From 30 for 30 podcasts. Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing what's about. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. They're placing the arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. It's National Hot Sauce Day, Tony. You a fan of hot sauce? I'm Tony Kornheiser. No, but back in college, the ladies called me Tabasco Cat. Meow. All right. Meow. I don't know if we have any, like, evidence going back. I put hot sauce on two things. You'll understand one, you want the other. Catfish and chitlins. Better known to a lot of people as chitterlings, but not my people. I'm not a hot sauce guy. I admit that. I'm not a hot sauce guy. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls. On today's episode, the Mets' new ace. Steve Kerr's future and Booger McFarlane joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with the Denver Broncos as they approach their AFC championship game against New England without their usual starting quarterback, Bo Nix, who broke his ankle late in the game against Buffalo last weekend. The Broncos' new quarterback is veteran backup Jared Stidham, who hasn't thrown a pass in the NFL in two years. At the moment, the Broncos are five-and-a-half-point underdogs at home to New England, an unprecedented number for a home team in a conference championship game. Wilbon, do you consider the Broncos to be significant underdogs in this game? Yes, of course I do. They're missing their starting quarterback. Yes. And there's no team in the league today, 32 teams, if missing its starting quarterback, that would be like less than a heavy underdog. I'll mention one team I can think of ever in my lifetime, at least in my adult lifetime, where the backup quarterback could come in and you could have almost the belief you have that you wouldn't a starting quarterback. And that would be Joe Montana and Steve Young. That's it, because they both wore the gold jackets. Everybody else, Tony, the answer is massive underdog. And I don't care what Sean Payton says. Sean Payton's done all the right things, starting with his messaging in the postgame, where he had a second postgame after they won the game, and he broke his ankle. He's done all the right things. It doesn't matter what he says. It doesn't matter what the reps are. they're playing a quarterback they would quickly opt out of if they could. So let me try and take the other side of this just for a little bit of balance. And I will say that I'm going to start with Sean Payton because he does know what he's doing. When he first got to Denver, one of the first guys he brought over was Stidham as an insurance policy, not to start as an insurance policy. So he knows him a long time. He likes him a long time. He's been there three years now. His trajectory, Sean Payton's trajectory has gone nothing but up. Eight and nine the first year, then 10 and seven, then 14 and three. Now, a lot of that was drafting Bo Nix, replacing Russell Wilson with Bo Nix. I'm not going to try to minimize that, but a lot of it is defense as well. They have the most sacks in the league this year. They have allowed the third fewest amount of points this year and last year. Losing Bo Nix, it's terrible. Huge. He's your starting quarterback and plays almost every down. But in a low-scoring game, it seems to me, maybe the defense can do something about that. I remember there's two things I want to say. One is that Philip Rivers, at 45 years old, having not played at all in five years, came in and started three games for the Colts. And all things considered, I thought did a very good job, though the Colts did not win those games. And I remember Steve Young on this show yesterday saying what Jared Stidham is thinking is, please don't let me be the one to lose this game. I think, yes, that New England should be favored, but I'm going to analogize it to Miami and Indiana in the college game where we both thought that Miami had at least a chance and, in fact, covered. In fact, they covered. Yeah, I don't know about covering, but if Sean Payton could get his starting quarterback back tomorrow by giving years off his own life, do you think he'd do it? Yes, yes, sure. Of course. Let's move to your Mets landing the ace they've been looking for. New York traded two of its top prospects for Brewers all-star Freddie Peralta and righty Tobias Myers last night. Peralta's the third big get for the Mets this week after signing Bo Bichette and trading for Luis Robert Jr. Tom, what does this say about each team and what do you make of the Mets big week? All right, let me start with Peralta. 17-6 last year with a 2-7-0 ERA in 33 starts. And what was the result? Milwaukee had the best record in Major League Baseball. They lost in the playoffs when the Dodgers came up with spectacular pitching against them. But Peralta has had a tremendous three years in a row. I assume they are getting rid of him because he's in the last year of his contract and they can't afford to sign him for a new contract. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE A DRIVER. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE A DRIVER. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE A DRIVER. I WAS TOLD TODAY THAT MILWAUKEE HAS DONE THIS BEFORE WITH JOSH HADER JUST LAST YEAR WITH JOSH HADER AND DEVIN WILLIAMS NOW MILWAUKEE HAS MADE THE PLAYOFF SEVEN OF THE LAST EIGHT YEARS AS YOU KNOW BECAUSE THAT DIVISION MATTERS TO YOU you know because that division matters to you so I not going to micromanage Milwaukee okay The Mets they get a number one starter in Peralta The Mets get a great infielder in Bo Bichette and in Luis Robert Jr., a guy who hit 38 home runs and 80 RBI for the White Sox in 2023. But Mike, does that make up for the loss of Pete Alonzo? Does that make up for the loss of Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil and the great closer Edwin Diaz. The Mets have a lot of names. They've been in the playoffs two of the last eight years. Not seven. Two. Well, and that's where I start, Tony. The Mets have a big week all the damn time. Pretty much every offseason they have a big week. And we're told how great the Mets are going to be. And they spend almost as much money as the Dodgers. And they do. I mean, they're like within $70, $80 million this year on the Dodgers. Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. They go out and this is what they do, and it doesn't work. So the Mets big week doesn't mean jack. And so I understand. Milwaukee, Tony, Milwaukee can scout. And when you are in a team, in a city, that's a mid-market team or a small market team, you better be able to scout Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and, yes, the Milwaukee Brewers. So they got to let Freddy Peralta go because they figure they can't sign him, then you know they've had some back channel or better than that conversation with his agent. Got to let him go. We get as much as we can. Those two prospects keep an eye on it. The Mets had to turn loose to get Freddy Peralta back. I'll just go to the Mets, the team of my youth, just for one small moment. In mid-June last year, they were 45-24. It was the best record in all of Major League Baseball, and they finished 38-55. Yeah, there you have it. We turn now to a story by Logan Murdoch of The Ringer, suggesting that Steve Kerr may not be back with the Warriors next year. Kerr's contract is up at the end of this season, and Murdoch reports that multiple assistant coaches on the Warriors have been operating under the premise that Kerr will not return. Kerr has been mum on the subject. Will Bond, does the speculation that Kerr will not return to the Warriors sound plausible to you? Of course it does. It makes perfect sense. Steve Kerr can do what he wants. He's won four championships. And if this team, Tony, was three years ago or four years ago going into the 21-22 season when they, oh, wait, won another championship, then Steve Kerr might be thinking differently. But in this case, with Steve, I'm sorry, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green being on the, not just the back nine, what are they, on holes 16 and 17? It's done. It's okay. They had one of the great runs in the history of the NBA. Steve Kerbin, part of three of the great runs, Chicago, San Antonio as a player, and then Golden State as a coach. Everything he could want, he's done. And they're not going to win. I love them. I have loved my time going to San Francisco to cover the Warriors the last 11 years. That window has closed. I hate to say it. but Steve Kerr what's Steve Kerr supposed to do just hang around can do whatever he wants if he wants to come back he can and will but it's understandable if he doesn't I'd love to disagree with you I cannot disagree with you Steve Kerr is now in his 12th season with the Warriors he has four championships could easily have had a fifth and I know you agree with me on that I do he has coached he was the head coach of the United States men's Olympic basketball team once and he won a gold medal. He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's a great coach and all we should do really is applaud him. When I think of Steve Kerr, I think of Steph Curry, I think of Clay Thompson and I think of Draymond Green. That to me is the essence of the Warriors. Some people will say, well, what about Durant? He was there for two championships. Kevin Durant was a guy who would seem to me was invited to dinner, ate the meal and then left. I mean, he was just gone in a hurry. Klay Thompson is now gone, right? He's on Dallas. Bob Myers left a few years ago. So now it is just Curry and Green. Curry is under contract this year and next. Green is under contract this year, I believe, has an option for next year. Now, what we have done, you and I, the last two to three years, when we talk about the Warriors, we talk about the fact that they are not winning as many games as they used to win. And can they get back to that? Well, Jimmy Butler just went out for the whole year. And now we're talking about the drama around someone named Jonathan Kaminga as if he is a critical piece. Much like you, I agree with this. It is waning. We see it waning. Let Kerr do whatever he wants. Let us take a break. Absolutely. Yeah, coming up, the Rams and Seahawks have split two tight games. We will ask Booger McFarlane who he has in the rubber match. We'll also ask him how he sees Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the NFL level. It's sad to break up on the Warriors. It's not even a breakup. This is an expiration. But all the great teams have to go away. 911, where is the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide? At this point, nobody knows. old friendships buried cash and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life I'm Juju Chang from 2020 and ABC Audio listen to Bridge of Lies coming March 10th wherever you listen to podcasts by Jessica WE HAVE AN FULL QUESTION FOR OUR GREAT FRIEND ESPN NFL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST WEARING AN INDIAN CREEK SHIRT WHERE I PLAYED. the Broncos defense is good. Is it good enough to make up for the loss of Bo Nix? You know what, Tony? I think it is. I think they have the ability to rush the passer with Benito and Cooper. They're two edge guys. They can cover you on the back end with Sertan and Moss. They're linebackers in the middle. They ball out all day long. So I think this defense, even though they didn't play well against Buffalo, they have the ability to sack your quarterback and turn you over. The key will be, can they get any help from the offense? I know that Bo Nix is not going to be there and Jared Stidham. I think it's a very capable backup. He's going to have to do something. I don't think they can win this game 10-7 or 12-6 like some of the old days back with the Ravens and the Buccaneers and Mike Wilbon's 85 Bears. They're going to have to score 17-20 points. And if they do that, I think this defense is good enough to make life miserable for Drake May. Oh, let's see. Booger just threw some factors in there. All right. Rams and Seahawks. They've split two really tight games, as you know, this season, Booger. What's going to be the difference in the third game, and which way are you leaning? Well, I think the difference is if you're the Rams, you've got to be able to run the football. Like, the Rams have always been that team a little bit finesse. Yeah, they kind of run the ball, but they do it schematically because Sean McVay does a great job with the mid-zone and the outside zone. And if you think about it, who was the Rams' nemesis for a long time? It was the 49ers because the 49ers were so much more physical than the Rams. Well, guess who's the most physical team now? It's the Seattle Seahawks. That defensive line led by Williams, Murphy, and Lawrence is outstanding. They want to take you into a phone booth and beat the hell out of you. And I think if you're the Rams, you're going to have to match the Seahawks' physicality. You got to run the football. No, they don't have to run it for 200 yards, but they got to be able to take some of the pressure off of Matthew Stafford. If they can establish some semblance of a running game, then they turn the game over to a guy who many think is going to win the MVP in Matthew Stafford. And this is what they got Devontae Adams for, right? It was Pook and the Cool. It was Cooper Cup. Cooper Cup is gone. You bring in Devontae Adams. And so now, if they can run the football, Devontae Adams, you got to show up. It's got to be Stafford. It's got to be Adams. It's got to be the Cool. But the first thing they have to do is match the physicality of the Seattle Seahawks. If they do that, then they have a chance. Booger, as much as we love talking about these conference championships games with you, we can't have you on without talking about the coaching carousel and whether or not you find the Bills or the Ravens head coaching vacancy more appealing. If you want a write-in candidate, you want to go off book, feel free. You know, typically this would be an easy choice because I would choose the Buffalo Bills because I think they have the best player in the sport now in Josh Allen. But after that press conference yesterday with Terry Pagula and Brandon Bean, I'm not so sure I want to go work for that guy if he's going to point the finger at every opportunity that he gets. So down you look at, from a structure standpoint and an ownership standpoint, look at Baltimore. Steve Busciotti has done an outstanding job. Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP. When you look at Isaac Newsom, who's still around that program, Eric DaCosta, I think both of these teams are absolutely outstanding. I still think I would want the talent over the field. I get it. Terry Pagula did a horrible job of taking ownership of issues at the press conference. I'm talking about that may have been one of the worst press conferences I've ever seen an owner do. When you sit up there with your new GM and head of football operations and you basically blame the former staff. With that being said, football is a game of talent and Josh Allen is the best player in the sport. So right now, I still think the best job only by a little bit because Baltimore and Lamar Jackson and what they do with Steve Bishotti. I think the world of that program. But because of Josh Allen, because he is who he is, I think the Buffalo Bills job is the best job. And I'm going to have to have a serious conversation with Terry Pagula because what we do inside our locker room should stay in the locker room. I didn't like the fact that they talked about the players were crying. I didn't like the fact that they threw Keon Coleman under the bus. Keon Coleman is somewhere Mike on vacation. He catching strays from the owner in the gym. Those things can't happen. But because of Josh Allen, I will take the Buffalo Bills job. I agree with that. You dangle a diamond like Josh Allen, that kind of glitter is what you want to coach if you have the opportunity. We'll get you out of here on this, on the college game, because I know you went to the college championships. Do you like Fernando Mendoza's prospects at the next level, the NFL level? I do, Tony, because we've talked about this for years. I've been talking to you guys. I don't care about the quarterback, how big he is. I don't care how far he throws the football. I don't care what he runs the 40 in. my quarterback has to do two things. He's got to process information, and he's got to throw the football accurately. And Fernando Mendoza does that at the highest level. You watch some of those back shoulder fades that he threw against the Miami Hurricanes down in Miami. You watch how fast the ball came out. Even though Miami was bringing a ton of pressure, the ball came out of his hands quickly. It was accurate. Now, it helps the fact that he's 6'5 and 230 and can run quarterback draw and get the game-winning touchdown. That stuff helps. But when you're playing football in the National Football League, you better throw it accurately, and you better process information quickly. And no one knows that better than the guy who the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and that Tom Brady He not the biggest guy He damn straight the fastest guy But his ability to process information and throw the football accurately was outstanding And I think he's going to appreciate what he saw from Fernando Mendoza. Oh, by the way, guess who was on the sideline in Miami, Tony? Tom Brady, John Spitek, minority owner, general manager. They're going to appreciate what they saw in Miami. He's a tough kid. he throws it accurately he can process I think he's going to be the number one pick and I can say that in January for April's draft great pleasure to have you as always thank you appreciate it always anytime fellas let's take one last break still to come the Knicks bounce back just like Wilbon said they would and Baker Mayfield gets his fourth offensive coordinator in four years with the Buccaneers. He took some shots, too. What did you say? The Knicks would win by 25? Did they win by a lot more than 25? Yeah, I underbid tremendously. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You had the spirit of it, right? Yeah. You had the spirit of it. Happy time, people. Happy 80th birthday, Serge Savard. History lesson, kids. The Hall of Fame defenseman played 17 seasons in the NHL, 15 for his hometown Montreal Canadiens, and the last two with Winnipeg. For much of his time with the Canadiens, Savard was paired with another defenseman Hall of Famer, Larry Robinson. In all, Savard won seven Stanley Cups in Montreal, and Robinson won six. In Savard's third season, at the age of 23, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Savard was unusually big for a defenseman at that time, 6'2", 210. Savard is on the NHL's 100 Greatest Players list. He also won two more Cups as GM of the Canadiens, and he was nicknamed Le Senateur. Tony was also fortunate enough to play on a team with a goal scorer named Guy LeFleur. You like him, didn't you? Yeah. 76, 77, 78, 79. And one of those years Steve Schutt had 60 goals. I never would have guessed. You don't think of him as being one of the great defensemen of all time. Maybe we should call Bob Ryan and ask him how high up that list the Canadian. It'll be high, but not as high as Bobby Orr, as you know. Happy anniversary, Joel Embiid. On this day two years ago, the Sixers center set the 76ers franchise single-game scoring record when he got 70 points in a 133-123 win over San Antonio. Embiid's 70 was two more than Wilt Chamberlain's 68 for the Sixers. Spoiler alert, Wilt got his incomparable 100-point game while a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, technicality. Embiid, Wilt, and David Robinson are the only centers to score 70 or more. Only 10 players have ever scored 70 or more. Shortly after Embiid scored 70, he suffered a meniscus injury. He's been in and out of the lineup since. So far this season, Embiid has played in 23 of Philadelphia's 42 games averaging 24 points. They're 13-10 with him, 10-9 without him. Don't miss him that much. Tone, I see what you did there, though. You called the viewers bluff. You're saying to them, I know you people don't remember that this is also the anniversary of Kobe Bean Bryant scoring 81. You just slipped it right past him. Very sly. I didn't remember that. I really didn't. Happy trails to the Ravens head coaching opening. Earlier in the show, we asked Booger whether the Bills or Ravens had the better job opening. Well, Baltimore just announced that it is hiring Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as its new head coach. Minter interviewed with the Raiders and Browns before landing the Ravens job. It's a bit of a homecoming for Minter. He was a defensive assistant on the Ravens from 2017 to 2020, which means he has now worked for both Harbaugh brothers. Well, where do you think he goes to get help to coach the MVP quarterback on the roster he is going to be joining? Not the one he's going to be leaving. He's going to have to bring somebody in there with incredible credibility and relationship with one Lamar Jackson. One omission yesterday. Wilbon said the Knicks would beat the Nets by 20. He underbid by a lot. Beat them by 54. Good job, Wilbon. Let's go to the big finish, if we could. The Bucs lost by 20 to the Thunder. Giannis said the team isn't playing hard, and the chemistry is not there. Is that significant? He's sort of pointing his finger at the coach, my friend Glenn Rivers. Stop. It's time to go bye-bye with Giannis. The Bucs hired Zach Robertson as their new offensive coordinator. You like that? Baker Mayfield's fourth offensive coordinator in four years. It's Tampa Bay's fifth in five years. But a couple of those guys became head coaches. Vikings agreed to a new deal with Brian Flores as defensive coordinator if he doesn't get hired as a head coach. You got a good move? I like having Flores on that staff. You still don't know exactly what's going on with a young quarterback, so defense is going to have to rule the day again. Scotty Scheffler made his season debut today at La Quinta. I know you're excited. Yeah, he was minus nine. Is that shaking off the rust when you're minus nine in your first round? Come on. Last one. Lakers and Clippers tonight. Who you got? The Clippers were beaten so badly by the Bulls in the most recent outing. I'm going to take them to rebound against the Lakers. We're out of time. We'll try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser. And I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now, you know what's coming? Your sports center. So, now, you would get rid of Giannis right now, right? Right now? Trade deadline. Bye-bye. Yeah, I mean, how many days? Post-game, every day he's griping.
