PTI - New NBA All-Star Format

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss the revisions of the all-star game, CFP Rankings, and Matt LaFleur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon-Toney. Tooth feed stole $6,000 worth of cigarettes and vape products from a gas station in Memphis. I'm Tony Cornhizer.

And like I said, first we hit the Louvre, then we do something small. You've got to mix it up, got to keep him guessing. That would be real small and real out of the way. From Paris to Memphis. Yeah. Not Memphis, France. Right. Is there a Memphis France?

Memphis. Right. That's not a Memphis, France. Is that? I think you have probably, yeah. Really? I don't know about that. Let's get research. I don't know about that. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls.

In today's episode, new college football playoff rankings dropped. Matt LaFleur faces contract uncertainty, and Steve Young joins us for five good minutes. But we begin today with revisions to the NBA All-Star game, which you are always screaming about, Wilburne. Please. There will be three teams, two composed of American players, and one composed of foreign players. They will be determined by fan vote, media vote, player vote, and coach vote. the All-Stars will be picked regardless of position, and the three teams will then play a round-robin tournament

with each playing two quarters, and then a 12-minute final quarter between the two winners. So Wilbon, does it feel like the NBA has finally gotten the All-Star format right? Hell no. It's weak and it's scared. And you would think a league that has been innovative over years would have the stones to simply say, say we're putting a U.S. team out there, we're putting an international team out there, put

something compelling on the court to make up for the garbage they trotted out for the last five to ten years. But no, no, and I don't know if this is just a commissioner's office. I don't know if they're scared of the American players, but let me just ask you something real quick. It's rhetorical. Who are the five players on the first team all-in-BA right now? They are probably, if not all, the vast majority are born in countries outside the United States. Luca, Joker, SGA, Janice Wemby. Those are your five. And beyond that, if anybody thinks you can't get the 12 international all-stars, that's a lie,

because you can get Shingoon, you've got Franz Wagner now, Jamar Murray should have been an all-star, you got Lori Marketing, you've got Avi Jal in Portland, nobody's paying attention, but he's playing an all-star level. And they trot this out there where you can't. can't even figure out who's playing win for whom because they're too scared to put international versus U.S. why? Because they're scared the U.S. won't win. Is that it? So this is interesting to me. I don't have your passion for this, but my sense of this is that to use one of your phrases, this is hocus pocus. It is. It is. Because, first of all,

how are you going to separate the two American teams? You're going to do it by age, like a young American team, an old American team? So you have been passionate about this. USA versus the world for a long time. I was resistant to it for a variety of reasons. It felt artificial to me and maybe xenophobic to me. But now that I see that the majority of the great players right up near the top are born in foreign countries and the United States would actually be the underdog,

now I want to see it. But I don't want to see it for 12 minutes. No, I want to see it for 48 minutes. And I don't care who's voted on the team. I believe that the commissioner's office could say, We're taking 10 Americans, 10 from foreign countries, just 10, and we're playing 48 hard minutes. And I don't know if the players would want to do it, but I think it's- I don't think they do.

Oh, so I think part, that's why I said they're scared of the players. I think there are enough players who say, wait a minute, we don't need to have our juices flowing competitively. And by the way, I understand that objection. But it seems like the hockey players did want it. They do. It's-so. They do it. And this, by the way, would be staged during the winter Olympics.

after a hockey game or before a hockey game. Yeah. This is, let's move to the new college football playoff rankings, please. Get me out of my angry mood. You're always in an angry mood. Not more than this. The top five remain unchanged. Big 10 teams, Ohio State and Indiana, ha, are at one and two.

With SEC teams, Texas, A&M, Alabama, and Georgia going three, four, five, and all. The SEC has six teams in the top 12. The Big Ten has three. you love these weekly rankings tone. I do. I do. Love the show. So do you have beef with this week's edition? Okay, so no, I don't. As you said, the top five are exactly the same.

Here's what would have bothered me. It would have bothered me if they bumped Indiana down behind Texas A&M. Not because I think Indiana is better than Texas A&M because I don't necessarily think that. Because I felt that the way Indiana came back against Penn State needed to be acknowledged. That drive at the end of the game and that fabulous catch, you shouldn't penalize them for that just because Penn State had fired a coach and lost five in a row. To me, that was, you know, Penn State deserved attention on that game. So I was glad to see that.

And the other things that happened in the top 10, I'm okay with Texas Tech going ahead of Ole Miss at number six. Texas Tech beat a team that was undefeated, ranked ahead of them in the top 10, and Ole Miss beat the Citadel. Now, we can't really take it seriously if you beat the Citadel, but to a larger point, they're both well inside the top 10, so they're aimed at the playoffs anyway. There was no news from yesterday's announcement of the CFP rankings, none whatsoever.

But I'm going to just make sure you get the full credit, because in live time, I said to you, during that game, before the catch, I said, if Penn State wins this game, Alabama, I'm sorry, Indiana comes down. And even if Indiana wins this game narrowly, and they did, I would bump Texas A&M ahead of Indiana. So the committee did. That's not news.

That was the toughest decision they had to make. Well, it was the only tough decision. I will tell you that I am gratified that they continued to have complete disrespect for the ACC. Because I thought they might cave in. Because there was a lot of noise. Virginia. They lost. Louisville lost. I understand.

And so Miami is the highest ranked team in the ACC at 15. But they're not even a lot by any means to. play in the ACC championship. No, they're not. Not yet. I mean, to me, it's interesting. I know you don't like it as much as I do, but I like it. Let's move to the NFL and the Green Bay Packers.

Yesterday, we discussed the Packers after their loss of the Eagles, and we wondered if Jordan Love had regressed. Today, let's talk about Matt LaFleur, who is the one sending the plays into Jordan Love. The other night, LaFleur was asked about his job security and whether he was coaching for his job, and he said, quote, you're always coaching for everything in the league. You can't ever exhale, unquote. Well, on the Packers play the Giants this week.

Do you think LaFleur is coaching for his job? No. This is an LSU. It's the Green Bay Packers. It's not what they do, even though Mark Murphy's not running this anymore. But let me go back for a second because I was watching live. I love about streaming now. You can watch everybody's press conference live all night if you want.

And I was interested in LaFleur. And I did not expect anybody to ask him that question. But you and I have covered teams. And we know sometimes you get asked a question, and it's because you know something. Someone in the organization has said you led you to a place which says you might want to ask this. That's right. And it was a damn smart question because somebody's thinking that. But it's not going to happen.

I understand why you asked the question. I thought LaFleur handled it beautifully, smoothly. They're not LSU or Penn State or Florida. They're not going to fire the floor during the season. are giants? No. No, they're not. So you're making that distinction.

It's the Packers. Yeah. Well, you make that distinction with the Packers because there's no owner. So the guy at Carolina can't just fire you because he's an owner. But it's not the same. It's not the same. Look, Matt LaFleur's record. Let me get the right notes here.

Matt LaFleur's record is 72, 36 and 1. Who wouldn't want that? Yeah. Kyle Shanahan, who everybody thinks is a genius. 76 and 66 in San Francisco. Sean McVeigh, who everyone thinks is a genius. 87 and 54 in Los Angeles. All these three guys, as you remember,

coached together in Washington, and amazingly, we're not the head coach. We're not the head coach. But LaFleur's record in the pros is actually better than McVease and Shanahan's. I understand this impulse, and here's why the impulse is there. When Green Bay, they beat Detroit

in the first game of the season. Within two weeks, everybody in the world, including you, had Green Bay in the Super Bowl. Stupid. And they had Jordan Love as an MVP, Canada. Since then, they are 3-3-1, and they have no offense. So you look at the offense, you look at the play caller, and you look at the executor of the offensive quarterback, and you want to, because not the defense, because the defense has only given up 39 points and three losses.

You say, fix it. You don't say get out. That's right. Nobody wants to work at something. And you know the floor is going to work at this. His reputation is on the line, too. Fire the coach is an epidemic at the moment. Oh, my God. It's insane. Let's take a break. Coming up, Sam Darnold has been great against the Blitz. We're going to ask Steve Young what a quarterback needs to make that happen. We're also going to ask him whether Matthew Stafford not throwing a pick since week three is more reflective of luck or skill. I think it's the college football firings that have induced everyone into a frenzy to fire people. You're going to get somebody better than LaFleur?

The only thing you can do is say, let somebody else call the place for a couple of weeks and let's see if that works. But you don't fire a guy like that. Pardon the interruption is presented by Bullet, Frontier Whiskey. Please drink responsibly. Part-Up Happy Hour. Welcome back to Pardon the Interruption, presented by Bullet Frontier Whiskey. Part-Up Happy Hour. We've got a few football questions for our great friend, the man, who had real problems with his dropbacks as a freshman of BYU, before I taught him how to backpedal correctly. Hall of Fame. Steve Young, we'll start with this. We'll start with Sam Darnold, the Seahawks. He has been the best quarterback in the league this season against the Blitz. What are a quarterback?

back's keys to succeeding against the blitz. So we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, but it's owning the data, right? It's doing the study during the week to get the intricacies of the blitz that you're going to face that week. I remember I played Darren with the great Darren Woods and the Dallas Cowboys. And I studied them as much as I possibly could. And I got to a point where I could sense if Darren was looking at me, he wasn't blitzing. But if he was looking off into the stands or looking somewhere else, I knew he was coming.

And so it's that kind of rigor to the preparation for Blitz is how you face the Blitz. And then you need receivers like JSN that he's got that can get open, not 15 yards down the field, but now. Blitz is about now. And so I have a plan. I know what they're doing with Blitz-wise. I'm ready to get rid of it. And now I need a receiver who can get open now. And then more than anything, everyone else needs to be at the top of their game, right?

It's like we understand the Blitz. We can pick it up. You're not going to get hit from the back of the head by somebody. that we forgot about. So it's all, it's like football. It's everything. But the quarterback, number one, can take care of it by doing the studying.

I want to ask you about a hot quarterback right now. I mean, Donald is going to face, you know, Matthew Stafford, of course, who's thrown 20 touchdown passes since he's thrown a pick with last done in week three. You've been on hot streaks in your life. Do you feel you just own the moment or are there other elements? Do you ever feel there's good fortune or luck involved in that, in that point. I wish luck could be a part of it.

Look, when you're in the top of your game, and especially in football because you need so much help, everyone has to be on the same page, like in a metaphor. So in many ways, like to be at the top of your game, you have a receiver that's on the top of their game, and it's not bouncing off of their hands. There's linemen that are at top of their game, so they're not putting their hand up and blocking it,

tipping up and intercept. You get on a streak, everyone, including you, are now playing incredibly efficient football because to deal with all the crazy mitigation in every play in football and still have success, have it not have anything go wrong or haywire, that's a miracle of preparation.

That's not a miracle of luck. That's not like spinning the wheel, red and blue and the roulette wheel, I mean, red and black and going, oh, hopefully nothing goes wrong. I mean, that's just not going to happen. You're not going to get a streak in luck, never. We love it when you have said,

and you said it on more than one occasion, that the quarterback needs to take responsibility of so many things, putting it right on you guys' shoulders. But what do you do when a coach decides to take over the play calling like Dan Campbell? Like, I mean, how do you reconcile all this, Steve? You know, as a player, players know, when we draft players and they come in for the first mini-camp,

you go, who did you draft? We look at him, we're like, he can't play. You're like, what do you ask me? Players know. And like, but players can't advocate. You have to be super careful. You go to the general manager and you go, hey, look, the offensive coordinator, the play caller, I don't like them.

You know, it's not going to work. You can't do that. I wish you could. I remember George Sefer, who became the head coach, but he was a defensive coordinator, a great defensive mind. The team that we were playing that week, he would study their defense because he was a, that was his thing. I know defense.

And he'd draw plays up that he knew we're going to dominate against the team. And he'd bring him into us. hand him to Mike home. We're going to Mike Shanahan, and he's like, hey, this run this play. It'll kill him. And we look at the play, we're like, I don't know how to do that.

And it's so funny that the, even people who are in the middle of it don't understand the intricacy of what you're doing offensively and how you call play. You can't just draw stuff up. It doesn't work. And I think that that's, people don't understand. Even George had to learn that he'd be so mad. We'd go back out and practice and run his play. And I, I

we dropped back and he'd go throw it now. And I'm like, where? You know, it's like, I don't know what you're talking about, bro. And so it's the offensive coordinator job and getting people that you like and, you know, that's part of the mitigating circumstances that quarterback have to own. Like it's, I don't have to be accountable for a crappy offensive coordinator. That's just a fact. So many people have to do that.

We will get you out of here on this Vikings quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, is practicing with a bandaged hand after hitting it on a helmet. That seems like an ever-present peril for a quarterback, Are there any tricks to avoid that type of injury? Yeah, pitch. You know? Like, get out of golf, right? No, you're going to break your hand on a helmet.

But really, I had to happen in preseason, hit a helmet. Next play, I didn't know what happened. And I grabbed the ball. And I grabbed it. And it was like, oh, my gosh, they gave me a flat football. It's flat. And then I ran to the sidelines because it was flat. And I was like, I gave the ref.

I go, the ball's flat. And he goes, no, it's not. My thumb had broken in half. And so the sensation, the sensation of grabbing the ball made it feel flat. And so I was like, oh, my gosh, it's my finger that's broken, not the ball that's deflated. But it happens. And it happens. And there's nothing, I don't think there's anything you can do about it.

But 28 days later, first, you know, the opening day at Pittsburgh and it was healed. So, you know, but, you know, and you look at old quarterback's hands, they're all beat up because of that. Like, they've hit a lot of helmets. And I've broken, you know, you break all kinds of stuff. So, I should have played golf. I should have pitched. No. No.

You did great. You're in the Hall of Fame. What I could have been for the Dodgers. You're in the Hall of Fame and you got Super Bowl trophies. Thanks as all. I could have been. Thank you. What I could have been.

Let's take one last break still to come. The Giants go with James Winston over Russell Wilson. And Bradley Beale goes. out for the season. Doesn't it seem like we've had that? You've busted your hands up against helmets, haven't you? Not exactly. How tough is that?

Not exactly. That's almost Ronnie lot tough. Yeah. Well, if you go to the sidelines and your thumb is broken. Well, I mean, you know, broken. Ronnie's was like gone. Split in half. Yeah.

Yeah. It happens. Pardon the Interruption is presented by Bullet Frontier Whiskey. Please drink responsibly. Hard up Happy Hour. Happy time, people. Happy 42nd birthday, Charlie Morton. The right-hander pitched for three teams in 2025, the Orioles, Tigers, and Braves.

He made 27 starts, had a 9-11 record and a 583 ERA. Those are not great numbers, but consider that he was 41 at the time. Morton debuted in Atlanta in 2008, then went on to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Houston, Tampa Bay, back to Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, and once more. more to Atlanta. His career record is 147 and 134. His career ERA is 4.134. He made two All-Star games and was on World Series champions in Houston and Atlanta. This past season, only Justin Verlander was an older, regular rotation starter, and by almost nine months, Morton is, by the way, expected to retire. In those clips, he had some great curveballs, which leads me to talk about Uncle Charlie.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He exhausted his career, it seems to me. Right? He squeezed no Every drop, no regret. He could get out of it. He can't have any reggae. Cannot. And Andrew walks away with good numbers. Yeah, good numbers. Happy anniversary, Kevin Love.

On this day, 15 years ago, the young Timberwolves forward put up 31 points and 31 rebounds in a comeback win over the Knicks. Love's 3131 game is one of 156 30-30 games in NBA history. And Wilk Chamberlain had 124 of them. Love is now a veteran presence on. the Utah Jazz after being traded there from Miami. At 37, Love is averaging just 13 minutes a game so far in his 18th season in the league. Love led the league in rebounds in 2011. The year he was voted Most Improved Player, he's five-time All-Star.

Love was won and done at UCLA, playing alongside Russell Westbrook and making the final four. I make two predictions. These are things I'm hoping for knowing Kevin Love a little bit. One, I hope he gets traded to a team that matters around the deadline so he can be involved in the run to the playoffs and the playoffs. And then whenever he decides he's had enough, I hope he does television and I hope we get him as a guest whenever we want because he's great to talk to about basketball and all the things affiliated. On a championship team with LeBron in Cleveland and his uncle Michael Love one of the original beachways.

One of the originals. Happy trails to Russell Wilson starting for the Giants on Sunday. Giant's interim head coach, your boy, Mike Caffield, announced today that the team will start James Winston against the Packers in place of the concussed Jackson Dart. Wilson had relieved Dart after the rookie exited the game in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to your bears. But now it's clear that Wilson has been demoted to third string after beginning the season as a starter. Winston is capable of putting up monster numbers.

He threw for 497 yards for the Browns against the Broncos just last year. But he also has the worst career pass interception percentage among active quarterbacks. I'm so interested in this game because the cheeseheads play in, in, in the game. the metal lands. Right. And I want them to lose. They're not going to lose. Again. They're not going to lose. James Winston could put up some big numbers. They could also have five interception. His own is making his head

coaching debut. This is the end of Russell Wilson. This is the end. Let Russ Cook. You don't think of a city. He was great in Seattle. The last three years, it's bad. It's over. One correction. There is unfortunately no city named Memphis in France. There used to be a nightclub in Paris named

Le Memphis. Did you go there? Let's go to the big finish. Let's do it. Guard Bradley Beal, your boy. Yeah. Out for the season after hip surgery, your thoughts. I root for Bradley Beal. He hasn't played, though, in a meaningful game in like nine seasons. It's like just, just 2017.

Unbelievable contract. You know what he's getting paid this year? $16 million. Have a great last first when he comes back. Pat Murphy of the Brewers. Stephen Volt, the Guardians. Baseball's managers of the year. You okay with that?

I am, but it's the second year in a row for both of them. Is it possible later? reached into the wrong pile. Your glitz? Yeah, the wrong pile. I don't know. Nathan McKinnon of the Avalanche had three points in a win over the dots to give him 12 points in his last three games. Wow, you're impressed?

How many days in a row are we going to have McKinnon updates? That should be reserved, right? And not even for Sidney Crosby. Like, for Gretsky. North Carolina coach Bill Belichick was asked about his interest in the Giants job and said he's focused on Wake, Forest on to Wake. Yeah. Your thoughts.

It sounds like him, you know, on to Cincinnati. He should. Just sounds like you worry about the team. You're not going. Last one, the 11-1 Thunder host the Lakers tonight. You're intrigued, aren't you? The Lakers have been terrific so far, but until LeBron gets back, I don't, I'm not interested in watching.

You're not there to Lerloon. Until LeBron, who's been great. All right. You got TV, got three TVs, a lot of time. Trying to do better the next time. Go Bearcats against Georgetown tonight. Go Bingham, okay. See you.

I'm Mike Love on the same time tomorrow, knuckleheads.