EITM interviews Karl Alzner

·22 min·2 clips

Karl Alzner spent three hours playing ping pong with a Make-A-Wish kid who wanted to be a wizard.

The episode begins with promotional ads for other podcasts before Elliot introduces the interview with Karl Alzner. Alzner explains that he and his wife Mandy are co-chairing the Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic Wish Ball, an event aiming to raise $1.6 million. He describes how the event allows remote participation in silent and live auctions through wishballmidatlantic.org, a feature he plans to adopt for his foundation's events. Alzner highlights auction items like a Michael Bublé hockey jersey and a Caps package with Tom Wilson. He emphasizes the 'Golden Ticket,' a $100 chance to win a seven-night stay at any Hilton property worldwide. Alzner shares a personal story about bonding with a Make-A-Wish child over ping pong, which led to his involvement with the organization. The conversation shifts to hockey, focusing on Tom Wilson's role on Team Canada's top line with Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini at the Olympics. Alzner analyzes Wilson's fit similar to Zach Hyman in Edmonton. They discuss Team Canada's goalie rotation, noting Logan Thompson is expected to start. Alzner praises the U.S. men's team, particularly Quinn Hughes, and the dominant U.S. women's team. Finally, they touch on the Washington Capitals' trade deadline challenges, balancing a potential push for Alex Ovechkin's last season with retaining prospects like Ryan Leonard and Cole Hudson. The episode concludes with more podcast ads.

As heard by us

A locker-room ping pong story gives this warm, loose sports-and-charity conversation its comic center.

The episode gets its best comic lift from a story that sounds almost too ordinary to build around: a guest spending three hours with a kid in the locker room, taking a ping pong challenge, and getting pulled into talk of chops and hot spins as the game keeps going.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a loose sports interview where a locker-room ping pong challenge turns into a three-hour hang.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Elliot In The Morning