Tony Kornheiser

Where's the Skip Bayless option?

 

Woody turned clown, too. But the money in clowning is so, so good . . .

 

Yeah, great idea. Another rip-a-personality thread. Just what we need.

 

As a longtime defender of Kornheiser (his Bandwagon columns during the 'Skins Super Bowl season in '91 are unbelievably funny), owner of two of his Style column compilation books, please allow me to defend Mr. Tony.

His new radio show (thankfully available on XM) is funny because it's NOT always about sports. And unlike most sports talk guys (Cowherd perhaps the most) who try to be funny while they go off-topic, Tony is consistently funny and he's stayed true to himself.

He's just as crotchety now as he was 20 years ago when he, Wilbon, Lenny Shapiro and Boz did this hysterical WashPo commercial that had him wearing one of those Burt Sugar hats because he was still trying to rock the comb over.

Do I miss his columns? Of course. But as I've said before, he took more money to do something he's really good at, and he's great on PTI and he's great on the radio. The thing that makes him great on PTI is that he's stayed true to himself. You say he's a "clown" I say he was a "clown" 20 years ago before he got on TV. And what's so great about PTI is that the chemistry between he and Wilbon isn't forced because they've been that way forever.

The ONLY thing that bothers me about his MNF gig is that he now seems to pander a bit to the athletes, something he never did back when he was just on the radio. He NEVER had athletes on because, well, I think he's got a bit of disdain for them. So it does bother me that he is forced to suck up to them a little bit, makes me squirm.

He still does work for the Post, but it's online mostly. They do some lame PTI ripoff with he and Wilbon or another sports writer there that's so bad even Tony admits he'd never watch it, but perhaps it's part of his contract or he feels he owes it to them.

He's always considered himself a newspaper man first, and if things hadn't turned out so well on TV and radio, I think he would be still writing 2-3 columns a week so long as he didn't have to travel.

That's it, that's the list.

 

That's when I first read Kornheiser. I don't get the people here bashing his show because it's not about sports. Lots of "sports talk" is not about sports -- the difference is, Kornheiser's show is good when it's not about sports.

 

I know it's not a big deal, but it drives me nuts when fanboys call him Mr. Tony. His name is Tony Kornheiser.

 

I believe Mr. Tony was started by a guy named Steve that would call his show back in the mid-90s when it was only on WTEM in D.C.
Tony hardly ever took callers, even back then, but gave Steve a number to a line that would get him on whenever he wanted, and they would have some great back and forth mocking Steve's reverence for Kornheiser.

Too bad Tony still doesn't call Wilbon Mike "That Toddling Town" Wilbon.

And yesterday, when talking about a name for any new Panda babies at the Washington Zoo, his idea was for them to call it Joe Gibbs, only they had to spell Joe "Xio."

For a homesick Washingtonian, funny, funny stuff.

 

Listened to his show this AM for the first time since he moved to WTWP. Sad that they couldn't lure Andy Pollen away from WTEM.

 

Mister Tony, Mister Tony, Mister Tony!

 

What's the big deal? Tony used to be a writer, now he does TV and radio. You're allowed to change careers. And I don't have a problem with his title as WP columnist because of the all the years he put in there -- plus, he does write the occasional column.

Kornheiser critics make me laugh. He's funnier and smarter than you. Call Woody Paige a clown, but not Mr. Tony.