“Wilbon’s Note”

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Tony Kornheiser Show

Episode: “Wilbon’s Note”

Date: February 25, 2026
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Todd Harris (Olympics broadcaster, NBC, SailGP), Matt Barry (ESPN, TGL - Team Golf League)

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Overview

This episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show offers listeners a dynamic mix of sports banter, in-depth guest interviews, and classic Kornheiser wit. The main themes include the recent extreme winter weather along the East Coast, the chaos and delight of covering the Olympics (and its “crazy” sports), behind-the-scenes insights into modern televised golf (TGL), and the evolving landscape of sports broadcasting. Todd Harris and Matt Barry both join as first-time guests, sharing candid stories from their careers and unique perspectives on the future of sports coverage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections on Recent East Coast Weather

[04:00–13:45]

• Tony opens with humor and weather talk: The show transitions from a lighthearted mailbag segment straight into Kornheiser-style weather commentary, outlining a “bombogenesis” snowstorm that battered the East Coast.
• Tony marvels at the varying snow totals: Rehoboth Beach (DE) and Ocean City (MD) got hammered—up to 18 inches—with impassable roads and widespread power outages—while DC, by contrast, emerged mostly unscathed.
• Rhode Island is highlighted for its extreme snowfall (“Providence got 37 inches. Warwick got 34 inches. That’s just. That’s Buffalo, kids.” — Tony, [08:11]).
• The unique difficulties such snow brings to non-snowbelt areas are a running joke (e.g., “Delaware doesn’t have this,” [09:21]).
• The crew discusses the lack of infrastructure (like snow removal equipment) in beach towns, leading to shutdowns and travel bans.

Notable Moment:
Tony riffs on “revenge snow dumping” in big cities—when people shovel snow back into a parking spot someone else took (“It’s hatred.” — Tony, [12:20])—and wonders about the social etiquette of “saving” spots.

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2. Olympic Broadcasting & Dangerous Sports with Todd Harris

[15:46–28:00]

Who is Todd Harris?

NBC and SailGP broadcaster, formerly ESPN (Pac-10 coverage), now London-based.

Olympic Shout-outs

• Tony plays back Harris’s Olympics on-air translation for “my good friend Tony Kornheiser,” where Harris simplified extreme sports jargon for mainstream audiences:

  “So to translate that for my good friend Tony Kornheiser, that is a five and a half rotation spin off axis with the cork. Yep, simple as that.” — Todd Harris, [15:46]

• Tony expresses his delight that Harris is a listener.

On Broadcasting Extreme Sports

• Harris describes the unique, risky nature of Winter Olympics events:

  “The Winter Olympics are the crazy uncle of the Summer Olympics because it’s just multiple ways to kill yourself going down a mountain...” — Todd Harris, [17:55]

• Both joke about the perils that define these events, with Tony remarking on how dangerous skeleton and ski jumping appear.
• Harris confirms ski jumping is, paradoxically, safer than aerial freestyle:

  “The ski jumping is more of a launch outward... They’ve just perfected the art of flight.” — Todd Harris, [19:47]

On Building a Broadcasting Career

Harris fell into covering “X Games” sports in the ‘90s (“No one else wanted to do it... You’ve got a young look, why don’t we put you in that?” [20:43]), then moved to more traditional roles with ABC/ESPN, before settling into a diversified career mixing sailing, play-by-play, and Olympic work.

Life in London & SailGP

• Harris details how COVID led to his London base for SailGP (“the Formula One of sailing”).
• He humorously confesses to double-dipping on coverage—calling Olympic events by day, SailGP races from his hotel at 2 a.m. by night.

Notable Quotes:

• “I think sometimes I feel like the jack of all trades and the master of nothing... The Swiss Army knife. When we don’t have anyone for that, put Harris on it.” — Todd Harris, [25:32]
• “I just checked the box today, being on the Tony Kornheiser show.” — Todd Harris, [25:32]

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3. The TV Revolution in Golf: Matt Barry on TGL

[29:30–48:55]

Who is Matt Barry?

Lead play-by-play for TGL on ESPN; also anchors SportsCenter; background in local TV with roots in Arizona and the Walter Cronkite School.

The Road to ESPN

• Barry recounts his progression from small-market Wisconsin and Oklahoma news, to Dallas TV, to ESPN (“Local TV, and here we are,” [32:54]).
• Tony and Matt reminisce about meeting at a Super Bowl party and joke about their respective hometowns.

Inside TGL—Team Golf League

• Barry explains how he joined TGL after initial skepticism (“What, indoor golf?... What the hell is that?” [33:41]).
• He shares a golfer’s perspective—the appeal of getting “trained killers” out of their comfort zone, enjoying a team environment, and engaging a new (especially younger) audience.

The Realities of ‘Indoor Golf’

• Tony points out the surreal aspect: “You’re hitting a ball into a bed sheet. I mean, let’s not get crazy. This is indoor golf. It’s not real golf.” [37:41]
• Barry stresses it’s a different kind of competition—a way for players to relax, have fun, and reconnect with the basic joy of the game.

Player Reactions and Technology

• Early TGL events left pros baffled by the golf simulator’s readings, but improvements have helped (“The technology has gotten better. The adjustment by the players has gotten better.” — Matt Barry, [40:26])
• TGL’s appeal for younger viewers:

  “I’ve had more parents come up to me and thank me for doing TGL because their kids hate golf, but they love TGL because it’s the video game look.” — Matt Barry, [41:01]

Behind the Scenes: Production & Player Relations

• Tony is curious about wardrobe choices; Barry confirms stylists pick out “casual, golf” looks.
• Matt explains the unusual intimacy of the TGL format—players in casual dress practicing, hanging out, and their conversations going on-air.

  “You get these trained killers…they get to let their hair down a little bit and go play and have fun in front of a crowd.” — Matt Barry, [38:20]

• The live, mic’d-up format leads to candid-yet-protected player chatter—stories about missed putts, friendly ribbing, and even strategic golf insights.

On “Success” for TGL

• Barry is bullish, noting investment from major owners and the addition of a new franchise.
• Tony muses about the weirdness (and commerce) of TGL team hats (“You want to have a hat from Augusta? What are you talking about?” [45:25]), but acknowledges the show works as TV—perhaps even better than as a live event.

Notable Quotes:

• “When you’re part of a startup…it’s so hard to find a startup in this day and age in TV.” — Matt Barry, [45:43]
• “Make it entertaining…You have to engage with the other golfers…this is a television show.” — Tony Kornheiser, [46:34]
• “For hardcore golf nerds…the anti-TGL like Wilbon…it’d be hard for him not to love a clip of Tommy Fleetwood telling Justin Rose what Butch Harmon told him two days ago.” — Matt Barry, [48:16]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Olympic Extreme Sports:
  “The Winter Olympics are the crazy uncle of the Summer Olympics.”
  — Todd Harris, [17:55]

• On Rhode Island’s Snow:
  “Providence got 37 inches. Warwick got 34 inches. That’s just… That’s Buffalo, kids.”
  — Tony Kornheiser, [08:11]

• On Audience Impact:
  “I’ve had more parents come up to me and thank me for doing TGL because their kids hate golf, but they love TGL because it’s the video game look.”
  — Matt Barry, [41:01]

• On Covering Wild Sports:
  “Sometimes I feel like the jack of all trades and the master of nothing… The Swiss Army knife. When we don’t have anyone for that, put Harris on it.”
  — Todd Harris, [25:32]

• On TGL as TV vs. Live:
  “I think it’s a better TV show than a live event.”
  — Tony Kornheiser, [46:34]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Weather commentary & snowstorm recap: [04:00–13:45]
• Todd Harris interview (Olympics, broadcasting life, SailGP): [15:46–28:00]
• Matt Barry interview (TGL, ESPN, golf TV): [29:30–48:55]

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Final Notes & Tone

The episode is steeped in Tony’s genial but acerbic tone, quick banter with co-hosts, and self-deprecating humor about aging, wardrobe, and the absurdities of modern sports. The relaxed but insightful interviews with Todd Harris and Matt Barry offer a refreshing behind-the-scenes look at sports TV, the evolving appeal of “new” sports, and the cult of personality in contemporary broadcasting.

Listeners gain both the newsy flavor of big weather, sports media mechanics, and—via Tony—the sense that everyone in TV and sports, no matter how big or small, is part of an ongoing, rambling conversation.

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For fans old and new, this episode will satisfy those craving sports wisdom, lighthearted camaraderie, and the rare feeling of being “in on the joke” with one of sports media’s most enduring voices.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we will welcome a couple of new voices to the show. First we'll talk to Todd Harris who gave me such a nice shout out during the Olympics. And then we'll talk to Matt Barry, ESPN's lead play by play announcer for TGL. But first, commerce.

[Todd Harris]

Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're

[Tony Kornheiser]

not sure where to start.

[Todd Harris]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Todd Harris]

With thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app download.

[Advertisement Voice]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Cornheiser Show. Craig grew up in Canada and realized every Canadian kid's dream. He played in the NHL, stayed with hockey and has been on the broadcast crew of the Washington Capitals forever and ever and ever. And also told my kid he's not good enough to play small kid hockey, which. Which has made us.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Sent me to golf.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I sent him to golf where he

[Matt Barry]

was actually pretty good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. I will say for those of you who consume this show, Craig Laughlin was a delight. Oh, yes, he's just wonderful, you know, just wonderful. And he, he comes to it with a, I don't know, a unique perspective, but an interesting perspective. He's born and raised in Canada and lived the last 40 years of his life in the United States.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

So a healthy perspective.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what I thought. That's what I thought. That was really good.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

And you sent me to those tryouts with a secondhand uniform, skates that didn't fit. I was still using my Toys R Us lefty hockey stick.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's my fault that you're not in the Olympic team.

[Co-host or Producer]

Could have been a contender.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Yeah, you know what? Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. All right.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

I could be wearing gold right now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, you could wear gold. Anyway. You know what? You could stand outside the White House and when the shaving come off, you know, all the Things that are going to be in gold. You can take some of them. Christopher Eplin in Indianapolis is writing to us. For those of you also who keep track of what I put on the show, I change books every week when I'm doing the show from home. I change books, I change backgrounds. I do, you know, I change things.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

So you're almost a golf like season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So it's sort of interesting to you. It's interesting to you. And, you know, and I put. Luke Eplin sent me a book, and it's called Moses and the Doctor. You know, I know Moses Malone. I knew Moses Malone. He's not with us anymore. I certainly know Julius Irving. I put the book up in the prominent spot. It took over for the Last of the President's Men. I had Woodward's book up.

[Mailbag Reader or Music Segment Host]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And Christopher from Indianapolis says, I wanted to thank you. On Today's episode of PTI, in the background, you showcased my cousin's second book, Moses and the Doctor, following the two players in the 70s and 80s and them eventually teaming up to win an NBA title, which they did in Philadelphia. For those more interested in baseball, his first book, our Team, follows the story of Larry Dobie, Bill Veeck, Bob Feller, and Satchel page during the 1940s Cleveland Indians, three months after Jackie Robinson debuted for the Dodgers. Again, thank you for highlighting the book and all of the years of great sports conversations. Very nice. That's lovely. Very nice. It doesn't, you know, certain people recognize certain things. That's nice. All right, let me get to today's show. How much NBA can we do on PTI and on this show?

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Oh, we're just getting started.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We're gonna do less NBA on this show than we're gonna do on the PTI show.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Playoffs are just weeks away.

[Co-host or Producer]

Although we do have an NBA guest on Friday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, Brian. Yes. Because we love Brian. But we love Brian.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

We have to know if he's gotten a haircut.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Brian's not gonna just talk about who's gonna win. That's not what Brian does. So anyway, yesterday, of course, it led. PTI got Mike very excited because he's essentially a slurping press agent for Victor Wembanyama, who, by the way, appears worthy. Appears worthy in every way. Making the case San Antonio right now, actually, by beating Detroit in Detroit, if you want to wait that game, San Antonio looks like the team that could win the NBA championship because they have beaten Oklahoma City four out of five already this year. They own Oklahoma City. So we went on and on about that. That wasn't the best thing about wilbon yesterday, though. That wasn't because wilbon loves the NBA. The best thing was wilbon writes a note to me and to ride home and Kelleher, and he writes a note saying, I'm watching the combine and there's not a gun to my head. What has happened to me? He's watching the combine on television. Eric points out it's last year's combine. It's a tape. This year's combine doesn't start until tomorrow, apparently. I thought that was hysterical. I just thought that was hysterical. All right, let's get into. Let's get into what we're really here to talk about, which is weather in the nation's capital. As I said yesterday, we got very, very lucky or not yesterday. On Monday, we got very, very lucky that we didn't get much snow at all. I think I had 3 to 4 inches in my yard. It's still there. Although today the temperatures are supposed to rise certainly into the 50s. And so I think much of it will melt because this is not concrete snow, not snow. Crete. Much of it will melt. And we'll be back to where we

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

were before 62 in full sun on Saturday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. Yeah, so it'll all be gone by then. Yes, but there's a but here. We also have waves of wintry weather coming in Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday here. And that's not even what I want to talk about because however much that is, if it's less than 10 inches, it's not going to matter compared to what has happened on the east coast. Pretty much. Pretty much. If you go directly east from Washington, you will hit. Directly east. You'll either hit Delaware or Ocean City, Maryland, one of those directly east. And they both got bombed. Rehoboth got 18 inches of snow. 18 inches of snow. You can't. There I was looking at. My friend Rick burrell referred me to the Cape gazette, which is a newspaper out in that area. Cape Henlopen area. They showed pictures of trees down all over the place, impassable roads all over the place. 30% of Sussex county, which I think is the largest county by area in Delaware. There's only three counties in Delaware. I think it's the largest one by area. 30% of the people in Sussex county did not have power. Now, I wanted to know if we had power. And this was the way. This is what I devised.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

We can check.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I called the company that does the alarm system in the house, and they said they could hear a ping A beep. The battery. Yes. So they felt that there was still power there. I also called my friend Mr. Barry, who does all of the. Brian Barry does all of the building around us, and he said, well, our house. Our house has power. It's right around the corner from our house. And he says on our neighbor up the street, he's got power. And I said, well, how do you know your house? So you're in your house? And he says, well, no, I'm in Florida. But I called and he said he thought that my house would have power. And apparently my house does have power. Someone got over there yesterday to shovel the walk. You know, just shovel one walk. Whatever it costs, it costs. But it's inundated with snow. Going further up the coast, the Jersey coast got 12 to 14 to 16 inches in various places. That's really a lot of snow. And it is nothing compared to Rhode Island. It's Rhode Island Providence, which is the biggest city in Rhode Island.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

You measure in inches, measure in feet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Providence got 37 inches. Warwick got 34 inches. That's just. That's Buffalo, kids.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

There's no place for it to go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There's no. What, are you going to drop it all in the ocean? What are you going to do with it?

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Well, it is cool to try and see how you melt the snow as you try and move it to places where you can dump it. Because when you have that much snow on top of what you've already had this winter, there is no place for it to go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. 20 inches on long island, you know, it's just a lot of snow.

[Co-host or Producer]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So that. Anything. Like when you get six, you know. Okay.

[Co-host or Producer]

Then we were looking at, like, the peak wind gusts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There were 80 miles an hour in Montauk Point. They almost took the lighthouse down. 84 miles an hour.

[Co-host or Producer]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's just. This is.

[Co-host or Producer]

This is a true northeast.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Got to try and slow down.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. So as you lower the ball flight. Everybody made fun of me when I use the word bombo. Genesis, which I got from the Capitol weather gang. They used it actually. It happened. Yeah. Just not even need the Genesis. Just bamboo. Bamboo. It's just so much snow. It's unshovelable. What are you going to do? You need heavy machinery to move this around. And they will.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Machinery that they don't have in some of these beach towns.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Delaware doesn't have this. Doesn't have this.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Wait for people to rehoboth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They shut the town down. They said, don't drive. Don't go anywhere.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Rehoboth Beach, Country KB Kitchen still open?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's not. I don't think it's. I don't think it's open. Rehoboth Beach. The entire country club's closed.

[Co-host or Producer]

It has to be.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They don't have running water a lot. You know, I. And they don't have trucks and plows equal to this.

[Mailbag Reader or Music Segment Host]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Because it's. I'm not. It's not unprecedented, but it's rare. It's rare. You know, you can do 4 or 5 inches. And then you also say to yourself, well, we're right on the water. The water doesn't freeze. The ocean doesn't freeze. Shouldn't that carry some warmth with it into this thing? So if that's the case, they could have gotten more. I mean, maybe that maybe got the low end of what they could. I don't know. I don't know what Ocean city got about 16, 14, 16 city got, let's see, 10 and a half, it says. Wow. So just 20 miles up the road. 18. Yeah.

[Co-host or Producer]

Because. How do you say. Is it Lowe's? Lewis, Lewis, Lewis.

[Tony Kornheiser]

18 lose.

[Co-host or Producer]

Berlin is it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Berlin is in Maryland. Berlin is where we rent the planes. Berlin is in Maryland. Berlin is down by Ocean City.

[Co-host or Producer]

Oh, that's. That got 22.2.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Where we read the planes. Like, you did this more than once.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's just a lot. I did it once. It's from Berlin, Maryland. You know, no planes are going up then the next couple of days over the beach to say, watch out, get tanning oil. No, they're not going up.

[Co-host or Producer]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And by the way, the golf. Well, you know better than I. I would say if today is the. We're at the end of February.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

You're late March.

[Co-host or Producer]

No carts today, Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No. Pickleball opens Bobcats. Well, I don't think they play until April.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

No, it'll be sooner than that, just because you'll have a couple of warm days that get rid of a lot of it. But it'll be a while and it's going to be sloppy when it opens.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Just so that whole winter and we have not. For those of you who live near where I live or frequent these places the last four or five, eight years, you've been able to play all winter. You've been able.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Not last year, but yes. In previous winters. We had a big culture to play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Co-host or Producer]

Didn't. Didn't Kelly tell us about something in Kamchatka where they got like.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's in Russia. 12ft of snow and people are digging out their cars and the obvious question is to go where they're digging straight down. They're making. Making essentially the Holland Tunnel to get to their cars. Where are you gonna go? Yeah, 12ft.

[Co-host or Producer]

Well, that's. Yeah, that's a whole different.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I mean, that's.

[Co-host or Producer]

That's Kamchatka, that's Russia.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they're used to that. They're not, maybe not used to 12ft, but they're used to snow covered every day.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Dad, you won't get this. My new favorite thing on my social media algorithm is the revenge snow dump. When someone takes your shoveled out spot that you see up and down the northeast. So I'm not. I don't like this. The spot saver. I get it the first 24 hours, but once every day thereafter, try and dig out an extra half spot for the people. When someone takes their spot, they then shovel them back in. Worse than the original store.

[Tony Kornheiser]

People do this.

[Co-host or Producer]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's hatred.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

And you try and get it to freeze.

[Co-host or Producer]

You put the chair out and you're like, this is mine. And somebody in front of your house.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But can you do that? You get a day? Hmm.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Yeah, you get like. I think you get a day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Can you do that in a big city where there's apartment houses? I don't think you can.

[Co-host or Producer]

I think it's. I think if you shuffle your feet, you lose your seat. You know, if you move your car

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

out in the big cities, you have to try and make sure you park on the left side because the is always push.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, Right.

[Matt Barry]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just.

[Mailbag Reader or Music Segment Host]

It's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's really a lot of snow.

[Co-host or Producer]

Yeah, too much snow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You don't think, you don't think of road. When you think of Rhode island, you don't actually think. I mean, I'm sure it's north.

[Co-host or Producer]

It's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's in New England.

[Co-host or Producer]

37 inches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What did Boston get, like 20?

[Co-host or Producer]

Something like that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's crippling. New York got about 18.

[Co-host or Producer]

Boston. Boston 16.9. Which is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What did New York get?

[Co-host or Producer]

New York.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't have a Central park.

[Co-host or Producer]

Central Park, 19.7.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's a lot. Yeah, that's a lot. I mean, that's open. So it's going to. It's going to pile up.

[Co-host or Producer]

Newark got 27. Just over 27.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Newark?

[Co-host or Producer]

Yeah. Newark got 27.1. Islip 31, Newport 34. But the gold medal does go to Providence for 37.9.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Islip is where Boomer Esiason went to high school. Oh, Boomer. Yeah, that's. That's A lot. That's a lot. I will take a break. We, we are doing something today that we don't usually do. We're talking to people that we've never talked to before and we hope it works. We're going to talk to Matt Barry of ESPN and we're going to talk to Todd Harris.

[Co-host or Producer]

Oh, yeah. So I thought you were saying Matt was next.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not so, no. I'm just saying we're going to talk to Todd Harris. Preview for the day, who shouted us out at the Olympics. So we will take a break and bring Todd Harris in. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. This is Rat Boys and there's our note. Julia from Rat Boys. Here I'm writing you from frigid Chicago, where the temps have plummeted back to their normal winter positions after a couple of weeks of delightfully above average spring like showings. Anyways, enough about the weather. I'm emailing to share a couple of new songs we have out in the world from an album we recently released called Singing to an Empty Chair. The title comes from a therapy technique I tried where you simulate a difficult or impossible conversation with an absent loved one by speaking aloud to an empty chair. I feel like this technique could work well for Mr. Toney, perhaps to air his grievances to the ghost of NBA commissioner Adam Silver, or even to vent his frustrations toward the mystery male thief. In all seriousness, no. This exercise worked really well for me and gifted me with some clarity when writing these new songs. I've included a couple of them to download here. We'd be honored if you played either of both on an episode coming up. We'll be back in D.C. playing the legendary 9:30 Club next Friday. Not this Friday, March 6th. Rat Boys in D.C. at the 9:30 Club. The show's getting close to selling out, which is crazy. But if you'd like to come, we'd be happy to put you, Michael, Nigel and Sean on the guest list. No pressure, of course. Very, very nice. Plays in plays in Todd Harris. Now, for those of you who don't remember this or aren't familiar with Mr. Harris, he was at the Olympics. He was working for NBC and he was doing one of those sort of crazy sports, the half pipe, the full pipe, the whatever pipe. And he was dealing with a color guy who used terminology that I didn't understand. I commented about this on this show and on PTI as well. And then Todd said at one point, I'm gonna translate this from my good friend Tony. Let's play it. Play it because it's fabulous.

[Todd Harris]

So to translate that for my good friend Tony Kornheiser, that is a five and a half rotation spin off axis with the cork. Yep, simple as that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. And it's unbelievable that you said that and then it made me think that that was thrilling for me. You actually listen and we don't know who listens. You listen, right?

[Todd Harris]

Absolutely. Big time fan of the show and PTI of course, for decades. And I just feel like with NBC they've always, you know, make it relatable to the fans, make it relatable to the common viewer who's never seen these sports before. And I literally just went to. Well, Tony obviously doesn't understand any of this. He thinks it's a made up sport.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Todd Harris]

So I thought if Tom Wallace could explain it more simple terms, my good friend Tony Kornheiser would understand it and enjoy it much more.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, well, I enjoyed it because I enjoy sports where people attempt to kill themselves. I just, you know, like the downhill, you know, like the half pipe. But it is, and I'm not saying it's not a sport. It is of course made up. A lot of things, A lot of things are made up at some point or other and then they grow into the public consciousness. But when you are, when you are doing. How did you learn this stuff? Do you do this?

[Todd Harris]

I do, I do not. I wouldn't dare get into the half pipe. Those walls are 22 foot high walls and it's basically polished marble. It's not snow, it is rock hard. So I've dropped into a half pipe before. I took out a large life insurance policy beforehand. But I do not get above the wall. I mean that's if you're getting like these guys and women are 15, 20ft above, you're 40ft. So four stories from the bottom. And if you fall, things will go bad, I will drop in. But I'm more of a generational powder. Easy bluebird, nice runs, groomers as we call them. But I love watching it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I mean one of the things I talked about early in the Olympics was the element of danger in the Winter Olympics. Far different from the Summer Olympics. Summer Olympics, the danger is if somebody throws a javelin into your chest. The Winter Olympics, these people, if they miss, don't tell me that helmet is going to stop their heads from cracking. There must be terrible injuries in this thing, right?

[Todd Harris]

Yeah, there have been some really bad ones. Fortunately nothing too serious this go around. But I think Someone said it best. The Winter Olympics are the crazy uncle of the Summer Olympics because it's just multiple ways to kill yourself going down a mountain, whether it's on blades or boards or skis. And we had a couple falls. If you Google Nick Gepper in the freeski halfpipe, one of the last guys to drop in. I thought we had, you know, not. I want to be hyperbole, but I thought we had a very, very serious injury. And he ended up getting up and walking away from it. It's a terrible fall. He's 12, 15ft out of the air, upside down, rotating back, and he comes down and basically lands on his hip and his back and then falls down another 20ft into the half pipe. And I thought, oh, we're going to take a break because no, we can't stay around for this. And within 10 minutes he was up, limping away, laughing about it, joking, flashing the piece sign, the love and all that stuff. So these athletes are am. What they do is risk life and limb, the speed, the heights and everything they put their bodies through. So I really appreciate it. It is not stick and ball is not mainstream, but I still really appreciate it. But the speeds and the heights, I just as great a job as NBC does. You just cannot fathom how high and how dangerous and how steep everything is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

One of the things I learned about the Winter Olympics is you probably have to be crazy to be on the skeleton because your head is going right into the wall. You're not backwards, you're frontwards. The other thing that is something that nobody really understands. The ski jump, which looks like it is the most dangerous thing in the world. They are never more than about 15ft off the ground. That's is it right, Todd? That's the one that surprises you. Because when they lift off, it's not from a great height. It's not like these other dopes who are going as high as they can in the air to kill themselves. Like ski jumping actually seems safe to me.

[Todd Harris]

I know you mean dopes in the kindest way, but you're right, the ski jumping is more of a launch outward.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Todd Harris]

And they do it so perfectly. They've just perfected the art of the body positioning and the art of flight is what I call it. But they're not moving, they're not spinning, they're not grabbing. It's just keeping your body as quiet as possible. We always say rolling down the windows. Because you know, when you jump in the air, if you've been on skis and you get Launched off a kicker, you're immediately rolling down the windows, trying to get yourself balanced. They're not doing that. So that is impressive in and of itself. But, yeah, I just think the skiing, the snowboarding, even the skating, I mean, it's just so fraught with danger and you putting yourself in such peril. But it's like, you know, you and Michael, Nigel, you know, if you're at Augusta and you're at the first tee and it's like, oh, am I going to shank this into the crowd or am I going to hit this thing straight up? There's the same kind of fear involved. And I think that's what makes these athletes so impressive is they overcome that and they still perform to the highest level.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How did you get involved in this? What was it that you saw? You said, I want to talk about these, I'm going to learn it, I want to talk about all this stuff.

[Todd Harris]

No one else wanted to do it. Everyone wants to do the NFL, the NBA, all that stuff. And I think it was around the early 90s when I graduated from that fine university in Provo, Utah, where the X sports or the extreme sports and the X Games were just coming onto the scene. And I remember someone coming to me and saying, gosh, you know, you've got a young look about you, you got enthusiasm, you're into these sports, you grew up, you're a California kid. Skateboarding, all these things are kind of your niche, so why don't we put you in that? And I just kind of got put into surfing initially and then snowboarding, jet ski racing, all these different skateboard events. And I just became that. I kind of gradually found my way back to mainstream sports when I got hired by ABC to be Keith Jackson. And Dan south, sideline reporter for ABC Pac 10 game of the week. And that was a great seven, eight year run. And some of the greatest memories I had was, you know, I called myself Keith Jackson's valet. But learning from someone that's such a great broadcaster like him was, you know, I had opportunities to move back into play by play booth, but I just felt like learning from someone as good as him. I'm probably better off right here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you do the Summer Olympics too?

[Todd Harris]

I do. And in a summer, what do you do? The last few years, I skateboarding in bmx, which I know is right up your alley.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Well, at least it's not breakdancing. You know, that would be.

[Todd Harris]

This is true. No Raven for me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So, I mean, I was intrigued. People won't know this it doesn't sound like it, of course, but you are living in London. What are the opportunities in London? What do you. Because the Olympics are two weeks every two years. Come on now, you can't make a living on that. What are you doing?

[Todd Harris]

No, no. So I also am the play by play host for a sailing series called Sail gp, which Larry Ellison has a few dollars in his pocket. He owns and operates the Sail gp. It's kind of like the Formula one of sailing. But this isn't your normal yachts. I mean, this isn't your hey, you scratched my anchor kind of boat racing. This is serious business, high tech stuff. And so I do that from London because during the pandemic a lot of the countries we went to didn't allow some nations in because they weren't vaccinating. So the folks, the powers that be said, you know what, we're going to do it out of London as a world feed. So we came to London and I was traveling back and forth, my home in Salt Lake City, every three weeks. And I'm like you, I'm not a great air traveler. I can do it, but it's the jet lag that it takes me a week to get over the week that I went back and then it's a week back on the plane. And so my wife and I said, let's just move to London for a summer. We'll just try out London for a summer. Beautiful place as Nigel test. And it's been four years. And so I ended up going back to school, doing a master's degree in London and it's just now become a home base. We have a tiny little flat, but we love it here. And it makes it easy because getting back to New York from London, it's a six hour flight. Getting back to Salt Lake City, it's a nine hour flight. So it's not that big of a deal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can we see this sailing thing on television in the United States?

[Todd Harris]

You can indeed. This weekend we've got Sail GP from Sydney, Australia. And I can now reveal something that I probably shouldn't have. But when I was in La Vino doing the Olympics, I did probably something I shouldn't have done, but I was double dipping because we had an event in Auckland, New Zealand and I didn't want to miss out because I've missed an event yet. And so I got up at 2 in the morning and from my hotel room in Lavino I called two days of sailing from Auckland, New Zealand, two o' clock in the afternoon. The next day. So I really was burning the candle at both ends a couple days, but I got it done and no one was the wiser until now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And are you doing, did you say you were doing basketball as well?

[Todd Harris]

Yeah, I do the NBA on Prime Network and what I do on that. And you'll understand this, but for the folks that are watching at home or listening On News Channel 8, it is. I do continual coverage. So when Kevin Harlan's talking and calling the game, he does the play by play. But when they go to advertisements or on cameras or they do something, especially in regards to betting or things like that, the international, they don't want that. So they come to us and it's me and a color analyst and we'll fill for five minutes and when they go to commercial, they come back to us for five minutes and we do pre and post game for five, 10 minute chunks. So watching the game. But I fill in the commercials and replays and things like that when they go on camera or they do interviews and things that World Feed doesn't really necessarily want.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And you went to byu?

[Todd Harris]

I did.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Did you major in telecommunications? Is there such a thing or were you just a regular kid?

[Todd Harris]

I was a regular kid planning going to medical school and majoring in biology until I found out I wasn't really a big fan of blood or making decisions. And so that wasn't gonna work out too well. And I switched trained my major to broadcast journalism. They have a really good school there and they wouldn't let Steve Young in there. It was that tough. But it was a great program. And then out of there I got a job as a weekend news anchor with WBKO News Center 13 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And after that I went to ESPN.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wow. Are there any specific and particular ambitions that you have?

[Todd Harris]

Well, I just checked the box today, being on the Tony Kornheiser show, so that's good. But looking forward, you know, I'm getting up there in years. I love doing the Olympics. It's every couple of years people say, what's the, what's your favorite thing to announce? And I always say, well, the Olympics is, is one of them because I think especially with the winter, it just galvanizes the country. It brings everyone together. I don't know if it's because the weather outside is miserable, but people seem to gather around and listen and follow for whatever, 15, 17 days. And so I really like that. But as I'm getting older, like you, I'd like to travel less and maybe just find a set. Either the Voice of the Portland trail Blazers or the Utah Jazz or something like that where it's less all over the place. Because right now I probably do. I don't want to say too many sports. Sometimes I feel like the jack of all trades and the master of nothing. You know the Swiss army knife that we don't have anyone for that. Put Harris on it. So next week I'm going to Columbus, Ohio to do the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival. Don't ask.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The what?

[Matt Barry]

I know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I know in Columbus, Ohio. What?

[Todd Harris]

Yes, the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival. It's all about fitness sports, bodybuilding, whatever sports they put in there. One year they did power slapping with. With Logan Paul. I was on that. So it's just kind of a amalgamation of tons of people that are about getting fit, strength, jacked, protein, that whole thing. And Arnold's there and he's such a nice man and so kind. I couldn't turn it down.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you know what? You know what comes from Columbus on this show? Jenny's ice cream.

[Co-host or Producer]

Oh, yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Made in Columbus. So maybe you should find Jenny herself and sit down and do ice. That would be a better sport. You just say all you people want to be fit with Arnold. You go to the left, I'm going to the right. I'm going to Jenny's. I'm going to figure it out. I need to ask you, how did you find this show? How did you find it?

[Matt Barry]

Your show?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, how did you.

[Todd Harris]

Well, as a PTI fan and then I have friends in the business and the industry and everyone's like, oh, did you hear Tony today? I'm like, I got to get on this Tony Kornheiser program. And so since I've been following your show, I'd say five years. And so when I get in the morning, Nigel can attest. I go for morning walks around Stanford bridge and Brompton cemetery and I take you with me. So it's good. Today's one of those days in London, Nigel. It's 62 degrees sunny. I'm on my way to Richmond park for a bike ride after this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thank you so much for being on the show and for the mention on the Olympics, which totally thrilling to me. I hope our paths cross at some point. Thank you, Todd.

[Todd Harris]

Absolutely. Love to come back on anytime. Thanks, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Todd Harris, boys and girls. That's fabulous. We'll take a break. Matt Barry will join us when we return. Matt Barry, who announces tgl had a long night last night, had two golf matches. I'm Tony Kornheiser, your little one grew three inches overnight.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

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You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Tony Kornheiser Show. Once again, here are the Rat Boys and this is called Strange. Love to continue with the story. What did they say? We are seriously considering changing our band name to Bombo Genesis depending on how things go this weekend. Michael if Rat Boys the Rat Boys are just playing Rat Boys. People like them want to send in their original music to be played on this high quality podcast.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

How they go back Send us some music by emailing it to jingles@tony koenizershow.com

[Co-host or Producer]

and remember, they will be at the 9:30 Club next Friday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not this Friday. 6. Yes, we may be there too, but I doubt it. I doubt it, but you should go.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

I think they call their fans pest control.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's funny. Plays in Matt Barry this segment is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more Matt Barry works at ESPN and the last couple of years since they started TGL, the golf has been the lead voice on the golf and yesterday did two separate matches, the first of which kicked us to ESPN2, which we're used to. We're kicked to the curb almost all the time. I assume you're t. I mean that's, that's, you know, you had the Duke game in between, then you had to come back out. That's a pretty long day, is it not?

[Matt Barry]

Yeah, we did first of all, great being with you. We did a doubleheader Monday, so I did the 2pm Sports center, the 5pm TGL, the 9pm TGL and then we ran it back again yesterday, 2pm SportsCenter and then two more TGL matches in between a Duke beat down. So yeah, it's been a two days, but it's been a fun two days.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would never do that. I never would work that hard. Never. I like having half of a half hour show and then people say, would you like to be on this? I go, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. Or pay more for no, I don't want to. So I'm going to test my failing memory at my age. But I sort of thought. I sort of remembered that I met you once at a Super bowl at the run up to a Super bowl about 10 years ago. And I said, hello, and I could have this completely wrong. I thought you said you were originally from Phoenix, somewhere in Arizona. Do I have that right? Did we ever meet?

[Matt Barry]

That is damn good. It was at a Super bowl party, I believe, in New York. And that is correct. Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Not North Scottsdale, like Wilbon. Not the fancy part, not North Scottsdale,

[Matt Barry]

just the original Scottsdale. The original Scottsdale, yeah. Back in the old town area. But yeah, that's correct. We met at a Super bowl party and then we had a nice chat then. And yeah, Wilbon, he's up north. The new houses. All the rich people live up north.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. Gated community. Absolutely.

[Matt Barry]

That's right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How did you. You were. You're young now. Everybody is young compared to me. But you're young now. How did you get to espn?

[Matt Barry]

So I graduated from Arizona State, the Walter Cronkite School.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, that's what Lynn Downey, our former editor at the Washington Post, Lynn Downey teaches there. And Wilbon and I are involved with that to some degree. Go ahead.

[Matt Barry]

Yeah. So. So went to school there and then embarked on my local TV journey. My first job at a college. Imagine a kid born and raised in Arizona, taking his first job in Small Market, Wisconsin. So I was at the NBC station in Small Market, Wisconsin.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[Matt Barry]

Decided that I didn't go to school for four years to be dirt poor doing local news. So I decided to get out for a little bit and move to California. And I bartended on the beach and was having a great time. And I said, you know what? Maybe I should try this career thing over again. So I got back into tv. I did. It was. I had to start all over. I went to Oklahoma, the ABC affiliate out there. From there I went to Columbia, South Carolina, the CBS station. And then my big TV break when I was 29 years old, I got to Dallas, which is Market 5 is at the NBC station. And now I've been at ESPN coming up on 13 years, local TV. And here we are.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So there's a lot of people that work at ESPN and they don't necessarily break out. They don't necessarily get something that they own. How did you get to tgl? And I have no idea what the future of. I like. Wilbourne hates it. I like it. But I have no idea what the future is. But how did you get there? Are you a golfer?

[Matt Barry]

Yes, I love golf. I've been on our Masters coverage for over 10 years. I do the PGA Championship. Growing up at Arizona, hard not to like golf. Going to Arizona State with some of the players we've had run through there. Well, Phil, it's just hard not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, Phil.

[Matt Barry]

It's hard not to be a Phil. John Rom, Paul Casey. I mean, there's been so many good players, so it's just hard not to be a golf fan. And I remember sitting there and this. I was kind of the same way. I. I saw when they. They released Tomorrow Sports as he puts on tgl. I said, what? An indoor golf.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Matt Barry]

What the hell is that? Like, what are they talking about? And then I found out that ESPN was going to put it on. I said, you know what? Let me kick some tires on this and see what it's all about. And we had some good meetings and some good discussions. And the more that I learned about it and kind of what it was going to be, the more intrigued that I was. And then I saw the players that were attached. I saw the team owners that were attached. This is a group of people that don't like losing. And so I said, you know what? Let's give this a run. And it just ended up working out, and it's been great.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you play? Are you a golfer?

[Todd Harris]

I do play.

[Tony Kornheiser]

How good? What number?

[Matt Barry]

Well, once college football season starts, my golf clubs have to go down for the fall, right? So usually mid mid season, I could. I'm shooting anywhere between a, you know, 79 and 82 or an 83. I've never, never in the mid 70s. And I don't. I don't flirt with the 90s anymore. So usually right in the high 70s, mid 80s.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, you can come play with us and come play with me and my boy. Yo, yo. You can. Together, you can do that. So I have odd. A series of odd questions. These are odd questions because I did this. I understand how it works, and I always watch to see what you're wearing. Do you have wardrobe prepared? Like in Monday Night Football, they tell you what to wear. You don't fool around. You are given the outfit for that day. Do you have wardrobe prepared for you?

[Matt Barry]

I do. I show up Grayson, who's a golf. They make golf clothes, and. And Grayson sends a bunch of stuff, and I show up wearing. I wear one. I wear different stuff for SportsCenter because it's a different thing. And then I get ready. I said, okay, what are we wearing tonight? And our makeup and stylist, Jessica, she'll sit There. And she'll be like, well, we're gonna do grace and scent. This, this, and this. And we'll put on with grace and scent. It's a more casual look. It's not that typical studio look that I wear when I'm doing sports center or college football. And. And they'll send stuff. We'll pick it out, and we'll wear it and make Grayson happy for a night.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Good. Justin Thomas. Is Grayson right, or is it Scharffle as well? Is Grayson at this point? Yeah, this house, we follow what people wear. I mean, I am one of those people who believes that if you're on television in an anchor position, you should wear a tie. This is me. Wil Bond says I'm an idiot. And Wilbon spends, I don't know, $75,000 a year on clothing. So I think we should probably listen to Wil Bond. But I believe you should dress up like an adult. And I know that in golf, that's an entirely different. That's an entirely different deal. Do you, like. Do you get to chat up the players beforehand? Are you talking with them, or are you just in an isolated host circumstance now, Tony?

[Matt Barry]

It's actually one of my favorite parts of tg. I'll just get to know these guys over the past two years because we'll do a standard. Well, they're there earlier in the day, so when I get there to get ready to do SportsCenter, the players are there practicing what we call the shoot around. And they're there in shorts and a T shirt playing the holes. They're gonna play that night messing around in the arena. So I get some good time with them then. And then we go to the. There's a back part of the arena where there's six indoor bays in the back where the players warm up before the match. There's a. There's a kitchen, and there's food and there's drinks. There's all kinds of stuff. There's a hot tub. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff for these players to hang out. So we'll go back there before the match, talk with them a bit, and then we have a production meeting. So we go into each team's locker room. They have locker rooms like a normal sports locker room. Their name on a stall, everything like that. We'll go back and give them kind of the run of show that night. The commercial breaks, do's and don'ts reminder about certain rules, and then we'll talk with them back there so we get a good chance to be around them. And the relationships and getting to know these guys over the past couple of years has actually helped me when I go to the Masters and when I do the PGA Championship. A lot of times these guys come on the 2pm Sports center with me. So the, the relationships that it's built with the PGA Tour and these players, I mean, it's been one of my favorite parts of doing it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So look, I mean, I say this all the time. You're hitting a ball into a bed sheet. I mean, let's not get crazy. This is indoor golf. It's not real golf. But we are coming off this very exciting west coast swing. Pebble Beach, Riviera. Everybody knows these holes. They've seen them their whole lives. A short seventh at pebble, the 10th at Riviera. You're. You got made up holes like Stinger or, you know, Queen Anne or whatever. God only. Yeah, God only knows what it is. How do you deal with that? I mean, the notion of real golf as opposed to what's going on or in your mind, is it sort of real golf?

[Matt Barry]

What this is to me, and I think what this is to the players is it's a different type of, of way to compete in the sport that we all love. And the thing that I think the players love about it is it's different. You're right. They go and play some of the best and most historic courses in our country and in the world. I mean, McElroy, Tommy Fleetwood, these guys are coming over from Dubai and Europe and they get to come in there and it's almost like you get these trained killers that are on the golf course Thursday through Sunday. They're so competitive, you almost allow them to be young again and go back to the beginning of when they started to play golf. And it's in there. They get to compete. It's in a team setting, but they get to have fun. I mean, you mentioned Stinger. They're trying to hit it under a rock.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Matt Barry]

These guys are so used to every single week, same courses outside, like all the beautiful parts of golf. But then they just get like, for lack of a better term, get to let their hair down a little bit and go play and have some fun in front of a crowd. These guys will tell you too, the nerves that they get standing over some of these shots and Sofi center, because of the way it's laid out and how close the crowd is to you. I mean, some of the things that. Some of the nerves that they get doing this, it's fun to Watch. Because they're completely different out on the course. You bring them inside and let them try this and have some challenges for what they do every week. It's been fun to watch them adapt, because I'm sure at first. In fact, I know at first they were kind of the same way. Like, what is.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, well, I remember, like, when. When it first started. Like, people need to understand this. Golfers have taken this shot, the 135 yard shot. They've taken it 30,000 times in their life practicing it. They know within one foot of where it is going to land. The moment they hit it. They know this. And I would watch and they would look at the screen and they would. They would roll their eyes like, what? What? And then it would be in the water and they go, no, this is impossible. This year, that has not happened. So I'm assuming, Matt, that the technology has gotten more exact.

[Matt Barry]

The technology has gotten better. The adjustment by the players has gotten better. I think the first three or four weeks last year, they thought they're the world's best that could come in and just dominate the place. And then they figured out, oh, wait, great, it's a game like, I've got to learn how to play this actual game that's different than the game I play outdoors. When we changed the hammer rules and made a couple adjustments, it kind of clicked with them. Like, oh, this is how you do it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's entertaining. Yes, It's. That's. It's tv. It's tv Kids.

[Matt Barry]

Yeah, it's a TV show.

[Todd Harris]

Yeah.

[Matt Barry]

And you mentioned kids. And this is where I think it's really hit with them, how good this has been for these players. I've had more parents come up to me and thank me for doing TGL because their kids hate golf, but they love TGL because it's. It's the video game. Look at what these kids understand. So now what happens? They love watching tgl. They might end up laughing at something Xander Shoffley or Justin Thomas say, well, what does that do now, Tony? Because they were entertained by Xander or JT on a Monday or Tuesday. Now they want to know what JT or Xander are doing on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. And it kind of gets them into the real world.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I understand that. I love, me, personally, two things. I love when they hit it in the water, makes me very happy. And when they miss a putt, because the rest of us miss putts all the time. And they miss Matt. They miss a lot of putts. They do. They're not Rolling them in from 30ft like Rory did on 18 at Riviera. You're not seeing that in indoors, right?

[Matt Barry]

No, and trust me, they'll tell you about it, too. They'll let you know. This is not happy with how many putts they're missing on our green. So. Yeah. You know, but it does. I don't want to say humbles them, but it makes them do things they're not used to doing. And for guys like us, that's. That's fun to see.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are they trying really hard, do you think, or they just. Do they understand? No, we're here to put on a show, but we're not going to really try really hard.

[Matt Barry]

Oh, no, no, no. I. I hear. Because they're miked up, so I hear everything they're saying.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Matt Barry]

And they. That once it gets to a certain part of the match, like last night's match was getting, like a couple of the matches were close the last couple of days, and it would get what you get into singles and it's traditional match play. The tenor of the match completely changes. There's not as much goofing around. There's not as much talking. They get serious. They want to win. They get angry when they miss stuff. They get excited when they miss stuff. And so they flew back.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They flew back from Riviera, you know, like that night, in order to play. In order to play on Monday. I gotta ask this because it's crazy not to. I watched it live when the Albatross with Justin Rose and I, you know, I guess Oberg had a hole in one or something like that, and that other kid, Nick somebody or other had a hole in one. Did they count that as a hole? They hit it into a sheet. Do they count that as a hole in one or an albatross? Do you?

[Matt Barry]

Okay, so I love the question because everyone asks that when. When it happens or it's on social media.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Matt Barry]

Justin. Justin Rose says he has never had one in his career and then hit that one, which is why he was so excited about it, because he's never done it. You saw the reaction of Neil Shipley last week when he did.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. I didn't even know who he was. Yeah, it was great. Yeah.

[Matt Barry]

These. So these guys, again, like, that's natural excitement. These guys aren't good enough to be acting actors. And so you're getting the natural excitement out of. When we asked Ludwig about it in the locker room last night, pre match, we're like, well, you're going to count that? What are you going to do is like, well, he goes, he was actually my second shot at it. And so I guess we'd call it a par. And we all started laughing. So my excitement just tells the story. They're excited about it and they think that they got the albatross, which they did on the game. If they want to count it, hell, let him count it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So what is successful success look like with this television show? Do we see it for one more year? Three more years? Is there something that the PGA Tour says that sanctions it and says, this is part of our rotation, this is what we're going to do? What does success look like?

[Matt Barry]

Well, we have another franchise coming next year. It's a Detroit based franchise. I know that the money that's invested in this, from Steve Cohen to John Henry to Alexis Ohanian, he's a big money people. The big money, yeah, like they just don't like investing in stuff that fails. And so with Tiger attached, with Rory attached, we may or may not have some big news coming out this week about another player. I mean, that look, I think success is this continues to go on and grow the game in a, in a bigger way. There's been talk of building another facility out west. I mean, we're just kind of. Kind of. It's almost a year by year thing. We're bringing in another team so other players can get in. And so Tony, I think success is you just roll this thing out, add another team, maybe go from six to eight teams and continue to just watch it grow little by little.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I always laugh when they say, go get a hat. You know, buy a hat from tgl. And they show all the logos. And I go, you people nuts? This is golf. You want to have a hat from Augusta? What are you talking about? But I mean that. So are you, you're enjoying it then, like this is something is good for you.

[Matt Barry]

I love it because you know what it's like when you, when you were part of the PTI when it launched years ago, when you're part of a startup. It's so hard to find a startup in this day and age in TV. I mean, I've been doing SportsCenter for 13 years. It's been around since 1979. That's not changing. But when you get, get to do something that you're not sure if it's going to succeed or fail from the very first night. That's why I love it. And I love it because I get to see it grow. And I love it because I get to get to know these Players. And I love it because I get to see the looks on these kids faces when one of the players goes and tosses a ball to them. It's like, wait a second. As you keep saying, we, there's a league where they hit it into a sheet with world class technology and it just continues to grow. And to be a part of that from day one, it's just been fun. It's different than anything that I do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I will say that having been there live and thankfully not having to answer the first question that I was supposed to be asked when I said, no, no, no, we're not going to talk about that. Let's just talk about this. I think it's a better TV show than a live event. I think it works better on television because there's a lot of breaks, there's a lot of dead time as people go back and forth from one side to another. But I think it really, I, I find it really works on television. The only thing that I would almost insist on if I was programming this is let's not have, you know, dead people do it. Like you have to engage with the other golfers. You have to be, you know, you have to jump up and down a little bit. You have to understand this is unlike what you do to make a living. This is a, this is a television show. Make it entertaining. Are they, they. I assume that's why you get the players.

[Matt Barry]

You get, yeah, the players understand. I mean, year one, it was, guys, trust us. Yes. You have a mic on the whole time. You're going to be going out over tv, but we're going to protect you. You're not going to say anything that's going to hurt your image.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They're partners. Your partners. Yes, of course.

[Matt Barry]

Right. So they learned to trust us. Season one this year they're coming out of their shells more. And the thing that I love and you being a good golf fan, will love this too, sometimes we, we will hear them just talking to each other about things that they learned on the golf course the week before. And so for the real, for the hardcore golf nerds like the, you know, the anti TGL like Wilbond, it'd be hard for him not to love a clip of Tommy Fleetwood telling Justin Rose what Butch Harmon told him two days ago.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Barry]

And you're sitting here like, you're like, oh my God, this is fascinating. And so you get a little bit of everything. You get them being goofy, you get them talking hardcore golf. You get Tiger woods when he's there talking to Some of these younger players on his team and he's. They're picking his brain and he's giving them advice. I mean, it really kind of is an ecosystem for everyone who loves golf and those who are trying to get, to get into the game.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You should have, you should use more of that. You should use outtakes. You should say to the players, we're going to protect you. But this is the start that will bring more viewers in. The inside stuff will bring more viewers in. Anyway, thanks. Thank you very much for being on. I do watch and I appreciate your time. Thanks, Matt.

[Matt Barry]

Tony, anytime you want, we'll go fire a couple 82s on a local golf course.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mine would be about 102, but. Okay. Matt Barry. Boys and girls, this segment has been brought to you by fanduel. Make every moment more. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Mailbag Reader or Music Segment Host]

Here comes Tony's mailbag. Got your email, faxes and your notes. Here comes Tony's mailbag. Gonna read some for all of you folks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Kirsten Olmstead accompanying herself on a ukulele. Just lovely, Wonderful. Just wonderful. Want to do the Bethesda bagel ad for us?

[Co-host or Producer]

Yes, 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 you're asking me, will my love grow? I. I don't know. I don't know. You stick around, Jack. It might show. I don't know. I. I don't know. That's the Frank Sinatra version of something by George Harris.

[Co-host or Producer]

Would have been George's birthday today.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, okay, good. Thanks to our guests today, Todd Harris and Matt Barry. That was lovely to have them.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Lovely.

[Co-host or Producer]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, I don't know either of them. It's really nice. Thank. We won't do that a lot, though. Don't worry, we'll have friends.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

I'm tempted to bring you up to ronaming for the pga. You can say hi.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is that one. Is that. It's at Aronmink this year. Oh, I've been to Bronmink. That would be nice. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Odyssey. If you get show through Apple, please leave us a review.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Haven't done this in a while. TK Suit should still be available. Johnny. Oh, I know it seems like it's a long way away, but the hour go. You know, the clocks go back by an hour in a few weeks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

So get a We'll get out of sneak peek.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We'll get out of terrible weather. TK Suit. Yeah. Good. From Sue Heidel or Hidell in Cincinnati, Ohio on Monday's show after the Todd Harris segment, you mentioned that. You never know who listens to the show. It's me, Titus. Thank you, Sue.

[Co-host or Producer]

Thank you, Sue.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Greg Kliegerman, Dr. Kornheiser, I too am listening. Thank you. Charlie Burch, Springfield, Virginia. Okay, so the men's hockey gold wasn't on par with the Miracle on Ice, but how close does it come to Walls Game six? Oh, it's better than John Walls Game six. It's much better than that. Paul Fitzpatrick, Edmonton, Alberta In Canada, the official Edmonton Oiler correspondent of the Tony Kornizer show. Trust me when I tell you this. Canada is in mourning over losing to the Americans in the gold medal game of the Olympics. Hockey is such a part of what defines Canada and what it means to be Canadian. It is impossible for most of us to view the bright side of a silver medal. When the Americans scored in overtime, you could feel the country deflate. It was soul crushing. Having said that, and I hope I speak for most Canadians, we love those players and we love that team. At the end of the game, after missing two glorious chances to win, I wanted the country to collectively hug and thank Nathan McCain, Devin Toews and the rest of Team Canada for representing our country with such profound class grace and determination. In four years we will be back better than ever. What a nice email from Dave DiNardo in Arlington, Virginia. I've written before about Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, New York at Colgate University. Yes, we've played beautiful. Yes and Otis Day in the nights. This one relates to Sunday's gold medal game in February of 1980. I was early graduating of Colgate and had returned home to Cleveland, Ohio. As I looked for a job in radio, I was fortunate enough to find work at Weare AM 1300 as a board op for the Larry King show. Working the 12 midnight to 5am shift for the salad. Hmm.

[Co-host or Producer]

I said watch out for the salad.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah, he'll spit it at you.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Protect the map.

[Tony Kornheiser]

As fate would have it, I also ended up having to work the evening shift on February 22nd. You guessed it, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in America who didn't get to see the Tape delayed Do youo Believe in miracles? Call by Al Michaels Fast forward 40 years to yesterday. I had agreed to take my 91 year old mom to an 11am church service. The overtime started just as we walked into church. I was contemplating watching on my phone, but mom wasn't having it. So I was sitting there. I considered that maybe karma is work after all. I had missed the last U.S. win, so maybe missing this one will result in a US Victory. Fortunately, someone got the result to the priest who was able to work the final score into a sermon to a rapid round of applause.

[Guest or Co-host (Possibly a family member or friend)]

Have you talked to Al since that game?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Since yesterday's game? No, no I haven't. I should call out. I have not. He would have loved to call that game. My God. Yeah, from Gus in South Glens Falls, New York. Not just Glens Falls, not like Scottsdale, just North Scottsdale. Listening to your wonderful interview with Craig Laughlin, I kept thinking that I knew that name. And then he mentioned Clarkson. He graduated the year I started attending that school in the little village of Potsdam, New York, way upstate and was a legend at our small college. We didn't become a University till 1984. I believe he played his first couple of years there with Dave Taylor, who found fame later with the LA Kings as part of their Triple Crown line with Marcel Dion and Charlie Simmer, all three scoring over 100 points in one season. From KB in Chicago, Kevin Burke. I noticed legendary little Rick Devins is a Participant in the 50th season of Survivor stories starting tonight. Does that start tonight or last?

[Co-host or Producer]

I think it was last night, yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Any inside scoop from Rick as the season begins? Did Lock and Fora call in a lobster dinner pick on Rick finishing top five this year? Can we expect a Friday show Devin's Update from whoever is the official Rick Devins update? Email Correspondent for the show the TK Show Nation needs to know. Yes, I hope somebody will let us know what's going on. We root for him of course. Of course. From Dan Wallsman in Damascus, Maryland, Tony, when are you going to buy another restaurant? I loved watching the podcast and taking pictures with you and your family. Is Bethesda bagels for sale From Carla Corrado, Columbus, Ohio for the love of sentences, a columnist as the New York Times praise this one. Wait. For the love of sentences, a columnist in the New York Times praised this one by your pal and friend of the show. Quote in the Washington Post, Barry Zvaluga offered Context for Michaela Shiffrin's Gold Medal Performance in the Slalom 5 of Shifrin's World cup victories this season have been more than been by more than 1.2 seconds in ski racing. That's enough time for dinosaurs to die off and be replaced by mammals. Great riding is great riding. May Mr. Sverluga land where his skills are appreciated and where we can find him. Wrote a great column, the end of the whole thing. By the way, Michaela Shifrin thanked him on social media.

[Co-host or Producer]

Oh, I didn't see that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Michaela Shiffrin thanked him, thought his coverage was great and he was really like setback. She was like, wow. I mean, he was excited about that. From Dave Marin or Moran Kenosha, Wisconsin chatter veteran Mr. Tony what kind of show have you run in there, man? Everyone knows the 1974 Texas Rangers had no backup shortstop Toby Palindrome Harrah played virtually every innian short that season for Billy Martin's Rangers. Bombo must have been a Triple a Spokane in 1974. Brian Sunk's St. Petersburg, Florida will this latest blizzard cause the beaches at Amity island to be closed until August, hoping your family stays safe through this turbulent time?

[Co-host or Producer]

That's a good question.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Bill Gentry Dr. Bill Gentry here from Wake Forest University, the official Director of Learning and Development for the Tony Korneiser Show. Quick question for you. I'm curious about Pepco and customer service. What time did Lee Smith call you to ask, ain't you got no electricity in your building? Sign the official Director of Learning and Development for for the Tony Cornheim. And one more from our friends at Norwegian Soft Kitten Hot bagel. It wasn't 45 minutes after Johannes Clabo won his record breaking six gold medal on Sunday that we received a text from him that read, now will you let me join NSK? Our entanglements with JoJo go back to 2018 when he first won. He won his first Olympic gold medals. Jojo was an accomplished performer on the Hurdy Girl and he asked to join us back then, assuring us that his hurdy gurdy playing would add depth to the NSK sound. We told him, beat it, kid. After winning more goals at the 2022 Olympics, JoJo hit us up again, swearing to the old gods and the new that his hurdy gurdy playing had reached new levels of excellence. While we didn't doubt his playing abilities, we still declined his offer. After Jojo's Sunday inquiry, we sent this when one has toured with Anthony Irwin Kornheiser when one has shared gallant of coffee ice cream and gone on panty raids and survived a backstage rumble with post sex nachos and been slapped across the face by Eric DeLonge and the boys and revived a deliriously happy Tony after his being kissed on the forehead by mercy Danger of hot pink hangover. Gold medals aren't enough to impress us when it comes to nsk. Norwegian soft kitten. It's Tony or nothing. Good luck kid. And Jojo sent us a sad faced emoji in reply. It's brilliant. Brilliant it and he wants to be on it cuz he is Norwegian. Yes, he is indeed Norwegian. If you're out on your bike T everyone as always do wear white now

[Matt Barry]

if there's anything I can do for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But I certainly hope you'll die soon.

[Mailbag Reader or Music Segment Host]

Live in reverse Go back in time what's it gonna take to open up? What does it take to light? What's it gonna take to open up? Bending my back to break the ice Everything's good as advertised Watch as the years pass by See what's it gonna be take to open up this time. Stretch out as big as you can Told you so I won't say what's right so what's it going to take to open up tonight? All the locks inside our heads it takes a while in your defense But I got lots of time so what's it going to take to open an eye tonight? Step on the right side of the road the only world you've ever known well it's okay it's all right what's it gonna take to open up? What's it gonna take. Sam, You wanna tell me everything I wanna go and listening cause whatever so what's it gonna take to open up this. I want to say a big goodbye I don't wanna fight so what's it gonna take to open up? What's it gonna take to open up? What's it gonna take to open? Well a strange kind of love's come over me I don't exactly know what it should be But I chase away all the negative thoughts Cause strange loves come over me yeah strange loves come over me. Well a strange kind of love's come over me I don't really know how it feels so free but that's okay cause we're moving now Strange love is what I found yeah strange love is what I found Sam. Now it's half past two in the morning I don't think I'll be sleeping in Cause I'm wide awake and my mind's on fire it's strange love in the middle of the night yeah strange love in the middle of the night. Well, giving up is hard to do When I see your face inside Me too so I take a swig and roll the dice It's a strange love Gotta hold on tight yeah, a strange love hold on for dear life.