Pardon the Interruption | “Celtics and Timberwolves can win East & West this season”- Michael Wilbon

Pardon the Interruption | “Celtics and Timberwolves can win East & West this season”- Michael Wilbon

On Tony police on Long Island are searching for three people who robbed the convenience store of $640 worth of ice cream I’m Tony Kornheiser you and reality stole it I just ate it that’s all right let me tell you something that actually happened my father would be

Rolling over in his grave my father sold ice cream Dean food company sold Dairy ice cream for years is that right that’s great that’s just sort of set up what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream what’s your favorite flavor ice van vanilla is that what’s yours mine is

Coffee coffee did you ever have McConnell’s Brazilian coffee it’s fabulous it is it’s great I’m telling you welcome to PTI boys and girls in today’s episode Rick patino apologizes Nick Sabin wants to change college football and Lionel Messi gets the MLS season off on the right foot but we

Begin today with the resumption of the NBA other than LeBron James who is sitting out to rest his ankle but I digress there will be 12 games tonight including the league leading Boston Celtics playing in Chicago if the playoffs were to start today the top seeds would be Boston and Minnesota

Wilbon are they the teams you feel most confident in Tony yes but you you hear my voice I’m hedging a little bit because I think in terms of regular season they’re going to finish with the one seeds although Minnesota is going to be challenged by Oklahoma City and

Denver and clippers but I but I’m okay with Minnesota finishing number one in the regular season and Boston certainly I don’t know about the playoffs Tony and Boston you point you make the case the Celtics are potentially a great team and Tatum is potentially MVP I’m not going

To argue with you there but this intention of just shooting 53s a game I don’t like that in May and June when you’ve got Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and you’re limiting them you are limiting them when you’re say we we’re just going to stand out here and shoot

Threes I’m worried about that and Minnesota’s young and I don’t think they’ve had their hearts crushed enough and so I worry about that and I think Denver still so if you make me pick I’ll say Okay Boston I’ll go with because I don’t know who’s going to challenge them

In the East Philly not without him not with questions about embid Milwaukee looks like they’re too far away trying to figure out what they’re doing who else in the East the Knicks so I’ll say Boston but I think Denver I’m going to take over Minnesota because I take him in a

Series I have a lot of confidence I have utmost confidence in Boston right now they’re much better than they were last year they brought in christs porzingis who’s averaging 20 a game they brought in Drew holiday who’s doing everything they they need to be done and whoever

Isn’t there anymore does not matter and I have a lot of confidence in a player who I think and who he thinks is the best player in the league Jason Tatum cuz he has said that recently I think he has more positive impact on his team

Than any other player I don’t have as much confidence in Minnesota even though as you know because of their coaching staff I root for them you like them I know you do my position is you know that that they are the team that you have to

Beat but I think teams can beat them I agree with you about Denver I also think that Phoenix can beat him and I agree with you that you have to get your heart broken most of the time in order in order to be great yeah what Minnesota

Has done Mike is they have the luxury of being able to have a great regular season and not do great in the playoffs because it’s their first time around it’d be nice if they won a playoff series which they haven’t done from 2004 but Boston if they don’t win the whole

Thing it will it will seem disappointing because they’ve been so close no Tony Boston should win Boston ought to win they’ve got it all set up to win you’re I so listen I didn’t think that was going to be the case in October when this whole thing started you did I know

You did I give you credit for that your team’s on course the West it’s hard it’s hard it’s going to be a Minefield out there and I don’t know that Minnesota’s ready to navigate that and now we go to college basketball where Rick patino was trying to walk back the criticism he

Leveled at his own team after beating Georgetown last night patino told reporters he has apologized to his players for calling them out by name Sunday he said he told them he loves them and would never want to embarrass them adding quote these guys have never failed me I have failed them with the

Fundamentals close quote Tony what does patino’s about face now say to you first of all let me say that it is a great and thorough apology patino took full responsibility for embarrassing his kids he said he should never have named them by name and he said I recruited all

Of them and I love them this is on me it’s on my watch and and that’s a lovely sentiment and I think it’s fair to ask what took you so long okay because the day after after it happened he talked about the fact that he hadn’t really

Been critical of him and he stood by pretty much everything he said I’m going to delve into an area here that I don’t know as much about as you do because you are the product of a of a high school Catholic Education and and I am not but

I think this about face what it says to me is that the good Fathers at St John’s University in Queens New York spoke to Rick patino and they said we can’t have this this is no good you should not have done that we stand for something bigger

And better than this we took you in and gave you the Reigns at a historically important college basketball team don’t embarrass us like this and don’t embarrass yourself and then I believe Rick coutino thought about this and he said to himself hm I could lose this job

And I don’t want to because I can win here that’s if you’re asking me what I think that’s what I think that’s interesting Tony and yes I’m a product of that um environment that culture and Rick patino before that was at Providence College so he so he understands the environment I don’t know

That anybody had to go to him Rick has been in that similar environment those kinds of environments for a lot of time in his college coaching career and yeah you can have casual conversations and people can walk down the hallways as they do and they say you know you know

Coach and I think that Rick would have had some self-reflection I mean Rick patino has been a great coach for a long time and he knows he hurt those kids feelings he didn’t have to Canvas the room he knew he hurt him so I was glad

To see this even if it was a couple of days late tone I was glad to see it I think it was necessary he still says I didn’t rip anybody yeah you did Rip him to stop no yeah you did you did here’s the thing Mike Rick has to realize now

As you and I have to realize now it’s not 1986 anymore it’s not players are not just happy if you give them a scholarship you don’t have that power anymore as a coach it does not exist and and there’s not a basketball kid in this country who hasn’t seen this clip

Already and is saying to himself do I want to play go play for him no do I want do I want to do that right right move on another great coach Nick Savin spoke yesterday about the state of college football he worries about the lack of continuity on teams because of

The transfer portal he worries that nil money is becoming the goal and detracting from going to college to prepare for a career other than football he says he’s for the players and wants what sounds like compensation to be paid directly from the school to the players doesn’t like these collectives that have

Sprung up doesn’t like them at all well does Sab have the sway to get everyone on the same page Tony I don’t know if he has the sway because college football supporters boosters are Maniacs I’m one of them I I I so I’m accusing a group

That I’m included in I have had a brief conversation um with Nick sain about this general area others have had longer conversations I know he feels his way and I agree with every syllable he spoke every syllable all of it all of it the nil portion the transfer portion the the

College football is I worry I’d go even further it seems to me it’s going to hell in the hand basket even though it’s so popular it’s more popular and more people are coming in the tent I worry about where it’s going when you have entire regions who aren’t really

Represented anymore let’s just move this off the west coast and go to the SEC and the Big 10 I I worry about all of it and I think Nick Sabin is a th% right now let’s get to the spefic spefic of the question does he have the sway Man Tony

His argument is compelling I think it’s necessary if there is anybody Nick Sabin the guy I just don’t know that people are listening tone college football boosters don’t listen to much of anyone they do their own thing they want these collectors they’re not trying to abide by any new rules and

I don’t know if even the great Nick Sabin can sway them so when I heard these quotes this morning my first reaction was that this ship had sailed already that Nick Sabin was you know when when the ship moved out right Nick sa was on the shift

And then he jumped off back to the dock and then he quit Okay and he quit because the New World Order in college football is something that that he cannot abide right and we have friends who are college basketball coaches who in the last three to five years have

Gotten out too and this is a common thing among older coaches who’ve had a certain amount of power I don’t specifically disagree with what Nick Sabin has said generally I think it’s great to plan for a career other than football but I would say this Mike that when Nick Sabin recruited people to

Alabama he said come to Alabama because you can go to the NFL from here he didn’t say come to Alabama because we got a great med school okay so I I like the message I’m not sure I completely trust the messenger in this particular case when Nick Sabin says he’s for the

Players I’m not doubting that but I think he’s more for the coaches Mike I think he sees people who do what he did for so long that their power has changed it has dissipated and I think he is mostly empathetic with that and you know

How I felt about him for a long I don’t disagree with your analysis I would say two things real quickly everybody ain’t going to Alabama where he can send 50 kids off of a group to the NFL at some point they’re not going there and they’re gonna Tony forget saving I think

Said specifically by the time they’re 27 28 years old no by the time they’re 22 cuz even some of the ones that go to the n they’re there two three years that’s it so they’re not all going to Alabama and Nick Nick Sabin understands that and Tony I think he also understands that

While he and they’re slightly younger guy I mean davil Sweeney doesn’t want to abide by some of this stuff either the younger coaches Tony I think Nick Sav knows this they’re okay with it they’ve grown up yeah expecting different things out of college football and the culture

That it is and I think he I just it it feels to me Mike like a battlefield conversion it feels like well let me think about this for a second because he’s the greatest coach ever and he got paid the most money when players weren’t making any money okay let’s take a break

Coming up the college football playoff has not even played with 12 teams yet they’re already considering 14 and how special is the season and Austin Matthews is putting together i’ like to see Savin as like the commissioner of college football a three-year appointment I mean I don’t think he

Would do anything that would hurt college football is there such a job it’s time for toss up two men enter one man leaves finishes the show then wonders why he’s still feeling the Nova cane he had injected into his mouth n hours ago tossup who’s on the more impressive

Heater right now Alex oetkin or Austin Matthews so it’s very tempting for me to say oetkin I live in Washington DC I’ve watched him play for the last 15 years he’s a folk hero in town and he’s chasing Gretzky which is a great thing to be doing at this stage in your career

And he’s got eight goals in eight games and that’s a true heater the other guy’s got 21 goals in his last 18 games and mathematically that is way ahead of Alexander oetkin the other guy is on Pace to have 76 goals I believe which hasn’t been done since

1993 oetkin on Pace for 25 which 880,000 people have done and which he usually by December so the answer is Austin Matthews the answer is Austin Matthews it is and by the way I mean Toronto Tony they need everything Austin Matthews can give them because they’re only in fifth

In the East and there’s some hot teams suddenly in the East like the Rangers I know Boston had cooled off they won last night I mean that you know the Panthers I mean there there’s some some teams in the East saying let’s go and so you know

I want to see Toronto Edmonton that’s the Stanley Cup Final I want to see to do that Austin Matthews has got to lead that and he has been on a heater and they need everything he can throw out there he’s the answer it’s going to be

Interesting to see how long o vkin at an advanced age in hockey you know can keep this up cuz the capitals if they’re going to move up in the standings to get to a playoff spot they’re going to need oetkin to carry them like Austin Matthews can and is carrying toon oetkin

Ovin is a great great goal scorer but he never had 70 right he never had 70 he never had what Austin Matthews is looking backer MC and Tam salani that’s a long time early 90s next next next how do you like your college football playoff 12 teams or 14

Teams this is incredible to me they haven’t even done 12 and they’re agitating for 14 your conference the Big 10 is leading the charge here because they want automatic qualif the reason the Big 10 wants automatic qualifiers is because if you pick teams by choice and

And not by some sort of rule the Big 10 is afraid that the SEC will get eight teams in there I understand I hate 14 I hate 12 Mike this thing is going to go on for an eternity it’s going to become the NBA Playoffs eight kids eight that’s

The right thing the way it looks now it it it’s unwieldy and it looks terribly greedy really greedy you might think I’m going to disagree but what did we just say what did I just say about college football people and the boosters and the people affiliated with conferences again

I’m one of them it’s total greed the Big 10 ought to be ashamed but there’s no shame the Big 10 doesn’t need four automatic bids there are never four teams in our conference worthy of going to this stupid playoffs I hate 14 I hate

12 and I’m going to one up you and tell you I hate eight four teams is enough Tony it’s going to be like the the the the 64 in the NCAA tournament they’re going to have playin games in Dayton pretty soon this is awful Tony the Big

10 and the SEC are going to ruin college football as you and I prefer it I love your idea I love your idea the first four in Dayton I love that that would be tremendous if they played in Dayton just like the NCAA basketball terrible so great unless northwester is one of them

Then we can have four well that’s different of course that’s God’s way of saying things are good let’s take one last break but still to come the mets have an issue with their Ace and how impressive was lonel Messi on opening night for MLS come on 14 come on the Brilliance of

The marketing people putting him in a pink jersey how about the marketing people you like them right now well no you don’t they’re going a little crazy again it’ll stretch into June it’ll go to June what we an ally has been defeated fore speech spe fore speee foree victory foree foree speee fore

Speee speee spech speee now e up fore speech foreign spe speech speech sure I feel en ATT all for en victory Tri triple our base is under attack

Pardon the Interruption | “Celtics and Timberwolves can win East and West this season” – Michael Wilbon