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The Chat House
With Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Sports Columnists
Monday, Feb. 24, 2003; 1:30 pm ET
It's time for another edition of The Chat House!
Tony and Mike are here to talk about all things sports related. For example? The Caps, college hoops or anything else that strikes you fancy. So, come on into The Chat House.
The transcript of the discussion follows:
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Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to The Chat House. Mike is here... not sure where Tony is, but he'll jump in when he surfaces. --Mary
Let's go to it. --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
Odds of the Wizards making the playoffs and the Lakers not? One of the 12 signs of the Apocalypse? I hope it's the Kings' year.
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: There's no chance the Lakers will not make the playoffs. As we speak, the Lakers are in 7th place and my bet is that they will finish in 6th which will set up a first round playoff series w/the Spurs. The Wizards have to go 17-10 to finish 43-39, which I think will get them in the playoffs too. The Wizards have a lot of winnable games at home. They have to start by beating Houston Thursday night, if the game isn't snowed out. And then, they also have at home: the Bulls, Clippers, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and the Knicks. They have to win every one of those games and they probably have to win on the road at Miami maybe at the Knicks. It's doable, but it's not going to be easy. The problem is they are not getting anything from Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywood. I mean NOTHING. And they can't get in the playoffs unless those 2 guys start to contribute SOMETHING, even just a little bit every night. --Mike
Arlington, Va.:
Who has been the best interview so far on PTI?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Great question. We can't come up w/a single clear cut best interview. But people in the running, just from the last week are: Rick Pitino and Jim Boeheim. Plus that, we've had Warren Sapp, who was great, Michael Strayhan, Barkley, Deion, Phil Jackson, Doug Collins, Isiah Thomas. We have been very fortunate to have had people who have a lot to say and many of them have pre-existing relationships w/one or both of us, which makes it easier to have them be comfortable on camera. Our best recurring guest is Terry Bowden, who we call on a 1/2 dozen times each of the 2 football seasons we've been on air. I'm being reminded how good Ty Willingham was and among our friends, Richard Justice, David DuPree, Aldridge, and Tim Kurkgian and Jay Bilas are impossible to separate b/c they are good at this. All of those people have been doing this longer than Tony and me and I know I've forgotten somebody.--Mike
Doug was real good. Boeheim. Phil Jackson was real good. Bowden. Barkley. Sapp. --Tony
We've got the same people. --Mike
Boston, MA:
Mike,
Did you have misfortune of being in Memphis on Saturday night??
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: No. It's one of the few times in the last 13 years I've missed a Tyson fight. But I had a long planned professional/personal engagement. And as it turned out I was happy not to be there. I did watch on TV w/Tony, our boss of 20+ years George Solomon and 30 of my truly close colleague-friends at my house. It was about what I expected. Another Tyson fight that has the element of being a spectacle, but it mostly unfulfilling. The Black Rhino certainly got hit hard. I mean, Tyson knocked the &!*%# out of him. It was a clean punch that landed flush and I know the Black Rhino had to be groggy. And he would have gotten his butt kicked eventually. But he had NO intention of getting up. NONE. He knew he was getting a mil so he just laid out. It's always the same thing, isn't it? --Mike
Alexandria, Va.:
Mike,
Was the 49 seconds worth the $24.95 (or whatever it was)?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: I'm a Showtime subscriber so as it turns out I didn't have to pay additionally for the fight. I'd have been ticked off if I had paid extra for it. I would have charged Tony. --Mike
To me, it's a Tyson fight and I like Tyson fights and I think that most poeple who like Tyson, this is what they want to see. They want tos ee Tyson run around the ring in a frenzy and knock the guys head off. In that sense, it was worth it. The disappointment was the Black Rhinon took his mouthpiece out before he hit the canvas. Apparently he asked the ref for a cell phone so he could call the bank to ask if the million $$ check had cleared. That guy wasn't getting up off the canvas even if Vanessa Williams walked by. That guy is a fraud. --Tony
Laurel, Md.:
What is your opinion on Kwame Brown's progress as an NBA player? Do you guys think people are expecting too much from Kwame? After all Jermaine O'neil spent practically fours yrs sitting on the blazer's bench before he became a good player. In your article today Mike, you said Kwame played horribly in the five minutes he was in the game. But on the bright side, at 5.4 rebounds per game he's the second only to MJ in rebounding. Also, he is the fourth leading scorer
(average PPG) on the team behind stackhouse, MJ and Hughes. Do you guys think it would best for Kwame, and the future of the Wizards, to let him play more and to take his lumps and thus gain experience in actual games and learn from experience? I would honestly love to see Kwame be more productive, but it seems he's just to young and inexperienced now for us to expect him to make a big impact on the team.
- GO Wizards!
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: This is a worthy question and a complicated issue. I've said all along that I would not take a high school kid that high in the draft b/c you have to wait and let him develop. It still takes 3 to 4 years after high school for him to be able to play consistently in the pros. But you are paying him instead of him being on a college campus. And the danger is, for the Wizards, that Kwame will bolt like lightening out of here and become great somewhere else as both Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal did. But right now he is simply lost. He isn't ready to play. And they need help in the front court. While I understand the frustration from Doug Collins and Michael Jordan, but they shouldn't have drafted him b/c they had to figure he didn't know how to practice or eat or rest or concentrate. They shouldn't have taken him. --Mike
Alexandria, Va.:
When the three Mikes are on, most eyes are riveted to the TV:
Mike Jordan
Mike Tyson
Mike Jackson
That's it, that's the list
Quick note on Skins. I read in Post where talks with Gardener are stalled. Why is it that they play hardball with guys they need and can contribute but give the keys to the money vault to washed superstars who can only marginally contribute (Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Jeremiah Trotter, Jessie Armstead, etc.)?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Good point. --Mike
What about Michael Wilbon? --Mary
No, not me. But the Redskins are so out of season and so far off my radar and I know that the Redskins are the biggest thing in town and always will be. But I just don't care about out of season stuff and it's not like it's the end of May when camp is 6 weeks away. Everybody also said that the Redskins weren't going to sign Jon Janzen. And they got it done. So, you know, turn the Redskins down in your head and watch a college basketball game.... watch Michael Jordan... watch Kobe.... watch Tracy McGrady. Even watch figure skating when it comes into town for the world championships in 2 weeks. --Mike
Arlington, Va.:
Odds of someone other than Tiger winning the money title this year?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Well, Ernie Els has got a good shot considering he's already won 4 tournaments. I think Tiger will top the $$ list. But, Els has got a good head start on him. And unlike Phil Mickelson, Els has won a couple of majors -- 3 to be exact -- and he's not afraid. He doesn't melt down every single Sunday when Tiger is in the same tournament so it's possible Ernie could do this. --Mike
Herndon, Va.:
Mr. Tony and Mr. Mike: Your picks for the world figure skating championships?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: I've got: Dorothy Hamill. Tony's got Peggy Fleming and Dick Button on the men's side. Are we up to date? --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
What Kobe is doing is amazing! In comparing him to MJ, everyone focuses on age. Don't you think compairing their years as a pro would be more valid?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Yes, I believe that years are a fairer indicator. And this is Kobe's 7th season and while he is 24, Jordan at 24 was in his 3rd full season... remember Michael missed his 2nd season due to a foot injury. He only played 18 regular season games that year. And in Michael's 2nd full season, he averaged 37.1 a game. The next year when Michael was 25, he shot 53 percent from the field which Kobe hasn't come w/in 5 percent of. And Michael wasn't playing w/Shaq. In fact, when Michael averaged 37.1 he didn't even have Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant yet. He was playing w/people like Granville Waiters, who Shaq would eat for breakfast. --Mike
Washington, D.C.:
Just wanted to tell you guys how great you are! I never watch sports but I watch "PTI" religiously because you guys crack me up!
I wanted to also tell Mike how much I have appreciated his calm and well-thought out comments on the Augusta Golf thing. It's nice to see a man who understands about discrimination against women. You are great.
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Thank you for watching. --Tony
Thank you for the comments. --Mike
Arlington, Va.:
I enjoyed reading Preston Williams' article about youth recruiting. I thought LeBron James was enough. Are we going to start hearing about 6th graders?
Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon: Probably. We'll have to end on this. Mike has to cut out to go and prepare for PTI w/Tony. Thanks for coming and we'll see you next week. --Mary
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