“The Good Parking”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – "The Good Parking"

Date: April 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode blends classic "Show" humor and camaraderie as Tony Kornheiser, joined by regulars and sit-ins, recounts a recent night out at a live comedy event, delves into NCAA basketball (men’s and women’s Final Four), shares first-hand impressions of Michael Jordan’s private golf club, and hosts an illuminating segment with NASA scientist Noah Petro detailing the new Artemis II moon mission. The unique perspective and banter amongst Tony, Michael Wilbon, and company touch on aging, sports fandom, family dynamics, space exploration, and—the most important thing—good parking.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Comedy Show Outing: Greg Garcia, Nate Bargatze, and "The Good Parking"

[01:50–09:13]

• Tony shares the saga of attending comedian Nate Bargatze’s live arena show (with Greg Garcia as opening act), emphasizing his reluctance for large outings unless two conditions are met: good seats (suite) and, critically, “good parking.”
• Parking logistics: "Parking is the most important thing. If we don’t get the player lot, we’re not going." (Tony Kornheiser, [04:36])
• The group, including Michael Wilbon’s kids and Liz Wilbon, experience the “loading dock” VIP parking, parking within 200 feet of the exit, right next to the tour bus.
• Family dynamic themes: Matthew Wilbon jokes about now driving Tony and watching him take the back seat (“I'm not driving. It's understood.” – TK, [05:20])
• Food highlights from the suite: The "best chicken tender I’ve ever eaten in my life" (Tony Kornheiser, [06:54]), and communal popcorn.
• Discussion on Nate Bargatze’s family-friendly, non-political and non-vulgar comedic style that appeals across generations.
  • Tony: “If you are a 40-year-old man... and you want to take your children and your parents, you can.” ([08:18])
  • Matthew: “It is predictable. And that’s so important when you’re trying to plan a night out.” ([08:30])

2. Comedy Style Appreciation & Arena Atmosphere

[09:13–11:50]

• Tony and Matthew admire Bargatze's storytelling: “He’s... just like you. He lives in the same world that you live in, but certain things occur to him in a strange way that you don’t see...” (Tony, [10:06])
• Arena humor: Bargatze keeps the show intimate in a giant space ("150 ft above... he brings screens," [09:13]); the challenges for opening comics like Greg Garcia.
• Memorable bit: “How many chickens can you fit in a horse?” (Tony Kornheiser, [11:03])
• Post-show, comedians turn out to be sports fans themselves—spotting Tony as “the guy from PTI”—a meta, mutual appreciation moment.

3. Sports Talk: Nationals’ Pain, Augusta ANWA, and More

[12:00–16:41]

• Tony and friends briefly lament a Nationals bullpen meltdown against the Dodgers.
  • “Nats had a 6–1 lead... he [Perez] has to be DFA'd. I can't believe he's on the team today.” (Tony, [12:18])
  • Silver lining: hitting is up, thanks to new hitting coach Matt Boras (whose brother is a friend of the show).
• Augusta National Women’s Amateur ("ANWA") review: a showcase of young talent, near-collapses, and major comebacks.
  • Matthew gives a play-by-play of Maria Jose Marin’s victory, the pressures of Amen Corner, and the significance of the event for women’s golf.
  • “Anytime you can see Augusta, sit down, see it. Sit down and see it. And you'll be able to see it all this week.” (Tony, [16:20])
• Family anticipation of Masters Week and Tony's “aging parent” status is joked about in car navigation and parking chatter.

4. Aging, Family, and Role Reversals

[16:47–17:04]

• The group reflects on jokes from the comedy event about role reversals—children caring for parents.
  • Tony: “You know that this is it. I'm the aging parent.” ([16:47])
  • Liz: "Changing of the guard." ([16:51])

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Interview Segment: Michael Wilbon

[19:40–34:38]

1. Grove XXIII – Michael Jordan’s Private Golf Club

[19:40–24:33]

• Wilbon describes his awe after playing Michael Jordan’s exclusive golf course ("Grove 23"), calling it a "singular" accomplishment for a Black man in America.
  • “For Jordan to do it... this is singular. I don’t know anybody else... who in that way is like me and my son. And the answer is no damn body.” (Wilbon, [21:42])
• Star-studded potential sightings, but primarily relished the location, the company, and the personal experience.

2. NCAA Men's & Women’s Final Four Reactions

[24:44–36:58]

• Men's Final Four:
  • UConn's dominance, Illinois' predictable fall, and Michigan’s blowout of Arizona are analyzed.
  • Hurley’s coaching highlighted: “He’s great. Historically great coach.” (Wilbon, [27:04])
  • Tony and Wilbon debate evenly-matched UConn/Michigan final prospects.
• Women’s Final Four:
  • Focus on UCLA’s Kiki Rice and Wilbon’s personal/family connection.
  • Tony roots for UCLA as a change from usual East/South dominance.
  • The team praises senior leadership in defense and notes the shifting nature of program stability in the transfer portal era.
  • Wilbon sharply criticizes UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s post-game sportsmanship and his public dishonesty:
    • “He was both so small and petty and a liar, a public liar to boot, and still hasn't apologized directly...” (Wilbon, [34:05])

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Interview Segment: NASA's Noah Petro on Artemis II

[40:55–52:11]

• Mission Summary: Artemis II launched April 1st, carrying four astronauts for a lunar flyby—the first manned trip near the moon in 50+ years.
  • Crew: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, scientist Christina Cook, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
• Government vs. Private Effort: This specific Artemis mission is "fully NASA," with private vendors only involved in future missions.
• Historical Context:
  • Last moon visit: Apollo 17 (1972).
  • Previous returns to Earth-orbit-only focus; Artemis is the first deep-space manned push since then.
• Why Return? & Mars ambitions:
  • Tony asks: “Is it important to go to Mars?” ([47:43])
  • Petro explains both the practical (technological advancements, knowledge of Earth’s history) and spiritual (curiosity, species-wide achievement) motives.
• Living on the Moon:
  • Artemis' goal is to develop extended lunar habitation as a precursor to Mars—eventual "moon base" for longer stays, prepping for multi-year Mars missions.
  • “[We] want the lunar missions to build up to weeks and months in duration and then to turn into something like the ISS where people are living there...” (Noah Petro, [46:00])
• Astronaut Commitment:
  • Being an astronaut now means a possible multi-year commitment away from planet Earth, with prospect of first Mars trip open for this new class.
  • "[Astronauts] all sign up with the notion... maybe I will be on one of those early test missions to go to Mars as well..." (Noah Petro, [49:58])
• Events: NASA TV coverage of Artemis II’s lunar flyby—"put the kids in front of the TV" ([51:07]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On parking:
  "Parking is the most important thing. Like when we go to see the Nats… If we don't get the player lot, we're not going. It's as simple as that." – Tony Kornheiser ([04:48])

• Comedy universal appeal:
  “He does not curse… not do politics… So… if you want to take your children and your parents, you can.” – Tony Kornheiser ([08:18])

• On Michael Jordan’s legacy:
  “For a black man in America to conceive of, execute, own, and operate… the vision to do what he did, this is singular.” – Michael Wilbon ([21:42])

• On Geno Auriemma post-game:
  “A public liar to boot, and still hasn’t apologized directly to the coach he offended… you got to walk across the floor and say, hey, you got me today. I got to eat that.” – Michael Wilbon ([34:05])

• On Artemis II's big picture:
  “That’s one of the benefits of Artemis… very different than Apollo… we are doing this and the 'we' is bigger than just the U.S.” – Noah Petro ([49:20])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Start | End | |:----------------------------------------------|:--------|:--------| | Comedy Night Recap & Parking Obsession | 01:50 | 09:13 | | Nationals Blues & Augusta Women’s Amateur | 12:00 | 16:41 | | Aging Parents & Role Reversals | 16:47 | 17:04 | | Michael Wilbon on Grove XXIII | 19:40 | 24:33 | | NCAA Final Four Men’s & Women’s Review | 24:44 | 36:58 | | NASA’s Noah Petro: Artemis II Deep Dive | 40:55 | 52:11 |

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Tone, Language & Show Flavor

• Conversational, irreverent, blend of nostalgia and present day worries
• Sports deeply personal, as is family, aging, and friendship
• Technical topics (NASA segment) made accessible via show’s informal, questioning approach
• Plenty of digressions, personal anecdotes, and recurring “Show” obsessions (food, parking, aging)

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Useful For…

• Fans seeking Tony and Wilbon’s takes on current NCAA tournaments
• “Littles” who love the show for its personal stories, running themes, and curmudgeonly humor
• Anyone interested in NASA’s upcoming moon missions made understandable (and funny)
• Listeners looking for laughs about life, sports, and the unavoidable advance of age

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Note: Ad breaks, intros/outros, and non-content sections are intentionally omitted.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will talk to Michael Wilbon about the men's and women's final four. We'll also chat with Noah Petro, our man at NASA, about the Artemis II mission. But first, how about a little commerce,

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[Show Announcer]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You pay for trainers, you pay for vets.

[Michael Wilbon]

You pay for everything. And we named, and we named our

[Noah Petro]

stables Tony Stables after you. So I got to write these checks to Tony Stables. So you're part of the losing team. Whether you like it or not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I've always been, it's okay.

[Noah Petro]

What does it cost to put a hit out on a horse? Can you put a hit out on a horse?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's. I guess there are that guy from

[Michael Wilbon]

the Godfather still around cartoon.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

Yeah.

[Show Announcer]

The Tony Kornheiser show is on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That was the voice of Greg Garcia that was on this show later that night. Yes, later that night we went to see Greg perform. Greg was the put Greg to work that day. Yes. Greg was the opening comedian. Here's how it works. We went and I've been pronouncing the name wrong for years.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

We've tried to tell you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I keep saying Nate Bargazzi. It's Nate Bargetzi.

[Liz Wilbon]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Even though there's an A in there. Yeah, It's Nate Bar Getsi. So we talked about playing golf.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And now we go to see the show. There are. I think you know me. I don't like to go out and I don't like to stay up. So to get me to go to anything. Excuse me. Is rather difficult. But I wanted to see Greg Perform. I wanted to see Nate perform. I wanted to go. I didn't think I'd stay the whole time.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Wanted to see Nate perform. And sort of. Greg was to get to Nate.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes. But also. So let me say this. It's thrilling to me that Greg, who started out as the board op, has had the incredibly fabulous career that he's had creating shows, writing shows, filming shows, directing, producing, all of that with great success. Did very, very well. Yes. And now to say I think I'll do standup, What I think I'll do.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I haven't felt nervous in a while.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So he was the first guy out there, is the host. That's the toughest job because you have to pump up the crowd. You have to introduce the different comedians, you have to try to be funny yourself, and then you have to get out of the way as if you never exist.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

And this is not a 200 seat, you know, seated club arena.

[Liz Wilbon]

Not an open mic night.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

20,000 people. They're up in the raft big house. 20,000 people for a comedian. Not for a musical act. For a comedian. So that guy has a tough job. And there's four different comics, all of whom are wonderful. I don't remember all their names. They were all wonderful. And then Nate went out there. So to get me to go, because I don't want to go, a couple of things have to happen.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

You're looking for any excuse not to go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A couple of things have to happen. One is. And I know I'm gonna go. Yeah. But one is, I've gotta have a seat that I like. I don't really want to sit on the floor. I don't. It's okay. Everything has screens. It's a television experience. It's okay. So they get us sweets, seats in a suite with mostly Greg's friends and family, right? Yeah, mostly Greg's. And that's fine. That's wonderful. That's way up on the top. More important than that. More important than everything. As you know, if you listen to this show, is parking.

[Liz Wilbon]

Oh, yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Parking is the most important thing.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

That's the focus of my supplemental essay for the University of Pennsylvania admissions process.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. So it's the most important thing, the good parking. Like when we go to see the Nats.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

The good parking.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We have to get the A lot parking. Players lot. Yeah. If we don't get the player lot, we're not going.

[Liz Wilbon]

It's the point.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's as simple as that. We're not going. The parking is the most important thing. Now, Michael And Liz are coming with us, and they are doing that thing that they have dreaded that their whole young adult lives, which is begin to take care of their aging parents.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I've been at that place for a while, but I think this is the first time that Liz has seen it up close and personal in the car ride, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

And so Tony goes right into the back seat like a sheep. Right into the back seat.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

The best is you just hand me the car. The car keys.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's no question at this point, I'm not driving. Yeah, I'm not driving.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

It's understood.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And we have parking. You're not going to know what the place looks like. But we drive right up to the arena, and there's a thing called the loading dock where all the important things come in and go out, and we say something to a guy, and the door opens, and we park next to the tour bus. We park 200ft from the exit. Correct next to the tour bus. So we know when it's time to leave. We're gonna get out.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

So this starts a day before I'm talking to Nate and Greg on the golf course. Just how I want to get my parents down to the show goes, not a problem. He's like, I think they're gonna give me a couple of concessions here. I'm doing two nights at the arena. So after the show, Greg starts texting me. There's gonna be a guy. There's gonna be an entrance. It's not gonna be the entrance. You think, you know when you see the parking lot sign, you've gone too far. Back up 100ft, there's gonna be the loading dock signage. And you just have to trust the process. Eventually someone comes and finds you. They explain the situation, and you get access to.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was brilliant. The entire show was brilliant. Now, the one mistake I made was not availing myself of the food beforehand.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

The food wasn't really for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. It was for the comedians and their immediate families. But they said, do you want some food?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Because you're staring at the fridge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I wanted food. I should have gotten food. But I will say this.

[Liz Wilbon]

You have any bread in the pocket?

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is a remarkable thing. I'm going to say for people that

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I'm glad I brought you the concessions.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Twenty minutes later, Michael and Liz go out into the hallway, and they go out and they get some food. And one of the things they get is popcorn, which is great. Stadium popcorn is always great. It's always great. The chicken tender that I had was the best chicken tender. I've ever eaten in my life. This is at a ballpark. It's a basketball and hockey.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

There are different levels of fry and the batter that you get when you get a chicken tender. And at a stadium, they have to stay crunchy for a long time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's just I really was great. I had one and it was great. I had enough to eat. I knew I was going to get home eventually and not starve to death. I also knew that if I needed to, I could stop along the way and get food. I know where the food is.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

You weren't tipping your driver, so I

[Tony Kornheiser]

was not tipping my driver.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

The straight hope.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was wonderful. The comedians were all wonderful and Nate was wonderful. Now, you need to understand this and maybe this is one of the keys to his success. He does not curse. He does not do what is called blue material. He does not do suggestive material, sexually suggestive material, and he does not do politics. He avoids the bad stuff that alienate a certain amount of people in the crowd. So if you are a 40 year old man or about to be 40 and you want to take your children and your parents, you can.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

And we saw this because our neighbor, as we found out the day before, everybody we know and it was three generations, it was plus one and minus one. And for us, we could have taken our oldest, we could not have taken the middle and the youngest just for the night out.

[Michael Wilbon]

But right, right, it is.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I mean this in the best possible way. It is predictable. And that's so important when you're trying to plan a night out and just talking to Nate and seeing the entire operation. It's so professional from the moment you walk into the arena and it's just trying to guarantee that you have a night out. The entire show recognizes that it's an expensive luxury item to go out to see a performance and they want to give you a good one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And it was great. He's great. He doesn't even announce the name of the tour, which is the Big Dumb Eyes tour, which I'm sure he thinks he has Big dumb eyes. Michael and I have talked about this. He is a storyteller. The stories have a beginning and a middle. They don't necessarily have an end. He moves off a story, you know, and moves on.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Sometimes he comes back to it, but so much of his delivery is these abrupt starts and turns and just sort of these knowing winks, which is why the screens that he brings are part of the show, which is hard to think of when it's an arena, but it makes it intimate. Even if you were up where we were sitting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And we were 150ft above where he was at the tip off circle in the basketball gym. That's where he was.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Yeah. And he does this in the round. So it's a stage that's down, but he's trying to intentionally move.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Greg had to learn to move. You know, all the comedians learned to move.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yeah, the movement on stage.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, but. And they were all great. They were all great. And also you. You want them to be great. You're there for them to be great. And so you're happy. When they make you laugh, you're happy. I'm not much of a laugher. I'm a smiler. I appreciate comedy. I appreciate how good somebody is in essence. And Michael will. Will take this after I just give him the ball on this. But in essence, what Nate Bargettsy is, is he's just like you. He lives in the same world that you live in, but certain things occur to him in a strange way that you don't see in a strange way. And he is able to take that exit off the highway and bring you with him. And it's fully and completely satisfying. I mean, there's no. It's not. There's no surprise twist. There's no surprise ending. He's not showing off. He's taking you with him as he talks about the world he lives in. And he talks about it in an ironic, funny, brilliant way.

[Michael Wilbon]

And it just.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

It's the types of observations that we all would feel in the same way that you recognize Seinfeld and Kirby, go like, okay, that makes sense. Or that's an extreme version of my life. You'd say, this happens to me a million times every day. And he's describing it in a way that's actually funny, but it feels like it's the same thing you're experiencing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He got to a point early, the opening bit that he did, which was ultimately came down to, how many chickens can you fit in a horse? Which is like an absurd concept, except for somebody like me who understands how many chickens there are when somebody is in the chicken business. Well, let me review from a couple of years ago. What's a lot of chickens, Tony? Like, if you thought somebody had a lot of chickens, I don't know, 30,000 seems like a lot. How about 8 million? So anyway, so they invited us, all of us, before the show to say hello and all of us after the show to say hello. It was a great experience. I'm never doing it again. I mean, it Was just. But you did it wonderful. And then it turns out you say, what am I doing here? And it turns out that the comedians watch espn. They watch pti.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

You see them after the show, they've performed not even 15 minutes ago. They're all watching basketball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

And they look at Tony with recognition, go, you guys are actually doing the tough stuff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And like saying, no, no, no, we watch you. So it's just crazy. A couple of things happened in sports over the weekend. I just want to mention them. One, I hate the Nats. Now, I love the Nats, but I hate the Nats. Nats had a 61 lead on the Dodgers yesterday. Bullpen came in, it ended. It's going into the eighth to six. Well, six three in the eighth.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It ended eight to six, Dodgers. And this guy Perez, this, he has to be dfa like, I can't believe he's on the team today. He cannot be on the team today. He has to be designated for assignment. He. What did he face? Five batters got no outs and they all scored. They all scored either off him or off the next guy who came in.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

And this was against the Dodgers, who did not have all their starters. But you saw the players who were making some hits top to bottom. They're still so very good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're the Dodgers.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

My one takeaway for you is, you know, we were talking about whether you were surprised or angry. I mean, I was not surprised. I was more just angry in the moment. But you look, you remove yourself from the three game series. They put up 17 runs. Do you know how many times they did that in 2025 in a three game series?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Probably once at the most.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Maybe once or twice.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I think there's no series or something.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're hitting. We know.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

And it was not like there was a 15 ending game that they had. No, they're all getting.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We know the brother of the hitting coach. We know the brother. The hitting coach's first name, its last name is Bor.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Schultz. Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, we know. We know the brother who was a member at Columbia. We played golf with him. His brother is the mat. Is the new hitting coach. Andrew is our friend.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Matt is the new hitting coach and he's doing a great job. Yeah. But you know what still stinks with the new GM and the new manager? The bullpen still stinks.

[Liz Wilbon]

To get that right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's where they're losing. They've had Cade Cavalli and this guy Griffin yesterday.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

There's two games. You're thinking of the game Yesterday and then the getaway game against the Phillies game earlier where it actually broke down in a similar way. But bullpen has actually held a couple of there too, but still early. And if you had a competitive team, the bullpen is what you can fix at the deadline.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, it's not a competitive team. It's not. But in any case, I watch and I love them in my own strange way. And you wanted to talk about the lovely event that Augusta, what they now call the Anwar.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I think this is now one of the biggest events in all the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Amateur, yes. And it's the unofficial kickoff to Masters week. And you saw Maria Jose Marin come back to win with a decisive birdie on six played at Arkansas, although it already had sort of fallen into the,

[Tony Kornheiser]

into the tally had, had gone Astros tally Little star.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

So she's had two top tens at this tournament previously. She's a commit to Stanford. This looked like it looked like she

[Tony Kornheiser]

was going to win it.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

A practice round for the Stanford women's golf team. You had Condoleezza Rice standing on the back of nine watching these women play through. She had not made a bogey the entire tournament. Steps up onto the T of 12 after having made her first bogey on 11. She's now tied with Marine Miss clubs, goes Long, makes the mistake that often happens. You start moving faster and faster and you get to that point of aim in corner where you're by yourself in your thoughts. She redrops in the bunker, goes in the water again, makes this unbelievable up and down from the Jordan speed spot on the other side and makes about a nine footer to save the quad. Comes back with a birdie on the next as they're doing an interview with Roars wearing his ANGC hat. And he's just trying to say if you had to tell her one thing right now goes, anything can happen at this point golf course. So she finishes the round. This tournament's, I think it's in its seventh iteration and it just comes up with something new every year. It's exciting when she walks off the course. She gets the, the hug from Bryson who says it'll be, you know, essentially it'll be okay. You're gonna have your chances. But it's just become such an important piece. You have past champions. You saw Anna Davis finish a few hours before the eventual winner. You have these cool pipelines where Arkansas has another winner. You saw Maria Fassi who was going down the, you know, down the last with Jennifer Kupcho in the, in the Original. So fantastic tournament. You're always wondering what happens when you have some of these competitors.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Didn't Rose win that one?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

She did, and that was at the sort of the two year cycle where she was winning everything.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is she even on the Tour anymore?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

She's had a tough, I think, year and a half now. And I don't know if it was health related or just, you know, falling out of. Out of form. But a really cool championship and just fun to see the types of players who are going through the drive, chip and putt, which happens on Sunday, who then go on to compete in the Women's Amateur. And just to see what that means for the whole week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anytime you can see Augusta, sit down, see it. Sit down and see it. And you'll be able to see it all this week. All this week.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I'm very excited for a certain wife of mine to see the course for her first time in person.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yeah, it's going to be fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you don't have to take me. I don't have to sit in the back seat and chirp. You sure you want to park here? You can get around.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Do you trust that right turn? I think we should maybe take the right onto ninth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So I just.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

We're going all the way to seventh. Okay, we'll see.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know that this is it. I'm the aging parent.

[Liz Wilbon]

Changing of the God.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I can still walk.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

But the best is for a couple of. For the couple of the comedians. There are these lines about aging parents and the role reversals. You're like, oh, no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Not to the extreme of Greg's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, not the extreme of Greg's. Not Greg's.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, most of it is. Is like, oh, yeah. My parents are in assisted living and my mother said to me, it's really nice. There's a gate to keep people out. And you go, well, if that's what you think it's for, that's what you think it's for. Implication being it's to keep you in. Just so you know. All right, we will take a break. Michael Wilbon. When we return. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Protein is now at Starbucks and it's

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

never tasted so good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can add protein cold foam to

[Noah Petro]

your favorite drink or try one of

[Tony Kornheiser]

our new protein lattes or matcha.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

I'm running away.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Try it today at Starbucks. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. You know that moment when something breaks in your home and you think, okay, who do I even call for this because suddenly it's not just one thing. It's three different projects and zero time to figure it all out. That's exactly why Angie has been so helpful. It's the place to go when you need to hire skilled local pros who can handle just about everything around your home. Angie has been around since 1995, and over the years, homeowners have turned to them for hundreds of millions of projects, so they really know the ins and outs of getting things done. Well, what makes it easy is how streamlined everything is. You just answer a few quick questions and Angie connects you with local pros who fit your specific project. You can check out reviews from people nearby, compare quotes, and find your best price without spending hours searching. And whether it's a quick repair, a deep clean, or a full remodel, Angie has pros covering over a thousand different types of projects, so you're not bouncing between a bunch of different places trying to figure it out. Download the free Angie app today or visit angie.com that's a n g I.com

[Show Announcer]

you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Jeff Plankenhorn with a song called Alone at Sea. This is sent to us by Barry Finkenberg in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, who says, I met Jeff Plankenhorn, who performs as Jay Plank, when my brother hosted him at a house concert in Kailua Kona. At dinner, Jeff and I were discussing singer songwriters we admire Mired. I mentioned Dan Byrne. Jeff smiled and said, every songwriter he knows thinks the world of Dan. In sports parlance, Jeff is a five tool guy, sings, plays, writes, produces and performs in an enjoyable professional manner. Never fails to entertain. And this is Alone at Sea. We will have more from J. Plank later in the show, but he plays in Michael Wilbon. We need to start in chronological order. How was Florida and how was Grove 23?

[Michael Wilbon]

It was great. It was great. It was great, great, great. Grove 23 is all I care about. I don't care about Florida. Grove 23 was. It wasn't great. It was. I don't have bucket list items anymore. I've been able to with the travel I've had. I got a couple. I have not been to Sub Saharan Africa to go on safari, which I will hopefully shortly. But other than that, I don't know that I have a bucket list item. And this wasn't on my. I didn't. This wasn't on any list I have. But as I did it, as I was on the property having the experience, you know, you were just There it was like, this is not like nothing I've ever done. And it was just, it was enjoyable on a 1 to 10 scale. A 10. And all of it, all of it from soup to nuts. And I was able to, you know, to play there with my son and with Alan and it was, it just, it's overwhelming how enjoyable the experience was and to, you know, there's something profound about it for me, Tony. And yes, I've known Michael Jordan, you know, for pretty much my whole adult life and certainly his whole adult life, he's Michael Jordan. And you have to sort of separate that from what I'm about to say. For me, for a black man in America to conceive of, execute, own and operate to have the vision to do what he did, this is singular. I don't know anybody else, anything like this. And for Jordan to do it. And I know people listen will say this is so stupid as Michael Jordan. Yeah, well, okay, so like who else has it? Who else has anything like this? Who in that way is like me and my son? And the answer is no damn body.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

And so I, you know, I was, it was, there was something profound about it beyond just, my God, this place is beautiful. Everybody's gonna have that. And it was, it was just, it was extraordinary. So, you know, I don't give a damn about Florida anytime ever. But that was, man, man, I don't know like what else I got left that's going to affect me in that sort of way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They have famous people there every day, mostly sports. Famous people. Who did you see?

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, I wouldn't really see anybody because we got there later. I mean we didn't get in. I didn't get in the my into Florida. I landed in Miami at, with a delayed flight from, from DCA at 1:00am and I got, I got to be at like 3:30. So I was not getting up to do a Tony Kornheiser time to your time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

7:50 in, you know, in anywhere. So we got there late. We missed it. People you could see, but we could see they were there and we knew they were on property at the time. Wayne Gretzky was there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's there every day.

[Michael Wilbon]

Would love to have seen Wayne and Brooks Koepka was there and he's there a lot, I'm told. And we didn't smoke. Yeah, we didn't, we didn't see people because we were, we were, we didn't finish up until you know, like, you know, 6:30, which is perfect for me because you Know, I like to be in the afternoon. And of course, we saw the proprietor. We saw the author.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Of this place. We saw 23. Just. It's just, you know, just extraordinary.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Glad you had a good time. When did you go to Arizona?

[Michael Wilbon]

The next Friday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon]

So that was like Tuesday. So we were there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We flew, you know, to Arizona and got here Friday afternoon in time for me to do PTI with you and then get in front of the television to watch two games and be here. Be here this weekend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you. Have you played golf in Arizona?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, no.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Have you watched baseball in Arizona?

[Michael Wilbon]

No, no, no. Baseball. No, I wasn't gonna. You know, I'm in Arizona. This is perfection here. Sitting outside or falling asleep in a rocking chair. I'm an old man in Arizona and that's my own bucket list creation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's what I do here. I'm not, you know, I'm not trying to do much anything. So. No, because like I said, we got here late Friday and there were games on and that consumed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let's talk about that. Let's start with the men's final four because that's the big attraction tonight. So you have UConn against Illinois and you have Michigan against Arizona. And the Michigan, Arizona game is the feature game because they are two ones that are still in this thing and it turns out to be a non game. It's stunning, right? A stunner. It's a non game.

[Michael Wilbon]

Was not. No way. I'm expecting that. No way. A couple of times, you know, you know, the first half you're looking at it and you're like, each game. Well, I really did not think. I did not think Illinois could beat UConn. I didn't really. No, I didn't know. No, because. No, Illinois has no history of winning those kinds of games. As a matter of fact, Illinois has a history of not winning those kind of games. And I thought that Wagler was a guy who was in his element. You can see it at the end of the game, that kid had decided, give me the damn ball. And he makes two great plays to get them within four. He makes the driving, twisting, spinning, NBA style bucket and then he hits a deep three. But they don't have the big kid who could actually get at 7, 1 2, 55, could get himself in the lane and get a shot and then would miss the rim from the lane.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

He would miss the sand from the beach. So no, no, no, Illinois was not going to be UConn and Arizona Michigan. Going into that game, like you and most people, I didn't know what to think. But we did pretty shortly. Didn't take long.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did not take long at all. Did not take long at all. I mean, I thought that was truly disappointing. I'm glad it was a late game so I could just go to bed. I thought. I thought the UConn game was a very good game. UConn is now. Every time I watch them, with the exception of the Marquette game, even the St. John's games where they either win by 50 or lose by. You know what I mean? They are. To me, they are very entertaining.

[Michael Wilbon]

And you and I, potential champion.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. We may differ on Hurley. I don't think we differ on our assessment of Hurley as a coach. He's great.

[Michael Wilbon]

There's nothing to differ on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's great.

[Michael Wilbon]

He's a great coach. He's great. Historically great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Coach.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Period. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is his third final game in four years. And the shooter. Caravan. This is his third. Has anybody. I guess a couple of Duke kids have done this three and four years. And UCLA must have done it. Grant did it. But it's so rare.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, of course, it's. Yeah. Nobody stays since Grant. And that was 1994. That's 32 years ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know. It's. It's. Yeah, it's. He's got great players. He coaches them to be great. They fulfill it. They get every element of it. They have size, they have skills, they have depth. They have. They. They play hard as hell.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The fresh, the freshman kid has now made two game winning shots. His three the other night gave them the margin to win.

[Michael Wilbon]

That was the big shot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Who do you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who do you. Can you see UConn beating Michigan?

[Michael Wilbon]

Of course.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think they will?

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't know. I feel like. I feel about this game now. I can tell about Arizona, Michigan. I don't know. They're equals. They're heavyweights. Why wouldn't UConn win? Well, you could. What? You can. Ucon, NC State, Virginia, Valvano. No, UConn is UConn. They've won. They've. They've been in the final game three of the last four years. Of course they can win.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you think they will win?

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't know. I have no idea. I have no idea. I wouldn't bet the game. So I have. I don't. I don't have any favorite, it looks like.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I thought you had a fair. Michigan's a Big Ten team. I assume you're rooting for them.

[Michael Wilbon]

I'm rooting for them. Yeah. I'm rooting for and thinking they're going to win are two different things.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's dead even game. I have no idea what the betting line is, nor do I care.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't think that matters.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right. But these are two heavyweights. Is Frazier, Ali. So what? Somebody's supposed to be shocked if they. No, no, no. Somebody's gonna be surprised if you wins. If anybody's surprised that Yukon wins, they're a fool.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I just hope it's not a lousy game. Like the women's game was lousy. It was terrible. Awful. Was just awful. What are your thoughts on that?

[Michael Wilbon]

Not a good game. I mean, I don't care tariff. I don't need to be, you know, Arch Campbell on it. I don't care that game. I cared who won. Right. I wanted Kiki Rice to win ucla. I don't care about ucla. I wanted Kiki Rice, a young woman who is like, you know, her family is an extension of my family. The Rice family. John and Andrea and they're children, and Mateo and Kiki and Susan and, you know, the Rice family and the Wilbond family watched all the Saturday night games together between rooting for Kiki on Friday and Sunday. So I went to yesterday's game, and I didn't. I wasn't looking for aesthetic quality. I'm looking for. I didn't. I don't know that. If you had asked me, what chance do I give UCLA to win yesterday at. At, you know, noon local time when I'm in the car driving to downtown Phoenix for the game, I would have said on a. On a 1 to 10. I would have said a 4.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, that's the most I would have gone. It's the most I would have gone. But I will say this, and I learned this because I don't. I don't know anything about these teams. I was rooting for UCLA partially because of your relationship with Kiki Rice, but partially because, you know, I wanted a team outside of the east and south to win. You know, I wanted a Western team to win. This thing. Been a long time. In my mind's eye, I've got South Carolina, Tennessee, UConn. They're all, you know, east of the Mississippi. And I. I don't know any Western team that's ever won. I'm sure there is one, but I don't know it. Like, LSU is as far west as it goes, and that's not even west to me, although I Guess she won with Baylor at one point, I guess. But no, no west coast teams. And then I found out they were all seniors. And I thought, how great is this? And next year they'll win one game, but how great is that? Right?

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, transfer. With transfer portal, you never know anymore. You don't. You don't have to grow a team. You can just shop for one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Michael Wilbon]

So it was great. Just, just great to sit there and watch somebody that, you know and that family that has done this since Sidwell and before, to win a national championship and be. In my opinion, I'm not going to sit here and argue that Kiki Rice was or needed to be voted the best player, the most outstanding player, but she was the best player on the floor. They couldn't at the time in which the game was competitive, which wasn't much, there were times where South Carolina would not allow UCLA to get the ball across the half court and she just. Kiki out twice. Corey took Kiki out twice and had to bring her back in after a possession because everybody in the stadium could see they couldn't get the ball across the court.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Without her on the floor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Absolutely true. But the defense that UCLA played against Texas was.

[Michael Wilbon]

And against South Carolina, under 50, man,

[Tony Kornheiser]

they held them to half their normal amount of points.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, whoever is teaching that, that. And you can do that with seniors because they've done it for four years,

[Michael Wilbon]

you know, amazing to watch that element.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

And, you know, the other thing, Tony, I think, to be fair is I think that South Carolina. And I said this in a text to a couple of people, including John Rice. I think I said, I think South Carolina was spent. I think their match up with UConn, it took everything that team had, understandably, to beat undefeated UConn. And so nobody had that. Let me now pound myself on the back but me. Nobody. Nobody. Not Stephen A. Not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Michael Wilbon]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You had South Carolina winning. You had the winning.

[Michael Wilbon]

I looked into the camera and loudly said, south Carolina is going to beat UConn.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they. They beat him badly. And by the way, if you watch the game yesterday, the coach at South Carolina, who has won three of these things, she knew her team was beaten and she didn't. She didn't jump around. She didn't go nuts with 10 minutes to go when you're down 30, she just said, okay, okay, this is. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Yeah. No, I thought, by the way, four men's programs have appeared in four Final Four players. Four players Rather have appeared in four Final Fours. Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, Greg Kubeck, all at Duke. And Ralph Drollinger, Remember him? He was the backup center of ucla. Four, four. Not many, but this is three.

[Michael Wilbon]

It's an incredible thing, but I thought South Carolina was spent and they were spent. And I'm going to take one line to just say that it's too bad that South Carolina had to have his great moments stolen by a guy who is the most important adult in his sport. Gino Oriema, for his just awful, regrettable, unforgivably rotten moments of sportsmanship. When the basic thing you're supposed to do is after a game, shake someone's hand. We teach our children that. And then to lie repeatedly to the public about what happened and what he saw happen. They ripped my shirt. Those thugs ripped my player's shirt. No, your own player ripped her shirt. Because we got TVs Gino. And then to issue a half hearted apology. A half hearted apology where he doesn't apologize to the person, doesn't name the person he most offended. Right. And then to just be a liar, to be small and petty and thuggish and, you know, it raises other questions for me, which I won't get into, about Gino Oriemma to. He knows all the buttons you can push in women's basketball. He knows them all because he's with all these women all his life, every day. And these cultivated relationships make him a giant in addition to the winning. But then he was both so small and petty and a liar, a public liar to boot, and still hasn't apologized directly to the coach. Then he offended, then he snubbed. So, you know, that unfortunately had to be a storyline when it shouldn't, because just because you're not up to it because your team gets his ass kicked, you got to walk across the floor and say, hey, you got me today. I got to eat that. Even though we were undefeated. And so that, you know, the stench of that was hard to get rid of for me, I'm sure that South Carolina probably did because they were playing for national championship, but. But it took so much to win that game. That game was, wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you remember when Wisconsin did that? Do you remember when Wisconsin did that and then lost to Duke, who they

[Michael Wilbon]

beat in the semitone?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I want to say it's Kentucky. I'm not certain, but I remember how great that game was. And the next day they had nothing left. They had nothing.

[Michael Wilbon]

But, you know, but by the time I left the arena yesterday, I was happy I was back on one note at the beginning of the end of basketball season tonight we ended with Kiki Rice with it with again a kid that has shot baskets at my house here in Arizona with Matthew to see her win a national championship and be a prominent reason that that team was able to win. Obviously she and Lauren Betts. And I was asking people at the game yesterday, where do you where is Lauren Betts going to be chosen? And the only answers I got for two days were one. And then I saw some projections that say two or three or five, but they don't say anything lower than that. And so good for ucla. I mean, they get to hang a

[Tony Kornheiser]

banner with, with John Wooden's out. That's right.

[Michael Wilbon]

Come on now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. All right, I'll talk to you later.

[Michael Wilbon]

All right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So Michael Wilbon, boys and girls. We will come back with Noah Petro of NASA and he's going to explain this thing that's orbiting Mars or orbiting the moon. I don't know. What did boots he say? Is it orbiting Mars?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

It's working there. Eventually.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Eventually going to Mars. I don't know. I have no idea if it's possible. I have no idea.

[I]

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Brewing company. No matter how you do game day on the couch, in the crowd or manning the snack table, Athletic Brewing fits right in with a full lineup of non alcoholic beer styles you can enjoy. Bold flavors all game long. No hangovers, no buzz, no subbing out for water in the second half. Stock the fridge for tip off with a variety of non alcoholic craft styles available at your local grocery store or online at athleticbrewing.com near Beer Fit for all times.

[Show Announcer]

K Pop Demon Hunters, Saja boy's breakfast meal and hunt tricks meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that, Rumi? It's not a battle. So glad the Saja boys could take

[Tony Kornheiser]

breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.

[Michael Wilbon]

It is an honor to share.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, it's our honor.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

It is our larger honor.

[Show Announcer]

No, really stop. You can really feel, feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side

[Michael Wilbon]

and participate in McDonald's while supplies last.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show Once again, this is Jeff Plankenhorn who performs as J. Plank. This is called you can't break me again sent in by Barry Finkenberg who says, can I be the official old guy in Hawaii Little? He sends along a picture. He's wearing a Lakers jersey. And he's flanked by Magic Johnson and Jerry West. Wow. Magic Johnson and Jerry West. His picture must be 40 years old.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yeah, it's. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Still.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

What number is he wearing?

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's wearing 10. See? Look him up. See if he ever played. I don't think he ever played. Anyway, this plays. Oh, Michael. If people like J. Plank, Jeff Plank, and Horn want to send in their original music or have their friends do it, how do they do it?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Send us your music by emailing it to jingles@tony koenizershow.com and it's officially masters week. Spring is here. TK Bloom. They have some great offerings for. For everyone in your family now. Women, men, your boys, Johnny [e-mail] Go check it out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. And so it plays in our friend Noah Petro from NASA. By the way, yesterday in the parking lot at Columbia, there was a D.C. plate, a vanity plate that said NASA. I just thought, wow, that's pretty cool.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Had to be early for that one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, Noah, tell us what is up in the air? What have we sent and what is its purpose?

[Noah Petro]

All right, so on April 1st, we launched Artemis 2 rocket carrying four astronauts who are now almost halfway through their mission to fly by the moon. Artemis 2 is a test mission to demonstrate that we can successfully, for the first time in over 50 years, send humans towards the moon, with the eventual goal of getting humans to land on the moon in 2028. Who are the

[Tony Kornheiser]

people who are in it?

[Noah Petro]

We got four really awesome people. Reid Wiseman is the commander. He's from the Baltimore area. He's a late lamented Ravens fan. The pilot is Victor Glover, who you may have seen kind of go viral a few days ago on social media. Have Michael show you. He was working out during one of the live TV broadcasts. So that was a viral moment. Christina Cook is one of the science astronauts. She's from the New Jersey area. She's worked at NASA, she's lived at the South Pole. So going to the moon is just the next thing on her bucket list. And then Canadian Jeremy Hansen is the Canadian astronaut and this is his first flight into space, which is quite the first step for him.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So this is. This is going to sound like an idiotic question. I accept that it's idiotic. But is this a government project or is this a Bezos or Musk project?

[Noah Petro]

Yeah, great question. This is a fully NASA project. Orion and the rocket it launched on were built by NASA. Well built for NASA SpaceX Blue Origin. The private companies have no main role in any Part of this mission. But what this mission does prepare us for is these next missions. Artemis 3, 4 and beyond are going to work with SpaceX Blue Origin private companies Bezos and Musk to enable landing on the moon. This one mission, Artemis ii is kind of the NASA dress rehearsal. All of our parts, can we get them all to work in space, in deep space and out at the moon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So this makes me happy that it's, you know, the government is doing this and they didn't reach out to anybody private. It's. How long has it been, you said before, over 50 years. Is it that long since we have gone to the moon?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Noah Petro]

Last time humans were at the moon was December of 1972. Apollo 17, the last of the Apollo landed missions. And so, you know, the Apollo 17 crew went to the super bowl that the former the Washington football team played in, you know, against the dolphins in 73. So like it's been that long since humans have been to the moon. And so today in a couple hours they're going to make their flyby. Right now they're 2300 miles from the moon, so they are getting very close. But it hasn't been since December 1972 that humans have been that far from the Earth and that close to the moon.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can I ask the obvious question, which is why there must have been a command decision by presidents of the United States that said, well, we don't really need to do this, it doesn't help us in any way.

[Michael Wilbon]

Right, yeah.

[Noah Petro]

So the end of Apollo was during the Nixon administration. He cancelled the last three of the Apollo missions, Apollo 18, 19 and 20. And basically we moved away from moon rockets to doing the Space shuttle, to doing the International Space Station. And you know, over the years there's been initiatives, pushes to send humans back to the moon, but this one has stuck. It survived multiple presidential transitions at this point and today we're getting that much closer to eventually landing humans on the moon again as early as 2028 with Artemis 4.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so, so Michael's oldest, the baby boy, Bootsy, seemed to think there was a connection here, not just with the moon, but with Mars. Is there any projection with Mars here?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Noah Petro]

So all of what we do for NASA for, for Artemis is the eventual goal of and then going on to Mars. And so when we learn how to live in deep space again, humans have another, you know, it's not just that we haven't been to the moon, but we haven't been far from Earth since then as well. We've lived in low Earth Orbit with shuttle, with the iss. And so going out into deep space presents its own risks. And so we're learning even with these first, with this first mission of what it means to go further away from the Earth, from the protective shielding of the Earth to the Moon and eventually landing on the Moon, living on the moon and practicing all of the things that we need to do to eventually go on to Mars. Now it's going to be very complicated to go on to Mars, way harder than it is to go to the Moon. It takes longer, you need to bring more with you. However, all of these things that are being done now is with that and then eventual goal of being able to apply what we learned to go to Mars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you say living on the moon?

[Michael Wilbon]

I did. So is that I appreciate taking the

[Noah Petro]

NCAA finals day to talk about this by the way, because it is important. You know, the first missions that Artemis is going to do will be six day missions, Apollo is three day missions. So we're immediately going to try to live on the moon a little bit longer and build up what is being called a moon base. Basically think of it as a habitat on the moon that we can live for weeks, months and eventually years, because going to Mars is going to take years. And so learning how humans can live off of the Earth is going to give us that information, that insight, that those lessons about living on another planet. And so eventually we want the lunar missions to build up to weeks and months in duration and then to turn into something like the ISS where people are living there, continuously cycling in and out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So I remember when Mark Kelly's brother went into space for an extended period of time and lost two or three inches. Right. Came back shorter and then in an hour was the same height again, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yep, that's, I mean that's the benefit

[Noah Petro]

of living on the space station for year at a time, as we see, okay, this is what happens in effectively zero gravity living on the moon or 16 gravity probably won't shrink as much, but might. What is it like to live on that planet, that smaller gravity environment and that radiation environment as well. And so exactly the long duration missions on the ISS give us the sense of what happens to human body. This is a long term science experiment and I don't want to make it sound frivolous, but it is. We do this, we learn about humans in space, we do this, we learn about humans at the moon, we do this and we learn about what it takes to get humans to go to Mars and live at Mars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What there's another Obvious. Who cares? Who thinks, is it important to go to Mars? Well, I mean, you can say, yes, Tony, it's important to go to Mars.

[Noah Petro]

I think as a human species it is, because it's curiosity, right? And it's not just again, frivolous. It's, okay, well, let's learn about this planet because when we learn about the moon, we learn about the history of the Earth, the early history of the Earth. And you say, why is that important? How does that reduce the price of bread or anything like that? Well, part of it also comes with the technological advancements. Think of the satellite navigation system in your car or instantaneous communication. All of that is born out of advancements made in space. And so there is both the, I would say the spiritual benefit of learning about living on another planet, of going and learning about our place in the solar system, our place in the universe. But then there's the technological advancements that find its way into your pocket, into your home, into your car, into your daily life. That's the benefits of why we're doing these things. It takes time for those benefits to come from these missions, but they do come. I think there's also the grand expanse of what we, you know, why did the first humans leave the cave or go over the horizon or across the ocean? Because there's a natural curiosity of, well, can we do this? And I think for Mars, that's going

[Michael Wilbon]

to be, can we?

[Noah Petro]

And I don't mean we, you know, all Littles or we all NASA or we America, but we as a species,

[Michael Wilbon]

can we do this together?

[Noah Petro]

And that's one of the benefits of Artemis. We've got a Canadian astronaut here, very different than Apollo, which was all Americans, is that we are doing this and that the we is bigger than just the U.S. we.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So here is the other question that I have, and based on the fact you just can't go to Mars in an hour and a half, you can't say, honey, I'm taking the car to Mars. These are commitments of durations of years. Who is becoming an astronaut now? Are the people that want to be astronauts? Are they people who say, this is going to be the largest chunk of my life and I'm not going to be living it here?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Noah Petro]

You know, NASA announced a new class of astronauts late last year. There's one geologist on there. You've got medical people, you've got engineers, you've got pilots. And all of them sign up with the notion of, hey, maybe I'll end up on a trip to the space station and Live there for eight to nine months or a year. Maybe I'll end up going to the moon and maybe I will be on one of those early test missions to go to Mars as well and lay that groundwork. Neil Armstrong, when he became an astronaut in the early 60s, he didn't know he'd be the first one, but they all knew that was on the horizon. And then there was that inevitable competition to get those missions. As we start laying out these Artemis missions, who are the first Artemis missions? Astronauts that are going to land on the moon. And then, you know, maybe one or two of these recent selectees are going to be able to take a trip to Mars as well. You know, that's why we do this, to put ourselves in the position. And if they can't, they're preparing the system us to be in a better position to make it happen, to send humans to Mars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Totally fascinating, Noah, thank you so much. Totally fascinating. For me, it's not anything I understand.

[Noah Petro]

So just a heads up. Today at one o', clock, NASA TV is going to be broadcasting the flyby for several hours. This is a put the kids in front of the TV moment and it will unfold slowly, but you'll hear the astronauts describing what they've seen. Areas of the moon that we've never seen with naked human eyes before. And again, I just encourage everybody to tune into NASA TV and enjoy today. The moon that I saw at 3 o' clock this morning when my dog woke me up is going to look a little bit different to me tomorrow because we're going to be doing this incredible thing today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is NASA streaming or can you get that on cable?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I think it's 1262.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it right past the Nats game, you know? Is it?

[Noah Petro]

Yeah, NASA tv, you can find it. Michael can get you the NASA app which will broadcast it. It's on streaming platforms. Netflix, Netflix, YouTube. Everybody's gonna have some form of NASA TV broadcasting today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll all watch. Thank you, Noah.

[Noah Petro]

Anytime. Thank you, Tony.

[Michael Wilbon]

Noah Petro.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fantastic. We'll take a break, come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Show Announcer]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Tony Korneiser Show.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

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

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's gonna read some for all of you folks.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

He's gonna read some for all of you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oops. That's great.

[Liz Wilbon]

Is that a good one?

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's Sean Gallagher. That's great. Playing the banjo.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Liz Wilbon]

We like that.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

That's like a demo for Scotty McCreary.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow, that is great. You want to do the Bethesda bagel ad?

[Liz Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michael did it for a week.

[Liz Wilbon]

I know. Thank you, Michael. Thank you for taking care of.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Did they mention me when you walked in?

[Liz Wilbon]

They said, where's the better guy? Where's he? Bagel sandwiches today. Very happy about that. Just go to bethesdabeagels.com for the location in the DC area, then pop on in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say you can dance every dance with the guy who gives you the eye let him hold you tight you can smile every smile for the man who held your hand neath the pale moonlight but don't forget who's taking your home and in his arms you're gonna be so darling. Save the last dance for me. That is the title of the song, Save the last dance for Me. This came out in the late 50s, early 60s. It created a sequel called I will save the last dance for you. Sung by a woman.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yes, it was the Drifters first.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, Drifters first. I think the woman's name was Demita Joe. I am not certain about that. Thanks to our guests today, Michael Wilbon and Noah Petro. Petro is how it's pronounced. Not Petro. Petro, our man from NASA. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Odyssey if get show through Apple. Please leave us a review from Brett Hobbs in Linton, Indiana. When Greg Garcia lamented about owning 8% of a racehorse, it sounded vaguely familiar to a friend of mine who was talked into owning a timeshare in Florida. He had no idea of maintenance cost every year and had very little control over the unity. Bought into a well kept horse can live for 50 years. I think Greg will learn the phrase my friend learned about this timeshare till death to them Part A haiku for Greg from Shad for his horse. Got a horse right here. It doesn't run anywhere. It can't do. Can't do that horse from Albert DeLuca. Since I don't have access to Greg's contact information, please pass on to him that I have owned a chair of more than 20 thoroughbred racehorses and they are hurt all the time currently. Of the 10 I have active now, eight are on the DL for various reasons. The person I'm related to by marriage says owning a horse a racehorse is like putting a pile of money on the table and lighting it on fire from Chuck and Roxy. Dear Mr. Tony, we need your help. We had a tie in our annual NCAA bracket name challenge and thought this would be a good way to break the tie. For some context, our final four name brackets were in no order picking Uranus one bracket after another Bowling league of their own. I'm chalking here our then final two championship teams. If you win, the voting was a tie between I'm chalking here and picking Uranus. Could you and the gang please help us pick our winner by telling us your favorite between these final two? Be a fun Twitter twist for everybody. We'll do this for Chuck and Roxy. We hope to see you all at the Little Palooza later this summer, June 5th through 7th. Michael, will you be golfing this year?

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I'm working on it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Gotta get a babysitter.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Which do you like? I'm chalking here or picking your Rangers? I like I'm chalking here.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

I'm talking here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's. It's Dustin Hoffman. Hey, I'm talking the ad lib, right?

[Liz Wilbon]

Yeah, yeah, it was an ad lib moment. The cab came out of nowhere and

[Tony Kornheiser]

he just, boom, banged it. Yeah, I'm walking here. Gary Van Geesen. Words Tony never expected to hear after Don Smith. Dom Smith came through with another home, another run scoring hit. Braves announcer gushes what an addition Dom Smith has been to this Braves lineup. I saw him on the Mets, the Nats and the Yankees. I never expected to hear that either. He has a new nickname. Dom Smith, the Dominator.

[Liz Wilbon]

The Dominator. There you go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Gerald and Saint Catharines in Ontario and Canada. Just want to alert you to a pitching matchup that will be of interest to you. The Blue Jays host the Dodgers for three games starting Monday, April 6th. The opening pitching matchup is scheduled to be Max Scherzer vs Shohei Otani.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yes, please.

[Noah Petro]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

With the game being played in Toronto and a start time of 7:07 Eastern, you'll be able to watch a few innings before you say good night. Enjoy.

[Michael Wilbon's Son (Matthew)]

Nice to see Ohtani get some numbers in DC.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, he hit like a 10,000 foot John Edinger in Syracuse. My son just shared a fun fact regarding the futility of the woeful Washington Wizard Since 1997, the year of the future. Fateful name change. The Wizards as a franchise have 972 wins. Tim Duncan, drafted in 1997, retired in 2016, accounted for 1,001 wins in his career. That's relegation Holmes from Scott Organic Organic in Avon, Connecticut, right next to Bristol Just letting you know that I'm boiling eggs. Thank you. Bye.

[Liz Wilbon]

Bye. Can I interject here for a second? Believe you had that Demita Joe DeBlank.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I think that's what.

[Liz Wilbon]

Yeah, I'll save the last dance for you. 1961.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One more. I'm still in LA. I'm not playing with Greg Garcia because he's on the east coast playing with you. Listening to Friday's podcast, I realized we have something else in common besides going to bed early and coffee ice cream. I was at the 84 Olympics with my brother AG. I was sitting in the front row in the Coliseum when Mary Decker Slaney fell right in front of me. I also saw basketball and ran into Lou Karnasek. I told him I'm from Queen. He was wearing one of the sweaters. Dg. Just brilliant. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone is always to wear white. Yeah. We both have so much in common. We both love soup and we love the outdoors. We love snow peas.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

Tugboat. Fisher, boat, sailboat. Where are you going? Where have you been? Can I hit you? Right to see my story begin. I really want to pull down on the ocean. I really want to find a little island. I really want to fail my days alone. Cause I'm all so tired. Sunlight shine on snow. White sand, cool breeze, warm winds never fail. When all is said and done I still should have a little fun. But who will you leave behind you when you run? I really want to go out on the ocean. I really want to find a little island. Really want to fill my days alone. Cause I've grown so tired. Higher. I really want to true dreams of angels. Find something better in the in between. Really want to be okay Being alone and. Sam. We tag so hard there's no time to play. Then we drift so hard I don't make time to say I love you. At least not the way I should. When will we find out? All is all red and good. I really wanna throw out on the ocean. I really wanna a little island. Really wanna feel my days alone. Cause I'm all so tired. I really wanna dream Dreams of angels. Find something better at the in between. Red. Really want to be okay Being alone and single. I know you think that I would fade away. Just roll over to your power play. You think you're bad? You think you're hot. So go ahead, take your best shot.

[Michael Wilbon]

You can try.

[J. Plank (Jeff Plankenhorn)]

But you can't break me. You can try. But you can't break me. We were friends not so long ago. But I finally had to let that go. Were we in love? The lines get blurred? Love is a four letter to word? You can try, But you can't break me? You can try, But you can't break me? Every single, every single day? Play the little games you play? Everything you do? It all comes back to you? You can strategize? Scan, line, fear, eyes, eyes? Until you realize? You will never break me? I'm not going anywhere, Satan. Everything you do? It all comes back to you? Will you know what time can do? You don't kill time. Time kills. You can try, But you can't break me? You can try? You can't break me? You can try, But you can't break me?