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Tony Kornheiser
Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk with Michael Wilbon about the NBA Finals, among other things. And we'll talk with Bob Kravitz about the Pacers journey to the Finals. Journey to the Finals. Who wrote this? But first, how about little commerce, boys and girls? Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Michael Wilbon
The fun of this is that everybody's so proud of having been involved with this movie. It's always nice to talk to people about something they're happy about and proud of. And so it's just been great.
Tony Kornheiser
Makes me happy to be able to say that there was never an all the President's Men Part two.
Michael Wilbon
Thank goodness. And I might add, you, sir. I got to talk to you a few weeks ago about coming into the Post on the heels of all of that.
Tony Kornheiser
I made all that up. I wouldn't use it if I were you.
Michael Wilbon
You know, Prince a legend, baby.
Tony Kornheiser
The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. So when we do the opens of these shows, we base it usually on what happened the night before, the day before. Nothing consequential happened in the world of sports yesterday. Not really consequential. I mean, what is consequential right now? It's the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs, which are now heading into the finals. They didn't take place on Sunday.
Bob Kravitz
You have days to wait.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. And when does the hockey start? Because basketball starts Thursday.
Unnamed Speaker 1
We check on the NHL.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. So you know, there was the sixth game between the Pacers and the Knicks and we're going to talk to Bob Kravitz about that and talk to Wilbon about it a little bit, but it wasn't yesterday. So it's Wednesday. Wednesday is the hockey and Thursday is the basketball. So it's old. So I don't know how we're going to do a PTI today. I don't really know. I mean, there's nothing. I mean, it's not nothing. You can make something out of nothing. For example, you can talk about the French Open that American men Francis Tiafo and Tommy Paul are still in it. They're in the quarters. Its first time two American men are in the Quarter since 1996. Okay, that's a long time. But I don't know. I mean, people who watch the show, they don't know who Francis Tiafo and Tommy Paul are. You know why? Cuz they've never won anything. We all like Francis Tiafo in Washington. Cause he's from Washington. We all, excuse me, Root for him. But he's never won anything. Yeah.
Bob Kravitz
I'd push back. I'd say sports fans know Tiafo and they remember a couple very memorable USO games.
Tony Kornheiser
He beat Nadal. It's the greatest win he ever had. Yes. He didn't beat Nadal as a young man. Nadal was an old man at the time, but he beat Nadal.
Unnamed Speaker 1
I think it's straight sets too. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
The greatest win of all time for Francis Tiafo. Yeah. So if he gets into the semis here, if he gets into the finals, that's a different deal. We could talk about that. We got a lot of golf that we can talk about. We got the Women's Open. I watched some of that. We got the Memorial. I watched some of that.
Bob Kravitz
Remember Aaron Hills playing it? I do vaguely remember the par threes most.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. The drop down par threes. I don't remember. I will say that it was struck me as unfair. The green on 18 struck me as unfair. You could not hold the green. People were going off the green deep and then chipping back up and falling back down. One young woman took an eight on that hole. That's really a big score. A triple. There were lots of.
Bob Kravitz
Did you get. The pin was just one or two feet out of position. For being a very fair pin.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes. Move it a little bit more to the middle, but it's on the top of a ridge. If you go by it, it's over. Is her name Maha Stark? Maha Stark or is it Maya Stark? I think it's Maya Stark, Swedish player. She was steady the whole time, but she bogeyed 18 when she. It didn't really matter at that point. Nelly Korda bogeyed 18 and they were all bogeying 18. You know, I don't know what to say about that. Corda missed a four foot nine inch putt for bogey on 13. Stark threw in a birdie on 11. They were two holes apart and it was three strokes. Boom. And it held up the rest of the way. Scotty Scheffler went out there with Ben Griffin. He's the kid from North Carolina.
Bob Kravitz
Yeah. Mizuno player.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Is that right?
Bob Kravitz
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. And you know, he's won a bunch of things lately and he hung in there the whole way. I mean, he was not. Nobody in his right mind was going to think he would beat Scottie Scheffler on a Sunday. Nobody would think that and he didn't.
Bob Kravitz
Scotty Scheffler's record with a 54 hole lead is ridiculous. He's 1 Michael Jordan 8. Yes. On the telecast, they're starting to call him Mariano Rivera. So.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, okay.
Bob Kravitz
But through the first six holes, you see there's a. There is a mismake for Griffin and Scheffler. Scheffler couldn't get up and down and missed about a four and a half footer. And now through the first six holes, you thought maybe it gets tight, but no, by the time you got to the last third of the round, it.
Tony Kornheiser
Was well over the best. The greatest hole was 14. It's the last par five. And Scheffler and Griffin are separated by four strokes at that point. And both of them put their second shots with seven woods within 15ft. I've never seen anything that good. Scheffler misses the putt by one inch. By one inch. It's like you think it's going and Griffin makes it. So he eagles. So it's birdie eagle. So it gets to two at one point and then Griffin doubled 17. So it's four shots with one to go and it's.
Unnamed Speaker 1
That's it.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, of course. I mean, you root for Griffin, you root for him to finish second alone. So he gets some of the benefit of that.
Bob Kravitz
$2 million is a benefit. Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Scottie Scheffler is now, this is his third year of being the number one player in the world, of being marginally, only marginally better than Rahm and McIlroy, but in the top three and actually technically number one.
Bob Kravitz
I would say with a widening margin at this point. You go back to the.
Tony Kornheiser
Now it's widening.
Bob Kravitz
Yes. And this goes back to the first Masters. It was only a couple months before that where he did not have wins.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Bob Kravitz
And then they just came in bunches.
Tony Kornheiser
Now he's 29 years old and by winning the PGA, he became the third player ever at the age of 29 to win at least 15 tour events and three majors. And the other two players are Tiger woods and Jack Nicklaus. So that's real company.
Bob Kravitz
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
Scottie Scheffler is two years of dominance away from being Tiger woods and Jack Nicklaus. If you put together a five or six year run and you win five or six, seven majors and you do this on regular events, you are in that category because that's what they did now. They did it for 10 years and more.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
But you can be legitimately mentioned after five years.
Bob Kravitz
It is the way that he owns his schedule and his starts. This is third win in the last four. And you think about what he did not play right before the pga. He did not play in a signature event, which, you know, a lot of money to leave on the table to play in his hometown event. And then you see how that works for him to come back to play at Jack's tournament and obviously win.
Tony Kornheiser
Jack Nicklaus clearly loves him. You can tell when they interact. Jack Nicklaus loves him. Binghamton, we lost. We're out of the college baseball playoffs. We're out.
Bob Kravitz
You're in a tough region.
Tony Kornheiser
We lost to Georgia and Oklahoma State. And we should. We're good. They're very good. They're bigger. They're better. Yeah, we. It's great that we got there, that we won the America east and we got a couple of games. We have no business. We're not going to beat Georgia. We're not going to beat Oklahoma State. Okay.
Unnamed Speaker 1
How'd Stony Brook, too?
Tony Kornheiser
They wouldn't make it.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Oh, really?
Tony Kornheiser
To my knowledge, they didn't make it.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Too bad.
Tony Kornheiser
So the Nats are in the West. They're in Arizona. Games are too late. Yeah, games are too late for me. And so I read about it the next day about how The Nats scored 10 runs. Was that what it. Saturday night, Michael?
Bob Kravitz
First inning.
Tony Kornheiser
First inning.
Bob Kravitz
Went through the order a couple times.
Unnamed Speaker 1
30 minute inning, something like that.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Bob Kravitz
Abrams got it twice.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Yeah, that's. What are we talking about?
Bob Kravitz
The crazy thing is for this whole inning to start, he's down two strikes and then he gets, you know, popped on the foot. I mean, this. This got sideways quick.
Tony Kornheiser
I just watched him yesterday. I finally got to a Nats game. Abram struck out the first two times he got up.
Bob Kravitz
Yeah. Great at bat.
Tony Kornheiser
The.
Bob Kravitz
I think the third.
Tony Kornheiser
Fishing for curveballs that are outside the zone. And he strikes out swinging. Okay. It happens. But this is the one game I get to watch and they lose and they score the usual one run as opposed to the nine runs and the 11 runs that they score when it's so late that I can't watch it.
Unnamed Speaker 1
So Josh Bell had himself a nice weekend. At least a few games.
Bob Kravitz
He's had a good west coast trip. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Saved himself a job. Yeah. Everyone will regret this. I think what you hope for is that he plays well enough that somebody in a position of contention says, I'll trade for him.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
The deadline, it's a month away. I'll trade for him. Maybe he can help me because he's really not a long term answer.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Did you see the news? Dom Smith?
Tony Kornheiser
No. What happened? We have a notice here from Jason Small. Oh, is it in here?
Unnamed Speaker 1
I don't know because it just, it just occurred yesterday he opted to become a free agent. He was with the Yankees at AAA and was doing quite well but had an opt out clause, I guess. Yesterday it was up and he said, yeah, I'm going to be a free agent.
Tony Kornheiser
So does it, does anybody want him?
Unnamed Speaker 1
He's had, he's been, I mean, admittedly he's been swinging the bat very well down at aaa.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay.
Unnamed Speaker 1
I am sure that somebody will want to, to pick him up.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay, well, that'll be fine.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
As I said, we're going to talk to.
Bob Kravitz
May I share one, one story with you, please. So do you remember as a kid going to just parks to play tennis.
Tony Kornheiser
When I was a kid?
Bob Kravitz
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, I played at camp and I had eight weeks at camp and so I did that. And yes, there was a particular place called Grant park where I lived and I would take my bicycle over there and play.
Bob Kravitz
Yes, this was one of the first weekends where, you know what's great about major weekends for tennis is the kids start to watch tennis early in the morning. So we're watching. Oh yeah, because it's in, you know, the women first and we're watching Te Alpha play and the boys get the itch so they find their tennis rackets, they go outside and before you know it you find your way to the local park, which is something that we've not done in a long time. And you just see everyone who shows up and you sort of queue up, you wait for the court. But it was just such a great early summer Sunday.
Tony Kornheiser
That's nice. It's nice. Tennis is a lovely sport to play.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
The ball comes back to you most of the time and you get to hit it.
Bob Kravitz
Oh, now when my kids hit.
Tony Kornheiser
But okay, well, but it's, you know.
Unnamed Speaker 1
It'S nice, great fun to be out there.
Tony Kornheiser
This is nice. Certain amount of snobbery on for some people. Yes, you know, very much so. It's, yeah, it's like the attitude is, hey, I'm walking here, you know, it's like my court. Okay. You know, but there are courts around and they're nice. Most of the courts are hard courts. They're not going to have clay. Of course, you can't maintain them. You're certainly not going to have grass courts. I've never played on a grass court.
Bob Kravitz
I do love when they call the umpire over to check the clay to see where the imprint of the ball is.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah, I played on grass just once.
Tony Kornheiser
Never did. I've walked by it.
Unnamed Speaker 1
It's.
Tony Kornheiser
But I've never played.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah, it's fun.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, I play on grass when I play golf. I was terrible yesterday. It's the worst I ever played. I shot 101.
Bob Kravitz
It was in the low 50s when he teed off, so I shot a hundred. Conditions?
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I had no pars. This doesn't happen.
Bob Kravitz
You actually wrote down 101 and posted that score?
Tony Kornheiser
I went to the pro shop and I said I had 101. Just give me 99. I can't post 101. Just give me 99. Yeah, for vanity, candy, cat, 99 problems, you know, So I didn't know I was really, really stinkingly bad.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Do we need a new swing coach or.
Tony Kornheiser
No, I'm just. I'm no good. I'm just no good. It's just. It's the way it is. I'm no good.
Bob Kravitz
Well, I've reached out to Chuck Henry. We're working to get you some new sticks.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, so just shorter because I'm now five.
Bob Kravitz
Program height, no more.
Tony Kornheiser
I can fit in the overhead at this point. It's really pathetic. Let's go to Michael Wilbon. I'm Tony Kornheiser.
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This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Tony Kornheiser
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Summer Joy
You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show.
Tony Kornheiser
This is Summer Joy who writes. I hope you're well. It is lovely to e meet you. I'm an indie rock singer from London in the UK and New York City. I've just finished my debut album. My most recent song, the Fever, which you're hearing now, released on May 5. I've gained thousands of fans because of it. I write all my own music and I'm cut from the same cloth as, wait for it, Joan Didion and Eve Babbitt. I don't know who Eve Babbitts is. Joan Didion. Yeah, Joan Didion. Wow. My music is everything to me. I hope you and your listeners will enjoy the songs. This is called the Fever. It is. Summer Joy plays in Michael Wilbon. Let's start with the basketball. I mean this is a difficult day to do a sports show because we're three and four days away from the NHL and the NBA Finals and we're removed from the teams getting there by a couple of days at least. Your initial thoughts about Oklahoma City and Indiana? I don't think anybody when you sat down to sort of dope out at the beginning of the playoffs, who would be in there? A lot of people might have had Oklahoma City, though you bailed on them to go to Minnesota. But I don't honestly think, Mike, that anybody would have had Indiana. Do you?
Unnamed Speaker 2
I know. Although I will. You know, the person we have to give credit to is our dear friend Brian Windhorse. I know you'll have him at some point this week, probably on the podcast. Windhorse said multiple times on the air live. He said the Indiana Pacers are a championship contender hiding in plain sight.
Tony Kornheiser
I didn't know that. Good for him.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Exact phrase, good for him. And so they were in the conference final last year. So maybe more of us should have seen that now. But. But no, everybody went Boston, Oklahoma City. I certainly did.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
At the beginning of this.
Tony Kornheiser
Or Cleveland. I like Cleveland.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Cleveland. Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
I liked Cleveland. Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Number one seed with 64 wins. Yes. So not. No. Not many people had Indy. I think it's exciting and what I was I hoping the Knicks would when. When the series started. Sure it was. But I think it's exciting because of the way Indy plays the way the Pacers play and the people they have that folks don't know, who are very exciting to watch. And the way OKC plays and styles make fights, I don't. I don't know that this will be as exciting as I projected to, but I think it will be.
Tony Kornheiser
If you were selling it, if you were a marketer, I know you hate marketers, but how would you. How would you sell it? These are unknown teams. People are aware of who Shea Gilgeous Alexander is, but these are unknown teams. Would you sell it on style?
Unnamed Speaker 2
No, I sell it on the personality, on the people. You got two charismatic young guys out there who are telegenic. They are not shy. Neither one. I mean, Sheik Gilchrist, Alexander, you could say he's reserved. You don't ever see him. Everything he says is the right thing. It is. He's not going to grab his crotch and do what Halliburton does.
Tony Kornheiser
Right.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Or give you a chokescience. He's not who he is. But when people claim they want their sports stars sort of clean cut and affable and available and accessible, then don't lie. Then market them. And to me, the league hasn't done all that great a job in marketing anybody. There's not Stefan LeBron. And I. I told you last year, I said, the league's gonna have to get over this because it doesn't go on forever.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Unnamed Speaker 2
We wanted them to play, but they didn't play. And I don't want to hear that the market size has anything to do with it because San Antonio is not a big market team.
Tony Kornheiser
No, I don't. I don't believe it's market size. I believe it's personality of teams.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yeah, well, I mean. But, you know, you get it. It evolves. You don't know if Oklahoma City is as good as it appears they could be, and they're a powerhouse that's gonna market itself.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, if they're as good as they appear to be and they're a powerhouse and they win in four or five, it's, you know, what you want. If you're. The league is at least six and hopefully seven, because your audience always builds, but it's over quickly, you know, then people would. They're not going to really notice.
Unnamed Speaker 2
But then you. Then you got. You can't have it both ways. I mean, you say you want great teams. Okay. Great teams beat the hell out of people sometimes. Yeah, that's what they do.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. I like dynasties, dynastic.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Then you beat the Hell out of people.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, if Oklahoma City were to win in four, I would say, yeah, we're ushering in a dynasty. I would, I would jump to that.
Unnamed Speaker 2
I tend to think it's more of a 5ish. And could I see a 6 game? I could. Do I see a, do I see like a tussle over seven? I. Not really. But then again, we just talked about how the whole country's underestimated the Pacers, so I'm excited to see it.
Tony Kornheiser
The whole country is underestimating the Pacers, who again, are an unknown team. And the whole country doesn't know who Oklahoma City is. They have absolutely no idea. So this is their debut. I mean, if I'm Oklahoma City, I watch what the Knicks did in game five. I take the ball out of Halliburton's hands. Do you?
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yes. You try to. Yeah. And that's what Oklahoma City.
Tony Kornheiser
And they play defense. They're better at defense than the Knicks.
Unnamed Speaker 2
They're fast defense. They, I think they're the best defensive team since the spurs or the, even the Bulls. I mean, and people don't think of the Bulls that way because they think of Jordan high flying, that's fine. But in Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Ron Harper.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. The second go round, four great defenders.
Unnamed Speaker 2
And so that's what Oklahoma City has endured and Jay Will, even, even, even Shay Gilders. Alexander is a really terrific defender. He just happens to be about the fourth or fifth guy on that team.
Tony Kornheiser
What's interesting about them, the reason I think, you know, again, I think they could sweep and they might not. I, I, I find it hard to see Indiana winning unless it's seven. But, but the reason I think, I look at the way that team is constructed and that team has the right player at every position. The way you want to draw it up. They really do. And they're young. They're really young and they seem to be willing to be coached. There doesn't seem to be any prima donnas on that team and that's unusual. So we'll see. Are you?
Unnamed Speaker 2
No. It seems, it seems to have, but neither does Indiana.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Unnamed Speaker 2
But I don't think anybody who's around the Pacers think that he doesn't want to be coached. I mean, Carlisle seems to be thrilled with him.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. That's good. That's good. I am. I'm not the world's biggest hockey guy, nor do I claim to be. I'm really happy with the hockey final. I assume you are too.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yeah. I don't care about Florida. I care about Edmonton. So, you know, Florida could have been replaced. I'd rather have seen Toronto in. But yeah, I, I'm thrilled. I want to see the best player in the world.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
I want to see him as often as I can see him. And maybe, you know, two of the four best players in the world. I'm with Dry Siddle in there. And I, you know, when I do, if I'm watching hockey, it's not the Blackhawks. What I'm watching is late night stuff because that's when I, the deck is cleared. I'm still up. I'll flip over and so who's playing late? Edmonton, the Kings, Edmonton, Vancouver. And, you know, so I actually see more of those teams. I do. And I'm excited to see the Oilers again. I did the other night, the goal that McDavid, you know, that Conor McDavid scored, it's just, you know, and it's a different wow than Gretzky, but he brings you out of your seat. Being dry side will bring you out of your seat. And that's what the old Edmonton teams did. And it's, it's kind of thrilling. So I'm, I'm between that the two and then the Cubs are doing something that none of us expected.
Tony Kornheiser
Cubs, Nats. This week in Washington. Yeah, three games. You're going to miss it.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Go and see it. And the Gnats have gotten hot. I did in preparation for knowing something about the Gnats that I hadn't done all year, probably in two or three years. I watched two abbreviated Nats games. I watched the whole games. I mean, the abbreviated broadcast. Like I said, MLB has this awesome feature where you can see the whole game. And you know, you can see a whole baseball game in about nine minutes. You do. You can. When it's condensed and edited properly. I mean, even with, even with voices. I mean, even with the play by play or color voices from each team, from each broadcast, you can splice so you can edit those in. And eight and a half or nine minutes, it's like, wow, this is a great thing to be able to listen to. So I did that with the Gnats just so I can know who they are. Because I don't know the Nats. I haven't watched the Nets in years. Why would you not one game.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, why would you not?
Unnamed Speaker 2
And so, you know, so I'm looking forward to, you know, seeing what that delivers.
Tony Kornheiser
Talk about the U.S. women's Opens. Your thoughts on that. We played for people who don't Know this. We played Erin Hills. We were actually out there.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. So what did you think?
Unnamed Speaker 2
And the whole complex. I've played, you know, all of it a couple of times. It's a couple hour drive from Chicago. And I like this. It's just a unbelievably beautiful facility in the summer. Just really. And I liked it. I mean, it's the kind of tournament where if all you're going to do is turn on to watch the stars, you're going to be disappointed because there was a grouping with Hull and Lexi Thompson and Korda to start it. And it was like, whoa, this is really, you know, somebody did a great job with pairing these three players that people want to see. And yeah, you saw him the first day, but then you only saw quarter after.
Tony Kornheiser
That's right.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Corda finished second and she was a stroke back of a Swedish girl who went to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma State.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 2
For a year.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 2
And quarter was, you know, I, you know, I had gotten to know Nelly Korda and, and Jessica a little bit Nelly. More than a little bit, because it's a project I work on with them and I love them both and I root for them and hard. And I was rooting, of course for Nelly Corday yesterday, the whole weekend. And I was thinking, okay, she's gonna get this done. She's gonna walk this girl down.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Now she missed a 4 foot 9 inch. She missed a 4 foot 9 inch.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
On the same time that Stark was, you know, was making a birdie. Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
And that two shot swing was, you know, was kind of everything. And I gotta say, I'm disappointed. Quarter wins all the time. Quarter's the best player on tour and it's probably good for the, for the, for the LPGA or just women's golf worldwide to have, you know, people that pop up, that folks don't necessarily. That's a. Again, it's like the whole discussion of Oklahoma City and Indiana. You have to create stars, you know, and Michelle, we is not there anymore. And you know, Lexi Thompson is not there full time anymore. They've retired even though they're unbelievably young and charismatic women. So you gotta, you invest in other young talents who become stars.
Tony Kornheiser
I will say this. I watched the telecast alternating back and forth with Scotty Scheffler, you know. Yeah. I mean, because Scheffler is, he's a fabulous player. He's. I said earlier that two years from now, if he continues like this, you can talk about him. With Tiger and Jack, you got to do at least five years and probably more. But he's. He is that good. But watching the women I had, Morgan Pressel was in the booth and she was really good. And afterwards on Live From, Mel Reed sat there with Brando Chamblee, and it was really good.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Of course it was. Right now you've gotten to know two of those people, Reed and Press, a little more than a little bit. And you know how cool they are to listen to. Great.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 2
It's great. Yes. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Tony Kornheiser
I thought the back and forth with Brando Chamblee and Mel Reed was fabulous.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Oh, yeah, absolutely. And so I get to Mel Reed as well. Because of a mutual friend. Mel Reed has become a friend. Somebody that could actually go and play around the golf with. Not that she want to play with me. Mel Reed is just entertaining.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Engaging.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah.
Unnamed Speaker 2
You know, I want to. And so is Morgan Pressell, who I now follow on Instagram. So I'm following Morgan Pressell all the time. She's interesting all the time. And they are good, as you know, because we just.
Tony Kornheiser
We did an event.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Lose it. You have a great broadcast and you have people you want to listen to.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Which we just said goodbye. And I hope happy trails. Today is to inside the NBA with Charles Kenny.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, it's not really happy trails. It's coming over to us.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Well, it is, but.
Tony Kornheiser
But lock, stock and barrel, it's coming over to us.
Unnamed Speaker 2
I mean, I know it's cool. It's cool. But the way they had to say goodbye after 36 years, that's a long time. And it doesn't. We don't know that it'll be the same. We don't.
Tony Kornheiser
It'll be the same. Because if it isn't the same, why are you even buying it? It's a hit. Well, you hope people like it. You know what you say to people? This is good. Keep your hands off this. This is really good.
Unnamed Speaker 2
Yes. You and I. Let me ask something. Do television executives do everything you and I want?
Tony Kornheiser
No, but I sure hope they do in this case.
Unnamed Speaker 2
We both do.
Tony Kornheiser
I sure hope they do in this season.
Unnamed Speaker 2
We both do. There's every reason.
Tony Kornheiser
Although Shaq doesn't have to curse on the air. Someone should say to shaq once every.
Unnamed Speaker 2
20 years, oh, God.
Tony Kornheiser
All right, I'll talk to you later. All right, Tom Michael Wilbon, boys and girls. We'll take a break. We'll come back with Bob Kravitz of Indiana. I didn't know Kravitz was still working. That'll Be my first question. I thought you retired. I'm Tony Kornheiser.
Summer Joy
This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show.
Tony Kornheiser
Once again, this is Summer Joy. This is a song called Most in youn Love. I sort of like this.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah, it's good.
Tony Kornheiser
How did she hear of us?
Unnamed Speaker 1
She's a big fan.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? I mean, she's. Well, she's in New York now, but she was from England. We don't circulate in England.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Well, we have a certain connection to the uk.
Tony Kornheiser
We have you again, Summer Joy, and this is called Most in youn Love. You can listen to these songs without me yakking over them. And the end of the podcast, it plays in Bob Kravitz, who for many, many years in a couple of different cities, was a great sports writer. And then, you know, I lost track of him and he lost track of me. I'm old. I'm older than you. But you're old. I thought you retired. What are you doing?
Summer Joy
I don't know. I need the money. I need the cash, man. I'm semi retired. I'm writing. Writing for Bob Kravitz dot com. It's a substack production, so I'm some. Staying busy and staying really busy right now.
Tony Kornheiser
Well, I can imagine that, but I just. I mean, you know, like, what does that mean? I'm writing for Bob Kravitz dot com. What does that mean?
Summer Joy
It's. It's a substack.
Tony Kornheiser
What does that mean? What is a substack?
Summer Joy
Substack is a. What would you call.
Tony Kornheiser
Just.
Summer Joy
It's just a place to write your column and get. Get money and. Yeah, it's. It's. I don't understand it either, Tony. My daughter set up the whole thing.
Tony Kornheiser
Right. She.
Summer Joy
The whole thing. And I just write and I post and money comes in.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. If I didn't have my son, I would just sit in a corner and I wouldn't be able to do anything. I just can't do anything. Yeah. I'm sure you have the same feeling that I do. I make phone calls and I never get live people, and it drives me crazy. I don't want to be on the machinery. All right. How surprised are you that Indiana is here in this final?
Summer Joy
Well, I'm surprised they beat Cleveland. I really thought that Cleveland was going to take care of them, but I'm not surprised in terms of the bigger picture. I thought that they could, in fact, repeat what they did last year until they ran into Cleveland, but obviously they took care of them. Look, this is the third best best team in the league since January 1st. Their defense has been top 10 since January 1st. They haven't lost back to back games since March 10th. They've been on, they've been on a hell of a roll. And you know, it's just one of those teams you just get a feeling about. I mean, there's a joie de vivre about them that you just don't, you know, I mean, you saw what Thomas Bryant did. He hasn't played in weeks. And he comes in and he's a hero, one of the heroes of game six against the Knicks. So it's just a great team. And I'm really looking forward to this finals matchup because it's two teams that are low on the payroll. Neither one's in the tax. It's the first time in decades you get two teams that are not in the tax. So it's going to be fascinating.
Tony Kornheiser
I can only name, and I do this for a living. I can only name one guy in Indiana and one guy on Oklahoma City. I can name Halliburton and I can't really name anybody else. And Wilbond tried to coach me up about that. Neither of these teams are star studded. You may have an mvp, but you can't name any of the other starters on Oklahoma City. Is that problematic for the league or do you think that, you know, that doesn't really matter because the game is the game?
Summer Joy
Well, it certainly doesn't matter around here, but I'm sure that the ratings will probably tank a little bit. You know, I, it's understandable. I mean, you got Shay Gilchrist, Alexander is the mvp and they're loaded, but not a lot of household names. You know, Jalen Williams, people like that. You know, I think a lot of people know Pascal Siakam, but, you know, unless you're a hardcore basketball fan, who the hell is Andrew Nemhard? You know, Who's Aaron Neesmith? T.J. mcConnell. It's just a team that, that's a team. You know, they don't have a lot of superstars, except I guess you would say Halliburton. Although I would say he's one tier below superstar.
Tony Kornheiser
He is. He's not a superstar. No, not at all. Not yet.
Summer Joy
I mean, you gotta, you gotta bring it every, every game. Yeah, and that's not him to me. You know, you look at Curry, you look at LeBron, you look at maybe Luka, I mean, you got to bring it every day. And he's not quite at that point, but I think he will be. And every time they're up against it, man, he delivers.
Tony Kornheiser
So they are. They're a four seed. They were in the finals recently, and yet the conference finals last year. Right. They were in the conference finals, and nobody knows them. I would have to think that this is one of those cases where you can say of the coach and the general manager, these guys know what they're doing, right?
Summer Joy
Absolutely. And the remarkable part of this, I mean, you look at Oklahoma City, they tanked, and it took them about four or five years to get back to this point.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes.
Summer Joy
The Indiana Pacers started on their rebuild back in 21, 22, and they rebuilt this sucker in about 10 and a half minutes. It's amazing. I mean, they got Halliburton, they drafted Nemhard. They made a deal, it seemed like a secondary deal for Aaron Neesmith. They made the deal. The one that closed the deal was the Siakam trade. He has been absolutely terrific. MVP of the Eastern Conference finals. So, yeah, I mean, they. They don't have a lot of big names, but they are. They are one hell of a collective.
Tony Kornheiser
So I was just talking with Wilbon, and I said, I can see Oklahoma City sweeping Indiana, and I can see Indiana winning in seven. I can't really see anything in the middle. What are your thoughts on that?
Summer Joy
Yeah, I. I'm picking Oklahoma City in six. I, you know, I hate to do it because, you know, I am. I am an indie writer, but you got to be honest with people. And I just think Oklahoma City, when you win 68 games and you have a historically good defense, I think they're a really, really tough matchup for Indiana. So I'm going to pick Oklahoma City in six and hope that I'm wrong, because I'd love to see. I'd love to see Indiana win its first NBA championship.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, they won in the aba, right. Mel Daniels was on a Roger Brown, and Mel Daniels, I think, won. But that's. Only people like our age can remember that. How long have you been in Indiana? How many years?
Summer Joy
25 years.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. And prior to that was Denver, right?
Summer Joy
Denver. Correct.
Tony Kornheiser
Okay. So we had on. I don't know if you know who this fellow is. Ryan McGee from ESPN. He does a lot of things on college football and a lot of things on car racing. And I really enjoy having to talk to him. I like his accent and I like what he says. And he was saying, look, you can take the Indiana Pacers and the Indianapolis Colts and even University of Indiana basketball, which is no longer what it used to be. All of that stuff, you can take that away from Indiana. But if you take away the Indy 500, that would be the biggest loss in the sporting culture of Indiana. You've lived there a long time now. Do you agree with that?
Summer Joy
Excuse my dog. My dog had an answer.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Yeah.
Summer Joy
I think he's saying no. I think, I think the cults are the bigger part of the culture now.
Tony Kornheiser
You do?
Summer Joy
I do. I do. I look, I mean, the, the Indy 500 is a one off. My dog.
Tony Kornheiser
We have a dog here. It's wonderful when you have dogs that bark during the show.
Summer Joy
Yeah, it's awesome. He's got good timing. I think the Colts are a bigger part of the culture because it's, it's really a year round proposition with the NFL. You know, I mean, obviously the Indy 500, they just sold out and it's a one, it's a, it's a one off. It's remarkable, it's incredible. But I think, I think this is more of a football town. Although right now, right now, it's clearly an NBA town. It's funny. Basketball, Indiana's basketball. This is more of a college basketball city than it is a pro basketball city, in my, in my view. Indiana University, Purdue, you know, even Notre Dame when they're, when they're decent. But yeah, I think, I think it would be a bigger deal to lose the Colts than it would be to lose the Indy 500.
Tony Kornheiser
How big a deal is Caitlin Clark right now?
Summer Joy
Unbelievable. I mean, look at the numbers and how they've declined because she's hurt Price with her. With her. Hurt? Yeah, she's, she's just been a thunderbolt. I mean, she's a, she's a cultural thunderbolt. She's, she's, she's everywhere. She's, she's. Peyton, you know, as far as doing all the ads for State, I think State Farm or Cambridge or whatever it is she does. She's been, she's been great. It's a shame she's out for a couple of weeks, but I think this is a team that's going to kind of tread water for a little while and then come on at the end and make the playoffs.
Tony Kornheiser
All right. You talked about the Colts. I would be remiss if I didn't ask this. The passing of Jimmy or say what. What effect does that have in your mind?
Summer Joy
Well, yeah, the funeral. Excuse me? The funerals today.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, okay.
Summer Joy
I'll be attending that. You know, I'll be curious to see how, how his daughters handle it, specifically Carly or, say, Gordon. But to her credit, and to Jim's great, eternal credit, they prepared her for this day, for the last 10, 15 years. She's actually on the sidelines with a headset during a game. She's out in the practice field with her pad and, you know, following practice every day. I've heard from former Colts executives who have only the highest praise for Carli. So, you know, she, she may be a little more steady than Jim because Jim at the end was making some pretty rash, bizarre decisions. So I think they're in pretty good hands. I think. I think they're going to be. All right.
Tony Kornheiser
Nice to talk with you. We'll talk again during the finals. Thanks, Bobby.
Summer Joy
That sounds good. Good talk to you, Tony.
Tony Kornheiser
Bob Kravitz, boys and girls. We'll take a break. We'll come back. Email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. Here comes Tony's mailbag. Got your email factor engine notes. Here comes Tony's mailbag. Gotta read some for all you folks. Thank you, Gary. You want to do the Bethesda bagel? Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Bagel sandwiches day. Very happy about that. Bethesda bagels, we love them. You will as well. Just go to bethesdabagles.com for the location in the DC area nearest you, then pop one in and you'll be thrilled.
Tony Kornheiser
Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say it was the 3rd of June. Another sleepy, dusty Delta day. I was out chopping cotton and my brother was bailing hay. And at dinner time, we stopped and walked back to the house to eat. Mama hollered at the back door, you'll remember to wipe your feet. And then she said, I got some news this morning from Choctaw ridge. Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. That's one of the great poems of all time that became a song.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Ode to Billy Joe. It's just brilliant. But isn't today the 2nd of June?
Unnamed Speaker 1
It is.
Tony Kornheiser
Why wouldn't you?
Unnamed Speaker 1
Because we're not doing a podcast on the 3rd of June. Yeah. So I thought I'd just.
Tony Kornheiser
Maybe we should just do one. So you could have done this third of June.
Bob Kravitz
It's not that hard to arrange.
Tony Kornheiser
Bobby Gentry.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yes.
Tony Kornheiser
It's our biggest song. It's our only.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Only song.
Tony Kornheiser
But it's just fantastic. Just great. Thanks to our guests today, Michael Wilbon and Bob Kravitz. Thanks as well. Tonight, today's sponsors remember. You can listen to us on Apple podcasts Spotify and Odyssey. Get show through Apple. Please leave us a review.
Bob Kravitz
It's graduation season and Father's Day is just around the corner. Yes, celebrate 20 years. Go to johnnyo.com we have a new code. Captain three.
Tony Kornheiser
Captain three.
Bob Kravitz
Little reed turns three and three.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh, that's right. That's right.
Bob Kravitz
The captain.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, on June 15th.
Bob Kravitz
Captain three.
Tony Kornheiser
I remember that. Okay. Thank you.
Bob Kravitz
You remember it. Oh, good.
Tony Kornheiser
I do. I remember his birthday. I remember when he was born.
Bob Kravitz
Oh, give him a call.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, I was going to do that.
Unnamed Speaker 1
That's it. Technically, he's supposed to call.
Bob Kravitz
Yes.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Okay.
Bob Kravitz
That's the way it goes. He has trouble dialing, but it's okay.
Tony Kornheiser
All right. Speaking of the FaceTime face morrow, I hope the Rockies call me to be the GM after your latest plug for me on pti. I can bring great ideas like Taco Tuesday, Dollar Thursday and Mullet Night. We could have a secret promotion night based on a podcast that discusses important trap topics like traffic, construction, small Ohio towns, flavors of ice cream, how to get free stuff and the vernal equinox. We could change the identity for one night to the Rocky Mountain Oysters and have a testacular good time. That's funny. My first move would be to get some new players. We would immediately sign Dom Smith, Wander Suero, Austin Volf, Joe Ross, the Beltway Mitterrand and newest Syracuse Met Colin Pooch. Until they call me, I'll be hard at work on Quattro Formaggio where we have an update. Tickets for littles will be $5.11 but they have to buy them on the soon to be provided link on the usual social media outlets for Littles, we will see about a code on our regular website. Jake Hafter and I are working feverishly on the festivities which will include hotel rates and fun planned for the night itself on Taco Tuesday, September 9th at historic NBT Bank Stadium. With any luck, I will be the new GM of the Rocky Mountain Oysters by that time. And the new GM here will be upset that we sold tickets for $5.11. And we have Louise Glook and T Boy Lacholet in the mascot race. Unbelievable. Thanks for the shout out. Please tell Jay Kaeperner to eat it. Yeah, he's brilliant. Jason Small is brilliant.
Unnamed Speaker 1
We love Jason.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, this whole thing is just absolutely brilliant. By the way, Colorado Rockies keep losing. I don't know why you keep the GM. You fired the manager they've only won nine games. Truly terrible, terrible. From George Malay 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystic Dan won for the first time since last year's Kentucky Derby, crossing the Churchill Downs finish line in convincing fashion. And Saturday's Blame Stakes. Congratulations to Kenny McPeak and company. I had my money on post time as 5 years old and had never once finished out of the money. This is lovely. It's a big, beautiful picture of mystic, too. Jeff Alexander in Salinas, California, formerly of Seattle Love hearing an email read from Dan Dennis Bounds of Redmond, Washington the other day. Is it possible it's the same Dennis Bounds was a TV news anchor for the NBC Seattle affiliate King tv. If so, the next time you read his emails, you should say from Dennis Bounds. Yes, that Dennis Bounds. From Tom o' Brien, you mention of Mike Breen and Fordham was my David Aldrich moment. I grew up in the same neighborhood as Mike and his family. It's basically right on the border with the Bronx where the Deacon becomes the New York State through where I know it will. He was in the class ahead of me at St. Paul's Grammar School. He went to my brother's high school, attended Fordham, as did my father and brother. I wanted out of New York City. I headed to D.C. for college. I played sports with him and his brothers. My friends growing up were something like the Bowery Boys, good kids that found trouble. We're all still like brothers today. Mike hung out with us until eighth grade or so. One day when we were doing something really stupid, he walked away saying, I can't hang with you blanks anymore. It was the best move he could have ever made. It demonstrated his intelligence and foresight at an early age. Since then, he's always been gracious and friendly, always stopping into our park over the years to say hi when he would walk up to the corner store to get his dad a post in the Daily News. He's brought some of us down to the floor at Madison Square Garden several times. We will always be proud of him and still chuckle about the day he walked away. My kids just tell me to shut up every time he's on tv. We know you know him. That's really nice. From Jeff Simpson, one of the Simpsons oh, Arlington, Virginia. Michael recommended Falls Road and Northwest as good public golf courses in the D.C. area. For Brendan from Columbia, Missouri, who will be visiting soon, I would add to that list East Potomac, which is located on Haynes Point, a peninsula in the Potomac River. The original, yeah, near the Jefferson Memorial. I play there all the time. Love it they have the blue course, which is a standard 18 holes. They have the white course, an executive par four, and the red course, a short par three. You can easily book a time with short notice@playdcgolf.com I should also add that these Potomac has a double decker driving range, a decent grill, and great views of the Potomac river and the Washoe Monument. It's a gem.
Bob Kravitz
Yeah, I mean the views, competitive putting.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah, the views are just gorgeous. Just gorgeous. And you can go play golf.
Bob Kravitz
One of the best deals, if you can get one of their short holes, which is on the far side of the property, you can hang out for an hour, practice your shots about 80 yards and in. And the white course is the most fun with some of the most interesting greens in the area, including a split level on number eight.
Unnamed Speaker 1
And here's some trivia for you. Do you know those fields that are there on. On your way out to Haynes points, like big softball fields? Don't they used to be used for. They were runways. I played for US mail planes.
Tony Kornheiser
Is that right?
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
I didn't know that. Yeah. Another famous Fordham alumni me, Rich Medica, class of 75, your official signer insurance information provider. Okay, this is from Joanne. Venice, Florida. Your segment with Ann Hornaday was one of your most interesting programs to date, especially the blockbuster debate highlighting Jaws, which brought back a wonderful memory of how I met the woman to whom I'm related by marriage. A friend and I were waiting for one of our apartment complexes, tennis courts, apropos of Michael talking about tennis earlier when we noticed two young girls playing on one. Not long after we introduced ourselves and played a few games, I asked her out. She accepted and chose Jaws, a movie I'd not heard about. About 30 minutes into the movie, I leaned over and offered, if this is too intense for you, you can leave. Mainly because the movie was way too intense for me. She said, no thanks. I was stuck. I have not ventured into the ocean since. It's a great email.
Bob Kravitz
One of the early scenes of Goodbye Columbus. The tennis match.
Tony Kornheiser
Yes, yes, that's right. That's right. Do you know that the guy who plays the brother in Goodbye Columbus.
Bob Kravitz
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
Oh. Was Brent Glass's fraternity brother at Lafayette.
Bob Kravitz
Wow.
Tony Kornheiser
Yeah. Bill Isaacson, Chuck and Roxy, episode 376 in the Newlywed Games fourth anniversary. Well, last time the cicadas came out. The major problem we had was that fat raccoons with large claws carved up our backyard like they were looking for bagel sandwiches. We learned that sleeping cicadas lie extant a few inches underground. So what was happening was that the raccoons were plowed our yard like it was a buster Only farm to feast on the cicadas. Did I say cicadas? I meant cicadas. The raccoons left our yard looking like a Long island toll booth after Sunny paid his final toll. The point of all this is I fear for the potatoes in your front yard. Okay? Well, it happens.
Unnamed Speaker 1
Yeah.
Tony Kornheiser
And from Patrick City, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, what would you rather do? Walk in the street or chew on bark? If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone, as always, do wear white.
Bob Kravitz
Reedy. Who's your favorite golfer?
Unnamed Speaker 2
Scottish.
Bob Kravitz
H. Who else is your favorite golfer?
Tony Kornheiser
Mommy and dad. That's great. Did you hire a kid to pretend to be Reed on that one?
G
Get it wrong? Watch till I sit down. Want me to be somewhere I will live? I do wonder Will I be in my bottle for eternity? Want me to be someone Be someone Sam. Your company, your company. Want to be Am I am a mess Love me, love me any less Dark face. Your company, your company. Want to be free Wanna be there Wanna be there.
Release Date: June 2, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Michael Wilbon, Bob Kravitz, Summer Joy
Tony Kornheiser opens the show by setting the stage for the day’s discussions, primarily focusing on the NBA Finals and the Indiana Pacers' journey to the finals. He introduces his guests, Michael Wilbon and Bob Kravitz, hinting at in-depth conversations about recent sports events.
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The conversation shifts to recent golf tournaments, with particular attention to notable players and course challenges.
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Tony and guests discuss recent baseball outcomes, focusing on the Washington Nationals' performance and the challenges faced by the team.
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The hosts share personal experiences related to sports, particularly golf, adding a relatable and humorous layer to the discussion.
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Introduction of Summer Joy: Summer Joy, an indie rock singer from London and New York City, joins the show to discuss her involvement with Substack—a platform for writers and creators to monetize their content.
Explanation of Substack:
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Summer Joy brings a fresh perspective to the NBA Finals discussion, focusing on the dynamics between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City.
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Tony engages with listeners through emails, sharing personal stories and responding to sports-related inquiries.
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As the episode wraps up, Tony reflects on the day's discussions, thanks his guests, and teases future content.
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This episode of "The Tony Kornheiser Show" offers a comprehensive dive into current sports events, particularly the NBA Finals and the unexpected rise of the Indiana Pacers. With insightful analyses from guests Michael Wilbon and Bob Kravitz, complemented by personal anecdotes and interactive segments featuring listener emails, the show provides a well-rounded and engaging experience for sports enthusiasts. The introduction of Summer Joy adds a unique perspective, especially when demystifying platforms like Substack, bridging the gap between sports commentary and content creation in the digital age.
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For those who haven't tuned in, this episode encapsulates the essence of "The Tony Kornheiser Show"—informative, entertaining, and deeply connected with its audience.