When PTI originally aired in 2001, I was instantly hooked. I had not watched the Sports Reporters on ESPN in quite sometime, but remembered Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon from their regular appearances on it but always found them to be quite engaging, compared to some of the dinosaurs and blowhards that were typically apart of that show. The internet was inching closer to taking off as the premier place for sports talk discussion, but PTI aired just in time to avoid being ignored by the masses. Kornheiser and Wilbon were respected Washington Post columnists that were enjoyable to watch as they dissected what was going on in the sports world. They brought great humor and fandom as well to a sports talk show. You had two intelligent, experienced columnists speaking about sports for a half-hour. A much better alternative than the loud obnoxious drive at 5 guy on the radio.

However, both Kornheiser and Wilbon’s star rose over the next few years and the show became less about substance and more about them and their shtick. Kornheiser was hired to be a Monday Night Football analyst on ESPN, and Wilbon was made an analyst on ESPN. It was obvious why ESPN hired Kornheiser to be on their football telecast. Not only did people enjoy his humor on PTI, but he was also a fan. His few years in the booth were a bit up and down, but ultimately it never truly worked out. Wilbon never made sense as an NBA guy. ESPN already had several columnists on their web site and from other newspapers working the NBA beat and seemed much more in tuned with the game itself. Wilbon was only a talking head and name on the NBA broadcasts. After a little while of covering NBA games, Wilbon started to sound more like a name-dropper on PTI with all the NBA players past and present, then an informed columnist. Tony K never seemed to fall into that trap while covering the NFL on Monday Nights. On top of all of this, his ego and attitude became all out of whack.

I turned PTI on yesterday (something that is very rare now) to see what they would say about the Urban Meyer incident that happened the day before. As you probably know by now, Meyer acted like a complete jerk towards Jeremy Fowler. Fowler was the reporter who printed the quote from Deonte Thompson that stated the new Gators QB John Brantley was a better QB than Tebow for wide receivers. Meyer berated and threatened Fowler for his story. As expected, Tony and Wilbon chastised Meyer for his actions, and called them out-of-line. Then Wilbon started to act like Mr. Tough Guy.

I don’t believe Wilbon for one second that he would call Urban to battle with him behind the school by the old oak tree if Meyer or a coach ran their mouth at him. He probably would have reacted similarly to Fowler. Wilbon though wants to pretend like he is a tough dude. He needs to keep his street cred with all those NBA ballers he hangs with. Secondly, Urban Meyer, bad heart and all would whip his double-quarter pounder eating ass. So stop trying to be something your not, Michael, and start acting the way that made you a commodity to the Washington Post and ESPN.

Dave K

Dave K is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Victory Formation. He can be reached at dkippe@gmail.com

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