PTI - SEC No Longer Expected to Discuss Removing LSU from Conference

Episode Date: September 9, 2026

Lane Kiffin finalizes LSU roster, Ben Shelton shines in US Open and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burden of Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. The NFL season starts tonight. Tony, you have football fever?

I'm Tony Cornhizer. Maybe. Does it give you scabies on your inner thigh? Is that what it does? I don't even want to consider that before I try to concentrate and give a national TV audience my best. I don't want to even consider that question. Isn't that a great word, scabies? Don't you know immediately the way it is said that it can't be good?

I thought it was scabies. It's a difference. Can't be a scabies. Bad. Welcome to PTI Boars and Girls, in today's episode, the NFL season kicks off. LSU stands down and the NCAA decides which clock reps should follow. But we begin today with last night's late tennis match, and I do mean late at the U.S. Open. American Ben Shelton had the greatest performance of his life,

beating seven-time major champion in the two-seat here, Carlos Alcaras. The match went five sets, ending in a tiebreaker that Shelton won 10 to 7. Wilbon, you watched the whole thing. you were rapsodic about it in text to me. Shelton called it, quote, epic and quote incredible. What would you call it? Tony, I'm going to quote myself to you at about 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm not going to say it's the single greatest match I've ever seen,

but I'm not going to say I've ever seen better. And for me, that history goes back, as you know, because a lot of our history watching tennis as we were little kids is the same. It goes back to Ash and Smith, Borgon, McEnroe, Borg and Connors, Lendell and Sampress and Agassie and Federer and the Dahl and Joker and it goes throughout the last one that's just the men's side It goes back 60 years Tony and I've I watched all this stuff I watched so much of it live on television like like you you and I watched a lot of it live in person Particularly the US open over the decades and tone I

I was nuts. I was crazed watching this because you watch it for a while and you just think wow There's some stretches or some moments and And then it's not stretches of moments. It's the whole damn thing. And the power and the precision and the athleticism. I don't know that we've ever seen that from two dudes going at it like they're going at it. And I was amazed.

Yes, I stayed up the whole time. 3.33 AM or something like that. I'm not sure of the last text I sent you. Tone, look, there's not going to be another match as good as that in this tournament. There's no chance. Okay, so my word is different than yours. My word is way too late.

Okay? I hear it was a great match. I didn't see any of it. It started after 11 o'clock Eastern Time. It finished, as you said, at 333 Eastern Time. You're the only one I know in the East who watched all of it. I'd love to have watched it. I couldn't do it.

It was over after midnight California time, well after midnight. And this is a television show. What are the ratings? It's a great match. What are the ratings like at two in the morning and three in the morning? I mean, to me, I understand it's a hard fix. I think you have to try to do something here. I mean, you can't start matches that late and end them that late.

And it's the perfect storm, Mike, because the Tiapho match goes five-fold. And the Pagula match goes three-fold. And then Shelton and Alcaraz, they go five-fold. Do you use both courts? What do my notes say here? Do you use Ash and Armstrong, would you do that? This is what I'm going to get to. This is what I'm going to get to,

because they waited over an hour to put Pagula on the court after Tiafah was done. Was that reasonable? I get it. People buy, I'm going to go for a while here. People buy specific seats to see specific days of the week. Yeah. But can't you have concurrent matches?

I mean, can't you put someone on one of the other big, Stadium courts. Here's what happened, Mike. Here's what happened. The greatest moment that I saw last night was when Tiafo beat Mickelson and they come to center court and they hug. And Tiafo literally gives Mickelson a shoulder to cry on.

That was tremendous. That was unbelievably compassionate. But the greatest match in the tournament, I missed all of it. The greatest match maybe ever. Let me ask you this real quick. Tiapho. and Shelton, I'm not going to ask you to the winner. Who is the crowd going to be behind in that match?

Tiafo. Tiafo. Because of the... He's been around longer. The compassion? Yeah, well, that's certainly part of it. That was a great and tender moment. That was really, really wonderful.

You know, but again, I missed the match. Yes, you did. I mean, I missed a match where a kid beats a great, great, great player and gets him at exactly the right time because he hadn't played since April because he missed the French and he missed Wimbled. It's the only time he's going to get him and he got him. Was my highlight package pretty good? Did I fill you in pretty well for not seeing it?

Well, I read it this morning because it was over almost when I was getting up. It's too late, Mike. It's unfair to the sport. You know what it is. It's unfair to the sport and the players. And I know that people wear it as a badge of honor that they were there. But the rest of us, though, the rest of us were. Love it.

I love it. Yeah. Let's move. To Lane Kiffin, caving on adding pros to his roster, the LSU coach filled his final roster spots finally last night with two regular old college football players, which means former NFLers, Dekwon Wright and Zavian Harris, will not play for the taggers.

This came amid threats from the SEC to kick LSU out of the conference, sure. Tony, does that mean the drama's now over? Okay, the drama is never over if Lane Kiffin is still in the play. He's not. This is what happened. Lane Kiffin did a stare down with the SEC and Lane Kiffin blinked.

Okay. You know, I mean, it's okay that that happened. LSU smartly, because they heard they could be fine, they could be suspended, they could be kicked out, that's off the table now, but it wasn't off the table yesterday. and the day before, and LSU smartly said, we're getting off this bus right now.

Now, Mike, you know, I am in favor of these kids playing a fifth year. This year, not next year. I think they got hosed. I don't think they would have gone to the pros if they had a fifth year because they're not draft choices. They were going in there as free agents. If they're pros,

they're marginal pros, they could make a lot more money in college. People will say that Lane Kiffin lost this. I would say, what exactly did he lose? He has coached one game, and as he likes to say, out the pros. He beat Davosweeney, 51 to 10, and caused people to wonder if there's a regime change in Clemson.

So he didn't lose. SEC won. He didn't lose. This is all about the SEC, deciding to flex a little bit and just pop laying kiffing about the head a few times. They were never going to kick LSU out. Colleges and their conferences to just lie every day when they wake up. They were never kicking out LSU.

LSU is what we call a charter member. of the South Eastern Conference. 94 years, if my math is correct. So they weren't going anywhere. They did this to say, we need some institutional control because you people and your basketball team, which is trying to bring guys back

who've been in NBA uniforms or at least pro uniforms. We don't want this. And so we're going to do what we can to create, because the NCAA has none either, some institutional control over you. And it was enough. And it was enough. The new president, the governor just appointed about three months ago.

So this is all local politics. They were never doing jack to LSU. Let me ask you a question. I agree with you. They wouldn't kick them out. But let's say they kicked them out. How long would it take for the Big Ten to say, you know what? Now we're in the West and now we're in the East.

Let's go south and get them. Let's go south and get them. Because you're a big moneymaker. They are. Let's move to the NFL, which opens tonight with a rematch. of last year's Super Bowl teams, New England and Seattle. This one is at Seattle. Seattle won the Super Bowl in Santa Clara last February 29 to 13.

That game was not close. Seattle was up 19-0-0 in the fourth quarter. Wilbon, which team are you more bullish on for this year? The Patriots are the Seahawks? The Seahawks. I was bullish on the Seahawks last year. And I'm not one of these people, like apparently half the people on Get Up and First Take who appear,

who say that not only are the Rams going to win, they're going to go undefeat it, They're going to win every game by double digits, and they might not be scored upon, which is just laughable. It doesn't allow for any reasonable, you know, reflection of sports to take over, like overperformance and underperformance and injuries and lack of motive. Whatever it is. I'll take Seattle to win the NFC West right now over the Rams.

The Rams are in a division. I'm sorry, Seattle's in the division, which is going to prepare it, Tony, because they're going to get the Rams twice, they're going to get the 49ers twice, and I don't think the Cardinals are half bad. So they're going to be tested. I don't know about the Patriots. The Patriots have Buffalo,

but they also got Miami and the Jets. Usually that means powder puff football. So I'm going to go with Seattle, which returns a lot of people, not Kenneth Walker, not Kobe Bryant, who now is, of course, with my bears and injured, but I'm going to go with Seattle. Yeah, I mean, I'm with you on this.

It's interesting to me. Seattle won the Super Bowl last year. And in the last month to month and a half, the only thing I've heard about the NFL is either that Aaron Donald will make them unbelievably superior and they are a Super Bowl team with the Rams or that Dallas has improved its defense so much that they are now a Super Bowl team. I'm not hearing a word about the Seattle Seahawks. Right. I haven't heard of it. It is as if that game didn't happen or it happened at 333 in the morning without Alcaraz and Shelton. You know, I, too, am more bullish on Seattle. I think that their quarterback proved everything he had to prove in the playoffs.

He threw five touchdown passes. They didn't have any interceptions. I know they lost Kenneth Walker, but that is a replaceable position in the last 10 years running back. And I'm not as high on New England for a couple of reasons here. One, they had an easy schedule last year. It was graded out as the third easiest schedule. It's going to be much harder this year. and two, I think it's fair to wonder if all the off-field,

off-season stuff with Mike Raver will have some sort of effect in the line. It's fair to wonder that. Okay. I will say this, Mike. They were both 14 and 3 last year. I don't think either will be 14 and 3 this year. But I think Seattle will come a little closer. I do.

Let's take a break. When we come back, my Nats and Wilbon's Cubs both lose saves last night, which was worse? This is easy, kids. And are the guardians or the Diamondbacks more likely to hold on? to the league's final wild card slot. Tony, real quickly, why do the male tennis players at the U.S. Open all look like they participated in a jail break?

Why do they have to look like that? You can't the U.S. Open Institute some rules? Can you have a collar? It's time for toss-up. Two men enter. One man leaves, finishes the show, then immediately starts preparing for tomorrow's one-hour special

because this is who he is, and he cannot be chill. What's first? Toss up, worst-blown, same. last night? The Nationals or the Cubs? This is so easy. This is the Nationals. This is my team, not your team. Last night, the Washington Nationals blew their 38th save of the season. That set a new Major League record, okay? And they have 15 more games to put that record

out of reach. Their bullpen ERA is horrendous. It's 509. It's five. That's just awful. Last night they're up four to one. Let me get my notes here. They're up four to one going into the bottom of the eighth at San Diego. And they put in Jared Simpson, a young man who has pitched a total of four innings this year. What's the one thing, Mike, you say to a reliever. Don't walk. Don't walk.

Don't walk. Don't walk. That's right. Okay. Simpson faced three batterers, walked all three. That's the end of the evening for Mr. Simpson. They then brought in Eric Tolman, who had seen seven innings all year. and when he finally got out of the inning,

he had given up three hits. So three hits, four runs, Nats lose five to four. This is the story of my life the last three months. I'm going to ask you one question. It'll be the story of everybody else's life, not just yours. You know, Ralph Edwards says this is not,

this is your life. This is tossed up. Whoa. Pretty good, wasn't it? Pretty good catch. Yes, very good. Are the nationals going to make the playoffs this year? They are not.

So the hell with the nationals. They're irrelevant. Now, the answer to this talk. The cross-up question is the Cubs. Because the Cubs are leading. They get two runs. We're going to beat the Mizz, basically, essentially, for the second time in a week. Okay?

We go up 3-1 in the 9th. Carson Kelly comes off the bench to drive in two runs in a one-one game. We go to Jacob Webb. Jacob Webb gives up a base hit with two out and then Turyo home run. Tie game, they win in the 10th. Look, I don't want to attack Jacob Webb. Here's what he's done. Two-run, walk-off home run.

He gave up in the ninth. Two-run walk-off the next game in the ninth. Two-run game-tying home-run in the ninth. He's the only Major League Baseball pitcher to allow a game-tying or go-ahead home run with two outs in the ninth in three straight save appearances. Since the save became official in 1969, I had a big afro, you had a red afro. the Cubs are going to blow their season because we have no bullpen. Is your bullpen ERA 5-0-0-9?

What's next? Your team doesn't matter. Irrelevant. Toss up. More likely to hold on to their league's final wildcard slot, the Guardians or the Diamondbacks? Pay attention, kids, because I'm going to say something on ESPN that people don't like to say or hear. I don't know. I don't know the answer to this.

The Guardians at the moment, Cleveland at the moment, is one game up on Toronto and one and a half up on Texas. Cleveland in the last 10 is 6 and 4. Toronto's 7 and 3, Texas is 6 and 4. Of the remaining schedule that they have, Cleveland is playing the 22nd strength of schedule. So it's a very easy schedule. But Toronto's playing the 24th. So I would fear Toronto if I was them. In the other league, Arizona is 6 and 4 lately.

They are a half game ahead of San Diego. San Diego is 5 and 5. But you know what, Mike, every time I look at the Padres, I see a pretty good team. I see a team that hits a lot of home runs. I see a team with a really good closer as opposed to Chicago or Washington, and they've got that. And you know where that's going to end? The last three games of the season is Arizona at San Diego. Beef, baby.

So I might take a small coin flip hoping it lands on San Diego. Yeah, Tony, I'm pretty much with you on that. Here's the other thing. The Guardians have every chance to win their division. I am not rooting for this. I'm not one of those cup fans who hates the White Sox. I don't. I'm going to root for anybody with Chicago on their chest.

So I hope the White Sox can hold off the Guardians and win that division. But two and a half? It's not a lot. The Guardians have some wiggle room there in both ways to get in the playoffs. Tony, if you're the Dodgers, you don't want to see San Diego or Arizona in the playoffs because the Dodgers in the last five years have been eliminated by each of those franchises. That's right.

But I think you agree with me here. The Padres don't care about the Dodgers. They want to play the Dodgers. And the lineup that the Padres trot out there every night. Tony, maybe it's blasphemed to say it, but I think you agree with me. Their lineups are almost equal when the Padres are going and they had that closer. I don't know. I mean, I think Philadelphia and the Dodgers have better lineups.

I do. But I think the Padres are good. You saw it, everybody. I won. Let's take one last break still to come. The NCAA issues a new. rule about what clock refs should follow.

Please. So fraudulent. Aaron Judge is upset after his return to the field. Yeah, I mean, I think he was upset because the manager took him out. Like he didn't play the whole game. I think Judge said he played half the game. He played more than half the game. He had 3A.B. Well, you know what?

He played none of the damn game since June. Happy time, people. Happy 41st birthday, Matthew Slater. Slater was a receiver by trade, but mostly he was a great special teamer for the New England Patriots. The son of Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, Matthew Slater, made 10 Pro Bowls on special teams and was first team all pro twice. Slater played on three Super Bowl winners in New England, 2014, 2016, and 2018. Slater was a fifth round draft picked by New England in 2008 out of UCLA,

and this is a great stat. Since 2012, Slater played 236 snaps on offense, four on defense, and 3,569 snaps on special teams. Slater is now coaching high school football in Boston. Tony, with that heavy concentration on specials, I doubt he can go to the Hall of Fame like his father, who is truly an all-time great. But you know, the only father and son, forget about owners in Canton, in the Hall of Fame and football,

Ed and Steve Sable, who earned it. Oh, they deserve it. That's it. They're the only. Yeah. Happy anniversary, Chip Kelly on this day 13 years ago. The former Oregon coach made his NFL debut as Philadelphia Eagles head coach, and Philly ran off 53 plays in a first half blitz of Washington,

jumping to a 33-7 lead by the third quarter, then holding on to win 33-27. Kelly coached the Eagles, the 49ers, UCLA, was offensive coordinator to Ryan Day at Ohio State, back in the NFL for 11 games last year as OC to Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. Kelly is now OC at Northwestern. Yes, sir. But Wilbon's Wildcats put 34-4.

on 1-A power, South Dakota State in his debut. Next up, hosting Colorado, September 19th. Wilbon, right now we up or down on Chip Kelly. Two thumbs up, Tony. His offense laid about 500 yards out there on Saturday. We got Dion coming up next. I don't know what's going to happen then, but Chip Kelly is doing what we hoped with that offense

when we went out and got it. Happy trails to clock controversy at the end of college football games. The NCAA issued new guidance that the United States. The timing device to be followed going forward is the in-stadium scoreboard clock. Please. During Saturday's Western Michigan-Michigan game, referees had instead relied on a clock feed embedded into a replay monitor to grant the Wolverines time for a second shot at a Hail Mary that resulted in an improbable win.

Under the new guidance, the game would have been over after the Wolverines' first failed attempt and Western Michigan would have won. But the NCAA will not change the outcome because its rules state that once the The ref declares the game to be over. That score is final. So nice of the Big Ten, I want to be transparent now. Hey, we cheated Western Michigan's brains out. Let's become transparent.

So you can't get another, oh, mistake like that again. What garbage. Let's go to the big finish. Aaron Judge said he wasn't happy after being pulled after six innings in his return. Your thoughts? His replacement hit a three-run Homer after he was taken out. I love Aaron, Judge. too damn bad.

Targ Scooples, ERA across seven stars with the Dodgers is 295. You like that? It's a very fine ERA. It is. It is.

It is. It is. It's a very set. You impressed? Yes, because it looked like in the first set and even into the second. She was going out

of Cocoa Golf rolls on. Raised at Braves tonight. You intrigued with that? I want to see if Acuna hits a home run and then makes fun of Tampa on the way around like he did the other day.

Would somebody was Philly? Yeah, last one. Leonel Messi is at Soldier Field tonight. You're exciting? A little bit, because Levantowski, they got that matchup. But Tony, I care about what's going on 90 miles away on I-94. Cubs, Brewers, again. Maybe if we get a lead of, you know, seven or eight runs,

the bullpen can hold it that I wouldn't get on it. We're out of time. We'll try to do better the next time. By the way, happy belated birthday, Roseanne Sullivan. I'm Mike Wilbon. We are back on ESPN tomorrow at the special time. A five eastern for a full 60 minutes, knuckleheads. 60 minutes of PTI.

Wilburne. Sources have told me you took a nap last night before the Alcoraz match.