Tony Kornheiser. Mike Wilbon. And the kid they called Stat Boy. Back together, with a few things to clear up.

Before Pardon the Interruption, there was press row. Typewriters. Deadlines. A Washington Post newsroom full of extraordinary writers who could argue about anything and make each other laugh doing it. Kornheiser and Wilbon spent years in that world before anyone put a television camera in front of them. I wanted to know how their friendship began. They wanted me to stop trying to turn it into a screenplay.

As PTI turns 25, I’m back with two people who helped shape my life, revisiting the stories they’ve been telling for as long as I’ve known them. We go back to the 1988 Olympics, a knockout Wilbon saw coming and Kornheiser didn’t, and the Marvin Gaye national anthem that Tony decided was more important than the All-Star Game itself. There’s also the night Mike slipped away from his own engagement party to shoot a television pilot. Tony was supposed to help cover for him. You can imagine how that went.

Then there’s PTI: why Tony thought it would be off the air in three weeks, why they let a 22-year-old correct them on television, and what they make of the sports debate industry today. Through all of it, they keep coming back to the work, the newsroom and the people who made them better. After 25 years on television, they still describe themselves the same way: newspaper sportswriters.

They also reveal that they rarely go more than two days without calling each other. Usually because they’re watching the same game and have something to say. Naturally, I have one more question: If PTI ended tomorrow, would you two actually see each other?

Welcome to Episode 022 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.

03:50 Before PTI, there was the newsroom

05:01 REAL DEAL, Stat Boy and the nickname dispute

06:21 Kornheiser and Wilbon’s old photos

08:40 The 1988 Olympics and the knockout Wilbon saw coming

10:48 The Great Wall, a flight home and a face in the soup

13:46 Simply Irresistible: Their Washington Post bylines

15:10 Is PTI an old married couple?

16:37 How did Kornheiser and Wilbon actually become friends?

19:37 The Washington Post newsroom that shaped them

22:55 Do they hang out? Have they ever really fought?

26:48 Sharing the spotlight and welcoming Stat Boy

27:43 Why PTI let a 22-year-old correct its hosts

31:05 Marvin Gaye’s anthem and Kornheiser’s column

32:54 Why Kornheiser thought PTI wouldn’t last

35:27 Wilbon left his engagement party to shoot a TV pilot

37:14 “We are newspaper sportswriters”

38:48 Kornheiser’s clock and Wilbon’s arrival time

40:06 The phone calls that never stopped

41:23 Darko, LeBron and getting predictions wrong

43:12 PTI, hot takes and the state of sports debate

46:14 Fatherhood, grandfatherhood and who’s gotten angrier

48:11 “It’s not my world”: Getting older as everything changes

49:47 If PTI ended tomorrow, would they still see each other?

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Bases loaded. Two outs. Game 7. Carlos Beltran at the plate, with a trip to the World Series still within reach. Adam Wainwright throws a curveball, Beltran never swings, and an entire stadium goes silent.

Twenty years later, Mets fans are still looking at that pitch. And looking for someone to blame.

Frank “the Tank” Fleming joins me to relive the final out of the 2006 NLCS, and if you think you know what he’s going to say about Beltran, you might want to hear him out. We watch the at-bat, revisit Endy Chavez’s incredible catch, and get into the missed opportunity Frank thinks really cost the Mets the game. For a man with a list of his most hated Mets, he has a surprising amount of understanding for the guy who kept the bat on his shoulder.

Then we climb the Mets misery ladder. Tom Glavine and the 2007 collapse. Kenny Rogers walking in the winning run. Luis Castillo dropping the pop-up that sent Frank’s kitchen table flying. Matt Harvey going back out for the ninth. And yes, Frank has thoughts about letting Pete Alonso walk.

But we also talk about the kid who carried the burden of the Mets’ 1988 NLCS loss for years, the life Frank has built around being a fan, and whether he would trade any of it to make the frustration go away.

Welcome to Episode 021 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.

00:00 Intro

01:34 Carlos Beltran caught looking

02:34 Frank the Tank joins REAL DEAL

03:16 Where Frank watched Game 7

04:40 The injuries that changed the 2006 Mets

06:09 Simply Irresistible: Wainwright’s curveball

08:32 The other side of the story: Wainwright and Molina

10:08 Endy Chavez’s catch and the opportunity the Mets wasted

12:01 Why wasn’t Billy Wagner pitching the ninth?

15:25 Bases loaded, two outs, Beltran at the plate

17:27 Rewatching Beltran’s final at-bat

18:39 Why Frank doesn’t blame Beltran

19:15 Beltran, Gary Carter and retiring Mets numbers

22:08 A great pitch or a hitter choking?

22:47 Piazza, Clemens and the 2000 World Series

25:32 Frank on Mets fandom: “I’m beyond anger”

26:50 Why letting Pete Alonso walk infuriates Frank

28:20 The Mets misery ladder

29:17 Tom Glavine and the 2007 collapse

30:39 Was sending Matt Harvey back out the right call?

31:20 Kenny Rogers walks in the winning run

32:24 Luis Castillo’s dropped pop-up and Frank’s flipped table

33:27 Trading Tom Seaver and the Generation K disappointment

35:46 Frank called the Pete Crow-Armstrong trade

36:30 Pete Alonso, “Pink Pony Club” and Edwin Diaz

37:09 The childhood Mets loss that still hurts

39:18 Would Frank trade away his Mets fandom?

40:16 Frank’s wish for Edwin Diaz and the Dodgers

41:08 How Frank’s life and relationship with sports have changed

42:31 Frank’s weight loss and feeling better at 50

43:30 Frank’s REAL DEAL gift

43:45 Tony’s final thought: Who gets the blame?

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February 4, 2018. Fourth and goal. Thirty-eight seconds before halftime. Nick Foles walks over to Doug Pederson and asks, “You want Philly Philly?” His proposal: let a tight end throw a touchdown pass to a backup quarterback who has never caught a ball in his NFL career. In the Super Bowl. Against Bill Belichick. Pederson stares at him for 2.23 seconds. Then he says yes.

The great Peter King joins me to relive the Philly Special and the little details that made something so preposterous possible. Why Foles couldn’t smile in the huddle. Why Trey Burton had to keep his glove on. And why Foles turned down $150,000 before playing the greatest game of his life. Tom Brady threw for 505 yards that night. Nick Foles went home with the trophy. Eventually, even Mick Jagger had something to say about it.

Peter’s new book, THE GAME, which is out today, brings together stories from 40 years covering the NFL, and we get into a few more of them: Peyton Manning’s tanning-bed preparation for the combine, the inside help Dak Prescott got before his Cowboys interview, and the quarterback San Francisco picked instead of Tom Brady who became an actual goat farmer. Plus, Peter makes his case for the perfect football career. Brady? Manning? Madden? His answer might surprise you.

Welcome to Episode 020 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.

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0:00 The Philly Special
0:52 Peter King joins REAL DEAL
2:11 Why this play still amazes Peter
4:35 Doug Pederson’s 2.23-second decision
7:24 Don’t smile. Don’t take off the glove.
9:26 How the Eagles fooled the Patriots
11:04 Nick Foles’ focus and the $150,000 he turned down
13:55 Mick Jagger’s shoutout to Nick Foles
15:44 How the NFL became a year-round obsession
18:17 Peter’s case against an 18th game
20:12 The trust between quarterback and coach
22:58 Mahomes and Reid vs. Brady and Belichick
24:26 What fans don’t know about the NFL
26:46 Story time: Picking up Boomer Esiason
27:59 Peyton Manning’s bizarre combine preparation
29:33 How Dak Prescott got the answers to the test
31:00 The 49ers picked a future goat farmer over Tom Brady
32:53 The Seahawks’ prank on Marshawn Lynch
34:22 Peter’s favorite story: Paul Tagliabue after 9/11
37:53 Who had the perfect football career?
42:03 Peter’s Philly Special gift
43:18 Tony’s final thought on Peter King

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