While on this web site Bill and I both LOVE Gossip Girl, Moonlight, Supernatural, SpongeBob and Zoey 101, in real life our tastes don’t quite work like that. I am actually a big fan of Supernatural – I watched the first two seasons and everything aired out of season three in December.
I do love Lost and House and Bill is more of a Law & Order guy (original, SVU, and CI) though he has recently become a fan of the antics of Dr. House. One thing we’ve shared in common for years though is our love of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption (PTI).
How good is it? It’s so good that Bill, who isn’t really that huge of a sports fanatic still watches it every day. The show is hosted by Washington Post columnists Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. Kornheiser is now in the booth for ESPN’s Monday Night Football and also has a radio show in DC (available via podcast regardless of where you live).
Wilbon, who is also now covering the NBA for ESPN and ABC, in addition to his duties with PTI and the Washington Post, had a heart-attack very early last Monday. He had an angioplasty performed and is doing well. He will resume his duties on Monday. Though I generally have a higher tolerance for some of the guest hosts (even Le Betard) than Bill does, the magic of the show for me is the chemistry between Wilbon and Kornheiser.
I’ve probably only missed 20 episodes in the last 5+ years, and then only due to some kind of DVR failure or cable outage. These days ESPN posts the video for both Around the Horn which airs immediately prior to PTI and PTI very shortly after the shows are broadcast.
Wilbon wrote a column about his heart attack today, and name dropped thank yous to a lot of the people (including two league commissioners and Kobe Bryant) who’d reached out to him. The outpouring was overwhelming for him, especially from some people he’d been highly critical of.
I was looking for a sliver of a way to tie ratings into this discussion so I’d have a way to wish Mr. Wilbon a thank you for all the entertainment over the years as well as a speedy recovery.
The truth is, the ratings for PTI, whatever they are (it doesn’t ever make the weekly cable top 40, so we don’t see the results) would probably get beatdown by a rerun of Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, but then you start thinking about WHO is watching PTI. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL! L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant! Bill Gorman!
I hope there is a steep premium for its advertising vs. other shows with similar ratings. Get well soon, you knucklehead. Bill and I both await your return and relief from BAM! Hopefully Kornheiser isn’t taking your return on Monday off so he can scout the American Idol field.
You can see Kornheiser and Wilbon in action (from last week) in the clip above.
Indeed. Best Wishes for a speedy recovery.
Indeed. Best Wishes for a speedy recovery.
PTI rocks. While LeBatard is easily the best fill-in, Tony and Willie Buns make this show a must-see for me too. Thank you DVR. Tony's radio show is also a must-listen. Thank you iTunes. Get well Wilbon . . . and lay off the Doubles from Mickey D's. We need you around to kick Mr. Tony's butt in Oddsmaker.
PTI rocks. While LeBatard is easily the best fill-in, Tony and Willie Buns make this show a must-see for me too. Thank you DVR. Tony’s radio show is also a must-listen. Thank you iTunes. Get well Wilbon . . . and lay off the Doubles from Mickey D’s. We need you around to kick Mr. Tony’s butt in Oddsmaker.
^Seconded, someone's gotta keep Tony in check.
We miss you Wilbon
^Seconded, someone’s gotta keep Tony in check.
We miss you Wilbon
Whoever 'jaemes' is, he hit it right on the button. Can't tell you how many 'appointments' I've missed or cancelled to watch PTI, and if I can't be there, I DVR it as well as the following Sportscenter so I can catch the 'Final Take'. Get well Michael and 'Bam' Dan. If only Kornheiser could translate his PTI persona to his MNF role, he'd take the sports world by storm. Somebody stop making him do his 'feature column' on air and tell him just to be himself.
Whoever ‘jaemes’ is, he hit it right on the button. Can’t tell you how many ‘appointments’ I’ve missed or cancelled to watch PTI, and if I can’t be there, I DVR it as well as the following Sportscenter so I can catch the ‘Final Take’. Get well Michael and ‘Bam’ Dan. If only Kornheiser could translate his PTI persona to his MNF role, he’d take the sports world by storm. Somebody stop making him do his ‘feature column’ on air and tell him just to be himself.
And Wilbon called the Super Bowl winner from his hospital bed [or home, but hospital bed sounded much more dramatic].
Thank goodness it was Wilbon and not TK who made that call, or tomorrow would be nothing but “I believe I called that one.”
Fortunately, TK had the Pats going 19-0 since April, so he'll be a touch humble. All hail Wilbon!
And Wilbon called the Super Bowl winner from his hospital bed [or home, but hospital bed sounded much more dramatic].
Thank goodness it was Wilbon and not TK who made that call, or tomorrow would be nothing but “I believe I called that one.”
Fortunately, TK had the Pats going 19-0 since April, so he’ll be a touch humble. All hail Wilbon!
I live in Vegas and had a c-note on the G-Men plus 12 and a half a C on the moneyline (7 to 1, TYVM), due in part to the 'Mikes' – no not Golic and Greenberg – but Wilbon and Ditka. That's where I go for my NFL.
I live in Vegas and had a c-note on the G-Men plus 12 and a half a C on the moneyline (7 to 1, TYVM), due in part to the ‘Mikes’ – no not Golic and Greenberg – but Wilbon and Ditka. That’s where I go for my NFL.