The Chat House

Kornheiser	Wilbon
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With Tony Kornheiser
and Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Columnists
Monday, Oct. 29, 2001; 1 p.m. ET

The baseball playoffs are underway and the NBA regular season is right around the corner. Meanwhile, the Redskins continue to be terrible, despite their two wins. Searching for answers? Then The Chat House is the place for you.

Submit questions before or during today's discussion.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

washingtonpost.com: Hi everyone. We are getting started very soon. Thanks.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to The Chat House...our new Monday edition! We were supposed to start at 1 pm today, but I was in a meeting that ran late so it's my fault. Normally we'll start at 1:30 pm on Mondays. --Mary

Okay. Ready to roll. --Mike

Tony is looking for a key to get into his office or something. We are not exactly sure. --Mary and Mike

Silver Spring Md:
Are the Redskins actually good or is this a FLUKE? Also what station and time is your new Show ( you and Wilbon)on?

Thanks
Kim

Ps Tony and Mike I love you guys.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Hi Kim, there is a lot of room between good and fluke. Be careful about being an extremist. They never should have been as non-competitive as they were the first three games b/c they got more than a few really good players. On the other hand, I don't have them penciled into the NFC championship game. The players seem to have decided that they were just going to play and forget about all the other junk that was going on. And it has worked for 2 weeks. There is no reason to believe they can't beat Seattle. But, to draw any conclusions is premature. --Mike

The show, Pardon The Interruption," airs on ESPN at 5:30 pm Eastern and is replayed on ESPN2 at 7 pm EST and if you are up late the show appears to have been replayed late night and even after midnight on a few occasions. --Mike

Tony is coming. He'll be here in a sec. --Mary

Nashville, Tenn.: So are the two Redskin wins simply a hill along the road toward dreary mediocracy or do the wins signal a true change for the better?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: You don't think 2 wins after going 0-5 is a true change for the better? It's better than 0-7, I can tell you that. It's a change in the way they feel about themselves. And, I'm going to write a column about this in tomorrow's Post, but a locker room is still a place of work. And, the better people feel about themselves and what they are doing, the better they will perform...whatever task you are talking about. --Mike

Mclean, Va.: Tony Banks has shown good poise in the last two games. What's the story on why he has been unable to keep a job with five teams? Is it his work ethic, his on-field performance, his clubhouse attitude, or something else? This is an important question for the rest of the season.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: B/c his record has SUCKED. And b/c coaches don't think he works hard enough and cares passionately enough. That's their rap on him. And let's not make 2 victories into the beginning of a Super Bowl march. But he does have the physical skills to play the position. That has always been evident. He's mobile, which I like, and he can throw the deep ball. And he can take a shot. But he's never demonstrated anything closely related to greatness. But there are QBs who have led teams to Super Bowls who aren't as talented as Banks. --Mike

Hyattsville, Md.: I think this season will be a highly frustrating season for Michael Jordan playing with the Wizards. The won't make it to the Finals let alone the playoffs, not a situation Jordan felt for a long time. Will his "love for the game" sustain him to play for another season? Will the Wizards get anybody to compliment Jordan (Scottie Pippen type) for next season and who will make these president of operations decisions during the season and after that now Jordan is a player?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Well, these questions will be answered over the next 6 months. That's the fun of the season. That's why you follow it day by day. We know they won't get to the finals. And, reaching the playoffs is going to be very difficult, too. Scottie Pippen wasn't hatched. He developed through a lot of practice and good coaching and prodding by Jordan.... maybe Rip Hamilton can develop similarly. He won't look like Pippen but his own set of skills can be greatly enhanced by this experience. Same goes for Courtney Alexander an Etan Thomas.... this is the 1st step in their professional careers even though none is a rookie. That's the fun of following a season. You raise a good point though: this will test Jordan's love for the game. --Mike

Wethersfield, CT: HOW HOW HOW is Florida (whose only loss was a trouncing by Auburn) ranked above Texas (whose only loss was a squeaker to National Champions Oklahoma)? I know the rankings are really arbitrary but COME ON!!!

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: B/c the whole thing is absurd! It's SUBjective. --Mike

Hi. I'm here. I ran into someone's car today at The Washington Post. I attempted to park my car in a spot that my car didn't fit into so that the parking lot attendant didn't have to move cars when I needed my car. So this will now cost me $2500 out of my pocket so the parking lot attendant can do what he really wants to do: nothing. I mean his job is parking lot attendant isn't it? --Tony

Did he ask you to park the car? --Mike

Yes. So that he wouldn't have to move cars when I needed to get mine. Yes. So I'm out $2500 in cash. Have a nice day. --Tony

That's an extra set of clubs. That's an extra set of Calloway X-14s w/the Big Bertha woods. Ouch. --Mike

So don't ask me about Texas and Florida okay? Let me explain something to you. Did you watch OK and NE on Saturday? B/c if you did you wouldn't open your fat yap about Florida and Texas? OK and NE that was some football Jim. So don't ask us about anything but OK-NE or Miami or Maryland. Where are you from? Why are you in this Chat House? Ain't they got no Chat House in CT? Can you get into a Yale Chat House? Get out of our Chat House. --Tony

So, Tony, how you doing today? How you feeling? How's your mood? --Mike

Not good. ---Tony

Centreville, Va.: Great TV show gentlemen, although Michael you could tend to smile a little more. With the way the division is shaping up and the way the Redskins have found some life, do you think its feasible that they will win the division?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Thank you. If they Redskins win the division, Marty should be carried around in a chair b/c no worse than 8-8 will win the division and that will mean that Marty went 8-3. Now the bottom 3 teams, Dallas, Arizona and the Redskins are horrendous. The Giants seem to have imploded inexplicably. I can't believe Philly isn't a 10 win team. --Tony

Philly lost to Oakland and St. Louis. I'm not going to rip 'em for that. I think they are the best 2 teams in the league and I know you do too. Now, as for smiling, let me get cultural on you for a second: brotha's ain't fond of smiling. --Mike

I thought brotha's aint fond of guitars. --Tony

Most of us ain't. There is plenty of stuff not to be fond of. And, gratuitous smiling is included. --Mike

Gratuitous. The guy wants you to smile. He's not saying wash the car and bring in the drinks. You know what they say in Stripes "Lighten up Francis." --Tony

One of my favorite lyrics is in an early rap CD -- it might have been Chuck D -- where somebody says of Bobbie McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" --damn if I say it, you can slap me right here. And that's how I feel about smiling. If there's a reason, I'll do it. --Mike

Smiling as a political statement? --Tony


It's cultural and you don't get it. Like all that 60's junk you used to do that I don't get. Like you wearing a big red Afro like Bernie on Room 222. Like being anti everything. What was that about? --Mike

Anti everything? At least I smile while I was anti-everything. Being anti-everything made me happy. --Tony

Bethesda, MD: I agree with Michael Wilbon that the BCS is a bunch of BS. So, why not give the college football fans what they want, which is a playoff tournament? Every other division of the NCAA has a tournament, so it would be easy for Division 1-A to adopt a playoff format.

To address Wilbon's concern about subjectivity, some will still exist. However, most people can agree that the top 16 teams are the only legitimate contenders for the national title (unless you are a BYU fan).

The benefits are more interest in all 15 post-season games (assuming 16 teams in a knock-out competition). Each school's fans will have more motivation to support their school at each game as a victory takes them closer to the championship.

There will no longer be poorly-attended, meaningless bowl games!

One day a Division 1-A playoff system will happen, and the NCAA will be kicking themselves for not doing it sooner.

--Bill Tanner

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Bill Tanner? Are you my ex boyfriend from college? --Mary

Bill, this is much TOO long for The Chat House. We are a mile wide and an inch deep here. The only reason we even read halfway through it is b/c Mary said you might have been a former squeeze. Now, get out of here. --Tony

Did Mary dump you or were you stupid enough to dump her? I want details. Juicy details. --Mike

I could give you some details. --Mary

Herndon, Va.: Tony, my liege: Please let the lady whose car jumped in the way of yours know I can have the damage fixed for $200 tops -- and it comes with a lifetime guarantee! (The life of the repairs, that is.) Steve

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Thank you to Steve the Sycophant. It was my fault. I'm going to pay her damages. --Tony

Did you hit the car of a total babe? --Mike

I don't know. I've never met her. But she's been very cordial throughout this whole thing. --Tony

Has she seen her car yet? --Mike

Yeah, I think so.--Tony

Baltimore: Nothing was greater for O's fans like myself than seeing Mussina getting busted up the other night. For 88 million the Yanks can have him. There's a reason the Yanks only scored one run for him and that he never gets any run support and its not just Schilling's fast ball. It is because he's dull and lifeless and has no clubhouse presence. Don't you guys think Angelos feels somewhat vindicated for letting him go?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Sorry Lisa this question wasn't in format. --Mary

You're too stupid to live. To even be allowed to take up space in the sports universe. --Mike

We are apparently Mean on Mondays now. --Mary

Angelos has no team and you think he should feel vindicated b/c a guy lost a World Series Game? See stuff like this... it makes what Tony and I do a little scary b/c there are wackos out there who believe this stuff. You need to back off a little bit. You care too much about the O's and they stink don't they? -Mike

I completely concur. --Tony

Reading: Hi Tony and Mike,

I am pregnant with my first child and my husband and I are having a hard time figuring out what to name it if it is a boy.

We'd like you to settle it:

Anthony Richard

or

Michael Santino

The later of course is in honor of my husband's two favorite movie characters from the Godfather. We are Italian too.

Please help us settle this argument.

Thanks.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Michael. It is greatest name EVER. --Mike

I named my son Michael so I am partial to the name, but if you name your child Michael Santino you are essentially predicting he'll be shot to death at a toll booth which is a bad deal for him. --Tony

Or maybe he'll shoot someone at a toll booth. --Mike

Anthony may be too ethnic a name. --Tony

Anthony? What group exactly is Anthony unique to? --Mike

Italians. I can promise you I am among one of the five Jewish Tony's in the world. But if you really want to go strong on the Godfather have the courage and conviction to name your child: Don Vito Corleone ( and just hope he doesn't grow up to be a Fredo.) --Tony

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: The guys have to go and do their TV show.... so Picks:

Tony:
Seattle at Washington: Washington
Baltimore at Pittsburgh: I don't know.

Pick a team. Don't be a wuss. He doesn't want to pick Billick. That's why he's stalling. --Mike

Baltimore.
Tampa Bay at Green Bay: Green Bay
Jax at TN: Who cares. TN. Who cares. Jax has won 2 games in the last 80 games.
Denver at Oakland: Good game. Oakland

I agree w/everything he picked. I hate to do that. But, the only team I'm tempted to take different from him is the Steelers but.... I'll stick w/my boy Billick. As we sign off, people in The Chat House better hope the Bears lose soon or I will become insuferable. --Mike

What do you mean become? --Mary

Thanks for your patience w/the time change. Thanks to Bill Grant, washingtonpost.com Sports Editor for his help today. We are back next Monday at 1:30 pm ET... the regular time. Have a great week. --Mary

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