CFB With Kirk Herbstreit, Actor Paul Walter Hauser, The Bears Are A Dumpster Fire, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Listener FAQ’s

Summary

Pardon My Take Episode Summary: CFB With Kirk Herbstreit, Actor Paul Walter Hauser, The Bears Are A Dumpster Fire, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Listener FAQ’s

Release Date: December 18, 2024

"Pardon My Take" continues its tradition of delivering bold and insightful sports commentary with hosts Big Cat and PFT Commenter. In this episode, released on December 18, 2024, the duo delves deep into college football, critiques the Chicago Bears' ongoing struggles, explores the dynamics of sports management, and engages with special guests Kirk Herbstreit and actor Paul Walter Hauser.

---

1. Episode Overview

Big Cat kicks off the episode by introducing a two-part segment featuring Kirk Herbstreit discussing the College Football Playoffs and actor Paul Walter Hauser sharing his experiences in acting and wrestling. The hosts also tackle the persistent issues plaguing the Chicago Bears, engage in their signature "Hot Seat/Cool Throne" banter, and answer listener FAQs related to Max's injury and other topics.

---

2. The Chicago Bears: An Ongoing Struggle

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the Chicago Bears' underperformance. Big Cat expresses his deep frustration with the team's lack of progress and questionable management decisions.

• Big Cat's Frustration:
  "I could not have been more wrong with everything I said this summer... Nothing is going to change with this organization." ([04:32])

• Ownership Critique:
  "They will always be based on bad fundamentals and hoping they get lucky from time to time." ([04:36])

Big Cat discusses the impact of ownership, particularly criticizing George McCaskey's leadership and the lack of effective rebuilding efforts under GM Ryan Poles. The hosts lament the team's defensive weaknesses, offensive line issues, and quarterback performance, notably Caleb Williams' struggles.

• Call for Change:
  "They should fire Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren and start completely fresh. They won’t do that." ([08:08])

The conversation extends to potential future coaching hires, with humorous suggestions like hiring Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel to revitalize the team's fortunes.

---

3. Hot Seat/Cool Throne: Management and Ownership in Sports

In their "Hot Seat/Cool Throne" segment, Big Cat and PFT Commenter dive into the broader issues of sports team management, focusing on the Chicago Bears as a case study.

• Ownership Indifference:
  "These owners do not care about winning football games. They do not care about running an organization the correct way. They are a joke." ([05:51])

• GM and Coaching Concerns:
  "Ryan Polles should go. And then with Ryan Poles gone, Kevin Warren is now in charge and he's a doofus." ([08:08])

The hosts argue that without significant changes at the ownership and management levels, the Bears' performance will continue to decline, leaving fans disillusioned and hopeful for no tangible improvements.

---

4. Listener FAQs: Addressing Max's Injury and Health Concerns

Max shares an update on his foot injury, revealing he's in a walking boot and anticipating recovery without the need for surgery.

• Max's Update:
  "I still can't walk without crutches, but my doctor said eventually, within the next couple weeks, I will be able to just use the walking boot." ([28:53])

The listeners also inquire about Pug's handling of health-related matters, with suggestions for more transparent injury reports and regular updates to keep fans informed.

• Listener Suggestion:
  "You need to give, like, an update of, like, how everyone's feeling just so we can set the stage." ([171:27])

---

5. College Football Playoffs with Kirk Herbstreit

Special guest Kirk Herbstreit discusses the complexities of the College Football Playoffs, focusing on the transfer portal's impact on team dynamics. He highlights the challenges faced by Penn State after Bo Prabula entered the transfer portal, emphasizing the need for systemic changes in college football governance.

• Transfer Portal Issues:
  "Players just kind of coming and going and zero accountability to their team... the system just is screwed up." ([71:02])

Herbstreit suggests the implementation of contracts and cooperative agreements to stabilize team rosters and ensure players remain committed throughout the season.

• Proposed Solutions:
  "Players just kind of coming and going and zero accountability to their team... we need a CBA." ([76:23])

He also touches on Ohio State's mental resilience heading into playoff games, debating the potential home-field advantage and its actual impact under playoff conditions.

• Mental Resilience of Teams:
  "Their focus is on trying to beat Tennessee and go to the Rose Bowl and take on Oregon." ([83:49])

---

6. Interview with Paul Walter Hauser: Acting and Wrestling

Actor Paul Walter Hauser joins the show to discuss his multifaceted career, intertwining acting with his newfound passion for wrestling in Major League Wrestling (MLW). Hauser reflects on his diverse roles, the challenges of embodying complex characters, and his dedication to continuous personal growth.

• Diving into Wrestling:
  "Trying to partake in those worlds whenever it makes sense or whenever I think I can do at night... I'm doing this wrestling thing out." ([116:44])

Hauser shares his experiences playing different characters, emphasizing the emotional toll and the importance of balancing intense roles with personal well-being.

• Balancing Act:
  "I had a disgusting moment where I felt so bad... but it was about honoring the character." ([150:28])

He also contemplates his career trajectory, expressing aspirations to take on iconic roles and his commitment to acting while maintaining his wrestling endeavors.

• Career Aspirations:
  "I wanna play Teddy Roosevelt and a father who knows how to be present... I want to kick somebody's ass in MLW." ([164:34])

---

7. Ad Segments

Throughout the episode, the hosts incorporate advertisements seamlessly into their discussions, promoting brands like DraftKings, Peloton, Coors Light, Chevy, Tommy John, and Shake Shack. These segments are interspersed between content discussions and interviews.

---

8. Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Big Cat and PFT Commenter reflect on the day's discussions, reiterate their support for the Bears despite ongoing frustrations, and look forward to upcoming playoff games and future episodes featuring special guests.

• Closing Remarks:
  "We're big fans of yours and keep crushing it." ([165:33])

The hosts maintain their engaging and humorous tone, ensuring listeners are entertained while staying informed about the latest sports happenings.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Big Cat on Ownership Issues:
  "They should fire Ryan Polles and Kevin Warren and start completely fresh." ([08:08])

• Kirk Herbstreit on Transfer Portal:
  "Players just kind of coming and going and zero accountability to their team... we need a CBA." ([76:23])

• Paul Walter Hauser on Balancing Acting and Wrestling:
  "I wanna kick somebody's ass in MLW. And I'm going to be doing that Thursday night." ([164:34])

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of "Pardon My Take" offers a comprehensive look into the current state of college football, the persistent woes of the Chicago Bears, and an intriguing conversation with a rising star in both acting and wrestling. The combination of expert insights, candid critiques, and engaging interviews make this episode a must-listen for sports enthusiasts and fans of the show alike.

Transcript

[Big Cat]

Hey, pardon my take listeners. You can find every episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[PFT Commenter]

Hey, it's PFT here. Peloton has exactly what you need to stay on track with your fitness goals, no matter where you're at in life. Personally, trying to squeeze fitness into my schedule hasn't always been easy, but Peloton makes it possible with all kinds of classes that you can jump into. Whether you're a new parent coming off an injury, training for something big, or just straight up busy, there's always something to keep you moving. I I've been trying to get in the best shape of my life before I turned 40. I've been using Peloton. I've been on the bike and I've been running. And Peloton's making it super, super easy. Uh, you can fit in the classes whenever you have a second to do it. And it's not just cycling and running. Peloton offers a whole lineup of challenging workouts, from strength training and high intensity interval training to yoga and stretching. There's always a new way to push yourself or meet the moment, whatever your goal is. Plus, Peloton's all Access membership makes it easy to work out anywhere at home, on the bike, on the tread, or even on the go with the app. It's been a game changer for when I'm traveling or stuck at the office. I actually used their rowing class the other day. They've got everything, all kinds of workouts and will fit your schedule when my teams are stressing me out. Peloton's got meditations too. Moments is in. They come in clutch when I need a reset. So if you're ready to start strong, Peloton's got the tools to help you crush your goals season after season. Find your push, find your power with [e-mail] See you on the leaderboard.

[Big Cat]

On today's part of my take, we have a twofer for the people. We have our good friend Kirk Herb street on the show to talk college football playoffs. We also have incredible actor Paul Walter Hauser on the show, big fan of his. PFT is a big fan of his. Oh yeah, we're talk everything with him. We have Hot seat, Cool throne. We're going to talk Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, we're going to do FAQs. Some great FAQs from the listeners. We got a max update on his foot and it's all brought to you by our friends at DraftKings from monster slams to draining threes at the buzzer. Watching our favorite NBA players is the gift that keeps on giving and playing. Pick six from DraftKings, an official partner of the NBA, is a way to take a shot even more cash prizes. It's super simple to get started. Select two or more players and choose if they'll have more or less of a statistical like points, rebounds, three pointers and more. Track your picks for a shot at huge cash prizes. That's all there is to it. Pick six is available in most states, including California, Texas, Georgia, Missouri and more. And speaking of gifts for all first time pick six players, check this out. New customers play $5 get $50 in pick six credits. The fun of the NBA season continues. The simplest way to play for a little shot to win big. Pick 6 from DraftKings. Download the DraftKings Pick 6 app now and use Code Take. That's Code Take for new customers to play. $5, get $50 and pick six credits. Happy holidays from DraftKings. Pick six. The crown is yours.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut.

[Big Cat]

Must be 18 and over.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Void wear prohibited 1 per new customer bonus awarded as non withdra 6 credits that expire in 30 days.

[Big Cat]

Limited time offer. See [e-mail] promos okay, let's go. Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. The fun of the NBA season continues with the simplest way to play for a shot to win big. Pick 6 from DraftKings. Download the DraftKings Pick 6 app now. Use Code Take. That's Code Take for new customers to play. $5, get 50 and pick 6 credits. Happy Holidays from DraftKings. Pick 6. The crown is yours. Today is Wednesday, December 18th, and I don't even know what to say.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm sorry that you're going through this. And I'm sorry that really, what I'm sorry that we're all going through together is. Wait, are you talking about the Bears?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm talking about. I don't know what to say.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. I'm sorry that they keep putting the Bears on national television.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's. It's. I. They've beaten it all out of me. Like there's. I couldn't have. Let me start with this. I could not have been more wrong with everything I said this summer. I'VE said it. I've copped to that many times. But let me just do it one more time just so that people hear it again. I could not have been more wrong. I got so excited, I got so hyped that things were going to change. Nothing is going to change with this organization. It will always be this way. They will always be based on bad fundamentals and hoping they get lucky from time to time and nothing done the right way. And I'm now officially worried that like Caleb Williams might be like I need to just, I need to be traded because I still have hope for Caleb Williams. He has looked bad. He did not look good on Monday night. But he also, like everything is broken. The offensive line is so much worse than I expected. The defense without Eberflusse is now, which is a very funny like twist, you know, knife twist that the defense was being held together by Eberflus.

[PFT Commenter]

Should Matt Eberfluous be coach of the Year?

[Big Cat]

Maybe the I don't know how they ever won four games. This was supposed to be year three of a rebuild that was going to do things the right way and change the course of this organization. It is nowhere close to that. It is closer to year one of the rebuild than it was, than it is year three. We've gone completely backwards. I don't know. There's nothing, there's no path forward because the owners are going to be the owners. George McCaskey sitting there staring, thinking in his head like, oh, my mommy's going to be so mad at me when I get home. She's going to say she's so angry. These owners do not care about winning football games. They do not care about running an organization the correct way. They are a joke. They have all but ruined their golden goose because I think I speak for a lot of the fans where it's like, this is, this is just time and time again we get to this point of the season where we're on a nationally televised stage and the team is an embarrassment, an absolute embarrassment, top to bottom embarrassment. And I don't know how much more I can take it. I don't know how much more a lot of people can take it. And nothing's going to change because now they're stuck with a spot where they need a coach. They have a GM who I like personally. I like Ryan Polls personally. I've made that clear. I don't think he's good for the job anymore. Not only because the team has gone backwards, but it feels like he has no power and Also, he was probably the person who hired Matt Eberfluss and kept him around. And that is an egregious, egregious miscalculation, especially the keeping him with Caleb Williams. Ryan polls should. Should go. And then with Ryan Poles gone, Kevin Warren is now in charge and he's a doofus. So I don't really know what to do. We need. We should start. We should start fresh. They should fire Ryan polls and Kevin Warren and start completely fresh. They won't do that. They'll either keep Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren, fire Ryan polls keep Kevin Warren, and it's just going to be a mess and nothing's ever going to change. And I told Max and Memes this earlier. I'm officially retiring from ever getting to a 10 out of 10 excitement for the Chicago Bears until something changes.

[PFT Commenter]

What changes?

[Big Cat]

Because ownership problem.

[PFT Commenter]

Anything could change.

[Big Cat]

We were talking about it this summer. I was a 10 out of 10 excited. I will not let myself get a 10 out of 10 excited. That doesn't mean I'm not going to root really hard for them and want them to do well. I'm not going to get. Let myself get 10 out of 10 excited ever again until it's proven on the field that something has changed. So like Max said, what if you hire Vrabel? My response would be, that's. That's good.

[PFT Commenter]

It would be. What about Ben Johnson?

[Big Cat]

That seems good.

[PFT Commenter]

You hire Mike Vrabel to coach the defense and Ben Johnson to coach the.

[Big Cat]

Offense for the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

The Bears.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's pretty good. See, I just went to pretty. That's.

[Hank]

What if you start 70 next year?

[Big Cat]

We'll see. It probably won't last. Lovey. Lovey's last year I think we started 7, 0 or 8 and 1.

[PFT Commenter]

What if you start for cliff 5 and 2 this year?

[Big Cat]

No, pretty good.

[Hank]

They almost did start 5 and 2.

[Max]

Yeah, no, that. That was mean.

[Big Cat]

No, I know what he was doing. I know what he was doing.

[PFT Commenter]

What if. What if you got a new stadium done and it's perfect?

[Big Cat]

I mean, Kevin Warren's not gonna do shit, guys. A fucking doofus.

[PFT Commenter]

What if.

[Big Cat]

And Ryan Polls is not. I mean, he. This roster is so bad. Like it's. I thought they were so much better. I was blinded. I'm stupid. I'm a weapon. Wrong weapons, but no offensive line. Defensive lines bad. Coach sucked. Caleb's a rookie quarterback. He's been up and down the. Even the littlest thing of firing Matt Eberflusse, which I wanted, and you had three Games in a row where you had fired Shane Waldron, Thomas Brown had went upstairs to be OC Caleb had looked good in those three games. It was the packers, the Vikings, and the Lions game. So there was. It was obviously hit or miss the first half of Lions game. Not great. But he had. He had had moments where it looked like ball getting out faster. Everything's kind of looking a little bit better. Then they put Thomas Brown on the sideline. I don't know if that matters, but it feels like you had one thing that was going a little bit well. A little bit well. Not even good. A little bit well. And you changed it.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, what if you hire Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, James Winston, backup quarterback.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's nice.

[Hank]

If you score in the first half.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow. That won't. That won't. That won't stay.

[PFT Commenter]

You trade for Kyle Shanahan.

[Big Cat]

We haven't scored in the first half in fucking years.

[PFT Commenter]

What if the Bears said, we heard a real smart idea out there from our friend Big Cat via Troy Aikman, via Mike Florio, and we traded for Kyle Shanahan. He's now our head coach, and he's bringing Trent Williams.

[Big Cat]

Whatever. It's fine. We'll see how it happens.

[PFT Commenter]

This is bad. This is sad. I've never seen you down.

[Big Cat]

No, because I. The biggest mistake I made was getting excited when nothing has changed. Structurally, foundationally, essentially, the foundation of the house has been decaying and rotting for a very, very long time. And it's been going especially fast since George McCaskey took over the team. And what happened this summer is the. The rotting house with termites. They got a new paint job, and I was like, holy, this house looks incredible. This is going to be the greatest house ever. I can't wait to live in it. And then I got in it, and the wall in the. In the floor started falling, and I fell through the floor, and I was like, this sucks. It's the same as. Same as it always was. So.

[PFT Commenter]

And you fell into the termite now?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm now. I'm now. I've been where it's just like, dude, just. Just be. Just realize that unless there's sustained change and sustained progress on the field, if they put together multiple winning seasons in a row under this ownership, then maybe I'll be like, oh, something's different. But even one year of winning in a row or one year of winning under this ownership probably won't last because they'll it up.

[PFT Commenter]

So you're not even excited with one winning Season.

[Big Cat]

No, because they'll it up long term. That's what they do. They. It is, it is broken from top to bottom. We got embarrassed. I mean fucking Doug Kramer again. How do we do that again?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, not being told to report as eligible.

[Big Cat]

You're in the backfield, dude.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You get put your job, here's your job. You stay on the sidelines and then they tell you occasionally on a goal line, sprints onto the field because you're going to play offensive line here or you don't play fullback here. To not go up to the ref and report. That seems, it seems ridiculous.

[Big Cat]

Jalen Johnson, who is one of the like last guys who cares and is really good on this roster, they forgot to put the C on his chest on Monday Night Football. They like, oh yeah, that was just a error, an oversight. Yeah. The only guy who deserves to be captain, you took his captainship away accidentally. They're just, they're an organization. They're a non serious organization that has no attention to detail. Like it just doesn't run the way an organization should. Listen, I hope they get a good head coach. I will be rooting for them to get a good head coach. I'm just not going to let myself get 10 out of 10 excited until something major changes and I'll get 6 out of 10. You'll say I'm, I'm. It's not, it's not like I'm changing how I'm rooting, it's just changing how I'm, I'm thinking optimistically about the future. I will never let myself get optimistic about the future in a way that I got this past summer.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. The problem with shitty owners is that they're very good at instilling hope in people. And they do that in a variety of ways. They usually get people that are very excited to step into different jobs, whether that's head coach or in the front office, team president, gm, whatever it is. You can you get excited about those people in the short term because they seem different. They seem like they know what they're doing. They seem like they have it all put together. But at the end of the day you feel bad for those people that take those jobs because they realize what you've always known, which is this is an impossible job to succeed at. Yeah, it's impossible. You can, you can go into it with the best plans that you have, but at the end of the day there's going to be something over your head that's fucking you up the entire time until that thing is Gone then those good hires that you make. I still think Ryan polls was a good hire to make. I think there are a lot of teams that would probably like to have Ryan Poles working for them. I don't know if he'll get a GM gig next if he does leave the Bears, but he'll be back in the front office, work his way back up. But he was a qualified candidate. He was a good candidate. And guys like those, they will continue to be hired by the Bears at times and then continue to not be able to do their job. Not be allowed to do their job.

[Big Cat]

I mean he, he also, I mean he had, he had three year rebuild and we're, we're nowhere, we're nowhere close to a rebuild.

[PFT Commenter]

Your offensive line was so bad last night. So bad, so bad.

[Big Cat]

And Caleb's been bad. I'm not, I'm not going to say, oh my God, everyone's fault. Well, they are faulting Caleb as an organization, but Caleb, I think he's, I'm, I'm worried that this has now like gotten in his head because he's getting sacked so many times he's scared to throw. Like that one where Ro Medun was open in the middle of the field. That was just Justin Fields. Ms. Trisky flashbacks where it's like this is happening again.

[PFT Commenter]

Caleb needs to get his groove back. Here's a advanced statistics for you here. Manalytics. Caleb Williams with painted fingernails. Four and three without painted fingernails. Oh, and seven.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he needs to paint his fingernails again.

[PFT Commenter]

He lost a mojo. It's like when you see the killer whale in captivity and their fin is drooped over.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it just all sucks. I don't know what else to say. It all sucks. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna stop rooting as hard as I root. I'm just going to stop letting my hopes ever get up again. That's the difference. That's where the change is and a lot. Why?

[Hank]

Because, I mean, we'll, we'll revisit this in, in, I don't know, August or whenever they hire a new coach. And then, you know, there's some good reports out of camp.

[Big Cat]

So when I say pretty good, we'll see, will you be upset if I say we'll see?

[Hank]

No, not at all.

[Big Cat]

Okay. I mean, it will be boring, but I think I have to do that. I have to do that for my own mental health. I have to say we'll see.

[Max]

We will be revisiting this clip. That's a promise.

[PFT Commenter]

This is post loss clarity. That he has.

[Max]

Correct.

[Big Cat]

But this has also been like. It's just years and years of this bullshit. And it's like that game on Monday Night Football was a game I've seen a million times. It's flashbacks to just, like, you know, the end of the trust and era when they were on a Monday Night Football game and they were just ripping everyone. And then I went to this game, I was telling Eddie and those guys were at the game, and they asked me if I wanted to go, and I was like, no, I've been to that game. I went to Mitch Trubisky, John Fox's last game as a Bears head coach. When Mitch Trubisky was a rookie and we got killed by the Vikings, I was at the game in Minnesota. Like, this game happens every year. So I just. It's over. Vikings are great. Vikings keep rolling. Vikings are. Kevin OConnell's just. He's coach of the year, in my opinion. He's. I mean, think about what he's done. He. Kirk Cousins fine quarterback. We. We all think he made Kirk cousin. What, they win 11 games that year. Last year, obviously, things fell apart. He kind of tread water with Josh Dobbs this year. Sam Darnold, who's been thrown to the trash pile a few different times, he's made him playing at elite level. Like, this is why, in a weird way, I know that we talked about the Sam Darnold situation last week. Like, what do you do with Sam Darnold? I don't think they can make a mistake because they have Kevin O'Connell.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Like, J.J. mcCarthy will be fine because Kevin OConnell's the coach.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. But I still think you got to keep Sam. I think you have to keep Sam. How much better could Sam Darnold be playing right now than he already is? Like, how much better?

[Big Cat]

It's money. Would it be what we're talking about?

[PFT Commenter]

But let's just say he keeps playing like that. Yeah, he's worth that money.

[Big Cat]

Right. But the argument. The counter argument is J.J. mcCarthy is getting paid a million dollars a year because he's a rookie. And you could beef up everything else in all the other holes, and that's how you win a Super Bowl. But I. Listen, I just.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, as good as he looked in the. In the preseason, to expect that he would be able to step in and play at the same level Sam's playing at next year, like, he might be very good. We don't know. But, like, Sam has played at. To the peak of his ability this year with like one or two exceptions.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's just a rookie contract deal that you're trying to win on that window.

[PFT Commenter]

I just, I wouldn't take that chance.

[Big Cat]

I think Kevin O'Connell is just so good that it doesn't matter. And yes, Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings GM were hired in the exact same cycle as Ryan Pol's medie before.

[PFT Commenter]

He is a very good coach.

[Hank]

Like a week after, like, the Bears made the first move.

[Big Cat]

All right, you don't. You're a guy who doesn't. You don't know NFL details. Now you do.

[Hank]

It's context. I'm just providing context.

[Max]

Memes are just saying that exact stat back here.

[Hank]

Can you read it off memes?

[Big Cat]

It wasn't a week after the Bears hired.

[Hank]

Yeah, it was. It was. Both things happened. Bears did the first move, then the Vikings counter move was a better GM and a better head coach.

[Big Cat]

Oh, Cody Bellinger got traded to the Yankees. Breaking moves. What do you get traded for? Probably nothing. Because they want to get rid of his cash.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't see any details on there.

[Big Cat]

Do we click it again? Let's see.

[PFT Commenter]

Full trade.

[Big Cat]

Cash. I was right about that. Go to cash. The New York Yankees right hand reliever Cody Potato goes to the Cubs. Yep. Cash.

[PFT Commenter]

There you go. Poteep.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so cash.

[PFT Commenter]

I have the tweet.

[Big Cat]

Cash. Okay, go ahead. Memes.

[PFT Commenter]

A timeline. January 25, 2020. The most animated memes has ever been.

[Big Cat]

I mean, I can't get mad because I listen. I ever. I make fun of other teams. This is memes. You deserve this. A timeline.

[PFT Commenter]

A timeline. January 25, 2022, bears hire Ryan Polls. January 26, 2022, Vikings hire Quasi Dafe Mensa. Probably fuck that up. January 27, 2022, bears hire Matt Eberfluss. January 16, 2022, Vikings hire Kevin O'Connell.

[Big Cat]

Damn. Do you know what's probably going to happen, if I had to guess, is that we're going to do the head coaching interviews and they're going to be like, hey, are you comfortable with Ryan Poles? And. And the person's going to lie and be like. Because they want the job. They're going to be like, yeah, that's fine. And then we're going to fire Ryan polls next year. And then so that way everything's. Then the coach has to fire. Hire the new gm and then the.

[PFT Commenter]

New GM comes in and has to fire the new coach.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

After like a year.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The new coach isn't his guy.

[Big Cat]

We. We knew. We knew we were careening into A, the timeline is fucked up last year and we didn't change it, and we're doing it again this year where it's like, you can just change everything. The GM and coach, and they won't do it. And again, I like Ryan Poles a lot as a guy. I just think that this has gotten so far away from him and this roster has gotten so far away from where I. There's some mistakes that you just happened, but there's. I mean, you just. You can't have ever thought, like, in retrospect, this offensive line was ever competitive. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If you had to put your finger on it. What's the biggest problem? Big cat every year. What if you're the GM? 10 out of 10?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So you'd be back?

[Big Cat]

No. Oh, if I'm the GM.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

If I'm the GM, I try to woo Virginia McCaskey.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, sleep with her.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Then we have a child.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. I don't think she can do that anymore.

[Big Cat]

Okay. So then we adopt a child and. Yes. Okay. So Virginia McCaskey and I get married. Sorry. To my wife and kids. I'm going to have to get divorced for the better of the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

For the city.

[Big Cat]

For the city. So Virginia McCaskey and I, we get married. Beautiful marriage. Wonderful marriage. And then I say to Virginia, hey, Ginny. That's what I call her. Hey, Ginny. I'm thinking about adopting. And she says, okay, we should adopt. And then we adopt Theo Epstein and he saves the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

I like that.

[Big Cat]

You like that? Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Or you could adopt like seven homeless pit bulls and just lock her in a room with them.

[Big Cat]

Listen, very nice lady. Is she sure she doesn't let people 101. I don't know if you could do anything mean.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Old people didn't do anything bad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's true.

[PFT Commenter]

Here's the thing. She. She is a quiet lady.

[Big Cat]

I don't even know. She talks.

[PFT Commenter]

She doesn't let people wear Bears jerseys or uniforms or logos or merchandise.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

In her box, she. I think she might have the worst box in the NFL.

[Big Cat]

It's an all time fumble of a bag. Like you. You fumbled. The organization that was. Was that. That Papa Bear bought for, you know, a bushel of blueberries and. And a. In a five cent piece.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

And now we're here, so whatever. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm just. No more 6 out of 10. 6 out of 10 is as high as I'll go in the excitement meter.

[PFT Commenter]

Since I'm being tagged in. It I will respond to. To a question out there. Oh, great friend of the program, Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was, he was on x.com the everything app. It's all happening on X. And I saw this. Do you see that? It said name something worse than being a Bears fan. And his response was being friends with the Bears fan and having to listen to them complain about the Bears. I want to say that's not worse than being a Bears fan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Also like I can confirm that it. It's not worse.

[Big Cat]

My complaints are why a lot of people listen to the show. The sickos and perverts are loving the complaints right now. Hank is having the best time ever.

[Max]

Hank, can you please remind PFT what happened? That they basically lost to the Bears.

[Big Cat]

They did.

[Hank]

I mean that's.

[PFT Commenter]

Huh.

[Hank]

Commies are good. They're in the playoffs.

[Big Cat]

Wait, what?

[Max]

I mean you're talking.

[Big Cat]

You just.

[Max]

You love to do this. Like I'm bigger. I'm bigger than you. No, like you basically lost to this team.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not doing. I'm bigger than him.

[Hank]

This is nothing to do with the Command.

[PFT Commenter]

Much bigger than.

[Hank]

This has nothing to do with the Commanders.

[Max]

New ownership. New ownership phase.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Cuz guess what I fucking lived it for. Yeah.

[Hank]

Now look at him. He's in the playoffs.

[PFT Commenter]

No, no, it is true. I experienced it directly that you have a fucked up owner that no matter what happens, they fuck everything else up. It's true. That's not me being bigger than. That's me just saying something. That's the truth. Max, what was that about you asking Hank to ask?

[Max]

Well, Hank has been one to say that the Commanders basically lost to the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

But why don't you say we're talking Bears though?

[Hank]

We're not talking.

[PFT Commenter]

We're not talking about the Commanders.

[Hank]

And I've said multiple times over and over and over again on the record, no one wants to be the. Well, no one wants the Bears to be more successful than me. Yeah, I want the Bears to be good.

[Big Cat]

I also don't hold any resentment towards Jaden Daniels, Drake, May, Bo nicks, Michael Penix, J.J. mcCarthy, because I really do firmly believe that no matter what the draft order went, it would have ended exactly here. It would have ended exactly here. You could have given us Drake May. You could have given us Jaden Daniels. You could have given us Bo Nix. It would have. We would have been doing this exact same conversation. Because that's what the Bears do. That's what they do. This is the third, third time in fucking seven years. It's insane. It's crazy. Six years. It's crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

It's okay if I agree with that Max or that be being bigger than big Cat.

[Max]

No, you can agree.

[Big Cat]

You can. It's.

[Max]

It's Eagles commanders week.

[Big Cat]

I'm.

[Max]

I'm on. I'm on commander's alert.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Respect.

[Max]

I'm on commander's alert.

[PFT Commenter]

Respect.

[Big Cat]

All right, so the Vikings are great. Also, the. The good news is for Falcons fans, we like. I feel like the A team was on the Bears Vikings and no one watched one of the most horri games ever played. That game was so bad.

[PFT Commenter]

I didn't want to watch either game. Both games were awful.

[Big Cat]

But the Vikings and Falcons game was like. It felt. There was two block punts. There was penalties everywhere. Kirk Cousins looked so bad. Desmond Ritter almost had a chance to win the game at the end.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he had a drive where he could have got it done. There was an egregious roughing, the passer call.

[Big Cat]

Yep. It was it. That was a horrific, horrific game played. So I don't. Yeah. Bad, bad Monday Night Football. Bad, bad Monday Night Football. Vikings are really good, though. Vikings are playing for the one season. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But again, watching bad football. It's a deposit into the bank.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And you always get rewarded. We did that last Thursday. What do we get? We got Bills, Lions on Sunday. It was a great game.

[Big Cat]

Could have been better.

[PFT Commenter]

It was a great game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, it was never really in doubt.

[PFT Commenter]

It was a great game, though.

[Big Cat]

It was a great game. It was a fun game. Did you guys agree? I mean, this is. I feel like I've stayed consistent. I didn't like the Vikings uniforms. I've been consistent. I said it with the packers. The. I'll just say it that the Fucking A. The NFC north and the AFC North. I'll actually say the NFC east as well. I'll throw them in there. Trying to think what other divisions. Maybe the AFC East. Those divisions shouldn't do weird uniform.

[Hank]

I mean, the Bills are just wearing Patriots this weekend.

[Big Cat]

That is weird. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

They're wearing the white helmets, the red jerseys.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Like do the original.

[PFT Commenter]

Why did that game get flexed into prime time?

[Hank]

I don't fucking know. And then into the. It's 4:00. And then next week we're playing on Saturday.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I just don't think traditional teams should do any types like the purple helmets. If it was the white jerseys and the purple helmets, I'd be fine. Purple helmets are iconic.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I agree with you. Listen, it was. It was a weird look tuning into it. It Was. It was just bad football last night. It's okay. We can turn the page on bad football.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Bad presentation. Everything was just rotten. Kirk Cousins, after the game was over, though, they. They were talking to him on the sidelines that were like, how, you know, how do you feel about this? He's like, you know, it's hard to win this league, yada, yada, yada. And I said, how do you feel about your play, Kirk? And it looked like he was going to cry. I thought, Kirk Cousins going to cry because he was like, clearly, I'm not playing up to my standard. I think. I think they might make a change.

[Big Cat]

I think so.

[PFT Commenter]

It might be Penix time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, why not?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, You're.

[Big Cat]

You're. You're on the outside looking in. And the Bucks have a pretty easy schedule coming up where I think they finish with the Saints and the Panthers and they play the Cowboys on Sunday night. I don't. I think the Bucks, like, if the Bucks went out, they obviously win the division. They're up a game.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

So maybe you wait one more week and see if you, you know, you're two games out and then you're like, all right, let's try it with Michael Penix. But I agree. Time for the future.

[PFT Commenter]

There's something wrong with Kirk. I don't know what it is. Yeah, maybe he just got old.

[Big Cat]

He's looked bad. He's looked bad.

[PFT Commenter]

But then we laughed at the Falcons on draft night. It might have been a good move.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Might have been a good move. He's going to be better than Caleb Williams. Everyone is. And then Caleb Williams, I think, actually will go somewhere else and be awesome. I still believe in him. Still. I'm never gonna stop believing in him. Max, can we get an update on your foot? Foot?

[Max]

It was a good update.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Went.

[Max]

Went to the foot doctor.

[Big Cat]

Mm.

[Max]

I'm in a walking boot. I still can't walk without crutches, but my doctor said eventually, within the next couple weeks, I will be able to just use the walking boot, which is big.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

So nice.

[PFT Commenter]

No surgery.

[Big Cat]

He said you're not an athlete.

[Max]

Very, very minimal chance that I need surgery.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you tell him that you were an athlete?

[Max]

I would think, like, less than 1%. I did not tell him.

[Big Cat]

How long till you get out of your.

[Max]

I think he could tell.

[Big Cat]

How long do you get out of your boot?

[Max]

I get reevaluated in a month.

[Big Cat]

And did he say you could possibly be out then?

[Max]

Yeah, possibly.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's huge.

[Max]

Possibly.

[Big Cat]

You need to get. You need to get out of that boot for Super Bowl. I think you can re break it on Bourbon Street.

[Max]

Don't.

[Big Cat]

That was so right before the Eagles Super Bowl.

[Max]

I mean, that was so up that you just said that.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, have you given your walking boot a voice to sound like, hey, Max, you're stinky little toes.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Hey, Max, you're gonna get so fast.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, Italy is a boot.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You got that. You got the entire country of Italy on your foot.

[Big Cat]

Right. Why don't you get a couple. Why don't you get a couple meatballs?

[Hank]

Put some meatballs in your sake.

[Big Cat]

Warm up your toesies with some meatballs and some sauce. Yep.

[Max]

Walking boot.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You got to get out of it before a Super Bowl.

[Max]

Why?

[Big Cat]

Because it will suck to be on in New Orleans in a boot.

[Max]

You don't want it. You don't. Is that specifically because you think I'm going to break it again?

[Big Cat]

No, I want you to be out of the boot for the Super Bowl.

[PFT Commenter]

I want to see you walking up those stadium steps bootless.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Feeling good in the pants.

[Max]

We got a lot of football.

[Big Cat]

I don't want you to cut your. I don't want. You have to cut your pants.

[Max]

Vikings are good.

[Big Cat]

Vikings are very good.

[PFT Commenter]

Climb up a greased up light pole with a walking boot on, Max.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Vikings are really good.

[Max]

I do have one of my pant legs cut right now.

[PFT Commenter]

It looks good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, people. Max, you want to say anything about Nick Sirianni getting alpha by the D line coach?

[Max]

No. That's just like the culture and that all the coaches feel comfortable enough to go up and have that conversation with Nick Sirianni, leader of men. The way that he coaches his guys is that you can do that and then you can go back the next day and everything's all right. Because it's like a brothers.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Max]

When brothers fight. But it's.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's.

[Max]

At the end of the day, we're brothers. And common goal of championships.

[PFT Commenter]

You see that all the time in Lions games. Yep. All the assistant coaches going up to Dan Campbell, looking like they're going to strangle him, being like, you better get the fuck away from.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Max]

Because of all the Super Bowls that Dan Campbell and the Lions.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, okay.

[Big Cat]

By the way, Dan Campbell, I did love his speech.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, so good.

[Big Cat]

I mean, the Lions, we have David Montgomery now out for the year, which is crazy. Like, we knew the defensive injuries and they just added David Montgomery on that.

[Max]

I think he'll be back for the playoffs though. Correct.

[Big Cat]

I don't know. I don't Think so. I think he has a torn pcl.

[Max]

That could have been me reading pro football, doc.

[Big Cat]

I think they're getting some of their linebackers back maybe, but it's. It's a bad scene. But Dan Campbell went on a radio show and, and he pumped everyone up. I don't know if you can find the clip, but it. Listen, the Lions are. There have been teams that have gotten this many injuries. The Lions have a significant amount of injuries. I have the stat. I don't want to be like. I see the constant tug and pull of Lions fans being like. But our injuries. And everyone's like, well, you're the first team to get. Ever get injured. Give Lions fans a little bit of. Give them a little leeway because they do have an insane amount of interest.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm going to think of them the same way I thought of the Ravens from like two seasons ago. You remember that when they. They got so banged up that even their mascot towards acl.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That was a bad season. And you can rem to that Ravens team for being good. Very good. But also. Yeah, but injuries.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So the eight Lions that are out for or that are on IR on the defense rank among the top 40 defenders in total EPA. No other team has more than two in the top 40. And 52% of Detroit's defensive starters or direct backups are on IR.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

That's a lot.

[PFT Commenter]

Hearing Dan Campbell talk about it, though, it did make me buy back into the Lions.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Of course. He was like, you know what? We. We got by on eating moldy for a long ass time. Now we're used to filet mignon. Guess what? That moldy bread was good for us. We got through it. I think he said, we got new guys. We're going to cut them loose.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So if they're going to cut them loose.

[Big Cat]

If we give up 700 yards and win by one, you'll see me smiling ear to ear.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

He's the one you'd want to go to in battle with. With this type of stuff.

[PFT Commenter]

I have another question for Max. Max, do you think that Jalen Hurts has pretty privileged.

[Max]

I saw that.

[PFT Commenter]

You see the discourse.

[Max]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Dominique Foxworth said that Jalen Hurts has pretty privilege.

[Max]

There's also another clip of. He's interviewing. I don't know if it's his wife or his daughter or something, but he's interviewing another woman and they're talking about how beautiful Jalen Hurts is. And he's upset by the woman talking about how beautiful Jalen Hurts is.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. It's like hot chicks hate when guys.

[Max]

I wish I knew hot. I didn't think this was going to get brought up, but I wish I got more information on that follow up because it did. It did make me laugh because it made it seem like he just hates Jalen Hurts because someone in his life thinks that he's hot.

[PFT Commenter]

Thinks that. Oh, so the clip you saw was Foxworth? Yeah, somebody in his family.

[Big Cat]

This is like.

[Max]

This could be an egregious count of fake news.

[PFT Commenter]

It's like David Tepper and his wife going out to dinner with CJ Stroud. She loves CJ Stroud. So he's like, I'm going to draft Bryce Young.

[Max]

Kind of.

[PFT Commenter]

Kind of like that.

[Max]

Or it could have just been like a random person that he was interviewing.

[Big Cat]

Your mic just cut out.

[Max]

No, I did that by accident, but yeah, this is it. Yeah, it's his wife. He's mad that his wife is thirsting for. Can I play the clip?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. This is the pretty purpose.

[PFT Commenter]

Fumble or whose Tish was being pushed.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Oh, I was Ermie.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[Max]

Yes, yes.

[Big Cat]

That's very cool.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so when Foxworth brings that up, there's some beef there.

[Max]

Yes, yes. That's what I. That's the information that I gathered, so I didn't take it too seriously.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you think that Jalen Hurts is pretty?

[Max]

Yeah, he's handsome as hell.

[Big Cat]

I said pretty.

[PFT Commenter]

I didn't say pretty.

[Big Cat]

Privilege.

[Max]

Yeah, no, he's handsome. Pretty. All the above.

[PFT Commenter]

I wish he acknowledged his privilege sometimes. We don't all get the same treatment that he gets.

[Big Cat]

That's true.

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, hot quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Big Ben, you know, they get treated differently. You think the media would be nicer to Jake Hayner? He should have pretty privilege.

[Max]

Yeah, Memes just AI'd me so much on. Memes is on an AI binge right now.

[Big Cat]

Yes, you said.

[Max]

Jay Kaner just reminded me he's. He's on a generational run of AI.

[PFT Commenter]

He really is. And also, Max, remember, like maybe six months after you started on the show, you made the mark. The remark that Memes is obsessed with me. Memes is obsessed with you. Yeah, you're right.

[Big Cat]

That's a fact.

[PFT Commenter]

I looked at the light again.

[Big Cat]

All right?

[PFT Commenter]

We have the best booth in the business.

[Big Cat]

We do, we do. We absolutely do. Should we kick it to ourselves? I gotta. I gotta process this. Cody Bellinger. I feel like if they did the money for more Kyle Tucker money, then it makes sense. Otherwise, the Cubs are just cheap.

[PFT Commenter]

So wait, did the money go to The Yankees.

[Big Cat]

No, the Yankees are paying the Cubs.

[PFT Commenter]

Is that what it was?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, The Yankees traded cash.

[Max]

I'm also. I've also seen a couple tweets now that said I would like to buy Cody Petit stock.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Max]

So that.

[Big Cat]

Let's go. That.

[Max]

That could be good for you.

[Big Cat]

Cubs are back.

[Max]

That's all. I really.

[Big Cat]

I think the Cubs are going to go with just like, hopefully Kyle Tucker hits 45 home runs.

[PFT Commenter]

No big head.

[Big Cat]

Suzuki hits like 30. And we. We win every game. Two. Nothing.

[PFT Commenter]

It says Cody Bellinger and cash go to the New York Yankees.

[Big Cat]

Oh, we're paying.

[PFT Commenter]

So you're. You're paying the Yankees 5 million.

[Max]

That's what I.

[Big Cat]

It's. Oh, but we're not. We're not. We're getting out of 20 million.

[PFT Commenter]

You're saving money on.

[Max]

You're only long term. You're only giving five.

[PFT Commenter]

Good investment.

[Max]

Yeah, that's according to Bob Nightingale.

[Big Cat]

Which sheep? Sheep. Sheep.

[Max]

Which is. You know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Who knows? Okay, let's kick it to ourselves. We got Hot Seat, Cool Throne, and then we got. Great. Two interviews coming up. We have Kirk Herb street, and Paul Walter Hauser. Okay. Hot Seat, Cool Throne. Holiday party fails can turn into a great story that ends with a toast over Coors Light. Getting snowed in can turn into the ultimate movie marathon. It doesn't matter if the holidays don't go as planned. When you choose chill and then reach for a Coors Light. When you embrace a chill mindset, this holiday, it's a good time to choose chill and crack open a Coors Light. Coors Light is mountain cold refreshment. Crisp and refreshing as the Rockies. Choose chill this holiday season and then reach for a Coors. Like it Cause light delivered straight to your door. Visit coors light.com take or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado. Henry Coors Light.

[Hank]

Coors Light.

[Big Cat]

Holiday season.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Holiday parties, ugly sweaters.

[PFT Commenter]

I've got a. I got a Coors light that's out on my deck and I use it to monitor the temperature depending how blue the mountains are. I love that last week, the bluest mountain I've ever seen in my life. It was like an Eaves Klein blues. Perfect. Perfect.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So celebrate responsibly. Course Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado. Hank. Hot seats, Cool throne.

[Hank]

My hot seat is Chris Hansen and NFL Red Zone.

[Big Cat]

Not Chris Hansen.

[Hank]

Scott Hansen.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, Chris Hansen.

[Big Cat]

The.

[PFT Commenter]

Let's take his seat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, over there.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah, that's. Sorry, Scott.

[PFT Commenter]

They call that the Pred Zone.

[Big Cat]

Did he get. Now, Chris Hansen.

[Hank]

Scott Hansen got railroaded.

[Big Cat]

No, but Chris.

[PFT Commenter]

By me.

[Big Cat]

Stay on Chris Hansen for a second. Chris Hansen. I forgot. Like, he got. He got it reversed. He wasn't a pedophile, but he got it reversed on him that someone caught him cheating on his wife and did the. You want to take a seat over there?

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, they caught him.

[Big Cat]

I'm pretty sure that that was.

[PFT Commenter]

I remember the guy. I remember the guy from Cheaters. Was that Joey Greco that got stabbed on episode on the boat? Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Which might have been fake. Yeah. So Chris Hansen, I believe, was caught having an affair with a colleague 20 years junior by a hidden camera and fired from NBC for it.

[Hank]

He was caught in his own videotape Sting.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's so funny.

[PFT Commenter]

Wait, it was his own videotape Sting. It was like, his show.

[Big Cat]

He forgot the videos.

[Hank]

The married NBC anchor was secretly filmed on a date with a blonde television reporter who has reportedly been dating for the past four months.

[PFT Commenter]

Wow. I want to get ahead of something. We had cameras set up in the studio on Sunday because Hank's doing the. The part of my take documentary, and there was, like, a camera that was in here while I was working on Boomers. And this was probably, like, I don't know, 5, 6pm I forgot that the camera was there and that was on, and I. I farted real loud, like, nine times.

[Big Cat]

Who cares?

[PFT Commenter]

Like times, dude.

[Big Cat]

Who cares? By the way, Shane is on the sticks right now because Max is getting his. He. We already heard the update from Max, but Shane doesn't know how to work the volume. That was why the volume just turned on there. Shane. I clicked on the video to try.

[PFT Commenter]

To pull it up and instantly just started playing.

[Big Cat]

Wait, we're going a bunch of different sidetracks, but I want to stay on this real quick. Is. Is there a reason Pug is not sitting where Shane is? Or.

[Hank]

He's working. Pug's working.

[Big Cat]

There's a documentary coming out your memes. You're not still mad at Pug? No, we're good. Okay. Pft. You know what? I. You know what I'm gonna do for 2025? And I think this is. I don't give a fuck anymore. Okay. Love that farts. I. I caught my. Someone was like, you picked your nose on a stream the other day. I was like, dude, I picked my nose every day.

[PFT Commenter]

I picked my nose. Also when I was in this. Sitting at this desk. And I think after five minutes, I looked at the camera, I was like, the camera probably just Caught me picking my nose. Deal with it.

[Big Cat]

Don't care.

[PFT Commenter]

This is.

[Big Cat]

Don't care.

[Hank]

But talking about farts, like, do you like when you have smelly farts and you're in the comfort of your own home?

[Big Cat]

Like, oh, yeah.

[Hank]

Like fishbowl. Under the. Under the covers.

[Big Cat]

Comfort of our own homes.

[Hank]

Yeah, Because I enjoy. I'm like, the smellier by myself. The smellier the better.

[Big Cat]

This one's disgusting.

[Hank]

I get excited.

[Big Cat]

This is disgusting. But I do this. I'm wondering if any of you guys do this, because I. I agree. You have to smell your own farts when you're in your car. You got a good one and you put on the heated seats to warm up the fart.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

To really cook it, actually.

[PFT Commenter]

You get it simmering a little bit.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Give it a little extra juice.

[PFT Commenter]

I've never done that.

[Big Cat]

That's the gross.

[PFT Commenter]

I might start doing that. What I do sometimes is I'll turn the. The heater off.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

When I fart, that way it doesn't blow the smell away.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Right.

[Big Cat]

So I.

[Hank]

This is also up. And I was thinking about this how I.

[Big Cat]

In.

[Hank]

In New York, I would, like. If I had farts, I would. On the train, I would just let him loose.

[PFT Commenter]

That is up.

[Hank]

And then I would. I would be like, I. Because obviously no one's going to, like, accuse random people on the subway, but I would always act like I smelt it, too.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, who the.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, right. Like.

[Hank]

Like. Yeah, basically, like, you know, getting the. Getting the scent off yourself. Because if someone else looks around in disgust, then you're also like, yeah, this is.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's the worst behavior ever on a subway, Hank.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah, it's badass subway.

[PFT Commenter]

You don't fart on elevators.

[Big Cat]

But yeah, Hank, you gotta farts.

[Hank]

All right, so, Scott Hansen, Red Zone. I, obviously, I don't blame Scott Hansen. There was no way this was his decision. But their entire tagline, for years, since the beginning of Red Zone, get ready for seven hours of commercial free football. And on Sunday, they ran commercials.

[Big Cat]

They ran commercials. Now I feel a little bit.

[Hank]

30 seconds.

[Big Cat]

I do feel a little bad because this is. This is one of those blind spots for us where we're a little out of touch because we don't watch Red Zone anymore. We haven't watched Red Zone in years. We watch every game. We're. We're able to. We're lucky enough to be able to have every game on. And I wish I had known this to speak for the people on Sunday, because this is. This is. You Have a duty. And this is not Scott Hansen's fault. This is the people behind whoever sold these commercials. Seven hours of commercial free football, and you just completely rug pulled them.

[PFT Commenter]

This is worse than Hock Tua, who did nothing wrong.

[Hank]

She's still sleeping.

[Big Cat]

She's still sleeping. She still not made a statement?

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, she did. Her statement was, hey, y'all, I'm kind of tired. I'm gonna go to bed. See y'all tomorrow.

[Big Cat]

Gone to bed. All right.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, bye.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I.

[PFT Commenter]

All right. So this is. It is bullshit. Because the red zone is. It's supposed to be a sanctuary away from commercials.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

They market it as such. I don't know if I blame Scott Hansen. I think I might blame Scott Hansen because Jeff D. Lowe showed me a very interesting video the other day.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

He was asked to rank his top five red zone sayings, like the Scott Hansen sayings. Scott Hansen isms. He's claiming the witching hour as being his saying.

[Big Cat]

Now. Mike Francesa created that, as far as I know.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you give it to him, though?

[Big Cat]

No, I don't.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know on part of my.

[Big Cat]

Take, but I might. Like.

[PFT Commenter]

I feel.

[Hank]

I do feel like there was a time when you brought it up to him, and then he started using it like that. That is definitely how I remember it as well.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Hank]

Like, you. We. You brought up the witching hour, and then he started saying.

[PFT Commenter]

He started saying it, and I think. I think he tagged part of my take when he started saying.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's interesting.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Do you guys have a name for. I'm gonna call it, like, the 3 to 4pm hour. That happens when you get. Just like all the. All the games coming down to the wire, and they're like four close finishes at once. Do you have a nickname for that?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, simply. It's not really creative, but I call.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

It the greatest single hour in sports television.

[PFT Commenter]

We call it the golden.

[Big Cat]

It's the witching hour.

[PFT Commenter]

Witching hour.

[Big Cat]

Witching hour. The golden hours right at sunset. Witching hours before. We're talking before week one. I promise I will refer to it.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Either as the witching hour or the golden hour at some point this season.

[Big Cat]

Just for you guys. I promise I will do that.

[Hank]

I remember it that way as well.

[Big Cat]

So.

[PFT Commenter]

So it was. So we're giving credit to Mike Francesa. Yeah, but he gave credit to us. But now the credit has faded away.

[Big Cat]

So are we. So we're blaming Scott Hansen. This is like an Al Capone. We got him for tax evasion. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, exactly.

[Big Cat]

So it's like, we're not saying that he's in trouble for the commercial free. We're just. We're lumping it all. He's getting a RICO case right now.

[PFT Commenter]

All I'm saying is it never had commercials when Siciliano was around.

[Big Cat]

That's true. That's true. This is. This is bullshit. This is bullshit.

[Hank]

I mean, what's next? Yeah, what if. If, if Red Zone is not going to be commercial free. Like, what is next?

[Big Cat]

Do people. I struggle with Red Zone. That's all I'm gonna say. I've had this take before. I think it's too much. And I don't like. I like being able to watch. Seeing all the games in the flow of the games. I mean, seven games is a lot to follow.

[PFT Commenter]

I love Red Zone. I do.

[Big Cat]

I just get. I.

[Hank]

It's impossible for us though.

[Big Cat]

It is impossible.

[Hank]

We're so far removed from the average fan in terms of watching NFL Sunday that. Yeah, like, I don't even think we can really comment.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, no, you're right. You're right.

[PFT Commenter]

I do.

[Hank]

No one has seven TVs.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but no, with YouTube TV now you can use. You can at least do four.

[PFT Commenter]

You can do multi view.

[Hank]

Yeah, but they only have sound on.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah. I have a prediction. Hank's asking.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Witching hour. He's looking for it. He's. He only recently started saying it in the last few years. What are you saying?

[PFT Commenter]

I have a prediction. Hank asked what's next? Are they going to start putting commercials in movies? Like, we have product placement now. That's been around. That's been a thing for a while.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Are they going to have commercials like in the court? Like a 15 second break?

[Hank]

Yeah, that would be.

[PFT Commenter]

What's next? Commercials and podcasts.

[Big Cat]

I could see it.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm out.

[Big Cat]

I'm out.

[PFT Commenter]

Coors Light, hot seat.

[Big Cat]

Scott Hansen, he should have. He got led to the wolves. Imagine if he had. Imagine if he. I see a chain. Shane. Shane is crazy with the. With the computer in front of us. It's too much. He's just going nuts. Imagine if Scott Hansen had, like, walked out.

[Hank]

Yeah, that.

[Big Cat]

That would have been a hero. Yeah. I mean, it would have sucked for him because he would have lost his job and a lot of money and like the best job in the world. But we would have respected him for that 10 minutes and then we would have gone on to the next thing.

[PFT Commenter]

He would have had conviction.

[Big Cat]

I always love when people are like, yeah, you should just walk out. It's like for what, 10 minutes of our respect.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

We would have forgotten about it the second the Bills and Lions kicked off the second.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, no, he would have walked off the set. We would have been like, everybody. We would have tweeted about it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Show respect to Scott Hansen. And then Greg Rosenthal would have walked on. Be like, we love Greg.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. This guy rocks. Yeah.

[Hank]

Like, red zone. They also could have done it without Scott Hansen and half the people wouldn't even notice.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hank]

And my cool throne is shitty money grab fights involving one of the Paul brothers.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, what's going on?

[Hank]

Conor McGregor tweeted that the rumors of about with to Pourrio are false. I'm in preliminary agreements with the embodiment Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I've agreed. I will then seek my return to the octagon. He's like 100 years old. He hasn't fought in forever. He's just gonna do a boxing match for slogan Paul. It's probably gonna suck.

[PFT Commenter]

How many times are we gonna fall for the. The Paul fights?

[Hank]

I'm sick of it. Yeah. Like, yeah, I'm sick.

[Big Cat]

This might be the only fight someone who's actually, like, at the top of their game.

[PFT Commenter]

I. You know what? I will boycott this fight. If I do watch it.

[Hank]

If it's on it for free, it'll be a pirated stream.

[PFT Commenter]

I will pirate the stream.

[Big Cat]

It depends.

[PFT Commenter]

But I will not.

[Big Cat]

Don't box yourself in yet.

[PFT Commenter]

I will not watch it on a legitimate stream because they could easily do.

[Big Cat]

This fight like, on a Saturday at like 9pm in like July. And you sit. You're like sitting on the couch. You're like, oh, I will pay for it.

[Hank]

I'm with pfd.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Hank]

It's on a streaming platform for free that I already have.

[Big Cat]

I'm not going to go as far as saying I won't. I most likely won't. I mostly.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. Well, I'm gonna break the law. This is entrapment. You're forcing me to break the law. You can only push a man so far.

[Big Cat]

That's facts. Okay. Pft. Your hot seat. Good job, Hank.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice job.

[Big Cat]

Great job, Hank.

[Hank]

Thanks.

[PFT Commenter]

My hot Scott Chris thing. But that's okay. My hot seat is Doug Gottle.

[Big Cat]

That's mine. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Doug Gottlieb on the hot seat. Our boy Adam Schefter reported yesterday that Sacramento State was in discussions to hire Mike Vick as their head coach. Head football coach. And along with that report, he also posted that Sacramento State has over $50 million in nil money at their behest that they can contribute to building the program. And then Doug Gottlieb replied saying, jesus Shefty, but it was J E Z U S. That's how you know he's serious. Jesus Shifty. Edit what agents tell you. 0.0% chance sac state has 50 million in nil. Shefty did not take that laying down.

[Big Cat]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

He said this. The SAC 12 leading the school's NIL efforts already announced it reached its initial goal of raising $50 million in nil funds to strengthen the school's case for an invitation to the PAC 12 or Mountain West Conference. And Jesus Doug, a seven game losing streak in last place in the Horizon League. Less time on social media, more time in the gym. I give that round to Shefty.

[Big Cat]

Absolutely. I give that round to Shefty Roast.

[PFT Commenter]

Now, I did see some fact checking of Shefty saying that the $50 million for Sacramento State is contingent on them falling through on their roadmap and then being accepted into the PAC 12 down the line. So it's not like Sacramento State has $50 million laying around.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Someone's like, hey, if you get us into the big conference, we will. We will give you $50 million. That's not $50 million right now.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, but Doug Gottlieb, people forget he's hosting his radio show and also doing a bad job coaching college basketball team. Yeah, he's like the Travis Hunter of media and he's.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I think he's. Has he won a game in December because the famously it beginning of December, Doug Gottlieb posted it's the most wonderful time of the year. And it was a meme. December 2024. And it just has like all the days color coded and it's like December 2nd through 6, pretend to work. December 9th through 13th. Don't even pretend anymore. Like nostalgia. Destroy your body with food and alcohol. This is a coach, a college basketball coach. And he did a meme being like, December is the time when we don't even pretend to work.

[PFT Commenter]

I love that. Now, to be fair, he's had a gauntlet of a schedule, so he's lost to Evansville, Campbell, Cleveland State.

[Big Cat]

He also, he also has done. He. He's also, he's doing things like his way. I, I don't know the exact details, but I just saw it, you know, I just saw it like in glancing through like maybe a week ago, I guess his point guard or one of his Best players was not playing his way. So Gottlieb steals at him for the entire game. Even though they can't win a game right now, he's like, until he learns how to play my way, he's not gonna play.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

So he's doing, like, a Bobby Knight thing for Green Bay.

[PFT Commenter]

I like that. Credit. Credit to Doug Gottlieb. Maybe it's just not in the cards.

[Big Cat]

Do you think? Now, again, we love Shaftee. He's our guy. That response definitely was because Doug. Golly wasn't so far off, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

What's the old saying?

[Hank]

Well, insiders get.

[Big Cat]

The insiders get set. Me lady. Me think the lady doth protest too much.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Let them eat cake.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, I think they do say that. I think that Shefty is on high alert after the hijinks that was pulled by Mike Malarkey against Ian Rapaport. We should. We should talk about that again, because that's such. Such a dirty move and not hilarious at all that Mike Malarkey did that.

[Big Cat]

Did you guys see John Heyman's meltdown?

[PFT Commenter]

No.

[Big Cat]

That also, like, the insiders are having a really bad time right now. They're having a really bad time. John Heyman went on W fan, and the host insinuated that he was getting a cut of Scott Boris's deals for reporting on it. And he had. He had a voice. Voice Crack. Meltdown. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a no.

[Big Cat]

No.

[Hank]

Which is like a funny. Again, it's. It's just funny thing to say.

[Big Cat]

All these guys are just so funny because they really just take. So they. They. They just cannot stand anyone poking fun of the idea that they're breaking news two seconds before the team does.

[PFT Commenter]

So. So the insinuation here was that the.

[Hank]

Other day was freaking out about Jimmy Butler Shams Got.

[PFT Commenter]

He got cooked by Jimmy Butler's agent.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right.

[Hank]

But then he. He, like, lashed out, too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So Heyman is being accused of getting money from Scott Boris. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

In a joking way. So we play the end.

[PFT Commenter]

Scott Boris would ever, like, give any of his money to no reporter.

[Big Cat]

No. Hell no. Play the end of it. Let's see if Shane could do it. Maybe not that far. All right. Right there. No sound. Shane. Shane's getting cooked right now. Shane's getting cooked by the people.

[Hank]

There's a lot of jobs in the sports world, especially, you know, being in it like the insiders has never seemed appealing in any way, shape, or form at any. No, it doesn't even matter when. When Schepter gets these Big contracts. It's like his. His life is so stressful.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

There's no. There's no time when you're not stressed. I don't know how they're.

[Big Cat]

How.

[Hank]

How it's enjoyable.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The only joy that Leroy ever got out of breaking stories was the fact that he was beating the insiders.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And the insiders who, like, make that their job. Getting beaten by a dog.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It's. It's. It's a crazy life. All right, I'll. I'll pull it up because, you know.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Thank you for.

[Big Cat]

Wait. You're playing two things right now. You're playing two things.

[PFT Commenter]

It just ended the phone call or maybe they're just talking over.

[Big Cat]

He's saying, go back. Go back.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I expected to.

[Big Cat]

John. Go back a little. At some point. I think someone could. Could probably drop it if they're a nice person.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I.

[PFT Commenter]

What I think is it one.

[Big Cat]

It. It just like how I introduced you. Everybody in baseball knows who you are.

[PFT Commenter]

So 1.

[Big Cat]

It's a credit to your work.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Your father.

[Big Cat]

By the way. I won't be going out with you again. The whole thing is crying.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That's okay.

[Big Cat]

I can't even believe you said that. To question my integrity.

[PFT Commenter]

Are you being serious right now?

[Big Cat]

I'm being serious. Yeah. John, give me if I'm getting a cut because I. I have a relationship with an agent. It's outrageous. I know. You're not a journalist. You don't know anything about this. I know you get. You don't. But that's an outrageous. It's Friday night at 8:30, John. You should know that much. And I am not with you. Goodbye, John.

[PFT Commenter]

Do we.

[Big Cat]

You know. Thank you for. I can't even believe it. The end.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I can't believe it.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh. You know, they're getting upset when they're. When they're like. When they're talking to another member of media and they're like, you're not even a journalist.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You wouldn't get it.

[Big Cat]

They're under fire right now.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Got out at the right time.

[PFT Commenter]

Memes attacking Rossini.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

He was crying the other day about that.

[Big Cat]

Warranted and correct.

[PFT Commenter]

How we found the story.

[Hank]

Yeah, no, he did find the story. It was not even close to what he said.

[Big Cat]

I know what this is.

[PFT Commenter]

He said probable.

[Hank]

She said probable.

[Big Cat]

It is very funny that you.

[PFT Commenter]

I think she said discussions. Discussions were being had regarding this thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's.

[Hank]

It's likely or probable. She didn't say like fact, which is how you reported it.

[Big Cat]

Like, this is basically the Scooby Doo meme. It's. It's you. You think it's Florio takes off the mask. It's Rossini takes off the mask. It's Florio. It's really like Rossini and Florio take off the mask. It's memes all along because you make up more stories than they do.

[PFT Commenter]

That's probably true, I think. Memes, to be fair to memes, he reads a headline or he reads a post, and then he just gets the vibe of what that post is. And then he, like, he has his own grok. His own AI inside of his head that summarizes it, rewrites it, and then that's the report. Yeah, it's probably true. Yeah, I'm not paying for that shit.

[Big Cat]

Okay, okay.

[PFT Commenter]

All right.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That's all I got.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Where were we? Oh, Hot seat was over. Cool Throne. Cool Throne is combat sports. We got a new combat sport that we have to start paying attention to, guys. It's better than Power Slap. It's better than arm wrestling. It's the ultimate dick kicking championship.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh.

[PFT Commenter]

Two guys just stand across from each other and kick each other in the dicks until one guy gives up. Oh, and it's another one of these sports like Power Slap, that was designed just for the clips, basically because you will share and you will watch clips of two guys kicking each other in the dick. To me, it might as well just be. Yeah. Watch this video. Boom. Just taking it.

[Big Cat]

Mm. I like this. Should we do it? Should we do it?

[PFT Commenter]

So to me, this might as well be the ultimate coin flipping championship, because if you go first, you should win every time.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I like this. We should do this on stool streams.

[PFT Commenter]

You want to get involved?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Ultimate dick kicking.

[Big Cat]

Why not?

[PFT Commenter]

At some point, this will be like a national event.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The clips are just too good.

[Big Cat]

It's also funnier.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Slap, right?

[PFT Commenter]

It's much better. They should have a women's division.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I would prefer it if it was just like, they were throwing balls at each other from across the ring. So there was a level of, like.

[PFT Commenter]

Skill sitting on the ground with your legs open in gym shorts. No one blindfolded. And then. And then rolling a 10 or rolling a basketball as hard as you can at the other person.

[Big Cat]

Guys really need to get girlfriends these days. I love that. Do you guys see those posts? I like that.

[PFT Commenter]

There's a ref. Hit it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, what's the ref's job to police the ultimate dick kicking?

[Big Cat]

The. The. I don't know. If you guys in the algorithm, like, where people would just be like, you know, guys can't. You know, all these women aren't dating guys anymore. It's like society's up. It's like, maybe we're just. Because you're spending all day on. On your burner account on Twitter and not just going to the bar. Like, I feel like there's a whole world out there of people still dating and meeting girls.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Going Normal people going to the bar.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. The discussion that's happening online is not real life.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Go out, have a drink, touch glass.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, buddy.

[Hank]

I like that.

[Big Cat]

But there are a lot of people online. Like, man, I can't find a date. Like, just. I don't know. Go to the bar.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Probably can. Probably can talk to a girl.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep. My other cool throne is the Boca Raton Bowl. That's tonight. Wednesday. You guys, long time. Real ones on on. Part of my take will remember that we sponsored the Boca Raton bowl back in 2016.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I'm trying to remember the awareness.

[Big Cat]

The Bernie Madoff wet the beak Ponzi awareness Boca Raton bowl presented by.

[PFT Commenter]

Part of my take presented by Barstool Sports.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So Western Kentucky, Memphis was the first matchup of it back in 2016. And who can forget the royal rumble? The intern royal rumble that we had at halftime with Glennie Balls, Tommy Smokes. Hubs. Robbie Fox. Jesus, who else was in that?

[Big Cat]

Lenny went to the hospital.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Glennie went to the hospital. What a great time that was.

[Hank]

And then what? The beak Ponzi scheme awareness poll presented by part of my tape. Presented by Parcels.

[Big Cat]

That feels like a different life ago.

[PFT Commenter]

It really does. We had Caleb down there with a trophy who snuck onto the field at.

[Hank]

The end of it that was actually electric.

[PFT Commenter]

And so he presented.

[Hank]

He had to go to the hospital. Almost issue.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The bull. The bowl game did not have a sponsor, so we just said, hey, we're just gonna act like we're the sponsor of this bowl game to raise awareness for it. And we sent Caleb down there. He presented the official trophy to Western Kentucky after the game. Western Kentucky. Kentucky, last I checked, has that trophy in their official trophy case at the school.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

They're playing in it again tonight. They're in the Boca Raton bowl, and they're playing against James Madison.

[Big Cat]

I love it.

[PFT Commenter]

I want that trophy.

[Hank]

What was that kid's name? Mikey Electric or something like that.

[PFT Commenter]

But I just want to lightning or I want to let the people because I know that they listen to the show at Western Kentucky. The Trophy's on the line again.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I will.

[PFT Commenter]

I will go down there and steal that trophy back if I have to. If JMU beats Western Kentucky tonight.

[Big Cat]

I love bowl season, even though it's been kind of taken away from us. We'll talk about that with Herbie a little bit more. But I still love bowl season.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Okay. My hot seat was also going to be Doug Gottlieb, but we discussed that in. In detail. God, I still can't believe he's coaching. It's pretty crazy. It's pretty crazy. Oh, I'll do a different hot seat. I was thinking about this because we were talking about on Sunday we had Jonathan Taylor and then the Bengals player. Is. Is it. Isn't it kind of crazy that desean Jackson. That is his legacy, that everyone just like desean Jackson every time someone drops the ball? Is there any other situation like that? I guess the Leon let. But that happens very rarely.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, the.

[Big Cat]

If you.

[PFT Commenter]

Leon let. No, I got another one. Dan Orlovsky.

[Big Cat]

Dan Orlovsky. Yeah. Yeah. Dan Orlovsky is a bad one.

[PFT Commenter]

It is.

[Big Cat]

It's.

[PFT Commenter]

It's crazy. But it's also with desean Jackson. He was still so good for so long and so fast that it's not the first thing you think of.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Sean Jackson.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

When somebody drops the ball, then you do think about him. But, like, that's not his enduring legacy. But it is. He does own the legacy of that play.

[Big Cat]

Orlovsky's a good one. The Leon let's. Funny, because he's got two of them.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

He's got the. After the field goal and then also the Doug BB Yeah. Yeah. Getting chased down in a meaningless, you know, end of a game. No. Oh, Don B.B. i don't know why I said Doug. Yeah. I'm trying to think what you're saying. The double Doink. That happens, like, once. Never.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Not really.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Very, very rare. Oh, bop. Fumble. Oh, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Chris Webber.

[Big Cat]

But like those. But it's not as.

[PFT Commenter]

Timeout.

[Big Cat]

Chris Weber's a good one. Chris Weber's a good one. Because it's not like the double Doink and the Butt Fumble are kind of hard to replicate. I'm talking about a play that happens that everyone's like desean Jackson. Like, it's a negative play. And everyone says Sean Jackson. Orlofsky and Chris Weber are great ones for Kirk Cousins.

[Hank]

Fourth. Fourth down play.

[Big Cat]

Check down.

[PFT Commenter]

Check down. The. On the positive side, when in hockey, the Michigan goal.

[Big Cat]

Which one?

[PFT Commenter]

If somebody does something, they do the wrap.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. The Wrap around.

[PFT Commenter]

They call that a Michigan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That was just part of the like NCAA highlight package for that commercial.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. For 100 years, anytime you get jumped, you can just. I got bizzed.

[Big Cat]

I got pissed. But you know, took some, gave some.

[PFT Commenter]

More, gave more, gave some more. I read the police write up behind that. So they did like the police report. You probably saw some of the videos where the guy was like, this guy. Not. Not a lick of fat on him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But like Dwayne the Rock Johnson. There was a written report that came out where these guys were just terrified of biz.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like this guy was out in the parking lot screaming at all of us like, I'm gonna.

[Big Cat]

You guys up with Biz is my hero.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

He's legitimately my hero. He. He. The way they were talking about him after was he was William Wallace. Like, he was. He was nine feet tall and fireballs out of his ass.

[PFT Commenter]

It's just amazing.

[Big Cat]

It was just incredible.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, that's a. It's a just outstanding, tremendous restaurant. And it's unbelievable. And he goes there four to five times a week. Four to five times a week. And the staff is unbelievable.

[Big Cat]

Great organization.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a great organization at Houston's. And it just. Everything that happened there, I saw a guy, I was like, hey, buddy, you know, like, you're an unbelievable guy. You got someone should do something. And I did something.

[Big Cat]

He's the best. Oh, he's a one on one guy. Are then my cool throne is Ryan Rosil and the UVM soccer team because they won the national championship. I don't know if you guys saw this. It was kind of a Cinderella story. They were unranked. They made an incredible run. I think they survived a two overtime game in the America east tournament just to get into the regular NCAA tournament. And then they won in overtime last night to win the national championship. And yeah, they were unranked and they. They won it all. So shout out Russell and Jake.

[PFT Commenter]

Very cool.

[Big Cat]

And Jake. Yeah. And Patrick Sharp. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

It was an awesome finish.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Great job. Uvm. Okay.

[Hank]

Taylor Coppenrath.

[Big Cat]

Taylor. Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Who's that?

[Big Cat]

What was the kid's name? Lamb? Was it Anthony Lamb?

[Hank]

Yeah, that was the Jake era.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that was the Jake era. Anthony Coppin.

[Hank]

Rath was from the parking lot.

[PFT Commenter]

Was it Larnega?

[Hank]

No, that was Fish. That was George. Or George Mike.

[PFT Commenter]

I know he's at George Mason. Page. He didn't go to Vermont.

[Big Cat]

John. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

All right. Yeah. Storied history.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. We got it all. It was Dirk Spentley that Priscilla was friends with freshman year.

[Hank]

Oh, Sorrentin was from the parking lot.

[PFT Commenter]

No, it was. What's his name?

[Big Cat]

This is going to history right now.

[PFT Commenter]

From the, from the Bruins.

[Big Cat]

No. Oh, Tim Thomas. No, but I think he was friends with. Was it Dirk's Bentley he was friends with. With a, with a country star freshman year?

[PFT Commenter]

It might have been Dirks.

[Big Cat]

It might have been. We're doing some really good stuff. Yeah. Dirk Spentley spent a year at Vermont. There we became Dirk Spentley and Rosso. Number one. Number one guy, Russell. Okay, let's get to our interviews. We got Kirk, Herb street talking some college football playoff and then we have an awesome interview with Paul Walter Hauser. Really, really great actor. Really cool interview. It is all brought to you by our friends at Chevy. There's a reason we've never done a Mount Rushmore of pickup trucks and that's because, pardon my take, there's only one pickup drunk. The Chevy Silverado. Why is that? Silverado is a partner. A partner you can depend on. We've all spent time driving and using Silverado for all kinds of part of my take, jobs, adventures and other shenanigans. Silverado has been our ride for a cross country trip to the Super Bowl. Silverado helped us dig the biggest hole ever in the state of Ohio. Last year at Grit Week, Silverado helped us give fullbacks recognition they deserve with the low man award. And this year, Silverado was out west with our latest Grit week. Silverado brings the grit to legendary grit paired with modern truck tech inside and out. Massive screens, up to eight cameras with 14 different views to help make driving, towing and parking all easier. We love the bold blacked out look of the new Silverado HD trail boss. So head on over to Chevy.com build your own Silverado or Silverado HD and check out all the current offers of Silverado. Discover a world of strength and capability all behind the wheel of our favorite truck, the Chevy Silverado. We're also brought to you by our friends at Tommy John. Tommy John is hands down the best underwear I've ever worn. Everything Tommy John makes is meticulously crafted for breathable stretch fabric for the perfect fit. I'm wearing some right now. So be the goat. The greatest gifter of all time and gift Tommy John. It feels good to give, but it feels great to give Tommy John knowing you're upgrading their lives. With over 20 million pairs sold and thousands of five star reviews, give Tommy John this holiday tradition. And great days begin with great underwear. Hurry to tommyjohn.compmt for your last minute holiday gifts and save 30 site wide. 30 off just in time only on tommyjohn.compmt if you're listening this right now, you haven't been bought a gift for your husband, boyfriend, dad, anyone? Anyone out there? The underwear, Tommy John is top notch. They also have great sweatshirts, joggers, everything. But the underwear is the best. You're gonna have to need the stocking stuffers. Do it right now with Tommy John. Tommyjohn.com PMT for last minute holiday gifts and save 30% site wide. 30% off just in time [e-mail] PMT okay, here he is, Kirk Herb Street. Okay. We now welcome on a very special guest friend of the program recurring guest. It is Kirk Herb street getting ready for the College Football playoff. He's going to be in South Bend on Friday night. He's going to be in Columbus on Saturday night. We're all pumped. Herby, first of all, thanks for joining us. And I don't, I hate to have to start in a negative light. I want to talk about these matchups, but I think we have to address the fact that college football feels like it's in a little bit of disarray right now. And what I'm talking about is the Bo Pebula transfer portal with Penn State. And I want, I want your thoughts on it because I'm, I'm hoping that you have some galaxy brain fix. But for those that aren't aware, transfer portal opened a few days ago. The College Football Playoff has still yet to be played. We always knew this was a screwed up system, but Bo Prabula for Penn State, their backup quarterback who does play in packages, and Penn State is going to be playing for a national championship and playing in the College Football Playoff in a couple of days has hit the transfer portal. And this is the first time that it feels like I knew, we knew it was a problem, but now it's like this is a team that's going to be playing on Saturday that just lost a guy that is a weapon for them and does add a different dynamic. How the hell do we fix this? This, this is, it's crazy.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I mean, we've been talking about this for so long. You know how nutty this is and how it's easy to blame the players. I think it's easy to look at it like how selfish are these guys? But I think if, if you put yourself in their shoes, I think the calendar and the way it's set up is, is difficult. I don't know Bo's case because I know Preston Stone, and there's some other guys that have entered the portal, but they're staying with their team and into the playoff, like at smu, getting ready.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I don't know why he felt the need to be able to enter the portal but then leave. You know, maybe you guys can help me with that. I don't understand that aspect of his specific story on why he's leaving the team. You know, I. I guess maybe he felt he had to go visit these schools to be able to really get a good handle on where he wanted to go. I have no idea. I know it's. It's a little bit of revolving door for the. Especially at that position when it comes to the portal. And, you know, some of these guys are trying to kind of be re. Recruited like they're high school seniors again, to try to figure out where. Where's the best fit for them. So maybe he felt before someone else takes the spot that he wants, he needs to go visit. While his team's playing in these playoff games, he needs to go visit these schools. That's the only thing I can think of of why he left the team.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's exactly it, by the way.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And it's the calendar. I don't. I don't blame the kids, because you do have an advantage if you're in the portal earlier, so you want to go ahead and make that decision now. One way to fix it might be if you could go into the portal and then you could actually join a college football playoff team so you get, like, an impact free agent that just transfers out of nowhere with no connection to the school that could play.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Here's. Here's the one thing I guess I would say, because this whole thing has gone from, like, when I played, players had zero rights for. The majority of college football players have had. You have no rights. You just do what you're told. And, you know, it's like you're in the Marines. Yes, sir. May I have another kind of thing? And then we got to 2020 and Covid and everything kind of changed and realignment, and then we. We've kind of gotten into this world now where players are able to leave whenever they want to leave. We have nil. Obviously, that is a huge part of this. But if you even follow the NFL model, the players have restrictions. Like, you can't be on the Bears and just say, oh, the hell with this season.

[Big Cat]

I'm.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I'm going to the Lions, like, Like, you have a contract, you have to follow the contract. The NFL has very stringent rules. This is what we do as a teams. This is what you're allowed to do. This is what the players can do. So this whole idea of the players in college just doing whatever the hell they want to do is. It isn't the right thing. Like, it, it's not like, like my kids, I had four sons. If my kids at 12 years old said, dad, I'm taking the car, see, I'm going to a party at 12, I'd be like, what are you talking about? You can't do that. The world we live in today, in college football, it's kind of like, screw, you take the keys. And the coach is kind of like, well, okay, he's going to take the keys. What am I supposed to do? You have zero power and it's cool to be that player and have fun, but it's not cool for you in the long term for your growth and where you're trying to go as a human. It might be fun for these, that three and five year window. But as far as, like, what is great about this sport is what the hard. You got to go through the you think is annoying and why do I have to go through it? It molds you and changes you into becoming a better person down the road. Whether it's as an employee or as a husband or a father, whatever it is, you got to go through some tough. You can't just like, this isn't fun anymore. I'm not playing, I'm out. Like, it just can't be that way if you want to do that. I feel like coaches who leave, you know, like they get a new job, they should have to finish the thing out before they go to their new job players, you should have to finish this thing out until you go to your new job. Like, I, I just don't. I think these players at this point, they need to sign contracts. I think we need a cba. I think we need to form some kind of players union. I think we need to somehow create. The other thing is we're very. It's almost like silo. Greg Sankey is in an SEC silo, you know, the big tens in a silo. We need to somehow create more of a national view of the sport. We're still governing the Sport in the 80s and the sport is in the 2024. It's more of a national sport. So we need a national view on how we govern the sport. So we somehow need to get that national view to partner with the players union. Create a CBA where you're held accountable. Okay, we're going to agree on nil. Here are the rules we're going to agree on for nil. Both sides agree. Here's the deal with portal, transfer, portal, both sides agree and whatever they ultimately come up with, it's a contract and we sign and then we obey the contract on both sides. I think that's where it's gotten. How we get there, I have no idea. But players just kind of coming and going and zero accountability to their team.

[Big Cat]

That.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

That's not healthy at all. And it really takes away from. From what this sport is about, which is the team trying to win games.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You know that.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

That's what this is all about.

[Big Cat]

It's a bummer. And I don't. I don't blame Bobula at all because the schedule is screwed up where, you know, it's. It's still based on enrolling for classes. And that's the real problem is that, like, you, you have, like, you know, kids have to do it before the winter or the spring semester. So that's why they have to do it right now. You can't be like, maybe it's the transfer portal just happens in the spring or after the spring semester, but then coaches would be upset because they don't have their team set for spring ball, all that stuff. But yeah, for Bo's case, like the carousel and the musical chairs of quarterbacks in the nil, like, if he waits until mid January or early January, he's going to be out of luck. That's just the reality. Teams want to act right away. And if he waits, all these seats are going to be filled. So he's got to go and be active right now and take care of himself. But yeah, the system just is screwed up. I don't know how they fix it. I think it just really stinks.

[PFT Commenter]

Some stuff is going to change once the schools start to. They get to pay the players directly. Now. I think that starts what, next season? So things are going to be supposed.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

To be a big thing in April. I think something's going down in April. Hopefully by next year there's a new.

[Big Cat]

New.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

A new set of circumstances. Hopefully that'll be the case.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, so there'll have to be new rules put in place for that as well. But yeah, what's, what's the problem with just saying, hey, I'm going to enter the portal and then you, you finish out the season with your team and then maybe you miss A week of classes at whatever that new school is.

[Big Cat]

Well, the. One of the problem is if you, if you sign with a new team and you get money and then you play with the old team, you get hurt. Now what happens? Because, like, if you're. Let's say you're Mizzou and you want Bo Pebula and he's like, I'm going to keep playing for Penn State, but I'm signing with you guys, he gets hurt, Mizzou's not going to want him to play in those games. You know what I mean?

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe just, yeah, make the transfer portal happen after the championship game. Like, we don't have NFL free agency.

[Big Cat]

Before the super bowl, but that's where the. The school schedule.

[PFT Commenter]

But then now we're going to like, pretend like these guys, like, the reason why they're at that school is class.

[Big Cat]

Right. It's stupid. The whole thing, stupid. So I wanted to start with that. It's a bummer to talk about, by the way, you mentioned your son or your four sons. How was the reception when your son committed to Michigan? That. That caused some waves.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah, I've kind of stayed out of that world a little bit. I. I haven't seen a whole lot of reaction intentionally just because I know 80% of the people are thrilled, 20% are going to be jackasses. So I just decided it's one thing to take shots at me, but if you take shot at my kid and you want to get in a fight, it's not hard for me to want to do that. So I just. I just try to ignore that stuff the best that I can and just kind of stay focused on the positive. What an opportunity for him. You know, this is a kid that grew up a lifelong Ohio State fan of all my kids. Like, he's the guy that cried when they lose games. Like, he's an Ohio State junkie. High State did not really pursue him to the point of offering him a scholarship. Then they were close to. They're like, listen, man, this new rule, that's the big thing with this new world that you talked about. Right now you can have 85 on scholarship, but 125 are in the program. Well, the new world that you're referring to, this rev share. Football is going to be affected, but it's going to go down to 105. So you can only have 105 guys on your. On your team. Now, you could put 105 on scholarship, but a lot of these guys are not. They're just kind of in a Wait and see approach. So guys like my son Chase, who was kind of like that, that last. Fighting for those last couple spots for a scholarship or potentially a pwo, which would be a preferred walk on, he's kind of in that area where he's fighting most of those guys. Big schools like Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame, the schools that he was looking at the most, they're, they're almost, hey, why don't you go to the Mac? We're going to bring in this portal guy who we know a little bit more about and they're really not into developing young players and investing and hoping that they become a great player. So Che got a huge opportunity to do this. Trombourne, his staff believe and I think they've seen his competitive spirit and his fire and what he did on the field this year to give him this opportunity. And you know, it's, it's, it's very different for our family because our family behind the scenes is scarlet and gray. Our whole lives, you know, a big cat. It'd be like you having a son that was, he's Wisconsin born and bred, brainwashed, and all of a sudden he goes to Michigan. Yeah, you know, it's, it is quite a thrill. Obviously, we're beyond ecstatic for him. I went to senior day for my other son who had a heart situation. He was part of the senior class of the Ohio State players. So it was a, it was a family only event this past Sunday. And I went in there really nervous to wonder how the Ohio State coaches because none of them texted me, hey, congratulations on Chase. I didn't hear anything from anybody, so I was a little bit, should I go? Should I not go? And I went because I need to be there for my other son. It was a very cool event. By the way. Each position coach would, you know, would, would have his guys come up, say something about each guy. And then that guy had to grab the mic and speak in front of his, all of his teammates and close to the media and the fans. And it was very emotional to watch some of these guys, Trevion Henderson and Mecca Buka, like, like they've been through some stuff, you know, not only lost it to Michigan, but just personal stuff. So it was very heartfelt day to be there to watch that. But you know, I talked to Chip Kelly afterwards, talked to Ryan Day afterwards. Nobody said anything. It was like, yeah, it was like, okay, I'll see you next week, Tennessee. Looking forward to it. I'll call you this week. You know, just, it was just kind of like business mode.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

And, but that's, that's good by me.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's good. I mean, you're smart to stay out of the, out of the fray because I agree, like, you know, if, if someone says something about your kids, it's, it's on site. So that was, that's smart to just ignore all of it. But congrats to him and a compliment.

[PFT Commenter]

He's got some balls. He's got conviction. So that, that's a, that's a man that knows what he wants.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah, it's cool.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

No doubt.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It's definitely another wrinkle to the rivalry. So. All right, so let's, let's, let's go to Ohio State because you're going to be, you're going to be calling that game Ohio State Tennessee on Saturday night. I'm so excited for this game and I think we're all kind of thinking the same thing. This Ohio State team is insanely, insanely talented. One of the teams that you could circle right now and be like, this team has all the dudes that could end up winning the national title. But where are they at mentally after what happened in Columbus against Michigan and the end of their season? And how do they get off the mat? Because it is just a very unique situation to have that type of loss with that much on it and that like the four year buildup and then be like, oh yeah, we're still going to play for a national title. So where do you think they're going to be mentally when it comes to Saturday night?

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Well, again, just going back to that, that Senior day, just behind closed doors, just with the players. It was interesting to be there because if you go by the outside world, the feeling of Ohio State fans very dejected by the Michigan game. And nobody's seen really Ohio State since that. The fight, the fight at the end of the game and everyone just kind of left the stadium. I think that day I wasn't there, but just talking to my son and a lot of friends who went to that game like, holy, what just happened? How did this happen again? Kind of, kind of feeling. And now, you know, Michigan's, they're going to play in a bowl game and Ohio State's going to a playoff game. And I, I think there's the, the fodder that's out there on social media. Screw Ryan Day. Screw, you know, you know, the worst I've heard people say everything. I hope they lose the first game and he's fired. I mean, just bizarre set of circumstances. For a team that's, as you said, one of the most talented is in the playoff, hosting a playoff game. And you've got that kind of noise by a fraction of your. Of your fan base. So I think the reality is what matters most is the players seemed to be super engaged. They kept talking about, this isn't good. Almost every guy up there that talks said, man, this isn't goodbye. You know, we got four more to go. You know, it was just. It was. It was. I don't know how many times I heard we have four more games to go. And I think they truly, in their minds, are buying into that. Kind of like March Madness. When you get ready to make a run, you know, you got to win a few weekends. I think their focus is on trying to beat Tennessee and go to the Rose bowl and take on Oregon and down the line, and. And I think they. They believe that kind of like if you go back to the team with CJ Sprout, when they lost to Michigan again, and then they had to play Georgia, and everybody wondered, how would they play against Georgia? And it was like a different team when they played Georgia, if you remember, they played super aggressively. Stroud played out of his mind, scrambling around, making plays, really outplayed Georgia. And to George's credit, Georgia ended up making the plays at the end of the game to win it. The vibe of the players reminds me of that. At the end of the day, though, guys, are they good enough? We could talk all day about Jeremiah Smith and all the receivers and all that, but the offensive line, yeah. If you really watch the Michigan game, you know, when they lost the center from Alabama, Seth McLaughlin, when he went down with that Achilles, I think that offensive line is a serious question mark going up against Tennessee's strength, which is their defensive front. So how will that battle go? I think will be a big factor because it was in the Michigan game, and they're not obviously getting any of those pieces back on that offensive line. So that, to me, will be the big thing. And then just the crowd, the energy in that stadium. I've heard Tennessee's gonna buy 30,000 tickets. I don't know if that's true, but just the vibe inside that. That stadium. If things are going great, it'd be obvious, be right in their corner, cheering, going crazy. If Will Howard throws a pick, how will the crowd react? If the poor field goal kicker who missed two against Michigan happens to miss a kick, how will the crowd react? If Tennessee gets a sack and a score, fumble and a score, how will the crowd, like, like. I'm just wondering what the energy, what you would think would be a night game at the shoe, massive opportunity, home field advantage. You would think that would be the case. But if things go sideways, I'm just wondering how that the environment inside the stadium will go.

[PFT Commenter]

I agree with you because I, I think Ohio State, they've been training, they've been practicing with a lot of pissed off energy. They've been very, very angry. Right. So you've got to challenge, you got to channel that somehow. And I think they're channeling their anger obviously into preparing for the football playoff. But if something goes wrong, all that emotion that you've put in, all that pissed off energy quickly can turn on you. If that's been your reason for getting ready for this and things start to go downhill, then it can snowball on you and you can get down real fast. You mentioned the home field advantage. I heard that it's not actually as much of a home field advantage as you might think that it would be during the playoffs because they're, they're not doing like the normal game day operations at these schools. They're bringing in the national guys. So it's not like the, the scoreboard guys or the in stadium audio guys are going to be the normal Ohio State people that run the show. It's going to be like a neutral site type of environment with all the media and all the sound just that happens to be played in the horseshoe. Do you think that has any impact on it?

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I don't know, man. I guess I'm hearing those same things. I don't know what it's going to. I heard when Tennessee runs out of the field, it'll be a neutral site. Feel like Tennessee will have their own entrance that they would have, that they've chosen with their song and their music and their energy running onto the field, which I think is really bizarre. When you go to South Bend on Friday night and Indiana comes onto the field, it's not like the normal, just the visiting team, boo. They kind of run onto the field and then lights go down in the home field. It's, it's. I don't, I don't know how they're going to do it. I'm reading the same things you're reading. But that, that, that, that, that could be an interesting aspect, not just in Columbus, but all these, these playoff games. This is again, unchartered waters. We have no idea really how it's going to go until we, until we see it. You know, with Notre Dame, on Friday night in Indiana, you know, is Indiana going to have their normal allotment of tickets? Is it just going to be a small little fraction of Hoosiers fans inside there? Are they going to get online and scoop up as many tickets as they can and. And try to, you know, have a big showing? Because it's such an easy drive to go from Bloomington up to South Bend? I. I have no idea. But, yeah, it. I, I'll have a lot more answers on the. On the back end of this, but I, I cannot wait to see home playoff games and how it'll impact, like you say, the game ops, which obviously is a huge advantage for the home team, you know, in normal set of circumstances.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I heard.

[PFT Commenter]

No, hang on, Sloopy. They're not doing. They're not doing that either. That's. That's worth at least four points right there.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Dude.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Let me. Again, at the risk of getting in trouble, I think there are schools that do an incredible job with their game ops. You know, like. Like, you go into the sec, I think the home crowd and the people who run those stadiums, they look at themselves as. Our job is to be a distraction to the enemy and to do everything we can to the line where we can't play music while the quarterbacks, you know, saying the signals and barking out the cadence. But we're going to walk right up to the line with the band. We're going to put microphones into the band, the music. We're going to go right to the line where we're going to maybe get a letter from the SEC commissioner that we can't do that. That's our goal every home. And in the Big Ten, I think there's a few stadiums that do that. But I just feel. You guys tell me. I feel like the Big Ten is a little more traditional. More of the band has as much to do with the game they experience as the team, you know, so they're. They're a little bit a tough spot between. Like, in the sec, they hire a dj.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I mean, you go to a break in the SEC and it's like the party's just beginning for the fans during TV timeouts. I mean, it is bonkers at LSU or Alabama or Georgia or Tennessee. It's insane during the TV timeout and at Ohio State, it's, you know, okay, let's go to break. We'll be back after this. And then it's, ladies and gentlemen, if you can pay attention to the north end, the 1973 fencing team. Let's all have a. Let's get on our feet and show them some appreciation for the 1973 CO Big Ten champs.

[Big Cat]

And it's like, yeah, no, the. The easiest way to say it. That's perfectly put because I can actually envision that the easiest way to say it is we just haven't figured out a way to get a light show up north yet. That's it. No, like, we don't have the light show. I see the light show, Georgia. At all. Awesome. Yeah, it's. It's the light show always. I'm like, why don't we have a light show.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Music dj, like, feed the energy, feet. Don't take it away.

[Big Cat]

It's so true. Pull it away.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Feed it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you should go right up to that line. Yeah, those. Those guys are doing a great job. If that's how they approach the game, it's like, like I'm going to do everything that I can to fuck with the opponent. Even though my job is to sit in a booth with a lanyard around my neck and like an officially issued team polo, I'm out there making a difference. I like that mentality.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I agree. It's like if you go to an NHL game, you know, I'll go to these NHL games. I'm so blown away by the game ops and what they do because It's a different 1997 to now. Like, your job to keep people off their phone and engaged in what's happening. That's a challenge, man. It's just a different world that we live in. A lot of people's attention span isn't the same, and it's easy to, like, get to a, you know, TV timeout, take a seat, look on your phone, check out what's going on, and all of a sudden it's like, oh, the. Oh, the game's back on, you know, and. And they try to take that away by keeping you engaged. And I, I really, when I see it and I. I see fans engaged during breaks, I just. I pay homage to that, man.

[Big Cat]

Because it's not an easy.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Not an easy thing to do in 2024.

[Big Cat]

It's so true. So four games. You're a quarterback. You know, these quarterbacks. Give me your top four quarterbacks playing this weekend that you trust.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Let's start Friday night. I think Riley Leonard. I don't know if I trust him yet. I don't know how many times he's really been challenged. So I don't know. It's not that I don't trust him, it's just we don't know.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

And can Indiana put him in a place where they get him into those third down situations where he's got to make plays with his arm, not just his legs, with his arm. I'm excited to see that. And Rourke, I've been blown away by that kid. Their whole story. I was early, kind of like it's Indiana, it's cute story. And then I just kind of kept watching them and thought and I stood next to Rourke in the Ohio State game, I was like, damn, that's an impressive looking dude. This guy's. I don't know what he's listed. He looks like he's 65 to me. Big impressive guy. And I just think that kid plays with a serious amount of confidence for a guy that's in his first year. I think of all of them, that might be a guy that stands out to me. I don't know how much you've watched Tennessee, but Tennessee with Josh Hill, we go back to Hendon, Hooker or Milton. What do you think of? You think of 50 yard bombs just taking shots in that offense because that's who they've been this year. Total opposite Tennessee team.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

They play to their strengths. Let's play defense. Let's run our all sec running back Dylan Sampson and let's take care of the quarterback. Let's spoon feed him, ease him in, not make him feel like he has to win it where our quarterbacks in the past did. So it's been a very different style of approach as a head coach. Is that good enough to win in this environment? I think he'll, I think he'll call his game based on how his defense is playing against Will Howard and Ohio State. If they're forcing Ohio State to punt, he's going to play the way he has most of this year. A very conservative hand it off throw when you have to kind of approach. If Ohio State's scoring, then you'll see Nico, who's more than capable, you know. You know his recruiting story. Yeah, yeah, he's a freak, but he's a freshman so they've just been very, very careful with him. So I would say Will Howard, I know he's made some mistakes. He's cost his team in some big games. I just think because of the experience, I think there's a little bit more trust there. But do you trust the offensive line? I don't think he can because of the injuries. The Clemson Texas game again, man, it's just been this.

[Big Cat]

I know, you know, I asked that question because when you look at the quarterbacks in this playoff, it's fair. It's. It's really up and down for a lot of guys.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Kevin Jennings at smu. Yeah, yeah, he's a kid. That again, I don't know how many people listening to this or watching this have watched SMU football this year, but they started with Preston Stone, who's a little bit more traditional, and now they've got a version of a. Of a dual threat guy that they spread you out, you got to try to cover everybody. And then this guy's back there running around and has the ability to take off and run, has ability to keep it alive and throw. He. He would be an interesting matchup for the Penn State defense. My big concern for SMU in that game is like, you would think, the line of scrimmage on both sides. I mean, Penn State, I thought, pushed Oregon around pretty well in the Big Ten championship game at the line of scrimmage. So how SMU do it? And I looked at this morning at the forecast, all three games in Columbus, South Bend and State College, no snow. But you're talking about in the. In the 20s, 20 degrees. Not that it favor. And a lot of people are like that favors Ohio State and Notre Dame, and I guess we'll see if it does. A lot of Ohio State's rosters from Georgia, North Carolina, Florida. So I don't know how it necessarily favors these teams in the North. I guess. I guess we'll see. It's been a big, big conversation point. You know, when the playoff first started, it's like teams from the north are like, it's about time those teams from the south come up here and deal with the cold weather. Well, now you get your chance, you know, in two of those games, and we'll see if it becomes a factor or not. But, Ben, because that's a great question on who do you trust?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Because I don't. I don't know if it's just been too inconsistent with most of these guys all year to really know who is that guy you can trust?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's. It's Dylan Gabriel and Drew Allergy is kind of really where. That's probably where I stop. And it's not saying the other guys aren't good. It's just like I'm talking about third and long, down four with, you know, five minutes left and you.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Situation. I know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

How about that?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Talked publicly. Have they talked publicly since that game about what's going on?

[PFT Commenter]

I Haven't heard anything. I'm more concerned about their punter, their punter being injured. That's, that's the real expert.

[Big Cat]

He's a beast.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So wait, with, with Texas quarterback situation though, are you a little bit surprised that Arch didn't get more playing time in the SEC championship game? Because I felt like there was a moment where Star could, he had a lever that he could have pulled and he chose not to pull it. I don't know if that was intentional because he wanted to save him for the, for the playoff or if he was just like, you know what? Yours is my guy. We're going to, we're going to live and die with Quinn. But do you expect to see more of Architecture.

[Big Cat]

Man?

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Again, go back to that eight overtime Friday night game with Georgia and Georgia Tech and think about what happened to Georgia's defense. I know it's a different set of circumstances, but Georgia Tech ran a lot of zone read and power read and gave the quarterback an opportunity to utilize his legs or his arm, depending on how the defense of Georgia reacted. And they had so much success in that game that the next game was going to be against Texas. And I just thought that Sark, much like he did against Texas A and M, he would just have a little package in the red zone or short yardage to go to Arch and as you say, pull that lever. I thought, I thought fresh off that Georgia Tech game, he saw something he might be able to attack using Arch's ability to attack the edges. But he didn't do it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

And doesn't mean he's putting Arch away. I just think for whatever reason, only, only Sark knows he's one of the great offensive minds in the game. For whatever reason, he stuck with Quinn throughout almost every snap of that game. And it makes you wonder, you know, in their, in their next matchup against Clemson and down the road how much Arch will be a factor. Because that dude, I know everybody wants to compare him to his uncles, but he's probably more like his grandfather than he is his uncles as far as. And he's much bigger and stronger. Looking at this guy, you know, it's one thing, you look at him on tv, you think, you go on the pre game and you, you look at these guys in person, some of these guys just look so different than what your, your perception of them is. And Arch is one of those guys. I mean, his legs, I don't know if he lives under a squat rack. That dude is put together. He's not just a tall Slippery boy. He's quick, he is powerful dude who can spin it. You talk about an excitement of where you want to see Texas next year with Arch having an entire off season to build his game. But he's nothing like Peyton. He's nothing like Eli. He's really nothing like his grandfather who was a really athletic guy. He's his own guy and he's got the size that they all have. But his strength and his athletic ability, who knows what, what Sark will do in the off season to build the offense around him. And who knows if Arch will get an opportunity here in these next potential four games that Texas might be playing. I hope we see more of him. He's fun.

[PFT Commenter]

Manning shouldn't be allowed to be fast. That's. It's weird seeing him run with the ball. It's like, come on man, just stay in the pocket. Maybe once every three years, do a naked bootleg and then everybody like stands up and claps and laughs while you try to run for a first down. That's. That's the Manning. That's the Manning way, right? Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Not this guy. Wow, this dude. This dude's going to do now. I don't know if they're going to protect him from himself next year, but if he plays the way he wants to play, he's going to be running around people over people. You know, if you're a safety coming up there to tackle that guy, it's like tackling a tight end, you know, I mean, that's basically who's athletic. So. Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. I think it's a game to game approach for Sark and how they use Arch and if they do, and not to mention imagine a fan base, it reminds me of Tebow in 06 when he was a true freshman and Chris Leak was the quarterback. But every time there'd be short yardage or red zone, the crowd at the Swamp would go crazy just with the idea that 15 might come jogging onto the field and he would. And they were like begging Urban to bring him out. And it became almost. It's Chris Leak who's quarterbacking 90% of the game, but it almost became like the fans were just completely consumed with Tim Tebow even though he's just doing short yardage. And that kind of reminds me a little bit of Texas, this is Quinn Ewers team. But there's such anticipation and so much excitement about Arch Manning taking over. And I wonder if that impacts Sark inside the locker room on protecting Quinn and protecting kind of that feeding into that energy by not putting Arch out there as much as, as maybe you might think. Yeah, Sarc say whatever it takes to win kind of guy. But I also think he's mindful of the makeup of his team. And Quinn, yours is his quarterback, you know, and, and I know that's impacted Quinn a little bit psychologically. Just, hey, I'm the guy. And yet they kind of are rooting for the other guy. So I think it's a little bit tricky on how, on how they manage that at this point in 2024.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's tough. So looking at these games, the spreads are pretty big. They go from what, last I checked, I think it was 7 to 12 point favorites in each game. If you had to pick one upset because there's going to be one, who would it be?

[Kirk Herbstreit]

What's the I, what's the iu? Notre Dame?

[PFT Commenter]

Seven and a half is what I'm looking at right now. I don't know if that's moved.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I, I would say iu. I'd probably say iu. Would, would be. What's the Tennessee spread?

[PFT Commenter]

I believe that's a touchdown.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah, I think I, you know, I'm not picking either one of those teams, but I, I mean, you can make a pretty strong case if you're a Tennessee fan or you're going to vote, you know, bet on Tennessee. Until you see the Ohio State offensive line more productive against a talented front, there's no reason to think that both those games, the underdog, should have a shot to be competitive and maybe pull off an upset.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I do love the drama behind the scenes of the Tennessee fans being like, yeah, that stadium is going to be 30% orange, buddy.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

You imagine they get 3, 500 fans. What's Ohio Stadium these days? Over a hundred thousand?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

You get. Basically 3% of the stadium is going to be in orange.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

If you get up, there's no. You, you believe they'll. They maybe get 30,000 people in there.

[Big Cat]

No way. It'd be a testament to the fan base.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, it would be.

[PFT Commenter]

I saw another, a post. I don't know if it was from game day operations at Ohio State or if it was from somebody else that showed what the color orange looks like underneath their like LED lights that they have. And it looks red. And so now Ohio State's like, yeah, wear your orange. We're going to turn you red.

[Big Cat]

It's.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a, it's been a fun like behind the scenes battle.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, I think it is.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

And it's a scarlet out, right? So they're going to do the scar, the whole stadium if they follow the, the, the direction of what the Ohio State's requesting. So it'd be all scarlet and then bright, bright orange. So you're right. You're right.

[Big Cat]

Terrible mix of colors when you put them together. Good on their own, maybe not great together. All right.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

In Ohio State's wearing those all scarlet units.

[Big Cat]

I know they're doing color rush.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't like that they do a.

[Big Cat]

Color rush where you're.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Wear your uniform.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a classic.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Wear it.

[PFT Commenter]

Matter of fact, take all the stickers off the helmet like you start new. It's a new season, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Four games.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

That's a good idea.

[Big Cat]

More games. Maybe put on the stickers during the game.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, there you go, Adam.

[Big Cat]

During the game. All right. So, Herbie, this has been awesome. I got one last question. It's A Roback question. Rho B A C K.com promo code, take 20% off your first purchase. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com promo code, take 20 percent off. Last question for you is not about the playoff. It was big story, obviously last week. Bill Belichick going to North Carolina. How do you think this is going to work? Do you think it's going to. I mean, I, I'm of the belief that there is definitely a market for a coach in college to be almost like Calipari when he figured out the one and done before anyone else and being like, hey guys, I'm not going to sell you on education. I'm not going to sell you on, you know, we like, this is a community. I'm going to sell you on. Come here, I'll teach you how to be a pro. And the scouts are going to know that if you can handle my system, you're a value in the NFL and I'm going to get guys drafted.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I would see part, it's part that just put yourself as an 18 year old recruit and knock on the door and it's Bill Belichick at the door or on the phone. Honey, Coach Belichick's on the phone. I mean, imagine what that would. The power of that, right? But I'm telling you guys, Bill Belichick, he's one of those guys that if he, if he ended up coaching high school football in Annapolis, I would not have been surprised. Right? He is a, he's not caught up in all the, all the noise that we all get caught up in. He is just an old school football coach. And I really think that his dad had a major impact on his decisions and what he does. I think there's part of him that's probably always been pulling at him to be on a college campus because of his time at Annapolis with his dad and before that in places like North Carolina. And I really think as much as you guys are saying, hey, don't worry about the education, we're going to go build this roster and we're going to go win a championship, I think he's going to think about how I do both. I really, I know his reputation is NFL and, and building a roster and winning and winning Super Bowls, but I think there's part of him that I think is actually going to enjoy getting kids to buy into the demands of academics. Because of his background. I, I don't think it's going to be, hey, you didn't go to class. Screw it, we're getting ready to win this game. I just don't think that's him. I just, I, I think he's gonna. The reason it took two weeks. We kept hearing, wait, they interviewed him. Like, how do you, how do you interview Bill Belichick? Like, it's one of those, if he says, yeah, I'm interested, it's like, you take it. But remember, it went, it went for a while. So I'm sure he sat there and just gathered so much intel. Not only I need this for nil, I need this for private plane, like, whatever it is he needed. But I think he wanted to learn, like, the ramifications and the guidelines of like, what are we doing here? What's this world? So when he did step to the podium, it was almost like in his mind, like, okay, I can answer any question. I've studied this and analyzed this job and what it takes so much that I know what it. I'm ready to go and I'm ready to take it. And I think you guys are going to be surprised by what he builds. I don't think it's just going to be about sure he's going to try to win the national championship. That's obvious. And if you look at their schedule, they're in the playoff next year. I mean, there's a very strong chance in North Carolina. I think they're one game that makes you scratch their head. Your head is Clemson. Other than that, they might be favored in every game they play. So get used to him getting teams to knocking on the door of the ACC championship and into the playoff. But I do Think he's going to do the academic side? That's just me. Maybe I'm wrong. Just from the time I've spent with him, I think he wants to make that a priority as well, which I applaud him if he can pull it off.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Herbie, we are a national sports podcast, and very rarely do we use our platform and advocate for something up. But I feel like it's a priority, appropriate time, and I want to put your feet to the fire on this because you might not be in charge of it, but I think you. You have a say. You were a college football icon. You can make change if you believe in it enough. The Dr. Pepper Tuition Challenge is out of hand. The chess passes are ruining America. Might be symbolic of everything that's wrong with America right now, actually, but it's feeding into it. Can we do something about that? Either move the challenge back a little bit or mandate that they have to throw with one arm like a quarterback. It's a football game. It's not a basketball game. Make your passes with one hand. I want to. I want to see a spiral. Can we do something about that, bro?

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I love that. You know, I used to do the Ecridge Challenge, and we would throw it from 25 yards, I think 20 or 25 yards. And the target was just about the size of a basketball. I mean, it was hard. And you would throw that thing. It was almost like trying to make a shot from half court. I'm with you. That, you know, everybody. It's almost like papa shot. They're just firing that thing away. And it doesn't take any ability at all. Right. So I think that. I think you're onto something. I think you move it back at least another 10 yards.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

To take away. That would take away the chess pass. And let me. Let me get down on the field next time I'm in a game. I'll get to the bottom of this. I'll find out what's up because it is embarrassing.

[Big Cat]

They've ruined it.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't blame the competitors. It's like the challenge portal. That's the best way to do it.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

It's easier to. You have a. Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

They figured out the answer. Right?

[Big Cat]

Right. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So the game has to evolve as the players evolve with it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you can either move it back a little bit or just say, hey, you have to have one hand. It has to go above your shoulders.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah, I like that. I'll bring that up if I don't know the Dr. Pepper, folks, but if I'm in a game and I'm down on the field. I'm gonna make that a point to go over there and try to get to the bottom of that. I'll. Again, I'll report back on that as well.

[Big Cat]

All it would take is you. If you boycott. If you boycott a game, maybe just don't even talk for an entire half. Just saying, you. You have the power.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

I'm boycotting the game unless you get this shit it fixed. That's where we are right now.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, thank you for not boycotting the second half of the NERS Rams game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That must have been tough.

[Big Cat]

That would have been a fair boycott. That was tough. That tests us, man.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

We've had a ridiculous year and a positive standpoint. I mean, our games have been awesome. The ratings are off the charts, and on paper, that looked like a really, really good game, and it just wasn't.

[Big Cat]

It was just.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

It was brutal. We got through it. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to this Thursday. And then.

[Big Cat]

And then I gotta put Soldier Field.

[Kirk Herbstreit]

And finish it off.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good luck with that. Good luck with that. All right, Herbie, thanks so much, man. We really, really appreciate it. You're the best. And have fun this weekend.

[PFT Commenter]

Kirk Curb street was brought to you by our great friends at Campbell's. Campbell's Chunky soup.

[Big Cat]

Soup.

[PFT Commenter]

It's soup season. What a great time of year to enjoy some soup. I've been eating soup just about every day. I think I've had soup every day for the last three weeks. Today I've got some turkey and wild rice coming. Been mixing it up with some meatball, some loaded Mac and cheese from Campbell's. Their chunky soup is outstanding. It warms you from the inside out. I love soup. I would drink soup, eat soup every single day of my life if I could. And Campbell's is the absolute best. Today's episode is brought to you by Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's the soup that eats like a meal. When you think chunky, you got to think of players like, I don't know, Jason Kelsey, Brandon Graham, Dexter Lawrence, Greg Russo, Sam Hubbard, Montez. Sweat list goes on. Chop Robinson, Trent Williams. These are all Campbell's Chunky guys, and they want you to enjoy your sou soup this holiday season. Soup up. But even Trent Williams can't compare to my go to is the beef with country vegetables. It's packed with great ingredients to keep me going strong. Chunky takes satisfaction to the max this soup season. Grab a can of Campbell's chunky. Today get involved with soup season ker curbs Fruit was also brought to you by our very very good friends over at Duke Cannon. Maybe you've seen Duke Cannon products in Target, Walmart or your local hardware store. If not, let me introduce you. Duke Cannon makes a variety of men's grooming goods. Big ass bricks of soap, thick body wash, beard care stuff, colognes and hair wash. They also donate money to veterans causes each year through the Duke Cannon Veterans fund. Simply put, they give a damn and their products work hard and they smell terrific. Most of the year I'm a sawtooth thick body wash guy. Then in the fall I like their buffalo tray soaps. But during the holiday season, which is pretty much here, I put their big ass lump of coal soap on my wish list. It's a holiday classic like Die Hard. Shop now@duke cannon.com, amazon and Target or Walmart. They're everywhere. Go forth and save up to 20 on Yuletide Yuletide soap bundles and gift sets. The products, the packaging. You won't find better gifts for the men on your list this year than Duke Cannon. And now here's Paul Walter Hauser.

[Big Cat]

Okay. We now welcome on a very special guest. He is a incredible actor, comedian, wrestler, Paul Walter Hauser. Paul, thank you for joining us. The wrestling part, I gotta admit, I didn't fully understand. You're a wrestler and you are part of Major League Wrestling. How did that start? I want to talk about the acting, but I, I was, I was raised on the attitude era, so I'm not as much into wrestling right now, but I still love wrestling. How did you start with the wrestling?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Sure, yeah, no, I had done a wrestling show for charity that this guy Sammy Callahan put on. Him and Jon Moxley were trying to raise some money for the Wildfire Relief in Hawaii. This is November of, of last year. And it went from me like showing up to sign some autographs or do free selfies or whatever it turned into hey, do you want to have a wrestling match? And that was secretly always a desire of mine to try it. And I had been taking little classes here and there, learning from other wrestlers. And so I did this 10 minute match with a guy named Matthew Palmer and it went really well and I had a lot of fun and there was sort of an adrenaline spike unlike anything I'd ever felt before. And I, I played like junior high sports and I've done standup comedy in front of, you know, 1500 people. Nothing I've ever done felt as good as that. So really I continued to pursue it and, and kind of doggedly got these other bookings and wrestled other reputable guys. And you learn a lot from them when you're working with them. And, and I'm now telling people that through MLW and a couple other companies, I'm doing like a reverse Dwayne Johnson.

[Big Cat]

That's awesome.

[PFT Commenter]

I love that. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. What's the, what's the biggest pop you've gotten?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh, man, the biggest pop I've gotten was probably, probably when in my first match when I did the crane kick and the six inch punch as a finisher. It was very theatrical and I think people were wondering what my move style was going to be like. And obviously I'm not doing backflips off stuff or anything, but I'm, I'm doing, you know, body slams and suplexes. And then I pulled out the Cobra Kai style, you know, crane kick, and people went pretty ape. That was, that was a good pop.

[Big Cat]

You, you mentioned the rock. It is. I mean, it's very funny because most, the most wrestlers, they wrestle and then they get into music or, you know, movies because they're so good at wrestling. You're just like, I was such a good actor. Now I want to chase my one true love, wrestling.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah. I mean, I have a lot of different loves from an occupational standpoint. I, I, my heroes are guys like Rob Reiner and Kendrick Lamar and Sting, who, you know, wrestled famously for WCW during the Attitude era. And I just want to partake in those worlds whenever it makes sense or whenever I think I can do at night. I haven't directed a film yet, but I intend to. I write a lot of movies, I've made some music, and now I'm trying this wrestling thing out. And I think a lot of people, a lot of haters online who don't like it and think it's like, super lame, but at the same time, I think there's a place for everybody in wrestling. There's, there's different types of people. The same way in hip hop, you have Earl Sweatshirt and you have Action Bronson and you have Drake. These are different styles within the form.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And so I'm just one of those many styles in that form, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

I think if you're having fun doing it, people appreciate it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

They'll see the passion.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I'm just trying to put it over in the mainstream too, of, like, if, if I could someday get nominated for an Oscar or a Tony Award. But I'm also Doing an independent wrestling show in front of 800 people. I think that's kind of awesome. I like the idea of, like. Like, if it were reversed and I'm just watching somebody do it. But if. If a random character actor, like a John C. Reilly or Paul Giamatti showed up at a wrestling show and wrestled and they were actually decent, I'd be very entertained by that and I'd find it fascinating.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, you could be. You could have your own egot. The egot. Plus you get the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, the Tony, and also heavyweight champion of the world.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah. Or US Champ or open weight champion in mlw. We'll see. I'll see how far I can take it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So you, you mentioned the Oscar, and it's interesting you brought that up because we have said on this show, I think we had Matt Damon and Ben Affleck or. No, no, it was Matt Damon and Casey Affleck on the show. And I said that if I could put in a bet, a future, a future bet for somebody to win an Oscar for Best Actor, it would be you, because I love you in everything that you're in. You. You've played a wide variety of characters. Do you feel like that's a possibility? Do you see roles come across your desk and you're like, you know what? I feel like this, this could be one that's critically acclaimed.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Thanks, man. Yeah, I. Somebody sent me that clip the day it came out. A couple people that I didn't know were like, Die Hard PMT fans. They were all hitting me up and sending me that clip. It was very humbling and sweet. I, I think anyone can win an Oscar if. But it's not even about acumen. Like, they're so great. They're going to win an Oscar. It's usually about the marriage of the role with the. With the performer. Right. So, you know, there are people who, back in the day, in 93, 94, they looked at Brendan Fraser and Jamie Foxx and they were like, oh, the guy from Encino Man. Oh, the guy from In Living Color. And then they won Oscars for the Whale and Ray. So, you know, it's really just about that. Right. Marriage of role. I think I've had a couple roles that could have been nominated based on what they were and me showing up and doing the job. But. But, yeah, I'm still looking for that thing where I get to really pop in a great movie and, and have some form of impact, you know?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, I, I thought the Richard Jewel movie. I was. Was incredible.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I thought that was good movie.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, that was a movie where I was just like. Like your ability to, like, be Richard Jewel and have this complicated guy who's, like, you feel bad for and, you know, he's just trying to do the right thing. That was. That was one of those movies that I always base my movies on. If I'm thinking about it the next day when I wake up, that means it's a good movie. And that was absolutely the case for. For that movie.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh, that's awesome, man. Yeah. No, I think that's a. There's a couple movies I've gotten to do that I just think will stand the test of time. And I think, luckily I'm in that Eastwood ether where whether he's alive or in 20 years, when he's gone, it'll be the kind of thing where people will revisit that because it was Eastwood. And I think that's the same with blackkklansman.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's Spike Lee. It's Adam Driver. It's, you know, it's. It's this big film that did well. And then. And I think I. Tonya, too, with being such a time capsule piece for the 1990s and being a Margot Robbie thing where I felt like that and Wolf of Wall street and Suicide Squad were the things that said, this is like someone to pay attention to. This is someone who's crushing it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Are you.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's fun. It's fun to be in those movies. I mean, you're never guaranteed that, but, like, when they come across your proverbial desk, it's like, oh, sick. I get to work with Craig Gillespie or Spike Lee or Clint Eastwood.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Are you. Are you nervous at all that you're being typecast as secondary characters to the Olympics?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I. I listen, I'm hoping. I'm hoping 20 years from now, I put the stash on. I can play the. I can play the gymnast coach for what's. What's the name of that girl?

[Big Cat]

Bella Corolli, Right. Yeah. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I got to play Carrie Strugg's gymnast coach.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Gymnast coach in, like, 20, 30 years, right?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah, you can do that. I believe you could pull it off.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's so weird, dude. It's so weird that, like, it's so weird that I'm playing Chris Farley in this biopic next year because Farley famously played Sean Eckhart, my character in Itanya, in the monologue sketch with Nancy Kerrigan when she hosted.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah. That is crazy.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And they famously. Jay Leno famously said when the Richard Jewell thing happened, like, this guy kind of looks like the guy that whacked Nancy Kerrigan. Right. And it was like a famous late night joke that he referenced these two people together. And then Farley also was on snl, and Richard Jewell ended up being on snl.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

After the whole debacle. So it's like there's just some weird, incestuous, creative thing going on with these roles. I don't know what it is.

[PFT Commenter]

So. So with. With Chris Farley, that must have been fascinating to play him in a biopic. I can't wait to watch it. I have to assume that you learned a lot about Chris as you're studying for the role. What have you learned about him that maybe you didn't know going into it?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Well, you know, even before I got the role, and we haven't shot it yet, we're going to shoot it next year at some point, probably later in the year. But I knew so much about Chris going in because I was just a fan. So I kind of was reading up on him and ingesting Chris Farley stuff the way you would if you were preparing for a role. And I kind of knew most everything about him. What I found interesting is, you know, he had this, like, very highly intellectual side where him and Tim Meadows used to go to foreign films when they were doing Second City in Chicago. And, you know, Chris had these really deep conversations with his female friends that sometimes he couldn't have with his male friends. And there was just a very intellectual, sensitive side that not everybody got to see, especially if they were like a newer friend when he had already been very famous.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I think. I think, you know, in. In telling that story, we hope to show the duality of him as there's a duality to many of us.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Are you. Is it not. Nervous is the right word. But. But Chris Farley's beloved. And so do you feel pressure, like, doing this movie where you're like, I know that everyone loves Chris Farley, so I have to. I have to get to a point where it's like, people are like, you did. You did him, you know, justice almost in. In playing him?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I think I love Chris so much that I'm incapable of letting Chris. And I mean, I. I can't. I'm not incapable of letting his fans down. People, somebody can order a steak and you give them exactly the fillet they ordered and they're still not happy.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And they send it Back to the kitchen. Some people are impossible. But I love Chris so much that I'm not worried about keeping his memory alive in a, in an authentic and loving way. Yeah, I know I'm going to do that. And that's not cockiness. That's once again knowing what you're capable of too, and knowing that there are certain things you are just meant to do in some way, you know, like I, I, like I, I met up with John Farley a couple years ago to talk about this being a possibility. His brother John and I gave him my phone number and he goes, why is your number already in my phone? My number was already in John Farley's phone and we had never met.

[Big Cat]

Huh.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It said Paul Houser when he typed in the number. Weird things like that have been happening for a while and I think some people are just supposed to play certain people. I think Jamie Foxx, God, his parents. Like there's something in the ether that knew he was going to play that role. And I think this is one of those things that I was supposed to play. Jeff Bridges, when he got his first role, he has a story about how he told the director, like, I don't think I'm doing a good job. I think this is a mistake, you should fire me. And the director just said, no, I chose you. You're right for the role. You couldn't screw this up if you wanted to. You're the guy and I think sometimes you're just the guy, you know?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

When it comes to playing a role like that, or do you go, do you go like full time into character or do you, you know, when the cameras are on, you flip the switch?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Well, I haven't done it yet. I've only started co starred in three or four things, I think Jewelry, Blackbird, this thing I did with Mark Wahlberg, he and I were, it was like a two hander. We're both in all the scenes. We've only done it like four or five times maybe. So I. Starring in something is way more taxing than I, Tonya blackklansman I Tanya Black Clans. When I get to show up, I'm doing my finger guns and I walk out. But starring in something is exhausting in a way that I kind of didn't know until I did it. It. So I, my hope is that I can do my homework to in a degree of precision and aggression that when I'm on set I can be very calm and not in character. Yeah, that's my hope is that I do the Homework enough to still be emotionally available to the crew and the cast, because you don't want to alienate people, even if you are doing a job. It's like, I. Yeah, it's too important to me to be social with people and to be on the level to alienate them. So when I watched the Jim Carrey documentary about him and Andy Kaufman, I saw that Jim had kind of alienated a lot of people in his process. Jim Carrey, who I adore, by the way. But that process of kind of, like, alienating people or pushing them away, I. I've sort of decided I'm not going to do that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I mean, when you're acting in a show like Blackbird, and it's probably not the. I don't know, is it a fun role when you're playing a psychopathic serial killer? Like, do you have fun? Because you did. First of all, I'll just say, like, you did an amazing job.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Thanks.

[PFT Commenter]

In that show, it was incredible. But I can't imagine that it would be an enjoyable time for you to spend in character as, like, the scummiest person to ever live.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It depends on everyone's process. But it was not fun for me, I can tell you that much. I was not in a good place personally when I shot that. Mentally, emotionally, was not a good place, spiritually, not a good place, and was definitely ingesting a lot of marijuana and alcohol when I wasn't on set. And. And. And also we shot in New Orleans. That's a pretty spiritually thick place. You can kind of feel the air a little bit there sometimes. And. And I would say the. The way I played the character, my process was I have to think the thoughts. I can't just say the lines and hope that it seems real. I had to kind of get into the icky of it. And so having to think the thoughts to have it register in the eyes. When you say lines of dialogue, you feel very guilty. When you rap at the end of the day, you feel gross.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And, you know, I only did it because of the damn character, but. But it's also a little mentally exhausting and you feel really gross. So. Yeah, no, that character was hard to play. That wasn't easy and it wasn't fun. What was fun was the fact that the writing was good and I was getting paid decent and I was working with brilliant actors like Greg Kinnear and Taron Edgerton.

[PFT Commenter]

So. So after a day on set there, do you. Is there something that you would do to, like, cleanse yourself? To wipe that day away.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah. And I didn't cleanse myself. Well, like I was saying, I would grab a sandwich from Turkey and the Wolf and I'd get stoned and I'd sip a cocktail. But a lot of self medicating. But I. The sort of PG things I part that I was partaking in were me and my buddy Anthony Pettics would go shoot hoops at a local, you know, court and in somebody's neighborhood in New Orleans. Or we'd play Super Nintendo or watch Curb youb Enthusiasm. Like there were things that kind of like were pressure releases and, and yeah, Larry David was very influential to me. Being able to laugh at the end of a dark, awkward day. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So you've done drama, you've done comedy. Is there one that you prefer more than the other at this point in your career?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I think I prefer drama because there's just a complexity to it that has more of a variance and a diversity. Comedy sort of can feel redundant sometimes. And that's also why even your favorite comedians make comedy movies that, that you don't like. You know, Leo. Every time Leo or Denzel do Leo or Denzel in a drama, we're all just like, boom, another one. Yeah, right. But like comedy, there are brilliant people who do comedy and we're like, that movie sucked. Why isn't it as good as the one they made eight years ago?

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And it's like, well, comedy can get very redundant and after a while you learn somebody shtick. Whereas like drama, you're living in different worlds and different moods and you can keep them guessing a little bit better. So I think I, I enjoy watching and doing drama more, but at the same time, my roots are entirely stand up and sketch comedy. I grew up on Jim Gaffigan and Monty Python and, you know, Chris Farley, Eddie Murphy and everything.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Wait, so when did you start doing stand up? Because that was how you started, right?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, When I was 16, I started writing screenplays and started doing standup comedy.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That was like the year it got really aggressive where I was like, I'm going full throttle, full bore. And my last few years of high school, I did three plays a year, wrote for the school newspaper, did choir, was in barbershop quartet, was class president one year, was writing scripts and doing standup. So it was like I was trying to do the John Cena, Dwayne Johnson schedule before I was actually able to do that type of schedule. I was nuts. And, and yeah, I, I thought stand up or screenwriting might be A way to break in. I didn't know how to break into Hollywood. I thought, well, they say you can climb the wall, you can break through the wall, you can pay someone to get you through the wall. What's my way? I'll just try all the things. And what I would find out is that standup is incredibly hard to break into, even if you're decent. And I think I was. I don't think I was good. I think I was decent. And I think. I think I got away from stand up because I just didn't want that lifestyle of you're in a depressing atmosphere, you have to wind your wheel up on your back and make these people laugh, and you're constantly having to prove yourself, whereas I could go into an audition, and two minutes into the audition, they're like, you got the job. You're the guy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Like, it's so much easier than stand up, in my opinion. Opinion. And you get treated exponentially better.

[Big Cat]

So. So what point in your career were you like, all right, I think I've broke. Not broken through, but, like, this is. This is. People are noticing, and I feel like they. They see something in me.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I. I think I was telling somebody. I think, like, the show Kingdom that I did about the MMA fighters with Frank Grillo and Matt Lauria, Jonathan Tucker, Nick Jonas, that show was sort of my, like, associate's degree, and me breaking in, I. Tanya was like, the end of the associate's degree, where it's like, you're getting your bachelor's now. People know your face, but not your name. And then Richard Jewell was like, sort of the last year of the bachelor's degree, where it's like, hey, you are. You are. People now are starting to know your name, and they're starting to think of you in a different light because you're not just a silly idiot. You can. You can act, too. And. And I think Blackbird is like, the start of trying to gain a master's degree. Yeah, I'm trying to do that right now. The next four years is me trying to get the master's degree. And in my early 40s, hopefully, I'm. I'm mastering this stuff. And, you know, you look at a quarterback that's about the age. Early 40s is like, okay, you've put in your time, and now you are. That's your legacy. Right now we know Tom Brady is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I like it. I think I. I think you will be, like, one of the biggest actors in the world in the next 10 years.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

From your mouth to my business manager's ears.

[PFT Commenter]

You should be. You should be.

[Big Cat]

We.

[PFT Commenter]

We said, I. This might have been the same interview, but you should play Andy Reid in the Andy Reid biopic.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh, yeah. Damon was like, I'm gonna hit Houser up about that. I'm like, he never hit me up.

[PFT Commenter]

He didn't hit you up.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Where's. Where's my Andy Reed folk? No.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I am developing a movie with, with, with Ben and Matt, though, something that I'm gonna act in and produce. And I co wrote.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. Wait, and you're. Are you a Jets fan? Did I read that right?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So here's the story on that. I, two years ago, got an email two, two and a half years ago saying the jets organization would like to invite you to get two to four VIP passes and sit in the owner's suite.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I was like, not in New York at the time. And I was a lifelong Packer fan, was like, I, I, this is weird. Like, I wonder what propelled them to do that.

[Big Cat]

They're recruiting fans. Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Who knows? And I, I, then I got this movie, the Springsteen movie I'm doing right now in Jersey, and I was like, I wonder if that offer is still on the table. I literally went to my Google emails and was like, looking up jets in the search engine of my past emails, found the email and emailed my PR people and was like, hey, I know it's two. It's like an enormcdonald voice. Yeah, Yeah, I know it's a two and a half years later, but can I still go to a Jets game for free? Yeah, just say I'm a Jets fan, you know? So I, I did that. And they were like, let us check. They were like, probably worry about it. And then there I was two days ago. Was it. What day is today? Monday?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yesterday.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So yesterday I was at the jets game with my buddy Darren, and we're sitting with, you know, the owner or co owner Chris Johnson and his wife Doris, and they could not have been sweeter and nicer and more down to earth. And we're noshing on lobster rolls and eclairs and watching the game, surrounded by all these wealthy people that I felt very out of place with.

[Big Cat]

So, so, so not a Jets fan. But then you got to see your old quarterback because you're a Packers fan. Your old quarterback, Aaron Rodgers play. It's not going well.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's, it's rough because all the talent's there, but not everything's connecting, you know, and, and, and it's, it's, you know, it's tough too. Like not everybody can stay. So you can be talented but not have the sharp or crispness that you once had. And it doesn't mean you're not good. It just means you're a 42 year old quarterback or a 44 year old quarterback. Right.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I think actors are like that too. To bring it back to acting. It's like some actors, and I won't say their name as to not be rude, but when they get older, they're just not as sharp.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And it doesn't mean you don't enjoy them, it just means they don't have that crispness. And then there are some that stand the test of time and are giving psychotically good performances in their 80s and 90s. And that, that class of actors, like a Sir Anthony Hopkins.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Anthony Hopkins can still be as good as he was in Silence the Lambs tomorrow.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And that's a very rare thing. And I think, you know, Rogers, the best days are probably behind, but I loved watching them and I met him at the ESPYs. We did a comedy skit together and he could not have been cooler. We had a lot of fun talking to each other.

[Big Cat]

Wait, so, so that's something interesting you bring up. I never really thought of, like, is there a. Not an expiration date, but is there a career arc for an actor where it's like they become washed up? And is that something that you actually think about in the back of your head where you're like, I have, I'm in my prime right now. I gotta, I gotta work, work, work. Because who knows at 60, will I still have it?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I don't worry about that so much because I also know I'm fiercely competitive and, and I'm not fully mentally well. So I know that when I'm 60, I'll still be getting weird.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Doing different stuff doesn't mean I'm better than so and so it just means that's how I'm built. I think I may be proven wrong in 30 years, you know, who knows? But my hope is that when I'm 60 and maybe have a couple more nominations or something under my belt, and some people are like, that's a classy actor. That's a real actor, that guy. Like, I hope, I hope I'm still showing up and doing shows. Like, I think you should leave with Tim Robinson. Yeah, I hope I'm still showing up at WrestleMania and someone's putting me through a table or I hope, you know, I hope MLW is still having me back. And, you know, like, these are. These are the things I do think about is never take away your self amusement and your. Your competitive spirit and your. Your sense of play. And I don't think that'll happen to you.

[PFT Commenter]

You know, what's it like being competitive as an actor, dude?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

People don't even think about the way I think about it. I'm a weirdo. Like, I'm way too insecure and in my head with competitive nature. I don't think guys like Paul Dano and Adam Driver think the way I think. I think they're very content, focused, and they probably don't think about it as much. I very much think about the guys in my bracket. And I'm. You know, Aaron Paul said to me very early in my career, I did a movie with him that few people saw. And Aaron Paul gave me advice. He said, you got to beat the town. Who are you? The next of? Who are you up against? Who are the guys you see at all your auditions? You got to beat those guys out. And I kept a list of like 30, 40 guys that I was slowly trying to get all the jobs, and then eventually there were like, me and four or five other guys in the top bracket. And I was like, damn, okay. And now I'm at the point where if these three people pass, they come to me. So it's like I'm still in my head, I'm still, like, I still have this dogged obsession of I wanna. I wanna be the guy that gets the offer before them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

But, you know, that also never stops because Christian Bale says that about DiCaprio. He has been very vocal about saying, like, if DiCaprio passes, I get the offer. And it's like, so maybe that happens forever, you know?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Or do pay attention to the guys that are coming up behind you too. The. The relatively new guys. Are you like this guy? He's getting a little too close to me. I need to separate myself.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh, no, no, Never that. It's all support. It's all love. It's. It's just me trying to make me the best. Not to anyone else's detriment or put down. It's just me trying to show my teeth every time I open my mouth. That's all.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

But I love the guys coming up. I love Will Poulter, Fred Heckinger, Joseph Quinn. Chalamet is great. Like, there. There's a Lot of guys coming up that are great, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

So what's the story of the rumor that surrounded you, the Quentin Tarantino rumor?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Fake news.

[PFT Commenter]

What happened with that?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's all fake news. It's Tarantino. And I have never had a meeting. He's never contacted me. Some random blog site said that I was in contention, or it was overheard that I had been offered the lead in the Movie Critic, and it was news to me, and me and my manager were freaking out. I remember I was sitting on the toilet on my cell phone. I'm, like, texting, and suddenly I. My phone blows up and I go on Twitter. And it was just like, bring, bring, bring, and all these people are talking about it. I was like, what the hell's going on? And, you know, for us, we thought maybe it was true and we just hadn't been given the offer. Maybe somebody internally spilled the beans at a luncheon at the San Vicente Bungalows, and somebody texted somebody and they put it online. You know, you never know. Yeah, but. But. But it turned out that I guess Bill Maher had Tarantino on his show, the Basement show. That looks like everybody's a prisoner to Bill.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah, the one where he, like, smokes weed in front of Hawk to a girl and asks her about everybody.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Looks like a kept woman while he drinks and gets high.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

But, yeah, he. He and Tarantino very briefly talked about me, and Mar was kind of putting me over, saying, like, he was in Richard Jewell. He was good. And Tarantino was like, like, yeah, he's been in a few things, but whatever. I think people just thought I was going to cast him because, you know, he looks like he could be a movie critic. And I was like, oh, like, it totally was like a. Like a kidney shot from a boxer. I had to. I had to take a knee and be like, oh, that hurt.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Oh, I wish I wasn't Contention. But also, like, you know, there's a real world out there where wars are being fought. If I'm not in a Tarantino movie, I think I'll be okay. But I do love the guy. I love his work. And. And, you know, I'd love to be a fly on that wall and do anything in one of his movies.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And also, I think if you're. If you're having your name thrown around in baseless rumors for a Quentin Tarantino movie, but they're believable enough where people are like, I could see that happen. That's probably a good thing too, right?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Certainly. Yeah. It certainly brings a Smirk to your face that people can believe that. And, you know, I've had. I've had meetings with big name directors who were thinking about using me for something, and for whatever reason, they went another way. And. And if anything, that is just fodder for encouragement. Like, hey, you. You never know. You could wake up, and you could wake up, and I could be doing a recurring guest star on a sitcom or I could be in a Spielberg movie. And that's. It's kind of a fun, exciting way to live your life, you know, to. To sort of feel the pendulum swinging back and forth. And the key is to just have fun and honor every commitment. Commitment. Treat a scrimmage like the super bowl is what I always tell young actors, because you never know who's watching. And you want to honor the fact that anyone gives a crap about you and gave you a role because they could cast somebody else.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So we've got some pretty deep connections in Hollywood. Jerry O'Connell is a good friend of ours. Have you ever met Jerry O'Connell?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

No, but I'm a fan. I love his brief but impactful performance and Can't Hardly Wait and. And I've certainly been a fan of his from Stand By Me, and he seems like a nice guy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I noticed you didn't mention Kangaroo Jack.

[Big Cat]

Or his supermodel wife.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I think it'd be a little shallow to just say that he's got a hot wife and did the now cult classic Kangaroo Jack. Right. I was trying to go for deeper cuts.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, no. Supermodel wife, though. You can say right off the top.

[PFT Commenter]

I loved his wife when I was 13.

[Big Cat]

Super model, white wife. He's got supermodel wife. You can Google it. It's fact.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I'm happy.

[PFT Commenter]

She's a very nice lady.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Is it Rebecca Romaine?

[Big Cat]

Yes. You pervert.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you played that cool. Oh, what's her name? Rebecca Romaine. Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's not like I know how to spell her last name. Capital R, O, M, I, J, N. Exactly.

[Big Cat]

That would be. That'd be crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

I would like to see you and Jerry in a movie together. I feel like that would be.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you and Jerry. Jerry's a good actor.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Or maybe that's the next hit sitcom is. He's my stepdad, and I'm like, we're trying to help each other out and we're both total messes or something.

[PFT Commenter]

No, I think. I think it'd be better if he was your dad, and then Rebecca Romaine is your stepmom, and you're mom has.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Got it going on.

[Big Cat]

There it is. Hey, so you've been in some. You've had some great, like, part roles in. In some incredible comedy and sitcom. You were in Reno 911. You were in Always Sunny. Have you, have you ever made anyone break in filming those where you're like, man, this is awesome. Because I always think about that when you're, like, in those big shows and it's like, yeah, I made all these funny people laugh.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, that happens on occasion. I'm trying to think when it's happened. For me, I don't think it was. I think I remember breaking. I broke Tom Lennon once or twice on Reno, and that was a big feather in the cap.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I broke. I broke a couple of the Sunny people once or twice, and that was a big feather in the cap because I love those shows so much. They're two of my favorite shows of all time. So for me, that's. That's. Those moments mean as much as winning a acting trophy, you know, like, those are your own trophies that you. You get to ponder whenever you're having a bad day.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And it's also. I mean, it was. It. Is it weird, like, having a show like Always Sunny where it's like, you watched it probably as a fan, and then they call you up and like, hey, we want you to be in.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Dude, it was nuts. I was. I was at college. I was dropping out of college in Oak Park, River Forest, this place called Concordia University. I was basically dropping out, partying my face off, ballooning up in weight, and writing a movie script for Key and Peele because they had just. Mad TV had just gotten canceled. And my manager at the time repped them. He's like, you know, you want to write a movie for these guys? They're looking for something to do together. And so I'm writing a script for Key and Peele before they have the hit show. And I'm dropping out of college. And most of my days were spent watching Dirty Work and Wet Hot American Summer and episodes of It's Always Sunny. And so a year later, to be in the room auditioning for the show was crazy. And then. And then stepping into the bar, I vividly remember I brought my friend to set, which was such a thing. Like, I had a weird flex back in the day where I just didn't ask permission for anything. I would just bring one of my buddies to set and he'd be hanging out with me all day without asking anybody. So, like, my buddy Peter and I. Peter, hins, this really funny dude. He and I walked into the set of It's Always Sunny and walking into that bar and seeing everything, it was like, it was, it was like the wizard of Oz or something. Like we, we could not believe we were in the bar of It's Always Sunny.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So that's gotta be crazy. Going back to making people break on set. That never happens in a show like Blackbird, right?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I wouldn't say it never happens. I mean, there's a famous clip on YouTube of somebody, I think it might have been Phil Hartman or somebody had a fart machine in the elevator and a scene in the Master, the P.T. anderson film.

[PFT Commenter]

Huh.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That's a pretty serious film or at least an intense film. And like, and like there they had a moment where everybody broke and it was like over a fart joke. So like it can happen. But I, I would say most of the time on Blackbird, 98% of the time we were both locked in, you know, deathly serious about the work. But I will, I will say you have to keep stuff light outside of it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I think there were a day or two, not that he ever truly showed it, but there had to be a day or two where I annoyed the crap out of Taryn. Like in between takes or in between setups where I'd be doing an accent or a celebrity impression or dancing or being stupid. And for me it was like therapeutic. But for him, it, at some point, I'm sure it proved distractionary.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Like I, you, you gotta break up the intensity somehow. You gotta stay sane. And for me nowadays, if I'm having a rough, rough day for whatever reason, I just watch a couple clips from I think you should leave on Netflix and, and I'm out of it. Or I'll watch a really good wrestling match from MLW or another organization on YouTube and it makes me feel better, you know.

[Big Cat]

Who was your favorite wrestler growing up?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Sting was my number one. Still is. It still is, still is. Well, he retired. But you know what it is? It's everybody's got their Mount Rushmore, he's the top of mind. And I think I just admired the fact that he, he was second fiddled the Hulk Hogan in that good guy era. But Hogan was like never really selling for other people. He was always saying like, I'm the dude, you can't get one over on me. And Sting would sell for people. Sting. You could beat the crap out of Sting, but he would still come back.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I feel like I saw that more than I Saw with Hogan, I admired that. Love the flair and pizzazz of the guy. Going from surfer Sting to the crow Sting. And he got all dark and serious and fought the NWO with just a baseball bat and a silent face. Like there was something so cool about that. And. And he stood the test of time. And just recently, you know, had his final match back in the spring of this year in Greensboro, North Carolina. And I got to be there. And Tony Khan allowed me to sit ringside with some dear friends. One of my oldest friends, Ryan Kunitzer, who, you know, I've known the guy 30 something years. Sting was like our guy. And we're standing there, you know, nearly emotional as. As he has his final match. It was amazing.

[Big Cat]

That's incredible.

[PFT Commenter]

Who else is on your Mount Rushmore?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So there's two types of Rushmores, right? There's the one where you're trying to objectively give the top four for. From the worldly perspective. And then there's personal Rushmore. Which one do you want?

[PFT Commenter]

I want personal.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I want personal. Personal.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Rushmore is Sting, Bret Hart, I think, I think Ric Flair and Chris Jericho.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I think those are the four. And. But Jericho's tough too. He just sneaks in there past. He just sneaks in there past a couple other guys like, like Ricky Steamboat or Randy Savage.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, Randy Savage. He was the best. Yeah, I miss that guy.

[Big Cat]

Macho man.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, my top 10 has a bunch of random guys too. Like, they're not who you'd think. I don't go for the low hanging Fruit of the Undertaker, under the Giant and Shawn Michaels. Like, I. I like guys who are impactful in different ways. I love Dustin Rhodes, AKA Gold Dust, Rey Mysterio, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle. Not all the people that get put at the top.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Mankind is probably on my Rushmore.

[PFT Commenter]

I've got a really dumb question for you, but I think about this with actors.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I'm a very dumb person. Serve it up, bro.

[PFT Commenter]

How much time do you put in behind the scenes, just literally memorizing your lines?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Depends on the role. Depends on the role. There's. There are certain things, like Richard Jewell. I would learn my lines a week, like five to seven days in advance, and I'd be very overly familiar with them and it could kind of fall out of me a lot easier. And then there's other things. If I'm doing a comedy, there's just less of a stress of learning the lines. It just feels like, I don't know, it's like Bam Margero, the skateboard like it's not like he's in shape and skateboards all the time, but like he can still jump on a skateboard and do whatever because he's. Bam. That's kind of how I feel about comedy, but I think that's actually a really dangerous way to. It's a dangerous attitudinal stance because you can then sometimes give 85% when you should be given 100.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So. So it depends. But. But yeah, I. My whole thing is I learned one page at a time, so I'll always know the first page of dialogue better than the last. But I. For me, that's just my process. I learn one page at a time. The biggest audition I ever had, page wise, I think I learned. I think Itanya was 13 pages I memorized and I think Scream 4. I memorized like 15 pages.

[Big Cat]

Geez.

[PFT Commenter]

So when you're rehearsing for like Blackkklansman, there are some lines of dialogue in that movie you probably would never want to say in any context besides the camera. Right. Are you, Are you doing. Are you rehearsing like the full lines?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, if I have to. If I have to like, feel the words and say them in a way where it. You don't feel the timidity in the character because like, I've. I've met some weird racist ass dudes at got dive bars or you know, one of those low key racist guys who's like putting the bait out and seeing if you'll. If you'll touch the, the pole line.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Seeing if you're friend or foe.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, yeah. The Uber driver who's like talking politics and then it's like, yeah, you know how these people are. Then they're looking at you in the rear view and you're like, I want to freaking die right now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

I don't want to be in this guy's car. I've met enough of them that like, you can't have timidity. It's got to be. If you were born with that ideological stance, it has to be as normal as well. Yeah. We always have pork chops on Thursdays.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It just has to be normal to you. So you don't say it because you're like, look at me. I'm saying the rap lyrics behind closed doors. You're doing it because you have to make sure it's right. But I would say what's harder is when you improvise with a bad character.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

There were lines that I said in Black Bird and Blackkklansman that I improvised that you feel very guilty about, because afterwards you go, well, that wasn't in the script, and you still got there. So how'd you get there? That's tough.

[PFT Commenter]

That's acting.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's acting. Yeah, that's really good acting.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It's also acting. Yeah, it's also sometimes good acting. You're like, oh, that is a really good line. Unfortunately, it's devastatingly awful. But that's who you're playing on the day.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, unfortunately, it's really, really racist. And you came up with it all on your own.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, I had a disgusting moment where I felt so bad. I'm doing a scene with John David Washington, who's about as likable and sweet of a person as you can get on a movie set. And. And I did something where I stuck my mouth out to look like a ape or a primate with my tongue to. To piss him off in the scene. Now, Spike gave me the direction of Europe and his grill. Do something that could provoke him, but he won't be provoked. So, like, that's what I thought of for that character. But the moment after it was done, I went up to John David. I go, hey, man, I just want to say. And he goes, I know, I know. Like, very much said it, like, I know where you're going with it. And I like, we. We're on the same page here. Don't, Don't. Don't take your foot off the pedal just because you're uncomfortable.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And I really admired his. His grace and professionalism with that. And. And there have been moments like that in other projects, and sometimes you just got to be able to have a conversation preliminarily, too. Sometimes I won't do something because I'm like, I don't want to get. I don't want someone to create a story of me being a bad person because I made a creative choice. So let me run this by them first to make sure they're comfortable. And 90% of the time, the other actors, like, oh, you shouldn't have even told me. You should have just done it.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

It's like before you step into the wrestling ring.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah, that too. I'm always asking wrestlers, you know, like. Like these guys at mlw, that's their locker room. I'm a guest in their locker room. I'm new to the roster, and I really respect those guys and gals. And it's always about finding out what are we doing and. And how do we do it the best way that doesn't complicate something or hurt anybody long term.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So, Paul, this has been awesome, man. We really appreciate you joining us. I got one last question. It's The Roback question. Rho B A C K.com promo code take 20 off your first purchase. Qzips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com promo code take I mentioned at the top, but Major League Wrestling, there's free pay per views or, sorry, free matches. The big streams are on YouTube. So the last question I have for you is if wrestling started taking off for you and they're like, you have to give up acting, would you do it? Like really take off.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

If they gave me that ultimatum and something weird happened where, say, say in 2026, I undergo the Chris Pratt style transformation.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And MLW is taking off and they got a show on TV and I'm, they want to put a belt on me and we're doing the whole thing. If that opportunity presented itself, I would just hold my ground and say, you have to let me do both. Yeah, I, I don't think I would take the deal because at the end of the day, I love acting. I. It would hurt my feelings to, it would hurt my spirit to not get to act in some capacity. And you gotta ask my wife, My wife Amy is such a patient, grace driven woman there. She knows that when I go three, four, five months without acting, I'm not that fun to be around. I'm like star for attention and I'm like hell bent on making my jokes and suddenly I'm in the kitchen and I'm trying to turn into Anthony Bourdain or Guy Fieri. Like, it's like, it's a very, you know, we're sick people. Actors.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So it's like I think it would hurt the soul and the brain too much if I didn't do it. But, but I do think that there's a way to do both. And I'm trying to prove that. And the other thing to anyone listening, like, know your value. If you're good at what you do and somebody's saying there's an ultimatum, tell them give, give them a counter ultimatum.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That you need to do both. And you know, you'll, you'll find out that when you stick to your guns and you, you are who you say you are, you, you should be able to do both.

[Big Cat]

It's, that's a great, a great sentiment. And it's also what you said about like going crazy when you don't act for a while. That that's that's why you're an incredible actor. I mean, we. We. We. Obviously, we do a stupid podcast, but when we go five days without talking to each other about sports, we're like, what the. Like, our brains start going crazy.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

It nourishes your spirit to do these things you love. And I really believe in, you know, not to. Not to be too preachy. My. My dad's literally a retired minister. But I believe that God put us all on earth to do different things, to. To embody something that can benefit other people. You guys do it yourselves. You entertain and educate people on topics they're interested in, and you give people a reprieve from a dark, twisted, difficult world. And I think I do the same. And, like, you know, it's when you feel that inside yourself and you go, man, I feel thirsty for this thing. That's God's way of telling you you're meant to do that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

So I. I would. I would encourage people, follow the breadcrumbs, you know, follow the. The trail of. Of passion, because it's. It's there for a reason.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I appreciate you telling us that we educate people. We haven't educated a single person.

[PFT Commenter]

No, we.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Did you educate them on other people. Right?

[Big Cat]

We did.

[PFT Commenter]

We. We educated numerous NFL head coaches on what to do in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. If you're losing by two scores and it's fourth down, fourth and eight, do you kick the field goal or do you give the ball back to Tom Brady to beat you in the NFC Championship game?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Listen, you guys were the first people to say the Andy Reid thing, so if that happens, we can go back and be like, these guys educated us.

[Big Cat]

That's true. Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

They were prophetic.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, you.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

This was happening.

[PFT Commenter]

You would absolutely kill an Andy Reid role.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

At the end of the day, I'm looking to work with anybody who's kind, who treats people well and wants to. Wants to work hard and tell a good story, whatever that looks like. It could be a sitcom. It could be a little indie foreign film. It could be anything. But at the end of the day, you hope to do something that you're proud of, you know, And I never want to be that actor who just takes a bad movie for a lot of money. I have two children who are going to be in private school, and life is not cheap. It can be very difficult sometimes. So I'm sure there's going to be that temptation, too. But. But I try to make things that I would want to pay my hard Earned money to go see it. The AMC Theater, the Regal Cinema.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I think it comes across too. So is there, is there one role, not one that you have like the ball in motion for. So taking out like the Chris Farley, any of that stuff. Is there something that you've been fascinated with a story or an individual that you've just been really, really interested in who you would like to play or a role that you would really like to play at some point?

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Good question. Yeah, I'll leave you at this. I have three roles. I really want to inhabit it in the next five years. I wanna, I wanna play Teddy Roosevelt.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, Oscar. Oscar. There you go. Yes, Oscar.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

And that's another one where I just. I know I can play him. I'm not even worried about it. It just. I just have to convince other people to want to do it. The other one is a father who knows how to be present and not on his phone all the time.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, good role.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

That's a role I really need to inhabit and get better at because I sci fi. Yeah. It's a fantasy. This is a genre and the. As a father, I mean I want to inhabit that characteristic. The third role is I want to kick somebody's ass in mlw. And I'm going to be doing that Thursday night, the Melrose Ballroom in, in Long Island City. And I hope you check it out in person. If you can't make it in person, Court Bauer in all his benevolence is providing these pay per view style cards for free on YouTube. So check it out.

[Big Cat]

I love it. I love it. Well Paul, thank you so much for your time, man. We're big fans of yours and keep crushing it.

[PFT Commenter]

I'd also like to invest in the Teddy Roosevelt phone when it gets made.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Manifesting.

[PFT Commenter]

I got some money coming through. Travis Hunter, Heisman.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Love to you guys and let's do this again to in like a year or two here.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. Love it. Sounds so much, man.

[PFT Commenter]

Paul, Walter Hauser was brought to you by our great friends over at body Armor. I'm drinking my body armor right now. Got their water. I drank several body armors on Sunday. Keeping me hydrated. During the NFL streams. Body armor is also presenting surviving barstool Keeping big cat hydrated throughout all the challenges Surviving barstool it takes out of you. I remember when I did it it was just like try. Try to survive. Just survive in advance and you can't do it without staying super hydrated. Body armor is delicious. Their sports drink has great tasting flavors like strawberry Banana blue raspberry. It's packed with electrolytes, vitamins and nothing artificial. Not only do we hydrate with body armor, but some of the best athletes in the world do as well. Like Christian McCaffrey, Joe Burrow, Sabrina, UNESCO. Everybody's drinking body armor these days. Get your stay at Walmart or at a local grocery store near you. He was also brought to you by Shake Shack. It's day three of the Shake Shack holiday burger blitz. And on the slate today we have the avocado bacon burger.

[Big Cat]

Oh, hell yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Nothing like avocado and bacon on a burger. Hank, let me get one of the. Let me get avocado bacon fries.

[Hank]

These smell so good. I'm on a diet, but I don't care. Diet. It's over. Dunking is probably most likely 99.9% not happening. I'm going to enjoy a burger cuz it smells so good.

[PFT Commenter]

This is the perfect burger right here.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Love Shake Shack.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh my God. It's actually outstanding. This is a burger worth braving. A tackle for head to Shake Shack. Use code burger blitz and the avocado bacon burger is all yours for free with $10 minimum purchase. How crazy is that? They're giving you a free burger.

[Big Cat]

I love it.

[PFT Commenter]

$10 minimum purchase. Get your avocado bacon burger for free. When you use promo code burger blitz. It's been, it's been a great maybe, maybe the best burger blitz of all time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Holiday burger blitz has delivered.

[PFT Commenter]

Tis the season for free Shake Shack burgers again. Go to Shake Shack. Use code burger blitz and the avocado bacon burgers all yours for free with a $10 minimum purchase. Some terms apply. What was your favorite blitz of the week?

[Big Cat]

Blitz. Blitz. Blitz.

[PFT Commenter]

That Vikings defensive end. I know it's not a blitz.

[Big Cat]

Blitz.

[PFT Commenter]

That was a pretty good strip sack.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Blitz Blitz.

[PFT Commenter]

The burger blitz. Promo code Burger blitz. Get a free Shake shack burger with ten dollar bedroom purchase.

[Hank]

So good.

[Big Cat]

Before we do FAQs. Well, Hank, you got to. You're eating a burger and you're supposed to read FAQs. What?

[Hank]

That's so good.

[Big Cat]

It's so good. Do you guys FAQ for you guys. You know how the, the, the daylight savings thing is, is back in the, in the news whether we should or we shouldn't. And we're like, hey, wish we had another hour of sunlight in the winter. I'm an idiot. I didn't realize that if we just, just if we like didn't do daylight savings or. I don't even understand the terminology. If we didn't do daylight savings.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It would get dark at like 7, like 15 in the summer.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh.

[Big Cat]

Never realize that we'd have to give that up.

[PFT Commenter]

The opposite side of it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I didn't.

[Hank]

And I don't mind the winner.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's. I don't want that. I thought it was like someone thought.

[PFT Commenter]

It only with us.

[Big Cat]

No, it was like the. The sun would. Would rise at like 445 in the summer and then set it like 7:45.

[PFT Commenter]

That's the opposite.

[Big Cat]

That's what I want.

[PFT Commenter]

Summer.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So just suck it up for the winter. We're already. We're five days away from the long or the shortest day of the year. We're gonna be on the other side soon.

[Hank]

Yeah, it sucks for like the first week when you're like, oh, it shouldn't be dark this early. But then it's like, whatever.

[Big Cat]

You just get through it.

[Hank]

Everyone. People that bitch about winter are losers.

[Big Cat]

Listen.

[Hank]

And also, it's cold and it's dark early. And also get over. Also, don't move to California if you don't like it.

[Big Cat]

Don't pitch about winter until, like, late January, early February. This is not winter yet because it's holiday season. Everyone's happy. There's football on. This does not count as winter yet.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what always fucks with you, is that you think, oh, we're. It's going to get dark so early in the wintertime, but then it starts to get longer in January.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Because we're almost there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Also, if you change the. If you take away daylight savings time, that takes away like, three hours worth of recurring bits on part of my tape.

[Big Cat]

What are you talking about, bits?

[PFT Commenter]

Just think about that. Think about the podcasters.

[Big Cat]

What do you mean, bits?

[PFT Commenter]

Well, because last.

[Big Cat]

You mean PSAs.

[PFT Commenter]

No, last bits. Last year, we thought that the clocks went back in the fall.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[PFT Commenter]

And we. That up the entire thing.

[Big Cat]

I think you're thinking of PSAs because we've been bought by big time.

[PFT Commenter]

No, we kept saying that it. It falls back, but it actually goes forward.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that was. That was a bad year for us.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

When we did our final year review with Dave, he's like, hey, it says here you guys. You guys screwed up the daylight savings thing, man. No excuses. Next year we'll nail it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. We have to do 10 minutes in the dungeon for every time we that up.

[Big Cat]

But seriously, I mean, it's. We're almost there. What. What is it? Divisional round January, I think. I think it's January 18th. Is when we move the clocks back again. So we're almost there. There. We've almost made it. We.

[PFT Commenter]

We pretty much made it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay. FAQs.

[Hank]

Hey, boys. What will President Pug do about Max's injury? I believe Pug needs to address weekly injuries, like midweek coaches press conferences.

[Big Cat]

I like that. That would. We actually need him to do an availability report because I was dealing with a little sickness the last, like, week and a half. A rolling sickness in my house. Yeah, I was questionable a couple times.

[PFT Commenter]

What is Pug doing about health care as president on this podcast?

[Big Cat]

But he needs to give, like, an update of, like, how everyone's feeling just so we can set the stage of, like, listen, we're. We're football guys. We don't complain. I don't think I. You guys didn't even know that I was dealing with it. I puked seven times on Saturday.

[PFT Commenter]

Damn. The only reason I would talk about an injury is if it was mandated for me to report it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Otherwise, I don't want people to know.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

But, Pug, you should definitely do a mandated injury report.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. On how you need to. You need to, like, pull all of us separately how we're doing, and then, like, game days. You should just. You could just do a tweet or press conference.

[Hank]

Instagram live press conference.

[Big Cat]

But if he's doing it three times.

[Hank]

A week, we get Pug like, a step and repeat. I can stand in front of.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I think he does it once a week. I would like to see a once a week injury report.

[Big Cat]

But what. I mean, there's game days, show days.

[PFT Commenter]

Then, you know, then we have to wait for all the test results to come back and we'll have more information about his injury as a week progresses.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So I missed the first part.

[Big Cat]

This is just injury reports. Yeah, We. We. I think you need to start adding injury reports, maybe make a graphic and, like, maybe it's. Maybe it's every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday. It doesn't have to be a press conference, but it just says, like, you can ask all of us how we're doing just so the listeners know what we're dealing with.

[PFT Commenter]

So it could be physical and emotional, mental.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, of course. Of course. Yeah. People can give you their answers.

[Hank]

Yeah. I'll start sending you my sleep stats.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Bears have me depressed.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Fat.

[Big Cat]

Fat.

[PFT Commenter]

Was that for you?

[Hank]

No, but, like, something might be in the future.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Doubtful. Fat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you'll be like. You'll be like Tom Brady's shoulder. Remember, he's listed, like, what it was like 17 years in a row.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

With a probable. Is probable shoulder.

[PFT Commenter]

Someone should stay the same every time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. Memes means Italian. Yeah. Limit limited participant Italian. Non horny kind.

[Hank]

Hey, PMT gang. My FAQ is how long does it take to write Boomers on Sunday for the Monday show? They are always so clever and funny and I always get a good chuckle out of them.

[Big Cat]

Oh, thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

That's nice. It depends week to week, honestly, depending on what the schedule is. If we have a Bears game or a Commander's game or a really good game like we had last weekend.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

In the late slate, we just put off writing the Boomers as long as we can and then we. We just write like hell for about, I don't know, 40 minutes.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And also Hank writes his Boomer memes. Does his.

[Big Cat]

That has been a very big help. That's been a very big help. We've gotten a lot more efficient on our Sunday schedule.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Because I was thinking about it like it used to be that we wouldn't be done to. Till one or two in the morning. We're usually done about 11:30. Shout out the guys in the booth because they're. They stay till like three or four in the morning.

[Hank]

Time zones.

[Big Cat]

Time zones. But still like we.

[Hank]

No, yeah. No, the New York. It was.

[Big Cat]

We've gotten very efficient. But yeah, I'm also. I'm gonna miss football season. I'm very excited for playoffs. I think I said this last week, but I'm excited to like sit down and soak in one single game for like. I was thinking about the wild card round the other day. Like I'm, I'm just so pumped to just like one matchup.

[PFT Commenter]

You get to focus on individual games.

[Hank]

And they do kind of set you up with like the, the Christmas and then they're going to do the Saturday one games.

[Big Cat]

So this is the point of the season though, where we just have a lot of football that doesn't mean anything. So it's like just get me. I just want to hit the fast forward to the playoffs because it's like I want to just. Let's get this thing on. Let's get it on.

[Hank]

Who would last the longest in a zombie apocalypse? Resources a plenty out of the group and who would kill themselves first just to get it over with.

[PFT Commenter]

So are we saying like the. The dead rise. Like everybody that's dead shows up.

[Big Cat]

Can I. Can I make a confession?

[PFT Commenter]

I don't like zombies.

[Big Cat]

I've never been a zombie guy.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't like zombies.

[Big Cat]

Don't like the shows, don't like the movies. Just doesn't do it for me.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't, like.

[Big Cat]

There's nothing. It does nothing for me.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know why everybody decided that, like, zombies are a thing, right? And we're always going to talk about zombies.

[Hank]

What about, like. What about, like, Planet of the Apes? Like. Like plague? Like you're trying to survive. Not zombies per se, but, like, you know, there's a plague that's taking over the country you're trying to survive. Or like, what we would do is.

[PFT Commenter]

We would have Dr. Fauci on the program.

[Hank]

Yeah, I guess that's zombies.

[Big Cat]

I think I would. I would. I would survive the exact amount of, like, average time.

[Hank]

I would probably be. I would probably put myself in the kill myself first. I feel like pft could survive like. Like just eating random.

[Big Cat]

You live next to the lake, though. Just get to water.

[Hank]

Is that how it works?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's what you're supposed to get to water, Whatever the thing is, get to water.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I would just. I think I'd be okay. Like, I'm just. I. I could deal with making.

[Hank]

You could just eat Fritos for, like, three years.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah, I could. I could do that.

[Big Cat]

If a nuke hits, you just go underwater for the five seconds it hits.

[Hank]

I always thought that was a tsunami. Like, just swim underneath it.

[PFT Commenter]

Wait, what if you. You thought that the way to survive a tsunami was to jump into the water?

[Hank]

Well, yeah. You know how, like, when you're in the. In the water and you just go underneath the wave?

[PFT Commenter]

I. Yeah, like when you're body surfing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. I mean, I don't know.

[PFT Commenter]

All these idiots running away from the.

[Big Cat]

That might not be wrong. That might not be wrong.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, sure.

[Hank]

All right. Nikki wrote. I think she said she's studying and she must have taken ador. She wrote, like, five questions. Who creates the COVID graphics for podcast episodes? What is the go to music for the office to listen to? And do you guys have a sick Christmas tree in the office?

[Big Cat]

Go. The. The graphics is our guy Trigs. He is the goat trigger. What?

[Hank]

Singular.

[Big Cat]

But is it Trigs draws.

[Hank]

Trig draws.

[PFT Commenter]

I think over the years. We've just called him.

[Big Cat]

I've just had an ass trick. Trig is Trigs. No, it's Triggs. Triggs is the man. He is, like, so, so, so, so talented. Also, hit him up if you want, like, side work because he does incredible stuff where, like, he can make all kinds of art and cool things. He's a big sports fan.

[PFT Commenter]

He's a very talented artist. And he also does some sick ass graphics for, like, college football Saturdays.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Where he shows you exactly what games are on what channel at what time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So his Twitter handle is. What is it?

[Hank]

Draws.

[Big Cat]

Trigs Draws.

[PFT Commenter]

No, Trig draws.

[Big Cat]

I think it's the. The. The s on draws that has me.

[PFT Commenter]

It's like when Gilly calls it barstools.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Trig draws. He's the man. So do hit him up. Yeah, he's got a shop online that is. I mean, that. Yeah, the Tiger woods stuff. Those prints are awesome. But go to song in the office.

[Hank]

No music, whatever.

[PFT Commenter]

Brandon Walker paces around the office. Office too. At 7am yeah.

[Big Cat]

And then what was the last question?

[Hank]

Do you guys have a sick Christmas tree in the office?

[Big Cat]

I. We have one. We have two. Two. I think we have two.

[PFT Commenter]

I wouldn't say that it's sick because it's not live. No, live streams are way better.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we have two.

[PFT Commenter]

It reminds.

[Hank]

I got a cop a tree.

[PFT Commenter]

I got to get my tree.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's like one week away.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, so get it. But no, you. You don't understand the way I operate with Christmas trees. I get them a little bit late.

[Big Cat]

And then I keep up forever.

[PFT Commenter]

I get it. I get my fill in on the back.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I think it's not gonna wait.

[Hank]

Until after the Super Daylight savings time is probably when it's time to take the tree down.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. January 10th.

[Hank]

That's a little early, I guess, but. Super bowl.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. January 18th. Sorry. The Divisional round. Okay. Any more?

[Hank]

No.

[Big Cat]

Okay, let's wrap up the show. Numbers memes. You ever gotten this? No.

[PFT Commenter]

92.

[Big Cat]

Oh, look at you. This is a new memes. He's just admitting it. Hit 3.

[PFT Commenter]

I did guess it, though. You didn't get it.

[Hank]

Everyone guesses it every week, every day.

[Big Cat]

Everyone can guess it.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

No, you didn't.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm guessing eight for my drug addict quarterback. All right.

[Hank]

17.

[PFT Commenter]

94.

[Big Cat]

Pug 21. Okay, reset. Reset. Good luck, memes. Thanks.

[PFT Commenter]

Good luck to everybody here too. Thanks, Memes.

[Big Cat]

Did you get like, a new medication or something? No. 75.

[PFT Commenter]

Love you guys.

[Paul Walter Hauser]

Sa.