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Tony Kornheiser & Michael Wilbon Explain Importance Of 5 Good Minutes To PTI

“We forgive anything for smart and funny,” he says. “It’s entertainment.”

Ricky Keeler

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Over the last 20 years of Pardon The Interruption on ESPN, one of the segments that has helped define the show hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon is Five Good Minutes. During that segment, the two of them talk to an athlete, coach, broadcaster, or celebrity to get their thoughts and their opinions.

On Part 3 of the special four-part ESPN Daily podcast about 20 years of PTI, Pablo Torre talked to Kornheiser and Wilbon about some of their favorite interactions with guests on the show. For Kornheiser, a good guest only needs to be two things: Smart and funny.

“We forgive anything for smart and funny,” he says. “It’s entertainment.”

The two of them thought it was important to have other input on the show. Plus, the people they ask to come on, whether it is Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, etc, are people that have been a part of their lives.

Barkley was the show’s first guest in October 2001. He explained to Torre why he is still a PTI fan to this day. 

“Him and Tony, to do a show with your best friend, a white guy and a black guy who live different worlds. To have 2 guys who have been in the business X amount of years, I trust them on television.” 

Meanwhile, the guest who has appeared the most on PTI over the years is Steve Young (82 times). He told Torre that both hosts bring something interesting to interviews and make the people they talk to feel safe and comfortable.

“Michael always asks great questions. He was always fair. He could be critical, but he’s fair. I think you get a sense that he tries to see the athletes as a human experience. It’s an ongoing conversation.

“Tony is a guy that for all the cynicism and all the critical thinking, I think he always has a passion and a love for sports in general and an appreciation of how hard it is. With that, comes a critical eye for I want to look it straight in the eye and take every inch of it, but I don’t want any fluff.” 

While Kornheiser and Wilbon are known for debating each other, having another person join in on the fun is never a bad thing for the viewer and you never know what will come from the Five Good Minutes segment as evident by some of the stories on this episode. 

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Sean McManus: LIV Golfers Won’t Get Different Treatment During The Masters

“We’re not gonna put our heads in the sand.”

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CBS Sports is preparing for coverage of its 68th consecutive year of The Masters, but the 2023 event could prove to be unlike any before it, and CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus is cognizant of the situation.

After several former Masters champions departed the PGA Tour for the upstart LIV Golf, many pondered what that meant for the sport’s major championships. The Masters decided to continue to allow the golfers who are now playing exclusively with the Saudi-backed league to compete for the green jacket. McManus shared that CBS will continue the showcase the golfers as it always has.

“We’re not gonna cover up or hide anything,” McManus said, as reported by Golf Digest. “As I’ve said so often, our job is to cover the golf tournament. We’re not gonna show any different treatment for the golfers who have played on the LIV tour than we do the other golfers. And if there’s a pertinent point or something that we need to, or we feel that we should bring up in our coverage on Saturday and Sunday, or on our other coverage throughout the week, you know, we’re not gonna put our heads in the sand.

“Having said that, unless it really affects the story that’s taking place on the golf course, we’re not gonna go out of our way to cover it. I’m not sure there’s anything that we could add to the story as it already exists. We’ll cover it as, as is suitable.”

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NFL Owners Not Voting on Flex Scheduling For Thursday Night Football

“The owners have simply decided to wait until May to make their decision.”

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Thursday Night Football

Amazon will have to wait for flex scheduling. NFL owners decided to table a proposal that would allow the league to create more compelling matchups for Thursday Night Football later in the season.

That doesn’t mean flex scheduling won’t be a reality on Thursday nights this season. The owners have simply decided to wait until May to make their decision.

Earlier this week, Peter King of NBC Sports reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing the idea. Coaches have been outspoken about how much they dislike it, complaining about managing injuries and the competitive disadvantage that would come with finding out you suddenly have a shorter week of preparation than expected. According to King, Goodell is trying to make Amazon happy after the first season of Thursday Night Football failed to deliver projected audience numbers for Prime Video.

League owners did take a step they hope will lead to fewer games between losing teams. Last season, teams could only be scheduled once for a Thursday night game. The owners decided to bump that limit up to twice per season.

Goodell defended the proposal against accusations that the league is prioritizing revenue over player safety. 

“We always look at the data with respect to injuries,” he told the media gathered at the league meetings. “That is what drove our decisions throughout the first 12 or so years of Thursday Night Football and how it’s evolved. I think the data was very clear: it doesn’t show a higher injury rate. But we recognize shorter weeks. We went through this with COVID, too.”

When the idea of flex scheduling is revisited in May, it will require the support of 24 team owners in order to become a reality. 

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Eric Shanks Got Approval From Alex Rodriguez Before FOX Hired Derek Jeter

“Why wouldn’t we reach out?”

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Derek Jeter is going to work a very limited schedule for FOX next season. Still, before he came on board, FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks wanted the support of Jeter’s former Yankees teammate and on-again/off-again friend Alex Rodriguez.

Andrew Marchand is reporting that Shanks reached out to ARod personally. Rodriguez gave his approval to the network.

“Why wouldn’t we reach out?” a Fox Sports spokesman said when The New York Post reached out for confirmation.

While Derek Jeter is now part of the FOX family, fans shouldn’t expect to see him every time baseball is on the network. He is only scheduled to work “marquee events”. This season, those include the London series, the All-Star Game, and the World Series.

He will be at the desk alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortíz, and Rodriguez.

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