“Take that Rome!”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show

Episode: “Take that Rome!”
Release Date: January 14, 2026
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Michael Wilbon, Booger McFarland, Chuck Todd, Nigel

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Overview

In this episode, Tony Kornheiser leads a lively and wide-ranging conversation that, as always, begins with sports and meanders into personality-driven banter on football (pro and college), fan behavior, life transitions for notable coaches, and even quirky odds and betting philosophies. The big themes are the fallout from Mike Tomlin’s departure from the Steelers, the surprise runs in football playoffs (pro and college), reflections on aging and change, and the ever-present, self-deprecating humor that defines the show.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike Tomlin Leaves the Steelers

[03:00 – 12:29]

• Tony’s Perspective: Tony reflects on the shock of Mike Tomlin leaving, comparing it to the rare and dignified culture of the Steelers. Cites the stability: only three head coaches since 1967, all Super Bowl winners.
  • “I would have been stunned had the Rooney family fired him within 12 hours of losing. That’s not how they operate.” (03:44)
• Wilbon and Nigel on Fan Behavior: Discussion on Tomlin getting booed, the fickle nature of fans, and Tomlin’s acceptance of it.
• Steelers’ Playoff Woes: Tony delivers sobering playoff stats—no wins in seven games, consistently large halftime deficits. The fan base’s unrest is tied to this.
• Quarterback Carousel: Pittsburgh’s ongoing lack of a steady quarterback post-Roethlisberger is highlighted as a root problem.
• Speculation on Tomlin’s Future: Tony expects big offers for Tomlin (if he wants to coach again), but wonders if he’ll instead test television, podcasting, or simply take a sabbatical.
  • “Of the 32 teams in the NFL at least 20 would throw out their coach to get Mike Tomlin. Because he’s proven he’s—no losing seasons, 19 years, none.” (12:18)
• Notable Insight: Caution about assuming coaching greatness instantly translates to TV stardom; also, ex-coaches rarely serve as harsh critics on air if they plan to coach again.

2. College Football – Indiana vs. Miami National Championship

[19:49 – 24:00, 34:40 – 36:52]

• Wilbon’s Betting Angle: He’s sitting on a $100, 150:1 futures bet for Miami to win the title. He’s torn: cash out, hedge, or let it ride.
  • “I’m not an idiot, I’m not letting it ride. I’m gonna get my money out of it…” (20:52)
• Matchup Analysis: Miami rarely loses by more than one score; Wilbon views the 8.5-point underdog line as “disrespectful,” citing Miami’s grind-it-out, clock-consuming style.
  • “They make it very hard for anybody to get margin on them. This is a disrespectful line.” (22:33)
• Booger McFarland’s Take: Indiana is an “older team” (many players aged 22-24), physically dominating less mature opponents, and boasts a likely #1 draft pick at quarterback. Miami must play mistake-free to have a shot.
  • “Indiana’s been the best football team all season…their players are between 22 and 24 years old…that’s why they’ve been really good.” (35:24)

3. NFL Playoff Discussion & Picks

[24:00 – 29:00, 44:57 – 46:10]

• Wilbon and Tony’s Game Picks: Lively back-and-forth on who will cover the spread in divisional playoff games, often weighing momentum against Vegas lines.
• Chuck Todd Segment: (Picks contest) Chuck’s hot streak and the drama of late-season standings between various show regulars.
• Reginald the Monkey Bit: Reginald makes (contrarian) picks driven by humorous “ties,” underscoring the show’s irreverent, improv comedy ethos.
• Booger McFarland’s Preview: Booger breaks down Rams-Bears, 49ers-Seahawks, Texans-Patriots, and Bills-Broncos. He emphasizes coaching (Kyle Shanahan’s impact), defensive strength (Texans), and the X-factor of star quarterbacks (Josh Allen).
  • “If Seattle—if Sam Donald turns the football over and Kyle Shanahan is in his bag…they can win. Would I bet on them winning? No.” (44:12)

4. Fan Loyalty, Coaching Legacies & Transitions

[37:11 – 41:35]

• Booger’s Relationship with Tomlin: Insights from their time together in Tampa Bay. Tomlin is described as inquisitive, detail-oriented—a “Hall of Fame head coach.”
• Tomlin’s Next Chapter: Debate over whether he’ll return to coaching, take the Bill Cowher/Dungy route, or enjoy life’s spoils after decades of relentless work.
  • “At what point do you start to enjoy the things you’ve accumulated? …At what point did you come out of the attic and say, I just want to go enjoy life and play the best golf courses in the world?” (40:03)

5. Pop Culture, Show Traditions & Humor

Throughout

• Banana Republic of Sports Talk: The podcast’s unique tone shines in musical interludes, riffs about quirky promotions, poking fun at ad reads, and references to “the monkey” making NFL picks.
• Rome and the Pope’s Sports Fandom: Best line of the episode, referencing “the Pope caring about football…Take that, Rome!” (28:36)
• Reflections on Aging: Jokes about becoming one’s parents, buying nutmeg in bulk, and longing for the days of simpler technology—woven into both sports analysis and the mailbag segment.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tony Kornheiser on Mike Tomlin’s unique position:

  • "The Steelers had three coaches since, I don't know, 1967...Chuck Noel, Bill Cower and Mike Tomlin. Each of them has won a Super Bowl. I don't think there's another team like that." (04:37)

• Wilbon on being a lifelong fan and gambler:

  • "I put $100 on Miami to win the title 150 to 1. So I’m sitting on that right now..." (20:34)

• Booger McFarland, insight on player maturity:

  • "They got a quarterback who's going to be drafted number one...I want to say 48 to 50 of their players are between 22 and 24 years old." (35:24)

• On the stress of fanbases and expectations:

  • "People get booed. You don't think they should, but they do. Giannis Antetokounmpo last night was booed in Milwaukee. He gave them a championship." (06:47)

• Reginald the Monkey’s picks (via Nigel’s narration):

  • “He’s got four games…he’s gonna do whatever he can to try and get back into this race.” (30:44)
  • Numerous fabricated, hilarious “reasons” for each pick, e.g., hanging out with Edwin Moses, Stevie Nicks, and referencing ties to Indiana from a failed “Hoosiers” audition—peak show absurdity.

• Rome and the Sports Pope:

  • “We've got the Pope caring about football. Take that, Rome. We've got Catholic Church.” (28:36)

• On coaching legacies and walking away:

  • "Some people will look at the last several years and say the lack of playoff wins. What I'll say about Mike Tomlin is this. Nineteen years in one place is a long time... I think he's a Hall of Fame head coach." (37:47 – Booger McFarland)

• In the mailbag, on meeting John Glenn:

  • “The gentleman next to me reached his hand out and said, 'I'm John Glenn. Glad you could make it.'” (49:01 – Listener email)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:48 – 15:47: Opening banter; Mike Tomlin’s departure and Pittsburgh football culture.
• 19:49 – 29:00: Chuck Todd contest picks; Wilbon’s Miami bet; Miami vs. Indiana discussion.
• 29:05 – 33:08: Reginald the Monkey’s (comedy) football picks.
• 34:40 – 46:10: Booger McFarland on college and pro football; Tomlin’s legacy, Rams-Bears, 49ers’ playoff chances, and more.
• 46:46 – End: Mailbag segment—listener stories, trivia, and running jokes.

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Language & Tone

• Conversational, witty, irreverent, occasionally sentimental. Gentle ribbing among old friends, nostalgia for the quirks of aging and sports fandom, with sharp analytical observations tucked between the punchlines.
• Frequent inside-jokes, asides, and purposeful tangents—be forewarned: you come for sports, but you're staying for the personalities and the banter!

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" offers a rich tapestry of sports discussion, nostalgia, and comic digression. Come for the rare, insightful breakdown of the Mike Tomlin/Pittsburgh saga and stakes of the NFL/College Football playoffs—stay for stories about the Pope watching football, listeners’ encounters with astronauts, and Reginald the Monkey’s absurdly reasoned NFL picks. Throughout, Tony, Wilbon, Booger, Nigel, and Chuck thread their years-long camaraderie into everything, making even the smallest slice of sports news sound like a chapter in a much longer, much funnier story.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, Chuck Todd will call in to make his weekly picks against Reginald the monkey. We'll also Talk to Booger McFarlane about Pro and college football. But first, let's keep the sales weasels happy. Hey, Sal. Hank.

[Booger McFarland]

What's going on?

[Tony Kornheiser]

We haven't worked a case in years. I just bought my car at Carvana and it was so easy. Too easy.

[Nigel]

Think something's up?

[Tony Kornheiser]

You tell me. They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price.

[Sal]

Uh huh.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it got delivered the next day.

[Sal]

It sounds like Carvana. Just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you're right. Case closed.

[Sal]

Buy your car today on Carvana.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Delivery fees may apply. Previously on the Tony Kornhauser Show. That was you going room to room.

[Michael Wilbon]

I hear it. Halfway down, you know, the hallway and he goes, what are your thoughts on self checkout?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Booger McFarland]

So I.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And the best is they're so patient, right?

[Nigel]

Yeah. They're going through it with you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm that person who became my parents, you know, now I'm so old that it died. My own grandparents buying nutmeg in quantity. Well, no, I mean, I'm the one like, you know, the commercial. The guy stands up there. Jan. Jan. Is it John? John might be John. I'm that person. This is general George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. So it is Nigel and I this morning. Michael has jury duty. He does. Which happens in the District of Columbia on a regular basis. I'm too old to serve in a jury. But Michael is not and Nigel is not. And so we make accommodations for this because this is something that I believe in. You know, there has to be participatory democracy. You have to go out there and be on juries. I know it's inconvenient, but you have to avail yourself, you know, to be on juries so that the judicial system that we believe in continues to operate in a good way. I'll get to Mike Tomlin in a second. I just want to. Just on a personal level, I have been drinking this. It's called western whiskey. Sips at night, small sips at night. And I've been drinking one called big nose Kate for a couple of years. Like it? Very much. Yes, It's. It is on the bottle it says western whiskey. There are very, you know, bourbon is a special thing, and I guess rye is a special thing and scotch is a special thing. There are categories that you have to fit into. There are achievements. You have to make, to be named a certain thing. It's in the process of how it is made and what the grains are and stuff like that.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You just can't call yourself something if you're not qualified to call yourself something. And this is called Western Whiskey. It's made in Santa Fe. I just like it. And we are grateful to have it. Yes.

[Nigel]

I believe the fellow that we've dealt with, his name is Kevin. Kevin Burke.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kevin Burke, yes. It's very nice.

[Nigel]

Extremely nice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Very nice.

[Nigel]

And a wonderful name for the whiskey, which is Doc Holliday's girlfriend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

His girlfriend, Big Nose Kate, was Doc Holliday's girlfriend. It's a picture of her on the label. Very, very nice. All right, let me get to the stuff at hand, which is Mike Tomlin leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Did he jump or was he pushed? I don't know. I suspect he jumped because the Pittsburgh Steelers don't. You know, they don't. I was stunned when the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh. Stunned. It happened within 24 hours and he was fired. And he'd been there for 17 years and he'd won a Super Bowl. And I was stunned at that. I really. I really was. I was not stunned when I found out yesterday we had the show in order and then about 2 o', clock, news came out that Mike Tomlin had left the Steelers. I was surprised, but no, I wasn't stunned. I would have been stunned had the Rooney family fired him within 12 hours of losing again. I would have been stunned at that. That's not how they operate. Just doesn't work that way. Pittsburgh doesn't work that way. This is one of those rare things. You know how, you know how they. They use this phrase, the coach and ownership, or the coach and management mutually agreed to part ways. Right. That's not true. 95% of the time somebody gets fired. Yes, 95% of the time. I always felt in Pittsburgh that that would be the case, that whatever decision was made would be mutually agreed upon, because it's just the way the Steelers operate. The Steelers had three coaches since, I don't know, 1967.

[Michael Wilbon]

Three.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They've had Chuck Noel, Bill Cower and Mike Tomlin. Each of them has won a Super Bowl. I don't think there's another team like that. I don't think there's another team where the successive coaches have won Super Bowls with nobody in between who didn't win a Super Bowl. I don't think there's another team like that.

[Michael Wilbon]

No.

[Nigel]

And I think the Browns have had three coach. Head coaches in the last month.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Just for stability, there is one head coach right now in. In this division. There's a Cincinnati guy who I thought would be fired. The other three still could be. Yeah. Okay, so I should talk about Mike Tomlin a little bit. I was doing Monday Night Football when Mike Tomlin was named to succeed Bill Cower. I think he was 34 years old. And look, a lot of organizations want to have younger people. They find somebody they like, they want somebody young. They're going to get a lot of energy from them, and they're not going to pay them a lot of money, relatively speaking. I think in the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they really looked at Mike Tomlin and said, we really like this guy. Let's give him the job. And again, Chuck Noel, Bill Cower, Mike Tomlin. I remember thinking when I met him how smart he was and how good he was at talking to the media. He's really good at it. I remember that in the second year. I remember talking to him in his second year, and I asked him some question. I won't say it was innocuous, but it wasn't a pointed question on any level. And he said, well, now that I've taken a lap around the track, I think I'm better qualified to answer that. And I just thought, wow, what a great phrase. A lap around the track. See it done one year. I've always thought that he could be great on television. Wilbourn pounds his chest and says that Tomlin should be great on television. Will make $25 million a year. He's not gonna make $25 million a year. Doesn't work that way. Just because Tom Brady does and Tony Romo does and Troy Aikman. It doesn't work that way. He's never been on tv. You don't know what you're getting.

[Nigel]

Would you put him in a studio or would you put him in the booth?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would put him in wherever he wanted to be because I think he's that good.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But let's get to. The feelings about Mike Tomlin are all extraordinarily positive. Even though I haven't talked to him in years, I really, really liked him. But let's get to, like, what ha. What's happened, you know, with the booing of Mike Tomlin and how this works. People get booed. You don't think they should, but they do. Giannis Antetokounmpo last night was booed in Milwaukee. He gave him a championship. Wasn't that long ago was booed in Milwaukee. Fans are fickle. Tomlin understands this better than most. Tomlin, you know, everybody else makes a big deal over what happened with the booing of Mike Tomlin, but Mike Tomlin didn't make a big deal out of it. Mike Tomlin understood it was the prerogative of fans to do things like that. Okay, what are the reasons he was booed? The Pittsburgh Steelers, though he has never had a losing season and he makes the playoffs routinely, and he made the playoffs this year with not a good team. Yeah, not a good day. They don't have a quarterback, okay. Since Ben Roethlisberger. They've tried Kenny Pickett and they've tried Mason Rudolph and they've tried Justin Fields and they have tried Russell Wilson, and they're in the process of trying Aaron Rodgers. And Aaron Rodgers, I believe, might have come back, but I don't think he will now, not without Tomlin. I'm not sure that he'll be welcomed back. I think Tomlin would have welcomed him back, but it hasn't worked. The Pittsburgh Steelers got 175 yards total against Houston. Houston's got a really good defense. Ain't that good? Pittsburgh has no offense. They just have no offense. Rogers is throwing the ball as quickly as he can. Let me get this thing out of here. Yeah, because I'm going to get killed if I don't get this thing out of here. So in the last seven playoff games that the Steelers have made, they are.07. In last five of those seven playoff games, they did not ever have a lead in the second half. So they were not going to win. In all seven of them, they were outscored something like 263 to 151. That's an enormous margin. And in all seven of them, the information I got yesterday, which I would have used but didn't have time, in all seven of them, they have trailed by 21 points at one point in the game. 21 points. I mean, that's. That isn't two scores. That's three. That's three and three touchdowns, actually. So there was unrest in Pittsburgh because of that. And Tomlin recognized this. Tomlin, he may have lost some games he should have won, but he shouldn't have won the game against Houston. I mean, you know, they're.

[Booger McFarland]

They.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They made the playoffs because a guy missed a 44 yard field goal. You know, they made the playoffs because of that. I was interested. Steve Bashti, the owner of the Ravens, was asked if. If John Harbaugh would still be the coach of the Ravens had that field goal gone. He said, yeah, for a week. Yeah, because he was determined that they needed to make a change. Yeah, I did not get the sense that the Pittsburgh Steelers ownership was determined that they needed to make a change. I think if they say they were surprised and maybe a little bit shocked. Yeah, I can see that. I can see that. So what, what do they do next? I don't know. One of the interesting things was they would hire Kurt Signetti, you know, who was a coach at Indian Indiana University of Pennsylvania is from, I think, which is 20 miles from Pittsburgh. Yeah, he may be from that area. He'd be the hottest guy out there now. But I, I'm. I don't know who they're going to hire. I'm more concerned with what Tomlin is going to do. Apparently, Tomlin has said he does not want to coach this coming year, so that enables people to offer him television jobs. Wilbon and others think, oh, you have to do that. Well, you don't have to do this. You know what? You know, you could actually take a year off and do nothing. You could think about what you wanted to do. I do. You know, that's what I do now. I. I'm on television. If you're good at it. I'm not saying I'm good at it, but I've noticed people who are good at it. It comes easily. It comes easily. I think it would come easily to Mike Tomlin. That doesn't mean he'd want to do it. And there's another part to this that needs to be considered. When you talk about coaches going on television in a critical way, coaches become coaches because that's what they want to do. They have wanted to be coaches usually their whole lives. They are smart enough to know that if they go on television and are critical of players and critical of teams and they want to get back into coaching, they've just eliminated a large portion of people that they can coach for or they can coach. So they don't necessarily tend to be critical. You could say Bill Cower is critical here and there. He doesn't want to coach again. He's publicly said he doesn't want to coach again. Yeah, but Tomlin hasn't said that. If I'm correct on this, Tomlin has said, I'm going to lay out a year and we'll see what happens. I suspect that's a way of saying, you know, make me an offer. I'll listen to you. I'll sit down with You. John harbor wants to coach right away. You know, he's a coach. That's what he wants to do. Jim Harbaugh would go from job to job. Oh, yeah. Coach right away. Andy Reid went from Philadelphia to Kansas City. Coach right away. You know, I don't. I don't, again, know what Mike Tomlin is going to do, but I'm sure that of the 32 teams in the NFL, at least 20 would throw out their coach to get Mike Tomlin. Sure. Because he's proven he's. No losing seasons. 19 years. None. No losing. Bill Belichick had losing seasons.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, he had losing seasons in Cleveland. He had a losing season. Losing seasons in New England. He's the best coach of all time.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tomlin had no losing seasons.

[Nigel]

So I did hear a rumor he either wants to start a restaurant with some friends.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that would work.

[Nigel]

Or maybe do a podcast.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he could do that. Everybody does a podcast at 80 million podcasts. But, you know, that's the unrest with Tomlin was the playoff record and the fact that people are used to. In Pittsburgh, used to having really good teams and they don't have. And haven't had a quarterback for years. Yeah, they haven't. I remember hearing. Well, okay, I remember hearing a few weeks ago that Ben Roethlisberger, who played for Tomlin, said, maybe it's time for him to go. And thinking, hey, you shouldn't be saying that. Of all people on earth. Yeah, you shouldn't be saying that. But I will go back to something that happened on this show. I don't know how many weeks ago it was, but I remember asking Jason Lockenfour, and Jason Lockenfura knows the NFL. He knows what he's talking about. He calls people. He does reporting. I said, you know, just. And this is before the regular season ended. I said, you know, with Tomlin and Harbaugh, do you think that one will be back, both will be back, or none will be back? What do you think the greatest odds are? And Jason Lock and Ford quickly said, none. Quickly said none. And I was, whoa. Really? I said, no. What are you talking about? Can't be true. Was true. Yeah. Was true. Jason had that. We will take a break. We will have Chuck Todd when we return. Had a really good week. Six and two. And so we're ready to go with Chuck Todd. Yes. Yes. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. This episode of the Tony Kornheiser show is brought to you by Wild Grain Having a little bakery magic in your freezer will absolutely make your day. Try their sourdough breads, maybe some pastries. You'll find their flavor and texture are incredible. Baking them takes less than 25 minutes, which makes it so easy to enjoy fresh, warm bread even on busy nights. Wild Grain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads. Artisanal pastries, I hope I pronounced that correctly. And fresh pastas. Everything is made with simple ingredients you can actually pronounce. Slow, fermented for better digestion and packed with nutrients and antioxidants. No preservatives, no shortcuts, just real delicious food. Their boxes are fully customizable. It's a nice word. You can choose the variety box, gluten free, vegan, or their new protein box. There's nothing like having an artisan bakery in your freezer to chase away the winter chill. And now is the best time to stay in and enjoy comforting homemade meals with wild grain. Honestly, once you try Wild Grain, I think you will love it. Right now, Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box plus free croissants for life. For life when you go to wildgrain.com Tony K. To start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free croissants for life when you visit wildgrain.com Tony Kay or you can use the promo code Tony Kheck. I read that straight. I didn't make any comments. I'm waiting till the end to make the comments. This stuff is great, Michael. You had the. I had croissants. You had croissants. I had muffins. The stuff is great. That's great. You stick it in the oven. When it's done, it's fat. It's fabulous. Your house smell like a bakery. Yeah, this stuff is really good. Well, grin, I mean, I, you know, I, I feel they wrote the ad. I should read the ad and then I should comment. Yeah, you know what? The kids loved it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Kids loved it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They had the chocolate croissants.

[Michael Wilbon]

But I love this idea for dinner.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You, you know, it's this, this is.

[Nigel]

The season of go to the freezer.

[Michael Wilbon]

See what you have.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It doesn't take that long to do and it's, it's really good. It's really good.

[Sal]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Sal]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This is a song called bimd. There are periods between the B, the I, the M and the D. I don't know what BIMD stands for. Bring me an immediate doctor. Seems possible. Bimd Bring me an immediate doctor. This is a group called the Mixed Apes. Normally Nigel gives me copy as to who these people are. They, you know, the emails that they send and we read it. I have nothing in front of me about the mixtapes.

[Nigel]

I forgot I printed it up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sounds like mixtapes.

[Nigel]

Yes, you know, but anybody that's going to call themselves the Apes of any kind, right, is on My is on my team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

So I forgot to bring in their email. I'll bring it for Friday show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Terrific.

[Nigel]

For some explanation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll go back on it.

[Michael Wilbon]

We'll go back on it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They play in Chuck Todd and this week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more and Chuck started out 02 and we feared for Chuck, but he won six in a row. Chuck finished six and two. He is now 71 and 67. And I should say that Jeff, Ma has hit a cold patch and Chuck Todd and there's not that many games left. There's seven games left. Really? After this week, there's just like. Or maybe less than that. There's not that many games left. But if Ma stays cold and Chuck and Carville get hot, you know, there's a chance that we have chaos at the top of the board which would of course make me happy. Were you nervous you missed the first two?

[Michael Wilbon]

I am. I'm really nervous here because, you know, I don't know when Carville will deploy the 12 star special.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right. You know, that comes at any moment.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

And it's like, you know, you know, he's. He's going to get, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm relieved. College bailed me out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes, absolutely.

[Michael Wilbon]

So added to the added to thing, I'll be honest, you know, I know everybody else has gone back to work. With Miami still in the playoffs and this whole. In the college football season still going, I. I still can't focus. I'll admit. I am. I am. I can't get enough of what's happening down in Miami.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is, this is not the game that I expected. It is not for the national championship.

[Michael Wilbon]

Are you happy about that? Are you glad to be shocked like that? As a sports writer?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, if I were still. Yeah, if I were still writing, I'd be thrilled because I would go. I would continue to go back to the same. Well, about Miami being the last team in and how there was a combination of circumstances that made them very lucky and I would not have put them in.

[Michael Wilbon]

Can I share something fun with you guys? So, you know, I was. I was pretty confident Miami was going to somehow get in. So I put $100 on Miami to win the title 150 to 1.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow.

[Michael Wilbon]

So I'm sitting on that right now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You want to sell it to someone because you bail out.

[Michael Wilbon]

I have. I'm trying to decide how to. I'm going to Look, I'm not an idiot. I'm not letting it ride. I'm going to get my money out of it, but I'm trying to decide how to do it. You know, they offer you the cash out or do I just bet on Indiana, which is just sort of. I don't know if I can bring my. Bring myself to do that. But. Or maybe I do let it ride.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I understand the conflict here. So, you know, I'm. And then there's a.

[Michael Wilbon]

But it's a nice chunk of change.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

I mean, you can do that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah. Oh, sure.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, basically pays for my gambling this year is the way I would look at it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's. I think it's great. I think it's great for you. But I will say this, that Indiana has looked spectacular. Oh, I've never seen this.

[Michael Wilbon]

I am very worried that Miami is. Is like the eighth actor in the credit in the supporting cast of the Hallmark movie. And the stars are Kirk Signetti and Fernando Mendoza. Right. And we're just. We're just sort of, you know, we're just chump. Right. And that. I am. I am a little nervous about that, that we're just supporting Cass in some larger Hallmark movie story here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let's go to that game right away. Indiana minus eight and a half against Miami on Miami's home field. Are you going to go with Miami because you like eight and a half?

[Michael Wilbon]

Look, I'll say the same thing I did before the Ohio State game. I'm not sure Miami's going to win this game, but I know they're not going to lose by. By more than one score. And what evidence is there that Miami knows how to get. I mean, it's been three years since Miami lost the game by more than eight points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow.

[Michael Wilbon]

Okay. There. Four losses over the last two years have all been one score less. They've all been, you know, last minute this, last minute that and overtime and SMU and all this stuff. They don't. The way they play, right. They. They keep the ball for 10 minutes, right. Maybe they only get a field goal. Maybe they miss the field goal, but they eat up clock and it's just. They make it very hard for anybody to get margin on them. So I just, you know, I think it's a disrespectful line, this eight and a half. And I, you know, so as a. I think it's a great motivator too. But I mean, take the. I'll take my. I swear this is not just green and Orange glasses, you know, green and orange glass to say they're going to win. This is, I think, just way too big of a spread.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think it's all recency bias. And it's. Here's. Here's another way to look at. I don't know how much you watch the Miami Ole Miss game, but Miami should have won that game by a couple of scores. They kind of sloppy. They were sloppy. They sort of kept Ole Miss in the game. If Miami wins that game by two scores and Indiana wins by. Doesn't win by as is. This is this game eight and a half. Right. I think the blowouts are sort of blinding, folks. So to borrow a Jeff Ma ism here, I think you're. You're seeing the. That if you just looked at it through his bet the process eyes, you'd be like, okay, all the hypes with Indiana. So this is when you zag to Miami.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's a lot. That's a ton. And so I love that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good luck with that. Let's do the four pro games. Buffalo is getting one and a half at Denver. Buffalo had a great win. Don't know if they can do that again. They got one guy. They got one guy. Denver's waiting for them. Who you got?

[Michael Wilbon]

It's the NFL script writers. They got to have Josh Allen in this, right? What happens if they lose?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Allen, he's. He's a big deal.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm not a believer in Denver, as I know they have a good defense and it's always not easy to go to that elevation and all that. But, you know, he played at Wyoming.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, he did.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, so he knows. He knows what it's like in that. In that elevation, in that weird weather. So I'm, I'm. I'm on Buffalo. I think there, if not, as we said last week, if not now, win for Josh Allen. No Mahomes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's why I picked them last week when Wilbond did not. I did. All right. 49. His biggest surprise in the first week, 49ers beating Philly in Philly getting seven and a half at Seattle. It's a lot. It's a division game. Seattle killed them the last time they played, which was only two or three weeks ago. Who you got?

[Michael Wilbon]

You got. You comfortable with Sam Darnold in the playoffs?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not yet.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, me neither. That's a. I'm going to take Shanahan in the points. And there's a. And I know Seattle blew him out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

13 to 3.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Could have been 30 to 3. Yes, that's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, no, no. It was. It was weirdly, not close. But, you know, Shanahan's got a bag of tricks. The Sam Darnold, you know, asterisk. So prove it to me, Sam.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's fair. That's.

[Michael Wilbon]

Give me the Niners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. Houston look good against a nothing team. Come on, let's be fair. Pittsburgh has nothing. They are getting three at New England. The quarterback at New England is not going to be the sitting target the way Aaron Rodgers was, who you like in that. And Houston showed no offense. None.

[Michael Wilbon]

I was just going to say nothing. C.J. stroud. What's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What happened? Just. Yeah, something's wrong. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. Something's off there. That's the only. My only hesitance. That defense is ferocious.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep. Yep.

[Michael Wilbon]

And is this a night game or not?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. I think it is not. I think the Bears game is the night game. The Houston Patriots.

[Nigel]

Yeah. It's a 3pm ABC.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

So this is the sort of the dusk. That's probably a minor help. A little nervous here about a dome team in that cold weather and all of that. I. I'm going to. I'm. It's still a young quarterback. Give me the defense. Give me. Take me the points in the defense.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're going to take three road teams so far, and the next one is the Rams at the Bears.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was that a bad call last week with the road team?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, not a bad call at all. The Rams are the Bears. The Rams are favored by three and a half. The Bears are the two seed. The Rams are not. This is a home game in Chicago against a Southern California team.

[Michael Wilbon]

Then the Bears get their Super Bowl.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you're going to take a fourth road team. You give three and a half. When you put it like that, I'm asking.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, no, it's, it's.

[Booger McFarland]

It is.

[Michael Wilbon]

My brain says you got to take the Bears in those points. Right. Because you get the hook.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Three and a half.

[Michael Wilbon]

But there's another part of me that thinks the Bears, they celebrated a bit too much last week. You know what I mean? And you're like, guys, you got. That was just a wild card game. Relax. I don't feel good about it. But I'm going to. I'm going to take the Rams.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're going to take the Rams.

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't trust the Bears. I mean, they should not have won that game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's nothing to. There's nothing to trust. But they're miraculous. They've won seven games. Being behind in the last two minutes of the game. Seven games.

[Michael Wilbon]

They're fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is the anti Wilbond vote. There's no question.

[Michael Wilbon]

So you just. Yeah, we get. He's going to be insufferable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Oh, yes. If they win. Oh, my God. All right.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, did you see. You know, there's some. I had to deal with all these Bears memes, you know, when you're a Packers fan. So apparently packers are leading. Alex Bregman signs with the Cubs in the third quarter, everything turns around. Like all these Bears Cubs fans are crediting the Alex Bregman signing really, with turning. Turning around their motivation and not His Holiness.

[Nigel]

I think he has a hand in all this.

[Michael Wilbon]

You know, I think His Holiness cares a lot more about the White Sox anything.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I do. White Sox fan is always that the.

[Michael Wilbon]

Pope, as American sports fan, you know, there's a lot of weird stuff happened in 2025 that's the best story of 2025. I love this guy. I love his obsession with baseball. And it makes. Every time he interacts on sports, it makes me smile. We've got the Pope. We've got the Pope caring about football. Take that, Rome. We've got Catholic Church.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, we'll talk to you later. We hope you win. Thank you, Chuck.

[Michael Wilbon]

Thank you. Bye now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chuck Todd, boys and girls. And if we just gave you Chuck Todd, that would be great, but we give you a monkey.

[Nigel]

See the monkey, he's scritch, scritch scratching Watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging.

[Michael Wilbon]

With Bud Grant Tap, tap, tapping on his purple attach.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sing along, everybody.

[Nigel]

Sometimes he throws when he's had too.

[Michael Wilbon]

Much Johnny Walker Blue.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So Reginald had been five and two over two weeks. Yeah, he had, we thought, turned the corner, but he went back around. He went back around. He was 1 and 2 last week. He's now 23 and 34. He's. Everybody else is 500 or better, but they're people. He's still got the best record for a Simeon.

[Nigel]

Well, now I think he's under the mistaken belief that if he tanks, he can get a number one draft.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, he's not.

[Nigel]

And I was trying to explain that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He'S not getting Mendoza. No, he's not. So. No, he's not.

[Nigel]

So I went down to the National Zoo, as I like to do, to go meet with him. He was in a meeting with his team as they get ready for an early spring attempt to recreate Kon Tiki.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

As you know, Reginald was Very close with Thor Heyerdor. Really looked at him as a father figure. So this is something he's been wanting to do for a long time in the final stages of planning with his team. As I said, I know you're always interested.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who's on the team?

[Nigel]

Edwin Moses.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Edwin Moses. He can. If they need a hurdler, Stevie Nicks.

[Nigel]

Which surprised me because I didn't think that she'd be up for this kind of voyage. And the Orge brothers, Dane and Goth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

They're really the.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The prime movers of this project. Yes. So who does he like? He's got four games.

[Nigel]

Well, he's actually going to take the college team.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going to take college.

[Nigel]

He's going to do five. He's going to do whatever he can to try and get back into this race.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Nigel]

So we did give him the national championship game. Indiana giving eight and a half, essentially, at Miami. And Reginald showed me an old video clip of him auditioning for the role that eventually went to Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers. Shooter, I think, was his name, tells me he's got ties to Indiana. He will take the Hoosiers. And Lay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think I would take Indiana as well. I understand Chuck Todd's point of view. I understand it. And if they win, boy, that's a lot of money.

[Nigel]

Yeah, there's a lot of heart in that pick for him. So, you know, as opposed to that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I understand.

[Nigel]

But how can you not take Indiana?

[Tony Kornheiser]

They've been destroying everybody.

[Nigel]

All right, the next match we gave him was the Bills getting one and a half at Denver. And Reginald again showed me a nice video clip of him performing on stage at Red Rocks with John Tesh. So that tells me Red Rocks courses in Colorado. Tells me he's got ties to the Mile High State.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He'll take Denver.

[Nigel]

He'll take Denver. And Labor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sean Payton and Denver.

[Nigel]

Okay, now, the next one we gave him was the 49ers getting 7 1/2 at Seattle. This was a lovely photo that Reginald showed me. Pulled it out of his wallet. Traveling on the Orient Express with Steve Lodge and Xavier McDaniel. And the big dumper, Cal Raleigh.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going to go Seattle.

[Nigel]

Going to go Seattle with that one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. My heart is with San Francisco on that one, you know, But Seattle just. Just destroyed them in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. They did. And their 49ers now have no George Kittle.

[Nigel]

They don't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I don't know.

[Nigel]

And I'm blanking. Who is it that sang I Left My Heart in San Francisco.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Bennett.

[Nigel]

There we go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Bennet.

[Nigel]

So the next match we gave him was Texans at New England getting three and showed me a picture of him playing Reginald playing wiffle ball at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis with Dustin Pedroia, Bill Lee and Jim Rice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he's gonna go New England.

[Nigel]

Gonna go New England.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he's going completely opposite from Chuck Todd. Yes, so far.

[Nigel]

We'll see what he does in this last one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Nigel]

And he showed me. You're gonna be jealous of this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is where the Rams are favored on the road in Chicago in the winter south. Yes.

[Nigel]

Reginald showed me a photo of him playing golf at Michael Jordan's course, what's called Grove 23. In his foursome. Jordan of course, Wilbon of course, Richard.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dent and Patrick Kane, everybody on the text chain. So he's going to go with the Bears. He's going to go completely opposite home cooking. So he's not doing the anti Wilbon vote?

[Nigel]

No, he's. He's on board with Wilbon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, that's your chagrin. This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald Lemonkey have been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. We will come back with Booger McFarland. I am Tony Kornheiser.

[Nigel]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Nigel]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

The Home Depot has Whirlpool laundry appliances with fan fresh. This feature fans and tumbles your laundry after it's done to help keep your clothes fresh until you're ready to grab them. Shop now and get up to $1,000.

[Nigel]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

How doers get more done Free delivery on a appliance purchases of $999 or more offer valid January 8th through the 28th US only C store online for details.

[Nigel]

This is pro linebacker TJ Watt and.

[Sal]

I'm back with YPB by Abercrombie for another activewear drop. My second co design collection has new shorts and tanks that keep up with all my in season workouts. And their new restore collection is a game changer off the field too because even pro athletes like me need rest days. Shop YPB by Abercrombie in the app, online and in stores because your personal best is greater than anything. This is the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Kornizer show. Once again, these are the mixed apes or the mixtapes, we don't know exactly what it is because Nigel did not provide all the information that we needed.

[Nigel]

It is mixtapes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a song called simple and it plays in Booger McFarland who is great for us because he can talk about the pros and he can talk about college. Let me get to the college first. Your thoughts on Indiana and Miami. Indiana has been a juggernaut. What are you looking at for that game?

[Booger McFarland]

Yeah, you know, I think, you know, a lot of people can't wrap their heads around Tony just how good Indiana's been because you say the name Indiana, but yeah, they've been the best football team all season. And I think, you know, if you just watch the tape and watch them on the field. They got a quarterback who's going to be drafted number one in the draft going to Las Vegas. They got a head coach that exudes confidence and brashness and toughness and, and, and everything you would want in the head coach. They're one of the older teams. Here's something I don't think a lot of people know, Tony. So if you think about like BYU back in the day and even to a certain extent now, BYU was always an older team because a lot of their players. Missionary missions.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, correct. Yes.

[Booger McFarland]

And so they were, they were playing with guys that were 23, 24 years old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Booger McFarland]

Well, Indiana is basically doing the same thing and they're doing it because of the players they targeted. They targeted older players. I want to say 48 of 48 to 50 of their players are between 22 and 24 years old. So what does that mean? Basically it means that they got a 22 year old going against some 19 year old. And you know, talent aside, the body is physically more mature at 22, 23 than it is at 19. So you combine all those things together, Tony, I think you see why they've been really good this season. Miami. If Miami plays up to their potential, Miami can compete with them. But the key is going to be can Miami not shoot themselves in the foot? Can the Carlson back play to a level which we think his talent can, can do? If that's the case, I think we're going to be in for a good game. But if Miami plays the way they've consistently played, which is a lot of mistakes up and down, then you know, I think Indiana is going to wake up Tuesday morning the national champion. Something nobody else in America would have.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thought aside from them ever, ever 100 years of losing. Now it's great story. It is a Great story. Let me turn to the pros. You played in the league when Mike Tomlin started coaching with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Were you, were you surprised? Were you stunned? What are your thoughts on him walking away?

[Booger McFarland]

I'll take you even back further. Mike Tomlin was a secondary coach in Tampa when I was there. Oh, I saw it. I saw a young Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin and I used to have conversations on the practice field, walking off the practice field. He was always inquisitive about other positions outside of the one that he was coaching. And you know, you fast forward to now, I've not been surprised one iota. Everything that Mike Tomlin has achieved, what you see is what you get. He's very detail oriented. He is a players coach to a certain point because he will tell you exactly what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I think he's a Hall of Fame head coach and you know, some people will look at the last several years and say the lack of playoff wins. What I'll say about Mike Tomlin is this. 19 years in one place is a long time, I think, especially when you start talking about a job. I think he did as good a job at his job as a lot of people have done at theirs in any professional sport. Whether he coaches again or not, I don't know. I think he's going to take a year off. All of his children are grown. I think he's going to either do TV or travel and spend time with his family and he's, he's deserved the right to do that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I, you know, I concur. I really like Mike Tomlin. I spent the open of the show talking about Mike Tomlin. I am curious about this. When Aaron Rodgers was doing the post game press conference, he talked about what a great year he had and how much fun it had been. And I think a lot of that was probably Mike Tomlin who never undercut him. Never undercut him. And I think I had the sense that Rodgers might even come back. But I don't think think that will happen now. I don't think another, another coach will want Rogers. I think it's done. What do you think?

[Booger McFarland]

100%. I think Rogers came because at the end of the day I think Mike Tomlin told him, I need you. They kind of needed each other. And I think Aaron Rodgers understood what type of coach he was going to play for, which is the reason why I think he came to Pittsburgh now that Mike T's gone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Booger McFarland]

Aaron Rodgers is what, 42? I don't think Aaron Rodgers plays again in the National Football League and I think he's a first ballot shoe in hall of Famer. And here's the irony. He might go in with Mike Tomlin. If Tomlin doesn't coach.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, if he doesn't. I mean, I. Look, I said this before, you know, far better than I. I think when people become coaches, it's because they like being coaches. I would be surprised if he never coached again. I am surprised Cower never coached again. I think Tomlin will go back and coach again. What, what do you know him better than I? What are your thoughts?

[Booger McFarland]

Well, well let me push back on that because you know, Cower never came back. Dungey never came back. Are we sure that Mike Tomlin wants to come back? I get it. Payton did come back. Like, like, like we've seen, we've seen instances where, where coaches have come back like Peyton, but I've seen a few that didn't come back.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I don't know if they were offered jobs. I mean, Tomlin will have his pick of pretty much of whatever he wants. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I really don't know. I just think, I believe at my age that Mike Tomlin at 53 is a young man with 12, 15 more years to give to whatever he wants to do. If it's coaching, I think he could do it because I think he's really good. I really enjoyed talking.

[Booger McFarland]

But do you want to spend those 12 to 15 years. And here's a conversation you know, that I think is a little deeper. If you think about this, Tony, like we spend a lot of our life in a certain profession or whatever it is that we want to do and we accumulate a lot of things. At what point do you start to enjoy the things that you've accumulated? And I would ask you that as a rhetorical question, also as a question that I would like an answer to it. Because you've been super successful doing what you've done. At what point did you come out of the attic and say, I just want to go enjoy life and play the best golf courses in the world.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Booger McFarland]

And not have to show up and listen to Wilbourne every day at 5:30.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have to tell you that I still really like it. I need structure in my life. I need a job. I would go insane without it. I couldn't play seven days a week. So for me I'm doing what I want to do. You know, not everybody at this age does anything, but I. As long as somebody will have Me, not somebody will have me as long as this show still exists and they want me, I like to do it. Me, that's me personally, but I'm old. Let me get to some of these games. The surprise to me in the spreads. Rams are favored by three and a half in Chicago. They're a Southern California team. This is Chicago in January and Chicago finds ways to win all the time. Are you surprised by that spread? Three and a half?

[Booger McFarland]

No, I'm not surprised by the spread, but I'm not smart enough to understand how they make them. Here's what I know. When it comes to the football teams, I think people have said and kind of talked all year long that if the Rams play their best, their ceiling is higher than anybody else's. I think when you look at defensively, the front seven, the quarterback, offensively, Sean McVay, he's been there, done that. Like the combination of McVeigh and Stafford has already won a Super Bowl. Yes, I think Vegas is giving them credit for that. I think even though we've seen the, the, the Superman like plays from Caleb Williams, I think there's still to be a little bit of a, of a gunshot method as far as Vegas with Caleb Williams because we haven't seen him do it consistently. We've seen the fourth quarters and the splash plays in overtime. But have we seen the consistency from Caleb Williams like he was, I don't know, but like he completed like 58% of his passes the other day. And I think the Bears defense, if they don't get turnovers, they stink. And so I think when you combine those things together, I think you're betting on the consistency and the ceiling of the Rams over the showmanship and firepower of Caleb Williams and the Bears.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, that, that sounds fair to me. I mean The Rams, the 49ers and the Seahawks are three of the last four teams in the NFC. They're all from the same division. The record, their record against the rest of the league, not against each other, against the rest the of, of the league is 40 and 7. That's remarkable. How good they are leads me to this question. The 49ers got drummed by Seattle in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. You give them any sort of chance?

[Booger McFarland]

I give them a Kyle Shanahan IQ chance. And what I mean by that is this. If you look at the rosters on paper, they're depleted. I think 5 out of their top 7 money making players are no longer playing right to hurt, whether they are hurt or injured. But the reason they won the game against Philadelphia is because of Kyle Shanahan. I mean, think about the trick play he designed for a touchdown.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Brilliant.

[Booger McFarland]

Think about Robert. Robert Sala and that defense and how they played. Like it's a superb coaching staff in San Francisco. And if Seattle. And by Seattle, I mean Sam Donald, who had 20 turnovers this season. If Sam Donald turns the football over, Tony, and Kyle Shanahan is in his bag and he has one of those days. Yes, they can win. Would I bet on them winning? No. Because I think Seattle, their defense, is top five. I think their team is led by one of the great young leaders in the National Football league and Mike McDonald. The only thing that scares me if you're a Seattle Seahawks fan is Sam Donald, because usually. Usually in the biggest moments, he comes up the smallest.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. This is his opportunity. This is opportunity to write his own history. It is his opportunity. Let me move to the other games. I know you got to get out of here. Texans at Patriots, Bills at Broncos. The sentimental favorite would be. The Bills would be Josh Allen. He was. He was everything last week. You give them a chance in Denver.

[Booger McFarland]

Yeah. Because I think that if you bought this game down to this is. That is Josh Allen against one of the best defenses in football, and then it's Bo nicks against Sean McDermott who showed you what he can do. How he had Trevor Lawrence in a bottle the other day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Booger McFarland]

And so I think. I. I think. I think when it's all said and done, Tony, I think you got to side with Josh Allen. Right. Like, he. He's a. He's a reigning MVP until we give it to Stafford.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Booger McFarland]

And so I. I just think that, that. That if you look at this game, we had the same game last year, remember? Except it was in Buffalo. And, you know, the game that was in Buffalo, we saw Bo Nix, and I get it. He was a rookie. He didn't play well, and so has bo nicks. Learned 365 days or so from last year. It's rare. You're a number one seed and you're an underdog. Denver opened as an underdog, and I think if you were a betting person, you probably put a lot of money on Josh Allen. And I think I would take some of that Coinhouser money that you've been storing in the attic, and I think I would put it. I would put my money on Josh Allen, and I know it would be an upset because they got, like, three wide receivers that are healthy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're not good. They've got him that's all they got is him.

[Booger McFarland]

Yeah, they got him and James Cook. Tony and that's might be enough.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, all right. You got a heart out. You got to go. 10 seconds. Texans Patriots. Who you like?

[Booger McFarland]

Texas got the best defense in football. I believe in defense. I played on one. As long as C.J. stroud can remember to hold on to the football. I think the Texans upset the Patriots in Foxborough.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll see you on PTI in a couple of days or one day, whenever it is. Thanks, Booger.

[Booger McFarland]

Anytime. Can't wait, sir.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Booger McFarland boys and girls. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I am Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Mailbag Reader]

Here comes Tony's mailbag.

[Booger McFarland]

Got your email, faxes and notes.

[Mailbag Reader]

Here comes Tony's mail back.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Gonna read some for all you folks. Hey, Tony, come on, come on.

[Booger McFarland]

Hey Tony, read that mail now, baby.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is my favorite. It's my favorite. Hot Pink Hangover is my favorite. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel app?

[Nigel]

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

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say, mama, look down. Spit on the ground every time a name gets mentioned Papa said, oi, if I get that boy I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention. Well, I'm on my way I don't know where I'm going I'm on my way I'm taking my time but I don't know where. Goodbye Rosie, Queen of Corona. See me and Julio down by the schoolyard. The brilliant Paul Simon. The brilliant Paul Simon. Thanks to our guests today, Chuck Todd and Booger McFarlane. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. You can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and all Odyssey get show through Apple. Please leave us a review from Chris Redding in Locust Grove, Virginia. Formerly of Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania. Thinking about close encounters with astronauts. When my partner was earning her Ph.D. she was in a program with and befriended Zena Cardman, who assumed command of the International Space Station last August. The crew is scheduled to return to earth this Thursday, January 15th. That is tomorrow. Does that count? I can also throw in the fact that I own the L2 John album Honky Chateau, which has Rocket man on it. Yeah. So Rich Clifford. These games your mailbag perpetuates have Left me very little room to contribute. But if the new game is meeting an astronaut, I've got it covered. My father was an astronaut. Michael Richard Clifford graduated first in his class at West Point, served in the army as a helicopter test pilot, and eventually flew on three shuttle missions in 92, 94, 96, for a total of 27 days in space. He passed in 2021 with complications from Parkinson's. As the father to whom I'm related by birth, I've clearly met him as well as nearly every other astronaut living in Houston in the 90s and early 2000s. Most recently, one of your mailers mentioned Jay Apt, an astronaut who flew on the STS59.

[Nigel]

That's incredible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That is incredible.

[Nigel]

I should say our man from NASA.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Noaa. NOAA said, can I.

[Nigel]

Can I get a nurse?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I said, well, you can. Here goes everybody. Good. Unfair advantage. Dan Thorner from Beauvoir and Bulldog baseball in Washington D.C. the Grandsons play oh yeah. So happy that the new game, the time I met an astronaut, is one I can finally play. And mine comes with a side helping of connective tissue. I am and have been an elementary school teacher at Beauvoir for 20 years. Several years ago, one of my students was the daughter of Denise Graves, who is most well known for singing a mailbag jingle while also being recognized by some as the greatest American opera singer of the 21st century. When the Smithsonian got to NASA to give them the space shuttle Discovery for placement in the new Udvar Hazy center of the Air and Space Museum out by dulles, they asked Ms. Graves if she would sing the national anthem at the arrival ceremony. She said she'd be happy to, as long as they reserved 25 front row seats for her daughter's second grade class. A deal was made. In April of 2012, I got on a bus with 20 students and a couple of chaperones to the far reaches of Northern Virginia. There was then, as there always is, heavy traffic and we were late. But since Ms. Graves refused to sing until we were seated, the start of the ceremony was delayed. Eventually we arrived and with police clearing a path through the crowd, we made our way to our seats. After getting the kids to their seats, I sat down, oblivious to my surroundings, and the gentleman next to me reached his hand out and said, I'm John Glenn. Glad you could make it. Wow. I was at a loss for words. I would be too, which Michael knows is not normal for me and managed to mumble that it was an honor to to meet the true American hero. He modestly joked that they didn't hold the show up for him, so we must be the important ones. The ceremony was awesome as they had the outgoing space shuttle Enterprise nose to nose with the newly arrived Discovery and he sent a photo of that and we were allowed to walk right up to them and see the scars from space travel and the panels that had to be entirely replaced. It was a day that the students and I were thrilled to be a part of, even if they were not nearly as excited as I was about the old guy sitting next to Mr. Thorner. Thanks, as always, for the hours of joy and distraction you all provide. And if it's not already taken, can I be the official elementary school teacher and youth baseball coach of the show? Sure. Absolutely. Thank you. And he shows the pictures and it's remarkable pictures. David Bradley in Sterling, Virginia. Please add my name to what I'm sure is a very long list of listeners pointing out that Soldier Field was not built in 1912. As Wilbon said on Monday, it opened in 1924. It's also going to take Wilbon longer than an hour to drive from Chicago to Los Angeles for the Rams game. But that's another story for another day. That's yeah. Yes, Greg in New York City, dear Dr. Captain, sounds like you didn't prepay your WI Fi for the season. Didn't you get that email? It's funny, Noah in Austin, during Friday's Mailbag segment, you read an email from Eddie Madden in Merrimack, Massachusetts. It's always a treat to hear you read the name of a town close to, in this case, directly next to my hometown of Amesbury. My excitement grew when it became clear that Eddie's email was about candlepin bowling, given its proximity to the town line. I had a hunch he would mention Baldinelli's bowl away, and was thrilled that he did. My dad, a listener of this stinking show, grew up in Amesbury. Over the years, he shared his fond memories of riding bikes down Route 110 to Baldinelli's with friends, bowling a few strings, and heading across the street to Dick and June's for an ice cream. I went on to make my own cherished memories at Leo's Super Bowl. As it was known in my childhood, Leo's was a popular spot for birthday parties and awkward middle school dates. There's nothing quite so romantic as wearing other people's shoes and sweating your butt off as you roll gutterball after gutterball while bright and colorful lasers of light strobe from the ceiling and mambo number Five blast through low quality speakers. It's a wonder none of those things panned out. I even worked there for a while, spending Most of my 8th grade Sunday morning setting up for birthday parties, sweeping lanes and retrieving stuck pins when necessary. But most of all, I think of spending weeknight evenings at the lanes watching my grand bowl in a league, often on a team with my aunt and uncle. Her form was calm, if not downright slow, and the ball seemed to crawl to the pins while folks to her left and right hurled rockets down the lanes. The sound of her ball colliding with the pins may not have been the same crack as others, but you certainly heard the pins fall. And fall they did. She held her own for a five foot nothing grandmother. As someone who grew up in New England and is proud of those things that were uniquely ours, it's been a delight to hear the talk about candlepin bowling the last couple of weeks from Lee Stevens in Messina, New York. That's upstate. I'm getting a colonoscopy on Thursday. I figured you'd want to know. Good luck. I'm glad you're doing it.

[Nigel]

Yes, good for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good luck. Well done, Reese. Reese Knott. I'm just starting to plant my potatoes. Am I too late? Any tips?

[Nigel]

Might be a bit early.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think early rather than late. Late for last year, a little early for this year. From Andrew in la. Admiral, when I heard your rant about the raisin scone and you are shocked at the cost, I assume you were talking about a $9 scone. 395. It would almost be worth my time and money to head to the DMV. I stopped at three local places over the last two days and the least expensive scone I could find was 650. I would send you one for comparison purposes, but I know you would just hate it. Yeah, I don't.

[Nigel]

Yeah, you're not a fan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't want scones. Wow. Wyatt Toole in Omaha, Nebraska. Ever want proof that the multiverse exists where there are an infinite number of variations in our universe? Well, I'm in Nebraska, where we affectionately call the basketball team the Brassketball. Yeah, Nebraska. A team that is the only power conference school to have never won an NCAA tournament game. Northwestern was our colleague in misery in this category until they got promoted a few years back. So that's the context of Nebrasket Ball, which is now undefeated. Most now know that Indiana football was the losingest college football team in history. So it's fair to say that we are the only universe where Nebraska ball is ranked in the top 10 in Indiana footballs in the national championship game. I bet there's another universe where you and Kerry Russell locked eyes on set of the Americans, then ran off together, leaving Matthew Reese in tears. But every universe in the multiverse has an old ball and arch an orange curmudgeon because your crankiness is not bound by the laws of interdimensional physics From Cameron Thompson on Monday's show. You seem to struggle with the concept of kilometers. I thought I would write in and try and explain it to you. You see, like most countries in the world, we use the metric system. In this case, we use the meter to measure distance. A millimeter is 1 1,000th of a meter, a centimeter is 1 100th of a meter, and a kilometer is 1,000 meters. See? Pretty straightforward. Now can you please explain the relationship between yard, feet and miles? I'll hang up and listen. No, I can't. No, I think Nate Bargati from Eugene I'm a fairly new listener to your podcast. Not Eugene, Oregon, Eugene the person. But I've been watching PTI for well over 20 plus years. If I had known about your podcast, I would have been an avid listener there. Also, I thought it funny that today when I saw an Apple update from my phone that it now provided an option to cancel the update. The update gods must be listening to you from James Clements in Culpepper, Virginia. As I'm sure many other listeners can relate, my intelligence is held in low regard by the person to whom I'm related by marriage. As a consequence, things I spend a lot of time doing, like listening to this podcast, rarely generate more than an eye roll. She would rather spend her free time discovering new music. Well, my world's collided this morning when she was so excited to tell me that she just heard this great band with the best name post Sex Nachos. My immediate reaction was to eye roll and let her know that thanks to the podcast, I've known about the band for years. By doing so, I confirmed her opinion of me. If only I'd replied. Good thing I bought tortilla chips at the Safeway yesterday. I might be melting cheese right now. Instead of writing this email, thank you and the team for making all of us littles a little bit smarter, even as we do all we can to keep proving otherwise. From John Tagliarini I wanted you to know that construction continues on State Street Highway 69 between First street and 11th in Ankeny, Iowa. I'd avoid if possible as traffic is slow and you can't make left hand turn.

[Nigel]

That's a good update.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you, Mick McCabe in Allen Park, Michigan. The Golden Globes finally awarded a Golden Globe for best podcast and Mr. Tony doesn't win. Worse yet, he isn't even nominated. Amy Poehler won, but does her podcast give information for life? Does she have a monkey on the podcast? Guess you should have sent the voters a box of that. Maybe Mr. Sherman can fix this. Yeah, I, you know, we weren't nominated. Good for her. She's funny.

[Nigel]

She's very Tina Fey.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're funny. Yeah. Yeah, they're funny. Congrats from Jeff Bartlett in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dear Captain Ron, the recent talk about dialing for Dollars and Bowling for Dollars brought to mind the story and not so happy ending for a Pittsburgh Bowling for dollars host. In 1980, Nick Perry, who in addition to hosting Bowling for Dollars on a local Pittsburgh television station, was also the announcer for the Pennsylvania Lottery's daily number show. The game consisted of three machines with numbered ping pong balls. A numbered ball was taken from each machine, which would then be the daily number. Mr. Perry, who was one of two people who had access to the machines and a few co conspirators, decided to fix a drawing by weighing down all balls except 4 and 6 with small drops of paint. That night's drawing resulted in the number 666 being drawn. However, the unusual betting patterns were caught the attention of lottery officials who started an investigation. The co conspirators quickly gave up Mr. Perry, who was eventually convicted of several crimes and sentenced to seven years in prison. This crime became the basis of the 2000 movie Lucky Numbers starring John Travolti and Lisa Kudrow. Yeah. On a separate note, my birthday is on Sunday the 18th. Just curious where you'll be, you know, and when would be best for me to call. Patrick Vincenzio, Laurel, Maryland. Dear Doctor of Humane Letters, illegal screen. That's it. That's the email. The legal screen. Yeah, kept going. And Tim Owens in Lakeland, Florida. This is my third email. I'm a two time loser. Would it help to mention that I'm a 65 year old boy? I also like the show so far. So far you're in throughout. On your bike. Tight. Everyone, as always, do wear white. What does argo mean?

[Mailbag Reader]

I don't know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't know?

[Booger McFarland]

It means I'll go.

[Mailbag Reader]

I remember days when the radio played something called music. None of these tattooed freaks with their battery beats slurring out where it's sounding like pukin. Whatever happened to the shows that everybody knows and we all follow from the beginning? And why does every head say that I'm a catch fire if I try to use it while I'm swimming? I'm tired of everything new. What'll it take If I wanted to make things like 1982 baby, get my velcro shoes. Cause I'm tired and a one up go lay down. I got a new Traeger smoker and a handheld blower. You can call me king of the low and don't get me going man the sky starts snowing I can have it up before it can froze. I look around the neighborhood and I never understood why nobody's out here with me. Sure it's five in the morning and the engines are roaring. But don't we all wake up at three? Whatever happened to pride? What'll it take? If I wanted to make things like 1979? I'm angry all of the time.

[Michael Wilbon]

But.

[Mailbag Reader]

I'm tired and I wanna go lay down. I'm writing strongly worded letters Cause my new shoes didn't make my balance any better. And when my grandson call me acting cool like my Carly say what's up. I just tell him the sky.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm.

[Mailbag Reader]

Not gonna change it all Cause everybody else is wrong. Now break it down. How do you work this blue tooth? Where's the weatherman's brew? Can we bring back Steve McQueen? I'm frightened by the Internet and smoke a couple cigarettes before I take a two hour pee. Give me Ronald Reagan, Kodachrome, Reggie Jackson, Superdome kids watching Bozo the Clown. The world is moving fast I don't want to get passed by maybe it comes back or around. I'm tired of having to change. What'll it take? If I wanted to make things like the good old days. But that's a phrase that pay. But I'm tired so I'm going to go lay down.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sa. Shame.

[Mailbag Reader]

So a little take what's given life so simple now. Breathe in Daddy, breathe out.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sa.

[Mailbag Reader]

Nice to be at the beach.

[Michael Wilbon]

This my second time. I'm glad you're all having fun here.

[Mailbag Reader]

Reflection. On the lake. Watch the R from the middle light. So, so simple now. Breathe in and breathe out.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sam, It.