Ryen Russillo In Studio, NFL Schedule Release, Zoo Trades, Playoffs And Fyre Fest

15 May 2026 · 2 h 30 min · 56 chapters

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In short

The crew welcomes Ryan Russillo to discuss the NFL schedule release (especially primetime and international games), then pivots into sports talk on playoffs (NBA and NHL), plus a “zoo trade” story about gorillas being swapped between zoos. They also joke about “Fyre Fest” and “Grit Week,” and include lighter segments like golf commentary and a “sleepy idea” about moving the Preakness earlier than the Kentucky Derby.

Guests

Ryan Russillo (sports media personality; in-studio guest). No other named guest appears as an interviewee; other sports figures are referenced in discussion (e.g., James Harden, Charles Barkley, Nathan MacKinnon, Garrick Higgo).

Key claims

  1. The NFL schedule release is overhyped; fans mostly care about buy weeks, primetime, and international travel.
  2. International games are “insane” because teams must fly long distances (example discussed: Rams and 49ers in Australia).
  3. Thanksgiving NFL scheduling is praised as the best football day, with multiple games across networks.
  4. The Cavs’ playoff momentum is tied to Harden’s “big game” potential, and the series is now “officially started” after a road win.
  5. The gorilla swap is framed as a “fleecing” debate: Boston sends Little Joe to Pittsburgh while Pittsburgh sends Frankie to Boston.

Notable examples

  • Week 1 primetime: Cowboys-Giants (SNF), Chiefs-Broncos (Monday night).
  • International: Rams-49ers in Australia; Germany game mentioned; prior “bloody mouth” Daniel Jones overseas reference.
  • Zoo trade: Boston Zoo/Franklin Park Zoo and Pittsburgh Zoo swap gorillas—Frankie (7-year-old male western lowland) to Boston; Little Joe (33-year-old) to Pittsburgh; Little Joe escaped once.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Introducing Ryen Russillo and NFL Schedule Overview

2:27 to 3:02

The hosts welcome Ryen Russillo and discuss the NFL schedule release.

“Check out the current offers and build your Silverado at Chevy.com.”

Mixed Feelings About the NFL Schedule Release

3:02 to 4:18

The hosts express their frustrations with the NFL schedule release process and its overhype.

“Today is Friday, May 15th, and football is back.”

Discussing Teams and Matchups in Week One

4:18 to 5:54

The group breaks down significant matchups in the NFL's first week, including their own teams' games.

“that I'm like, oh man, like I have to, like when I see it, I'm going to look at it and then I'm going to do like a quick win loss in my head and then I'm going to probably look at it again in August.”

International Games and Travel Concerns

5:54 to 7:30

The hosts discuss the logistics and implications of international games in the NFL schedule.

“Maybe less than that from the West Coast, but it's a long flight.”

Schedule Grievances and Holiday Games

7:30 to 8:06

The hosts air grievances regarding their teams' holiday game schedules and discuss Thanksgiving matchups.

“Are you excited for the Madrid game week nine?”

Further Examination of Schedule Grievances

8:06 to 10:33

The hosts continue to analyze and criticize specific aspects of their teams' schedules and potential challenges.

“It's a look at it for three minutes and then forget about it.”

Final Thoughts on NFL Schedule and Wrap-Up

10:33 to 14:01

The hosts conclude their discussion on the NFL schedule and share general thoughts as they prepare for the season.

“Yeah, this is his spreadsheet right here.”

NFL Schedule Overview

14:01 to 15:00

Discussing the released portions of the NFL schedule and key games.

“So my headspace going into that Sunday night game will be very dependent on how the two divisional games go beforehand.”

Thanksgiving and International Games

15:01 to 17:40

Exploring the Thanksgiving games and the international game schedule.

“It feels good when he's had that take, and it's a strong take.”

Big Dom and the PGA Championship

17:41 to 19:04

Celebrating Big Dom's voiceover work and discussing the PGA Championship.

“No, I think you'd have to mimic how they do it though.”
Show all 56 chapters

Garrick Higgo's Press Conference

19:05 to 23:26

Analyzing Garrick Higgo's humorous press conference after a missed tee time.

“He's like, his contract negotiations are leaked.”

Brooks Koepka's Performance

23:27 to 24:24

Discussing Brooks Koepka's performance in the tournament and his putting issues.

“So Brooks, he, yes, partially good start.”

Brooks Koepka's Performance

24:45 to 25:33

Discussing Brooks Koepka's performance in the tournament and his putting issues.

“Let's talk some playoffs before we do that.”

Brooks Koepka's Performance

25:40 to 26:38

Discussing Brooks Koepka's performance in the tournament and his putting issues.

“the 151st preakness stakes draft kings is your home for horse racing suit up for baltimore bring the race day energy, bold colors, standout hats, and all.”

James Harden and NBA Playoffs

26:39 to 28:00

Analyzing James Harden's impact on the playoffs and recent game outcomes.

“Are we, Max, are we currently rewriting the narrative on James Harden?”

NBA Playoff Insights

28:00 to 30:56

Discussion on the recent NBA games, performances, and playoff implications.

“And so he played pretty well last night.”

Avalanche Playoff Recap

30:56 to 34:30

Recap of the Avalanche's playoff performance and the impact on Minnesota fans.

“Memes, I love, and Zach too, I love how confident Knicks fans are.”

Sleepy Horse Racing Idea

34:30 to 35:38

A unique idea about changing the Preakness race schedule to boost interest.

“And then when I went back to bed, I thought about this idea.”

The Gorilla Trade

35:38 to 42:00

Discussion about a recent gorilla trade between Boston and Pittsburgh Zoos.

“Why doesn't Preakness just say, screw it to the Kentucky Derby and scheduled their main race for like three weeks before the Kentucky Derby?”

Discussing Little Joe and Pittsburgh's Locker Room Dynamics

42:00 to 43:36

The hosts discuss the dynamics of Pittsburgh's new players and locker room atmosphere.

“They say that he's actually kind of chilled out, though.”

Adorable Animals: Baby Rhino at Lincoln Park Zoo

43:36 to 45:28

The hosts share their excitement about a baby rhino at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

“I wanted to just pick him up and smooch him.”

Analyzing NBA Player Performance and Playoff Intensity

45:28 to 47:15

The hosts delve into NBA playoff performance, particularly focusing on James Harden's play.

“Oh, I had a quote that I wanted to read you guys.”

Analyzing NBA Player Performance and Playoff Intensity

48:49 to 49:20

The hosts delve into NBA playoff performance, particularly focusing on James Harden's play.

“When Cuervo enters, every moment just gets better.”

In-Depth NBA Playoff Analysis with Ryan Russillo

49:47 to 56:00

A deep dive into the NBA playoffs, focusing on team dynamics and player performances.

“Yeah, I kind of wasn't ready to start with this.”

Eastern Conference Playoff Dynamics

56:00 to 56:49

Explore the competitive nature of the Eastern Conference playoffs and team strategies.

Analyzing Team Performance and Expectations

56:49 to 58:36

A deep dive into team performances, player statistics, and playoff implications.

“I hope Cleveland wins this based on what you saw in the regular season, and that just kind of speaks to how weird this Eastern Conference is in general.”

Cade Cunningham's Potential and Team Composition

58:36 to 1:01:21

Discuss the potential of Cade Cunningham and the need for team support around him.

“hey, Boston was that messed up that you guys look that good.”

Rest vs. Rust in NBA Playoffs

1:01:21 to 1:02:25

Examine the implications of rest and rust for teams in the playoffs.

“Harris had two good looks where if he had hit one of them in the regulation off a double team when they went 1-4, maybe they win the game and you still are sitting here.”

OKC's Championship Challenges

1:02:25 to 1:06:24

Analyze the challenges that OKC faces in championship rounds and their playoff history.

“Their second best player, unless you want to say it's Chet, let's just say an all NBA caliber, like a guy that was flirting with being considered a top 10, top 15 player because of Jalen Williams' defense.”

Victor Wembanyama's Impact on the Game

1:06:24 to 1:10:03

Discuss the unique playing style and impact of Victor Wembanyama on the NBA.

“if they're playing each other and say like, and again, Pistons got some work to do for the Knicks fans to even have to worry about it.”

NBA Player Dynamics and Playoff Challenges

1:10:03 to 1:22:19

Explore the evolution of NBA players and the pressures of playoff performance.

“hey, OKC's been through it a little bit more, and this is just the way this whole thing works.”

Evaluating NBA Team Futures

1:23:05 to 1:24:00

Assess NBA teams' prospects and LeBron's potential moves in the offseason.

“No, I don't think they're screwed, but the Aaron Gordon not being healthy thing, back-to-back playoff runs here.”

LeBron's Offseason Speculations

1:24:00 to 1:25:12

The hosts discuss potential offseason moves for LeBron James and his legacy.

“And that was something during the regular season that was a big improvement for them, even if a couple of the other guys I thought were a little down.”

Gift Exchange and Banter

1:25:12 to 1:26:39

The conversation shifts to a light-hearted gift exchange, highlighting Ryan's presence and style.

“You think Reddick would just go, hey, man, here's the ball?”

Life Advice and Humor

1:26:39 to 1:29:05

The hosts share humorous life advice and discuss a listener's question about a sensitive topic.

“It was almost like a wind came with you.”

Ryan's Unique Gift

1:29:05 to 1:31:28

Ryan receives a unique NBA Finals banner as a gift, leading to a discussion about its significance.

“and you could put some label on everything.”

Valuable Memorabilia Insights

1:31:28 to 1:35:55

The hosts dive into the value of sports memorabilia and share stories about unique items.

“Because I know you've been on this memorabilia.”

Dating Show and Bachelor Party Plans

1:35:55 to 1:38:01

The conversation shifts to hypothetical dating scenarios and bachelor party plans for Ryan.

“I'm not going to sell any of these, but yes.”

Witty Banter About a Bachelor Party

1:38:01 to 1:39:09

The hosts share humorous insights about planning a bachelor party without an actual wedding.

“What about the Ryan Russillo bachelor party?”

Traveling Solo and Its Benefits

1:39:10 to 1:40:51

Discussion on the pros and cons of solo travel and personal reflections on experiences.

“Bart's Solo wasn't, they were like, this is fucking, I was like, I'm just telling you guys, because you're my friends, St.”

NBA Wizards Predictions and Analysis

1:40:52 to 1:47:44

In-depth conversation about the Washington Wizards' potential for the upcoming NBA season.

“We've talked for long enough without discussing the Washington Wizards on this podcast.”

Drafting Strategies and Player Evaluations

1:47:45 to 1:48:59

Analyzing draft strategies and player comparisons in the context of the NBA draft.

Drafting Strategies and Player Evaluations

1:49:00 to 1:50:06

Analyzing draft strategies and player comparisons in the context of the NBA draft.

Finding Love Abroad: A Discussion

1:50:19 to 1:52:00

Exploration of the idea of finding a life partner in different countries and cultural nuances.

“With you being a well-traveled man, this may be some life advice.”

Attraction and Approachable Cities

1:52:00 to 1:54:39

The hosts discuss the attractiveness and approachability of people in various cities.

“It's just a big Colombian weekend all around.”

Attraction and Approachable Cities

1:54:46 to 1:55:59

The hosts discuss the attractiveness and approachability of people in various cities.

“Whatever's keeping you up at night, it's easy to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own.”

Attraction and Approachable Cities

1:56:13 to 1:56:43

The hosts discuss the attractiveness and approachability of people in various cities.

Fyre Fest Updates and Grit Week Excitement

1:56:44 to 2:01:15

The hosts share their Fyre Fest moments and express excitement for upcoming Grit Week.

“It stays light out until past 8 o 'clock, which is just the best.”

Scientific Experiment on Alcohol and Performance

2:01:16 to 2:06:00

Discussion on conducting a scientific experiment to find the optimal buzz level for various sports.

“What happened when Hank didn't get breakfast one night?”

Gift Exchange and NBA Finals Banner

2:06:00 to 2:07:02

Discussion about gifting an NBA Finals banner to Ryan Russillo.

“They're teaching math in a totally different way, too.”

Softball Tensions and Competitive Spirit

2:07:02 to 2:10:07

A heated debate about softball performance and competitive attitudes among teammates.

“like that's a cool thing to have in your house NBA finals banner you think Ryan or still is putting this up in his house.”

Coaching Conflicts in Softball

2:10:07 to 2:19:04

Continued argument about coaching styles and communication issues during games.

“You're up there to hit the fucking ball.”

Craving Knish and Food Descriptions

2:19:04 to 2:20:00

A light-hearted conversation about a newfound love for knish and its description.

“Because you told me not to say it anymore.”

Knish Cravings and Cultural Variations

2:20:00 to 2:22:09

The hosts discuss their newfound obsession with knishes and explore cultural variations of filled foods.

“There's a deli down the street from my house.”

Team Dynamics and Swinging Too Hard

2:22:10 to 2:26:10

A humorous exchange about sports team dynamics, coaching styles, and the impact of criticism on players.

“Max Alente has replied, I hate this guy.”

Arguments and Overreactions in Sports

2:26:11 to 2:27:27

The hosts engage in a light-hearted argument about past criticism and its effects on team performance.

“He said you said it a couple times a game.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00PFT Commenter:Hey, Pardon My Take listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Okay guys, it's Grit Week. This is the part of the football calendar where nobody's watching but everything gets built. Early mornings, pads back on, conditioning, film, reps, spring training in football is all about putting in the work when nobody's cheering yet. And honestly, that's the same mindset behind the Chevy Silverado. This is a truck that is the definition of grit. Long days, dirty work, and showing up day after day no matter the conditions. Strong, dependable, and built for the grind.

0:41PFT Commenter:Because grit isn't about being flashy. It's about being ready when it's time to go. Check out the current offers and build your Silverado at Chevy.com. That's Silverado, all grit, no quit. And you can build your Silverado at Chevy.com today. On today's part of my take presented by DraftKings, we've got our good friend Ryan Russillo in studio. Great time with him. We have the NFL schedule release, which we hate this whole slow, slow roll process. But we do have some primetime games, some games we're going to talk about. football's almost back

1:23Big Cat:football's almost I've got my own schedule at least big cat okay anyone anytime anywhere there you go nice

1:29PFT Commenter:alley back valley you know

1:31Big Cat:doesn't matter yeah valley

1:33PFT Commenter:Cali alley it

1:35Big Cat:could be anywhere it could be it could be Odessa Texas it could be T.C. Williams high school I'm gonna show up and kick some China oh yeah yeah we'll get to

1:45PFT Commenter:hang to we're gonna talk some playoffs and then we have a fire Fest contentious one and then we're off to grit week so before we do all that Chevy our AWLs know that Chevy Silverado is the official truck a part of my take that's because Silverado is the truck with grit that shows up every time built to haul tow and to take a beating but smart when it counts with modern tech that makes life easier big screens available camera views that help with towing and parking in a cabin that feels right whether you're road tripping heading to practice or loading up for the weekend during the season it's the MVP of the tailgate after the season it turns into your training camp truck, hauling gear, tackling home projects, and doing the work that never stops because the grind doesn't take breaks, and neither does Silverado.

2:27PFT Commenter:Check out the current offers and build your Silverado at Chevy.com. Okay, let's go. Hey, football guy, but Dean of A-W-H.

2:58PFT Commenter:Welcome to Part of My Take presented by DraftKings. The crown is yours. Today is Friday, May 15th, and football is back.

3:07Big Cat:We did it, guys. the offseason sucked but now we have schedules to look at um just go through your team schedule

3:13PFT Commenter:right now you're going 11 and 6 i i'm i'm happy that we've all come to the same conclusion that uh the schedule release is is is way too overhyped and and annoying and that the leaks are annoying

3:27Big Cat:and just fucking give it to us yeah if you're a real diehard like we are the real schedule release is the schedule release for the schedule release last week when they said hey the schedule release is going to be next Thursday. That's when real football guys get excited. Have you heard the new slur that's going around? No. The S slur, the shieldy.

3:46PFT Commenter:Okay.

3:47Big Cat:It's a lot of college football fans. If you only pay attention to the NFL, they start to call you a shieldy. Oh, I like that. But this is a big time shieldy holiday. It is a Thursday. But this, yeah, I don't really, I can't get it up for the schedule release because if you explained what the schedule release was to Vince Lombardi, he'd call you a pussy and spit in your face.

4:08PFT Commenter:Are we, I would, do you think we're in the majority when we're talking like this? Because I like looking at the Bears schedule, but I'm not going to get so excited about schedule release day that I'm like, oh man, like I have to, like when I see it, I'm going to look at it and then I'm going to do like a quick win loss in my head and then I'm going to probably look at it again in August.

4:30Big Cat:Yeah, I mean, the only thing that you really look at is where the buy is going to be. and if you have any international games that hank is going to watch and prime time and how many

4:38PFT Commenter:prime time games yeah yeah nfl just tries to make everything prime time that doesn't like if this got it if it was one o 'clock it's a better just during the day thing yeah actually they should do it during the day to let everyone have a little thing time to fuck off from work because it's not a prime time who cares waiting all day for the release of a schedule yeah so we are taping this in the afternoon but we have the majority of the schedule hank congratulations you're opening the season yep uh that's wednesday night right uh i thought that was gonna be the bears i was wrong um i think kirk actually had it first he reported it before anyone else this is this is uh schedule release reporting season two uh are you nervous about that game against the seahawks no excited

5:18Big Cat:revenge instant revenge yeah okay actually i i like the momentum that you guys have going into the game too because drake may had the most passing yards ever in the fourth quarter of the super bowl exactly just ran out of time off that so now you're built now that momentum is

5:30PFT Commenter:carrying into the first quarter of week one and then we have the uh australia game which we knew about the rams and the you're such a piece of shit there's so many international games this year it's crazy the the rams and the niners playing in australia the australia game is crazy

5:46Big Cat:i just want to say one last time yeah and i'll probably say it again it's crazy that we're asking the 49ers and the rams to fly all the way to australia i agree play a football game and then fly back. Yeah. That's insane. It's nuts. And then, Hank, you're scoffing again. Why are you scoffing? They're sitting

6:02PFT Commenter:in first class planes.

6:04Big Cat:18 hours. Yeah. Maybe less than that from the West Coast, but it's a long flight.

6:08PFT Commenter:Alright, Hank, so the rest of week one. Sitting for a long time, traveling. The rest of week one is the Dallas-New York Giants game on Sunday Night Football, then the Monday projected game is the Chiefs and the Broncos. It should be great. Will Patrick Mahomes be playing? Will it be Justin Fields? I think Patrick Mahomes. I do, too. Hank, since you love the international schedule so goddamn much, what was your favorite international game that's been released without looking at your phone? Patriots the Lions. Okay, where are you guys playing? Germany. Where? Come on, Hank. You got this. I don't fucking.

6:43PFT Commenter:Hamburg? No. How do you not know? Yeah, there we go. Great. Second best. Probably the one in Rio de Janeiro. Which is? broncos no it's actually brazil brazil yeah oh no it's not it's uh ravens cowboys what was your favorite international game last year oh good question you love all of them so probably that colts daniel jones game the colts daniel jones game the one where daniel jones

7:14Big Cat:played for the colts yep and who would he play against he just he played so well i don't even

7:19PFT Commenter:I remember who he beat the team.

7:20Big Cat:Did the Colts have an overseas game last year? Yeah, they did.

7:25PFT Commenter:They played the Dolphins, maybe?

7:27Big Cat:They played the Falcons. Falcons. That's the Daniel Jones bloody mouth game.

7:30PFT Commenter:Yeah.

7:31Big Cat:Yeah, exactly.

7:32PFT Commenter:Are you excited for the Madrid game week nine? Yes, of course. And who's playing that game? I don't know. I thought you would have memorized the international schedule. Why would I do that? Listen, I was going to bite my tongue, not breaking news. the fans of the show, you guys, football is back. You love to say that. It's May 14th. I don't give. I'm excited to look at it like you said. I'm not going to think about this schedule for another two months. At least. It's a look at it for three minutes and then forget about it.

8:10Big Cat:I do like it the way that college football does it, though, where they say, hey, just so you guys know, in 2042, we're going to have the University of Washington doing a home-and-home with Wisconsin. Yeah. Or not Wisconsin. That wouldn't work right now, but with, like, Miami. And then now you have, like, 15 years to buy the hotel rooms. With the NFL, they should draw it out even longer. It should be one game that Roger Goodell releases per day for the entire offseason. Yep. And then at the end of it, he's like, okay, let's play some ball. Let's roll the ball out there. You do have to go through it, though, and then you look at your own team's schedule, and you say we got screwed.

8:48Big Cat:It's always like every team's going 10 and 7 or 11 and 6. Yep. But you have to look through, see where you get screwed. So do you want to go around the room and say where we think our grievances are going to be?

8:58PFT Commenter:Yeah. I mean, I don't like that the Bears have to play Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

9:06Big Cat:Yeah. Just one or the other would have been fine. Although I'm going to say something nice about Roger Goodell and the NFL. the Thanksgiving day schedule is fucking awesome oh my god

9:16PFT Commenter:it's the best day of football I think maybe ever it's Wednesday night is the Packers versus the Rams then Thursday Thanksgiving day is Bears-Lions Eagles-Cowboys Chiefs-Bills and then Friday is Broncos-Steelers that will be great good job

9:36Big Cat:the day of Thanksgiving

9:37PFT Commenter:that's the best day ever that will rock but yeah I would have preferred the Bears not to play on both of the holidays one or the other would have been fine I actually like the Thanksgiving I like the Thanksgiving early game that's actually a fun game to participate in we're probably going to be except for the Eber flashbacks we're probably going to be deep front of Turkey at that yeah yeah Eber flu is two years ago when I sat in my garage for like an hour and a half because I was just like I was so fucking mad what are your grievances

Read the full transcript

10:05Big Cat:my grievances are starting the season off going back-to-back on-the-road divisional games. I don't like that. Going to the Eagles, then going to the Cowboys, and then following that. I think, actually, the Commanders have a pretty tough opening four weeks where they go to the Eagles, to the Cowboys, then they have the Seahawks at home, and then they've got to go over to London and play the Colts. And we all know how Daniel Jones plays in the overseas game.

10:28PFT Commenter:This would be really funny if we got any of this wrong. But we are going off with this guy, Ozzie, who seems like I'm rooting for him to have it all right.

10:33Big Cat:Are you talking about the NFL nerd guy? Yeah, this is his spreadsheet right here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, this guy's awesome. I want him. It looks great. Yeah. I want to go back. I do want to cross-reference his prediction when he did the mock schedule, and I want to see how many of these he got right.

10:46PFT Commenter:Yeah. Grievances, Hank? Any? You haven't even looked. No, I've looked. Okay. There was nothing that popped out as a grievance, though. I mean, the Germany game is awesome. You've got to play good teams this year. We have a bye. Yeah, we've got to play good teams. We get the Jets, which is a nice layup week 16, leading into the Broncos, and the Dolphins. So we got like kind of two easy wins and then a tough challenge week 17. The one nice thing that we have is the Eagles Monday night in Chicago and the Patriots Thursday night in Chicago. We can go to those games. Yeah, that's exciting too. So we're going to go to those games.

11:21PFT Commenter:We'll be attending both those games. Are you going to the Thursday night one? Yeah. That's awesome. Because we can get back in 20 minutes. Yeah.

11:28Big Cat:Yeah. That was my biggest takeaway from the Eagles schedule is that I was excited that not only can we go to that game, but it's Monday night so we don't have to record. So we can actually enjoy it. We can have fun.

11:40PFT Commenter:Talk about brewskis with the boys. And I think I'm going to...

11:44Big Cat:Foreshadowing for later in this show. I love brewskis with the boys. I'm going to try to make that road trip to San Francisco in October if it doesn't conflict with NBA opening week. And go see Monday Night Football. That's going to be fun because... In the Big Bell Bottom? In the Big Bell Bottom because I feel like that's when San Francisco is the nicest, right? October? Well, it's not San Francisco.

12:04PFT Commenter:Yeah, it's San Francisco. Yeah, Santa Clara.

12:06Big Cat:Yeah. But that's when it's the nicest out there, right? I don't know. I think it's always coming. Wizards could have a huge game. That's what I'm saying. If that's opening week of the NBA, I might not even watch that game. You can't miss a Wizards game.

12:18PFT Commenter:What do you guys got in the booth? Any issues? Any grievances? Eagles have seven prime times?

12:24Big Cat:Seven prime times.

12:24PFT Commenter:Bears have six.

12:26Big Cat:Yeah, it's way more prime time than not prime time games for the Eagles. Open to a lot of scrutiny, but we're going to have a good year. How does your schedule open, Matt? That math doesn't check out. I want to see how your schedule opens. What are the first, like...

12:42PFT Commenter:How many games are in a season?

12:43Big Cat:17, Hank. I should have said way more prime time than 1 o 'clock starts. Got it. Got it. Okay. That's fair. What are the first, like, six games that you guys have? We are...

12:54PFT Commenter:I am actually rooting for us to get this all wrong. Home against the Commanders, at Titans, at Bears, home against Rams. The thing is, people listen to this and not know until the season starts. Yeah. Yeah.

13:07Big Cat:I mean, it's a pretty tough start. I mean, at Titans, I want to think that that's okay.

13:12PFT Commenter:What week of the season do you think you'll be like, fuck Sirianni?

13:17Big Cat:Never. That's what I was trying to get at. It's like, what's the toughest three-game stretch that you're looking at? Toughest three-game stretch. Probably that middle.

13:25PFT Commenter:The schedule's not too bad. Bears have a good schedule, actually, and I'm looking at it right now. It's going to be a tough schedule.

13:34Big Cat:Maybe at the end of the season we go home against Seahawks, home against Texans at Niners. Yeah.

13:42PFT Commenter:Yeah.

13:43Big Cat:Or at Bears, home against Rams, London against Jags. That's what it could be right there. Like Sirianni might get left on the tarmac. Yeah, he's not coming home. Yeah. Philly fans are going to be like, leave this guy in England. What about you, Memes? Jet schedule It's only like bits and pieces Have been released but It's like 1 through 4 is out Start with Titans and then you go To Packers Home against Packers Home against Packers That's what I said Packers Lions Bears So it's a mini gauntlet to start the season Yeah and Zach

14:23PFT Commenter:We have a Sunday night game Zach

14:25Big Cat:We do have a little bit of primetime action going Before that Sunday night game, we have double divisional games. So my headspace going into that Sunday night game will be very dependent on how the two divisional games go beforehand.

14:37PFT Commenter:Yeah, that's an important little stretch there. Yeah, Carolina versus Atlanta. Wait, is that? Oh, that's Sunday night, so we have to record. We can't go to that game. Sure. Okay, that's enough schedule to talk, right? We're good? I think we're good. Yeah, I think we're good. We're good.

14:55Big Cat:I got nothing else to say.

14:56PFT Commenter:Okay. It's the schedule. It's schedule. Schedule happened. You already knew who you were playing and where you were playing. I like when Max says that. It feels good when he's had that take, and it's a strong take.

15:07Big Cat:Anyone, anytime, anywhere. Yeah. Except not overseas. You're basically just checking to see when you got primetime games. Yeah, so you're checking to see.

15:14PFT Commenter:If you're going, if you are someone who is planning travel, you're planning your travel today. That's like, oh, okay, we can go to this one.

15:21Big Cat:That was what I said. The only thing I was excited about is I can go to the Bears game. And we already knew this, but there's games every day of the week except for Tuesdays. And if you look at the Thanksgiving schedule, I don't know if you looked at that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. It's Goodell's Masterstroke, not just with how good the games are, but every single game is on a different network or provider. Every single one is. They checked all the boxes. Yeah.

15:47PFT Commenter:I am going to have to, PFT, I am going to have to perfectly time my turkey at your house. Do you want to start at halftime? I don't know if it's start at halftime or start in, like, the end of the first quarter and then leave at halftime.

15:59Big Cat:So you take it home, but then you're going to have to, like, carve it up and eat it right when you get home. And then that's going to start at halftime.

16:07PFT Commenter:I'll come over at halftime. Okay. Yeah, that works. Damn. I mean, these are the problems we have.

16:12Big Cat:Thanksgiving games, you know, it's hard to predict when it goes that far into the season. I'm excited for those Thanksgiving games. Oh, this would be great.

16:19PFT Commenter:Didn't that happen with Christmas, though, this year? What?

16:21Big Cat:I was like, oh my god Greatest fucking Christmas schedule ever

16:26PFT Commenter:Yeah, Mahomes got hurt That's what I just said No, I know, I know The only thing you can really predict of the schedule Is the international games are going to rock

16:34Big Cat:Yes

16:36PFT Commenter:Yeah, I want detailed notes on Maybe we'll do that this year Maybe when we do the recap

16:42Big Cat:What are you talking about? The bloody mouth Daniel Jones game You just said Daniel Jones Colts

16:47PFT Commenter:And did they play a game internationally? Yes So was I correct by answering that? Yes. It was the bloody fucking mouth game. Daniel Jones. Yeah. PFT, I think we got to pick one game this year. What if I just go to all of them for the whole season? Do they have good golf in Spain? I'll find out. Okay. We should pick one game, PFT, where we agree to not watch the international game and have Hank give us the full recap, detailed recap. I think maybe Bengals, Falcons. What's the slate? Oh, no. What's the slate? I, there's a couple, I mean, you, you, you play in London, the Cowboys and Ravens. I want to watch that.

17:27PFT Commenter:The Eagles Jags, the Texans Jags, maybe Texans Jags. Texans Jags sounds pretty good. Texans Jags. What if I just go on an 11 week international game trip?

17:38Big Cat:It's a lot of time to spend away from your kids. I can bring them with me.

17:43PFT Commenter:No, I think you'd have to mimic how they do it though. You'd have to fly back immediately after the game. so you can see the rigors that the NFL athletes have to handle. No, because they don't. They like the Jaguars stay there. You picked one team that stays there. Everyone else. They're only playing one game. Everyone else flies back. I would love to give a detailed presentation on pros and cons of each city. Something about. Okay. I'll think about every city. We'll think about 11. I'm willing to show how much I care about these international games. And I feel like the only way to do real journalism is to go and feel it and take it in yourselves.

18:24PFT Commenter:Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I come back after 11 weeks and I'm like, you know what?

18:27Big Cat:Okay. How about Vikings? Yeah. Vikings, Niners, Mexico City. Done.

18:32PFT Commenter:See ya. Have fun. Okay.

18:35Big Cat:Australia. That sounds awesome. I'll go into that. But it's a Sunday night, so I have to come back like right after. Yeah, right after.

18:43PFT Commenter:Yeah. Yeah, that's not how that works. Okay. The PGA Championship has started. Shout out to our guy, Big Dom. Incredible voiceover. What? Incredible. Yeah? Before we squashed the beef, I probably would have said other things, but now that we squashed the beef, I kind of am like, damn. Good thing we squashed the beef. What a fucking legend. Right. He crushed it. 10 out of 10 performance.

19:08Big Cat:Would you like to see him do more?

19:10PFT Commenter:Yes. He should. Yeah, he's a star.

19:12Big Cat:PGA partner.

19:13PFT Commenter:He's like, his contract negotiations are leaked. He probably has paparazzis following him. I'm sensing some sarcasm here, Max.

19:25Big Cat:Good day from the course. Yeah. Really good day from the course. These greens are tough. The greens are tough. Bryson had that one hilarious putt that he just touched. But that's bright. He's just so strong. He just works out so much.

19:37PFT Commenter:Can I say one last thing about Big Dom? Because I did text him congratulating him. That was a great voiceover. And he said, thanks. Crazy they kept asking me. I never played golf. Never will.

19:49Big Cat:Love that. That's awesome. That is good. I like that a lot. Never will. We have a new star, though. We have a new star that we need to talk about on this podcast. That's football guy. Yeah, that's a football guy.

20:00PFT Commenter:Hank wouldn't understand that.

20:01Big Cat:No. Yeah, you don't get it. You don't get it.

20:04PFT Commenter:Never golf, never will.

20:05Big Cat:New star, Garrick Higgo. Garrick Higgo from South Africa.

20:09PFT Commenter:Yeah.

20:10Big Cat:He slept in. well not really slept in but he misses tea time by like a minute and so he's penalized two strokes he actually shot i think a 69 today right yeah one under so pretty good all things considered but then he gave the most hilarious press conference of all time afterwards and it reminded me a lot of this guy zach that we have here like a mix between zach and luke kwan the way that he was talking about sleep or missing his tea time try to follow these these quotes because he really makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I was there on time, but the rule is if you're one second late, you're late.

20:44Big Cat:So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean. What do we mean by that? He was there on time. If you think about it, if you know what I mean. I'm thinking about it. Sounds like he was there on time. Well, he said the rule is if you're one second late, you're late. I was obviously on time, but late. One second is tough to define.

21:01PFT Commenter:I think when he, like, I think people are like, oh, how do you miss your tea time? like a normal person where they're just like are driving up to the course and park and aren't there in time. He was on the grounds. He was there and prepared and ready to golf. He just wasn't in the exact zone you need to be at the exact time. But that's crazy. I know, but that's how I interpret what he's saying. Yeah, that is crazy. I was there. That he was there, but he wasn't. Well, he was obviously on time.

21:30Big Cat:He'd be tied for the lead right now if this didn't happen. Zach, thoughts? These things do happen. It sounds like he was actually just there. Yeah, exactly. He got hit with the zone. Yeah. He said one second is tough to define. Is there like chalk lines? Is it just like the physical hole you have to be at? Oh, we should make a zone for Zach. I'm curious about the zone. A zone by his desk? Is it like he has to check in? Two feet in the zone? Punch the clock? There may be checkpoints throughout the way. Like, hey, I'm this guy. Keep going a little more in the cart. I'm this guy. Is he tagged? Is it geofence?

22:03Big Cat:Once he enters the area and they get a notification, like next golfer has entered the tee box.

22:08PFT Commenter:Do you think when he hits a checkpoint, he's established that checkpoint? So he can't go back to the start?

22:14Big Cat:He can't go back there for safe save. Right. Tiger struggles with checkpoints. Tiger's back. Yeah, he's very back. In America. Can you define one second, Zach?

22:29Big Cat:Partial makes up a minute. So it's like building blocks of a minute. what yeah yeah the building blocks building blocks of a minute yeah i mean can you define

22:39PFT Commenter:time pft no yeah what like who's to say what's on time and what's not time is life it's relative

22:47Big Cat:like literally like ask einstein he'd be like well one second on earth is somebody could be in a spaceship it's like 500 light years away and they blink their eyes they come back to earth everybody's dead.

23:00PFT Commenter:Yeah.

23:00Big Cat:So think about it that way.

23:02PFT Commenter:Every second on one planet is a year on another planet. I think every second.

23:05Big Cat:Now we're talking interstellar. I think every second here is a gift when you're around, Hank.

23:09PFT Commenter:I agree. Facts. Being with you, time doesn't exist. There you go.

23:14Big Cat:First of all, I love this guy's name, Garrick Higo. It sounds completely made up. And then just him refusing to take any accountability afterwards was awesome.

23:24PFT Commenter:So shout out Garrick Higo. We're rooting for him. Yeah. Rory was bad. Blister. Blister. Blister's got him. Mr. Blister. And then Brooks, good start. So Brooks, he, yes, partially good start.

23:38Big Cat:No, great start.

23:40PFT Commenter:Yeah, great start. But minus one after the first day, he's like not dead or anything. No, no. Best tee to green in the field.

23:47Big Cat:That's what I'm saying. His putting was terrible. And so he said, I feel good. Every round just seems to be the worst I can shoot. The putter is absolutely horrendous. Ball striking is absolutely phenomenal. That's been the story of the year. He's his new putter. He's just got to figure out the putter. Once he figures out the putter, then I feel like unstoppable.

24:05PFT Commenter:He was 172nd. If he could just be 72nd. Rolling. Winning. Do you have any tips for him? Just, you know, put the ball in the hole. Confidence.

24:19Big Cat:Get the ball in the hole. You see Blocky?

24:21PFT Commenter:Stud. Legend.

24:22Big Cat:Yeah. Blocky stud. You see that putt that he made, then he pretended to have a heart attack? Yeah.

24:26PFT Commenter:That's just classic Blocky. He should do the hamstring. Justin Jefferson. Oh, yeah. That'd be good.

24:31Big Cat:When you get a ticket for a blocky round, it's not just golf. You also get an improv performance. Oh, man.

24:36PFT Commenter:Blocky. I mean, he knows how to get the people going.

24:39Big Cat:Whose drive is it anyway?

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27:13The Cavs.

27:16PFT Commenter:James Harden. Big game, James. Are we, Max, are we currently rewriting the narrative on James Harden?

27:26Big Cat:I am bad at writing narratives. Okay.

27:31PFT Commenter:Rewriting, though. You're bad at writing them, but are you better at rewriting them?

27:36Big Cat:I'm bad at all of them. I am dumb, so probably if I say yes, that means no. If I say no, that means yes. I'll root for James. I have no problem rooting for James Harden. And I'll say no. I'll say no. He stinks, and he's not big game James. What if James Harden just does it? What if he does it all? It's perfect. I think that right now where we're at with James Harden is the exact spot that we need to be in for him to have another all-time big game James game. I would say so. And so he played pretty well last night. We'll get into a little bit with Rosillo. Down the stretch, I actually don't think he was as good as the box scorer.

28:14Big Cat:We'll tell you that he was if that's all that you saw. The end of that game was absolutely insane. Awesome. The Pistons kind of giving it away, and then the Pistons at the very end. You could have made the argument that there was a foul at the very, very end of the game, which could have had the Pistons win in regulation if they went to the foul line. Yep. But then you had Mr. Brothers getting on the mic, getting a lot of screen time. That was good for America, I think. And Max Struis, dog. Max Struis. Also, Charles Barkley wants to fuck Max Struis. I don't know if you saw the postgame with Sir Charles, but he was just like, Max Bruce, that's a good-looking man.

28:48Big Cat:That's a very, very good-looking man.

28:50PFT Commenter:And he's right. He scored. He was 6-8 from 3. He was rebounding that play sequence when he just stole the ball from Cade Cunningham after the inbounds. The Pistons did have that game, and the Cavs just wanted it. They just fought harder at the end. And then over time, it just felt like they had the wave of momentum, and it took them there. And the Pistons, again, especially with Duncan Robinson out, they just don't have any scoring. Who's scoring?

29:17Big Cat:That was tough. So he had, is it back issues?

29:19PFT Commenter:Yeah.

29:20Big Cat:Not good?

29:21PFT Commenter:They just don't have anyone scoring. Jenkins was like a good change of pace going to the rack and stuff. But still, it's just like Kate Cunningham has to do it all. They just feel like a very flawed team. The Cavs, I don't really know what to make of them other than they have enough guys that are, they have guys that can actually, like if they need a big bucket, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strews, Evan Mobley. They have guys who can do it.

29:47Big Cat:I said that I like the Cavs. Memes told me that it was impossible for them to win on the road. It is their first win of the postseason on the road, but I was told that it was strictly impossible for them to do that, Memes. Every reverse jinx I'm using has worked. Oh, this is it. Oh, yeah. You're welcome, Cleveland. I did that.

30:08PFT Commenter:Why?

30:11Big Cat:I just want the Cavaliers to win.

30:13PFT Commenter:Oh, you want to play the Cavs?

30:15Big Cat:Yeah.

30:16PFT Commenter:Okay, but wouldn't you have rather the Pistons won last night and then the Cavs win at home and then it goes seven, so you get even more time off?

30:27Big Cat:Yeah. No. I want to see the next play. No. Cavs can still win at seven.

30:33PFT Commenter:Yeah, no, I know, but they do win at home. They haven't lost at home, right?

30:39Big Cat:They haven't.

30:40PFT Commenter:They haven't.

30:41Big Cat:Do you want to say it?

30:42PFT Commenter:I don't know how to reverse jinx this one.

30:45Big Cat:So the series finally started because the road team won a game.

30:48PFT Commenter:The playoffs finally started for the Cavs.

30:50Big Cat:Yeah, playoffs officially in. So now, from this point on, now we start judging James Harden. Yep. Based on his playoffs. That's fair. Memes, I love, and Zach too, I love how confident Knicks fans are. To be fair, you guys have every right to be confident because you've looked awesome. And these two teams don't look like they can beat you. but it doesn't scare you how confident you are and how certain you are that the Knicks are going to win in the Eastern Conference Finals it does I mean these teams are both talented I'd rather play the Cavaliers because we get to it with Russillo the Pistons have like a plus 89 point differential against the Knicks this season so that's why I would rather play the Cavs but also the minutes played between the two teams.

31:39Big Cat:That's why I'm not really that scared. Zach, how confident are you? I feel good about it, but it is one game at a time. You won't get too far ahead of yourself. Anything can happen. But from what I'm seeing, the guys feel good. So if they feel good, I feel good. All right, then you feel good. I think I would like to play the Cavs as well, though, to piggyback on that. I would like to play the Cavs.

32:01PFT Commenter:Friday night, we're going to find out if we're going on to the conference finals because we've got both games Friday night. Weird off night tonight. By the way, the Avs wild game was incredible. I mean, tough.

32:14Big Cat:Tough for Minnesota fans. Minnesota. Brutal Minnesota fans. In a couple decades of tough playoff losses for Minnesota sports fans, that is right up there with any one of them.

32:25PFT Commenter:And Biz is literally dancing on their grave. He's so happy.

32:28Big Cat:Yeah, his head is spinning. He hates Minnesota.

32:30PFT Commenter:McKinnon was incredible. I mean, he was incredible all series. He's been incredible all playoffs. He scored in six straight games, and that goal he scored at the end of the game was unbelievable. Like, it was basically like the Wilds had it, and they let go of the rope.

32:47Big Cat:Pretty much the same shot that he had in the Olympics, except there was a goalie that was in the way this time, and he made this one. And then after the game, he was also mad at Biz, too. Yeah. Because Biz put on the snorkel.

32:58PFT Commenter:Yeah.

32:59Big Cat:And he was like, hey, that's not very funny. I'm not answering any of your questions, Mr. Biz. Yeah.

33:02PFT Commenter:I'm a mermaid.

33:03Big Cat:Leave me alone. I was playing snorkels.

33:07PFT Commenter:I'll contend. I think that might be the best way to win a game, both in a series and the way the Avs did it, by coming back and winning in overtime. But to win a series in five and not have to go back on the road has to be the greatest feeling ever.

33:26Big Cat:Oh, it feels awesome, especially on a weekend.

33:28PFT Commenter:Yeah, like winning a game seven, obviously awesome, but it's probably an emotional exhaustion. the Cavs or the Avs basically canceled plans.

33:37Big Cat:They got to cancel all their plans this weekend. Do you want to say congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche on winning the Stanley Cup?

33:44PFT Commenter:Listen, Nathan McKinnon right now is plus 200 to win the conspite. I'd like to say congratulations to the Avs. It's a pretty good bet if you're a betting man, which I am. Yeah, congrats to the Avs. You did it. Choose your own adventure. Who won the Sabres game? Sabes. Sabes? Yeah. I think the Ducks won.

34:03Big Cat:The second game. I think the Sabres won, too. I think the Golden Knights won.

34:09PFT Commenter:Oh, so that series is over.

34:10Big Cat:Yeah. Good recap. And the Sabs.

34:13PFT Commenter:The Sabs won?

34:14Big Cat:Yeah.

34:14PFT Commenter:Okay. Maxi Pucks.

34:17Big Cat:I wonder how I did on my predictions in the first round.

34:20PFT Commenter:Probably great. Probably awesome.

34:22Big Cat:Probably pretty good.

34:24PFT Commenter:You know Puck. You do know Puck. You know Puck big time. Fly it up.

34:28Big Cat:I have watched less hockey recently. because the Flyers are no longer in it you're no longer fired up yeah and also when like once I once it looked like they had no shot of beating the Hurricanes I I got less it just fired up it is true that that when you don't have a team that's in the Stanley Cup playoffs you watch all the games and then when you do have a team in and they lose you just you say fuck hockey for a few days it's like I can't even look at ice I don't I don't want to feel cold I'm not even gonna say I'm not really gonna say that I think I just kind of the NBA started to heat up a little bit so I kind of remembered basketball exists yeah yeah i had a stupid idea this is uh about horse racing but i feel like it's a stupid idea that's worth saying out loud so other people can tell me how

35:11PFT Commenter:dumb it is we by the way we will have verany moss on back for the belmont when uh golden tempo races again i talked to him he was like yeah uh he'll be he'll be back he was where our schedules were kind of fucked up this week so we missed him but he'll be back for belmont so this isn't

35:24Big Cat:you know how we used to do drunk ideas on the show yeah not a drunk idea this is a sleepy idea So like I woke up in the middle of the night and I had to pee. And then when I went back to bed, I thought about this idea. So just sleepy idea. Why doesn't the Preakness, because they're getting fucked and they've been fucked in the years, in the years past when the Derby winner does not race in their race. Correct. Why doesn't Preakness just say, screw it to the Kentucky Derby and scheduled their main race for like three weeks before the Kentucky Derby? You want to play hardball?

35:56PFT Commenter:And then the Kentucky Derby goes three weeks before that.

35:58Big Cat:Until it gets too cold.

35:59PFT Commenter:Until they come all the way back around the schedule.

36:01Big Cat:Yeah. But I'm just saying, like, you want to play hardball? Yeah. You could play hardball.

36:04PFT Commenter:Yeah. Let's play some hardball. It sucks. I hate it. Yeah. It's just so shitty. The Triple Crown, I like rooting for the Triple Crown. It's a fun thing. Yeah.

36:16Big Cat:And it's just ruined. I feel like if your horse wins the Preakness, if it was scheduled for before the Derby, you're not skipping the Derby. No. You got to run in the Derby. Got to do the Derby.

36:26PFT Commenter:Hank, do you have anything to say about the big trade? oh you don't know about the big trade oh breaking moves oh my god hey how do you not know about the big trade this guy pretends that he's he's he's paying attention to yeah mr boston why don't you why don't you guess what the big trade is breaking moves guess what the big trade is

36:50Big Cat:that was a clean mo that shouldn't have gone unnoticed uh to get guess it i don't know

36:55PFT Commenter:fucking New England Revolution? No, bigger. Bigger. Boston Common Golf? No, bigger.

37:06PFT Commenter:It's got to be Liv, right? Boston Cannons? No, bigger. Yeah, way bigger. The big trade we're talking about here is... Oh, the gorillas. Yeah, we've had a gorilla trade. Have you guys all seen the gorilla trade? The Boston Zoo, the Franklin Park Zoo, and the Pittsburgh Zoo have swapped gorillas. so the gorillas Frankie Pittsburgh 7 year old male western lowland gorilla will be heading to Boston and in exchange Boston will send 33 year old little Joe the silverback to Pittsburgh and little Joe escaped one time did he yeah I gotta look that up this actually a tall tale I think this might be a good I was reading more about this which is probably pathetic but I think it's I think I think Boston got fleeced.

37:53PFT Commenter:No, he did. No, no. He did.

37:55Big Cat:No, Boston fleeced Pittsburgh. Easy. Boston got younger? No. No, PFT.

38:02PFT Commenter:I was reading about it. Frankie got traded. Seven-year-old Frankie got traded to the Boston Zoo. He's going to just be chilling with a bunch of other dudes. Little Joe got traded to Pittsburgh because he's going to be mating and making new gorillas.

38:22Big Cat:so that's great for little joe like because if i'm little joe i i want to get out of that locker room i want to get to a place where my talents will be used but but pittsburgh is is thinking about the future of the franchise yeah that's what i'm saying so like i see from little joe's perspective he probably forced this trade like little joe probably demanded a trade so he could go somewhere and start to fuck again and now he's in he's in pittsburgh and that suits his skill

38:45PFT Commenter:set but boston got fleeced boston should have traded for a female gorilla to to to make more gorillas instead pittsburgh's the one that's gonna be making more gorillas but are we sure that frankie is a boy frankie's a boy and frankie's just hey it literally said they're like he's gonna go hang

39:00Big Cat:with some other dudes okay well so frank frankie's seven years old so frankie is an upside pick they're getting younger i don't know frankie can fuck he's a nice piece i don't think i don't think

39:09PFT Commenter:they said that frankie's just going literally like he's going on a bachelor party that's what i read

39:14Big Cat:I think they're taking a 33-year-old, getting him out of town, hoping that Frankie will step up. For what, though?

39:21PFT Commenter:All he's doing is on a boys trip. Sometimes. I'm trying with that. Because you're going to try to make new gorillas. Little Joe's going, he's going to make some new ones. Sometimes in the NBA, if you have... So you don't have to build from within the farm system. You're in a win-now mode. Pittsburgh's in a long-term, they're building for a decade of dominance. What are you talking about? He's old. But he's going to make new gorillas. But maybe those gorillas won't be any good. Gorilla's life expectancy. Long. No, seriously, long. Unless you're a Cincinnati gorilla and then you get shot and killed.

39:51PFT Commenter:Yeah, you know, this is a credit to Boston Great Sports Town. In 2003, Little Joe escaped and attacked a girl and its babysitter. Yeah, so you're getting rid of a locker room cancer. And they didn't kill it. Didn't kill it. They just subdued it, as you should. Life often extends into their 50s. So Little Joe's got another, like, 10 years of fucking.

40:11Big Cat:I like this move for Boston. I think that the GM, who's the GM of your zoo? Danny Inch. Danny Inch did it again. Like, when the Boston Zoo calls, don't pick up the phone because you're about to get fleeced.

40:22PFT Commenter:See, I see it the other way. I think Pittsburgh has gotten nice. They're really setting themselves up for the future because little Joe's going to be making some new baby gorillas.

40:29Big Cat:I think that a seven-year-old western lowland gorilla, if all goes according to play, if you have a good structure and a good training process around them, that gorilla is going to become the silverback. and then that gorilla I don't think Frankie can

40:46PFT Commenter:nobody can until they do Frankie who gets high praise from his keepers for good vibes joined a recently formed bachelor group with two other male gorillas Pittsburgh Zoo explains it as young male gorillas mature they reach a point where they're too old to be juveniles but too young to be silverbacks usually they band together with other black backs these bachelor groups allow non-breeding males to live social lives these guys you guys living together guys trip yeah it's the ultimate guys boys trip they basically haven't found themselves yet it's like

41:19Big Cat:little Joe it's like when we brought it's like us bringing Jerry O 'Connell into the cold like Frankie's gonna show up and be like I never wanna leave you guys you guys just get to hang out all the time

41:28PFT Commenter:yeah so little Joe's showing up to Pittsburgh there's two females he's about to bang and there's two young baby gorillas the move comes after Ivan died So the father died and Harry died. So two dads died. Now, little Joe's going.

41:45Big Cat:He's doing a gangbang. So little Joe is, but he's also going to be the stepdad. No, the dad that stepped up. Dad that stepped up. Twice. Ideally. Twice. Ideally, and we don't know because little Joe sounds like he's got some wild hairs in him. He's had some issues and some character concerns and distraction issues. They say that he's actually kind of chilled out, though. I hope so, because I don't know if they've got a locker room like they do in Boston.

42:07PFT Commenter:He's intelligent and gentle. I don't know. Little Joe's got it. I mean, he's going to get to do two chicks at the same time. Whereas Frankie's just going to play Beard Eye. But is... Beard Eye and Franklin Park sounds fantastic.

42:20Big Cat:Is Little Joe... Two chicks at the same time? Like, does he... Is he a five-tool player like that? He's going to show up and be the stepdad and also fuck?

42:27PFT Commenter:I think so. I think he's got it all. He's walking into a ready-made family.

42:32Big Cat:Baby mama drama. It is a lot of pressure. It's like, yeah. If you don't win now... It sounds like Pittsburgh's in win-now mode.

42:39PFT Commenter:You know what never has drama? When you drink beers and the borders. No, Pittsburgh's not in win-now mode. They're going to make new ones. They're in the long haul.

42:47Big Cat:They're going to make new ones. But this guy's got to be a stepdad. He's got to be a father. He's got to do everything. You guys are seeing it all wrong.

42:53PFT Commenter:They're making a gorilla factory in Pittsburgh.

42:55Big Cat:All I'm saying is if you've got a great veteran presence in your locker room, you don't get rid of them.

43:00PFT Commenter:They didn't. They both died. If you have two gorillas, you don't have one. I think Harry died.

43:04Big Cat:No, I'm saying Boston got rid of Little Joe. No. Like, if he was a great gorilla, they would hang on to him. You don't let a gorilla like that walk in free agency or in a trade situation.

43:14PFT Commenter:I don't know. Upside for Frankie, I guess. But I'd rather have more gorillas.

43:19Big Cat:It tells me that Pittsburgh's farm system is depleted. Should we get one for this office? Yeah, I'm down. Yeah, we should. Memes, can you take care of a gorilla?

43:26PFT Commenter:Did you guys see that there's a baby rhino at Lincoln Park Zoo? So cute. Saw him in person on Sunday. So fucking cute. He's like two months old. Go check him out.

43:36Big Cat:What's his name?

43:37PFT Commenter:I actually don't know his name. He's like 100 pounds. What's his name? I wanted to just pick him up and smooch him. Hazina?

43:46Big Cat:He is pretty cute. Yeah.

43:48PFT Commenter:Isn't that? That's a cute little baby rhino right there. Tell me you wouldn't want to take that baby rhino home, Hank. Tell me. Tell me.

43:58Big Cat:Go ahead. Tell me.

43:59PFT Commenter:You're not going to tell me, are you? Look at that.

44:02Big Cat:Yeah, it's adorable. It's not that adorable. Oh, my God. He doesn't even have his nose horn yet.

44:07PFT Commenter:Hank, that's a cute baby rhino. Oh, that's adorable. Fuck. Yeah. Who's the Adam Schefter for zoos? Yeah, I want more zoo trades.

44:18Big Cat:Megan Swift is the one who broke this.

44:20PFT Commenter:Dude, it's so funny. I want like future draft picks, like everything. How does it even work? We should probably get a zoo guy on. Yeah, we should get. We should do it. We should do a PMT trip to the zoo.

44:31Big Cat:I'm down. I'm down. And yeah, underneath, I want Megan Swift's replies to be like, no, yeah, fleeced or like, announce a draft to the San Diego Zoo. Yeah.

44:42PFT Commenter:Fire the GM for the Pittsburgh Zoo.

44:45Big Cat:Yeah, like Philadelphia does it. Howie.

44:47PFT Commenter:Yeah. How's it going to fit in the offense?

44:50Big Cat:Yeah. Philadelphia's got a good zoo.

44:53PFT Commenter:Do they?

44:54Big Cat:No, it's a zoo. All right.

44:57PFT Commenter:I feel like it's like the San Diego Zoo and then everyone else.

45:00Big Cat:San Diego's pretty good. I've been to the San Diego Zoo. San Diego Zoo is an awesome time. It's an awesome time. Kansas City, surprisingly good zoo.

45:06PFT Commenter:I've been on a hot streak. I like the Lincoln Park Zoo. Yeah, I've been on a hot streak. Franklin Park one. I take my kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo a bunch, and I've been on a hot streak. I've been seeing all the animals. They've all been out. Yes. I saw the polar bears the other day. That time of year. Saw the giraffes, the muskrats, everything.

45:24Big Cat:I like the snapping turtle up there. Yep. That snapping turtle rocks. Yep.

45:29PFT Commenter:Some awesome animals. Okay, anything else? Any other news? Any other sports? Oh, I had a quote that I wanted to read you guys. It's actually the first time that I have lost confidence in this team. The quote goes, I'm not thinking about how I could have ate more. I'm thinking about how I could win eight more. Do you know who said that quote? Liberal?

45:54Big Cat:I know this.

45:55PFT Commenter:Joey Chestnut. No. Nice guess, though.

45:58Big Cat:That was SG. Can I? Yeah. Yeah.

46:00PFT Commenter:SGA said that? Yeah. I'm not thinking about how I could have ate more. I'm thinking about how I could win eight more. That's fucking hard. Come on.

46:08Big Cat:Yeah. That's a great quote. That's a...

46:11PFT Commenter:I don't know about that. It made me nervous. It made me nervous.

46:15Big Cat:If he's got that much time to think of quotes like that, he's up to something. Yeah.

46:21PFT Commenter:Okay. Anything else? The new congrats, PFT, that Jaden Daniels on the quarterback three season?

46:28Big Cat:Yeah. That's cool. Yeah, I'm excited kind of for that to see what gets put in. I'm pretty sure with that series, it's like everybody involved has to sign off on everything. So I guess it'll be interesting. Actually, no, I'm not interested in it because it's a bad season. It's a really bad year, and it's just going to be him rehabbing from like a million different injuries. It's actually Cam Ward, Baker Mayfield, who got injured for half the season,

46:52PFT Commenter:Joe Flacco, and Jaden Daniels. Joe Flacco is the only one that's going to be somewhat happy.

46:58Big Cat:Yeah. yeah joe flatt i think baker will be okay because they started off really good yeah but he got hurt so like the first few episodes will be great for the bucks i'm there's really nothing about last season you know what i'll watch the one that has the chargers game that game was awesome yeah okay let's get to our good friend ryan russillo before we get to russillo he's brought to you by neutrophil you know how in sports everyone's got a can't miss training hack and most of them don't I actually moved the needle. That's how I used to feel about hair growth products. A lot of hype, not a lot of results.

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48:48Big Cat:Keep it Cuervo. When Cuervo enters, every moment just gets better. You find yourself in the center of the dance floor. You can't help but stand up and high-five those around you at the game. The room reacts like it just got the same text at the same time. You stop checking the time, and suddenly small talk escalates to laughing so hard that you can barely catch your breath. That's the Cuervo effect, a signal everybody understands, a moment that anyone can join, and a good time that just grows. All you have to do is keep it Cuervo. Keep it Cuervo. And now, here is Ryan Russillo.

49:20PFT Commenter:Okay, we now welcome on a very, very, very, very, very, very special guest. It is our good friend Ryan Russillo in studio. Perfect timing for you, Ryan, to be here. He's here for the NBA Combine. Everyone go listen to the Ryan Russillo podcast. He's got a bunch of people, players, executives from the Combine. But perfect timing for you to be here because we're taping this on Thursday morning. There are no games Thursday night, which is the first break we've had in NBA playoffs I think since the start.

49:52PFT Commenter:And is Big Game James back? Yeah, I kind of wasn't ready to start with this. Yeah, no, but we have to because James Harden, here's what I'd say in defensive view. Isn't James Shields Big Game James? Yeah, no, we were joking the other day that everyone who's gotten Big Game James has never been big in a big game. Yeah. Look, he's been really good since that fourth quarter of game three. You know, he put together like a really good stretch of like nine straight points in that one, which they desperately needed. His entire game four was really good. Last night, I don't know that I thought the entire game was great.

50:33Like his entry passes in the first half. Like that's my issue with him. It's like, hey, man, there's like a playoff intensity and pace, which I think is always like the biggest disconnect beyond all the other things that we want to talk about with his significant playoff drop-off. But last night with Mitchell not playing well, all the points off of turnovers, which, again, he was guilty of. But, look, I just have a super hard time with the way he's officiated, and I thought Detroit's a mess offensively, as we saw. But, yeah, I don't care. Like, I'm not doing it. I'm not giving it to you today after game five.

51:06PFT Commenter:You should be happy, actually, that he's been playing like this because it just sets up for him to be in a game six or seven that he's going to fail. I mean, look, it gets so bad with him that I'm like, well, I expect there's going to be some kind of 30-point game. I mean, he's got the ball in his hands the entire time. He's a terrific shooter. He's a great passer. I mean, he had some dimes in game four. But, you know, even I couldn't help but, like, at the end when he needed the free throws, it's like he missed two of the last four because that tells me there's just something about him. Got his own rebound, though.

51:36He did because Detroit.

51:38Big Cat:Because Cunningham didn't box him out. because you know what he was thinking he's like there's no way james is gonna try for an offensive rebound and honestly he just bounced right back to him yeah and then he misses another free throw but he look he was really big for them because the mitchell part of it just wasn't happening until mitchell hits that three in the right corner but uh i thought the officiating last night was terrible i normally don't say that after a game i mean at one point i think it was like 17 fouls on detroit and nine on cleveland but cleveland deserves to lose on top everything else like they can't figure out anything once kate gets double and and durin is killing them like think about this reed is their third string center i don't think he'd played any minutes b-ball paul yeah sorry and then he plays all the fourth quarter and then all of overtime so you're going into you're a 61 team who's a one seed and you're going into overtime playing your third string center because you're all nba center which i don't know if i'll 13 all nba i voted for him um can't do anything in this series yeah i actually thought that james hard and if you look at the stat line 30 points it was an impressive stat line they needed it look he deserves credit i'm just not going to sit here and be like hey he's i mean some of this stuff gets ridiculous at the end of the game he he tried to give it away not not to say anything about the free throws uh the the missed layup and then he did the foul baiting thing bringing the ball up the court slammed on the brakes trying to draw a foul ended up just falling on his ass and then doing like a soccer throw in over the half court line turn the ball over like he made his share of really stupid plays but i agree with big cat that this is actually it's it's a perfect setup because now we've reached the point where we're like i think james harden has finally figured it out in the playoffs and we forget that we've said that probably nine times yeah you're getting you're

53:21PFT Commenter:getting the best set like james harden playing in a game seven is exactly what you want yeah this is

53:26Big Cat:it this is it and and you know what even if he's sometime somehow comes through i'm sure he'll figure out a way to get to game seven against the Knicks yeah and then and then we'll get to judge him yeah whatever is gonna like even when it's going bad as bad as it was like I think in the first two games if he's not James Harden you bench him for Dennis Schroeder yeah you would just go hey we need somebody with a little bit more energy and more intensity who's like a little bit more alive here because it's just I mean there were stretches in game one and two where I'm like I cannot believe this is like it's not the makes or the misses it's not when he doesn't want to shoot because there's that when it happens.

54:00There's just the floating of like, where are you going? It kind of rocks, though.

54:05PFT Commenter:It's like it's actually great in pickup. It's actually when you kind of fall. I think what happens to him is when you go on a long drive and you just forget that you were driving, you get there and you're like, oh, shit, I've been driving for three hours. I think that happens to him when he starts dribbling sometimes where he's just dribbling and he forgets that he's dribbling and he forgets that he's in a playoff game. And then he just keeps dribbling until he turns it over. And he's like, oh, shit. I forgot I'm playing a game right now. I get so mad at the officials just because of not like even the specific team last night.

54:36Because, you know, this deep into the playoffs, these are the best officials. And whenever I'm prepping for the draft and I'm watching all these college games, I'm reminded of like, thank God for NBA officials. And I think to be fair to them, think of the times where you're at home and you're like, I can't believe they called that. And then you see the replay, like how often they're actually right with the call where you're like, oh, that guy reached in like that was stupid. it but the two hardened well there's there's probably like more than four but i'm not going

54:59Big Cat:to take the full hour doing that you you still owe me a cut up a highlight reel of all the james you said that that would be on my desk right and it wasn't there i was going to break it down yeah but you caught me like you asked for it i think on like a three game day and then i had to go back and like look at my time stamp notes you offered i i didn't i didn't yeah i was passionate that night we're in the car and we're leaving the the live show that we did and it's not like i was like hey ryan can you make me a mashup of james harden's worst plays ryan you said i'm gonna send you a highlight reel of everything that james harden has done for the last two games and it's going to blow your mind and i was like i can't wait to see that and you're like it'll be on your desk and then our listeners they expect me to dive deep i've had people come after me for it i was walking around town and i was like oh here we go again they want fame you'd be paying a fame tax and it wasn't that at all it was like where's pft's harden clip i need my my breakdown i do think that the way this is shaping up if you if you've talked to a Knicks fan they're dangerously confident like they should be confident because if you go back to the regular season games and you know you try to like figure out okay what really matters and then you look at the lineup stuff like it's going to come up with San Antonio and OKC and you're like okay it's four of the five when San Antonio's away but OKC completely punted I think they were like took out their top 10 guys in that fifth game which I'm just so tired of like that gamesmanship stuff like Detroit did it to OKC and it's like this is a number one seed versus number one seed regular season game like this game is supposed to be the headliner like NBC had a stretch where I think like three straight big time headliner games one of the coaches was like hey don't be great let's just fuck with the other team and not play anybody tonight so having said all that it was hard to watch Detroit New York and not feel like hey Detroit's physicality and their defense messes up New York in a way that feels very real.

56:48And so if you're a Knicks fan and then watching last night going like, I hope Cleveland wins this based on what you saw in the regular season, and that just kind of speaks to how weird this Eastern Conference is in general. It's such a weird conference.

57:01PFT Commenter:I know. And it does feel like it's also the conference of teams that were – the Pistons are a try-hard team, and I don't say that in a bad way. You're totally right. But they're the try-hard team of the regular season. Celtics were kind of the same way where their bench was deep. and like I don't care about benches in the playoffs. And so the Knicks have the most talent, so it shouldn't be a shock, right? Like they have the best starting five. They do, but then you can dig into like some of the net rating stuff that was crazy because Minnesota's five guys, when they were healthy, those five guys played more minutes than anybody else, all right?

57:34It was like 200 more minutes than the Knicks lineup of the five guys. So you think of like, okay, that's the most played lineup. New York's five guys, the second most played lineup of any team in the league this year. and Minnesota had an incredible net rating you know even Atlanta once they got the McCollum in there like that was a crazy net rating and then you're looking at the Knicks you're like why is it only plus two on the season right like that's like there's all sorts of lineups that have these incredible like plus 13 plus 17 five guys that teams will tell you like hey if we get those five guys in there in a series like we're a different team like don't worry about our depth and with New York I'm like man why isn't that number better like what does that tell us about this group and And then the way OG was playing before the hamstring injury, I was like, you know, I liked him, and I was just falling in love with him because he was making every single shot, and he's so versatile defensively.

58:20So then you start going like, all right, am I actually collectively unimpressed with everyone in the East but to the point where you go, every one of these fan bases should think they have a chance? Obviously Philly being eliminated now, but maybe that spoke to them going like, hey, Boston was that messed up that you guys look that good. and then New York reminded you that you actually still aren't that good. So I don't blame any Knicks fan for having confidence through the roof and then feeling even better that Cleveland's up 3-2 because Detroit's offense to get these next two, like just let me just throw this at you.

58:51A number one seed with 60 wins that if Franz doesn't get hurt, loses in the first round, okay? And they still don't know who their closing five is, whether it's they want to go a SAR and give up the offense or if they want to give up the defense and go with Dennis. Duncan was hurt last night with the injury. But Duren is your guy, and then you're like, we're going to play B-ball, Paul. Yeah, he can't play. That speaks to them going like, looking down the bench going, is there any combo we can have right now? And as much as we all love Reed, he's driving into Tobias Harris, and then Jared Allen's there to help.

59:28Or he's driving into Allen, and if Asar's playing, then Mobley now is on Asar almost all the time. It was hard in the beginning of the season, or the series, and now Mobley's like, this is awesome.

59:38PFT Commenter:Yeah, you don't have to do anything. And even if you're boxing out Allen, if you're Dern and you're boxing out Allen and you guys are fighting, then Mobley gets just to walk over and grab the rebound. So Cleveland's talent's better. Like this series, I really think Cleveland should have won pretty convincingly because of this offensive flaw that Detroit has had all season long.

59:58Big Cat:Also Max Struess. Max Struess is a dog. Struess was awesome last night. How about him ripping Cade on that huge, huge team battle? Like, that's an awful... I love Cade. I think we all like Cade better. But the turnovers with Cade, he's got to clean it up.

1:00:12PFT Commenter:Yeah, the one thing I'll say about the Pistock is it has been tough to watch the entire playoffs is that I do think Cade is a, you know... Generational guy, right? He's going to be a... Yeah, he has the makings of a superstar. You just got to build... Like, you've stamped that part. The hard part's done in that Cade is the guy. You just have to build around him. You have to find the combination. And that's really just... You have to find guys who can score. Yeah, look, I give Saruti credit because we were talking about game five. We were just hanging out during the tapings yesterday, and he's like, you know, this is what Jaden Ivey was supposed to be, this off-ball, on-ball guy.

1:00:46Like when you think about him in college, and especially like NBA front offices before the draft, you're like, man, if you watched his international stuff and like when he was playing with those guys, like he's just so dynamic, and you can, in theory, have him play off the ball. Like if you're doubling Cade and you had this really good version of Jaden Ivey, that's exactly what they need. They need somebody who's off the ball that can create. And Danis is an incredible story, but he's probably a backup. He's going to play a long time, which surprises people. But it's like, hey, you have to bail us out.

1:01:16Or Asar, who's not really going to take it off the dribble, he's certainly not going to shoot it. Harris had two good looks where if he had hit one of them in the regulation off a double team when they went 1-4, maybe they win the game and you still are sitting here. but you need multiple guys in these playoff possessions that can make something out of nothing, and they have four guys standing around.

1:01:41Big Cat:I'm glad that we have you on the show right now because it looks like we might be dealing with maybe a doubleheader of all time rest versus rust discussions the way that these series are going. So we're going to have two teams that are going to have swept and be sitting on their hands for a while, and then a team that goes either six or seven games. You know more than anybody, you're a gym guy. you know that there's a fine line your muscles they need rest right like they do a good night's sleep is also a form of its own workout if you want to maximize your gains that's what they say but then you go too long and it's atrophy so when it comes to the nba how does how does that relate to your experience ryan ah well i worked out this morning like seven something and i was not ready so it wasn't a good night's sleep i would have liked to have slept better i would have liked to have gone a little bit later i would have but i got invited on this big podcast sorry about that yeah no i appreciate it because it was immediately i was like something's wrong and i was like what

1:02:37PFT Commenter:hurts you don't relate but yeah yeah i was and i was late too um I feel like San Antonio needed to be challenged more than OKC did. OKC, this is embarrassing. Their second best player, unless you want to say it's Chet, let's just say an all NBA caliber, like a guy that was flirting with being considered a top 10, top 15 player because of Jalen Williams' defense. He's played two of these eight games. They haven't needed him. They are throwing in guys in the second half that you're like, is he even going to play in a close game? and then they'll come in and just make it. Like, I don't even know if McCain actually plays in the Spurs series.

1:03:15Yeah. He probably does at some point. But because they've already been through it, you know, the Dallas loss, which maybe is their playoff seasoning for a young group in 24, running through everybody last year but not in a dominant way. Like, they still had the Game 7 series against Denver. Who knows what happens if Halliburton doesn't get hurt. Like, we kind of look at OKC as, oh, my God. It's like, man, they had like a couple series where you're going, I didn't expect this. Certainly against the Pacers. so now that they've been through it I don't know that they need it as much even though the two teams they played clearly had no chance and this version of Minnesota even though a lesser version of Ant no DiVincenzo they're trying to figure it out they've kind of shortened up the rotation I think the fight that this series is that these guys are really physical and to see the way you've got two rookies right you've got Carter you've got Harper you've got a second year player and castle these guys are just up for the physical challenge of what minnesota is in a way that's really impressed me uh even the game four thing is really cool because they ended up just going to your sleep point they went back to the hotel in minneapolis we're like let's just sleep here tonight and then we'll wake up late and then we'll go back instead of just immediately leaving and landing in san antonio at like 4 a.m so i think they needed it so it's not a clear hey OKC is going to win because they had all this rest.

1:04:40I think San Antonio needed to learn some stuff about themselves that they weren't going to learn in the Portland series for their first time ever going through it. So even though it's going to go longer than maybe you'd expect because of the Game 4 situation, I think there's a benefit to it for them because all of this is just still new.

1:04:57PFT Commenter:Are you a little nervous if you're OKC? I'll read you a tweet, though, from one of the best NBA brains on Twitter. This is from No Tech Ben. He said, only two guys to beat OKC in a championship round the past two years are Wemby and Giannis. There's a specific archetype that is their kryptonite. Wait, say that again? Only two guys to beat OKC in a championship round the past two years are Wemby and Giannis. Are they talking about the cup? Yes, that would be the NBA cup. Yeah, I don't. That's their kryptonite. I mean, facts are facts. They lost in the championship last year to Milwaukee in the NBA Cup final.

1:05:39PFT Commenter:They lost in the semifinals to the Spurs.

1:05:40Big Cat:Like the Buffalo Bills of the NBA Cup. Yeah. People are starting to ask questions about it.

1:05:44PFT Commenter:The blueprint's out.

1:05:45Big Cat:Yeah.

1:05:46PFT Commenter:When the stakes get highest in the NBA Cup. Single elimination. Yes. Yeah, single elimination. There could be some issues there. Yeah, I hadn't really thought of that at all. You don't respect the NBA Cup. No, actually, we had that on Wake Up Barstool. Stephen Jay kind of brought up a similar point. Being like, because I believe that the Spurs, I mean, yes, of course they can win it all, but you got to go through it to then win it all. And Stephen Shea was like, what about the NBA Cup? Do you not respect the NBA Cup? And Ryan was just like, no, I do not. Like, point blank, do not. It's going to be, hey, 4-1, you know, in the regular season.

1:06:20And, you know, kind of that Knicks-Pistons thing where I don't want to watch those games if they're playing each other and say like, and again, Pistons got some work to do for the Knicks fans to even have to worry about it. But I saw real things in that that worried me about New York. So I've got to remember that. There'll be these games in a regular season. It's like, don't forget what this felt like and what this looked like. And there were times, like OKC had a game against Houston, I remember, where I was just laughing, going, they can't start their offense. Like OKC, whatever they did out of the break, they're like, hey, let's take their soul right now defensively.

1:06:55And OKC can do that. They didn't even shoot it well in the playoffs last year. That was the difference, where they would just have this kind of 12-0 run where you're just like, we can't do anything against these guys. This sucks. And OKC normally does that to other teams. And San Antonio, in that game, I felt like it was the one time I'm like, man, they're making OKC look like an OKC opponent here. This looks really, really hard. And even if you want to get into some of the lineup stuff, Like Wemby's most minutes played against OKC in any regular season game this year was 28 minutes. It's like 21, 21, 24, 26, 28 or something like that.

1:07:33So they weren't even using like a full 35 minute version of him. And I've had times this year when I've watched them going like, I kind of want to be the guy that goes, you know, in February. You know what? I've seen enough. I think Wemby's that special that they're going to still be able to be OKC because it's not like OKC went through everybody last year.

1:07:53Big Cat:like Golden State did when those five guys were all right yeah right I mean Wimby's been he's been so impressive this year it's been unreal the the best he's the best watch in the NBA I'm telling you after that first quarter the other night I'm like what's more fun than this yeah there's nothing that's more like you see something with Wimby that you have never seen like watching him play is it feels like how you know like when you were a kid and you were playing kush like with like a kush basketball set or like oh yeah basketball set above I always thought you were going to talk about weed no kush yeah yeah because i know well i know you don't like weed but i'm not a drug not

1:08:25PFT Commenter:drug but you're you were with us at the bachelor party confirmed not drug guys no

1:08:34but you remember when you were i was so confused multiple times that i was like i don't know what's

1:08:38PFT Commenter:going on right now just leaving the room the other room well i i had to use the bathroom yeah i got is there a suite on top of the suite i've got a small little bladder it's shrinking like don't

1:08:49Big Cat:about Rosillo he's taking notes also allergies the desert lots of lots of allergies I was like why is this guy napping that doesn't make any sense you remember like yeah being a kid though and playing like nerf basketball with a hoop above the rim and how how low everything felt that is how that's how when he plays basketball in an NBA court where it's like oh yeah he's just going to step around people not really leave his feet throw the ball down into the basket so like he gets credit for a lot of dunks but he's just like throwing the ball down on half of his shots that he's not dunking. And then his defense is just absolutely incredible to a point that we've never seen anything like it before.

1:09:24Big Cat:And just the steps that he's taken this year, he is the most fun to watch. I want him, I want the Spurs to keep advancing because I want to keep watching Wimby and maximizing my years where I'm rooting for Wimby because there will be a tipping point where I say, this sucks, this is bad for basketball, he's too tall, it's not fair. Like UConn women's hoops. Exactly. So Wimby, I want to maximize the time that I have like actually rooting for Wemby and actually feeling good about watching Wemby on TV? Because I'm right in the thick of it right now, and you think they have a real chance to beat the Thunder.

1:09:55I do, but I'm not going to pick them.

1:09:57Big Cat:Okay. Yeah, I've basically, and I wish I had something cooler to say other than, hey, OKC's been through it a little bit more, and this is just the way this whole thing works. But I'm just like, don't fall for it. Don't fall for the regular season part of this, even if it feels like, you know, Wemby's kind of this unsolvable thing. and you're right because i was thinking about it last night like the timeline of a star and what we do to these guys right like where it's it's so much fun and everybody loves him in the beginning you know like even ant although ants probably even though he was hurt here and i don't think anybody should feel bad about anthony edwards and be like hey we have to reassess this but basically what happens like if you're really special and i'm not talking about like that second tier of star who gets to kind of hide and doesn't take all the shit of like the top six or seven guys like a Mahomes in the NFL yeah can kind of under the radar but like the Mahomes I'm saying the other way like Mahomes we all loved him until we didn't until it was like okay he's done this too but at least he backed it all up yeah though that's that's the difference in the NBA there's a lot of times where it's like hey I think this guy's really really special but now it's year seven and now we just have to shit on you and if Wemby say goes like the first six years without one which seems unlikely but it's still a lot you know whenever you're sitting there and i remember like being on some of the debate shows and somebody across from you would be like well i don't think this guy's ever going to win a championship and you're like okay that's a really powerful statement and the odds are in your favor to do it but you're you don't you don't know that but i can't argue with you and say yes i guarantee this guy wins one wendy feels like it's a guarantee at some point but say they don't get through okc this year say he's hurt again because i still feel like he falls

1:11:34PFT Commenter:down so much that it scares the shit out of me say people figure out he's french yeah that'll there'll be some but when that happens people are going to turn but it also depends where our relations are yeah because you remember like early 2000s when it was like let's call them freedom fries and stop we're in gray goose gray goose at the club yep you guys know what i'm talking about

1:11:52Big Cat:i was freedom kissing in high school i wasn't making out i wasn't yeah it was fun seven minutes did you freedom her freedom yeah we freed him last night um i i do think that with uh with the spurs tell me if i'm crazy to think this it might be prisoner of the moment but throughout these playoffs i think dylan harper might be the best guard that they have i even wondered like if there were some castle possessions where they could give a few more to harper and then castle once the game got tied you know san antonio blows that lead and minnesota's coming back because they're a tough fucking team man that the mentality of that team's terrific champagney hits a three and then castle just goes in his own little six-oh run where he just dropped the entire toolbox and was like i'm all these different things because I'm with you like Harper is so good and he's working some really good defensive players where I think even they're a little surprised because it's so smooth you know Castle is not smooth he is like rough course sandpaper and then it works and Harper's just like oh shit and then he finished on the other side all this different stuff I thought like is it too much to ask for him to be the guy to close out some of these games I mean what he did in portland in that one game it's like all right yeah i'm a rookie and i'm gonna close out a playoff game and just be completely unstoppable i mean it's stupid how good and comfortable some of these young players are but i'd imagine harper like the progression of this team is that harper has more of these possessions that castle has now but i don't mean that as like a knock on castle

1:13:21PFT Commenter:it's just really good i just think castle's such a good defender that that's the underrated part that like they're both he's awesome i voted him all defense i think second team insane defensively Yeah, I don't think he's going to make all defense, but I think Castle's on ball stuff because he's going to use all of his fouls. And he fouls so much that they're kind of like, we're not going to call all these. Watch Castle off the ball when he's on a really good offensive player. They had him playing against Jokic in one of those last regular season games that would be awesome. Spurs Nuggets won. He was taking down Randall, too.

1:13:49PFT Commenter:Yeah, I mean, you can put him anywhere. And we saw him live when we went to the tournament. Yeah, that's right. And you were like, that guy in two years is going to be this? On the Spurs? It's crazy. They've nailed it. I mean, they have... We have three guys under 21 with those three guys, Harper, Castle, and Wemby. Yeah, and then Carter Bryant, who probably could have the ball a little bit more, comes in, and he's like, oh, yeah, I'll just be a 3 and D guy. Obviously, until I get my rookie extension, I'd like to get some more shots and some more stats and all that kind of stuff. And then he's totally bought in.

1:14:21Shannon went at him, and he was laughing at Shannon. And then he had a play where he and Randall slammed into each other. Whatever the scores are and who's hitting shots and all that stuff, the, hey, your first time through, and Minnesota's now made it pretty deep the last couple years, and these guys have been around for a while. Like, is a young team going to respond? Are they going to keep looking back to the bench? Are they going to keep looking at the reps? And instead, they're just kind of looking at the opponent going, we're not intimidated by any of this stuff.

1:14:48PFT Commenter:Yeah. All right. I got a quick, let's play a game of are they screwed? Sure. Lakers. no because Luca is there and I you know you're thinking about that trade going like imagine if this were Davis LeBron Reeves eliminated in the second round and you're going like what do you do now what do you do now so the keys to canard probably but he's a free agent oh shit yeah we're gonna have to max him who knows what reddick's like if I sign you for a huge number people are just gonna say that you remind me of me and I don't I don't need that kind of controversy yeah they're not screwed because they have Luca but I mean they have a ton of work to do smarts a free agent I mean Aiton has a player option for eight million he stinks I wouldn't think they'd want him to pick it up uh you'd think he'd still be able to do eight million somewhere else and then it's like hey can I just go to a bad team where I can maybe play like 40 50 games I get to wear some of like my fancy shit yeah play some video games right right like Can we just do like 50 games?

1:15:47PFT Commenter:Get 14 and 10. Yeah, right. In a 30-point loss. I couldn't believe Lakers fans. And it also speaks to how much you're just not watching a ton of Portland if you're a Lakers fan last year. And then I just go, look, he's not a foxhole guy. I think he was making 79 % of his shots. And off of Luka, his job should be super easy. He should be able to give 15 points. Just stay engaged and catch all these lobs. And he's got great touch. I mean, there's a reason he won. He's an incredibly talented guy, but he's just not a foxhole guy at all. And then Lakers fans finally were like, oh, maybe there were some points that were made here that were fair about him.

1:16:25I don't know what they're going to do with the LeBron thing. I can't imagine that he was just going to retire in secret. Yeah. It doesn't seem like that'd be him.

1:16:32PFT Commenter:He doesn't want to be on the Lakers anymore. You see that whole story about them giving the ball to J.J. Redick for his 100th win when LeBron had the most wins in the same game. I did. I just don't know why he cares about a lot of this pointless shit. Right. Because somebody had to care enough to make that point to the reporter and then be like, use it.

1:16:53Big Cat:He likes to say, I think he likes hearing himself say, you know, I'm a bit of a basketball historian. I think he thinks that that adds like a little bit of panache to the lore behind LeBron James. Part of it I get because they're chasing this one guy. So it's almost like every single thing is like trying to stack an extra little chip to get somebody. By the way, I don't know that I've ever met anyone that's neutral. on the MJ LeBron thing. Have you ever met anyone that's ever changed their mind? No. No, minds will never get changed. That's the beauty behind it. It's like you say you're open to changing your mind when new facts come out, but no.

1:17:24Big Cat:I mean, the longer LeBron plays, the more he gives you the stats that you can then use against him. Like, he's the first guy to get swept in four different decades. Yeah, but I don't even care about that kind of stuff. It's almost become like,

1:17:36PFT Commenter:what's your favorite flavor of ice cream? It's like, are we going to argue what you like versus what I like? Yeah, and we're kind of doing it right now. but I think it drives him crazy. I think that's kind of like, even after the last dance, like I think there was a lot of, I don't want to call it propaganda, but like floating out, like there was one time when he had said, hey, I won the two toughest championships in NBA history. And we talked about this and wake up our stool. And 16, I would give him that comeback. Like I think it's the toughest one I've ever seen. But I don't think the bubble one was tough, even though I acknowledge it and think it's a championship.

1:18:06You guys are dicks about it. Yeah, yeah.

1:18:08Big Cat:No, for some people it does count. Yeah. For you, it's fine. Yeah, it counts for me. No, no, no, certain players are on the roster, yeah. It does count.

1:18:15PFT Commenter:We went down the roster on Wednesday's show. And he went through who gets it. Yeah, there was some halves given out. There was some half shares. There was some full shares. I think this year was actually pretty drama-free, considering. But there's, like I said, I just think there's a lot of, like, public messaging, a lot of PR with him that's kind of a waste of time. Like, he wasn't one of – well, I thought he was actually really good in the playoffs, right? But he knocked over something. it was like he is no one's ever been a better third option no one's ever accepted their role better and you were like well of course like it still should go through luca yeah like when luca's right this is this is one of the five best players in the world you know what you're right people

1:18:55Big Cat:don't change their minds about it but i think some people should like if you compare it to political discourse in this country you have there's actually a market out there for somebody to be like, I've been a Jordan guy my entire life, and they left me behind, and now I'm a LeBron guy, and I'm reformed. I've changed my mind. They went too woke on me with Jordan. Reagan did it.

1:19:14PFT Commenter:Saw that clip after the car race win.

1:19:18Big Cat:Yeah, exactly. I saw that, and you know what? At this point, you drive a man. The Overton window has shifted so far on Jordan that now I find myself without a party, and I have to be a LeBron guy. There's a market out there for a guy like that. Who's Ralph Nader NBA? Oh, the Green Party? That would probably J.R. Smith. Yeah. Yeah, J.R. seems like he would. No, it might be Kobe. Yeah.

1:19:41PFT Commenter:He's getting votes. Yeah, but I think that's too many. Shaq? Too many votes. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know who that would be. Oh, maybe Jokic. Durant, yeah.

1:19:52Big Cat:What is KD going to do? What are his options going to look like this offseason? uh look their whole thing is i have i have their gm on in like a couple hours so i can't wait for that but it um their big thing is like if we had had fred van valiette we would have been fine now not fine like hey we're gonna beat okc san antonio but it was pretty clear and this is where like the playoffs exposes your stuff and like doesn't you can't lie anymore in the playoffs and you're like okay the amend thompson point guard thing like isn't a thing um reed shepherd who i still really like it's a lot to ask when you didn't really even want to play him because he may can't stand his defense even though i think there's some things that he holds up better but again if you're going to pick on somebody you're not going to pick a man over reed uh you know to ask him to be like hey run our offense in these playoff games like that's not going to look great either and when they play shangun and amend together and then durant's just fucking miserable because he's like a men's guy doesn't play him if he's outside and then if shangoon's outside nobody plays against him and then durant you know i think part of his frustration i would understand but i also think there are other times like why are you bringing the ball up and walking right into a double team 30 feet away from the basket and then like nobody's respecting anybody outside of you because they just don't feel like you have real shooting uh even with somebody like tari easton whose first half of the season he just was on fire and then it fell off a cliff so So I understand him looking around and going like, hey, I can't be asked to bail us out of every single one of these possessions, despite how great my resume is as an offensive player.

1:21:30And like, what a matchup. I mean, remember when he's bitching about the Lakers double teaming him? Yeah, it's like, no shit, man. Like, you're going to get doubled. Like, look at the matchups here. Of course, like the playoffs, you start selling out a little bit more with your rules going like, let's really try this. You know, it's back to that Mobley-Assar thing where you just go, what if we just have Mobley on him and he never plays him?

1:21:51PFT Commenter:Yeah. If he hits a shot or two, fine. But now we get to play against four guys with five, and the extra five is a former defensive player of the year. So I imagine because he's already gotten the extension and everything that the whole thing is it'll be so much better when Fred is back and don't worry about it because I don't think he's going to want to say, like, hey, I need to go somewhere else again. Oh, it'd be so funny. You guys are rooting for that, right? It'd be so funny.

1:22:17Big Cat:Yeah, I mean, yes, I am. Absolutely. Ron Russillo was brought to you by Microsoft, and we'll get back to him in just one second. We got to tell you first about something that helps people focus on what's most important. Microsoft 365 Copilot. What if you could add an AI assistant to your work without leaving your workflow? Well, Microsoft Copilot is built into Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. It works where you work. It helps you do more in the apps that you already use. In Word, Copilot helps turn scattered notes into a first draft. In Excel, it generates insights from your data. and in Outlook, it cuts through the noise to get you up to speed faster.

1:22:51Big Cat:The apps that you know go further with Copilot. You can learn more at m365copilot.com slash work. m365copilot.com slash work. And now, more Ron Russillo. What about the Nuggets?

1:23:05PFT Commenter:Are the Nuggets screwed? No, I don't think they're screwed, but the Aaron Gordon not being healthy thing, back-to-back playoff runs here. It's not great. Yeah, I mean, he was really hurt last year. I mean, we want to talk about somebody who's playing hurt because sometimes you get pissed. Like the team gets eliminated and it's like, you know, that guy's ankles actually was – and you're like, I couldn't even tell, man. Aaron Gordon, you're like, oh. Oh, when he was running around with his hamstring last year? What are you doing? Even this year when it was like he can't even jump up to contest that.

1:23:34Like if anybody's going to jump up and try anything, it's that guy. So I think Cam Johnson's year was generally a disappointment and then Christian Brown in the playoffs, but he's under contract, wasn't great. They had real depth this year, man. They had depth that you felt like, okay, this is going to be able to help them stay competitive in those few non-Yokic minutes in the playoffs because the regular season numbers, whatever. He's going to take off his normal sub-pattern, but he's going to play more minutes in the playoffs. And that was something during the regular season that was a big improvement for them, even if a couple of the other guys I thought were a little down.

1:24:11but you know they're not a team that's known for paying the tax which is uh incredibly unfortunate like if you're going to pay the tax it should be when you have yeah one of the greatest players in

1:24:21Big Cat:the history of the game yeah yeah and and then what's your official prediction what lebron does this offseason where would you you know what i'm not even going to say prediction i want ryan to use his imagination where would you like to see lebron next where would i like to see him um I don't know that I care enough to say, like, I'd really like to see this. I mean, if he cares about money, it'd be funny just to be like, all right, go to Chicago then. They've got all the caps. Finally do it from that summer. Right. Is that the way to surpass Jordan? Yeah. That would be very funny. Did Jordan play for any other teams?

1:24:52Big Cat:I wonder where else I could go to try to match Jordan.

1:24:55PFT Commenter:This is a leading question here by PFT. Yeah, I can figure. I love the Jordan Wizards years. I got to see you live. They were great. I have a hard time believing that he wouldn't work something out with LA. Yeah, but think about J.J. Reddick got that ball, that game ball. You mean the Clippers? That was bad. You think Reddick would just go, hey, man, here's the ball? Yeah, here, you know what? You have the ball. Yeah, I can't imagine Reddick carrying the ball. Scribbles over it. Yeah, that'd be odd. It was just duct tape to LeBron.

1:25:29Big Cat:It makes me wonder how many balls LeBron has at his house. like how many how many meaningful hundred does he have if he's that fired up about this one i know because i used to get annoyed about the emmett smith thing yeah i was like you're gonna keep all of them and i don't know why it bothered me maybe it's because like if you you either love the cowboys you hate the cowboys and granted i was a kid so i was far more irrational about stuff like oh you're gonna keep that one i'd be like watching a game at home there's some trainer writing it down. Yeah.

1:25:58PFT Commenter:It was like number three, 1117. Speaking of, do you want a gift? Sure. I got you a gift. It's going to be hard to compete with this Sarah Walsh 50th birthday gift. Yeah, I mean, your purse that you've been walking around with has been pretty nice. And now I got you this gift. I've dressed pretty gay this week.

1:26:18Big Cat:You looked hot this morning. Put on the coat and the glasses. Put the coat and the glasses on. I think people need to see this. Yeah, sure. I thought that Ryan was... Zero hesitation. I thought Ryan was Pitbull when he walked into the office this morning.

1:26:28PFT Commenter:Well, and you can also say it because it's not like you're single and lifelong single and live by yourself. So people aren't asking questions. It was nice furniture. I'm prioritized working out. He came in with a... Like when Ryan came in today, he came in with a presence. It was almost like a wind came with you. Oh, phew. All right. Sit down and do the rest of the interview with that.

1:26:52Big Cat:Can you do the model pose like you did when you were rocking that

1:26:54PFT Commenter:Rosillo hoodie? You just looked awesome. You look awesome. I told you. This was on the live show, so people didn't hear this, but I said, like, when we were at the Cabana, your body looked awesome. Thanks, man. You had your shirt off, and I was like, damn. What kind of glasses are those? These are Louis Vuittons. That's nice. Ever heard of them? Really nice. Would you like your gift? Yeah. I mean, obviously, this isn't going to go well. No, I actually think it's going to go pretty well. Well, I see you guys, so my expectations are somewhat muted. Well, listen, hey, I don't know if you know this, but the show you do, Ryan Russillo Podcast, it is recorded and people can listen to it.

1:27:35PFT Commenter:So when you said, I think the exact quote was, Big Cat, what a waste of a great frame. That one hurt a little. You know what, though? Nothing has worked. nothing has worked so far so sometimes you need tough coaching you know i remember fat would have been better your disappointment when you said the exact quote what what a waste

1:28:01Big Cat:of a great frame i also think that so like that might be i've said it a few times it might be a plagiarized billy football take too i think he said the exact same thing kyle and sruti both

1:28:12PFT Commenter:gave like a oof like not like a there's oh yeah you know that that's bad yeah there's like no one says anything and they just go but i also you think i'm saying it to be insulting or no you're trying to motivate me yeah and i appreciate that also i i was a little upset too because the life advice you guys had a life advice where it was very funny it was a 41 year old dude who that was why this came up the frame thing because the guy said he had a comp of my body but the 41 year old dude married a 29 year old girl and the 29 year old girl's youngest brother 23 yeah kept calling him a pedophile in the group chat and you guys took it way too seriously that kid rocks you think he's awesome yeah call his brother-in-law a pedophile and be like serious about it it's funny as fuck uh yeah i didn't think of it that way at all oh i want to hang with that dude yeah because i all i could think of him was was that he grew up thinking everything was terrible and you could put some label on everything.

1:29:10He was raised by Twitter so that he was like, I can't believe my brother-in-law is a pedophile. Dude, you got to relax. Oh, it's funny. Yeah, but there are certain things where it's like the power of some of these categories have been ruined because you're saying it about anybody.

1:29:27PFT Commenter:No, but that guy, he might be right. You don't know.

1:29:30Big Cat:He's married to basically a 30-year-old. Yeah, but then Matt. It's kind of funny that his wife was 30. I think he's 11 years older than her or 12.

1:29:38PFT Commenter:Yeah, but think about what about when the guy who wrote in when he was 22? His wife was, what, 11? That wasn't the email. I'm telling you, the 23-year-old. Either way, when I heard him say that, when you're like, he keeps calling me a pedophile, I laugh so hard. That guy is fucking funny.

1:29:56Big Cat:Did you ask when they met? No, they had met three years prior. So he was 38, and she was, I think it was 38, 26, and then 41, 29.

1:30:05PFT Commenter:But to think of everyone's on a group chat with their family, to think about a 23-year-old male being on a group chat with his family and being like, yeah, your husband's a pedophile is very funny. It's really funny until it's actually real, though. Imagine being the guy who emails in and his brother-in-law is calling him a pedophile to everyone. Yeah, you should go with it. Okay, but how would you? If you actually were the guy who emailed and you were - I'd probably talk shit back to the 23-year-old.

1:30:34Big Cat:I'd be like, I'm picking your sister up from school. Hang on. I'll get back to you in a second. Yeah.

1:30:37PFT Commenter:Or I'd be like, hey, dude, you're pretty obsessed with me being a pedophile. You got something you want to tell us? Yeah, virgin. Yeah. Well, no. Just like maybe you're thinking about pedophilia. How often do you think about pedophilia? Just reverse it on them. Meg would do an intervention. That would be an awful great prank, though. Interventions with people that don't need them.

1:30:56Big Cat:Yeah. Yeah. Golf trip. True life. I'm addicted to calling strangers pedophiles. Yeah.

1:31:03PFT Commenter:just keep doing it either way i thought that kid rocked so uh all right maybe a little off on that one but life advice obviously everyone listen to ryan we're still podcast you ready for your gift i am you i'll preface this gift with saying if you looks already looks damaged it well i opened it to confirm it was it uh if you don't want to bring it home with you i will uh find a place for here that we can celebrate it. Okay. Okay. All right. There you go. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This looks like it might be awesome. Yeah, it is awesome. All right. Because I know you've been on this memorabilia.

1:31:43PFT Commenter:Yeah, I have. Crazy. Is this a flag of Sri Lanka?

1:31:48Big Cat:No. No, it's way better. Is this a sail? I don't have a sailboat. It's way better. You can maybe use this. Oh, no way. Yeah. Say it in the... It's a banner. It's pretty damn cool, right? I'm furling a banner. It says the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals.

1:32:05PFT Commenter:It's a 14-foot long banner. This is an awesome gift. Yeah. Which finals is it? Good question. Bubble? No, you know which finals it is. That NBA Finals banner hung in the concourse in Phoenix, Arizona for Chris Paul's only NBA finals, which he lost, by the way. Up 2-0. Giannis hit every free throw. You're pretty excited about that. Yeah, I mean, I know it's the purple, so I was a little... Wait, so why do you have it? I bought it for you. Well, I appreciate it. I'm going to send a picture to Chris Paul right now.

1:32:39Big Cat:Yeah, well, be careful, because he might relapse, because when he got that, he was like, I'm kind of addicted to going to the finals, so he finally, cold turkey, got rid of that. If you send that back, he might backslide.

1:32:49PFT Commenter:Would you want me to hang it here, or do you want to take it home with you? oh man i don't know i'm trying to think which room it works in it's 14 feet what if i hung it outside and like that would be cool when people drive by manhattan beach because different people have flags on their houses and stuff and then i was like i can't tell if that's that might actually be hilarious although like he's just a finals guy i might have to put like a sea anchor in behind it with the wind we get down there all right you can decide it's it is a gift for you but if you don't Because it is kind of an annoying gift to give someone.

1:33:23PFT Commenter:This is a great gift. This is a great gift. Yeah, and it's Chris Paul's only final. You want to talk about, like, I have this little briefcase from Sarah Walsh that I've said is the nicest gift anyone's ever gotten me. Now I feel like number one and number two are right next to each other. I'm not even sure what number one is.

1:33:36Big Cat:Ryan, what I think you should do, at least for the podcast that you put out during the NBA finals, the NBA says they're going to put the Larry O 'Brien trophy on the court to give it, like, a little extra flair. You should just have that in the background of every podcast during the finals. Yeah. Only during the finals. Yeah. that way people know yeah i'm gonna take it okay i'm all right i love i love the gift we can have

1:33:55PFT Commenter:dom ship it to you so you don't have to put it in your bag yeah because um i don't i don't know how i would fit it they'd be like hey you can't have any of your clothes yeah what if i wrap myself in this that'd be pretty cool i think you could make a suit out of this a little photo shoot for the nba finals uh wait a minute though why did phoenix get rid of it so why was it available

1:34:13Big Cat:i found it on ebay to me that's that out of all the things that we've gotten at this office i I think this is the most impressive one that Big Cat's gotten because I don't see a lot of teams getting rid of NBA Finals participant banners. Do you think it should be a...

1:34:25PFT Commenter:No, no, this wasn't like a banner that was... This was a banner in the concourse. Okay, gotcha. This is probably outside of 104. 104, 105. Suns in 104. Yeah, there you go. But yeah, it's a cool banner. It's an awesome gift because I was never going to play in one, likely. so NBA Finals yeah never say never that's an awesome gift I'm going to see if he put any other details this banner was hanging at the Phoenix Suns Arena for the NBA Finals Phoenix Suns for Milwaukee Bucks yeah it's beautiful used in game love it I'm really appreciative yeah seriously I'm going to hang it in the backdrop of the pod for NBA Finals get Chris Paul to sign it that would be cool I don't think I'm going to do that.

1:35:16PFT Commenter:We got Andrew Luck to sign the semifinal banner. The AFC finals. He was like, yeah, I'll sign it.

1:35:23Big Cat:We want to get as many people in that game to sign that banner. Yeah. I actually feel like that banner went from being probably worthless to a very, very valuable piece of NFL merchandise. Oh, yeah. That'd be pretty crazy if your whole long play was to buy these things that you can't believe exist, and then you guys kind of raise awareness, and then you're just flipping these things.

1:35:43PFT Commenter:Oh, no. I mean, well, Hank's sitting in there. He doesn't see the vision, but I have no intention of selling any of these things. But like a Buffalo Bills stadium trough that also was in Barstool HQ would go for more money. It would. I'm not going to sell any of these, but yes. I think that would be if things went bad, you know? Yeah. They're like, those guys are getting a little old for some of those jokes. Yeah. Then we just start to just rip it off. Yeah. Yeah. Selling everything. Just doing all memorabilia flips. Yeah, they're getting a little old to say the 23-year-old was cool to call his brother-in-law a pedophile.

1:36:16PFT Commenter:Well, I didn't think of it that way. He thought that he reached out to Ryan because he's like, this is right.

1:36:21Big Cat:He's like, Ryan, this is an NBA draft preview. You're doing a lot of scouting on 19-year-olds yourself, so maybe I've got a similar problem that you can help me with. I know. I'm getting too nice, though, as I get older.

1:36:32PFT Commenter:Yeah, no, I saw it as this kid is just like he's a ball buster to the extreme level. I guess maybe I took it personally because if I do get married, it's probably going to happen to me. Being a pedophile? No. A younger lady. That wasn't what I was going to say. A younger lady. Likely be a little bit younger.

1:36:49Big Cat:I don't want to say like a May-November, but maybe May-September relationship. May-September? Yeah, you know, May-November, you would describe some older couples. Like if the guy's 60, the lady's in her late 20s, that would be a May-November relationship. But you are looking maybe for like a May-September. I see what you're saying there, yeah. i remember i just i was in veil once and i saw some old guy just ripping darts in a ski outfit and it was clearly his second wife he was a little bit messier than than maybe i'd want to be but it was a little early he's still in a ski outfit and he just i was like is that guy got it all figured out you know because you're great for him yeah you know but uh i don't know yeah maybe that's why maybe that's why i didn't go there because i was like i'll likely be 10 years older if I ever get married.

1:37:43Big Cat:Yeah. You know what I would like to do at some point with your permission? You know how like some people have, they've got packs where it's like, hey, if we're both single when we're 50, we're getting married. That sort of thing. I'm not making a pack with you. Not with me. But at some point, like is there a date where we can do the Ryan Russillo dating show?

1:38:01PFT Commenter:Yeah.

1:38:01Big Cat:No. I think you'd be a catch, Ryan. What about the Ryan Russillo bachelor party? We were thinking about doing that with my college buddies or they were like, can we just have a bachelor party? Even though you're not engaged and i was like yeah i probably i mean so basically you'd have an excuse for yep and they're like are you going to tell your wives that i'm not that there's no wedding invite save the date or anything coming and they're like we'll just say that it got called off and everyone will believe it because it's you that's fucked up that part's messed up because one guy like was like we're just gonna say it was called off and i was like well you know like you think it's gonna be challenged red flag comes out yeah i was like oh yeah that's I was like, that'll be an easy sell.

1:38:44And then guys are like, come on, let's do it. Like, let's, it's been forever. And then they were kind of like, if you had gotten married in your twenties, that bachelor party would have sucked because we would have all had to pay for everything, including you. But now like, I was like, it also starting to sound like I'm going to pay for all of it now, which is not what's supposed to happen. No. So I'll tell you what, you guys are invited to my bachelor party for a wedding. That's likely not going to happen.

1:39:10Big Cat:Okay. Yeah. yeah it might you never know yeah never say never yeah i did the drop a pin pot and i admitted like sometimes i wonder if i do the travel logs because it's an excuse to be by yourself where if i just did the solo trips without any documentation then you'd be like hey dude this is getting old yeah it's a bummer yeah do you not want to share some of these experiences somebody you care about and then it's like well i've got to take notes i got to figure out what the spice trade was from the 1400 so i don't i can't i couldn't have anyone here she's like oh are you outlining day four again i'm working yeah i'd be like hey we have to make it make sure we see these waves it's going to take us six hours to drive there and she'd be like can we just stay an extra day here and get brunch maybe and sleep in i'm like no the tides are perfect today we're on a schedule yeah so like i i'm just admitting it right now that's exactly why i do the travel but there's nothing wrong you don't you don't have to have it like there's nothing wrong with wanting to travel by yourself.

1:40:08St. Bart's Solo wasn't, they were like, this is fucking, I was like, I'm just telling you guys, because you're my friends, St. Bart's Solo, I was like, this is fucking stupid, man. Yeah, that's a very, like, sexy place to go.

1:40:18PFT Commenter:Yeah, that's like a romantic place. Yeah.

1:40:23Big Cat:I'm admitting. There's nothing wrong with traveling alone. Some people like it. How about for 15 years to numerous exotic places? If you like it, it sounds like you enjoy it. I do like it. He's kind of telling us something right here. I'll admit, I've walked around a couple villages in the last couple years going, hey, man, what are we doing? Yeah. So I'm just sharing that with you. Okay. Well, hey, listen, PMTbachelorparty at gmail.com, if you're interested in me. Ryan Russo, hit us up. That email address is still being monitored. Ryan, listen, there's a big question out there that's on everybody's mind.

1:40:55Big Cat:We've talked for long enough without discussing the Washington Wizards on this podcast. I love how in you are. Do you have any XLs from that gear? They sent me all mediums. It's crazy. Why? Have they not seen your thighs? Yeah, good point, Ryan. Right after Hank and I made our bet, a giant box got put in my lap of, I think, every piece of merch that the Wizards have ever put out, which is incredible. So shout out to them. I made a bet with Hank the other day because he's stuck in an old mindset of the mid-90s, mid-2000s Wizards, where he doesn't think they'll ever do anything good, and he doesn't understand the new regime.

1:41:29Big Cat:We made a bet that the Wizards are going to finish, I think, in the top eight next year. And now this is assuming that AD sticks around, which I think he is. And it's assuming that they keep the number one pick and they don't trade it to the Jazz. And they have DeBansa, which is the assumption right now. But with that, I think that they're going to be a top eight pick. Hank does not think so. Top eight seed. Or top eight seed, sorry. Top eight seed in the East next year. Does that mean they have to make the – could they be a 10 seed win the play? No, no. But they could be an eight seed and lose in the play-in.

1:42:01Right. Look, if those two guys are healthy, they should be in the top eight. Thank you.

1:42:07Big Cat:Thank you. And the thing is, I actually like some of the other guys. I think Sarr had a really good second year. I really like Keyshawn George. I think Trey Johnson was one of my favorite players in that draft class. Blau and Bub are kind of like a weird, like, which version of it do you want? and it's like if they were just a hybrid person then it'd be like well that's impossible at least with science now who knows um there's a lot of things that i i like from like a competitive standpoint and when you look at the east this year like how crazy it was which kind of gets us back to where we started this whole thing is detroit makes this monstrous leap but then you're like okay but were you a full kind of your try hard part of it which i think charlotte also was is like you're playing kind of your peak all regular season right and then it gets exposed a little bit when there's like another level.

1:42:54And I think for Detroit, it's not so much that they tried too hard. It's just the offensive thing, right? So the Celtics thing is kind of weird. The Sixers thing is always weird. The team that made it to the finals is missing their best player. So they end up tanking a year after being in the NBA finals. So that's crazy. Cleveland pivots mid-season into something that never works during the playoffs historically, but they might be in the Eastern Conference finals. I already mentioned Orlando, who I think should have been a top four team but they're a fucking mess and they can never stay healthy and they bring in bane and they're actually a worse shooting team which doesn't make any sense because i think bane's been great for him so when you run through all of it and i'm still leaving out like who knows what the heat's gonna look like yeah heat heat are always good for whatever like i didn't mention toronto like i don't necessarily love the construction of the roster how much they've spent on some of these guys but if they're to your cade point like when we're done with this let's not not cade if they don't get through this because i think we're all realizing like Like, hey, Cade could end up becoming the best point guard in the NBA.

1:43:51Some of the stuff that I worried about with Scottie Barnes of, like, what is he? Future face of the league. How many guys are eligible for that?

1:43:58PFT Commenter:I think it's just Scottie Barnes.

1:44:01Big Cat:Future face of this league.

1:44:03PFT Commenter:We just say that quote a lot here because of the coach. Yeah, I know. Future face of this league. Max, you say it. Max, you say it.

1:44:10Big Cat:Put that phones on real quick. I knocked him over. I didn't know Max had a dart ball impersonation. Oh, he loves it. future face of this league that's really good that was so good I love Scotty Barnes even more after this whole thing so Toronto's probably good for you know a couple I don't know I mean maybe there's a tweak here or there the point of this whole thing is there's stuff in the way but if the 26 season told us anything is like you can't really eliminate any of these teams other than the Nets the Bulls

1:44:49you know yeah you know Atlanta Atlanta's five is good they'll be you know you can't just sit

1:44:55PFT Commenter:there and say hey everybody's going to be better no yeah yeah there's Pelicans it's unless they move conferences uh with AD and Trey even though look Trey's not exactly my favorite and you get something like you know you get kind of like a Dylan Harper season out of who the number one pick ends up being i don't think eight's crazy yeah okay i don't think it's crazy i mean that might not happen but i don't think it's crazy yeah it's not like you're saying they're gonna be a top four seed the one argument you can make is 80 gets hurt 80 gets hurt but i always say like

1:45:29Big Cat:if he's healthy i've said if he's healthy probably 500 times yeah but that's half the league yeah i don't know i i think that they're going to be fun at the very least and um i was telling the guys about this about how historically they've been over the course of the last like 50 years so they haven't won 50 games since 1979 i can't believe that the wizards have never been to a conference finals or won 50 games in a season since the invention of the three-point shot think about that we won the we won the championship the next year we won 50 games i think we lost in the in the finals the next year and then the year after that they put in the three-point shot and the wizards the bullets at the time bullets were just not prepared for the three-point shot and we never got back so are you saying they've not embraced analytics we not yet not but now now we are right with steve kerr saying get rid of the three-point line winger who i like a lot we had him on the pod he's an awesome basketball guy tons of respect it doesn't mean that you just get to fix everything immediately I also wonder why the DeBonsa thing has become like consensus the way that it has this week like I feel like it's I just wouldn't I don't know anything but I'm I'm just telling you like I don't Peterson is so much better than DeBonsa when they played against each other and if you don't believe me which is fine because I kind of like prep late for the draft but Gavoni who's really good on this stuff like he had a clip that came out this week with Zach Lowe where he just goes hey I've watched him play like eight to ten times in person I've never once thought to bonsa was better than him and i know the peterson season is crazy in regard to everything that happened i don't believe the creatine thing at all because it'd be like hey what's wrong with you oh i started taking this supplement a month ago okay well hey you could be the number one fucking pick in the nba draft so how about we stop taking the supplement or find a different creatine like that doesn't make any sense that it would happen all season long and like hey we figured it out now everything's fine just not gonna take i'm not gonna take this stuff micronized we're out on it um i just think that peterson like to just turn the page on this the way the consensus kind of has that it's like oh yeah it's just aj and they're gonna take him now you may take him because i wouldn't blame any gm for being like a little scared yeah you know of going like this kind of scares the shit out of me a little bit yeah uh if i'm gonna be wrong like i want to be wrong because aj ends up not being a great player i don't want to be wrong in three years where peterson isn't playing it's like hey dickhead you know like mark health folks i mean

1:48:03PFT Commenter:yeah that that was that came out of nowhere kind of but yeah where yeah but mark was hurt yeah right there was that shoulder thing that some people tell you if you had seen him play before he had that shoulder injury that they were like hey there's a reason why like team still believe in him as the number one overall guy so uh i'm only saying that is like i'm i'm surprised that as soon as the lottery was drawn it was the wizards and it's like people are ready to make a jersey for aj and they still may end up picking them i just would think it's a i i would feel like it's a challenge for a front office to turn the page on Peterson that quickly yeah I would agree

1:48:31Big Cat:I don't have it set in stone as being AJ I think that also people looking at the roster of the Wizards and saying AJ makes more sense right now but I don't think that that should actually impact if you really believe in a guy going number one that's where I think you make the biggest mistakes in the draft is drafting uh for fit yeah it's like Marvin Williams you know he's just like hey you know pick the best guy you'll figure it out later if he's the best guy right who do you think's gonna have the better career uh acuff or wagler wow because acuff does something like right now that immediately translates where you just go okay he's gonna get by everybody all the time and yeah i know he sucks on defense but some of the stuff i think is i think it's really fixable especially like with big time scoring kids they're like they've never really had to play defense their whole life but there's other teams that just think like it's so bad uh you know wagler's thing was that he was like in control of every possession and i want to compare him to sga but there's some sga type stuff where it's like he keeps the possession alive beyond his own shot decision with him where there's a composure to him but it doesn't look it's not physically as impressive as other guys which is kind of sga's downfall is that it doesn't ever look as cool as ant doing something it's just way more efficient historically efficient for a two guard so people get into like the aura thing being like a knock on sga which i i kind of get but it's like i'd rather have that though and i think wogler has some of that stuff in where once they just gave him the keys of that team like that guy was unbelievable so i'm gonna go wogler okay okay uh all right you gotta go

1:50:06PFT Commenter:ryan uh last question rowback question rhoback.com promo code take 20 off your first purchase q-zips polos hoodies joggers shorts rowback.com promo code take put on the headphones zach oh yeah sorry Zach. I went headphones free on this one. Yeah, you did. You raw dogged it. What's going on, Ryan? How are we doing today? I'm great, Zach. It's so good to see you. Great to see you as well, my man. I did have a quick question.

1:50:27Big Cat:With you being a well-traveled man, this may be some life advice. Was there a particular country where you found was like, this made sense to find a life partner there? Or is that something you think should be done domestically? It's a great question. It's a great question. Because I thought about it, When I landed in Reykjavik, I was kind of like, I was like, man, it's three hours to Minneapolis. And I was like, and then you just go straight up to Reykjavik. I was like, this is like less than five hours. I was like, if I meet somebody here, this isn't even that bad of a commute. I mean, granted, you'd be saying like, oh, I'm going to go see my girlfriend in Iceland.

1:50:59PFT Commenter:Right. And you'd be like, you couldn't, you live in Los Angeles, man. Like Reykjavik? Yeah. Outside of Reykjavik? The Western fjords? I don't think we're going to find a lot there. But I really think it should be done domestically. Because then I feel like, Zach, I just don't want you to be used for your citizenship. I'm not entirely opposed to that, but you're right.

1:51:23Big Cat:I probably shouldn't be like a green card target. But you're not opposed. Not 100 % opposed, you know. I haven't been to South America, though. So I'm sure like my mind would change a little bit. That's where you were kind of going with that, Zach? I don't hate the idea. Like Columbia, maybe? Yeah. This is what Jersey Jerry warned us about. Italians aren't going to exist anymore because they're all attracted to Colombians. And now you're next in line, Ryan. Yeah. I feel like the Colombia thing is over because everyone talks about it. I could see that, like, oversaturation in the market. Yeah. Memes?

1:51:56Big Cat:Thoughts?

1:51:58PFT Commenter:I miss my Colombian

1:52:01Big Cat:girls from Vegas.

1:52:02PFT Commenter:The strip club. We're not really... We just said that a couple times. He's like, I miss my Colombian girls.

1:52:08Big Cat:It's just a big weekend. It's just a big Colombian weekend all around. Yeah. Max especially. The problem is, is like if you're going to these hot Instagram spots, like they're just as unapproachable as like going out in Manhattan and fighting over nines with financial guys.

1:52:23PFT Commenter:Yeah, but Zach is a, he's an attractive guy. No, he's a demon. I get that. But I just, like there's a language barrier thing. So I don't know. You know, it's just tough. Like I remember walking around this one town in the south of France and I was like laughing out loud about how hot everybody was. and I was like you're not going to do anything about it I was like of course I'm not going to do anything about it I'm just going to go home like hey how's it going I'm solo and I'm a little bit older than I look good questions do you like film if we're going domestically Ryan not to branch

1:52:55Big Cat:off a little bit if we're going domestically not online where we where's like where the here right here you are in it I'm telling you right now Chicago is the most attractive slash approachable uh fair sex of any major city in the united states and i'm telling you right now like you don't have to deal with the northeast thing you don't have to deal with the southern why aren't you marrying me in six months thing you don't have to deal with a southern california thing where it's like hey you're nice but a linebacker in the nfl is also dming me um you know you are you are in chicago and if there's one thing that is consistent about this place midwest values Midwest sensibilities and girls that are cute that you can actually talk to.

1:53:38PFT Commenter:Yeah. And you're, I mean, he knows. He plays a little coy. He needs to get in his DMs. I guarantee you they're lit up right now.

1:53:45Big Cat:I appreciate the advice, Ryan, more than you know. Thank you.

1:53:47PFT Commenter:His eyes are incredible.

1:53:48Big Cat:I get lost in them every day. Soft eyes. Yeah. Caribbean. It sounds like Zach's thought about that very question before. Like what nationality would you be most attracted to, Zach? Yeah. I feel like romance could be like a global thing. so I figured I'd ask a well-traveled man. Yeah, Germany, though. Germany? Yeah, little village. That might be hard to speak. Yeah, there's... I'm telling you, when you're attracted, you're just attracted and you get through those barriers. Love transcends language, is that what you're telling me? Yeah, basically. Little German villages, a guy like you roll in with those shoulders, forget it.

1:54:22PFT Commenter:All right, Ryan, you're the best. Everyone listen to the Ryan Rosso podcast and you want this. I want it. I did six shows. I wasn't able to do mostly sports.

1:54:33Big Cat:Oh, that's tough. I know. It's tough break. I didn't hear from those guys. Yeah. They didn't even try to book you? No. Who's in charge over there? I have no idea. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life's a journey. Some days feel good. Others feel overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night, it's easy to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is, no one has all the answers. And no journey should be alone. Having someone with you to listen, to understand, and to support you can make all the difference. Quality therapists at BetterHelp. They've got therapists that work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the United States.

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1:56:44PFT Commenter:Okay, Fyre Fest of the Week. Henry. Honestly, nothing to report. It's been a good week. Weather's coming.

1:56:53Big Cat:Weather's coming. Weather's coming. Summer's coming. Now, what do you mean by that?

1:56:57PFT Commenter:I mean, like, it's sunny out. It stays light out until past 8 o 'clock, which is just the best. Can I throw something out there? Oh, no. No, no. I'm just, maybe this is just me losing my mind a little, getting old, whatever. it feels like it's it's lighter way earlier yeah like i noticed that yesterday i know i know i know obviously no duh dude that's what happens when we switch the clocks all that shit but it feels like even more earlier than usual i agree like i've been waking up at like 5 40 and been

1:57:30Big Cat:like what did i sleep in what the fuck we got like one more month right of it getting lighter earlier and staying light later yeah so we're not even done yet something's up with the sun something's going on with the sun? I'm just telling you. I don't know. The sun... I'm on to you, bro. Well, this is the second son. You guys know that, right? They replaced the son back in the 1970s.

1:57:52PFT Commenter:By the way, no follow-up for my alien talk the other day. They didn't do shit.

1:57:56Big Cat:Yeah, they were waiting. Maybe you're an alien. Yeah, true. This is actually making more sense now.

1:58:00PFT Commenter:Clone. Grit Week next week. Super exciting for Grit Week. And yeah, I got nothing. I really racked my brain, but I got nothing. It was a long week last week. I was happy to be back. I feel good. I feel healthy. You're finally over because you having to go from Max's Bachelor Party, L.A. live show to then a wedding. I don't know how you did that. No, it was a lot. I pushed my body to the absolute limit, but then I came back Sunday, potted, and then Monday I just went to – there's a Russian bathhouse in Chicago. Just went there, sweated for three hours. I feel like I got all the toxins out of my system.

1:58:42PFT Commenter:And now you get to see your kids today. on friday yeah yeah i got yeah i got i got i got the visitation today i don't know if you know how we do this show no i know but yeah daddy's home do you think they remember you i hope so long weekend with you're gonna see they're probably gonna be upset with me it might not go well but

1:58:59Big Cat:you're not gonna recognize them you're gonna be like i've been gone for so long i know i feel

1:59:02PFT Commenter:do you feel guilty yeah i i i feel terrible whenever i go this long without seeing my kids it like i can't sleep at night but when you see them like the second they see you

1:59:13Big Cat:it's all worth it.

1:59:14PFT Commenter:And yeah, you just never want to say goodbye.

1:59:15Big Cat:Is it like a...

1:59:17PFT Commenter:I might just be there for... I might spend 10 hours with my kids. Is it like a military homecoming? Yeah. Should have Hank hide in a box. Roll him out to the first tee box. His caddy sees him when he steps out of

1:59:29Big Cat:his car and goes up to him and just jumps in his arms. Missed you. Okay.

1:59:33PFT Commenter:So you just... Your life is awesome. Yeah, listen. We do... It can't force a fire fest. I have them a lot. I got nothing this week. Okay, good week. We won softball.

1:59:44Big Cat:Yeah. Yeah. I had fun. Yeah. It's a great week. Yeah. I also love that that's like your number one priority, like your priority. Like everything went good this week. I won my softball game.

1:59:54PFT Commenter:Well, usually like things that happen outside of work that become Fyre Fest. Like I didn't really do anything. Like I was relaxing outside of work this week. And the one thing we did, we won. Yeah.

2:00:07Big Cat:Cool. Handle it.

2:00:07PFT Commenter:Hit a dong.

2:00:08Big Cat:Yeah, he did. Nice. I saw that on the recap inside the park.

2:00:12PFT Commenter:Who had a recap?

2:00:14Big Cat:Oh, Gibby?

2:00:15PFT Commenter:Quig's a little robot.

2:00:16Big Cat:Are they all inside the park?

2:00:18PFT Commenter:Yeah. Yeah. Okay. This one almost left.

2:00:20Big Cat:But would this have been a home run on most ball fields that have a fence?

2:00:24PFT Commenter:Probably except for Fenway. Just because it was so good. Oh, the monster.

2:00:28Big Cat:The monster would have gotten it. Yeah. All right. Cool. Sick, yeah. My Firefest of the week, I don't really – I'm kind of with Hank on this, but there is something. There is something. Because I've had a pretty good week, and again, like Grit Week coming up next week, I'm so excited. I'm actually just so excited to drop the first interview. I'm also so excited for Vanny Woodhead, too.

2:00:47PFT Commenter:Yeah. That's going to be. We haven't been in a Vanny Woodhead in a long time. It also feels like doing group week this time of year feels correct. Yes. Yeah. It does. It makes it more exciting. I don't know if you guys feel the same way. No, because when we do it in August, there definitely is a feeling of like, okay, we've had a long, you know, we packed some things into the summer, especially last summer. It's like we did this, this, this. This is like a kickoff into summer.

2:01:10Big Cat:Yeah, I'm excited. one of our group fire fest could be that max is being a big pussy about fanny woodhead yeah terrified to ride in a baby he's being a big baby about true yeah you are you're being a big baby you're being a bigger baby than than buddha ben was you doesn't understand how many hours are in

2:01:25PFT Commenter:a day you called me into a conference room freaking out that we were not going to have

2:01:29Big Cat:enough time to drive i still don't think i still don't understand you guys just love scheduling things and don't think about time.

2:01:38PFT Commenter:It's Grit Week, buddy. You gotta fucking... If we don't sleep, we don't sleep. Should we do an all-nighter? We probably will.

2:01:47Big Cat:Okay, great. You guys are gonna be fucking cranky. I'm excited about it. Hell no. What happened when Hank didn't get breakfast one night? Well, guess what, bitch? There's a lot of Waffle Houses. So we can hit those. Love it.

2:01:59PFT Commenter:Yeah, that might be a group firefest that PFT announced he's gonna eat every meal at Waffle House, which means we have to eat every meal at Waffle House.

2:02:06Big Cat:Oh no, it's a great idea

2:02:08PFT Commenter:I would like to get some We're going to New Orleans Oh, you should do Gumball

2:02:14Big Cat:Last time I came back with a kidney filled with gravel

2:02:18PFT Commenter:That's grit

2:02:19Big Cat:Or I could just eat grits every meal I probably shouldn't have said that out loud That was a mistake to say it out loud But I do love Waffle House Group Firefest Max has been a big baby About Grit Week I'm just being a producer and trying to actually plan And you guys just be like, oh let's do this let's do this let's do this i'm like we don't have enough time today for all this the answer is always yes you're trying yeah you know that down the vibe big time i'm not your week is is

2:02:44PFT Commenter:one week we just got to fucking do it dude sack up sure sack up i'm gonna do it i just wanted to

2:02:50Big Cat:make sure that everyone was aware of how oh i'm aware how big of a baby you're being yes you've done a very someone's got a job we all know how quanky you've been you've raised a lot of yeah good awareness diaper that uh i the actual fire fest that i was going to go with i realized that i have a lot like i was smarter when it came to most things when i was in eighth grade than i am today and oh definitely i was thinking about like obviously math like eighth grade me would run circles around my brain today when it came to like any sort of math problem but science too and understanding how to do like uh how to set up any sort of a science experiment to figure something out because i've been trying to sort this out i actually dove into it with like a pen and a paper this week i want to do an experiment and maybe you guys can help me with this it could be i think a good experiment we could do together as a group or we could do it in uh like a barcel after dark setting but the bottom line is i went out i bought um i bought breathalyzers like keychain breathalyzers and i brought that along with us to vegas so we could like i had max blow into it a few times good numbers by max by the way on that breathalyzer um but it's been my quest to figure out what that golden ratio is for how good you get out of sport determined by how slightly buzzed you are so like when you're playing beer pong or you're playing darts or you're playing a game like that maybe even golf my hypothesis is that you have to be between like a 0.04 and a 0.06 and And that's when you achieve the best results.

2:04:24PFT Commenter:Yeah. I mean, this isn't new. Yeah. When you play beer pong, you suck when you're sober. Exactly. And then you get good and then you get bad again. Exactly.

2:04:31Big Cat:So it's been discussed before. But now that I've got the breathalyzers, I want to do a scientific experiment.

2:04:39PFT Commenter:You've got to get real breathalyzers, though.

2:04:41Big Cat:Well, yeah, I can upgrade. I can always upgrade the breathalyzers. But I want to do an actual experiment. And I've been trying to figure out how to set up the experiment. And it's escaping me. And I can't nail it down. My idea was like you shoot 100 shots sober. Then you shoot 100 shots after you've had like two beers. Then 100 after you've had four beers. But then you might also get better because you've practiced shooting 200 times.

2:05:04PFT Commenter:No, I don't think it's 100 shots. Yeah, it's like it's playing a game. It's like, yeah, like 10 shots and then have a couple beers, then 10 shots. Yeah. You can't do – if you shoot 100 shots, you're going to be better on the second 100.

2:05:18Big Cat:Right. And then I think we need a big sample size of people that would be engaging in this.

2:05:23PFT Commenter:You know what you can easily do is you can just do 100 shots sober, another 100 shots sober, another 100 shots sober. So it establishes where you get better just baseline sober. Yeah. And then add the drinking.

2:05:37Big Cat:Then you add the drinking.

2:05:38PFT Commenter:Because then you'll have a good sense.

2:05:41Big Cat:Yeah. I feel like this would be a good Barstool after Darkstream, though. Yeah. I feel like this is, I want to do some scientific work on this and see exactly where the human body peaks physically. I like this.

2:05:53PFT Commenter:The idea of getting an eighth grade U being smarter, I'm like a year or two away from my oldest son being smarter than me. And I'm terrified of it. They're teaching math in a totally different way, too. I don't even understand.

2:06:11Big Cat:Imagine trying to help with Algebra 2 homework. No. No. Or like trigonometry.

2:06:16PFT Commenter:I took Algebra 2 in college. No.

2:06:18Big Cat:Yeah.

2:06:18PFT Commenter:Yeah. No. Okay. My Firefest is sitting right here in the studio because if you listen to the Ryan Russillo interview, I gifted him the NBA finals flag that hung in the concourse of Chris Paul's only NBA finals. I was really hoping he wasn't going to accept the gift so I could hang it in the office and he has accepted the gift. this is just I guess this is what what being a good friend means because I was I was really hoping he'd be like nah I don't want it but he wants it so I gotta find another one it's really nice do you think he knows that you wanted that and so he's just I made it pretty clear yeah do you think maybe no I think he likes it I think he wants it because it's a cool ass thing like that's a cool thing to have in your house NBA finals banner you think Ryan or still is putting this up in his house.

2:07:10PFT Commenter:I think he's going to put it up behind him for the NBA Finals. I do think he will do that. Then maybe he'll send it back. It's not going to fit. Yeah, dude. He's got an awesome house. You don't think he's like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, send it. I have seen his house. Awesome. And then keep it in the box. You know, he might send it back. That's, I guess, my only hope. Yeah. But he also might, it might be like next to his Christmas tree where every year when the NBA Finals comes around, he goes to the garage, takes out his NBA Finals banner we'll get another one yeah yeah we need another one we definitely need another one and then my other fire fest is max is mad at me because we are undefeated in uh softball yelled at me on the sidelines why would he be mad at you i thought you guys were joking oh he's mad he gets mad he's mad i understand why he's mad but also yeah why is he mad i don't understand i told him he swung too hard and he gets me he gets mad whenever i say he was well big cat's like the

2:08:06Big Cat:nine-year-old baseball coach that knows nothing about baseball or swinging it or swinging a bat okay so he just does like the squash the bug when he's never played a day a day of baseball in his

2:08:15PFT Commenter:life okay that's not true i definitely i played all the way through uh when i was 12 years old yeah two hold on we're not playing baseball and that's been my whole entire point no it's not the whole point is it's a 16 inch softball if you swing as hard as you can against a 16 in softball, it will always end the bad run. I have been the best hitter.

2:08:34Big Cat:I had one bad game, and now Big Cat's like the—

2:08:37PFT Commenter:No, I just mentioned that you were swinging too hard.

2:08:40Big Cat:But you say that to everyone, and it drives everyone on our team insane. Because everyone on our team— Every single person on our team insane. Because everyone on our team— We haven't lost.

2:08:49PFT Commenter:Yeah, but then we have innings where everyone fucking tries to hit a home run, and they hit a pop-up. But you saying that, no one is trying to get out.

2:08:57Big Cat:You know what this is? You know what this is? You know nothing. You know nothing. Do you think... Have I played more 16-inch softball than you in your life?

2:09:06PFT Commenter:It's swinging a bat. Who has swung a bat more in their life? It doesn't matter. Me times a trillion. 16-inch softball is not baseball. Did you swing too hard last night? No. No. What did you go? What did you go? You know one for five.

2:09:19Big Cat:Any home runs? Yikes.

2:09:21PFT Commenter:Yeah, and he popped out to the first baseman twice.

2:09:23Big Cat:Okay, you know what this is. Here's the thing. I am so much better than you.

2:09:27PFT Commenter:I never said you weren't. So I know what I'm doing. You do not. Well, last night you didn't.

2:09:32Big Cat:Yeah, I'm not going to have a good game every single game.

2:09:35PFT Commenter:I also made every single play. You were great in defense. You could hit a line drive like laser every time.

2:09:41Big Cat:I was – the problem was I was getting over antsy, and I was not letting pitches – I was not looking at pitches. I was swinging at pitches that were going to drop before the plate. That was the problem. I was not swinging too hard. There's – anyone – here's a lesson for all the kids out there. Yeah, youngsters. Anyone who tells you that you swing too hard is a fucking loser. Swing the fucking bat. Swing the fucking bat. Except when it comes to 16-inch softball because the ball moves differently. You're up there to hit the fucking ball. Swing it. Hank, you know what this is? This is AJ Brown. And this is Nick Sirianni.

2:10:18Big Cat:That's exactly what Max has become. No, because Nick Sirianni's played a lot of football in his life.

2:10:23PFT Commenter:Again, it's not baseball, you idiot. It's fucking 16-inch softball. It's the same fucking thing.

2:10:27Big Cat:It's not. Yes, it is. Nick's here now. He was never in the NFL.

2:10:30PFT Commenter:It's not.

2:10:31Big Cat:He played all through college. It's not. Big Cat didn't play through. He played through 12. You're being a little bit of a...

2:10:37PFT Commenter:Well, in a lot of 16-inch softball, you're forgetting that part. It's a fucking bat. I've played 16-inch softball for 20 years.

2:10:44Big Cat:A little bit of a diva designated hitter. No, no. He's not the coach. Big Cat is not the coach. He's another player on the team. Oh, so now you can't accept any coaching points, though. He's not a coach. But he's still giving you coaching tips.

2:10:58PFT Commenter:Yes, but he's not the coach It wasn't even a tip It was actually just a statement You swung too hard The vibes that Big Cat brings

2:11:08Big Cat:When we have a bad inning Is the fucking worst No one else can say it to him First of all

2:11:16PFT Commenter:I haven't said the swing too hard Last season I said it because The entire roster had never played 16-inch softball before And the first game, every guy got up and tried to hit as hard as they could, and they all popped out. And I was like, guys, 16th softball is not about swinging hard. That's what I said. And I was right, and we're playing better now. Swing the fucking bat.

2:11:37Big Cat:It's the Eagles because your team's winning, and you're just making it a terrible experience. Sorry I'm competitive.

2:11:44PFT Commenter:I want my three-hitter to fucking rock it.

2:11:48Big Cat:Yeah. You know how I do that is I swing the fucking bat hard. Okay, okay. I'm not going to go up there like a pussy. You may as well go up there right-handed.

2:11:58PFT Commenter:That's something to think about. Memes and Hank, you guys were there. Do you think he swung too hard last night?

2:12:04Big Cat:He definitely swung too hard.

2:12:09PFT Commenter:I'm the best hitter on the fucking team. He did make awesome plays in the field. He made awesome plays in the field. He actually made a play. He made a play going back and catching like a Willie Mays catch and then threw the ball back, and the guy didn't move off of third base. And he goes, I respect his arm. And I was like, fuck yeah, you do. Fuck yeah, you do. So, yeah.

2:12:31Big Cat:We got to get you a book to read in the dark. 4-0, though.

2:12:34PFT Commenter:Yeah, 4-0. 4-0. He did Italian hands at me. That's how mad he was.

2:12:39Big Cat:Well, I mean, it's just so annoying when he does it. I like it when he does the Wizard of Oz argument hands where he starts shaking his hands like this.

2:12:47PFT Commenter:Yeah. Also, for the record, last night I know that it annoys Max, so I was going to say it no matter what. Like that one I was going to say. It annoys everyone. I don't say it to anyone else anymore. I don't say it to anyone else. The only thing I say is hit the ball on the ground, and that's a fact. Hank, you play six-inch softball now. If you hit the ball on the ground, usually good things happen.

2:13:09Big Cat:If you're right-handed, yes. Left-handed makes that more difficult. It's a lot easier to make the play from.

2:13:15PFT Commenter:Unless you're fast. When we have our worst innings, it's because we just all try to hit in the air. No, I'm just saying, like, yeah. Yeah. Listen, we're 4-0. We're 4-0. Don't try to break up this team, Max. Don't try to break up this team, Max. You're the one who breaks up the team. I'm not. We're 4-0. You're the one who breaks up the team. How am I bringing up the team? We're 4-0. Because we go 4-0. I only said it to you last night. We have a great game.

2:13:38Big Cat:And then you just like to make content out of it and get everyone pissed off. I'm not making content out of it.

2:13:42PFT Commenter:It's only you. You keep saying everyone. I only said it to you.

2:13:47Big Cat:Because I told you to stop saying it to everyone because everyone else was getting pissed off that you were saying.

2:13:52PFT Commenter:said it to you and i only said it hey is this true i don't know yeah pissed off i think you're the only one that gets actually you don't talk to the guys like i do oh shit but i only said it one time last year the first game that's a lie oh my god hank that's a lie one time maybe a couple times because we fucking hit it hank to admit that he's lying a couple times you did it like A couple times a game. A couple times a game. No, no. A couple times a game. So everyone hates me on the team is what you're saying. No. You pretty much are saying that. They hate when you. I don't know. I don't talk to the guys.

2:14:27PFT Commenter:Yeah. Memes. You talk to the guys. Everyone's complaining about me saying that. Does memes talk to the guys, Max? No, they like you. Okay. But they don't like when you're like. Who? Name names. When you're like, stop swinging. Name names. Everyone. Hank's everyone. Memes is everyone. No, you're the one who's trying to bring this team down. No, I'm saying you said everyone, and I have two guys sitting right here who have no problem with it. Shane almost quit last year because you kept saying it. No, he didn't. He did? Yeah. He was pissed. He was really that pissed? Yeah. Shane also wears two batting gloves.

2:14:59PFT Commenter:Not anymore. We shamed him out of it. I think you get the most mad by far, and then you were... Sure.

2:15:07Big Cat:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

2:15:07PFT Commenter:I mean, you were yelling at me last night.

2:15:10Big Cat:Because I'm the only one who's going to say anything. We're not understanding because he's taking on all the complaints from everybody. All the guys on the team are running through it.

2:15:17PFT Commenter:I also haven't said it this year. I literally said it the first time last night because Max did swing too hard. I have not said it this year.

2:15:22Big Cat:Memes, does Max swing too hard? Max can do whatever he wants. He's so good. Sounds like everyone's intimidated with Max. That is true. Everyone's afraid to say anything to Max. We've had two games this year where nobody hit except Max. Yes, thank you. And he won us the game, so he can do whatever he wants. Can't wait to eat grits next week Big Hat and Hank did scoff at the lineup Before the game started Alright, maybe we're just doing complaints

2:15:49PFT Commenter:I mean, whoever made the lineup Put our best hitters at the bottom of the lineup And I don't run rule them I was hitting five I am not one of our best hitters The person who put himself

2:16:01Big Cat:Brian's the one who made the lineup And he put himself at the bottom of the lineup Sometimes it's good to have a second leadoff batter At the end No, he said that he just wasn't hitting well, so he wanted to punish himself. I also just like to scoff.

2:16:12PFT Commenter:Yeah, true. You are a scoffer. Scoff law. And we are 4-0.

2:16:16Big Cat:Yeah, you would think that we haven't won a game.

2:16:19PFT Commenter:That's not true. I said we were 4-0. It's the Eagles. Two things can be true. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

2:16:26Big Cat:You guys are the worst 4-0 softball team of all time. The vibes couldn't be worse. He was screaming at me. He was like, you never played baseball. Yeah, I think that's the fucking worst.

2:16:33PFT Commenter:Oh, because I said, you're being a baby now. You're a fucking baby We were up eight runs And you're like Hey man

2:16:40Big Cat:You really gotta stop Swing so hard I actually That's not true That's not true I said it after

2:16:45PFT Commenter:Because I knew it would Piss you off And I said You swank too hard We got a baby up Well like how How was that How was that good For the team Well it was just for you I didn't say it to anyone else Yeah how was that good Because it was funny Because we're having This conversation Max don't you want to be great Not funny I was laughing There you go Everyone I talked to everyone On the team They laughed No, you don't talk to the people on the team like Max does. Big Cat hasn't got beers with the guys one single week. Not one time. How many times have you gotten beers? Every single game. Okay. And I have three kids, and what do you want me to do?

2:17:21Big Cat:I was getting beers last time. I'm sorry.

2:17:23PFT Commenter:I've only played three games, by the way. Hank's got 18. So I've missed beers three times. My bad.

2:17:28Big Cat:Hank's got 18 kids.

2:17:30PFT Commenter:I mean, why would I get beers anyway?

2:17:31Big Cat:Look at Hank with the fucking thing around it.

2:17:34PFT Commenter:Hank, why would I get beers? Max told me that everyone doesn't like me That's crazy Why would I get beers I wonder if there's probably a group text Definitely

2:17:44Big Cat:You should chug slower You never chugged in your life dude You'd enjoy that beer more if you drank it slower No big cat's much better chugger than me I wouldn't tell him how to chug

2:17:53PFT Commenter:I wouldn't get upset if you did

2:17:57Big Cat:Yeah you would

2:17:58PFT Commenter:I would say I would just be like Okay I'll chug faster

2:18:04Big Cat:that's why also 60-inch softballs on baseball uh that's productive i think it's actually bad no yeah bad spot now yeah no now the productive no now now what you just did is you just wrote you just ruined our best hitter because now every time i'm gonna be up there i'm just gonna be thinking about you no i like it he's ricky henderson now he's talking third person oh I never said my name. I know, but you referred to yourself as, like, you know what you just did? You just ruined our best hitter. Yeah. Yeah, he just did. Because now it's going to be a thing, and I'm going to, like, pop out in the first inning of the next game, and I'm just going to look on the bench, and he's going to have this stupid – I might not play.

2:18:49Big Cat:I might be done. Because he's going to have this stupid fucking grin on his face, and I know it. He has the same fucking grin every single time. He doesn't even say anything. Oh, now I can't exist?

2:19:01PFT Commenter:Hank, I understand what you're saying now I can't even exist I can't even enjoy being out there with the boys

2:19:08Big Cat:I may as well I'll just be designated fielder next game I'm not going to hit

2:19:13PFT Commenter:That's a lie Both of us are out because everyone hates me on the team So I'm out

2:19:17Big Cat:I said everyone hates when you tell them how to swing I haven't done that this year I actually agree You haven't done it this year because I told you not to do it And he said, yeah, listen, bitch

2:19:29PFT Commenter:So you're the coach Yeah, so it sounds like I can take coaching, but you can't. Because you told me not to say it anymore. I stopped saying it. That's true. I told you to stop swinging so hard, and you're going to keep swinging so hard.

2:19:39Big Cat:One of them is not coaching. I'm coaching you on how to coach. Yeah, I mean, Big Cat makes a good point, which is that he heard criticism, and he adapted with it. Correct. You hear criticism, you cover up both ears, and you're like, nobody's better than me. I'm the strongest boy. it's me max i'm so strong big cat is really i i hit a home run with poopy pants once i did do that

2:20:08PFT Commenter:max i think you're really good at softball no i'm done with you you're really good at softball dude you are you're fucking next fireman

2:20:16Big Cat:what do you got for us this is off uh my field firefaces weeks to me quick one i'm uh i'm just You know, I'm three days into a lifestyle change, and I just can't stop thinking about knish. It's kind of consumed me. There's a deli down the street from my house. Oh, man. I was open up to the world of knish probably about three weeks ago. It became a mainstay. Honestly, I almost thought about converting because it may be my favorite food of all time.

2:20:42PFT Commenter:It's so good. It's insanely good.

2:20:45Big Cat:What is it? Because I don't even know. I don't really know what's in the middle. I do like the savory. It's like a meat situation and the potato on the outside. sometimes it's like potato

2:20:55PFT Commenter:with dough around it's like a almost like a fried pierogi or like a like it's it's a bread and then potatoes in the middle or meat it's good

2:21:06Big Cat:they're like maybe baseball sized you can get a tray really quick from this place down the street and I keep thinking about it like late night and I don't know if it's an issue or how I'm going to overcome this and I kind of wish

2:21:17PFT Commenter:I never ran into them it's like a it's like the cousin of a a pierogi and the cousin of a empanada. You said convert. What is the convert tool? I was going to say, I don't know.

2:21:27Big Cat:Just for the conditions. Yeah. You might. I mean, it'll solve itself on Saturday, right? They won't be open. Yeah. They do have weird hours, which is, which is not my favorite part about it. Like sometimes in the middle of the week, they'll be like, I'll be close at three, which I didn't really see coming. Cause there was a couple of days where like towards the end of the day, you ever look forward to something when you get home. Yeah. I was looking forward to like, Oh, I'll get a five pack when I get home. this can be fantastic and they were closed so i didn't really know where to pivot from there uh i probably can get over this hurdle but for right now i'm absolutely in the condition and that's my fire festival week i do love that that every culture has figured out like their version of this dish like the kolache or the hot pocket they got the condition that looks so good so are they potato conditions do they all have potatoes in them and then something else from my experience all potatoes on the outside and then inside like meat i don't think i've ever had a meat knish i've only ever had just the potato one it's like the ones i had are like mashed potatoes on the inside and then like a fried some sort of dough on the outside do you dip them there's sauce on the side but i have yet to dip see that's i would i would start to explore the sauces that seems like an entire new lane too i feel like the sauce could take away from the integrity though just raw dog in the knishes yeah when they're warm and honestly when they're cold they do look pretty good you've never had a knish pft i don't think i have there's big long big long island thing there's a lot of good knishes in long island yeah my mom would make them and stuff them with cheese really good it does look good i've i've been a big pierogi guy i'm a big kolache guy best nothing better maybe maybe knishes but all the filled foods are bad for you all some of the filled foods are the best foods and they're bad for you gushers we gotta pivot we gotta find away yeah and it starts here how many conditions are you putting down a day uh initially it was just two with the sandwich but then i just start the sandwich is okay so i just started ditching the sandwich and just going to seven pack a seven packet conditions yeah but they look pretty big one meal a day just you know what i mean yeah so when you're yeah

2:23:32PFT Commenter:big cat has texted the spring pugs and said i just want to apologize max said everyone on the team secretly hates my guts for saying don't swing too hard last year when a lot of you guys are playing 16-inch for the first time. Really sorry. Won't ever do it again. That's coachable, right? Max Alente has replied, I hate this guy. I think that was supposed to be in your separate group text with the one with the guys you actually talked to.

2:23:56Big Cat:Oh, the separate group text is firing off right now.

2:23:59PFT Commenter:Oh, yeah. That's – was that – Hank, I mean, like, I apologize. Yeah. Like, my bad. Oh, Hank loved it. Let her thumbs up and thank you. Appreciate that. I feel seen.

2:24:14Big Cat:wait I'm about to lob a grenade in here this is where the season turns PFT is just in the group chat

2:24:20PFT Commenter:he was on the roster

2:24:24Big Cat:I retired I did Aaron Rodgers retired before the season started Jack wants to know if you can shoot an ad with him after Big Cat absolutely not

2:24:32PFT Commenter:one time I told him he swung too hard

2:24:33Big Cat:I just asked Quiggs' bot that he has in there if there's a second group chat without Big Cat let's see what AI says about this

2:24:43PFT Commenter:Oh, there we go. He responded.

2:24:47PFT Commenter:No comment on the second chat question. Yeah, Big Cat definitely overcoaches, but he's also buying the beer, so we tolerate it.

2:24:53Big Cat:Is that true? I don't know.

2:24:55PFT Commenter:I paid for the team last year.

2:24:56Big Cat:No, Big Cat paid for the league, so he can overcoach.

2:25:00PFT Commenter:I don't overcoach.

2:25:01Big Cat:I just... But Gibby just said he did.

2:25:03PFT Commenter:Yeah. Well, because last night he told me.

2:25:10PFT Commenter:All right. Good show, boys. Wait. Oh, Gibby replied.

2:25:16Big Cat:You already said that this chat's this bot sucks.

2:25:19PFT Commenter:Big cat. Don't sweat it. Max needs to hear this more than anyone. Stop over swing. You're right last year and you're right now. He went two for two for infield flies yesterday trying to kill the ball. That's the problem. Give him the same advice. That's AI chat.

2:25:34PFT Commenter:I also keep trying to get the AI chat to call 911. I keep trying to command it and Quiggs gets freaks out every time. Okay. Good show. Numbers. 11. Shane's on the team. Shane. Everyone hate me on the team?

2:25:50Big Cat:See, this is where you just change what I say.

2:25:56PFT Commenter:Does everyone hate that I told last year I told them that they swung too hard? I haven't heard anything about it until matches yesterday. I haven't said it this year, yeah. I didn't hear it last year. I said it maybe a couple times. Yeah, a couple times last year. I did not say it every year. I didn't hear it.

2:26:09Big Cat:I said it a couple times. Hank, if you listen to what Hank said, He said you said it a couple times a game. No, I don't say it a couple times a game. I only played spring last year.

2:26:17PFT Commenter:It's also like I'm just saying it out loud. Don't swing too hard. Who cares? You can just not listen. Except Max does listen and gets mad. Yep. I'm happy that you just ruined our team. We're probably not going to win another game. This is great. I'm happy. You do this every year. I did not ruin it. I did this last year? Oh, yeah. Well, how did I ruin the team last year? You want to ask Tom Lay? Yeah. Yeah, and then we won after that. No, we didn't. Yes, we did. To be fair, Big Cat wasn't at the game where Tom took a tumble. Thank you. That was me. Yes, thank you, Max. But also so warranted. Thank you.

2:26:53PFT Commenter:Thank you. Looks like Max is an untrustworthy narrator here. Looks like Hank ruined the team last year. So take it back, Max. The comic fall was not me. I did not bring that up. Sure, take it back.

2:27:05Big Cat:This is the one thing that we do without content, and then we just have to make it content every single year.

2:27:10PFT Commenter:This is barely content. It's an argument between the two of us. It's an argument between the two of us.

2:27:15Big Cat:We won 18-6. I made every single play on the field. I went one for five. And it's like... I went... I did this. I did that.

2:27:26PFT Commenter:Yes, because he is the one criticizing me. I'm not criticizing you. What do you mean you're not criticizing me? I said you swung too hard.

2:27:36Big Cat:What the fuck is that then? How is that not fucking criticism?

2:27:43PFT Commenter:Our numbers 77 I'm quitting I'm done No stop Stop I'm done Stop Walk away Quit

2:27:52Big Cat:What finals Is this 21 finals That'll show coach That I'm serious I'll quit Yeah He's not the Fucking coach BFD He's not the Fucking coach 56 Six.

2:28:14Oh.

2:28:16PFT Commenter:Anyone got three? Is that you? What'd you say? Me, did you say three? Damn.

2:28:23Big Cat:Let's switch it up. Let's do one more. Three. Three's top. 21, 21, 21.

2:28:41Big Cat:52 52 no one not happy birthday to ray lewis emmett smith ryan leaf john smoltz and then saturday happy birthday gardner minchu happy birthday to janet jackson and megan fox also on saturday shout out Megan Fox memes I got nothing yeah that's right what murder that's right gotcha

2:29:10PFT Commenter:murder what murder he was a good guy

2:29:14Big Cat:love you guys

2:29:34Thank you.

2:30:03Thank you.

2:30:36Thank you.

2:31:05Thank you.

From the publisher

Football is back, sort of. As we finally have a full schedule after a week of teases (00:00:00-00:17:46). PGA Championship and Scottie is hot, Rory is not and Blocky loves the camera (00:17:46-00:25:45). Cavs win a great OT game on Wednesday, Avs are going to win the Cup and we have a Zoo trade (00:25:45-00:47:50). Ryen Russillo joins the show to talk playoff hoops, traveling alone, Big Cat gives him a sentimental gift and more (00:47:50-01:53:09). We finish with Fyre fest of the week.


You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Netflix. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/pardon-my-take

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