“The Better Sands”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show: “The Better Sands” – Detailed Summary

Release Date: March 31, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Michael Wilbon, Mark Feinstein

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Introduction

In the episode titled “The Better Sands,” Tony Kornheiser delves into a variety of sports topics, blending his signature humor with insightful analysis. The show features engaging discussions with guest commentators Michael Wilbon and Mark Feinstein, covering everything from college basketball tournaments to baseball strategies and personal anecdotes.

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College Basketball Final Four Predictions

All Four Number One Seeds to Final Four

Tony initiates the conversation by addressing the buzz around all four number one seeds making it to the Final Four. He expresses his astonishment and seeks Wilbon’s perspective on the matter.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (00:00): “...we'll talk with Wilbon to get his thoughts on all four number one seeds making it to the final four.”

Michael Wilbon concurs with Tony's surprise, emphasizing the statistical rarity of such an event.

Quote:

• Michael Wilbon (00:12): “Yeah, we gotta stretch 20 minutes, do a long toss.”

Tony further reflects on past tournaments, comparing the current excitement to previous memorable moments.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (02:23): “Min Woo Lee got his first tour victory...”

Duke's Defensive Prowess

The discussion shifts to Duke’s impressive defense against Alabama, highlighting their strategic gameplay and robust defense mechanisms.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (22:09): “I was very, very, very impressed with Duke's defense against Alabama...”

Mark Feinstein adds depth to the analysis, comparing historical teams and current player performances to underscore Duke’s standout season.

Quote:

• Mark Feinstein (26:08): “Duke looked really good to me. They did...”

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Personal Anecdotes and Social Commentary

Gary Williams' Birthday Party

Tony shares a personal story about attending Gary Williams' birthday party, highlighting interactions with notable personalities in the Washington D.C. sports scene.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (06:28): “I had the nice occasion of going to a birthday party for Gary Williams on Saturday night...”

He expresses his appreciation for reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances, painting a vivid picture of the event's atmosphere.

Reflections on Coaching and Team Dynamics

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to discussing Kevin Willard's departure from the University of Maryland's basketball program. Tony criticizes the administrative handling of Willard's public statements and expresses hope for future coaching stability.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (12:00): “When this happened two weeks ago, if I ran the University of Maryland, I would have called him and said, Kevin, this is...”

Mark Feinstein supports Tony’s viewpoint, contemplating the implications of coaching changes on team performance and morale.

Quote:

• Mark Feinstein (13:03): “...if you have a good young rotation, then you got something.”

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Baseball Insights: Yankees' New Bats and Nationals' Bullpen Woes

Yankees’ Torpedo Bats

Mark Feinstein provides an in-depth analysis of the Yankees' introduction of the "torpedo bat," a scientifically engineered tool aimed at enhancing home run capabilities. He explains the bat's design and its immediate impact on the team's performance.

Quote:

• Mark Feinstein (33:46): “The Yankees...they figured out that they were hitting the ball sort of closer to their hands than with that quote unquote sweet spot... they called the torpedo bat.”

Tony humorously suggests that other teams should adopt this innovative bat, referencing historical lines to emphasize its effectiveness.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (37:06): “Find out what U.S. grant is drinking and order a case for everybody in the army...”

Nationals' Bullpen Struggles

The conversation shifts to the Nationals’ pitching challenges, with Tony critiquing the bullpen's performance and its detrimental effect on the team's overall game.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (45:12): “The Nats bullpen stinks beyond anything I've ever seen. Just unbelievably terrible.”

Mark Feinstein discusses potential remedies, suggesting that bullpen issues are easier to address than starting rotations and expressing optimism about the team's young pitchers.

Quote:

• Mark Feinstein (46:25): “You can fix bullpens if there's a need. If the starters are pitching well...”

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Personal Reflections and Listener Interactions

Masters Tournament Excitement

Mark Feinstein shares his enthusiasm for attending the Masters Tournament, detailing his plans and the anticipation surrounding the event. Tony engages with Mark's excitement, adding his own humorous takes on the experience.

Quote:

• Mark Feinstein (42:22): “This has been the number one item on my sports bucket list for many years...”

Listener Emails and Social Media Highlights

Tony reads and responds to various listener emails, addressing topics ranging from chocolate preferences to false claims about celebrity endorsements. These interactions showcase the show's community engagement and Tony's personable nature.

Quote:

• Tony Kornheiser (51:09): “From Paul Frampton. Episode 283 in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada...”

He debunks myths and shares amusing observations, maintaining a light-hearted yet informative tone throughout these segments.

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Conclusion

In “The Better Sands,” Tony Kornheiser masterfully balances sports commentary with personal stories and listener interactions. The episode offers a comprehensive look at current sports trends, innovative strategies, and the interpersonal dynamics within the sports community. Tony’s engaging style, combined with insightful guest contributions, makes for a compelling and entertaining listen.

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Notable Quotes

• Tony Kornheiser (01:16): “I wish I could hire a whole team of yous.”
• Michael Wilbon (02:25): “Keep turning the chest.”
• Tony Kornheiser (05:00): “Cult hero.”
• Mark Feinstein (35:53): “...bats are very much like golf clubs.”
• Tony Kornheiser (51:25): “Nathaniel Lowe, by the way, is hitting it finally.”
• Mark Feinstein (57:28): “...probably chocolate and peanut butter.”

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This episode exemplifies Tony Kornheiser’s ability to weave diverse topics into a cohesive and engaging narrative, providing listeners with both entertainment and valuable sports insights.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk with Wilbon to get his thoughts on all four number one seeds making it to the final four. And we'll also talk to Mark Feinstein about the Yankees new bats and how bad the Nats bullpen has been. But first, commerce.

[Jane]

Hi. Here's your report. Thanks, Jane.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I wish I could hire a whole team of yous.

[Jane]

Try posting a job on LinkedIn. It's the world's largest professional network. Unlike resumes, LinkedIn gives a real time view into a candidate's skills, experiences and more.

[Mark Feinstein]

Let's do it.

[Jane]

You're irreplaceable, Jane.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But another you would be great.

[Jane]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. I don't know that I could get on the slab and reach home plate with a real pitching motion. Now I'd have to practice.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, we gotta stretch 20 minutes, do a long toss.

[Unknown]

You said that when you did that you were in the pen, like warming up 20 minutes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I was 25 years younger and I could do it. And yes, I was warming up because I knew what I wanted to do.

[Michael Wilbon]

You have to ice afterwards?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I know. I'm on the mound. I want to turn towards third. I want to hit the mascot. And I did. You got the four seamer. The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. All righty then. I don't know where you live. It was beautiful in the Washington D.C. area over the weekend. I got to play twice. I was really happy. Michael had given me a lesson on chipping short 50 yard and in chips. And it mostly worked with the gap wedge. And the pitching wedge did not work at all with the sand wedge really close to the green. I stubbed it time after time after time.

[Michael Wilbon]

Keep turning the chest.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So that's what it is.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. And for you, this is mostly a 20 to 40 yard pitching motion from the fairway.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

We're get you to stand closer to the ball, feel like you're taller. The heel is going to feel like it's coming off the ground. And if you miss the ball, if you miss the center of the club at all, which is okay on these shots, I want the contact out towards the toe. You can add a lot of speed, but the actual ball is going to come out softer with a lot of spin from that side.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, it didn't come out at all. You know, you can feel like you.

[Michael Wilbon]

Choke down a bit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

For example, on 16. And I know people are very interested in this.

[Michael Wilbon]

I've missed these stories.

[Tony Kornheiser]

On 16, I hit it long, so I hit it onto the plateau behind. Behind the sand trap. So I'm on a plateau and I have to chip down into the green.

[Michael Wilbon]

Pins, low left.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Pins as you face it, low left. And I'm afraid that I'm going to skull it, of course, and hit it into the water. And I get so nervous for the shot that I just hit it right into the sand trap. Just right into the sand trap. I mean, it was one of those things where you go that. That was pathetic. That was pathetic. I played just walk right back across the bridge on the first nine. Yeah, just get out of there. First nine. I had 42. That's really good.

[Unknown]

That's great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's really good. I doubled all over the place on the. On the back, all over the place, tripled. I gave myself a double on number 11 with. I had four shots in the sand. Couldn't get out of the sand. So I just said, I'm not giving myself the legitimate 11 that I got on that hole. I'm just giving myself a seven anyway. Played twice, enjoyed myself very much. How do you get out of sand on a fairway bunker? I hit it too low. I just went right into the side again.

[Michael Wilbon]

You want to maintain your posture on this. Feel like you're standing a bit taller. I want you to swing less than full grip up about a half an inch. But you're really going to try and keep your lower body stable. Not having a lot of drive, I.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Guess I had a lot of movement. I had kept hitting it into the bunkers, the face of the bunker, and it rolled back down near me and laugh at me.

[Michael Wilbon]

Step one, get out of the bunker. So if you need to go down to a wedge, even from a fairway bunker, try and make sure that you're hitting your next shot from the fairway.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Unknown]

Have you ever played over in My neck of the woods with the really deep bunkers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've seen them. I've never played.

[Unknown]

Have you ever played with those?

[Michael Wilbon]

I have.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

I think sideways, backwards, you can't hit.

[Unknown]

Out of it, right? Yeah, yeah. Looks. It looks fascinating. Yeah, it really does.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. This reminds me that I watched a lot of the Texas Open yesterday in between NCAA games. Min Woo Lee got his first tour victory.

[Michael Wilbon]

Let him cook.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's Australian. He's apparently a godlike figure on social media.

[Michael Wilbon]

Cult hero.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What does he do? He's on constantly. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

I just think he is a younger generation where he's been engaged. He's been engaging with fans like Bryson has been trying to do and has been very successful at it. He's been doing that probably more organically over the years just because it's what he's grown up doing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He is the younger brother of Minji. Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

And both USG winners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they're really good. They're both very, very good. They're Australian, Asian. Australian.

[Michael Wilbon]

If you look at ball speed, it's. It is incomprehensible how he's hitting it 190 plus.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's thin. He's like, what, 511 and 130 pounds? Yeah, he's really. Yeah, he's not. He's not like Rory, who's thick. You know, Rory is obviously working out in a way to accentuate the building of his muscles. This is a thin little kid. Hit it very well. He. He could have lost this tournament for anybody who watched. He. Is he slow?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, he was getting slow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Played. Oh, bike. He didn't like anyone in his group.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right. There was a.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A guy named Toasty he clearly didn't like.

[Michael Wilbon]

I was not watching this live, but to read this again. We've had an issue with men's professional golf where people have not been watching until they started to watch again when you had big time winners like Scheffler and Rory at big courses. So I think a terrible thing is when you have one of the last groups, the last group going out and you have somebody who's intentionally walking 100 to 200 yards behind the leader, who's trying to close at his first win because he didn't like how long Minouli took to take a penalty drop earlier in the round.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fine him. Fine him.

[Michael Wilbon]

Kick him off the door, Doug.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's. That's exactly right. Anyway, so he bogeys 16. Minwu Lee Bogey's 16. And now he's within one of woodland and.

[Michael Wilbon]

And Scheffler Yeah, Scheffler came out of.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nowhere and he has not very good tee shots on 17 and 18 hits. A second shot in neither case were they on the green. And he was close enough to putt, though, and made two wonderful putts within a foot and won the tournament. So good for him. We will talk, obviously, with Wilbon about the Final Four. We'll get to all of that. But I did want to say that I. I had the nice occasion of going to a birthday party for Gary Williams on Saturday night. It was really nice. I'm really glad I didn't stay long. I'm not that guy. Like, if there was a ceremony of some sort, I was not there for that. I left. And you an hour and a half.

[Michael Wilbon]

Say so to the host.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't want to do that.

[Michael Wilbon]

And as public and direct away as possible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And so I didn't want to do that. Gary was happy that I was there. He said so. They said so. The socialite was there. I hadn't seen him in a while because he'd been in Florida, among other places, and other people were there that I knew, but there were people whose names others would know. Maybe not outside the D.C. area, maybe not for all of them, but for some of them, Johnny Holiday was there. Johnny Holiday has been announcing Maryland football and basketball games for 45 years. Yeah, he's. I hadn't seen him in years. Johnny's in his 80s.Johnny looked great. Johnny looked great. I was so happy to see Johnny Holiday. Chris Knockey was there. I like Knockey a lot. Gordon Austin, they do a podcast with Gary, right? And Ed Tapscott is sometimes on that podcast. And they're. Gordon Austin was a really good guard at American University. I think he may have beaten Georgetown one year when Gary coach drove shortly thereafter. Chris Knockey played as well for Gary at American University, then coached a little bit, now does a lot of television and radio work. And he's a very, very, very pleasant person. Jimmy Patsos was there. And Jimmy Patsos is a large man in every way, you know, and he's got large opinions. He's great on television, I think. I think he's great. And he was just fun to be around. And I hadn't seen him in a long time. Steve Busciotti, who owns the Baltimore Ravens, was there. He's friends, good friends with Gary, and he was a delight. And I'd known him, but I hadn't seen him in a long time. He was a delight to talk to. Walt Williams was there. The Wiz. Wow. A great player. One of Gary's great players was there, and out of the blue, Val Sands. Not Steve Sands. Val Sands.

[Unknown]

How great is that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I called when I was leaving, I called Steve and I said, val. And she says, yeah, she already texted me that she talked to you, you know, because, you know, so, I mean, it was one of those things where I really. I had a good. Had a good sense of it. I mean, I was really happy, gratified to go. It was a buffet, and. And then they set up tables not to. I guess there was a ceremony, and I missed the ceremony, but I was really happy to go.

[Michael Wilbon]

Could you enjoy the buffet while trying to catch up with people?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I mean, it was. No, I. It was also butler d'or d'oeuvres. So I could stop somebody and say, hey, hold on a second, please. And, you know, chicken or some tuna? No, I didn't get any crab cakes. They were not butlered around. They were on a. I saw them on a large display, a buffet, and I felt it was too early to go over there.

[Michael Wilbon]

I felt it's never too early for the crab dudes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do I want to be the first one? Yeah, you never want to be separating from the crowd.

[Jane]

Were they covered?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Michael Wilbon]

Okay, then they're fair game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't. I didn't do it because I'm always afraid. Somebody said, you see what Kornheiser did? First one in? Yeah. So I didn't. I wanted to do it. I came home and had to eat because I was really hungry, so. But it was really, really nice. I was happy about it. Happy about it.

[Unknown]

Was DJ there?

[Tony Kornheiser]

DG wasn't there. One of the things.

[Michael Wilbon]

Traveling.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One of the things I avoided talking about with Gary specifically was Kevin Willard. Kevin Willard, in my opinion, really did the University of Maryland wrong. He spoke publicly before the ad left to go to smu. That the ad was leaving means he doesn't like the ad. Didn't like the ad. He talked about wanting to stay, but Maryland had to step up in a variety of ways if he was going to stay. And all of this time, he was apparently negotiating with Villanova. I've said this on tv, and I might have said it here. I will say it again. When this happened two weeks ago, if I ran the University of Maryland, I would have called him and I would have said, kevin, this is. Whoever the guy is who runs at the Chancellor, the president. If you don't like it here, quit or we'll fire you. And we'll fire you with cause because of what you're doing so, you won't get a dime. But I expect you to retract every single thing you said and coach our team as we pay you to do. Now, that did not happen. Obviously, there were rumors. For example, I was playing at Columbia yesterday, and two or three different people came to me and said, he didn't even go to the team dinner. And I said, I don't believe that. I said, well, that's what I've heard. And I said, if he didn't go to the team dinner, he should have been fired five minutes into the team dinner. I can't. And I don't believe he didn't do that. I don't believe that. But he will go to Villanova. He's comfortable in the Big East. He coached Seton hall for a number of years, and Gary always told me he's a very good coach. And I'm not going to knock his coaching all. He got to the Sweet 16. Maryland hadn't been to the Sweet 16 in quite a while. That's right. He did that. He did a fine job. Has he won anything? Like, I'm old. I don't. I'm unburdened by memories. He won anything. He's won a national championship. Has he gotten to the final? Has he. No, no, he hasn't. He hasn't done any of that. You know, that court is named for. It's the Gary Williams court because he won a national championship. So Kevin Willard, you know, via con Dios. I mean, I don't know what else I can say, but he puts Maryland in a difficult position, and I hope they find a good coach who's willing to stay. In fact, I hope they all say to Gary, you want to coach one more year? Here's a bunch of dough to come.

[Michael Wilbon]

Back for this round of 16.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, go coach for one more year.

[Unknown]

Wouldn't that be great?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that would be great. One other thing to say. Got to read something here. Going to love this. I am not a member of Congressional. Congressional is a lovely track with two different courses. Championship quality courses. They have great food, they have great amenities, and it's a beautiful, beautiful joint. A lot of people want to join it.

[Michael Wilbon]

Great pool, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Too hot to do a radio show at the pool. Way too hot. Needed portable air conditioner 35 years ago.

[Unknown]

So hot here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What are we doing here? But I played there a number of times, and it's too much for me. Everything is too much for me, but it's a lovely place. And I went there twice last week, once for the Memorial service for Junior and once for Gary's party. Both. Both our members. This is from Joe Tice in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. I just listened to Sally Jenkins discuss how Junior had a great relationship with the usga. And it brought to mind the following story. I live in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where Mike Davis and Mike Butts grew up. You may recall they held important positions with the usga. Wasn't Mike Davis the president of the US Correct? At one time, Mike D's parents were my neighbors.

[Michael Wilbon]

He was involved in the. In bringing it to bed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, okay. Mike D's parents were my neighbors. And Mike B's nephew was also a neighbor and frequent golfing partner. So when the US Open came to Oakmont, was that when what's his name wanted. Who hit it 3,000 yards?

[Michael Wilbon]

Angel Cabrera.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was. That's about 21 of them. Yeah, yeah. When. So when the US Open came to Oakmont, I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest of Mike Butts. The tickets were for all access, including the USGA VIP area in the clubhouse. The place was full of important people, but two stood out. Sandra Day O'Connor and one John Junior Feinstein. The VIP room had a constant supply of food. Not run of the mill food for rum dums, but high quality offerings that changed hourly. While enjoying a conversation with others, I noticed that Junior was making repeated trips to fill his plate. Being a fan of his work but not wanting to bother him, I resisted the urge to casually run into him in the serving line and strike up a conversation. Finally, after what seemed like his 10th trip, I walked over and I said, hey, John, big fan. Love your work. He paused from filling his plate long enough to look me up and down and shot back, thanks. Who the eff are you? Needless to say, the conversation slowed a bit after that. As you say, never meet your idols, kids. Now, I don't know if that's true. It sounds like it could be true. It has the error of all. It sounds like it could be true. Junior spent a lot of time on the buffet line, as we all did. Anybody who covered something, the food was good, and you didn't want to have to go out to a restaurant and spend 50 bucks, 60 bucks, 80 bucks, and then have George Solomon look at your expense report and say, what are you doing? Can't spend this much for dinner, so you stayed in the buffet line. So, Dan, I don't know if it's true, but if it is true, and it made everyone in this room smile, and I hope it makes you smile as well. Michael Wilbon will join us when we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Jane]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Jane]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Kornheiser Show. These are the Sidleys. This is sent to us by Ronnie Newmeyer. They're singing a song called twilight from the 2024 album Sugar Kingdom. It's available on all streaming platforms. They're an amazing family band from Montgomery county, including parents Steve and Annie, along with their three amazingly talented sons, Sean, Colin and Ian. This is quite good.

[Unknown]

It's really good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, Siddle is quite good. So listen to this. They'll be performing at a show Neumeir Flyer is producing on Friday, April 18th at the Hamilton. We'll be performing what I believe by many measures are the two most acclaimed, acclaimed albums in rock and roll. The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds and the Beatles Revolver, both performed in their entirety. And for the first time in one show. I want to see that.

[Unknown]

That sounds amazing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Me, I don't go to anything. I want to see that. The Sidleys will be doing the Pet Sounds album and Tom Lofgren and Cal Everett his music. You have Kindly played before will be among the performers on the revolver side of the show. Three piece horn section will play on both records. Tickets are available at the Hamilton's official website. That sounds great. Plays in Michael Wilbon and. And there's no other place to start other than to just basically say Jay Billis got this right.

[Unknown]

Killed it. Killed it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jay Billis had all four ones right.

[Unknown]

Not just all four ones. He said on Halloween that the season started, that the SEC was the best conference. It would prove itself to be that boob. He got that one right. And he said all four ones for the first time since 2008, which his bracket has. Mine does not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Unknown]

And I of course was skeptical.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Unknown]

And he was right about that again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Unknown]

Because Jay Billitz is watching, you know, both. But men's college basketball, you know, he watches that as closely as anyone in the world. I don't. And he knew what he was talking about and seeing and forecasting and I did. So all praise to Jay Billis.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What do you think about having all four ones? What do you. Do you think there's a larger story here or. No.

[Unknown]

Like it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't.

[Unknown]

I don't know. I don't know if there's a larger story or not. I just don't like it. This turbulence does nothing for me. I'm not interested in it at all. I watch it. I've watched a lot of it. Probably, you know, about as much as I do on average, which is a lot. Not interested. Just doing. By the way, I realize they're great storylines and there are some kids that are really interesting and just like, all right, I have no hands with juice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

For me, I have liked it. I haven't loved it. I have seen players who I think are very, very good players. Yeah, there haven't been that many exciting games in the last eight games haven't been that exciting. Though I will say that the Auburn game was compelling for me because I thought they might lose the lead. You know, I did. I thought that was a really good game. Michigan State is not a give up team on any level. And I, I enjoyed, I did enjoy that game more than most of the others. You're saying that you're not, you're not compelled at all?

[Unknown]

Nope. No. And there are some. There have been some good games that I've stayed with.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

You know, but no. And maybe part of it is the kids are so unknown to me that it doesn't mean much. I don't have any emotion for any of them. I don't know Them I don't, you know, I do know some of the coaches. For me, when I did this bracket, you know, two weeks ago, all I cared about was whether I was assigning the value that I was putting on. This was going to it because only of the coaches, because of what I thought Izzo could do or I thought, you know, that's, you know, that's not. It's not why I watch sports or basketball. Even though I know a lot of the coaches and I like and I have opinions and feelings about them, that's not why I watch. That's not what gets me. And I found that this bore is probably the wrong word because, you know, I mean, there have been some nice performances, but it doesn't excite me on any level like the tournament always had my whole life.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I was very, very, very impressed with Duke's defense against Alabama. Alabama had shot 51 threes in the previous game and made 25. BYU didn't even put their hands up. But still, you're shooting 50% from 3 and jacking up 51. What is Duke going to do? And Duke held. The Sears kid is a good player and held him to nothing and was out, you know, out far. And Alabama couldn't get a comfortable. And Alabama is a team that scored 113. They scored 64 is the lowest they've scored all year. I was really impressed with the defense. I will say Duke looked really good to me. They did. I don't know if they have it again in them.

[Unknown]

They've looked terrific. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know.

[Unknown]

They've looked as good as everybody thought they could look. And like I said, it, you know, Florida's done. Florida game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Florida's good final.

[Unknown]

Did that. That, that was, you know, they should have lost.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And probably should have lost.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

But. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know what it means. I don't. Nobody stays around long enough for me to assign. Be able to assign anything. And I get that. I get. I'm not asking for it to really change. I know they're not going to go back to 1985. I understand that. But does it resonate with me? No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let me. Let me get to the question that I left you a voicemail on yesterday because it just got me insane. Okay. I'm not going to name the person who said this to me, but it's person we both know. And this person said to me, looked at me and said, this is the greatest Duke team ever. Right. And I go, what? He said, this team's the Greatest. I said, what? I said, wait, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, what?

[Unknown]

They don't even know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he says to me, christian Laettner wasn't any good. I said, oh, whoa. He's one of the five greatest college players of all time. We're talking about college now, not the NBA.

[Unknown]

College.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. And I said, bobby Hurley goes. He's not better than Steve Blake. I said, we can't have this conversation. We cannot continue, because that. That's a team. They're. They're. They're juniors and seniors. Right. I mean, this is not that team. Right.

[Unknown]

Grant Hill is better than anyone else who has ever worn a Duke uniform. 33 Grand Hill. Case closed. Don't want to hear it. I avoid conversations like that because I just. I hate everyone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's like, I've watched a lot of college basketball. This is a wonderful team of freshmen. This is great, but it's not the kids. Yeah. I mean, do you want me to go back to the UCLA team of Lou Alcindor and Mike Lynn and Mike Warman?

[Unknown]

You're wasting your time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Am I?

[Unknown]

There are people out there that say, J.T. redick, who knows. He knows basketball in circles for his life. He says he's called. Calls people who played before yesterday plumbers and carpenters. He's done this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I think that's terrible.

[Unknown]

I can't. It's just. I don't. Part of it is I can't enjoy it because nobody knows anything about anything that wasn't on get up this morning. So I'm. I just. I'm angry half the time. And half the things I hear, whether it's on TV or not, whether it's said by smart people or not, whether it's set by people who play or not. And I have this discussion with Charles Barkley, who drives. Charles is like us. It subdried Charles nuts. And myself. What are we. What are you talking about? You know, that this is the way of the world. He's like, yeah, yeah, I know. You're right. I don't know. That's what we are.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I just. I mean, I watched a lot of college basketball. You cannot put. With the exception of the Fab Five, you cannot put a team of freshmen together and say they're one of the greatest teams of all time.

[Unknown]

No, but that's what. That's all they know because they never heard of Grant Hill.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, Grant Hill.

[Unknown]

I mean, they never heard of him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hill, Laettner and Hurley on the same court for years.

[Unknown]

You mean him. Him. You mean Him, Grant Hill, the guy who's on with Jim Nance and Bill Raftery. Yeah, that guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that guy.

[Unknown]

Better than anybody who ever played it. Duke.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, so it's. So Duke will play Houston and then the two SEC teams, Florida and Auburn, will play. Who you like?

[Unknown]

I have no idea. I picked, I think my brat. I think I picked Michigan State over Houston. I think.

Yes, that's right.

So, okay, so that went out the window yesterday. You know, I, I, I, I still think the Houston looks like the best team to me, but I'm not going to sit here and say there's a. If anybody says it's upset, it's a shocking result.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, no, no, no. Ones. They're ones.

[Unknown]

No, nobody had us beating. No, shut up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, we're not gonna have that. That's.

[Unknown]

You know, any one of these teams is as good as any of the others. I'm not, I just, it doesn't, the tournament does not resonate with me from an emotional standpoint.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know you have watched the women's. You've watched the women's tournament. I know you've watched some of that much close. Who do you, Is there a team you like in that particularly?

[Unknown]

Well, I mean, I, Obviously USC has had to change and we have to change a little bit. Yeah, our opinions of USC because of juju Watkins going out. But. So we got a regional final tonight, right? We got USC and Yukon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Yukon.

[Unknown]

That's, that's, that's good stuff, right? That's good. That resonates with me. Okay. Paige Beckers and Az Fudd and Gino Oriemma. That, that team resonates with me. And you know that if they get there, they would, I think they would play ucla. And you know how I feel about that because I've gone to see UCLA play in person. And just let me say that if UCLA advances to the final game, I will be at the championship game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Where is that? Where's, where do they play? Tampa.

[Unknown]

Fly down and go. As a fan only not working fan, I want to see that. And I have said openly since they played the first time, I wanted to see USC and UConn in a rematch. And we may get that. But now that's not what I'm rooting for. You know, and I have a hard time with some of this stuff because there are three people in college, women's college basketball that I care about who resonate with me more than everybody else. There's really more that. There's probably 20, but the three at the top of my pyramid are. And I don't know what the order is. Dawn Staley, who I have watched play basketball since she was probably 17 or 18 years old, coaches, South Carolina. I've watched, of course, Kiki Rice, who was a family member extended to me, who has shot basketballs with Matthew Wilbon in our little basketball court here in Scottsdale, and Carol Lawson, who you and I have known since she was about 13. So these are, in my case, these are three women I've known, like, all of their lives. Not their adult lives, their lives. And they, you know, when they play each other, then I'm not going to sit there and root for one of them to lose. And I texted you that two days ago, you know, when Carol, Austin and Dawn. Stan and dawn had to go against each other. And so I got that situation coming up probably again. And. But. But if. Again, if you see a lady is in the championship game, I think I'm gonna.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Don't you find it surprising that I. I find it surprising. I shouldn't. Because men's basketball is not women's basketball and women's basketball is not men's basketball. But I was surprised. They had never been to a final Four. I was, yeah.

[Unknown]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm surprised. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Stunning. Stunning. And the women's basketball power in that town has been us.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Unknown]

And so that's the way that is. But, yeah. So I'm looking forward to tonight's game in a way that I. Look, I said when this tournament started, to be fair about this, when. When both tournaments started, I said on the air, said to you, I said to anybody who would listen, I. I'm not emotionally invested in the men's tournament, and I am in the women's tournament, and that's the way it continues.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okey dokey. All right, I'll talk to you later.

[Unknown]

All right, Tom.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michael Wilbon, boys and girls, we will take a break. Mark Feinsand will join us when we return. As baseball opened up over the weekend. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Jane]

Wow, this house is cute.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But can I really get in the.

[Jane]

Game in this economy? I do have savings, and I am responsible.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Ish. Ugh. I should bury it.

[Jane]

I'm being wild. But what if I'm not being wild, though? Could I actually score a kick off.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Your home buying journey with Zillow's new buyability tool? It makes it easy to find out.

[Jane]

What you can afford so you can.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Get off the bench and onto the playing field with confidence. Check your buyability only on Zillow.

[Jane]

This is what your year will sound.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Like in the new Lululemon Glow up type. That's the energy of the all new Lululemon Glow Up Titan. Snug above the hips with plenty of stretch through the legs for a fit that feels secure and spring loaded. You'll feel like saying, let's do this to just about anything. Grab your Glow Ups in store [e-mail] now. Why wait until the count of three? You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. Ray Fica, who is the lead singer and the songwriter for the Bedrocks, an Arlington, Virginia group, sends this in, says for your listening pleasure, here's our new single, Crying In My Mind, fresh from Water Street Sound in Georgetown. Congratulations. They're very good, by the way. They are, yes. Congratulations are also in order. As of this writing, you have been installed as the official podcast of the Bedrocks. The fact that you're the only podcast to feature all of our releases had absolutely nothing to do with our decision. You can find Crying In My Mind and other Bedrock's greatest hits on all major music platforms. Thanks for everything you do for independent musicians. Michael if people like the Bedrocks want to send in their original music, how do they do?

[Michael Wilbon]

Send us your music by emailing it to jinglesonyconhirshow.com they're very good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They play in Mark Feinstein and we need to. There's three or four things we need to talk about, and the first thing we need to talk about is, is the bats that the Yankees are using. These are. I have not seen them. They must be pretty good because the Yankees against The brewers hit 300,000 home runs. Now, can you describe the bat? And more importantly, is this legal?

[Mark Feinstein]

Yes, it is legal. Obviously the, you know, I think we're at a point where when you can visually see there's a difference, you have to make sure they're legal because you know you're going to get caught otherwise. This isn't a corked situation like we had back in the 90s with Sammy Sosa. Basically, bats have to be a certain diameter, no more than 2.61 inches, and they can't be more than 42 inches long. Past that, you can sort of tinker around with where you want a certain thickness of the bat. Well, the Yankees, I guess brought in some scientist, physicist, somebody who knows a lot more than you and I do, and they figured out that they were hitting the ball sort of closer to their hands than with that quote unquote sweet spot that we've always been taught to try to hit the ball with. So they basically moved the barrel of the bat, like the thickest part of the bat down a little bit. They called the torpedo bat. I guess it sort of resembles a torpedo. And to this point, they're. They're certainly working out well with 15 home runs in their first series.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fifteen home runs in three games. That's the Nats first and third base for 12 years until this year. That's an unbelievable amount of home runs. And did they unveil these during the regular season? Were they using them in spring training and how soon before every other team in the league uses them?

[Mark Feinstein]

I think a few of the players are using them, and I know Jazz Chisholm was not. And then he decided he would give Anthony Volpe's bat a try during a spring game. And so he grabbed his bat, used Volpe's bat, and hit a home run with it. He said, huh, maybe I'll use these, too. So, you know, it's basically the wood is more concentrated where each hitter is likely to hit the ball. So they're all slightly different. But, you know, I would imagine that if the Yankees continue to bash the ball around the ballpark the way that they have this weekend, that I think more teams, if nothing else, would certainly try it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So this is clearly the product of science and analytics. Clearly. I know Wilburn was analytics junk, but this is clearly the product of science and analytics. And why wouldn't. I don't know who's making these particular bats, what company it is, but why wouldn't every team, seriously, by today at noon, order some?

[Mark Feinstein]

Well, apparently some other teams have tried it. Tampa Bay has a couple of players who have tried them. The Orioles have some players who have tried them. So I think it probably depends on, you know, the players and their comfort with the bat and how they feel it helps them. You know, bats, to me, are very much like golf clubs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Mark Feinstein]

If you feel. If you feel it's the right club, if you feel comfortable with it, you're going to have confidence taking it up there. So, you know, I think. I think the players individually, because I don't know that every player on the Yankees is using them, but based on the weekend, it looked like everybody was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I think they should. What was that great line from Abraham Lincoln? Find out what U.S. grant is drinking and order a case for everybody in the army. Yeah, I mean, if you're banging out 15 home runs, everybody should at least try it, right?

[Mark Feinstein]

Yeah. Well, you know, again, the question Is, will everybody get to face the same pitchers that the Yankees faced? And Milwaukee, I mean, I picked them to win the division. Their pitching stats usually pretty good, and the Yankees just treated them like BP pitchers. So I think we'll have. We'll see. You know, look. And a few of those home runs were those typical Yankee Stadium home runs. You know, I think the first two home runs they had on opening Day would not have been home runs in any other ballpark other than Yankee Stadium. So. But that said, Aaron Judge had four home runs that I think one of them might still be in the air.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Yeah. And by the way, they play in Yankee Stadium, so it's okay for them to tailor their offense to Yankee Stadium.

[Mark Feinstein]

Correct.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Talking about a guy who's not hitting. Rafael Des, not hitting, has struck out 10 times in three games. A, what is going on there? And B, is he going to become a malcontent? Is this at all a product of Bregman coming to the Red Sox?

[Mark Feinstein]

I mean, I can't say that it's not a product of it. He claims it's not. The Red Sox claim it's not. But he. He's over 16 with 12 strikeouts through four games.

[Unknown]

Can you get him one of those bats, please?

[Mark Feinstein]

I'm still trying to confirm that he's actually brought a bat to each one of those plate appearances. He's the first player in history to strike out 12 times in the first four games of the season. And. And it just. It just doesn't look good. That said, you know, I watched Derek cheader go over 32 once. It just happened to be in, like, May when it wasn't, you know, flashing the zeros up on the scoreboard every time you took the bat up to the plate. But I think there's definitely. I'm not saying that these position switch or Bregman's arrival is why he's struggling, but it can't be a total coincidence, right? I mean, he, you know, from the minute Bregman got there and they started toying around with the ideas of who was going to play where, Devers was like, well, I'm the third baseman. That's my position. I'm not moving. Which is not a great look for him as a team player at the time. But you get it. I mean, the Red Sox let Mookie Betts go. They let Xander Bogarts go, and Devers was the guy they committed $300 million to. So you would have thought that he would be the guy that they would say, hey, are you cool with this. And you know, whether he said yes or no, they may not have cared, but now he's a full time dh. I thought it was interesting that Alex Cora came out and said even on days Bregman doesn't play, Devers is not going to play third. So that's a bit of a sort of an eye opening statement of a guy who's, who's been your third baseman for several years. And now you're saying even when the new guy is not going to be out there, we're going to put somebody else at three, not you. So I think that tells you what they think of his defensive prowess. But yeah, I would have to think they're somewhat related.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is this a potential Jimmy Butler situation? Is Rafael Devers gonna just say, I don't want to be here, get me out of here?

[Mark Feinstein]

I mean, it's not impossible because we've seen it, but we don't see that in baseball nearly as much as we see that in basketball or even football. I think I can't remember the last time that a star player under contract for several years came out and just said, that's it, trade me, I'm out. It just doesn't happen that much in baseball. And baseball has a very strong union, as you know. And if there was a, you know, sort of that's the way things went, that would be the way things would go. But I'd be surprised, you know, Bregman in all likelihood opts out after this year if he has a good year and, and goes back to the free agent market. So, you know, the Red Sox have to try to figure out a way to keep Desvers happy. Now. Nobody's going to be happy. 0, 16 with 12 strikeouts. Right? I mean that's, we know that. So a couple hits, maybe home run this weekend, this week, and all of a sudden Rafi Devers will probably have more of a smile on his face than he's had to this point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Max Scherzer got hurt. First outing. Max Scherzer got hurt.

[Mark Feinstein]

Yeah, he's dealing with this thumb injury that's been sort of a lingering issue for him. And he actually left his start with a LAT injury and then wound up being put on the IL with the thumb injury. And he said that the LAT situation is directly related to the thumb problem. He's going to see a hand specialist. You know, I think it's a shame because if you looked at what he was doing in spring training, he was just killing everybody. I mean, he looked like 30 year old Max Scherzer, let alone 40 year old Max Scherzer. So, you know, you sort of like, wow, he actually, if he can stay healthy, he could come back and have a really big year. And the Blue Jays really need him to after signing him for 15 plus million. But now he's, he's back on the IL and he, you know, a little frustrated. He's got to get the thumb injury figured out and he's got to get back to 100% and then, you know, he can look like what he did in spring training. But yeah, it's just, it's been a rough go for Max in his late 30s.

[Tony Kornheiser]

My son tells me you're gonna go to the Masters. You excited about that? Tell me, what are your plans?

[Mark Feinstein]

I don't know. I'm waiting for him to tell me what to do.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, I'm opening it up for the listeners.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, the listeners will tell you what to do. I mean, you gotta call later.

[Mark Feinstein]

This has been the number one item on my sports bucket list for many years and the opportunity presented itself. So my buddy and I are heading down there on Tuesday night. We're going to the practice round, par three on Wednesday, and then we're going Thursday and Friday, coming home on Saturday. So I am ridiculously excited about it. It's like I said, I've played a couple rounds already. There's a couple nice warm days up here in New Jersey. And are they gonna get you guys.

[Michael Wilbon]

Out for a practice round?

[Mark Feinstein]

Just can't wait. Oh yeah, I'm sure.

[Unknown]

Yeah, just ask if you can play.

[Michael Wilbon]

What's the last two time?

[Mark Feinstein]

I just bring my clubs with me and be like, hey, anybody need a course?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is there? I mean, have you thought about. Everybody has to think about this. Do I follow somebody and walk the course or do I alight at some place and sit and watch?

[Mark Feinstein]

Yeah, we've, we've thought about it. I think we might do both since we have a Thursday and a Friday. It just seems like there's, there's an opportunity to at least follow somebody for, you know, four or five holes, something like that. I have no idea what to expect. I mean, I have talked to people who've gone, I've heard about it. I know you can. You get your little chair and you put it down and nobody touches it. Which being a native New Yorker, I can't even fathom the idea that you can just put something down and walk away and it'll just be there two hours later. But yeah, I'm really excited. We got a little airbnb because the hotels down there cost about $9,000 a night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, well, only that week. I mean, if you went down in December, you'd be fine.

[Mark Feinstein]

I don't think. I don't think the Masters is going to move to December, so I think we'll have to just do what we do. But I'm very, very excited. It should be a. It should be a really great experience.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, Michael and I know somebody who usually. What's the. The last par three is 15 or 16.

[Michael Wilbon]

16.

[Tony Kornheiser]

16. We know somebody who marshals that for 100 years. Maybe we can connect yet. Number 16, you can check out to.

[Michael Wilbon]

See the trees that have come down from 16,6t all the way to the ninth fairway. One recommendation, when you guys first arrive, if you can walk at least the second nine in order, I think that is such a great way to see the. The course, get ready for the tournament and just sort of go over all these shots that you remember over the years of watching the Masters and just a good way to catch up with a friend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Very lovely. Oh, so good for you. I'll get you out of here on this. The Nats bullpen stinks beyond anything I've ever seen. Just unbelievably terrible. The first two games. Unbelievably terrible. Someone named Sims and someone named Pooch who's just like a pooch. And then they turn ultimately to Finnegan, who you get a heart attack waiting for him to get any outs at all before walking the bases loaded. What do we make of this?

[Mark Feinstein]

It's not. It's not great. I mean, it's. It's not ideal. Would you like Wander Swarrow back? No, just. Just making sure. Yeah. It's funny. Every time you say Pooch, I laugh. His name is Colin Pache.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It doesn't matter.

[Mark Feinstein]

It doesn't matter. He hasn't earned your respect enough to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, let me just read. I want to read this to you.

[Mark Feinstein]

I know he has both of the losses on the schedule, so he had a year.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He had an infinity ERA in one of them. Here's from Brian Sunox in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a Rays fan, I'm familiar with Colin Pouchett. Here's his scouting report after attending probably 100 games over the past three seasons. One, he stinks. Two, he has a fastball that isn't fast, topping out at 92. Three, he has a slider that doesn't slide. Four, he's well known for blowing leads. Do a Google search and it's one of the first results 5. He stinks. What do we make of that?

[Mark Feinstein]

Well, if he had an infinity era and now it's 54, that means he's moving in the right direction.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, you've got one out you. Yeah, just. Gosh, they. Look. I'd never heard of Sims or Pooch before, and they came in, were terrible two times in a row.

[Michael Wilbon]

But the starters.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Starters were great. Starters have been great.

[Unknown]

Kenzie Gore, I mean, it's great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I think he's.

[Mark Feinstein]

Here's the thing. You can fix bullpens if there's a need. The Nationals actually find themselves in a position where, hey, there's a chance to go for a wild card. Bullpens are the easiest thing to fix come the trade deadline. You can't fix a rotation like that. So if the starters are pitching well, and based on what we've seen so far from Mackenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin, you know, there's. There's at least some hope there in Washington that if you've got a good young rotation, then you got something.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, you go and enjoy Augusta. Have a wonderful time.

[Mark Feinstein]

Thanks, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mark Feinstein, boys and girls. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I am Tony Kornheiser.

[Mark Feinstein]

Why are there ridges on Reese's peanut butter cups? Probably so they never slip from her hands. Could you imagine? I'd lose it? Luckily, Reese has thought about that. Wonder what else they think about. Probably chocolate and peanut butter.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Unknown]

1, 2, 3, 4.

[G]

Here comes Tony's mailbag. Got your email, faxes and your notes. Here comes Mr. Tony's mailbag.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Greg Rosendahl, Lindsay Merrill. Thank you so very, very much. Nigel, you want to do the Bethesda bagel ad?

[Unknown]

Yes, Bethesda bagels. We love them. You will as well. Before I get into the rest of the read, I want to give a special shout out to Aurelio, who is one of the great people who works there, always hands hand delivers the bagel sandwiches we got.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did he wrap them in foil?

[Unknown]

Wrapped in foil today? Very. Thank you, Aurelio. Yes, but that's the bagels we love. Me as well. Just go to the. For the location in the D.C. area nearest you. Then pop it in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And before we get to the mailbag, let me just say. Clearing skies and drying eyes Now I see your smile Darkness goes and softness shows a changing style Just in time Words that rhyme will bless your soul Now I'll fill your hands with kisses and a Tootsie Roll. That's Bruce Johnson's song. He plays with the Beach Boys, but I think that was Disney Girls was on his own. It's really great. It's a beautiful, beautiful tune. Thanks to our guests today, Michael Wilbon and Mark Finesand. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Audacy get show through Apple. Please leave us a review from Mark Pole In Louisville, Kentucky last week I heard about your love for Lindt chocolate on PTI L I N D T and then in the following podcast. I work in brand management for the Hershey Company and previously worked on the Hershey's brand, developing new products and building brand strategy for future growth. While I understand your affection for Lindt, the chocolate you really need to try is Hershey's Symphony Milk Chocolate. Picture is enclosed here for the viewers on News Channel 8. I have had that. It's very, very good. It can be found in every grocery store's candy section in a blind taste test that outperform Lindt, Ghirardelli and all of the other premium chocolates you've heard of. Note there is a toffee and almond offering in addition to the plain milk. My favorite. But I know you don't like the Schmutz. Every year for Christmas I give away bars because my family loves them so much. If you'd be interested in a box of Hershey's and potentially other products, try to let me know. To try, let me know.

[Unknown]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can I be the official chocolate brand marketer for the TK show now? KitKat. I'm not a Kit Kat guy. I'm not a Twix guy.

[Michael Wilbon]

Bootsy. Big Kit Kat.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They have big Kit Kat guys. They have Reese's. I of course love Reese's and spend a lot of money buying Reese's. But Hershey's Symphony milk? Happily, happily. So you take care.

[Unknown]

Yes, we will be in touch thousand.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Times yes from Robert Beaufay. I hope I pronounce that correctly. You and Wilbon are old enough and wise enough to consistently take me back to when and why sports are humanity's greatest asset. This deserves a well earned treat. I heard on the show PTI the other day that you love Lindt. Well, you were on Luck in Luck. I live in Switzerland. I have unfettered access to all the the gloriousness that is Swiss chocolate. It's pre Easter as you know, so the selection is off the chain. Let me know what you want. I will send it like you guys have. I will send it. I like you guys. Have liked you for all these years. A heartfelt thanks from Robert. The pick and mix is the Mrs. And my mind's favorite activity. He sends a giant thing of pictures of chocolate, chocolate bunnies, bunnies all over the place. Lindt Chocolate. Just wonderful. Get in touch with him and get the pick and mix from Nathan ackerhelm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's a summary of the last two podcasts. Wednesday, Mr. Tony is elated that it's opening day and declares it should be a national holiday. His mood is radiant. Friday, Mr. Tony launches into a tirade about the Gnats bullpen and Finnegan's wake. It's one game. I'm depressed. Yes, I am depressed. I didn't sleep.

[Unknown]

How many, how many games did the Nats win, though? Didn't they split the series?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, they got one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They won one out of three.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

Had some late leads in the game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One out of three. And I would say that if you looked at it before the season started, you would have expected you would have said one and two is okay, but it's just the way they lost the two.

[Michael Wilbon]

I was forced to watch it yesterday on gamecast because it was too stressful to watch on tv.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nathaniel Lowe, by the way, is hitting it finally.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You think he's better than Dom Smith? Yeah, he's better than Dom Smith. Thank you. He's better than all of them at first. Drew in Brandon, Manitoba in Canada. It's snowing in Manitoba and Tony is complaining about the Gnats. It must be spring. Alex Teneo in Martinsburg, West Virginia. I know you said you have a lot of toothpaste, but not enough for 261st place. How does 152nd place sound as of Friday afternoon? Of course, I could be killing it after this email. Okay. From Paul Frampton. Episode 283 in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Just woke. More info for you regarding the false claim you read last week in an email about Hulk Hogan almost having the George Foreman Grill in his name. And the proof comes from Pablo Torre. During a recent episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Tory revealed that he'd reached out to the Grill's inventor, Mark Michael Bohm. B O H E M B O E H m About the claim that Hogan missed a phone call that eventually led to Foreman becoming the spokesperson for the product. According to Bohm, that was never the case, and Foreman was the sole celebrity to be approached for the opportunity. We went to the Grill's inventor, Michael Bowman. His family issued a statement to us. They disputed the Hulksters cataloging of events. George Foreman was the only celebrity our dad approached about endorsing the Grill. We don't know who stated the started the story about Hulk Hogan being approached, but it isn't accurate. The agent Hulk Hogan was a guy named cited was a guy named Sam. He repped Hulk Hogan and George Foreman. Unfortunately, Sam passed away last fall. But they shared a lawyer. So passed away. You can't go to him at the moment. Right. The lawyer is a guy named Henry Holmes and he told us the Hulk Hogan story is not my recollection. In fact, it was two other celebrities sharing representation that their agent was talking to me about. Whoa. So it wouldn't have been the Hulk Hogan.

[Unknown]

Guess not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But still we learned that Hulk Hogan drives his kids to school.

[Unknown]

We did love that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That made us happy.

[Unknown]

Very much so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Jason Singleton in Eureka, California. Don't worry, everybody mispronounces my hometown the first time. Indeed, there is a Eureka. Eure. That's Yre. There is a Eureka, California, but it sits on the Pacific coast about four hours from Eureka. Maybe it's Eureka. A couple of fun facts about Eureka. Or why Rica? Maybe it's Yreka.

[Unknown]

Yeah, why Rika?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yreka. Okay, a couple of fun facts about Yreka. We are located 25 miles north of Weed, California. Yes, that Weed, California near the Oregon border on I5. We might have the most famous palindrome in the world. Yreka Bakery spelled backwards is Yreka Bakery. Fantastic. By the way, I have fallen far from the ranks of getting any sort of toothpaste this year. I've got Phil's mom on speed dial for tips for next season. From Andrew Bonds in Richmond, Virginia. Just throwing this out there, but Gene Steretor said my last email should have been read on the air. That's funny. Glenn Choksy, number 295. And Alan, this is Norwegian Soft kids. Yes, with a reference to Mick Jagger on Wednesday show. And considering how you are and burdened by memory, we thought we'd take you on a little journey down memory lane. Do you remember when you joined us for a 199192 winter tour of campuses across the United States to play bass for us?

[Unknown]

Oh yeah, sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The three of us living out of a van for four and a half months as we made our way across the country. Nothing short of stellar. Do you remember when we were playing Saint Louis University and Mick showed up to the gig? Whether you simply pulled that improvised six minute Bass solo out of the ether, or whether you were inspired by having Mick in the house, we don't know. But you remember how by the fifth minute of that solo, the place was going totally insane. And by the sixth minute, Mick had to rush up on stage and tell the crowd to just cool out. And that panty raid you spearheaded along Sorority Row and Laramie. We still laugh about the man as of that night. Thanks for the memories, Tony. You'll always be a kitten to us. Just a brilliant email. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone is always do wear white today for the podcast we only recording about baseball Hammered.

[G]

Word has it you're back in town pinballing all up and down, doing what you love to do. Lights, camera, action on you. How's the view up there from your horse so high? Look down your nose I'm the one waving goodbye. Crying in my mind Thinking through my tears I'll leave it all behind no more crying it in my mind.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Boy.

[G]

We had a hell of a ride. So do so I to I taste cigarettes and beer Sweet music in my ear Only so much a tired heart can take you close the book and then you turn the page. No more crying in my mind Trudging through my tears turning like the tide no more crying in my mind I'm not trying in my Thinking through my tears no need for long.

[Mark Feinstein]

It'S been.

[G]

Too many years what a shame you're all tapped out Another face left in the crowd. Wow. I'm still crying in my mind Playing on my feet Wasting so much time burning away so many years no more crying in my mind Wasting all these years burning so much time no more crying no more crying in my mind oh, no more crying Gotta stop crying gotta stop crying no more flying in my mind Comes and goes leaving crimson and coral purple tones warm from my cheek the sun as it sets in the ocean below. Drink it all in till the waves that turn black and the stars are aflow.

[Mark Feinstein]

Although.

[G]

I know now it's time you'll never know. Just place your bed and make it roll upon this wheel and moving slow and where it stops nobody know. Shadows take control over every shape and curve of the soul Feeling my eyes as they close and I, I fall into darkness below. But everyone knows that the heart never dies when the body gets cold I I'm so. When I. You'll never know Just place your best and make you roll upon this wheel now moving slow and where it starts nobody know now return, you'll never know. Just place your bed and make you roll I promise we now moving slow and where it is nobody knows to stay your bed and dig your home Cuz carrot spill there's no control nobody knows.