what.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's. No, you're right.

[Guest or Co-host]

And the Commanders are one of them.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They are. The Commanders are with Jalen, with Jaden Daniels. If they don't have him. No, they're not. You have to have a.

[Guest or Co-host]

That was smart to sit him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Guest or Co-host]

Because you're. This is more of a marathon with 17 games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You.

[Guest or Co-host]

Not Jim Brown's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, it's not.

[Guest or Co-host]

12 games NFL season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not 12 games. You have. But you have to have a quarterback. I'll give you a perfect example. Dak Prescott is another guy I would put at mvp. I'd put Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield and Dak Prescott because they have the worst defense. Their defense worse than Baltimore's. And he keeps them in game after game after game. If you don't have that quarterback, you cannot win. Cannot win.

[Guest or Co-host]

And that quarterback is not going to play that way for 17 straight games. And that quarterback may have to miss a couple of games. And what do you do then?

[Tony Kornheiser]

What do you got?

[Guest or Co-host]

So it doesn't mean, you know. So it was interesting. Yes, the Commander's game was interesting. I'm watching it even more closely than usual because next on deck for the Commanders and my Bears next week and the Bears aren't anywhere near as good as the Commanders. Right. Now it's not. They're not. And it doesn't mean that, you know, the stupid narrative in the overreaction Monday of almost all quarters will be, well, Caleb is not progressing. You know, what are they going to do? It's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, no.

[Guest or Co-host]

You know, almost like I can't listen to the. The reaction to an NFL on Monday or Tuesday because people are so stupid.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, then. But let me go to college.

[Guest or Co-host]

They're not as good as the commanders.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Let me go to college. What do you do with James Franklin if you're Penn State?

[Guest or Co-host]

This is Penn State now, Tony, It's a great question. It's a great what do you do? And necessary question. I did talk to people, since you and I talked yesterday, who think that they will sit down at the end of the year and they will move on from James Franklin and there will be a host of schools who are sitting outside James Franklin's office.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Guest or Co-host]

Who are going to say, look, we're not Penn State. We're not a team that's going to be top three and thinking we can beat Ohio State, Michigan every year. But we've got a program, an ambitious program, and we think you're going to be better suited for us than you are for Penn State. And I don't know how that's going to work, but I'm listening to more and more people who think that will be the conversation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I sort of agree with that. I think if you're a team like Penn State and remember the glory you had with Joe Paterno and you think you want to win a national championship, he has proven that he's not a national championship coach. But if you're a team that's five and six and you'd like to get to eight and four, he might be great because they're just games he does. It's not like Mike Locksley that doesn't win any games, doesn't win any games against teams that are any good at all. But that, as you pointed out in our conversations, Maryland football is not Penn State football. Doesn't matter.

[Guest or Co-host]

It's not Penn State football. It never has been.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Guest or Co-host]

And, you know, everybody's got to. Look, Tony, the thing is there's this. There's this rainbow out there that people see after every drop of water. And it's, you know, being able to pay players and go into the portal and yes, looks particularly attractive at times, but not when schools can make jumps. But does it mean all of a sudden that teams that are basically top 40 teams become top 10 teams? No, it doesn't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. It doesn't mean that. Let me get. I know you got things to do. I'm going to get you out of here on this with the best story of the weekend. Best story of the weekend. Weirdest story of the weekend. Mark Sanchez, what do you make of this?

[Guest or Co-host]

Oh, God.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What do you make of this?

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, Tony, if you, you know, I read. I normally. I skip over stuff like.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I read every word I could.

[Guest or Co-host]

Tony, Same here. Every word. Every word. But what I make of it is alcohol. I mean, that's, you know, that's what the reporting and the statements from police suggest that was involved. When alcohol is involved. I. Yeah. And everything is possible. Everything's on the table. I don't. What do you. What else do you make.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is not. I mean, the first thing. The first thing that struck me is this is not a delivery to your home where you're expecting doordash. You're in a hotel. What are you doing? What are you doing? And he's, you know, he's. When this is all said and done, he will go to some sort of treatment, don't you think?

[Guest or Co-host]

Yes. And there'll be some announcement. I don't even think it measures up to be that big a deal ultimately, these days, given what people come back from. Given what. It's excused. Given that this kind of behavior is no longer necessarily considered scandalous in the age we live in. But, Tony, people order. Look, people order food all day from hotels all the time, every day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know, but this was. This was not. This was in the. Not in the actual hotel. On the grounds of the hotel. It was sort of outside his room. It was this weird. It. It. It's cloaked in weirdness because the reporting isn't exact yet. But. What are you doing stabbing people? What are you doing?

[Guest or Co-host]

Well, but, no, but apparently he was stabbed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And then he stabbed this other guy.

[Guest or Co-host]

But all. But also the guy. If you read this, I'm sure you have the statements from the person involved. He was fearful of his.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Was going to be attacked and killed.

[Guest or Co-host]

Taking him out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host]

He's. Tony, here's what I make of it. Alcohol.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Okay.

[Guest or Co-host]

Once you watch that.

[Buster Olney]

If.

[Guest or Co-host]

When. That is the key word in the story. That's what we got. Yeah, that's what it is. And yes. You know, somebody wants. And then the quotes from him through the police. Granted, through the police say he doesn't even remember what happened.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. It's so not good.

[Guest or Co-host]

Here's what.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Alcohol. Alcohol.

[Guest or Co-host]

You're right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. I will see you later. I'll talk to you and see you later.

[Guest or Co-host]

Tom. Sounds good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michael. Wilbon, boys and girls, we will take a break. We'll come back with Buster Olney. We'll concentrate on the baseball playoffs. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Buster Olney]

It's the Smucker's Uncrustables podcast with your host, Uncrustables. Okay, Today's guest is rough around the edges.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Please welcome crust.

[Buster Olney]

Thanks for having me.

[Guest or Co-host]

Today's topic is round with soft pillowy bread.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey.

[Buster Olney]

Filled with delicious PB and J. Are you talking about yourself?

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you can take them anywhere.

[Buster Olney]

Why'd you invite.

[Guest or Co-host]

And we are out of time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you really cutting me off?

[Buster Olney]

Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich. Sorry.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Crust.

[Show Announcer]

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[Guest or Co-host]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Once again, this is Tonic. This is a song called if youf Could Only See. Tonic is going to be playing on the We Rock Cancer stage on October 11th. Michael.

[Guest or Co-host]

Saturday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. If groups like Tonic with the original music want to send it in to be played on this show, how do they do it?

[Dave]

Send us your music by emailing it to Jingles Tony Quanizer showed dot com. And with a new month, we have a new promo code from Johnny O TK Fly Trap.

[Tony Kornheiser]

See what you know. We've tried so hard to catch. Otherwise we don't have that many flies anymore. No, no.

[Dave]

The weather's changing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've done better winning the war. You know. We've done better with that. Thank you to American Pest for coming.

[Buster Olney]

And killing the flies.

[Dave]

And Michael.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And to Michael for killing the flies. I didn't. I never got in. Buster only is is with us. And I have to start with the obvious thing. My potatoes were meager. They were terrible. I have kept them on a paper plate in the kitchen and now they appear to have hardened into rocks. It didn't work for me. And they're all the same color when we took them out. Some were purple and some were tan. And now they're all just rock color. Do you have advice?

[Buster Olney]

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.

[Buster Olney]

And so these are seeds of hope, not, not signs of failure in you.

[Guest or Co-host]

I.

[Buster Olney]

You sent me the video presenting the potatoes. I greatly appreciated that. I did not send you back a video of our potatoes. She had thousands, I think most of the house.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Thousands of potatoes. Yeah. But here, here's the other thing that's so strange. We also planted from seeds. We planted what we thought were zucchini, but turned out not to be zucchini, but yellow squash, some of which weigh 20 pounds. They're enormous. They're a foot and a half to two feet long. How did that happen? Have you ever planted squash?

[Buster Olney]

I have. I can't tell you why that happened. All I can tell you is that there's an excellent chance that if you go to the Tunbridge Fair in Vermont with a squash like that, you're probably going to win a prize. And so I think about that next year. Clearly there's something in your soil there that allows you to build these, you know, steroid squash.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I was thinking of putting the potatoes in that spot next year.

[Buster Olney]

Yes, it would make complete sense. And I would. No kidding. I probably would dig up some of the soil, putting some potting soil in there to help the potato potatoes along.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, that's what we will do. Okay, let me get to, let me get to baseball. Somebody asked me yesterday, well, why don't they play all four games, you know, like they did in the wild card? And I said, because they'd like to stretch it out and win the ratings more. And that's how it works. Yankees in real trouble. In, in real trouble. Right. And they have no bull, no bullpen. They're getting killed. What do you, what do you make of that?

[Buster Olney]

Yeah, and look, you know, they, they knew coming out of that first three game series against the Red Sox that their starting going to be Jumbo Louise heel started game one. And their thought was, okay, well, you know, we know that that might be a game we're going to have some problems. But they, you know, had Max Free, their ace coming back in game two and he absolutely got lit up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He did.

[Buster Olney]

I was watching the game last night with Hunter Pence, the former Giants outfielder who did the baseball tonight with me last night. He said it was like the, it was like the Blue Jays knew exactly what was coming. They were on everything that Max Freed was throwing last night, you know, 75 mile an hour curveball, 95 mile an hour fastball. They absolutely lit him up. They're the first team in history, postseason history, to score 23 runs in the first two games of a series. And they, of course, also had Trey Savage, who had, you know, I mean, the other day we're talking about Cam Switler having one of the most dominant performances by a pitcher we've never seen. And three days later, the Yankees got slidlered. You know, Savage going the other way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Buster Olney]

With this ridiculous splitter that he was throwing that had the Yankee hitters literally dropping to their back knee. This was happening time and again because they were trying to adjust to the crazy trajectory of this splitter that he was throwing. It was a totally dominant performance in Toronto, where the Yankees lost eight out of nine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I said this before. I am going back and forth on my television set. 861 is the red zone, and 857 is Fox Sports 1. And I went back and forth, you know, to try. I would. I'd spend more time on the red zone, but I wanted to check in on the game and I would come back. And this is exactly true. Two, nothing. Then the next time back, three, nothing. Then five, nothing. Then eight, nothing. Then 11, nothing. Then I think it was like 13, one at some point. Each time I went back, it got worse. And when. When Freed was in Buster, he had an incredible forlorn look on his face after every hit. He looked like, what am I doing here? Get me out of here. Right?

[Buster Olney]

It was. It was ugly. And I don't think just. And I agree with you, just looking at his face, he was. It was the. The feeling of he had no answers for what was going on. He could not understand what was going on. And, you know, and then the Yankees, Aaron Boone brings in Will Warren.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He kick anybody out?

[Buster Olney]

He couldn't get anybody out. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hits an inside fastball off the plate. Inside, pulls it to left field. 96 miles per hour. It felt like it left the ballpark at 500 miles per hour. I mean, they absolutely hammered the Yankees.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It looks bad. Well, let me ask the obvious question. If they get swept, if they go home and perform like this again, does Aaron Boone lose his job?

[Buster Olney]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Buster Olney]

It's interesting because there is an assumption, I think, especially among Yankee fans who grew up and remember George Steinbrenner, because as you know, you knew George Steinbrenner well, there's a signbrander doctrine which was, if you don't win the World Series and you suck, your season was a total failure. And most, just about all Yankee fans subscribe to that theory. The one person who does not subscribe to the Steinbrenner doctrine is Hal Steinbrenner owns the Yankees team. He completely opposite of his father in terms of how he runs the team. He gives them credit for making the World Series last year. He'll give them credit for, you know, digging out of their slump this summer and making the playoffs and beating the Red Sox in a way that Yankee fans will not. Yankee fans. Everywhere I go, is Boone going to get fired? Is it time to change the team? And I just say, no. The owner likes this group of people running his team. And until that changes, they're going to remain okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I mean, I think that makes a lot of people who know Boone very happy because Boone is a very, very well liked guy. The Tigers, the Tigers had a real chance. They're up one nothing in a series. They have Tarek Skubal, maybe the best pitcher in baseball going last night, and he had a very credible performance. Gave up a couple of solo shots, but he had a credible performance. They bring in, of course, Kyle Finnegan, who I couldn't stand when he was here in Washington, and they lose the game. So now they do get a chance to go home, but they had that, they had that on their racket last night. What do you make of their situation?

[Buster Olney]

I think you described it perfectly. On one hand, this was a game the Mariners had to have. They could not go to Detroit down 02, knowing that Scubal was going to be in the back pocket of A.J. hans, the Tigers manager for Game 5. And on the flip side, it felt like that, you know, the Tigers, who did have really did an amazing job of digging themselves out of that late season collapse. You know, they lost 14 their last 17 regular season games and they beat the Guardians and they win game one of this series.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. On the road.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep.

[Buster Olney]

And you're thinking, man, they got a real shot here. And, you know, Jorge Polanco becomes the first guy in four years to hit two homers off Kirikschubal. And now, you know, for Detroit, you're right. I think their best avenue to win the thing probably was last night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Buster Olney]

But they know if they split the next two games, they again will run out the best pitcher on the planet in game five in School bowl back in Seattle.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Four hits the whole night. They only got four hits.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I had, I had walked into yesterday feeling that the Tigers had completely righted themselves. And I said, and they were the best team in The American League for four months. So I, I did think Scuba was going to win and I thought they would sail. And that did not happen. I was so thrilled that they put the Phillies Dodgers game on at a reasonable hour and so happy to see Shohei Otani pitch. And I know that they the Phillies. And I think unlike Wilbon, who's in love with San Diego, I think Phillies have the best 1 through 9 lineup in baseball and have for a couple of years. And they went to right field on him. Their right handed hitters went to right field and they scored three runs early. But other than that, I watched Shohei Otani and, and said to myself, my God, nobody can be this good. Pitching and hitting can't be right, can't be.

[Buster Olney]

And I think you have to remind yourself every time you see him that you're gonna see that. We're seeing something we've never seen before. You know, when, as you know, when he was coming over here from Japan, the, the way he was described was he was a Babe Ruth in Japan. Babe Ruth never did what he did at any time in his career. He pitched in his career and he hit in his career. He didn't excel at both at the same time. And that's what Ohtani has done at a higher level we've ever seen. So he's the greatest player ever. And we really do need to remind ourselves of that every time he plays. And you know, this felt like a window for the Phillies. We talked about the sort of the window for the Tigers. It felt like a window for the Phillies because they got to Ohtani, they had a lead and they could not hold it, and they may not recover from that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So here's my question, because it is impossible to watch that game and not notice that Ohtani struck out four times, three looking. And so my question is, if you go back to when he pitched for the Angels, did his batting suffer in those specific games?

[Buster Olney]

Yes, he was less. And I don't, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but he was definitely less. I remember talking to Phil Nevin, his manager at the time, and you know, between the preparation for the start and the game itself, there was a feeling of, don't mean this as a criticism, that he was a little distracted from his hitting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. Because he's pitching.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah, right, exactly. And then when he got, you know, came out of a game, all of a sudden you went back to the other Ohtani. But that of course would be an expected result, you know, given how much he puts into his pitching.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I mean, it was a great game to watch because, I mean, Teescar Hernandez, who didn't even bother to go get the ball in right field and was criticized, and you very rarely hear criticism like that. And they say, well, he's not a very good fielder. And then he gets a chance to come up and bangs it. Opposite field, right, bangs at 30 rows in. That was pretty good.

[Buster Olney]

They have so much talent. I mean, the Dodgers, you know, the big question coming into the postseason was whether or not they had the bullpen that could win. And now between, you know, they run out Tyler Glass now, I was going.

[Tony Kornheiser]

To ask about Kershaw. I was going to ask about Kershaw.

[Buster Olney]

Yeah. 125 million dollar reliever in Tyler Glass now, and Clayton Kershaw, the future hall of Famer, you know, potentially coming out of the bullpen. And now Roki Sasaki, the most sought after pitcher from Japan last winter, has regained his confidence, regained his fastball, throwing his splitter for strikes in the zone. Bryce Harper took one the other day and just turned around, walked back to the dugout like, yeah, I can't hit that. And the Dodgers are a behemoth again. You know, in this effort to be the first team to win back to back championships since those Yankee teams the late 90s.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think, like, do you think that Roberts will put Kershaw into games as a reliever?

[Buster Olney]

Yes. And Kershaw has done that before. It's always interesting when you have the starters becoming relievers. There are some starters who literally take too long to warm up to really be, to be considered for those roles, except in the case of a blowout. But Kershaw has done this in the postseason. He's pitched out of the bullpen in his message to Dave Roberts all year, has been, hey, whatever you need, you know, if you need me, pitch out the bullpen. Great. If you need a, you know, a batter here, a batter there, great. If you need me to start, I can do that. You know, this is, this is his, in a sense, it's, you know, it's his victory lap as he finishes up this hall of Fame career. He's having so much fun. He's open to whatever Dave wants.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I mean, you're talking to somebody who watched this with Scherzer and Corbin and Strasberg when the Nats had their traditional weak bullp and all three of those guys went in and you know, not all in the World Series, but in the run up to the World Series and two of them in the World Series. And so, I mean, I've seen it and I believe in it. And if you're telling me that Glass now and Kershaw and Sasaki can do this, then nobody's going to beat them. Nobody.

[Buster Olney]

The way that it has looked early in the postseason, I agree with you because. And we haven't even mentioned Mookie Bats, future Hall of Famer and Freddie Freeman, future Hall of Famer and Will Smith, you know, borderline hall of Fame candidate, probably at the end of his career coming back. They have a staggering amount of talent. And I really believe this. I think I've mentioned this to you before, but those, those Yankee teams that I covered in the late 90s, you know, four championships in five years, they would get bored during the regular season. They would, in 99 and 2000, 2001, they would go through periods where it was like the energy was off. The Tuesday game against Tampa Bay wasn't that interesting. And they would lose. And players have admitted this to me subsequently. I think the Dodgers go through that because they played so many meaningful games. Well, guess what? They're on in the center stage now, biggest games of the year and they've got everybody's attention. And that's a problem.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. What a pleasure for me. Thank you for being on. I appreciate it. Thanks, Buster.

[Buster Olney]

Okay, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you, Buster. Only boys and girls who we love love him as a guest and he's our consultant for all farming things and making bagels, you know, and stuff like that.

[Michael Wilbon]

Milking cows.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, milking cows. We will take a break and we will have email and jingle when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Show Announcer]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail].

[Tony Kornheiser]

Youm'Re listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. Kelly Vickstrom Hoyt on the squeeze box. Makes me happy. You want to do the Bethesda bagel ad?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes, but that we got the bagel sandwiches on Monday. Love that.

[Buster Olney]

Good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just a good day.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes, it is. 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 well no one told me about her the way she lied well no one told me about her how many people cried but it's too late to say you're sorry how would I know? Why should I care? Please don't bother trying to find her she's not there those are the zombies. She's Not There I think was their first big hit. They were really good. They were really good. Thanks to our guest today, Michael Wilbon. Buster Only thanks as well. Today's Sponsors Remember, you can listen to us on Apple, podcast, Spotify and orders if you listen to show through Apple. Please leave us a review from our friend Neil Ayervase in Littleton, Colorado Tony, your wonderfully crafted, convenient rationalization and discourse on Yom Kippur resonated with me not only because my clients frequently pay me to provide legal rationalizations for their occasional misjudgments, but also because the holidays can provide the opportunity to appreciate the value of our lives and important connections, much as you did with your son and friends. If I may provide more substance to your rationalization, the Yom Kippur proclamation that you may be inscribed in the Book of Life is significant part requires each of us to perform good deeds for others. For me and all the littles your show provides and is evidence of those deeds. Three days a week you afford a respite and haven from the divisions and polarizations that seem overwhelming. The affection among you and your family and friends is both entertaining and reassuring for how much you have maintained such lifelong endearing relationships with so many friends and colleagues. I look forward to Mondays with Wilbon and the depth of your and warmth of your friendship. Moreover, as one of the mandates is providing aid to the disadvantaged, much as you afford the factually challenged Wilbond. As an aside, while you spend Yom Kippur enjoying the beauty of the golf course, the woman to whom I'm related by marriage and our friends were enthralled by the grandeur of Utah's national parks with some pictures attached for your enjoyment. My best for a new year of health and happiness, which is very sweet and lovely. Pictures of mountains from our friend Bill Isaacson. Yes, Gary Shandling practiced Buddhism. In 2003, Gary even visited Washington, D.C. to introduce Tich Nhat Hanh, the Father of Mindfulness, who was speaking at the Library of Congress to members of Congress. Gary explained, Thich Nan Han is a special man who helped millions with their suffering through teaching them mindfulness, but he doesn't know real suffering because he hasn't dated as much as I have. That's a very funny line. When Gary met the Dalai Lama, he told the Lama, yes, the same Lama who was a big hitter. The following joke Buddha never got married because his wife would have said, what are you gonna do, sit around the house all day like that? Well, I'm meditating, honey. Well, why don't you meditate while you're taking out the trash? And there was dead silence except for three American monks who were laughing hysterically. And so Gary explained him the joke. In American culture, the husbands and wives sometimes argue because the wife thinks the husband is lazy and sitting around. And the Dalai Lama goes, oh, funny. Anyway, a journal entry of Gary sums up the connection between comedy and mindfulness. Give more to others. Get outside yourself. Keep your heart open and have fun. Keep mind clear. Make it fun for them. Open heart, kindness, truth, compassion. Follow your instincts. Could be good podcasting advice from Bill Isaacson. Very nice. Jolene Wojcick, who was our great friend from the Masters and from Nebraska. Oh yes, atoning on the golf course sounds perfect. Fresh air, forgiveness and two birdies. Clearly someone upstairs approved. Blessings, Jolene, which is very nice. Greg Powell While vacationing with a woman to whom I'm related by marriage for now four decades, I sadly fell behind on listening. On Saturday, we're stuck in the room due to a heavy rainstorm. When I suggested catching up on the Tony Kornheiser show and she agreed to Halfway through the second episode, the sun suddenly appeared. The revised analytics now say that if you're in Paris for your 40th anniversary and get stuck in a rainstorm, if you listen to the Tony Kornizer show, the sun will come out a hundred percent of the time. Thank you for many years of sunshine. Greg and Terry Powell in Belleville, Michigan from Nicole, My husband, we are from the Pittsburgh area has listened faithfully to your show for years. During COVID he introduced me your show and now when we travel places in the the car together, I also get to listen. I'm looking for some fun things to do at Rehoboth. I know you have a place there and we are going there for a long weekend anniversary trip. My husband's not a beach lover so we usually take trips to cabins in the mountains. I on the other hand love the beach and I think the only reason he agreed to go here is because you often talk about talk about it on your show. So if you're able to recommend any great restaurants, things to do or places to see in the area, I'd greatly Appreciate it. Oh, and I hope someone reads your email often because we are en route and we'll be there this weekend. This is from Nicole. This is coming up, I guess. What do we like?

[Dave]

I'll be there myself.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, Michael will be there with the family. The Henlopen Weister.

[Dave]

I mentioned this every time. Thompson Island Brewery. Right on. Brewery in town. Make sure you stop by, browse about books. They got great holiday gifts and they have awesome selections from the staff. So you can find a paperback to take to the beach.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And Bin 66, the best liquor store in America. And Confucius.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh yeah, the Chinese wonderful restaurant. And if you want to go for a nice walk or a nice hike, Cape Town Henlopen park is very lovely. Beautiful.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Tracy Vander Car Burden. As a proud ODU alum, I want to thank James for picking us to cover against Coastal Carolina. We won 47 to 7 and it makes my heart proud. Go Monarchs. A three game win streak against Virginia Tech, Liberty and Coastal Carolina. Take note everyone. Carver wins every college game he bets. Dave McCarthy, Newton, Connecticut. Last week my wife and I had a great time in Cooperstown. Cooperstown stayed at the Otis Saga. Yes. We gotta go. You know I'm their biggest played. Played 18 at Leather Stocking and toured the Baseball hall of Fame. While standing in front of the Red Sox locker at the your team today display, a woman told me her uncle played in the majors. I asked his name and she said, Rico Petrocelli. I told her, I'm 68. I might be able to name four players on the current Sox team, but in 1967 I was a 10 year old in Rhode Island. I told her Rico was a favorite and his fellow players were Joe Foy at third, Mike Andrews at second, George Scott at first, Yaz in left, Reggie Smith in center, Tony Coniglia in right until he was beaned and Ken Harrelson took over. Jim Lonborg on the mountain and Elston Howard behind the plate. She loved hearing my memories and said, I'm texting Uncle Rico right now to tell him I met a big fan. What a nice coincidence.

[Dave]

Love Ball's the best.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is Steve Sigourney in Big Sky, Montana. I just checked out of my hotel in Barcelona next to Jason Alexander, AKA George Costanza, AKA Tony Kleiman. Shut up. I choked. I choked. Why didn't I introduce myself and say I'm Steve from Big sky and didn't you play Tony Kleiman and listen up. That would have been funny. But alas, I'm a choking dog. I still love you. But yeah, that's a gig. Yeah, that's a gig. From Paul in Edzell, Scotland is Celebrity golfers experience the new game. Yesterday, my friend Big Al, who was a caddy at a very prestigious Scottish golf course, gets introduced to his player on the first tee. Hi, I'm Justin. Seven holes later, Al realizes he's on the bag of Justin Bieber. Needless to say, his daughter was furious that he didn't immediately recognize him. I enclose a photo for you to hold up on News Channel 8. Yes, Justin Bieber. Yeah, Deb. Me and Samamish. I guess. Mamish, Washington. Maybe this is the year Seattle makes it to the World Series. Thank you for all the mentions Cal Rawley has received on pti. It's the most fun season since Ichiro was a rookie in 2001. The attach was an impulse buy at the grocery store in anticipation of tomorrow's game. Oh, big dumper beer. Oh, gotta have some scuttle butt Brewing Co. Scuttle butt. Whoa. That's great. Charlie Burt, Springfield, Virginia The Lost Bus, a compelling new movie on Apple TV tells a true story of a school bus driver attempting to save 22 students and their teacher from 2018 California wildfire. Matthew McConaughey portrays the heroic lead in the Edge of your seat drama, sharing the harrowing tale of man versus nature in an ultimate fight for survival. Unfortunately, the opening of the film has McConaughey's character driving his bus while listening to the morning news where a reporter shares the Mavericks broke their losing streak last night against the wizards with a 119100 victory. I suppose foreshadowing is key in any good disaster movie, but seriously, isn't the audience about to suffer enough? Can they maybe set the sequel in the Capital One Arena? Brian Jordan, thank you for reading our wedding invitation on Friday Show I didn't know their last names. Sorry you couldn't make it. And apologies we didn't include our last name. We are the Jordans. We had a wonderful evening and had great weather following a lovely honeymoon at the Sandals Resort in Grenada. We are back home now in Silver Spring, still trying to find ruck at the Soviet Safeway down the street. I've been a PTR viewer since I was in elementary school. I even got to meet you and Mike on the set thanks to a neighborhood friend, Andy Poly. Once I got to college at the University of Maryland, I became a little and even made it to chatter a couple of times with my best man, Brian Starron. The woman to whom I'm now related by marriage, has indulged me by occasionally listening to the podcast and was elated when you were mentioned on her favorite podcast, the toast. Your reach has no boundaries. What is the. Oh yeah, he sends pictures. Oh, that's nice. Oh, these are really lovely. What is the toast? Is that something I should looking at?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I'm not familiar with that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Sam Fritz in Schomburg, Illinois. As part of the Hallmark Channel's never ending quest for global Christmas domination, they have introduced a new reality competition called Finding Mr. Christmas. It's like the Bachelor, except one of the 10 male contestants will win a starring role in a Hallmark Christmas movie. Hopefully the final competition will be whoever builds a gazebo the fastest gets the part. I think Luke should be in that. From Peter Potke in Southington, Connecticut, you must have some pull with the sponsors. When can we expect that Pumpkin Spice Liquid IV. And from Steve McCollum in Washington, D.C. in light of your ongoing potato famine, just curious when you'll be migrating. It's funny. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear one. I'm going to solve.

[Buster Olney]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, you're an idiot.

[Guest or Co-host]

Cornokuro cabinet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, you don't.