Can't get enough of Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon? Missed the opportunity to witness the carnage live? Have no fear – the transcript of this week's edition of The Show follows.

Tony & Mike: Good afternoon.

Where's Wilbon? –Tony

I don't know. –Mary

Let's get started, I'm sure the traffic is terrible... somewhere. –Tony

Arlington, Va.: PLEASE answer my question this week-

WHY is the Redskins defense so terrible when they have so much talent? Is it because half of their players are also playing special teams, and thus getting "too tired" to play their normal positions?

Tony & Mike: The Skins defense isn't terrible. What games are you watching? The Skins D is about 5 x better than it was last year. Seriously, what are you talking about?–Tony

Aren't you glad we answered your question? –Mary

Washington, DC: The Post's Thursday article made it sound like Dan Snyder still has a place in his heart for Norv Turner. Assuming this team doesn't make the Super Bowl, could Norv possibly be back?

Tony & Mike: Wilbon is here. Only 2 minutes late. –Mary

Excuse me? 2 mins. 2 freakin' minutes. –Mike

Yeah. –Mary

I'm early on CP time. And the brothers out there know what I'm talking about. –Mike

I think he could be back if they got far in the playoffs and were eliminated by a better team in a good effort on the road. But, I think an equally large question that has to be put back in play is: Does Norv want to be back? Does Norv want to work for a very, very, very demanding boss who seems so prone to want to fire him? –Tony

This is not a good marriage at the moment. But stuff changes. All the time. We are looking at them at a point at which the team is clearly the biggest disappointment in the NFL. –Mike

That's insane. That's insane. –Tony

You tell me who? –Mike

Jacksonville. OHHH!--- Tony

Okay. 2nd biggest. So, how insane is it? 2nd biggest disappointment in the league. But, like in any sport nowadays, if the Skins win 4 straight, they will be kissy huggy proclaiming their love for each other. We have to wait. Let's wait until we see whether this team is going to come close to fulfilling its potential or whether it crashes and burns. If they don't make it to the playoffs or go out in the 1st round, Norv is out of here, either fired or on his own and that would probably be the best thing for everybody anyway... if they don't make it or lose anyway. –Mike

Tony & Mike: And one more thing.... The Skins are a bigger disappointment than Jax. Jax didn't go out and put 100 million dollar line-up on the field. –Mike

That is completely insane. Jax was 14-2 last year went to the finals in the AFC where they lost for the third time to TN. The Skins were 10-6 last year. –Tony

Warshington, D.C.: Wilbon,

I saw you the other morning at the River Road McDonalds parking lot.... Your car plates read (if I'm not mistaken) PRESSG8... Is that because you can be more easily directed when you get to sporting events and the like??...

TK, Do you have vanity plates??

Anyway, can't get enuf of you guys. Keep it up!!

Tony & Mike: Harry, you would be slightly mistaken. And you outted me in my sneak to get a sausage McMuffin, no egg. (I'm only allowed 2 of those a week on this diet.) The tags say PRESS BX. No, it's not to get directed, it's just for me. I could have gotten 3 PUTT but it would have been more obnoxious. –Mike

I have Vanity plates too. Mine say: WILBON. –Tony

There is a guy in the city that has the tag: WILBON. He's my 1st cousin. –Mike

Bethesda, Md.: Hey fellas, Happy Friday! Wanted to ask if either of you are going to Maui to see Maryland. What better excuse to go to Hawaii? Also, wanted to ask your opinion on this. The Skins play Monday night the same time the Terps tip-off in Maui. Who will win the ratings battle in this area? The way I see it, people are pissed at the Skins and this is a basketball city anyway. And do you think we can take Arizona in the finals, if we make it there? Go Terps, Go Skins, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Saints!

Tony & Mike: What drug are you on? –Mike

First of all, there are plently better reasons to go to Maui than to watch the Terps play b-ball. 2nd, relative to a Redskins telecast, NO BODY will watch Maryland basketball. In fact, if MD b-ball was going up that night against the Browns and the Bengals, more people in Washington would watch that game. Like 5x more! You are clearly a MD b-ball fan and Tony and I, being b-ball junkies, will in due time get fired up for college b-ball. That time being, you know, Feb 1st. But, we got a long time to go with the NFL season before college hoops takes over the national stage. –Mike

I'm sure that I will flip over to the MD game on Monday night if I have the opportunity. But, truthfully, you need to see a doctor. There's simply no way that MD b-ball will be with in 30 share points of Redskin Monday night football. I'm not saying the same would be true if this were a Final 4 situation, but even then, the Redskins would have a higher TV rating than MD. That's just the reality here. –Tony

Just so you don't think we are pounding on you... you have to understand that the NFL gets trumped by NOTHING in the TV ratings. EVER. NOTHING. NO exceptions. And in cities like Washington, Chicago, Denver, Green Bay and Kansas City, the NFL Monday Night appearance by the locals will get a 50 plus share frequently. –Mike

Mechanicsville, Md.: Mike -- What the hell is CP time?

Tony & Mike: I want to know how many people, black folks disqualified, know what CP time is? For some reason I suspect that the Jewish brothers out there will know this. Tony? –Mike

Oh, pick me Mike. Pick me. –Tony

Mary, even in her young diverse life, doesn't know. –Mike

Fairfax Station, VA.: Tony...the tougher job: President with a nation and congress so evenly split, vote counter in Palm Beach County, or Redskins coach working for the Dan?

Tony & Mike: Big sigh from TK.

Whomever gets to be President will have a horrific gridlock for at least 2 years, probably 4. But, since the only way to get elected President in the country is to have a centrist political philosophy anyway, both guys can live with that. Obviously on some sort of worldwide stage, it's harder to be President than coach of the Redskins under Danny Snyder, but in that little bit of heaven called Ashburn, I don't think I'd want that job. He really is tremendously enthusiastic and full of energy, but as my friend Will McDonough of the Boston Globe told me earlier this week, "The problem for coaches comes when the owner thinks he can coach. It usually takes 2 years. In Dan Synder's case, it took a couple of months." –Tony

Hokieville USA: Is it too early to talk about the College Bowl Season?

If not, do you think VT can still get one of the BCS at large bids? If not, then I guess it's the Gator Bowl.

Thanks

Tony & Mike: No, it's not. I'm still reeling from my Alma Mater's loss to Iowa which will probably eliminate Northwestern from the Rose Bowl. So, I have turned my attention to Wed night Jan 3rd in Miami where a game will be played between 2 teams and we have no idea at the end of November who will play. It's very exciting. My guess right now is it will be Fl. State and OK. I certainly don't want to see Washington or any PAC 10 team there because they are all frauds. VT can still get a coalition game, but what does it matter? They were playing for the whole thing and Vick's inury eliminated any chance of beating Miami, so other than the national c'ship, I don't think it matters. And I wanted to see them win. –Mike

Consider this: What if Nebraska beats OK in the Big 12 Final? What if Syracuse beats Miami Saturday? What if Florida beats Florida State Sat night than looses in the SEC championships to the West champ? What if Oregon loses to Oregon State? Then where do you find a 1-loss team other than Washington and VA Tech? –Tony

Hey, Tech's back in your scenario. I like that! –Mike

Okay. Good for you. That will never happen. What if I had four wheels? Would I be a mini-van? –Tony

No, but your tires would be recalled. –Mike

Once again, let me register my disgust with the choosing of the nickname Hokies over Gobblers. I SO much prefer, particularly as we head to Thanksgiving, the nickname Gobblers. –Tony

I'm with you. I'm down with that. –Mike

FFXVA: CPT = Colored People Time

I'm white.

Sumo

Tony & Mike: Very good Sumo. Where did you grow up? And what people did/do you hang out with? –Mike

Isn't it obvious? His name is Sumo? –Tony

We don't know that. I've never heard anyone who is white with a name Sumo! –Mike

Re: CP time: Being both black and Jewish, I've got NO idea. All I can think of is Charlie Parker time, because in jazz they use all kinds of funky time signatures. But then, I'm an idiot.

Tony & Mike: Shout Out To You! We like you. T and M.

Richmond, Va.: I've been watching the Redskins all year and have been struck by how similar they are to the Tennesse Titans, the big difference being that the the Titans are 8-2 and the Skins are 6-4. Why is it that the Titans of fense, after losing so many receivers to injury have been able to do so well? One key, I think, is the involvement of the tight end in the offense. Why isn't Stephen Alexander a bigger part of this offense??

Tony & Mike: VERY GOOD QUESTION RICHMOND!

Tony & Mike: Sorry I hit submit too early. Here's the response to the above question. –Mary

Because Jeff Fisher REALLY knows his team's strengths and is completely comfortable playing to them. WITH Steve McNair at QB and Eddie George running, they are going to be a power team first and foremost. Fisher doesn't care how the ball gets down the field. Fisher is not consumed with what the safety is doing in some pass coverage or whether the DB's are rolled up. He's got a little bit of Lombardi in him. His thing is here's what we do well. And we're going to do this EVERY play until you prove you can stop it. If the Redskins had done that, they'd be 10-0. They'd never would have lost to Detroit when the defense gave up 15, or Dallas when Norv threw 42 times or those goofy games to TN and AZ. –Mike

When Norv first got here and he had come out of the Dallas offense that threw so often to Jay Noveck I assumed getting a pass catching tight end would be a very high priority. Certainly, the next priority after he drafted Westbrook, but he cut Wychek and had limited success with others including Alexander, who I agree should get more passes. I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said. –Tony

Wychek is the best pass catching tight end in the league now that Shannon Sharpe's role in Baltimore is different. Imagine Wychek in this lineup where you really streamline it to use Davis, Centers, and Wychek. –Mike

FFXVA: I'm White. I'm large. I'm Sumo.

I grew up all over, but Mainly in Roanoke, Va. Go Cave Spring HS, and George Mason University. I hear we have a fabulous track team.

Shout out to the Regulators who are 1 game away from the B championship game in the NVFFA flag league. www.nvffa.com league. The Regulators taught me CPT.

Sumo

Tony & Mike: Thank you Sumo. –The Chat House

Post Mess Up: You guys are lucky. This is the only "discussion" currently available. Could someone please tell "the powers that be" that all the online discussion links are for next week and that today's afternoon chats can't be gotten to -- except yours from the Sports page.

washingtonpost.com: Sorry to butt in here, but it's a technical necessity. We're moving this weekend and for a variety of reasons needed to put next week's schedule up early. Sorry it got your shorts in a knot. -- Lisa Todorovich, Executive Producer, Live Online

Tony & Mike: FYI to everyone....

No, YOU'RE LUCKY! –Tony

We are the ONLY discussion you EVER need. –Mike

Dave from Lexington, Ky.: Dear Terry, Mitch and Marty:

I must first admit that I'm a Saints fan, so the following may or may not represent bias.

How is it possible for Paul Tagliabue to claim that the 49ers cap circumventions are less hurtful to the NFL than the T-wolves were to the NBA? Hasn't the NBA set a reasonable precendent-you cheat the league and its owners, you feel their wrath? Is he just being an apologist for Carmen Policy and the 49ers?

P.S.: The Saints will host a playoff game this year, perhaps against the 'Skins. Golf and dinner at Antoine's on me if it happens?

Tony & Mike: I don't want the dinner at Antoine's. I want it at Commander's Palace or Emeril's. Right Wilbon? –Tony

That's fine. I'll collect. On that and the golf. But Tony has as much shot of getting on a plane as I do of shooting a 71 today. –Mike

D.C.: Comment. Mike, you ain't a real brother. You don't even get egg on your McMuffin. What's up with that? And Tony, are you on JT? Because you always seem to be early.

Tony & Mike: No egg dude. No egg. –Mike

We are always early because are afraid someone is coming after us and we are VERY, VERY, anxious. –Tony

New York City, NY: Tony, Mike,
Good afternoon! THIs week, Richard Williams, father to Venus and Serena, said that he thought that the top players on the tour (namely his two daughters) should receive appearance fees because they put butts in seats at the non-grand slam events. (Apparently the men's tour already get these) Isn't that the purpose behind WINNING these tournaments, to make money? Professional athletes (Tiger Woods also gets appearance fees) are not bigger than their sports and this type of greed is ruining pro sports. Your thoughts? -Pete

Tony & Mike: Pete, the first thing you have to realize is NEVER EVER EVER pay attention to anything Richard Williams say from this point forward or for that matter for the last 3 years. He's done a great job raising his children. Now, I want him to go away and let them be adults. No sport should go out of its way to more aggressively reward through marketing one player over another. Would it have been okay for the NBA to cut Jordan in on TV rights, but not Karl Malone or not Charles Barkley? No, that's not fair. Tiger is not going to go off and start his own tour. That would be an exhibition and we would all grow bored with it. Tiger, like Venus and Serena, have become who and what they are athletically largely because of the tours that they compete in every week. And somebody needs to make them realize that. They don't exist separately. –Mike

When you say "this type of greed is ruining pro-sports" I don't look at it like anything is ruined. This is an attempt on the part of Richard Williams and Tiger Woods to grab for a bigger slice of the pie because athletes for 50 year before them have grabbed for bigger slices of the pie. It's not so much as they appear greedy as foolish and wrongly directed. Indeed, it is the golf tour and the tennis tour which have made Tiger and the Williams sisters enormously wealthy. Tiger Wood and the Williams sisters are huge draws and have been very, very good to the tours. But, the tours have been very, very good to them. To blackmail the tours is very short sighted and it won't work and they know it. –Tony

RUFUS-WASHINGTON,D.C.: TONY OR MICHAEL,WHICH WAS A WORSE MOVE BY THE WIZARDS?
A.TRADING C.WEBB
B.RESIGNING JUWAAN TO THAT MONSTER CONTRACT
C.TRADING RASHEED
D.ALL OF THE ABOVE

Tony & Mike: Great question. You know what, maybe resigning Juwan because it meant you couldn't make any other move for 6 yrs. But I could be swayed either way on this stuff because if you had Rasheed, wow. I'm inclined to say either B or C. Webber had to be traded, he was not going to do the right thing here. He needed to be jolted. –Mike

Everyone of these moves was completely defensible at the time and was in fact defended by Wilbon and me. The only one where there was any doubt was trading Webber because he was a better player than Juwan, and although one of them had to go, Juwan's contract made it impossible for him to be traded. And stop, typing in all caps. –Tony

Maybe his machine only gets all caps. –Mike

No one's machine only gets all caps. --Lisa, EP of Live Online.. guest visitor to The Chat House

I have never heard that but Wilbon is always willing to cut someone some slack, because once he leaves his gated community, he is a man of the people!! –Tony

Woodley Park: Mike --
Great article on the Bobby Mitchell Field the other day -- any developments you may know of, or have an idea of, for youth baseball fields being developed in the city?

Thanks,
Jason

Tony & Mike: Jason, that's a legit concern. There's only 1 sport being played in urban DC and that's basketball. Baseball has just about disappeared in sandlot form in black Washington. –Mike

That's not so. That's no so. –Tony

My kid plays the game and that's not so. In fact, baseball could be alive and well in this area. Wilson HS has a terrific team. My experience in this, and I don't want to be too much of an urban sociologist, but my experience is young black males gravitate to basketball in enormous numbers and don't care to play baseball. I have seen little league teams organized and the baseball playing level is horrendous and you take these kids 20 feet away on a basketball court and they are great. So, don't tell me they don't have the ability to play it, they just don't seem to want to play baseball.–Tony

And why is that? Their fathers ALL played baseball. Basketball was #3 to baseball and football for 50 years. So, how did this happen? –Mike

Michael Jordan? –Tony

No, not Jordan. –Mike

It's easier to play basketball alone or in small groups and for baseball, you need min. 10 guys. –Tony

This didn't stop me. We had 20 guys all the time. –Mike

It's 30 years later. When I was a kid, 100 years ago, I cleared a lot and made a baseball field. On my block, there was a 2-2 or 3-3 touch football game or a sandlot baseball game with 10-20 kids from a 4 block area. I have lived in my neighborhood for 20 and not once have I ever seen a football game in the street. Not once. –Tony

That's sad. –Mike

Kids today want organized sports. –Tony

No, their parents want it. –Mike

I want my kid playing in the street like I did. There are too many trophies, too many leagues, too many uniforms. –Tony

Agreed. –Mike

Bethesda, Md.: What are your thoughts on the Terps men's basketball team? Do you think they have what it takes to go to the Final Four this year?

Terps Fan

Tony & Mike: The Terps are picked in everybody Top 10. And most people's Top 5. Yes, they have the talent to be min. in the elite 8 because the only teams better figured to be Duke, Kansas, maybe Michigan State, although I've got my doubts about that, possibly Carolina and AZ. But MD is loaded. They are 10 deep. 2 deep at each position. –Mike

Arlington, Va.: I'm diggin' the videos of the Chat House! Do you think you could include the "Bodacious" Mary in one of those videos. She won't steal your spotlight, but she'll probably enhance it. Maybe she could wear a bikini or thong in the video (joking). Keep up the excellent banter in the Chat House! Go Skins!

Tony & Mike: You are a ferret. –The Chat House

Westminster, Md.: Note to Arlington (ferret) Va.: It's because of comments like that that we'll never see Mary in a video. Thank you.

Tony & Mike: Exactly MD. –Mary

D.C.: Hey, I'm from Oregon and I've got two problems here. Pac-10 teams do not suck (Go Beavs!) and I can't believe that people don't know what CP time is. I'm white and from Oregon and I know. People here need to get their head out of the sand and look around (especially that MD hoop fan). Ok, here's my question -- went to the Blizzards game last night -- pretty boring, why can't the NBA capitalize on all the marketing and put a quality product on the floor?

Tony & Mike: THe NBA has a big problem: the people coming into the league quite often aren't ready to be professionals and can't play at this level for 80-plus games a year. Look at the difference in the NFL, where the league and union negotiated a deal not to take kids who haven't completed three years. Five minutes after Marino, Elway and Young are gone, we've got Manning, Culpepper, McNab on the way up. I'm not saying those three future Hall of Famers will be quickly, if ever, replaced. But the NFL by insisting that people complete their apprenticeships keeps great players rolling into the league. The NBA does not. The NBA, my favorite sport of all, is dreadful so far this year other than in Philly and select few other spots. –Mike

Gaithersburg, Md.: Tell me why were the Caps ever placed in the Southeast divison? Sure there having there troubles right now which makes the sorry Southeast look better for there situation. But, it still bothers me that they aren't in the Atlantic. Plus, you know how well they play against the tougher teams the the NHL.

Tony & Mike: Realignment is done for the league's convenience and economic factors and that's it. Plus, all the teams go crazy if too many good teams are placed in their division. And with all due respect to the Caps and the fans here, the Rangers/Flyers/Bruins don't need the Caps to enhance what the division is about, and obviously the Devils have to be in there, too, geographically.–Mike

NW D.C.: Comment re: youth sports.
I agree with Tony. I remember when I was growing up, my brother and I played stick ball on the streets all the time. However, he was/is on CP time and we don't where the hell he is now.

Tony & Mike: Very, very funny. Thanks for the story.–Mike
P.S. Tony had to go (early, of course, adhering to JT) and so I'm spending some OT and QT with you in the Chat House. Oh, and of course Mary is here because I couldn't even operate this deal without her.–Mike

D.C.: Do you guys think the Portland Trailblazers are akin to the Skins? A lot of big names, but disappointing at the end. How soon can the Blazers write Pippen and Stoudamire off? They are both useless.

Tony & Mike: The Trailblazers got to the conference finals last year, didn't they? And they got within one shot of making the Finals, while the Redskins did not. The Redskins, at this very moment, would die to be Portland. NOw, this year they are off to a slow start but I don't think that will matter come May and early June. I do, however, think San Antonio will emerge from the Western Conference, already changing my mind from the day the season opened.–Mike

Washington, D.C.: Do you guys think that for the all-star balloting/voting, the positions should be filtered down from just "guard" to point guard and shooting guard, and the same for forward? Some players go both ways, but I'm talking about what the players are known for.

Tony & Mike: Yeah, I like that idea. But I doubt it will fly. Too many players are impossible to catagorize. What's Kevin Garnett? What's Allen Iverson? Larry Brown says he's a shooting guard, but most fans call him a point guard and they do the voting. For that matter, what's Scottie Pippen but a point guard in reality? It's too hard.–Mike

Re: Tiger and the PGA: Tony,

With all due respect, I was reading a Mike Tirico column where he said that the media misrepresented the Tiger issue -- That Tiger doesn't want a slice of TV money, just that he wants to protect his sponsors. Similar, if I remember correctly, to Jordan not wearing his USA warm-up in 1992 because it wasn't Nike. I'm not sure which is true, but it's an interesting parallel given how often people compare the impact of Tiger and MJ on their respective sports.

Tony & Mike: I haven't talked to Tiger or anybody really close to him, which is why I haven't written a column about this. I will tell you that Mike Tirico knows what the hell he's talking about and always worth listening too. Positions are often misrepresented. I have no problem with him protecting his sponsors. But the talk of another tour seems to speak to something else.–Mike

D.C.: This may have been asked before, but if given the choice of playing 18 on any course in the world with any player in the world, who and where would you choose? I figure Tiger's a no-brainer, but I also recognize some guys like Peter Jacobson would be a riot to spend four hours with.

Tony & Mike: I don't know about you, but if I get to play an 18-hole course in the world it ain't gonna be with a guy! Four hours? Here's my list: No, Mary, not you! Sela Ward, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, the new babe who plays Dark Angel on that Fox show I'm sure is awful. (I've already played a nine-hole par-3 with Mary...she's got promise IF SHE'LL EVER PRACTICE!!!!)–Mike

But at least I know how to dress the part.–Mary

Beaver Falls, Pa.: Gentlemen,

You've shown in the past that you have the courage to castigate the owner of the Baltimore Orioles for his team's consistent poor performance -- why not the same for Abe Pollin and his pathetic Wizards?

Can even part-owner Michael save this dog?

Your obedient servant,

Oddjob

Tony & Mike: Oddjob: Where you been? I ripped Abe Pollin so frequently in the mid-90s, he once took an ad out in this newspaper to rip me. My right toe was worn out kicking the Bullets/Wiz. And I'm sure I'll tee them up again. Keep this in mind: Nothing will happen to improve the Wiz until these contracts expire and they get cap room. Michael Jordan's presence can't create cap room. Maybe Tony will understand that one day, too.–Mike

Tony & Mike: Shout outs: To birthday boy Kelly in Toronto from E. Yo, E this guy should be okay because he's a Scorpio. But you better run and find out what all the astrology books say about Scorpio men!–Mike

No, E, hockey scars on the boyz face do not matter–Mike

Shout out to Paul at Cafe Deluxe on Wis. Ave, and to Lisa at the Cafe Deluxe in Bethesda, and to Larry King--yes, THE Larry King, with whom I share a birthday on Sunday.–Mike

****

And now, time for picks....
Week 12

MIKE:
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, they've been hosed 3 times by the refs. They are going to kill Jax by 20.
New York Jets at Miami: Miami. The Jets are fading. I want Al Groh to go away.
Oakland at New Orleans: Saints using the Dean Smith principle that a team always rallies for the 1st game with out its star player.
Indianapolis at Green Bay: Indy
Redskins at St. Louis Rams (Monday night): I believe in Defense. I've been talking this Defense smack all year. So I have to go with D. The Redskins have one. The Rams don't. If they lose this, I will pick against them for the rest of the year. Redskins 28-24.

TONY:
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh. Wilbon's first four picks are straight out of Jaws's mouth., so I will pick them too. –Tony

I didn't know he picked Miami. -Mike

Yep. –Tony

New York Jets at Miami: Miami
Oakland at New Orleans: Saints
Indianapolis at Green Bay: Indy
Redskins at St. Louis Rams (Monday night): Coming out of a bye week, the Redskins have an advantage in this game with a longer time to prepare. And I think they are more desperate to win it than the Rams who got a huge lift out of being the Giants in the Meadowlands last Sunday, but I really like the Rams at home on turf and I think Trent Green is a lot better now than he was with the Redskins. He's made me a believer. If Marshall Faulk plays, give me the Rams. And if he doesn't play, well… give me the Rams too. Track meet baby. 35-34.

Goodbye and Happy T-giving. I have to write next Wed. so I won't be here. If I can sneak in for ˝ hr, I will. --Tony

Please join us on Wed at 11 am for a special pre-Thanksgiving Chat House with Michael and special guest, Post Sports Reporter Dave Sheinin. We just changed the time.... it was going to be at 2 p.m. on Wed, but we just changed it to 11 am. So, please join us! –Mary

Have a great weekend. Remember there's plenty of football on that doesn't involve the Redskins that's very worth watching. Bye. –Mike