Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Libraries Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Blog Pricing
Podcast Image

The Tony Kornheiser Show

“Surviving Survivor”

25 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What sports events does Tony discuss at the beginning?

0.031 - 12.973 Tony Kornheiser

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll talk with Michael Wilbon about a nice weekend for Northwestern University, and we'll also chat with loyal little and survivor contestant Rick Devins. But first, commerce.

0

12.993 - 30.788 Unknown

Previously on The Tony Kornheiser Show. That's the problem here. We are rewarding slightly above-average teams with a fake prize, basically, if this happens, because college sports can't say no to anybody when it comes to the idea of we need more money.

0

31.409 - 58.127 Tony Kornheiser

So let me ask, I mean, before I make the jokes like they'll have, you know, play-in games in Dayton, before I do that... The Tony Kornheiser Show is on now. I think we need to understand that there are five people who watch the Nats. Everybody else is watching something else. Those five people are Alan, the socialite, is watching the Nats. He mailed me or texted me 12 times. He's in Florida.

0

58.147 - 72.648 Tony Kornheiser

He's texting me, watching the game. There's Chris Saliza, there's Chuck Todd, there's Michael, and there's me. We are the only ones that watch. That's it. And we watch constantly. And now I'm 20 seconds behind. At least 20 seconds behind. I don't understand this. Oh, that's 61. Are you not on 1261?

0

72.809 - 89.071 Unknown

No, no, I'm in the real channels. What are the real? I'm in the 500s. But I have Verizon. I have always been ahead of you as a Comcast, but when you were on the Masson Network, you felt like you were a pitch behind me, and now you're a good two pitches behind me.

89.111 - 115.375 Tony Kornheiser

I'm 20 seconds behind Michael and everyone else. So Lizzie gets it one pitch before I do. How does he, what does he have? I think streaming. Okay, so I'm really late. And you know how late I am last night? The Nats in the ninth inning, the Nats had to protect a lead. They bring in Varland to protect the lead to begin with. And Varland, the first two guys get hits, right? Single, single.

115.355 - 124.884 Tony Kornheiser

And so you got to take him out. Yes. And the baby manager comes out. The baby manager. And he takes him out. The baby manager takes him out. And he brings in Lovelady.

125.124 - 125.565 Unknown

Yes.

125.585 - 127.607 Tony Kornheiser

Who's pitched like every day for the last year.

Chapter 2: How did Northwestern's women's lacrosse team perform recently?

158.802 - 170.078 Tony Kornheiser

Robalta gets a strikeout for two outs. Big sweepers. And Robalta gets a ground ball on the right-hand side, but to, thankfully, the first baseman. The second baseman. Not the second baseman.

0

170.318 - 174.564 Unknown

But an at-bat that you were just expecting the worst with Acuna at the plate.

0

174.584 - 177.087 Tony Kornheiser

Right, because he's the best player on the team. He's a great player.

0

177.067 - 188.526 Unknown

But as you zoom out for the last two days, this was a series where over 17 innings, they kept the Braves scoreless for the first time in years. This is the first series when they've had in Atlanta, I think, since 24.

0

189.107 - 214.713 Tony Kornheiser

Let me get to my 20-second delay. I get a phone call right before... Two pitches before Acuna hits the ball to first base and the pitcher covers. I get a phone call from Mark Toohey. Great win. The what? Yeah. What? Because everybody else knows it but me. Yeah. Because I'm on 1261. And I'm 20 seconds late.

214.954 - 227.458 Unknown

So the stress I feel is when I'm watching GameCast. So to reset my night, I'm reading to the baby boy in his bed by the glow of GameCast going in play runs. And you just that's the worst thing you could see.

227.438 - 244.353 Tony Kornheiser

I will just say this. They are playing today at Cincinnati on Memorial Day. There's no chance they're going to win this game. Cleveland. Cleveland, rather. There's no chance they're going to win this game. They had a two-hour rain delay. They had to go back onto the field. They had to leave. They had to fly. God knows when they got to Cleveland. They have no chance of winning this one.

244.373 - 250.339 Unknown

So back to that play at second base. They brought out construction equipment to get the infield playable.

250.379 - 263.952 Tony Kornheiser

Because they missed on the right-hand side. They missed on the first base side. It was open. It was pouring there. How does that happen? It was pouring there. So I just, I won't even go through the other games. I won't go through the heartbreak of Dom Smith tying the score in game one.

Chapter 3: What insights does Rick Devens share about being a Survivor contestant?

336.647 - 341.715 Michael Wilbon

Oh, this drive's going nicely. And whoever I'm on the phone with will be like, just give it a second. Oh, that's an interception.

0

341.735 - 348.925 Unknown

At different TVs in my house, because we use the streaming app from our cable service, you get different delays from different levels.

0

348.905 - 358.939 Tony Kornheiser

I had a terrible weekend because it rained the whole time. I mean, I couldn't play golf. There's nothing I could do. So I was napping and watching television. And I didn't know I was 20 seconds late.

0

358.959 - 360.801 Unknown

You got to go to the indoor sim yesterday with your grandson.

0

360.821 - 360.942 Tony Kornheiser

I did.

Chapter 4: What challenges did Rick face while filming Survivor?

360.962 - 363.165 Tony Kornheiser

That was nice for a little while. Hit a few balls.

0

363.285 - 364.446 Unknown

Stretch out the back.

0

364.727 - 385.08 Tony Kornheiser

Yeah, it felt a little bit better. I wanted to say this. I'll just talk for a little while. There's a haiku here that we have from Shad. It's about the Indianapolis 500. Thrill of victory, agony of defeat in milliseconds. When I was young, I made sure to watch the Indianapolis 500. Not that I was a fast car driver, because I never was a fast car driver.

0

385.12 - 406.759 Tony Kornheiser

I don't know that I had more than one speeding ticket in my life. I know. That wasn't thrilling for me to go fast. But I always thought that there were certain events that you watched, like the Kentucky Derby and like the Indianapolis 500, that you watched them because they were an important... Part of Americana. And you didn't have to watch all of it, but you had to watch some of it.

0

407.38 - 421.063 Tony Kornheiser

In those days, in the 60s and 70s and probably into the 80s, ABC always did the Indianapolis 500. Jackie Stewart was the color on the Indianapolis 500. And it was taped. It was taped.

Chapter 5: How does Rick's experience on Survivor impact his career?

421.083 - 446.26 Tony Kornheiser

It became a three-hour show that was taped. And it was the best show on television. Anybody who saw it understood it was the best show on television, any sports show ever. Now it's live and it moves around, but I never miss. When I was a columnist, I made sure to go to the Indianapolis 500 two or three times. I wanted to see it. I'm not an auto racing guy. I wanted to see it.

0

Chapter 6: What are the differences between the regular Survivor and the Champions Tour?

446.24 - 469.473 Tony Kornheiser

And I was always rewarded by seeing it and always thought it was really exciting. More exciting for me than a stock car race. For me, not for anybody else. Just the sleekness of the vehicles and speeds that they attained and all of the middle Americana stuff that they went through in Indiana. And the milk at the end and all of that. And I wrote about it a few times. I saw people die at it.

0

469.793 - 489.007 Tony Kornheiser

I saw people die. I went to it because I respected it enormously. I never miss it. I missed it yesterday. I didn't realize it was on. I had no idea it was on. I don't know which network carries it. I think maybe Fox at this point. Maybe Fox, yeah. But I didn't go to it. I was watching other things.

0

489.347 - 516.26 Tony Kornheiser

I forgot it was on on Memorial Day and when I saw that this fellow, this Swedish driver had won it by the closest margin in Indianapolis 500 history. I felt terrible because I had missed it, because I think it's very important, and I missed it. So it's not that I'm apologizing to anybody, and only to myself. I never miss that race, and I missed it.

0

516.3 - 520.948 Tony Kornheiser

And I don't know the names of the drivers anymore. I don't know anything like that. I don't have...

0

521.485 - 549.501 Tony Kornheiser

you know somebody that i'm looking for to see how they do i mean all the people that i knew they're long gone yeah in this particular sport but gosh i felt like a dope yesterday that i'd missed the indianapolis 500 so i began to read about it and and i i couldn't even find it on wrap-up shows i mean it was so far behind the basketball oh on the wrap-up shows and and

Chapter 7: How does Rick feel about being recognized after Survivor?

550.544 - 581.422 Tony Kornheiser

I think this happened because of the Washington Post. I think this happened because Jeff Bezos personally destroyed, for no reason at all, no good reason, personally destroyed the sports section. And I don't read the paper anymore physically. I read it online and... It's just loaded with junk about cricket and F1 and soccer in Europe. The lead stories are always Europe.

0

581.964 - 587.115 Tony Kornheiser

It's like whoever's running the paper must be European, and this is what appeals to this person.

0

Chapter 8: What messages does Tony share in the Mailbag segment?

587.77 - 607.568 Tony Kornheiser

Normally, the Washington Post would send somebody to Indianapolis for a preview and then the race, and I'd be aware of it. I'd have seen it in front of me. Oh, it's the weekend of the Indianapolis 500. I understand why people would have missed the Preakness if they read the Washington Post. There's nothing on it. There's nothing there.

0

608.309 - 629.627 Tony Kornheiser

And you take a major city, the capital of the United States of America, and you destroy the sports section. I am so rooting for these other sports sections to bubble up and be successful. But I know I'll never get them delivered to me again, that those days are gone. And as I say all the time, that my grandchildren will never understand what I did for a living. They'll say, oh, grandpa was on TV.

0

629.647 - 652.236 Tony Kornheiser

No, no, no, no. Now, Grandpa was a sports writer on a newspaper. Look it up, newspaper, because it's gone. We will take a break. Wilbon will join us. I'm Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to The Tony Kornheiser Show. Our music today is from Cassie Holt. It's sent to us.

0

653.684 - 669.043 Tony Kornheiser

A Course Out of Texas by Michael Granberry, who writes, it is my honor to share with you today the music of Cassie Holt, not only because Cassie is a truly gifted songwriter and singer, but also because her late father, Scotty Holt, was my friend who, like me, graduated from Samuel High School in Dallas in 1970.

0

669.023 - 677.237 Tony Kornheiser

Cassie is also a licensed professional counselor who once sang the national anthem in a Texas Rangers game. Her most recent record, The Family Album, was released in 2025.

677.297 - 696.816 Tony Kornheiser

Cassie's bluesy vocals call to mind the artists who made the Dallas neighborhood of Deep Ellum famous, produced such giants as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lead Belly, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie Johnson, and in more recent years, Erykah Badu and Edie Brickell, who happens to be married to a guy named Paul Simon. This song is, which one is this? I Spend My Whole Life With You.

697.897 - 717.905 Tony Kornheiser

Which she writes, I wrote for my friend to give her husband as a gift, but then I met my now husband and altered the words for him. So it's good to be nimble like that. It plays in Michael Wilbon. Before we get to Wilbon, I read from Brandon Borzelli in Lebanon, New Jersey. As a household, we are consumed by women's lacrosse. My oldest is fortunate enough to play at a D3 school.

718.005 - 735.053 Tony Kornheiser

My younger still plays in high school, and my wife, a recreation-level coach, managed to coach both of them in their formative years. Naturally, Sunday, we all hunker down for the D1 final between UNC and Northwestern. Just as the second quarter is starting, the booth throws it to the sideline reporter teasing the appearance of most famous Northwestern alumni.

735.574 - 753.194 Tony Kornheiser

The camera shines on Michael Ray Wilbon. As he tries his best to make it sound like it would be a major upset if Northwestern wins, they were ranked number one in the country. They'd already beaten UNC in the regular season and were playing at home. We can see the faint flashing in the lower portion of the screen, almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye. It's a cell phone.

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.