Over the last 20 years of Pardon The Interruption on ESPN, one of the segments that has helped define the show hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon is Five Good Minutes. During that segment, the two of them talk to an athlete, coach, broadcaster, or celebrity to get their thoughts and their opinions.
On Part 3 of the special four-part ESPN Daily podcast about 20 years of PTI, Pablo Torre talked to Kornheiser and Wilbon about some of their favorite interactions with guests on the show. For Kornheiser, a good guest only needs to be two things: Smart and funny.
“We forgive anything for smart and funny,” he says. “It’s entertainment.”
The two of them thought it was important to have other input on the show. Plus, the people they ask to come on, whether it is Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, etc, are people that have been a part of their lives.
Barkley was the show’s first guest in October 2001. He explained to Torre why he is still a PTI fan to this day.
“Him and Tony, to do a show with your best friend, a white guy and a black guy who live different worlds. To have 2 guys who have been in the business X amount of years, I trust them on television.”
Meanwhile, the guest who has appeared the most on PTI over the years is Steve Young (82 times). He told Torre that both hosts bring something interesting to interviews and make the people they talk to feel safe and comfortable.
“Michael always asks great questions. He was always fair. He could be critical, but he’s fair. I think you get a sense that he tries to see the athletes as a human experience. It’s an ongoing conversation.
“Tony is a guy that for all the cynicism and all the critical thinking, I think he always has a passion and a love for sports in general and an appreciation of how hard it is. With that, comes a critical eye for I want to look it straight in the eye and take every inch of it, but I don’t want any fluff.”
While Kornheiser and Wilbon are known for debating each other, having another person join in on the fun is never a bad thing for the viewer and you never know what will come from the Five Good Minutes segment as evident by some of the stories on this episode.
