Washington, DC: Not a question, but a comment - Can you please pass along my compliments to the person responsible for starting the daily minor league feature in the sports section? I've found this to be quite enjoyable - and it is certainly more local than some of the teams that get coverage. I appreciate it.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Of course. I'll pass it along. Thanks for writing in. Just waiting for Mike to answer his cell phone and we'll get started. It's going to be Wilbon solo today. --Mary

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DMG, U Street, DC: Hi guys, I love the show and your columns. We're really lucky to have you here in DC.

Mike, this excerpt is from your column this morning about Larry Brown:

"The two things he has wanted, the only two entries to be omitted on his glittering résumé (I sound like Kornheiser) are Olympic coach and NBA champion. That's it, that's the list. He will be the 2004 Olympic coach, which leaves NBA champion."

Don't you think Larry would have taken a chance to coach North Carolina over a shot at an NBA title? Also, how soon will we hear about season ticket cancellations rolling into MCI Center? Are the telephone lines heating up or are fans (corporates) waiting to see what Abe will do this summer?

Thanks guys.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Hi everyone. I know he would have taken a shot at Carolina. So, you're right I should have said 3 things: Olympic coach, NBA coach and Tarheel coach. You're absolutely right, but I was confining comments to the professional ranks and I should have expanded them to include North Carolina. --Mike

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Washington DC:
Abe Pollin only needs to take a deep breath and hire John Thompson as his Pres/CEO. Thoughts?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: That will happen right after he hires me as his next basketball coach. Have you been paying attention over the years to the positions that Abe Pollin and John Thompson have taken or for that matter to the criticism by Thompson toward Pollin when he fired Jordan? There is LESS THAN ZERO chance of that happening. Do you hear me? LESS THAN ZERO. --Mike

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Washington, DC: Why don't the Wizards go after Rick Carlisle? It is plainly obvious that they are not one of the sexier coaching jobs out there, and talk of Silas, Brown, VanGundy, and Dunleavy appears to be little more than misguided optimism. Hiring Carlisle would allow the Wizards to save a little PR face from the Jordan fiasco as well as getting a guy who has gotten two 50-win seasons out of a team that most will agree does not have a 50-win roster.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: So is the Wizards signing Carlisle. It's the same thing. He's been in the playoffs both of years as head coach and his preference which unlike a lot of coaches he can actually have is to be in the playoffs now and all the time. And that's why Rick is off to Portland to talk to the TrailBlazers. The TrailBlazers are much more dysfunctional than the Wizards, but they always make the playoffs. And if you want to restructure the TrailBlazers to include less criminals, a smart GM can trade some of those clowns and get something of value back. No team wants all of those guys or even 2 of them together, but tell me who on the Wizards is better than Rasheed Wallace? Tell me who on the Wizards is better than Bonzi Wells? FOr that matter what guard on the Wizards, at the moment, Damon Stoudamire? The Wizards players are young and unproven as of yet so something would have to go wrong for Carlisle on his visit in Portland for the Wizards to get back involved. Another question: would you rather coach Allen Iverson or the Wizards? Now, there might be a few coaches who would rather not deal w/Iverson no matter the possible rewards, but I don't think Rick Carlisle is one of them. --Mike

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Mike,

Thanks for taking the time to read my question. Regarding the impending implosion of the Big East, I’m concerned that my alma mater, Pitt, as well West Virginia, and Virginia Tech, are going to be left out of a chance to win a national championship. Do you think Notre Dame will align themselves with the remaining five football schools, the above three plus Connecticut and Rutgers, and form a new all sports conference with say Louisville, South Florida, and Cincinnati? The caveat of course being that Notre Dame gets to keep their TV contract but split bowl money, and the conference only plays six conference games a year for football. I would think this be enough to have an automatic BCS bid for the new conference. Thanks again.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: I've heard about that possibility and to be honest w/you, the whole college conference conversation is so convoluted, so speculative and so indicative of the hypocrisy in college sports that it alternately angers me and bores me. You can probably tell if you read The Washington Post or washingtonpost.com that I'm deep into the NBA playyoffs and I have not played that much attention to this whole college conference drama as I will be forced to in about a week or so. But your question reflects your sophistication about this issue and I think the answer to your primary question is yes, you should be worried as a Pitt alum... and no, I don't think Notre Dame is going to link up w/these other schools just yet. Notre Dame has nothing to gain in such an alliance while all the other schools do. And you can see that this whole issue is "but, what about me." So, what's in it for Notre Dame? -Mike

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washingtonpost.com: Sit tight for a second folks. Mike just went into a garage to park his car. He'll call back on a landline shortly. Thanks. --Mary

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Washington, D.C.: Mike, I know it's remote, but is there ANY chance Carlisle would be so discouraged by the NBA that he'd coach at his alma mater? Talk about a major upgrade over Gillen...

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Great question. I have not talked to Rick and I don't know the answer to that. But let's discuss this first. I'm a big fan of Rick Carlisle as a coach. I've known him and he's been kind enough to let me pick his brain for 20 years. But the owner of the Pistons, eccentric though he might be, would not have taken this drastic a step w/out some cause..... I didn't say I think it's a just cause, but some cause. Carlisle apparently wasn't the nicest guy there for anybody to be around, including most importantly the owner. He wasn't a happy boy w/Carlisle. Like Matt Doherty in the North Carolina circumstance, boorish behavior apparently is not going to be tolerated, no matter how good a coach you are. --Mike

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Arlington, Va.: Believe it or not, I just got cable for the first time. I announce this, as my way of saying I hope that Jeff van Gundy gets passed over for all the available coaching jobs because I think he simply the best TV coach analyst I've heard, miles better than Doug Collins, Fratello, Hubie Brown, et al.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Jeff is very, very good. Not only do I enjoy listening to him on the air b/c I've been attending the Western conference games, I've gotten to sit and just query Jerry on a million issues before and after games. And, I agree w/you, he's great at it. But he has told me as well as others that he needs the anxiety, the ups and downs, the stomach churning.... all the things that go w/winning and losing. Even the bad stuff. So, he's going back to coaching whether today or next year. Personally, I think Doug Collins is the best analyst ever and one would think that being fired by the Wizards over the weekend frees him to return to the booth where I for one will enjoy hearing him. --Mike

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ferretville: Just wanted to tell you that I love you two; you crack me up. You've actually make me like sports (and I can hold my own in a sports conversation with my husband). Thought it would be nice to start with a compliment and not some nimrod complaining that you're late.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Thank you very much. We are glad to bring people into the world of sports who might not otherwise be there so this is a pretty high compliment and we appreciate it. --Mike

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DC: Hey Tony, Mike

Have you ever considered having Sally J. as a guest on your chat board?

I think with the Jordan bashing, quite a few people would like to ask questions of her.

In her column today, she said..."Now people can shut up" about the way Jordan and Collins were treated. Well first of all I don't like being told to shut up...i read the newspaper for just that...news and updates and a little opinion.

If anybody needs to shut up...is the columinist that lives in NY..and writes for the Post..which was (as we all know)...was a given..due to the WNBA (if we're honest).

Lastly, has she ever written a postive column, she seems so critical.

How about discussing the French Open?

Where's the intelligence? Anyway, it won't make the board but thats my opinion.

Thanks

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: Sally has hosted her own shows and has been on w/Mike a couple of times. --Mary

We all have different opinions. The one thing that I like about our columnist line-up is that we all have different styles and Sally's is a distinctively different style from mine or Tony's or Tom Boswell's or Bill Gildea's. --Mike

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Washington, D.C.: Saw the piece about PTI on HBO. Great stuff, especially seeing Tony walk his dog before sunrise. Have you ever thought of bringing in Bryant Gumbel or an ESPN "head" in to do the show? I've Dupree and a few others do it, but most were writers.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: All TV people are under contract, usually exclusively to their primary employers. That is not the case, 99 percent of the time w/sportswriters. Before I signed a contract w/ESPN I could appear wherever the Post said it was ok for me to appear. Bryant may not have that option since he works for HBO. TV and newspapers are completely different animals as Tony and I are reminded of everyday. Believe me you think we wouldn't like to have Bryant and Greg Gumbel on our set when we are away for a few days? The problem is nobody would want to see us again if they have the Gumbel brothers on PTI. --Mike

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St. Louis, Mo.: It appears that the Wizards' chances of getting a "name" coach are running this. Who are the logical candidates now?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: You're right, don't look for a high profile name to come here. Eddie Jordan, one of Byron Scott's assistants in New Jersey is also from DC and I believe the club has expressed interest in him and vice-versa. But there ought to be a lot of searching through the assistant ranks and CBA. Remember Phil Jackson and George Karl came from the CBA. --Mike

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McLean, Va.: So Wilbon, now that you're coach of the Wizards, who is your starting five?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: If you're forcing me to choose from the players I've got, I guess we are looking at : Larry Hughes and Stackhouse in the backcourt, w/Kwame Brown and Jahidi White and Jared Jeffries in the front court. That would leave Juan Dixon, Christian Laettner, Eton Thomas and Brendan Haywood to come off the bench. --Mike

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Alexandria, Va.: I really enjoy PTI and your weekly columns. Thanks for entertaining me over the years. Do you think Abe will ever sell the Wizards? And if so, will a new owner be able to lure attractive players and staff and maybe even change the name to something bearable? Thanks guys for your time. Keep up the good work and the laughs.

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: That's the million dollar question. Will he ever sell it. I doubt it. I think that what happens this season in terms of attendance and fan feedback will go a long way in terms of determining the team's future. If people stay away in drove it could serve as a referendum about what people in Washington think about the team but more specifically about Abe Pollin as an owner. If the Wizards average attendance is down around 10,000 or less it may make for a lot soul searching, but there's a LONG time to go before we figure that out. But November is really going to be an interesting for this team. --Mike

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Washington DC: Hey Mary, what about those magazine covers you promised us? Didn't you say FHM and Maxim in June?

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon: August. August. --Mary

Ok ferrets, I have to go. See you next week! Enjoy the sun. --Mike

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