“Those are our potatoes”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – “Those are our potatoes”

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" delivers a lively blend of sports analysis, nostalgia, personal anecdotes, and the always-sharp banter between Tony and his regular guests. The main focus spans three major sporting events and stories:

• The U.S. Men's Soccer Team's chances in the World Cup (with Taylor Twellman)
• NBA free agency and the LeBron James sweepstakes (with Brian Windhorst)
• The aftermath of Serena Williams' surprise Wimbledon exit (with Chris Clary)

Sprinkled throughout are reflections on local pizza, heatwaves, pets, gardening (including "those potatoes"), and classic comedy films.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Anecdotes & Weather Woes

• Tony opens with a humorous recount of trying and failing to "rewind" his TV to see a Nationals baseball brawl he missed, needing his son Michael to handle the technology.
• The crew discusses an impending DC-area heatwave, worrying about Tony's dog Chessy and how to keep both pet and owner cool.
  • [03:21] Tony: "I'm not a tough guy. And it's gonna be over 100 degrees... I'm worried about my dog."
• Tony plans golfs despite the heat, joking that Michael's job is to keep him from dying on the course.

2. Nationals Game and Baseball Brawls

• Recap of a Nationals game fight: Cade Cavalli and Wilson Contreras involved, Contreras gets ejected after a benches-clearing incident.
  • [05:35] Michael Wilbon: “And bumped him. So when Cade Cavalli struck him out, Kate Cavalli barked them. Sit down. You know, and then there's a huge fight.”
• Discussion on whether Contreras is treated more harshly by umpires; audience is reminded of his reputation for antagonizing opponents and quick ejections.

3. Taylor Twellman on USMNT and World Cup

[08:52 – 16:46] Interview Segment

• US vs. Bosnia Herzegovina Preview:

  • Bosnia is tactically and technically strong—better than Paraguay/Australia—but US still favorites.
  • Taylor: “The surprise of Paraguay beating Germany is a good warning sign for the United States.” [09:58]

• Key Themes:

  • US needs to play aggressively and dictate tempo, rather than waiting/reacting as Germany did in their upset.
  • Emotional dynamics: Bosnia’s first-ever knockout game, potential distractions, US crowd advantage.

• Penalty Kicks and Game Endings:

  • Taylor defends penalty kicks (“If you can’t score in 120 minutes, let’s move on and get an ending to this.”) [14:03]

• Notable Quotes

  • Tony: "Penalty kicks in your mind, is that a satisfying ending to you?"
    Taylor: "It is. After 30 minutes of extra time... If you can't score a goal and win a game in that period, then let's move on." [14:03]
  • Taylor: “The United States should win the game. And I think then the next game, whether it's Belgium or Senegal... they should win that game too.” [15:03]

• Fun Soccer Trivia:

  • Tony: “Four penalty kicks that missed everything. You can put a boat in that goal. How can you miss the goal?” [15:14]
  • Taylor: Shares story of Justin Kluivert and his father both hitting the same post in World Cup shootouts, 26 years apart. [15:24]

4. Brian Windhorst on NBA Free Agency and LeBron James

[21:00 – 32:28] Interview Segment

• LeBron Leaving the Lakers:
  • Not a huge shock; Lakers “made the future about Luka Doncic,” didn’t fall over themselves to re-sign LeBron.
  • Windhorst argues LeBron is not seeking max money this time—flexibility is key.
• Potential Destinations:
  • Warriors: Wilbon dreams of LeBron joining for a last hurrah with Steph ("old age tour").
    • Brian: “The idea of him playing with Steph Curry is just fascinating.” [24:14]
  • Cleveland Cavaliers seen as a real option, possibly more flexible than the Warriors.
  • Knicks, Thunder, Spurs: Unlikely; LeBron isn’t “ring chasing.”
    • Brian: “He doesn’t need to do a naked ring chase. He’s not Charles Barkley.” [26:09]
• On Ja Morant and the Portland Gamble:
  • Candid breakdown of Morant’s declining numbers/injuries/suspensions.
  • “That is a package most people are going to hit reject on before you get to the off-court stuff.” [28:13]
• On Kawhi Leonard’s Return to Toronto:
  • Basic reason is money—Clippers wouldn’t offer an extension, Raptors would.
  • “If he stays healthy, I think Toronto can be a top 3 team in the East.” [31:14]

5. Chris Clary from Wimbledon: Serena Williams' Return and Other Tennis Notes

[35:00 – 48:15] Interview Segment

• Serena’s Short-Lived Comeback:
  • Chris covered Serena’s whole career, found the comeback somewhat mysterious, especially without singles match play in years.
  • “She didn’t embarrass herself. This was not a Bjorn Borg with the wooden racket.” [36:45]
  • Serena’s movement and defense are gone; opponent Maya Joint “was set up to fail” but played well.
  • Tony: “She didn’t ever look like somebody who would be a threat to win a tournament, right?” [38:44]
  • The crowd was into it, Serena had moments but “limited mobility and really, really inconsistent.”
• Why Did Serena Return?
  • Some speculation about promotional tie-ins (weight-loss drug), Chris doubts this is the real motivation but notes Serena is a savvy businesswoman. [42:08]
• Could Serena Succeed in Doubles?
  • Chris: “Serena could do that. Whether Serena’s gonna be happy doing that, I have my serious doubts.” [43:14]
• Wimbledon Parity
  • Field seems more open than usual, some French Open wildcards already out; men’s and women’s tournaments unpredictable. [43:54]
• Player Watch:
  • Taylor Fritz and Jakob Menshik (men), Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva (women) identified as possible standouts.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the U.S. World Cup Opponent:
  Taylor Twellman (09:11): “They're so good, they got two countries, Tony. In all seriousness...”

• Penalty Kicks:
  Taylor Twellman (14:03): “If you can’t score a goal and win a game in that period, then let’s move on and get an ending to this.”

• On LeBron James’ Motivations:
  Brian Windhorst (26:10): “He wants to play competitive basketball. He didn’t say he had to win a championship... He wants to be happy with his life.”

• On Serena’s Return:
  Chris Clary (36:45): “She didn’t embarrass herself. This was not a Bjorn Borg with the wooden racket.” Tony Kornheiser (38:44): “She didn’t ever look as powerful as she could have been... She didn’t ever look like somebody who would be a threat to win a tournament, right?”

• On Classic Comedies:
  Tony Kornheiser (18:08): “The two greatest, most brilliant movies ever made comedy movies of all time were Animal House and The Hangover.”

• The Potatoes Moment:
  Michael Wilbon (52:03): “He said, we thinks you're gonna have a—you're gonna be giving out potatoes to your neighbors. That's how many you're gonna get.”
  Tony Kornheiser (52:07): “You can only grow three or four in each bag... These are our potatoes.”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:00] – Heatwave/coping strategies for pets & golfers
• [05:03] – Nationals/Red Sox game and dugout brawl breakdown
• [08:52–16:46] – Taylor Twellman on USMNT World Cup
• [21:00–32:28] – Brian Windhorst on NBA free agency, LeBron, league shakeups
• [35:00–48:15] – Chris Clary on Wimbledon, Serena Williams’ return and field analysis
• [52:07] – The “those are our potatoes” line and gardening banter in the mailbag

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Tone & Style Notes

• Tony’s signature blend of wry humor, humility (“I don’t know soccer”), and nostalgia permeates the episode.
• The guests maintain a conversational, honest, and occasionally self-deprecating tone—especially when analyzing stars’ legacies (LeBron, Serena) and team performance.
• Lively interplay among the regulars (Tony, Michael Wilbon, Chris Clary) gives a family-at-the-table energy.

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For New Listeners: Key Takeaways

• This episode offers a classic “TK Show” experience: deep dives into major sports stories, offbeat asides, and a fondness for both tradition and quirks (from local pizza debates to “those are our potatoes”).
• Interviews with experts are less about scripted answers and more about organic, informed conversation.
• You’ll leave laughing, learning, and maybe worrying a bit about your own backyard potatoes.

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If you’re looking for:

• A quick catch-up on the USMNT World Cup outlook: [08:52–16:46]
• The NBA’s free agency wildness and LeBron's future: [21:00–32:28]
• Smart, balanced takes on Serena’s Wimbledon coda: [35:00–48:15]
• Or just Tony Kornheiser being Tony about golf, food, or mail: dip in nearly anywhere.

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Notable Closing Moment:
Tony Kornheiser (52:13): “These are our potatoes.”
— A perfect, quirky TK Show sign-off for an episode full of cultural flavor and sporting insight.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will start things off by talking with Taylor Twelman about the World cup. And then we'll talk to Brian Windhorst about the start of free agency in the NBA and how it affects LeBron. And then we'll go across the pond to talk about Wimbledon with Chris Clary. Big show. But first, commerce.

[Bill Simmons]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornhauser Show. And one guy says to me, well, what are you doing here? And I go, you know, I'm visiting some friends in Lido. I used to live here.

[Chris Clary]

Did he recognize you from Newsday?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, not exactly, no, because he was about 22 years old and Newsday was way further back in the rear view. And he said, what are you doing? And I told him that. And he goes, no, no, what I mean is why you play in this place? So what do you want me to do? You want me to play Shinnecock? I'm here. This is what I want to play.

[Taylor Twellman]

I'm not that good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show on that very theme. We got a very nice note from Steve Bianco in Long beach, said I'm a longtime fan of PTI and the podcast and Long beach resident. Thank you for years of enjoyment as we were of similar age, I unlike the short time third in your group. I remember your great work at both Newsday and the Times. Glad you got to revisit the area. Yes. As much as we have grown, certain great places like Marvel, Gino's Pizza, best pizza in the world, and the Laurel Diner have stood the test of time. Glad you got to play Lido again. Just sorry you had to experience it under the current conditions. The town of Hempstead has really let it deteriorate over the last few years. They claim they're going to make improvements, but as this is an election year, we remain skeptical. Such a shame as it is. Such a beautiful place. Just Love the signature 16th hole. Par 5 hit over water twice. I part that hole. Thanks again for the years of great fun. And tell Lil Malin to eat it. Okay. Steve Bianco in Long Beach.

[Chris Clary]

What was the pizza order? Just pizza. Regular.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just regular pizza from Geno's. The best pizza in the world. Not New York style pizza by definition. No, it's Geno's.

[Michael Wilbon]

Just stop.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just stop. Okay. So we are about to, in the Washington D.C. area, enter a long heat wave. Last four to five days. Bright sun, literal temperatures over 100. Literal temperatures. Not heat index, not heat.

[Chris Clary]

No relief overnight. No relief overnight.

[Brian Windhorst]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Be in the 80s in the morning.

[Michael Wilbon]

Get that heat.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Be in the 80s. I worry about my dog. I worry about Chessy, a long haired dog. I worry about her in this. I worry about her walking on the pavement. I want to make sure that she's walked as much on the grass as possible, which will not be as harmful to her.

[Chris Clary]

Yeah. Reminder, different surfaces maintain heat in different ways. So if you walk in some of those paving stones, they're going to be a lot hotter.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. You don't want to do that. You want to get in grass if you can. And I'm worried about me. I'm going to. I intend to go out and play golf tomorrow morning if I can. I intend to go play golf on Saturday, on July 4th. I'm old and this heat is sapping. And so I've said to Michael, just try to make sure I don't die. You know, get me off the course.

[Chris Clary]

Pay attention to your body. Notice if your heart rate starts to change.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, I wouldn't.

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't know. I mean, lots and lots of water.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, but I mean, then you drink too much water and you get bloated and you get sick. I don't want to drink too much water, you know, But I also don't want to stand there and say I'm a tough guy. Because I'm not a tough guy. And it's going to be over 100 degrees. I know. Wilbon says that's nothing because it's dry heat in North Stocks here, where I guess if you put a chicken on the driveway, it wouldn't cook in two hours.

[Chris Clary]

Have you ever tried any of those? The UV umbrellas that, like, will cool down the immediate area where you are on the golf course?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I've never seen. I've never held one in my. Yeah, so maybe we'll get one of the. I don't know. Oh, I'm going to try tomorrow and see what happens if it's really bad. Well, you get a cart, you know. Yes, yes. You got to have airflow. Drive around a little bit.

[Chris Clary]

Kick the front leg out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let me get to the gnats, because two things happened to me yesterday that happen all the time. I got no mail from Michael yesterday. I got a little bit of mail from Chris. I got more from Chuck.

[Chris Clary]

These are texts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know. Yeah, I know that Chuck was watching and I was watching. I went out to walk the dog. I came back, there'd been a fight. Cade Cavalli and Wilson Contreras. And I didn't. I didn't.

[Michael Wilbon]

Second game in a row.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't know anything about it. I didn't know anything about it. And same umpire. Yeah. Was that right?

[Michael Wilbon]

And they were barking at each other after he struck him out.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, if I. If I understand this correctly, Wilson Contreras came back through the mound at one

[Chris Clary]

point at the end of the first

[Tony Kornheiser]

and bumped Cade Cavalli.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, you can't.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And bumped him. So when Cade Cavalli struck him out, Kate Cavalli barked them. Sit down. You know, and then there's a huge fight. Wilson Contreras gets thrown out all the time.

[Chris Clary]

This is going back games before this. This is after earthquakes in Venezuela. I think it's back to the Yankees game where there's a benches clearing brawl as well. But in the game before this game, one of the Nat Series, Contreras is going back to the dugout after being called out on a check swing. And he sarcastically goes to his helmet.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. Taps his helmet. And the umpire says, that's it. You're gone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah. So felt like a quick. So I missed all of that. And Chuck says, did you see what's

[Michael Wilbon]

got tossed on your side, meatball?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, meatball got tossed. Yeah, I saw it all today.

[Chris Clary]

He doesn't have a, you know, thrown. Missed stuff. So he had to take out the wrestling moves.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But Chuck Todd writes me, says, just rewind it. You're going to want to see it. And I said, just rewind it. Who do you think I am? I don't know how to rewind it. I'll get Michael to do it in the morning. But I actually saw all of it then. Now the. The Red Sox have scored on an unearned run. Mead made an error in the first inning and let a run get in. Cavali's look great. I mean, he's striking everybody out. He looks great.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

After 6, it's 1 1. And I know they're going to lose. And so I stop, I leave and. And I find out that they then score 7 runs in the next two wins again, againing 7 runs in the next two.

[Chris Clary]

Home run.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Nats roll. I had absolutely no idea. So I woke up this morning. I didn't know. I didn't know. Hadn't seen the fight.

[Chris Clary]

This Cavalli is the first Nats pitcher to throw seven or more innings with 10 or more strikeouts and one hit

[Tony Kornheiser]

or fewer since Strasbourg.

[Taylor Twellman]

Scherzer.

[Chris Clary]

Scherzer on my birthday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, Is that right?

[Chris Clary]

2018.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so it's eight years. Yeah. It had to be Scherzer Strasberg. The answer to that question had to be that.

[Michael Wilbon]

Not sure.

[Chris Clary]

And so this is why your manager took some issue when the pitcher was not also tossed.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

For his role, which, by the way,

[Michael Wilbon]

you could make a case for that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Boy, I think you can make a case for that.

[Michael Wilbon]

I mean, if we're going to choose, we'd rather have Meatball stay in the game because he's not playing, and have the guy that's striking every single guy out, get him out of there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, if you. There's a hair trigger on Contreras because he gets thrown out a lot and he's obviously annoying. But it seems to me that Cavalli was 50% of this and that you

[Chris Clary]

put it at 30 to 35.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You could have thrown him out.

[Chris Clary]

Yes. I think you have to go back to the bump in the first.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah. That's definitely the original.

[Chris Clary]

The larger. The larger question there is the use of the word boy. And if there's any.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chris Clary]

You know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right. That's right. Unless he says that to everybody.

[Chris Clary]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, unless that's an emotional game. Yeah. So.

[Michael Wilbon]

So the rubber matches today, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it today or tonight? Is it a day game for today?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I think it's a day game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm gonna miss it. I gotta do Very cool to see

[Chris Clary]

the monster, though, in play.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes.

[Michael Wilbon]

Now, it's. Look, I know I'm biased, but it's always lovely to see Fenway.

[Chris Clary]

It's just.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just great. It's just great. Okay, so what we're going to do now is with full disclosure, we taped this last night with Taylor Twellman in advance of tonight's Knockout Round of 32, the United States against Bosnia. Hercules Gavinia. So we taped this yesterday, so we'll go to it.

[Taylor Twellman]

Now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We've got Taylor Twelman with us, which means it's a soccer conversation. Although we could talk about golf and we could talk about baseball, but we're going to talk about soccer. The United States is into the knockout round. They play Bosnia Herzegovina. I hope I pronounce that correctly. How good is that squad?

[Taylor Twellman]

Well, they're so good. They got two countries. Tony, in all seriousness, though, this is a team, and I think your listeners will appreciate this because they've watched the previous three games. They will be better tactically than Paraguay, and technically they'll be better than Australia. But it will be the same kind of opponent. Defend first numbers behind the ball, and then they're going to have to come up with some kind of plan of dealing with the United States press. They knocked Italy out of the third straight World cup in the World cup playoff. So this is a good team, a solid team. Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell your listeners and you that the United States is not favored. They absolutely are, but it's a different kind of opponent. And look at what Paraguay just did to Germany. So actually, the surprise of Paraguay beating Germany is a good warning sign for the United States that they need to take care of business. And they've got to be aggressive.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From the opening whistle, you are reading my mind. Paraguay knocked out Germany on penalty kicks, but they were tied for the entire game. We beat Paraguay 4 to 1. 4 to 1. What does that tell you about us playing, you know, Bosnia Herzegovina? Shouldn't we. Doesn't it make us look better for what Paraguay just did?

[Taylor Twellman]

Yes, a little bit. It does. Now, everyone mischaracterized Paraguay, right? So Paraguay only gave up six goals in World cup qualifying, and that includes games against Colombia, Argentina, Brazil. So they were a good defensive team. That's the team we saw against Germany. The United States made them uncomfortable. They outplayed them, but they played the game at a high pace. That made Paraguay uncomfortable. They're going to have to do the same with Bosnia. Now, Bosnia is not going to be as Athletic as say Paraguay, but they're going to be smarter, they're going to be more in tune. They're not going to be all up in the baby games, as I like to say, with the flopping and diving, the way we saw all of the Paraguay players against Germany. So that's where this game becomes interesting, in my opinion. But there's a caveat to this. Bozzy has never played in a World cup knockout stage game. This is their first one in the history of their country. Their red, white and blue are the same colors. And yet there's going to be 70,000 fans in Northern California that are all wearing red, white, blue, that are not rooting for them. That will be an emotional test for them. And that's why I say the first 45 minutes is the most important part of the game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So if I, if I understand this correctly and God knows I don't know soccer, but you're saying this is another defensive first team and if that's the case, we should press on offense, right? We should try and create a tempo that is to our advantage. Yes, yes.

[Taylor Twellman]

I don't wait for the game to come to you. You take the game to them. Don't do what Germany did against Paraguay. Germany was arrogant. They were slow, they were reactive, not proactive. You've got to be proactive. When you know you're going up against the team, you will have respect for them because they can score goals. Bosnia score goals, but the US Knows Canada really well. So Bosnia played Canada. The United States is going to have watched that game three or four times, right. That score was 1:1. Now Canada should have scored four or five goals, but Canada wasn't as clean as the United States can be going forward. And that's the difference. But I agree with you. Set the tempo, be aggressive. Don't wait for the game to come to you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

By the way, on another subject, watching the game last night, watching the Germany Paraguay game, the last 10, 12 minutes of it, the Paraguayan goalie appeared to be 8ft tall. He was so much taller. It turns out he's actually six. Six. That's like. Is that, is that huge in soccer, isn't it?

[Taylor Twellman]

Yeah. I mean, if you throw his cleats on, right, Tony, you can probably say six, nine, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Taylor Twellman]

And then you thr. And then you watch the penalties that that's imposing. And listen, we've seen now two penalty kick shootouts, Morocco, Netherlands, and we've seen Germany, Paraguay. You're seeing world class athletes, world class soccer players miss the goal. Now Some of that for your listeners is when you, out of the corner of your eye, see a 6, 6 goalkeeper with a wingspan that covers all. You're trying to be. Condor. And you end up missing the goal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Condor. That guy. I was. I was stunned by that. Can I ask you this? Penalty kicks in your mind, is that a satisfying ending to you?

[Taylor Twellman]

It is. After 30 minutes of extra time, you've got 120 minutes. I will argue with anyone. If you can't score a goal and win a game in that period, then let's move on and get an ending to this. And I will say this. This is part of the American public, general public, that's still trying to figure out why end a game in ties. My rebuttal to that is, you've got 90 minutes. Do something. Don't waste fans time, don't waste the broadcasters time. Do something or move on. And that's why I kind of. There needs to be a finite ending. Because I'll tell you right now, Paraguay would have been 11 players diving and flopping, and that game would have lasted till Friday morning.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Just to reiterate, because I know you got things to do. You believe that we should win this game, right? We should win today's game?

[Taylor Twellman]

Yes. If. If Bosnia. If Bosnia wins the game, it's an upset now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Taylor Twellman]

It won't be a upset the way Paraguay beat Germany and if it goes to penalties, well, that's a. That's a crapshoot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Taylor Twellman]

I think the United States should win the game. And I think then the next game, whether it's Belgium or Senegal in Seattle, with that environment, I think they should win that game too.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When they. When they were in the Dutch game, there were four penalty kicks that missed everything. You can put a boat in that goal. How can you miss the goal?

[Taylor Twellman]

I know you want to hear something crazy. Tony Patrick Cliver in 2000 hit the left post. In 2026, Justin Cliver, his son, hit the same post. Netherlands lose both shootout 26 years later

[Tony Kornheiser]

they asked when the Dutch coach came the field. They said, have you already resigned? That's a tough crowd, right?

[Taylor Twellman]

It is. It is a tough crowd, but it's no different than both Schemblacker and Schembechler at Michigan. Right. You know, you know when the Michigan coaches, Michigan fans say, he's a Michigan man, you follow where I'm going with that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Taylor Twellman]

Ronald Kooman is 100% Dutch and he managed that game as if he hated the Dutch. I've never seen a Dutch manager manage A game with no identity, with a defensive first mentality. The Dutch would rather lose the game 5, 3 than play any different way than they know how. And he single handedly managed to manage that game. He absolutely, in my opinion, should have been asked that question. And quite frankly, he stepped down today. He should have. There was a disgrace.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There you go. All right, we will see you on PTI tomorrow. Thanks for helping us.

[Taylor Twellman]

Yeah, buddy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Dated Taylor Swellman, boys and girls. And now we will get back to the show that we're trying to do because we stuck Taylor in in the middle like this and carved out seven or eight minutes in the middle. So that was Taylor Swellman. We're guest loaded today. We have Taylor Twillman, we have Brian Windhorst who's very. Basketball is very much in the news. We had to remake the PTI show yesterday when the LeBron James news came out. Not only that, then Kawhi Leonard was going to be traded to Toronto. And Kelleher said, would you put that above LeBron James? And I said, oh no, I wouldn't put anything above LeBron James. I wouldn't put Serena Williams above LeBron James. I wouldn't do that. So we had to reimagine the entire show. And I was afraid, by the way, I was afraid that we were going to have to go live because I thought the Serena match was going to take forever and ever. But we will get you to the next segment. I just wanted to say this one thing that I have talked to Michael and Nigel about this. I don't know why this happened, but earlier this morning I was walking Chessy when it occurred to me that the two greatest, most brilliant movies ever made comedy movies of all time were Animal House and the Hangover. And I just fixated on that. And mostly because of Shamalama Ding.

[Chris Clary]

So hit it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Which is the most brilliant parody song of all time. Of all time. Now it's probably time and place and age that puts me in that situation. And I think of these movies that way. Although certainly the Hangover is a very recent movie relative to Animal house. And how's 40 years old? It's got to be 40 years old, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

1979, I think.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Whatever it was. I mean, and I'd like to find out. I'm sure I could look this up. But the people who wrote Animal House, I just assume they're Harvard Crimson guys.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah, I gotta be the Lampoon guys from there, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, well, Lampoon guys, not Crimson guys. Crimson is the newspaper, the daily newspaper. Anyway, so we will come back. Are we coming back with Christopher Clary? Are we coming back with Brian Windhorst?

[Michael Wilbon]

We're coming back with Brian next.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Brian Windhorst. When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser.

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[Taylor Twellman]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Andrew Bell. I'm not sure that we have played Andrew Bell before.

[Michael Wilbon]

I don't believe we have. No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, so we're going to play Andrew Bell twice today. This first song is called 22. We don't know much about Andrew Bell.

[Michael Wilbon]

Well, do we want to tell the people why?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Because you forgot to give me the sheet which identifies Andrew Bell and biographies, if there's such a thing. Yeah, Andrew Bell.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sorry about that, Andrew.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's okay. Anyway, this is called 22. It plays in the most sought after person on ESPN today and tomorrow and yesterday, Brian Windhorst. The biggest story we had to do, we changed the entire PTI show and justifiably because LeBron James has told the Los Angeles Lakers he's not going to be. He's going to be back. He ain't going to be back with them. Jeannie Buss wrote a beautiful note about it. I mean, it all seems to be very, very amicable. And that's fine. You've known LeBron James for over 20 years. What do you think he wants and where do you think he's deciding among?

[Brian Windhorst]

I'm not sure. First off, good morning, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good morning.

[Brian Windhorst]

I'm not sure. He knows, you know, in the last free agency, and these are, you know, you have to sort of delineate because we've now had many. The last free agency. He knew for months he wanted to be a Laker. And on the first day, he announced in the afternoon, sort of get it out of the way for everybody. They had a nice clean press release and everybody in Cleveland kind of knew it was coming and there was no drama. He had. He had decided long in advance. I'm not sure he made up his mind that he was even going to play next year until, you know, recently. He didn't decide yesterday, but it was recently that he decided he was going to play. And I don't. I don't think he knows where the best situation is going to be. I'm sure he has an idea, but this is not. I don't think this is fully formed and fully planned out. And that's why I think this is going to be a fascinating one for. For two reasons. One, because he's not. The message is he's not seeking max money.

[Chris Clary]

Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

So teams don't have to rip their team to shreds. They don't have to have had been planning for years. They can just add him. And that means that where he goes could have a huge effect on the balance of power. And the second thing is we now have the opportunity for teams to compete for him. And, you know, they're not going to be able to compete with money because it's not going to be about the salary. So these are all factors that make this a little bit unpredictable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you surprised that he is going to leave the Lakers?

[Brian Windhorst]

No. I think last summer they extended Luka Doncic and very clearly made the future about him. And it was extension time for LeBron. You have one year left on your contract, and he's always been extended. In fact, teams fall all over themselves to extend him. Now, never in his career has he ever had a situation. Even the years when he. All those years he left as a free agent, that was when he opted out of his contract. A contract of his has never come to an end. Since 2003 when he signed his first contract, he's never been at the end of his contract. And the Lakers had next to no interest in extending his contract. Nobody ever. That never happens. So as soon as that happened, the ground was set up for this. And this season he had a very good year. But you didn't see during the year the Lakers falling all over themselves, worried that he might leave. And so while I couldn't have said for sure, there were signs along the way.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wilbon is, of course, as anybody knows who's heard him or watched him, pushing for the Warriors. Wilbon is pushing for this. You Know, old age tour with the warriors where he's convinced. He rattles off nine guys on the warriors and is convinced that if they, you know, if they don't fall apart physically, that they. That that's the right place for LeBron. What are your thoughts on the Warriors? Because I have a different spot.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, it's a compelling case. You know, the idea. You know, the idea of playing with Steph Curry is pretty fascinating. I have no idea what Jimmy Butler is going to be. I know people say they're ahead of schedule coming back from. From ACL rehab, but, you know, I've never torn my acl, thank goodness, but there's no such thing as being ahead of schedule in ACL rehab. I'm sorry, there's. So, with all due respect to Jimmy Butler, I have no idea what he's going to be. So people are going to say, well, what about this with the warriors and what about that? I'm not going to be able to give an answer. And if anybody wants to make a prediction, I'll congratulate them. But obviously, the idea of him playing with Steph Curry is just fascinating. And as somebody who was with Team USA in 2024, all along the way, I mean, that was one of the great experiences of my career was like going around with the Rolling Stones for six weeks across the globe with them. And so I love that conc. You know, there could be some other teams, like, look, I think that the Cleveland Cavaliers have a window here. The Cavs have the ability if they want, and they may not want, but they have the ability to improve their roster and then try to add LeBron. Like, if LeBron is sitting on the fence looking at Cleveland and looking at Golden State, the Cavs have a much bigger window to improve their team than the warriors do. The warriors have limited levers they can pull. The Cavs do not. The Cavs could be aggressive in trade and say, lebron, look what we've done to our team. Come play for us. And that is going to be, I'm sure, a discussion that everybody's going to have in the coming days.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Would you think he might consider among the Knicks, the Thunder, or the Spurs?

[Brian Windhorst]

If I were them, I would have an internal discussion about it and think about it. I don't think he will do that because that's a naked ring chase.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Yes.

[Brian Windhorst]

And I don't think he needs to do a naked ring chase. You know, he's not. I say this with full respect. He's not Charles Barkley. He doesn't need Anything to have his career. So what it was when I spoke to LeBron's representatives yesterday, they said two things. One, he wants to play competitive basketball. He wants to have his juices flowing. He wants to gear up for a season. He's playing for something. He didn't say he had to win a championship. You said to be competitive basketball. Okay. And the second thing is basketball happiness. He wants to be, you know, he wants to be happy with his life. And you know, I'm not, I'm from Cleveland. I'm not, you know, I'm not from Paris. I just think that going and moving to San antonio at age 42, I don't see that as something that he is going to. I mean, he could play golf year round. I guess that's, That's, I guess, part of happiness. But I don't, I don't see that in the cards. Even though, of course that would be his best chance maybe to win a title. I just don't see that as a priority.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, let me move off this a little bit. Giannis went to Miami, it seems like years ago, and it's only about a week and a half. John Morant was exiled to Portland. They hired a coach for one year, which is a terrible position to be in, and now they stick him with John Moran. And I'm not going to suggest that John Morant doesn't have the ability to be a great player, but what we have seen so far is that he does not really help a team. What are your thoughts on that?

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, so here's the thing, let's ignore, and I mean, this is a big ask, but I'm going to ask you to ignore the suspensions. So let's. Okay, now let's just look at the player. His scoring average has dropped four consecutive seasons in those four years as he's dealt with injuries, you know, he's just, you know, the way he plays is, is mesmerizing, but it leads to injuries. And his, his athleticism has waned a little bit. I mean, he's still, I'm not saying the man can't dunk, but he's not throwing people through the rim like he did when he came into the league. And so you need your game to develop. And over those four years, his, he shot under 30% from three, not under 40, under 30. That we don't guard you. That's like, go ahead and shoot range. And his, his, his health, again, not the suspensions, but he's played 70 something games the last three years combined. I agree Large part of that is suspension, but also he's been injured and so he also is owed $87 million over the next two years. That is a package that most people are going to hit reject on before you get to the off court stuff, you know, and that's, that's the thing. The player that they traded for him, Jeremy Grant, I mean no offense to Jeremy Grant, he's a fine person and a decent player. He has one of the most undesirable contracts in the league. He has two years and 70 million. The Blazers have been trying to trade him for a year and have gotten nowhere. And so basically these teams traded two guys that were untradable for each other and you know, buying low on John Moran, it's a, I guess it's a reasonable gamble because he is highly incentivized to have a big year. But I don't, I don't think, I don't think it's like a franchise, a league altering transaction. But you know, I could be wrong.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kawhi Leonard went back to Toronto. I mean I, you know, I'm sure there's a good reason for this. I don't know the good reason for this. I'm curious what you think of that and I'm curious whether you think that that in any way affects his suspension or non suspension for that no show job.

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, I'll give you a very basic reason that people do things in the world, Tony. It's very simple. It's called money. The Clippers did not want to give him a contract extension despite him having an all NBA season last year, played 65 games.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He doesn't usually play anywhere near that.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah, right. And he is 35 years old and he has this long history of injury and the Clippers plans with him for the last seven years have gone sideways consistently and so they didn't want to give him an extension. And you know, if you're him, you're worried about injuries. This is your last chance for a big payday. And Toronto Raptors were like, yeah, we'll give you an extension. As soon as he felt he didn't want to leave. As soon as he found out the Clippers were not going to extend him, his agents looked around and Toronto said, we'll take you back. And the reason Toronto wanted to do that is because while Toronto has an interesting team, I don't know how much higher their ceiling would be. All of their players that they have

[Chris Clary (continued)]

are,

[Brian Windhorst]

they're all signed to big contracts and you know they're not going to get High draft picks. They're just sort of. They were sort of faced with being in the middle, and they saw this as a pathway to leap to the top. And I think they could be right. If he stays healthy, I think Toronto can be a top three team in the East. You know, Scotty Barnes is. Oh, yes. I mean, with the east, isn't. I mean, we're on July 1st, Tony. The teams haven't made their move yet. I don't know where Jaylen Brown's going to be. I don't know where LeBron James is going to be, so I can't. That's one of the things people are saying, you know, when you see these moves, you get these questions like, where do they stack up in the East? I'm like, I don't know, man. We're 10 minutes into the new season. People have made their moves yet, but I think Toronto has a real shot to be up there. And, you know, the Giannis move was fascinating and has potential, but the New York Knicks did not roll over in bed when that happened. Right. They're not looking at the Heat as a team that you know. But this move will get the Knicks attention. I'm not saying they're getting up and running to the gym, but this will get their attention.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is wonderful. I know that 87 people want you to go on TV, so we're going to let you go, but thank you.

[Taylor Twellman]

Thank you.

[Brian Windhorst]

Right now, literally at this second, as I'm talking to you, I'm getting makeup.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay.

[Taylor Twellman]

Well, there you go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There you go.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, I'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Brian.

[Brian Windhorst]

Thank you. Have a great day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Brian Windhorst, boys and girls. Love Brian Windhorst. We will take a break. We will come back with Christopher Clary, who is in Wimbledon and can tell us all about Serena yesterday and the fact that she lost. I don't really think anybody thought she was going to lose the first one, but we'll ask Chris. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with powerboost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

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[Brian Windhorst]

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[Taylor Twellman]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Once again, this is Andrew Bell. We have no information on Andrew Bell.

[Taylor Twellman]

Nothing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll have it later in the week or next week or whenever. Or Andrew Bell can call us. We don't know. This is called amor, which means love in one of those foreign languages. One of them, Michael. If people, independent artists like Andrew Bell want to send us their original music to have it played on podcast, how do they do it?

[Chris Clary]

Send us music by emailing it to jingles tonyquenizershow. And I'm staring at our printer.

[Michael Wilbon]

Oh, is it activated?

[Chris Clary]

Yes. I could print this for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Print what?

[Chris Clary]

The email.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, I thought the. I thought the printer here didn't work. It hasn't worked for years.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anyway, this plays in Chris Clary and this segment with Chris Clary is brought to you by FanDuel. Play your game. Chris is in Wimbledon. The Serena Williams thing was a real big deal yesterday. A real big deal in tennis, a real big deal among viewers, a real big deal in sports. What were your thoughts about it going in and what did the brevity of it and the way it, way it was played, did it sway you going out?

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Well, you know, I covered Serena in my time at the New York Times pretty much all the way through. So hundreds of matches with Serena and I watched her go through all these ups and downs through her career and, you know, can be unpredictable. So I suppose it was appropriate when she never used the R word when she left in 22 that there would be. The door would be ajar. But I was still very surprised that she decided to come back, especially in singles, without having played any matches in singles for almost four years. And she wasn't exactly thriving in singles before she left. So I thought it was risky in a lot of regards, and I, frankly, was a bit mystified by the motivation for it. She talked a lot about. Not a lot, but talked about, you know, wanting to play in front of her kids, you know, wanting to go out there with a different attitude and wanting to enjoy the moment more, maybe, you know me more than she had in the past. Those just didn't seem compelling to me as reasons. But, you know, Serena has her own. Has always marched to her own drummer like her sister has. And so she went through with it. And honestly, Tony, you know, she didn't embarrass herself. This was not a Bjorn Borg with the wooden racket, you know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Fighting against the windmills of 1991. This was, you know, some pretty. Pretty big hitting, some great serves on occasion. It was just really understandably inconsistent. The crowd was way into it, and it kind of built something potentially pretty special there in the third set with, you know, getting the tiebreaker and getting up a break in the third, and then really the air went out of the balloon really quickly. There have been reports today her agent, Jill Smoller, said she hurt her knee at the end of the first set, which is perhaps part of the reason why she kind of fell off a cliff there on the quality of play at the end of the match. And also that's the reason why supposedly she didn't come to press and give a press conference afterward, because she was excused because of the knee problem. She's had those knee issues before. You haven't played singles in four years. You go out on that slippery grass, bad things can happen. But, you know, all in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected. And I think her opponent, who was ranked in the 80s and hadn't really won a match all year, was surprisingly good. But then Serena also made her look good by not being able to move and track down some of the shots that the players would have tracked down.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, let's go over this, because in the first set early on, and probably to me, this was nerves, but she looked gassed in the first set. She couldn't. She couldn't cover the whole court. She could cover half the court, and she's in there with a pigeon, you know, Maya joint has lost 15 of 18 matches this year. She's 19 years old. She idolizes Serena. She was set up to fail. She was definitely. She got the greatest nickname in the world, the Ginger ninja.

[Commercial Announcer 3]

I love that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But she was set up to fail. And I think everybody. I mean, I'll speak for myself. I thought Serena would win. I thought she'd lose the second match, but I thought she would win. And I saw. Certainly thought that when she won the second set. But she didn't ever look as powerful as she could have been during a lot of the points on that set. She didn't ever look like somebody who would be a threat to win a tournament. Right.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

I agree with that. No, I honestly, it's the longest of long shots, I guess, just based on Serena's improbable ability to rise to occasions throughout a career, you can't completely, completely rule it out, but I think you can come pretty close and you know, exactly for that, that option of winning another major, which is what she was chasing before, you know, really, what's. What's the bbd? I can. I can understand coming back and playing doubles with Venus. That makes some sense.

[Michael Wilbon]

Sure.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

You know, kind of a symbolic thing to go out. The sisters came in together, eventually they're going to go out together, and there's beauty in that. But to come out and play singles when, you know, you really, really have no chance to prevail and get deep in a tournament is. Seems kind of a fruitless exercise. And honestly, it's only she can answer the question, though, Tony, whether it was worth it and whether she enjoyed it and whether it was a sense of accomplishment in that. But compared to her heyday, there were moments. I mean, she was miles from the balls a lot of times. And Maya, joint winner count was huge because Serena couldn't play defense off certain balls. But again, I can't. I can't say she embarrassed herself, because she really didn't. I mean, when you were on. I was on court, I was a few rows back, watched the whole thing, and I think the crowd. The crowd took pleasure in her, in her high points, but they were awfully. Just kind of really, really inconsistent and limited mobility. And that was the same problem she had back in 2022 as her career kind of wound down the first time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Here's what. Here's what I would say, and I said it yesterday on the PTI show. You want to play? God bless. You've earned this. You're one of the greatest five tennis players of female tennis players of all time. You do whatever you want if it makes you Happy? Fine. But, you know, we. There's just. We can't go with the illusion that you're actually going to win something. But I was surprised she lost. I just, I thought it was set up for her to win convincingly. Did you not?

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Yeah, I mean, basically, Maya Joint, you said she's won three matches coming in, but she. Those were at the 125 level, which is not officially the tour. Oh, so she hadn't. She hadn't won a tour match since January. She's had some back problems, to be fair. She had a good season last year and she won a grass court tournament, so she can be handy on the grass. But honestly, to me, almost a bigger surprise was the way Maya Joyne hit the ball. She hit it good at times under pressure. She played pretty well, you know, she really did. So I wasn't expecting that. I think she would sort of, you know, curl up into a ball under that, under the occasion, and she did not do that. And Serena also missed the opportunities to kind of slam the door on her. But I agree. I saw Serena as a favorite going into the match, even though the oddsmakers did not. But there's so much uncertainty. I mean, it's just so hard not to play singles in a tournament, you know, for almost four years and come out there and perform.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So it's different than practice.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

It wasn't all bad. It wasn't all bad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's different than practice. It's different. The adrenaline is different. All these things are different. And I think you could see that she hit some great shots. She hit some very powerful shots. She just couldn't cover the whole court. What I wondered about, and I don't know, I don't think it was an accident that the commercials during the match, one or two of them were for that weight loss drug that Serena Williams is involved in. I just sort of wondered if there was. If you felt there was any component here. I'm gonna go out and play again and I'm gonna sell this drug and we're all gonna be happy and rich.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

God, she's made so much money. You hope it's not that. I mean, it's a jarring thing, isn't it? You know, definitely. And I've had many of my readers make that point and say, you know, what's in it for the. For the family. Her husband is an early investor in the company that she's promoting. And, you know, one of the reasons she came back, I think, is because she felt just physically better than she did before and has Lost the weight and it was holding her back in movement before, but she. You're not going to get. You're not going to turn into usain bolt at 44.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, you're 44. It's like you're 44.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

You're just not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Go to history. Martina came back and won one match, got blowed out on the next one, like, one.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

And. Oh.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And said, okay, you know, I mean, it's an itch that people want to scratch, but not everybody is Tom Brady. Like, not actually anybody is Tom Brady, you know, except Tom Brady.

[Taylor Twellman]

But I think.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

But I think Serena, if she was, you know, willing to do this, could be a Martina, because Martina, when she came back, like you said, in her 40s, you know, she played one singles match, two at Wimbledon, and won one of them. And that's impressive at 47.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

But she had a good success in doubles, and very representative.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doubles is great.

[Taylor Twellman]

Wanted to do that.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Serena could do that. Whether Serena's gonna be happy doing that, I have my serious doubts about that. But she's.

[Brian Windhorst]

She could.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

That's something that's possible as a second act.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But, you know, let me.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Let me broaden that wild card and play singles. Showed that there's other things in play and other things, other desires and other unscratched itches. But I think that itch is going to stay unscratched. Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I mean, I hope she does play doubles. I mean, you know, because you can have a very satisfying next career doing that for your children. I mean, it'd be. It'd be great fun. By the way, if I recall correctly, everybody in the French Open was out by now. Everybody was out by the second round. Do you have any sense of that at Wimbledon? Or is Wimbledon, do you think, gonna go truer to form?

[Chris Clary (continued)]

You know, it's. There's been a couple small ups, sets. Ben Shelton losing, Elena Svitolina losing. But I think some of the pixie dust seems to have evaporated here at Wimbledon. And Maya Poliska, that crazy story at the French Open. The Polish qualifier got to the final. Final in the first round was actually. It was up a five two in the second set. One, you know, on match point, and ended up getting hurt and slipping on the grass. You know, pretty symbolic. And some of the players that broke through there have already. Have already been bounced out. But it's. I got a feeling many surprises await us here, and it depends what happens. Yannick Sinner did not look great in his first match.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. And was bleeding.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

I really Struggle to get through that. Got a bunch of guys that are vulnerable on the grass. Women's tournament. Sabalenka, who's number one seed, has never won Wimbledon and has looked really, you know, emotionally combustible in recent months. So we'll see. I mean, I think there's many surprises ahead, but there are a few of the French Open escape artists still around, so we'll see how it goes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So yesterday in the United States, of course, they tell you that the match with Serena is going to start at 12 noon. So I'm geeked up. I want to see it. We're going to talk about it on TV later. And I get ready at 12 noon and Zverev is there for the next four hours. And I just thought, come on now, I didn't sign on to watch this guy. I don't care about him. And they cut to Ben Shelton. And you know, as in the great tradition of Americans being dogs, early in this tournament, Ben Shelton filled the bill this time. Is there anybody who's caught your eye? Where you go, this guy or this woman? They could be good. They could win.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Well, you know, I just. I always feel like Taylor Fritz might have one major in him, and his grass is his best surface. He's won a lot of tournaments on it, and he's gotten deep at Wimbledon before. He's got a good game for it. If you're looking for an outsider, he's a guy who could do well. I'm curious to watch Jakob Menshik, the Czech player who got to the semis of the French Open, beat Novak at the Miami Open. Won that title a couple of years ago. He's a young guy with a huge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I saw him yesterday.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Really athletic. So those are two guys to watch for. Sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

And on the women's side, woman's side, I'm very curious to see what Jesse Pagula can do here. She's no surprise, but looked good in the lead ups, never won a major. This might be a chance with her kind of flat game on the grass. Ball kicks through and. Or pushes through. Sorry. And she could potentially have a shot at winning it here. And then Mira Andreeva, who won the, you know, the French Open as a teenager, has really good tools for grass, Tony, and could potentially do the double here. She's got a good head on her shoulders and a good game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I would bet against my joint getting through the next round. That would be my best bet of the week. By the way, I'm sure you don't see this because you're there and you're not watching television. Andy Roddick is very good. He's very good on tv. Do you remember him as a talker and a good talker when he played Andy Roddick?

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Top three athletes I ever covered as far as, as being quick witted. Great interviews, really good. He was always good, always good. And I did my book on Federer. You know, one phone call sort of made the book. He was fantastic. He's got a great insight into the game. He's super quick and you know, it's kind of, it's a gift to tennis that he's decided to get involved in it. For me, I think he's good.

[Taylor Twellman]

Really good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll tell you a quick story about him. Many years back I was interviewing Drew Brees, the quarterback at that time, you know, for I guess the Saints, who ultimately won a Super Bowl. And Drew Brees was a tennis player when he was a kid, when he was, you know, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. And he said, but I don't play tennis anymore. And I asked him why and he said an 8 year old kid beat me in Texas and I just said I was done. And that kid was Andy Roddick. He beat Drew like Andy Roddick was like 8 or 9 and Drew Brees was like 12 and, and Roddick, I've always remembered that. And he's really good on television, you know, better than. Well, you know, a lot of them are really good. The McEnroe's are really good. It's really good. Anyway, Chris, thank you so much. We'll get back to you. I'm sure it's a pleasure to have you on. Thanks.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Thanks, Tony. Appreciate it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chris Clary. Boys and girls, we will take a break. Oh, I should read this. This segment with Chris Clary has been brought to you by FanDuel. Play your game and we will have email and jingle when we return. I am Tony Kornhouse.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Got a Sam's Cafe pizza order up. You know the best part about this spicy Italian sausage? I voted for this topping. Yeah, just another perk of being a member.

[Taylor Twellman]

Come join us, Sam's Club.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

This is the Tony Korneiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I love this. It's like having an indoor pool in your head.

[Michael Wilbon]

We're going to need this for the next few days.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So wet,

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Sam.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So beautiful, so transportive. Just takes you away. It's just wonderful. Jeremy Vint, it's wonderful. You want to do the Bethesda bagel egg?

[Michael Wilbon]

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

[Tony Kornheiser]

And before we get to the mailbag, let me just say I pulled into Nazareth Was feeling about half past dead I just need some place where I can lay my head hey mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? He just grinned, shook my hand no, was all he said that is from the album Music from Big Pink, which was released on this day 58 years ago. 7168 one of the great albums of all time. That's the band that Bob Dylan was playing with in Woodstock, New York and went on to total greatness. Thanks to our guests today. Taylor Twillman, Brian Windhorse, Chris Clary. Thanks to as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Audacy. And if you get the show through Apple, please leave us a review from Bob Gray in Stratford on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Canada day is today, July 1st, and it's a great day of celebration. Parades and parties across the nation from coast to coast to coast. We have three oceans, huh? Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific. Here on Prince Edward island, everybody heads for the beach or the golf course. We have dozens of high quality. Being the potato capital of Canada, we check all the farm potato fields as we drive by on our way to celebration. So I naturally thought of you, the Spud King, and this is a note of profound gratitude for you and your gang of happy podcasters for being a huge part of the daily rhythm of my life for decades and decades. Canada Day is a day for reflecting on our many blessings. And your podcast on the PTI show are certainly high on the blessing list for lots of Canadians. Never stop waving that flag and wishing us good night. Happy Canada Day to you and all my fellow Canadian littles. That's very, very nice.

[Michael Wilbon]

It is lovely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Appreciate that and try the mussels.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Prince Edward Island. Lovely. Just lovely. Lots of golf courses. They can only play in probably about four or five months a year.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

By the way, our potatoes are worrying me now because the stalks coming up

[Chris Clary (continued)]

out of the ground out of the

[Tony Kornheiser]

bags are at least 2ft high and are flowering.

[Michael Wilbon]

But we talked.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did we plant flowers?

[Michael Wilbon]

But you were had a chance to talk to Buster before his interview.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He said send a picture. He said no. He said it sounded good.

[Michael Wilbon]

He said it sounded very good.

[Chris Clary]

Got gold.

[Michael Wilbon]

He said, we thinks you're gonna have a. You're gonna be giving out potatoes to your neighbors. That's how many you're gonna get.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can only grow three or four in each bag. We only have five bags so we're not giving out potatoes.

[Chris Clary]

These are our potatoes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Red Hobbs in Linton, Indiana I was contacted by Yellowstone and they pulled me off the weight list and offered me a contract to work at the grocery store at Old Faithful until the end of October. I accepted the contract and on my days off I will be able to watch the Idaho potato farmers bring in their bounty. If any Littles will be visiting Yellowstone, they can stop by the general store and say hi. With limited Internet service, I will try to catch up on your podcast when I can. May the Nationals and Cubs continue to battle for a wild card spot and may your golf game remain enjoyable. P.S. tell Ryan Grove and Lee panicked to eat it. That's very, very nice. From Bret Hobbs Here is a haiku for June's full moon from Shad Harbinger of the only ice cream worth fruit worthy fruit full strawberry moon which is not red, not pink, but was, you know, goldish.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Peter Potke in Southington, Connecticut, which right near Bristol. Tony, you were talking about the Lido golf course on Monday. I said to myself, I know that course. I played the Lido in Wisconsin. Oh, it's. I said Minnesota. I was wrong in Wisconsin just last week at the Sand Valley Golf Resort about three hours northwest of Chicago. You are mistaken about the wind. It is very windy at the Lido in Wisconsin. I'm a pretty big hitter, me and the Lamb of both and a three wood came up short on a par three into the wind. A couple of drives downwind were 330 plus crosswind holes. I've never seen a golf ball do that. Here is a nice write up from one of the golf magazines on how and why a course from a hundred years ago from Long island was meticulously recreated in the middle of nowhere in central central Wisconsin. It's in Golf Digest. I would like to read that at one point the original Lido golf course was considered one of the best in America. From Todd Warnkin. Can you ask Bob Ryan if Paraguay defeating Germany qualifies as an upset? Jenny Kissinger Messner in Lilitz or Liditz Litz, Pennsylvania? Do you know where that is? I do not. When I was 16, I took advantage of an opportunity to study for a year in Sao Paulo. But Brazil? For a practically Amish kid from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, it required a massive transformation to learn the language and appreciate the cultural ways of my new home. Midway through my stay, Brazil won the World cup and the entire country shut down for each game. I'll never forget the joy of holding the Brazilian flag out of a window of a VW Bug racing around town and cheering. Brazil is about to play in the knockout phase. I will be 16 all over again. This is really nice. And then she encloses a picture. It says, P.S. i even got to meet Pele.

[Michael Wilbon]

How about that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

So that's great. Thank you for that. From Brett Bossi in Lake Mary, Florida. So obviously Liddit's Pennsylvania is in the Amish and that's would be in Northeastern Southeast. Okay, Brett Bossi in Lake Mary, Florida. The official Brett with two T's of the show. I used to live in a lot of places. You might know me as Brett with two T's from Lee, New Hampshire. Now I live in Lake Mary, Florida, just outside Orlando. But I also used to live in Buffalo, so I'm very familiar with excessive MLB blackout resort restrictions. People in Buffalo could not access Mets, Yankees Guardians or Pirates games even on the MLB app, even though they were several hours away from Western New York. Even the Mets. It's like it's an eight hour drive. Yeah, even stranger, Blue Jays games were available. Toronto is just 90 minutes from Buffalo, making it the closest team to the market. But it gets weirder. In 2021, because of COVID restrictions, the Blue Jays played a chunk of their home schedule in Buffalo. Despite this, games were still available with no blackouts. That meant if you had the app on your phone, you could watch the game streaming even if you were sitting in the stands. But you can't watch the Yankees play in Seattle or the Mets play at Dodgers Stadium. Make that make sense. I can't. I can't. Tom Targonsky, Sioux City, Iowa As a previous emailer mentioned, if you're a baseball fan and you live in Iowa as I do, you're screwed. I grew up in Brooklyn as a Mets fan. Remember watching all the Mets and Yankees games that were broadcast locally all throughout my youth. It was wonderful for a baseball loving kid. I can't watch any game on the MLB Network and some other networks that involve the Cubs, White Sox, Royals, Cardinals, brewers or Twins. Not just home games, but away games too. For example, if MLB Network is showing the Cubs at the LA Dodgers, it's blacked out. Hocus pocus junk indeed. That's terrible. Yeah, you're paying a lot of money.

[Michael Wilbon]

Baseball's gonna fix that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What is this? From Greg Spinelli in McLean in Virginia. Wilbon Quote I watch soccer to learn what's happening in the World, unquote. That's like listening to the Tony Kornheiser show to learn about soccer from Ruck from the Soviet Safeway in Silver spring in Maryland, Mr. Tony, the capital Weather Gang. Did I miss the code for their new website? Even if we don't get a discount, I just want to use a code. I don't think we have them up today. Oh, you did? No, I mean, you know, I dialed them up on my phone because I wanted to know about the heat wave. I had to go to an app. It was not sufficient for me. I want more than that. From David Epstein in New York. As a proud father, a University of Chicago graduate, I appreciate the shout out for perhaps the most rigorous academic program in the country. But I must come to the defense of your claim that it doesn't play football. They may not play football well. After all, how much fear can a team named the Maroons strike in the heart of an opponent? But I can fully attest to the fact, having personally attended a game, that the University of Chicago does have a D3 football team. Sure, opponents such as Trine, Knox and Beloit may not be household names, but the Maroons will forever have this. The first ever Heisman Trophy. That's right. Jay Burwing, known at the time as the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, was awarded to Jay Burwinger of you got it at the University of Chicago.

[Taylor Twellman]

Eat it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Every other school from John Erickson in San Diego. I saw the title on Monday's podcast, Bubbles with the Captain, and figured I finally had a reason to cruise with Captain Tony. I'm not much of a fishing guy, and I figured you were starting sunrise cruises with champagne toast, so that's not the case. And how is the captain? Four years old already? Yeah, he is. He's four years old. And the other one, the middle one, is about to have a birthday. One of the others from Scott L. In Mexico City. On a recent episode, you referred to Barry Snyder in Panama as the Rum Man. If this is the same Barry Snyder I served with in the Air Force, believe me, Rum Dum is definitely a more appropriate moniker. While Master Sergeant retired, Snyder does know his rums, and I credit him for introducing me to Nativo and Diplomatico, two of my favorite rums. He once got stuck in a phone booth in Spain for two hours after a long night out. While that wasn't his finest moment, he did serve honorably in Panama, the Azores, Afghanistan, and the Pentagon. After retiring from the United States Air Force, he moved to Wilbourne's favorite Midwestern city. North of the border and sold donuts for some guy named Tim Horton. Well, Horton is the same.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He then transitioned to the role of a proud pageant dad watching his daughter be named Ms. Panama a few years ago.

[Bill Simmons]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Quite a wild ride through life. That definitely sounds like a great Chuck and Roxy episode to me.

[Michael Wilbon]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. He listens, right?

[Michael Wilbon]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Barry listens.

[Michael Wilbon]

Apparently so.

[Chris Clary]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's.

[Michael Wilbon]

That's fascinating.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tony Beeson. Dear Dr. Kornheiser, My dad passed away several years ago in 2007, but he has been my mind lately for one of the many stories they told me was of his earliest sports memory. Now, for some context, my dad was 50 years old when I was born, so his memory stretched way back. He shared with me how excited he was in the fall of 1926. One hundred years ago, his dad had been a pitcher for the local town team and was a big baseball fan. Just prior to the World Series that year, Grandpa Beeson had saved up enough money to buy a new radio. My dad and his brothers listened to the 1926 World Series between the Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. The famous Grover Cleveland Alexander series. I still recall my dad and Uncle Carl shaking their heads and speculating how dumb it was that Babe Ruth made the last out in the ninth inning of Game 7 by being. By getting caught in a vain attempt to steal second base. I believe that remains the only time a World Series has ended on a court. Stealing. Isn't that a nice. That is so nice. From Paul and Kim. Good morning, Tony. My wife and I have spent the past few days enjoying the World Cup. Thought you'd enjoy knowing that the Moroccan coach looks amazing like Larry Brown. I haven't seen him. I don't know the Moroccan coach. Well, that's great. From Patrick Sitter in sioux Falls, South Dakota. If Soliza's 20 seconds ahead, does that mean he's already heard you read this email? P.S. on another matter. The World cup blows.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And one more from Joe Rizzo. Quick question for recent emailer Dean Todd of Wabash College. Has he ever said to a student, fat, drunken stupid is no way to go through life, son. Yeah. From Animal House, one of the two most brilliant comedies ever written. Animal House and the original Hangover. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white.

[Taylor Twellman]

Love to prove that, wouldn't you? Get your name into the National Geographic.

[Brian Windhorst]

It.

[Chris Clary (continued)]

Ram.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You.