Finals Preview, NBA With Ryen Russillo, SCF With Keith Yandle, Thibs Fired Plus Listener FAQ’s

Summary

Podcast Summary: Pardon My Take – Finals Preview, NBA with Ryen Russillo, SCF with Keith Yandle, Thibs Fired Plus Listener FAQs

Release Date: June 4, 2025

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1. Knicks Coaching Shake-Up

Overview: The episode kicks off with breaking news that Tom Thibodeau has been fired as the head coach of the New York Knicks after one of the franchise's best seasons in 25 years. The hosts delve into the implications of this decision, exploring potential replacements and the overall impact on the team's future.

Key Discussions:

• Potential Replacements: The conversation centers around Jay Wright as a potential head coach. Despite his success in college basketball, Wright has publicly stated his retirement from coaching, making his hiring improbable. Memes suggests other candidates like Rick Patino but acknowledges challenges in finding the right fit.

• Thibodeau's Legacy: Thibodeau is praised as a "basketball mastermind" with a relentless coaching style. However, his tenure with the Knicks ends as critiques mount over his inability to propel the team to the next championship level.

• Impact on Team Dynamics: The hosts discuss how coaching decisions, especially by prominent figures like Cat Thibodeau, often overshadow individual player performances, leading to scapegoating when teams underperform.

Notable Quotes:

• PFT Commenter (@ [05:10]): "Tom Thibodeau is a basketball mastermind... it's hard in this job to have it longer than five years."

• Big Cat (@ [08:33]): "Jay Wright is built for the bright lights in New York City."

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2. NBA Finals Preview with Ryen Russillo

Overview: Ryen Russillo joins the show to provide an in-depth analysis of the NBA Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. The discussion highlights team strategies, player performances, and the overall dynamics shaping the series.

Key Discussions:

• Thunder vs. Pacers Dynamics: Russillo emphasizes the Thunder's defensive prowess and bench depth as significant advantages. He contrasts this with the Pacers' reliance on star players like Jalen Brunson and Mikhail Bridges, noting that while the Pacers have a strong offensive game, the Thunder's versatility makes them formidable.

• Player Performances: The conversation delves into key players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) for the Thunder, highlighting his balanced offensive and defensive contributions, and Jalen Brunson for the Pacers, discussing his impact and the challenges he faces defensively.

• Coaching Strategies: Russillo analyzes the coaching styles and adjustments both teams have made throughout the season, pointing out how these will play into the Finals.

Notable Quotes:

• Ryen Russillo (@ [58:14]): "SGA is incredible... he knows how to orchestrate the offense efficiently."

• Big Cat (@ [63:09]): "The Thunder can match you with a better bench. The bench has actually played better."

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3. Stanley Cup Finals with Keith Yandle

Overview: Keith Yandle, a recurring guest and NHL star, discusses the Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Yandle provides expert insights into both teams' strengths, key players, and what fans can expect from the series.

Key Discussions:

• Team Strengths: Yandle praises the Florida Panthers for their depth, defensive strength, and the unselfish play of stars like Aleksander Barkov. He contrasts this with the Edmonton Oilers, focusing on Connor McDavid's unparalleled skill and the team's reliance on his playmaking abilities.

• Player Impact: The conversation highlights the significance of Barkov's leadership and his ability to elevate his teammates' performances. Meanwhile, McDavid's offensive prowess is dissected, discussing how his performance could dictate the series' outcome.

• Series Prediction: Yandle confidently predicts a six-game series victory for the Panthers, emphasizing their ability to control the game's pace and neutralize McDavid's impact through disciplined defense.

Notable Quotes:

• Keith Yandle (@ [112:55]): "Florida likely has the upper hand with their defensive setup and ability to control the game's pace."

• Yandle (@ [121:07]): "For the Oilers to win, McDavid has to put on a clinic and control every aspect of the game, which is a tall order."

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4. Hot Seat & Cool Throne Segments

Overview: The show incorporates interactive segments where listeners submit FAQs and engage in lighthearted discussions. Topics range from player injuries to humorous anecdotes, adding a dynamic and entertaining layer to the episode.

Key Discussions:

• C.J. Stroud's Injury Concerns: The hosts debate the implications of C.J. Stroud's arm soreness for the Houston Texans, offering speculative strategies on how he and the team might manage his condition.

• Frank Ragnow's Retirement: A heartfelt discussion ensues about Frank Ragnow's unexpected retirement from the Detroit Lions, reflecting on his contributions and the void his departure creates.

• Chess Talk: The conversation takes a humorous turn with extensive banter about Magnus Carlsen's recent chess losses, blending sports talk with pop culture references.

Notable Quotes:

• Memes (@ [05:10]): "Why not coach?"

• Hank (@ [24:54]): "Magnus is washed."

• Memes (@ [34:27]): "Big Dumpy just went poo poo."

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5. Listener FAQs

Overview: Towards the end of the episode, the hosts address listener-submitted questions, providing personalized insights and further engaging with their audience.

Key Discussions:

• Mount Rushmore Season: The hosts discuss the concept of "Mount Rushmore season," planning themed segments where they rank their top four choices in various categories, such as pizza toppings or green-themed items.

• Fantasy Picks: Questions about hypothetical talent transfers and favorite capabilities among the hosts' talents lead to playful debates and lighthearted exchanges.

Notable Quotes:

• Hank (@ [137:30]): "Resilo… What's the combo that I need to do here?"

• Memes (@ [141:22]): "I want to marry Rosillo."

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6. Interviews

A. Ryan Rosillo – NBA Insights: Ryan Rosillo joins the panel to discuss his perspectives on the NBA Finals and the recent Knicks coaching changes. His background and expertise add depth to the analysis, particularly regarding team strategies and player performances.

Key Discussions:

• Coaching Tenure in NBA: Rosillo comments on the volatility of coaching positions in the NBA, comparing it to the experiences of other long-tenured coaches like Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr.

• Team Dynamics and Performance: He elaborates on the Knicks' offensive ratings and the Pacers' ability to maintain ball control, underscoring the strategic nuances that set these teams apart.

Notable Quotes:

• Ryan Rosillo (@ [52:32]): "It's a nearly impossible job. It's tough to sustain a tenure longer than five years."

• Rosillo (@ [55:37]): "The Thunder can match you with a better bench and take care of business at home."

B. Keith Yandle – Stanley Cup Finals: Keith Yandle returns to provide further insights into the Stanley Cup Finals, focusing on player performances and team strategies.

Key Discussions:

• Player Leadership: Yandle highlights Aleksander Barkov's unselfish play and leadership as pivotal factors for the Panthers' success.

• Oilers' Offensive Threat: He reiterates Connor McDavid's influence on the Oilers' gameplay, stressing that his performance could be the deciding factor in the series.

Notable Quotes:

• Yandle (@ [123:36]): "Florida probably has the upper hand with their defensive setup and ability to control the game's pace."

• Yandle (@ [131:26]): "Connor McDavid's a guy that at any time can do whatever he wants on the ice."

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7. Closing Remarks

The episode wraps up with the hosts engaging in fun, spontaneous interactions, maintaining the show's lively and humorous tone. They preview upcoming segments, reinforce listener engagement, and briefly touch upon additional topics in a lighthearted manner.

Notable Moments:

• Final Countdown Challenge: The hosts participate in a numerical guessing game, adding an element of playfulness to conclude the episode.

• Upcoming Segments Tease: Brief mentions of future topics like "Mount Rushmore season" hint at continued interactive and themed content in upcoming episodes.

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Conclusion: This episode of "Pardon My Take" offers a comprehensive blend of serious sports analysis and entertaining banter. With expert insights from guests like Ryen Russillo and Keith Yandle, coupled with the hosts' signature humor and interactive segments, listeners are treated to an engaging and informative discussion on both the NBA and NHL Finals, Knicks' coaching changes, and various listener-driven topics.

Note: All time references are in MM:SS format, correlating to the podcast transcript provided.

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. Golf season is in full swing and getting out there to work on your game is bound to make any day even better. And if you're looking to improve your drive, Chevy Equinox EV is the smartest choice you can make. Bold athletic styling, a commanding presence, award winning tech, an impressive range, all with an affordable msrp. Chevy Equinox EV will put a smile on your face no matter how your scorecard shakes out. On today's pardon my take, it is Finals Preview day. We have our good friend Ryan Rossil on to talk about the NBA Finals getting you ready for Thursday night and our good friend Keith Yandel talking about the Stanley Cup Final getting ready for tonight. So we're ready to go with both Finals. We're gonna do some hot seat Cool Throne. We have listener submitted FAQs. The Knicks need a new head coach and it's all brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. The NBA Finals are finally here and this is your last shot to win some real cash before the season ends. The simplest way to get in on the action? Downloading the Pick Six app from DraftKings. It's crazy simple. Just pick more or less on the stats for two or more of your favorite players and boom, you're in the mix for big cash prizes. No gimmicks, no weird rules. Just ball. Nail your picks and you're heating up. Pick 6 brings upside with payouts up to 500 times ready to make your finals run. Pick 6 is live in a ton of states. Texas, Cali, Georgia, Missouri and lots more. And get this, all new Pick 6 customers will instantly get $50 in bonus picks on just a $5 entry. So you don't miss out your last so don't miss your last shot to win some cash this NBA season. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app right now and use code TAKE. That's code TAKE new customers play $5 get 50 in bonus picks instantly ride the upside only on DraftKings Pick Six. The crown is yours.

[PFT]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, let's go.

[PFT]

Hey, football guy. Aw.

[Big Cat]

Martin M. Yeah. Martin M. Yeah. Barn and Mike T.

[Hank]

Barna M. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. Don't miss your last shot to win some cash this NBA season. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app right now and use code TAKE. That's code TAKE. New customers play $5, get 50 in bonus picks instantly ride the upside. Only on DraftKings Pick Six. The crown is yours. Today is Wednesday, June 4th, and Tibbs, you're fired.

[Memes]

See ya.

[Big Cat]

You're fired.

[Memes]

See you, Tibs.

[Big Cat]

That was the news that we had today. Tom Thibodeau out as Nick's head coach after one of their best seasons in the last.

[Memes]

Their best 25 years.

[Big Cat]

25 years. Is that Jay Wright's music?

[Memes]

I think I hear Jay Wright. What do you think, Jay?

[PFT]

Right.

[Memes]

So here's the thing about Jay Wright. He's a great, great college coach. The guys that they have on the Knicks right now, I don't know that they would get along with Jay Wright. I can't see that working like Jalen Brunson. Do you think that Jay Wright is capable of getting the best out of him after what we saw in these playoffs?

[Big Cat]

That's a good question.

[Memes]

I don't know, Max.

[Big Cat]

Jay Wright to the Knicks.

[Memes]

In what world would that combination work?

[Zach]

Max, this is bad national sports podcasting right here.

[Big Cat]

This is the first name that everyone. That he has as many connections to a team as you could possibly have, outside of which I would think it would be very funny if the Knicks just hired Rick Brunson to be their coach. So outside Rick Brunson, he has more connections, deeper connections than anyone else out there in the coaching pool. Jay Wright as the Knicks head coach would be fantastic.

[Zach]

Max, he doesn't want to coach.

[Big Cat]

He doesn't want to coach.

[Zach]

He doesn't want to coach.

[Memes]

Why not?

[Zach]

He's retired. He's retired from coaching. I don't know how many times the guy has to say he's retired from coaching.

[Memes]

People never change their mind.

[Big Cat]

I want it so bad.

[Zach]

Now he's not.

[Memes]

I just watched the Brett Favre documentary the other day. People change their mind.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, and people are scumbags. Not Jay Wright.

[Memes]

No.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Oh, you know who would be a good fit, too, if we're just going to toss names out there? Patino.

[Big Cat]

Oh, doesn't have to move.

[Memes]

Rick Patino doesn't have to move.

[Hank]

Damn.

[Big Cat]

Patino. Patino. Patino.

[Memes]

It is it. It might Be a lesson from Tibs that maybe flying too close to the sun can be a bad thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, like, they.

[Memes]

They accomplished a lot this season. Right? It was a great season. We. We established that on pmt that this season was not a disappointment for the Knicks. But then you get that far, and then people start asking questions. Is this the guy that can even get us farther?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, T. Tibbs is also. He. He's kind of. He's kind of like a Harbaugh. He's a long lost Harbaugh brother, where he's just so obsessed with. With the sporty coaches and really more Jim. Not John, because John's been there for. Or. Sorry, John. Yeah, John's been there forever with the Ravens. But remember when, like, the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh split up, it was like, this guy's a really good coach. What's happening? It's like sometimes you just run out of gas here. This happened to Tibbs in Chicago, Minnesota, and now New York, Minnesota, A little different. Although people are making the joke that cat has gotten him fired twice. Very mean joke.

[Memes]

Yeah, very mean.

[Big Cat]

But, yeah, maybe it's a run. It's run its course kind of firing, because Tom Thibodeau is a basketball mastermind. He is pushing his guys very hard. He's so addicted to the game. He was engaged to be married and broke it up six weeks before the marriage when he was, like, 24 and said, nah, honey, it's basketball. And then he's never been engaged since.

[Memes]

Yeah. So, I mean, this is what Tibbs does. He will play starters. He will play them long minutes. He'll exhaust them, and then he'll make people that are watching the game second guess every small move that he makes, because he very rarely does make these little tinkers to his lineup. So when he does do something, then everyone's like, he's making the wrong choice.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

And then you have to blow it up.

[Big Cat]

I uses his challenge too early. We. I mean, we've said it a million times, but if you're a coach of a professional team, you. You just can't mess up the small things, because idiots like us sitting on the couch, we can't. We can't tell you. Oh, well, they should have run a different set in this situation, but we can tell you. Hey, dumb challenge, dude. How do you not have a timeout here?

[Memes]

Yeah, we're really good at watching sports on tv, which is something that you never do. You don't watch your own games on TV as a coach. You watch the film Afterwards, but you miss a lot of the stuff that we see. He's a great coach. I don't know if he's going to coach next season. He might just be an analyst. He might be on TV somewhere.

[Big Cat]

TM on TV would be great.

[Memes]

Might have him doing a podcast. I. I don't know. But this does feel like a move that the Knicks would make, knowing that they've got a guy that they want.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Can I throw out something for. For. For Tibs? Maybe a trip to Turkey.

[Memes]

Maybe coach in Turkey.

[Big Cat]

Maybe it's maybe a coach in Turkey, trip to Turkey, get the new hair, come back a different guy.

[Memes]

Is he going bald?

[Big Cat]

Just a little. Like. I think it's one of those situations that if they catch it now.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It won't get bad.

[Memes]

Nobody will ever know that he was balding.

[Big Cat]

If he waits five years, it might be a situation where he does actually get bald.

[Memes]

Yeah. If you get the camera angle on TV from the stands that shows the bald spot, the t. Bald spot on the crown of his head, that would be a bad look for him. So I don't want it to get to that place.

[Big Cat]

Memes, Knicks fan, how we feeling? Sad, happy, angry. Jay Wright. You pick. Those are the emotions that. Any nicks. Those are pretty much the four. You could be either sad, happy, angry, or Jay Wright. I'm in the sad category. Okay. Not in the J. Right. Will you get to the J, right? I'm moving. I'm moving towards the J.

[Memes]

Right.

[Big Cat]

Okay, nice. That's kind of how it goes.

[Memes]

Don't. Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I mean, I do feel like Jay Wright is the perfect fit, right? Yeah.

[Memes]

Yeah, I would say so.

[Big Cat]

Fits like a nice, tailored Italian suit.

[Zach]

That's a shame. He doesn't want to coach anymore.

[Big Cat]

He is. He is built for the bright lights in New York City.

[Hank]

Once you, as a Villanova fan, want to see him reunite with Villanova players.

[Big Cat]

Seriously.

[Zach]

I'm just saying he doesn't want to coach anymore.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[Hank]

You know, but would you be happy if you're speaking for him, coach for the next.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow.

[Hank]

Be happy, huh? You'd be happy if he coached the Knicks?

[Zach]

He doesn't want to coach.

[Hank]

That was not the question.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow. So Jay Wright, can you be happy.

[Hank]

If he was the coach for the Knicks?

[Big Cat]

No. Okay. I. You know what? I'm actually gonna say Jay Wright probably shouldn't be the coach of the Knicks because Max is the one who has to talk for him. Jay Wright can't even speak anymore.

[Memes]

Yeah, Max, where. Where are you getting this information from?

[Zach]

From him. He said this happens every single time there's a coaching vacancy. Everyone screams. Jay Wright.

[Big Cat]

Has it ever happened every time.

[Zach]

I don't want to coach anymore.

[Big Cat]

Question, question. Has it ever happened for a job where what, three. Four of his. Three of his players are flourishing in the professional league? And also for a job that he has said on a certain little podcast named Pardon My Take, that if he had to pick any job in the NBA, it would be the New York.

[Memes]

Force him to say, no, we didn't. Is he not a grown man?

[Big Cat]

Clip. Play the clip. Play the clip. Play the clip.

[Memes]

Put the clip in this.

[Big Cat]

Pull up the clip. He's smashed.

[Memes]

We didn't even do gun to his head.

[Big Cat]

No, we didn't at all. We didn't even have guns at that time in our career.

[Memes]

It was in New York.

[Big Cat]

We got.

[Memes]

I actually did have a gun.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you did have a gun.

[Memes]

I had an illegal gun.

[Big Cat]

Forgot about your gun. Yeah. Okay, this is us.

[Memes]

What NBA team would you like to coach?

[Big Cat]

Kind of kidding. The Knicks.

[Hank]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Right to the kids. Okay.

[Memes]

He just said that he pulled that one out himself.

[Zach]

All right. Want to make a bet on this podcast?

[Big Cat]

No, I don't like to gamble.

[Zach]

That's what I thought.

[Memes]

I. I would make a bet. Soul patch.

[Zach]

No.

[Memes]

Oh, so you already.

[Zach]

You already have a soul patch.

[Memes]

Put your money where your mouth is, Max.

[Big Cat]

Put the money where the mouth is.

[Memes]

Max is a.

[Big Cat]

Either way, we're. We're ready for the finals. I'm ready for the finals to start.

[Memes]

I am, too. I am, too. It does. I feel bad. I don't feel bad. For Pacers fans, you're got a great team. You're in the finals. What a year for you so far. But it does seem like everyone's just taking a giant dump on the Pacers before the series gets started.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's hard. The Thunder just so good. It's not like a dump on the Pacers. It's more the Thunder so good.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Hank.

[Memes]

Hank, you picked.

[Big Cat]

I would love for it on this podcast.

[Memes]

Yeah. Are you going to pick the Pacers?

[Big Cat]

Nah. I know. That's kind of how I. That's ex. You're.

[Keith Yandle]

You're.

[Big Cat]

The way you said that is exactly how I feel where it's like, I've enjoyed watching the Pacers so much this run, and I want to pick them, but God damn it, the Thunder is so good.

[Hank]

Feels like the Celtics series last year, except the. The Mavericks were better than the Pacers like people were a little bit higher on the Mavericks and they under better.

[Big Cat]

Than the Celtics last year. This Thunder. Those Celtics.

[Hank]

No no. But it'd be close up. It'd be a good.

[Big Cat]

But I almost going. Got him going back to Guy for Guy.

[Memes]

You know who this.

[Big Cat]

He thought about it for a second.

[Memes]

Great team. Reminds me of. Is. Is the Celtics.

[Hank]

Is that wrong though?

[Memes]

I'm gonna allow you to say it like you had a great team last year.

[Big Cat]

I don't know the piece. The pieces are really good.

[Hank]

That's what I'm saying. People, you know, Luca Dan, like there was, there was. There was some hype for the Mavs that got blown out. I feel like there's less hype. There's less hype for the. The Pacers and it's just going to be. They might win one big boys. They're gonna lose five. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Is a gentleman sweep if they win the. The third game of the series. The third game. No, they win the fourth game of the series. So it goes three. One.

[Big Cat]

I always, I always thought well, general sweep is four. One overall.

[Memes]

Four one overall.

[Big Cat]

But I, I always thought it was the. Whatever whichever one. It's the. The home team kills them first two games go back to the other Other arena. They give up the third game or fourth game, one or the other, and then it's over.

[Memes]

I think by the letter of the law, it's the fourth game.

[Big Cat]

It is. Okay.

[Memes]

But I, I feel very comfortable saying it's the third game too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Either one.

[Big Cat]

One of those games where it's like I. I consider the Thunder gentleman sweep. They gentlemen gentlemanly swept the Timberwolves.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

That felt like a gentleman suite.

[Memes]

Yeah. I think it's. I might put money on. On five game series.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. I would like in five. That would be good.

[Memes]

Pacers in five. I might go both.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Gentlemen sweep one way ended in five.

[Memes]

Might parlay it. Both of them. No, I think.

[Big Cat]

What about. What about the. The Mount Rushmore parlay? Just both teams sweep.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Just getting to Mount Rushmore season as fast as possible.

[Memes]

See, that's why I want this series to. I want, I want sports to keep going for as long as possible. Yeah, I know baseball's here talk baseball. But it does feel like, you know, when, when you have the NBA and the NHL going. To me, it also kind of feels still like an extenuation of the NFL and football season because they overlapped.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

So once we get done with this, then we. We've really turned the page now we're.

[Big Cat]

In no man's land. Yeah. Waiting for it. Thunder and six. That's my official.

[Memes]

I got thunder and five.

[Big Cat]

Thunder and five. What do you got, Hank?

[Hank]

Thunder and five, Max.

[Big Cat]

What do you have? Thunder, Pacers or Jay Wright?

[Zach]

Not Jay Wright. I have Pacers in seven.

[Big Cat]

Pacers in seven.

[Memes]

Why, why do you hate the. The notion of your favorite coach ever.

[Big Cat]

Getting a job with some of your favorite players?

[Hank]

I can't. I don't understand.

[Big Cat]

It's crazy.

[Zach]

He said he doesn't want to coach anymore.

[Memes]

No, but that. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about why you hate the idea of your all time favorite guy making money.

[Zach]

I. He's a hat.

[Big Cat]

He.

[Zach]

You don't want him to be happy. Right now he's happy.

[Memes]

I want him to be happy with his life.

[Big Cat]

I want to be as happy.

[Zach]

I want to be. Yeah, Right now he's happy.

[Memes]

Okay, let's say we're in a world where Jay Wright. Absolutely, he, he would love this next job. It would make him so happy.

[Zach]

But it wouldn't.

[Big Cat]

But what if it did? What if it made him so happy?

[Zach]

It wouldn't. It wouldn't.

[Big Cat]

Like so happy he would just come.

[Memes]

Back to coach for Villanova at the same time. Sure.

[Zach]

If that were the.

[Memes]

If he could be the Nova and the Knicks coach at the same time.

[Hank]

Wait, but you wouldn't want him to come back to Villanova because he's happy right now?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, because you wouldn't want. Yeah. You want him to come?

[Zach]

No, but then he wouldn't have to move. He'd have to move to New York. That's a whole thing. It's a whole thing.

[Big Cat]

So far.

[Zach]

So far, yeah. No.

[Memes]

Who would do that?

[Zach]

Yeah, he posted. He posted a picture at a bar, at a nice little music bar in my hometown on Sunday. And he's happy.

[Memes]

So. So here's a guy that lives near Philly, he likes going out drinking with the boys. And you think in no world would somebody that lives in that town that likes to drink ever move to New York. Max.

[Zach]

He likes. He's happy. He's happy where he is happy. Okay, you guys don't want them to be happy.

[Big Cat]

By the way, for game one on Thursday night, we do have a parlay we're going to put up. Hank, we want to read it out here. It's on. Going to be on DraftKings. High stakes drama, insane buzzer beaters, jaw jaw dropping dunks and the excitement you live for. And guess what? DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner, the NBA is giving you a chance to boost your winnings every single game during the playoffs. That's right. Every game, all playoffs long. DraftKings rolling out a special NBA profit boost. So what are you waiting for? Download the DraftKings Sportster Gap now. Use code Take to claim your profit boost. That's right. Code Take gets you a boost for every single NBA playoff game. Don't miss your shot at big wins. This is the moment you've been waiting for. Only on DraftKings. Crown is yours.

[PFT]

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[Big Cat]

What is it?

[Hank]

PFT has crew show 15 plus.

[Big Cat]

Oh, we're naming names on the pitch.

[Hank]

Points, rebounds, assist.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

Love that pick. I got a no stop. And Obi topping eight plus points. Love that one. Big Cat has Chet over 27.5 points, rebounds, assist. Great pick.

[Big Cat]

I think. I think it's gonna be a big chance.

[Hank]

And then Max Delente has siakam. Over 19 and a half points.

[Zach]

Oh, that will be a plus. 1200 parlay.

[Memes]

Spicy.

[Big Cat]

Let's go, boys. Let's get spicy. Let's get spicy. And we're gonna talk hockey with Yens. I had a couple other things before we do. Hot seat. Cool Chill Throne. Should we be worried about C.J.

[Memes]

Stroud? So he's not throwing at OTAs.

[Big Cat]

That's.

[PFT]

But he.

[Memes]

His arm sore.

[Big Cat]

He plays quarterback.

[Memes]

He plays quarterback. That's his job to throw.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Memes]

I'm not. I'm not worried about him yet.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

But I am worried that I might end up worried about him.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Pre worried.

[Memes]

I'm worried that I'm gonna be worried about him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

I think they call that anxiety.

[Big Cat]

Mm. It's weird, right?

[Memes]

It's.

[Big Cat]

Did this come out of kind of nowhere? Okay, get a surgery. We have a surgery.

[Memes]

If. If I were C.J. stroud, what I would do is I would talk to the coaching staff and be like, hey, my arm is still kind of up right now. Can I just not be at OTAs. And you'll say it's excused. That way we won't have to answer any questions about whether or not I can throw.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

[Memes]

I don't know.

[Big Cat]

Maybe he's. He's just go to Egypt, just in.

[Memes]

General, like Aaron Rodgers did.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Just check out the pyramids.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Because you don't have to throw when you're in Egypt.

[Memes]

That's a good point.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Yeah, I. I am. I'm definitely anxious about it. If I was a Texans fan, I would be worried.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I. I would be. You're not. You want your quarterback to be able to throw ideally. Yep.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

We also had Frank Ragnow retired for the Lions. Big, big loss for them.

[Memes]

He was 29.

[Big Cat]

He was an awesome, awesome player. Feels like he was at a point where just the injuries and just getting up for the season, like, reading his letter, he's just like, I wanted to play, but I just couldn't get there physically.

[Memes]

I feel like he probably kept the Lions informed about this. I don't think that they were super. They're obviously not excited that he's retiring, but I don't think that this was like a shot out of the blue.

[Big Cat]

Right. But it's. It sucks for the Lions. That's. That's a big piece of their offensive line.

[Memes]

He's a great player.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Oh, Max pulled up. There's no concerns with C.J. said Texans head coach D' Amico Ryan's. It's just general soreness. We're taking every precaution with him, but it'll be good to go. No concerns on my end there.

[Memes]

General soreness. How old is he?

[Big Cat]

Like 24.

[Memes]

Buddy, you're 20. You don't know about general soreness.

[Big Cat]

No, I have. I live with general soreness.

[Memes]

That'd be my rank. The military.

[Big Cat]

Went from lieutenant soreness to general Five star.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

The double. No concern from Jamiko Ryan's makes me concerned.

[Memes]

Not worried. Yeah. Saying not worried repeatedly.

[Big Cat]

And he said there's no concerns with cj. No concerns on my end there.

[Memes]

Let me ask you this, Big cat. If you were to redraft that NFL draft right now, taking Bryce first overall, knowing that he's dealing with general soreness.

[Big Cat]

Is Bryce Young throwing from in OTAs?

[Memes]

I think so.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

You could call it throw. Whatever he does. Yeah, that. Yeah, he's doing that.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Start the debate. Await redress. We got a OTA footage showing. Big refill. Can I say something about the X? The everything app happening on X? Yeah.

[Memes]

Cuz Free speech is back.

[Big Cat]

The search function is dog shit.

[Memes]

It's pretty bad.

[Big Cat]

Oh, my God. I'll look for something and it will just be a completely different thing from years ago. Yeah.

[Hank]

You can look for something. You know exactly what it is.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Hank]

And type it in and it still won't appear.

[Memes]

I can look something on there and it will be like a highlight, like a sports highlight. And then in the third option for what comes up. It's just a Nazi.

[Big Cat]

Mm. It's crazy. Or someone like a Russian soldier getting hit by a drone. Yeah.

[Memes]

Do you see those drones, by the way?

[PFT]

Yes.

[Memes]

Damn.

[Big Cat]

Saw those.

[Memes]

Crazy shit. 3 billion in damage.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so CJ Stroud is throwing in OTAs. Sorry.

[Memes]

And did you see that spiral?

[Big Cat]

That was sick.

[Memes]

That looks pretty good. People are asking. The questions are awesome. Hank.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Your boy Stefan diggs at OTAs.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Hank]

He's on My Cool Throne.

[Memes]

Okay. We can get to it, love.

[Hank]

Well, no love, just more outside of the OTAs. But he looks good at OTAs for a guy that tore his ACL.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Everyone looks good.

[Hank]

And he's. And he's got.

[Big Cat]

You know, it would be awesome.

[Hank]

He's locked down.

[Big Cat]

If you had someone who's just like, love his back. Their beat was just. This guy sucks at OTAs.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Like, I watch all the OTAs, and he's garbage.

[Memes]

He's got a nose for the goal on this guy.

[Big Cat]

They. They played a. They did a drill with no. No defenders. He's dog. Yeah. I mean, you don't hear that from OTAS very often.

[Memes]

Look at these clips of Diggs. He's catching everything. Balls, gonorrhea.

[Hank]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Cardi's your. Are you jealous? Are you jealous?

[Big Cat]

It's.

[Memes]

It's the other girls. Those. Those little bitties, they had the clap, but he just.

[Hank]

They're Instagram official now.

[Memes]

No, they went Instagram official.

[Big Cat]

Look at that.

[PFT]

That's good.

[Big Cat]

So beautiful.

[Memes]

It worked. Yeah, the strategy worked.

[Big Cat]

It did work. I.

[Memes]

Please stop showing the video. The tusi it's making, it's giving me flashbacks.

[Big Cat]

Toosie.

[Memes]

I want to go back to Panama to see.

[Big Cat]

Okay, let's do. Yeah, let's do Hot Seat, Chill Throne, and then we'll. We'll get to our interviews, our big time previews with Yans and Rosillo before we do that. Game time. Hank, can you pull up a game?

[Hank]

Surely.

[Big Cat]

We never know what he's going to pull up for the NFL schedule. That's the beauty of it. Football is back 2025. NFL schedule is out and the only place you should be getting your tickets is Game Time. The official ticketing partner, Barstool Sports. We're planning our fall schedule and circling the games we want to go to. With killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee. Game Time takes the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets. Game Time makes scoring NFL tickets faster and easier. They have exclusive discounts and you can find seats for as low as a hundred dollars. The Game Time guarantee means you can Trust you'll get 100% authentic NFL tickets on time and for the best price. Plus, fees are always included. So what you see is what you'll pay.

[Hank]

We're looking at tickets for Sunday, November 23rd. This could be a Super bowl preview. Jaguars at Cardinals.

[Big Cat]

Whoa.

[Hank]

You can get in for $56.

[Big Cat]

Let's go.

[Hank]

So by the time that comes, those tickets prices will probably be way up.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Jaguars are Cardinals. Go buy them now. All the NFL tickets there on Game Time. Take the. Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with Game time. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code PMT for $20 off. Your first purchase terms apply again, create an account, redeem code PMT for $20 off. Download the game Time app today. What time is it? Game time. Hot Seat Chill Throne. Yeah, you heard that right. Hot Seat Chill Throne is brought to you by Body Armor Sports drink. This summer, cool off with Body Armor Chill, a bold new way to hydrate with no artificial dyes, flavors or sweeteners. Enjoy a new refreshing, cooling sensation in three icy flavors. Frozen berry, frozen cherry and frozen orange. Available for a limited time. Grab yours at 711 or store near you. Remember, it's Hot Seat Chill Throne. Thank you to Body Armor, our wonderful sponsor. Hank, what is your hot seat Chill Throne. Thanks to Body Arm.

[Hank]

My hot seat is Magnus Carlson.

[Big Cat]

Yes. Yeah.

[Hank]

He lost to current world champion.

[Big Cat]

Oh, he's got it. He's giving us some chill.

[Hank]

Nice electrolytes. He lost a current world champion.

[Big Cat]

Who?

[Hank]

Basically, he's like Prince. He doesn't have a. He just has one name.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Hank]

Jukish. Jukish. And then he had a. In chess. This is chess. Obviously, he was a jukish doctor.

[Big Cat]

Aware.

[Hank]

Of who Magnus Carlson is. He was chess prodigy lost to Jukeish.

[Memes]

You kind of glossed that over with met. He's not just a chess. He is the best chess player of all time.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And better than Bobby Fischer.

[Memes]

Yeah, by. By the elo numbers. Oh, yeah.

[Hank]

What about the girl from that documentary.

[Big Cat]

Queen's Gamut?

[Memes]

And, yeah, what's her name?

[Big Cat]

Queen's gamut.

[Memes]

And yeah, she was good.

[Hank]

I mean, especially in a time when they didn't let women into Russia.

[Keith Yandle]

That.

[Hank]

That was impressive.

[Memes]

Yeah, but Magnus Carlson is, I think, by the stats, the greatest chess player of all time, while also being the bad boy of chess.

[Hank]

Yeah, he's bad boy of chess.

[Big Cat]

He was banned from jeans. Jeans wearing. Right. Yeah, they lifted the band because he was wearing jeans for.

[Hank]

Because the anal beads.

[Memes]

That's different.

[Hank]

That wasn't a different guy. He was. I think he beat Magnus.

[Big Cat]

This is some good chess talk.

[Hank]

But he lost to Jukeish and had a violent, violent outburst. Slammed the table, went super viral. So everyone's talking about it. So he's on the. You know, he's. He's the greatest chess player of all time, according to pft. But everyone's talking about how he lost.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he had a blunder, so he.

[Zach]

No, this is a new. There's a new video.

[Big Cat]

Oh, he lost again. Again. Oh, he blundered again.

[Memes]

The same guy. Are you sure? That's.

[Big Cat]

No, no, we wins. No, it's. We. Ye won. Oh, no.

[Zach]

Magnus tweeted 24 minutes ago. Oh, no. Magnus. And it's a new video.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, and he's washed.

[Zach]

Should we get blunt?

[Memes]

When did he come out?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he. He knows chess. I want to know. So the other one was he. I guess he blundered and he knew he blundered and he just had a slow death of like 10. Did you guys see the extended cut of the clip where there was a full crowd there?

[Memes]

No, I didn't see.

[Big Cat]

So funny. Can we pull that up? We're. Now, Zach, this is a big moment for you. Find us. Magnus, I don't think the search is gonna work. I don't think this is gonna work. Oh, no, it's. It's the other angle. It's on the other side.

[Memes]

Didn't lose again.

[Big Cat]

He lost again.

[Hank]

Just doesn't have it.

[Big Cat]

Breaking moves. Lost again.

[Memes]

You know what's crazy about chess is like the Grand Masters, the people that compete in these top of the line tournaments, you know how much weight they lose during a tournament, how much they lose, like £15 over the course of a tournament just because their. Their bodies burn calories, because they're so stressed out during the matches.

[Big Cat]

I believe it.

[Memes]

They just sweat the brain.

[Big Cat]

I believe it. That I'm going to get this clip for you. Don't you worry, Zach. We kind of put you on the. On the hot seat, not the chill throne here. Also, Max, Taking him a long time to get out there.

[PFT]

Right?

[Memes]

I think he stopped by the bathroom.

[Big Cat]

He definitely stopped by and grabbed some food. If he comes back with Cheeto fingers, he's.

[Memes]

He's eating on the john right now. All that Jay Wright talk. I got to shit this bad energy out of my system.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay. Let me find it. Wait, so. So Magnus lost again. And Blutman's coming in to tell us what happened because this is crazy. I guess he's supposed to be the best, and he keeps fucking losing. I'm going to say right now, Magnus not the best, because I have been watching chess religiously for almost 48 hours now, and all I've seen is Magnus loss.

[Hank]

That's what I'm saying.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Beth Harmon. That's what. That was her name. Goat.

[Memes]

That's what they do, though.

[Big Cat]

Beth Harmon.

[Memes]

Yeah, they. They whisper your successes and they shout your failures.

[Big Cat]

That's a fact.

[Hank]

Facts.

[Big Cat]

That's a fact.

[Memes]

So you're gonna see clips of Magnus losing, because it's a big deal when Magnus loses. And guess what? He's a bad loser. You show me a good loser, I'll show you a loser.

[Big Cat]

Really bad loser. All right, Max, I sent you the clip. So play that clip. Play, play. Like, halfway through. So the best part about this is that I didn't realize it. When the clip was going viral, there was a full crowd there, and they didn't know when to, like, clap. And then, after all, Magnus, like, you know, kind of freaked out. They. They did finally clap. But it was funny because I. I assume no one was in the room when they were doing this. I thought chess was played in private. Apparently, there's. It's not.

[Memes]

Yeah, no, it's a spectator sport.

[Big Cat]

Go. Go forward in the clip, Max. Maybe give us some audio, too. Okay, so this is Magnus. He's gonna make this move. Oh, no. Bad move. And Magnus makes another move. I don't know. Oh. Oh.

[Memes]

Got him.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[PFT]

Oh, my God.

[Big Cat]

That. Remind me that. Remember that Vikings fan video?

[Memes]

Yeah. This guy almost feels bad that he just.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he kind of. Magnus kind of stole this guy's moment. Ready?

[Memes]

Oh, just brush knows what to do.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, right. Like, what do we do? What do we do?

[Memes]

Yeah, he feels bad that he beat.

[Big Cat]

Him and there's just a bunch of people there. He was. Magnus was so. So, like, demonstrative with his losing. He. He. The crowd didn't know to clap or not.

[Memes]

I'm just going to say it. I think Magnus is going back stronger.

[Big Cat]

I think he's washed. I. I I literally. He's. He has never won a chess match, as far as I know.

[Memes]

This is a man that's going to. He's going to be studying the film on this, and you're going to wish that you never beat Magnus.

[Big Cat]

Do they just tie a bunch?

[Memes]

Yeah, there's a bunch of. Bunch of ties. Bunch of draws.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, because I was going to say, like, if you're that good at chess, you should never get beat.

[Memes]

So they. They also score how good of a chess player you are based on what the perfect move would be at any given time. Because, let's be real, AI is the best chess player ever.

[Big Cat]

Allen Iverson.

[Memes]

Allen Iverson. Really good crossover with his rooks.

[PFT]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

What do you got? Max Blutman left.

[Zach]

But I do have him on the phone right now, and he is giving an explanation.

[Big Cat]

All right, tell us, Blutman.

[Zach]

Explain what happened today. You're live to tape on part of my take.

[Big Cat]

Can you hear me? I'm in the elevator.

[Zach]

Yeah, I can hear you.

[Big Cat]

We need a Blutman live from the elevator.

[Memes]

He's just lying. That's a smoke detector.

[Zach]

Oh, we may have lost.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we lost him.

[Zach]

I mean, I. I told him that I. He was going upstairs. The fact that he went in the elevator when I. When I told him that he was about to come on is that is a crazy move.

[Memes]

Great chess recap.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, he.

[Zach]

Okay, he gave me the recap. Do you want me to give you the recap?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, give us plumbing from an elevator to Max. Yeah, Max here. Oh.

[Zach]

And that's it. Yeah, he lost again today. And the guy that beat him also lost today.

[Memes]

Oh, okay.

[Zach]

So. So it washed.

[Big Cat]

Well, that wasn't really a recap.

[Memes]

That's a recap.

[Big Cat]

You literally just saw the bracket.

[Memes]

But if he didn't lose yesterday, would he have lost today?

[Zach]

See these?

[Memes]

Sounds like these.

[Big Cat]

I want.

[Zach]

These are things that I wish he wasn't in the elevator.

[Big Cat]

I also want to know, how did he lose? Like, the one that went viral on Sunday.

[Zach]

All right, call me back.

[Big Cat]

It felt like he was. He lost. Blotman, you gotta do it.

[Zach]

How did he lose? How did he lose? Is that the question?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Was it embarrassing?

[Zach]

Was it embarrassing?

[Big Cat]

Magnus blundered today. He couldn't believe it. He made a weird, like, shaking of the head after he blundered today.

[Memes]

What did he blunder?

[Zach]

What did he blunder?

[Big Cat]

I gotta be honest. I have no clue. Okay, this is our chess expert.

[Memes]

I ask him if chess is ball.

[Zach]

Did you hear that question?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's chess. Ball. Chess's ball to subdivision involved in the brains category of sports. Okay, okay, okay. You have, like, chest backgammon, checkers. That's all in the brains category. Smart stuff.

[Memes]

Can you ask him if Jukish is not. Is he the goat?

[Zach]

No, Jukish lost today.

[Memes]

So, yeah, who's the goat now?

[Zach]

So, yeah, who's the goat of chess now?

[Big Cat]

No, he's the goats lose sometimes.

[Zach]

They're getting upset with you.

[Big Cat]

He's only lost possibly be getting upset. Magnus is the go to chess. He's been world number one since 2011. Well, he loses all the time.

[Zach]

He just keeps losing.

[Memes]

When was the last time he lost before this?

[Zach]

When was the last time he lost? Blotman? Wait, can you hear all this?

[Hank]

The butthole guy.

[Big Cat]

I can only know the Queen's gambit.

[Zach]

Okay, when was the last time he lost?

[Big Cat]

Well, he lost today.

[Zach]

No, before. Before today.

[Big Cat]

Sunday, two days ago.

[Memes]

Okay, before that. God damn it.

[PFT]

I only.

[Big Cat]

I only am cognizant about the world of chess. When I see, like, these big tournaments going on, I'm like, oh, that's kind of fun to see because I like the chess beefs and the chess, like, overreactions are some of the funniest things to me. Yes. All right, so he's not really a chess expert. This was the worst chess recap. Yeah. All right. Thank you, Bloodman. Like, remember a few months ago?

[Memes]

Nope.

[Big Cat]

No, we don't remember. We don't remember any of it. Okay.

[PFT]

Oh, yeah.

[Zach]

He's talking about the jeans.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Zach]

Okay. All right. We're done with chess talk. Thank you, Bloodman.

[Big Cat]

Okay, thanks. Bye. I mean, we're. Dude loses non stop. I feel confident in my take saying he sucks as far. No one can show me anything else. All right.

[Memes]

Okay. You know who's a loser is this Jukish guy. Why here was.

[Big Cat]

Well, no, he beat Magnus, but here.

[Memes]

Was his quote out. You tell me if this is a quote from a loser or a winner.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

He called it his lucky day. It was just clearly lost. So I was just trying to make moves, which are tricky for him, and luckily he got into time scramble. 99 times out of a hundred, I would lose. Just a lucky day.

[Hank]

It's kind of cocky.

[Memes]

First classical win against Magnus. I mean, not the way I wanted it to be, but okay, I'll take it. So it sounded like Magnus won. Magnus lost on time. I don't know if Father Time is undefeated.

[Big Cat]

I don't know if he's a loser. He's just. He sounds like someone who got lucky. It's Kind of sick.

[Memes]

Like an honest person.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he's just like, yeah, dude, I'm not that good. Magnus is. That really just shows you how bad Magnus is. Now he's got guys winning on luck. You don't win on luck in chess. Not my chess. All right. Your children.

[Hank]

My chill throne is why I love Cardi B and Stefan. Instagram official. That's huge. Right before the season. Yeah. Don't have to worry about outside activities. They'll probably just hang out, you know, watch movies together at night, get well rested, super chill. And the snack wrap.

[Big Cat]

Snack wrap. Yes. It was on mine as well.

[Hank]

Snap rack is snap wrap. Snack wrap.

[Big Cat]

You got it back. You have it.

[Hank]

Snack wrap is back.

[Big Cat]

Snack wrap is back.

[PFT]

Did.

[Big Cat]

Did Jerry have something to do with this?

[Hank]

Yeah, they put it in their video, and then I think, like, one of their directors of marketing said, like, his tweet, his original tweet from a few years ago was in a lot of their slides and all these meetings.

[Big Cat]

Oh, hell yeah.

[Hank]

Elite shout out to Jersey Jerry.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Popeyes is doing this snack wrap, too, with the. The spicy chicken.

[Big Cat]

Snack wrap needs to be back.

[Hank]

Yeah, it's true. It's double bag.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yes. Someone from McDonald's says your tweet has been in many slides in many meetings. Thank you for pushing us. You won. See you July 10th. For a snack wrap.

[Hank]

Hell, yeah.

[Big Cat]

They got to give you a free snack, right? At least. Yeah, he's got to. Yeah. His Tweet was from 2022. I know I'm not the only one. Do the right thing for the people. We miss the snack wrap, all of us. He's right. We do. We all miss it. Okay. Good job, Hank.

[Memes]

Thanks, P.T. my hot seat is, unfortunately, Max Homo. Although Max put up a great performance, so he competed in the. The US Open qualification process. To get into the tournament, he carried his own bag. And the longest day of golf. Is that what they call it?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, the longest day of golf, Hank.

[Memes]

Golf's longest day.

[Hank]

Yep.

[Memes]

Which is how many holes?

[Hank]

36.

[Memes]

36. Which is how many rounds?

[Hank]

Two.

[Memes]

Okay, nice. Max was playing to qualify for the US Open, also in his qualification group.

[Big Cat]

The.

[Memes]

The group that was playing in Columbus. It was just. It looked like a PGA leaderboard. It was like Ricky Fowler was there. Cam Young was there. A lot of great players. Max unfortunately lost in a playoff, but I did like seeing Max carry his own bag. But it was weird watching wear shorts. Yeah, I think he should have worn pants.

[Big Cat]

Now he's gonna find new caddy, too.

[Memes]

That's Right.

[Big Cat]

So he fired his most recent caddy.

[Memes]

Okay, so who's he?

[Big Cat]

I believe.

[Memes]

Who's out there? Who's available?

[Big Cat]

I don't know.

[Memes]

Bones?

[Big Cat]

Bones, Jersey Jerry.

[Memes]

Hank. No, Hank's spoken for.

[Big Cat]

Hank is spoken for, I'm pretty sure. Did he not split? Yeah, he split with his caddy, Billy Hark. Bill Hark. Okay, listen, just a minor setback for a major comeback.

[Memes]

We're gonna rebuild.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Memes]

He did show a lot of grit out there carrying his own bag. That's. I. I like the format of the US Open where you can compete in anybody off the street.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's also, it's very awesome.

[Memes]

And they did like a high school.

[Hank]

Kid that got in.

[Big Cat]

Really?

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

That's sick.

[Hank]

He was like 18 under in two rounds.

[Big Cat]

Holy.

[Memes]

Now are. Are you keeping your own score?

[Hank]

Yeah, always. There was a kid. There was a kid who finished his first round. He. He did well, he's like a truck driver. He went to go. He like him and his dad went down and got a bite to eat. Forgot to turn his scorecard in. By the time he realized it went to turn his scorecard in, the group behind him had turned theirs in. So he got disqualified. Didn't get to play the second round.

[Big Cat]

That's bullshit.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Hank]

So, yeah, the scorekeeping is very, very important also.

[Memes]

Don't you just hate that, that type of bullshit with golf?

[Hank]

I kind of like it.

[Big Cat]

I also forgetting to turn your scorecards. A wild move. He's a truck. Yeah, but that's just so. That's a wild move. Like you have to.

[PFT]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Someone.

[Big Cat]

That was.

[Hank]

That was Monday. I think it's the Twitter accounts. Monday Q info. The guy like just tracks all this st. He. There was some jokes and replies being like, you know, you would think as a truck driver they would understand how to get packages to places on time, but that sounds good.

[Big Cat]

Humor. That's good.

[Memes]

It's a little edgy, but wow.

[Hank]

He was just, you know, he got swept up in the moment and it was. He said he was eating like 200ft away from the scorers place. He just slipped his mind.

[Big Cat]

Max Homo will have Lance Bennett.

[Memes]

All right, what do we know about this Lance Bennett guy?

[Big Cat]

He's a stud.

[Memes]

I love him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. If you're scoring home. Yeah, he's a stud. Ready to go.

[Memes]

Oh, he was on Colin Morco's bag.

[Big Cat]

Nope. No, nope, no, nope. Bennett was working for Michael Thorberginson, But Thor hired J.J. jacovich as his full time and swing caddy. If you're scoring at home, JJ had been on Colin Morikawa's bag until Joe Grenier left Max for him.

[Memes]

What's a swing caddy?

[Big Cat]

You're Hank? Yeah. Tank for you. Yeah.

[Memes]

No, Hank's CEO of golf operations.

[Big Cat]

Oh, hell, yes.

[Memes]

I'm putting together stuff.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

We're doing a series of mergers right now.

[Big Cat]

Love it.

[Memes]

Are your children Max's Director of Nutrition?

[Big Cat]

Nice. Can I get a spot?

[Memes]

Yeah. Do you want to be Director of Intimidation?

[Big Cat]

Sure.

[Memes]

For pft. Golf Interpretation.

[Big Cat]

Oh, actually, yeah, I could do that. Yeah, I figured. Talking.

[Memes]

Yeah, talking.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Like I'm in Compiling dossiers. Everybody that I'm. I'm competing against, I'm in.

[Big Cat]

I'm in.

[Memes]

Getting in their heads.

[Big Cat]

100.

[Memes]

Okay. Memes, your director of memes.

[Big Cat]

Zach, your director of TUSI.

[Memes]

If you can get me 2C, I can win this whole thing. And then. Then I'm buying a million dollars worth of tusi.

[Ryan Rosillo]

We'll see what we can do for you on that.

[Memes]

All right. Okay, I got you. All right.

[Big Cat]

All right. Love that.

[Memes]

You're on my 2C team.

[Big Cat]

He just delivered you, Toosie. Yeah.

[Memes]

And you've done a great job with the ice cream, so we'll find out.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So do you want a 2C topping or no?

[Big Cat]

That's a good question.

[Memes]

I think 2C is the top. Oh, for the ice cream?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, for the ice cream.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Memes]

Surprises with that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

And then my chill throne. My chill throne is being romantic about baseball. So I want to confess something to you guys. I. I went to the Cubs game on Saturday, and I felt. I felt very romantic about baseball.

[Big Cat]

Love that.

[Memes]

But then I feel guilty about being romantic about the Cubs.

[Big Cat]

Well, we're playing right now.

[Memes]

I know. Which is. But what I realized, and this was all subconscious, I went home that day. I watched the Nats play. Watch the entire game. Then on Sunday, I watched the entire Nats game. And also Sunday morning, I bought a shitload of Nats merchandise.

[Big Cat]

Hell, yes. Any weird. Any weird stuff?

[Memes]

I don't buy. I don't buy. Strange.

[Big Cat]

Any protest patterns. Yeah. That is a sick hat.

[Memes]

But I realized. Thank you. I realized after the fact, after I did all that stuff, I think I had a guilty conscience of falling in love.

[Big Cat]

But you fell in love with baseball.

[Memes]

Of, like, really enjoying myself at Wrigley Field.

[Big Cat]

No, but what you did was basically, you went to a strip club, and then you went home and, like, the. Out of your significant other.

[PFT]

Right.

[Memes]

So I. I went home. And then I. I may have subconsciously. And I actually do think I Subconsciously purchased all these things because I felt bad and guilty.

[Big Cat]

That hat is sick.

[Memes]

Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah. But I, I, I think I can love watching the Cubs play at Wrigley Field.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So it's going to game is the best.

[Memes]

Okay.

[Hank]

Great song at the end.

[Memes]

Yeah. Fantastic song. Are you talking about the seventh inning stretch?

[Big Cat]

No, he's talking about.

[Memes]

Chicago. What do you. Oh, the Pope is from the usa. A lot of Pope merchandise at Wrigley.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I bought, I bought one for White Sox Dave. Oh, yeah, yeah. It said not even Pope Leo could save the socks.

[Memes]

I like that.

[Big Cat]

He, he begrudgingly accepted. And I was like, dude, I'm not actually making you wear this.

[Memes]

I also think that just Wrigley Field has the best, the best merchandise for, like, advertising the game and the field. Like, people wearing the shirts that just have the clock that says 120 on. Like, there's nothing like going to a one.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Right now. I want to. If you're a national and you're listening to this, you're. You're my main right. I'm never going to leave you. I'm very excited about what the future has for us. We got a great young team. But I did feel, I felt like when the, when the Cub scored a run, I got excited. I was like, yes, this is good.

[Big Cat]

I was at, I was at Root.

[Hank]

For the home team.

[Big Cat]

I was at.

[Memes]

It's true.

[Big Cat]

Saturday and Sunday, I was. I was at Wrigley. So we were. Saturday was a game you went to, right?

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

It was also maybe the best weather.

[Memes]

Possible that might have had, like, a lot.

[Big Cat]

It was not a cloud in the sky. 63 degrees in the, like, like that perfect mix of. In the sun, you're warm. In the, in the shade, you're a little cool.

[Memes]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Memes went. I took Memes on Saturday to his first Cubs game.

[Memes]

That's adorable.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. He didn't wear a hat.

[Memes]

I do think this.

[Big Cat]

It was jarring.

[Memes]

The weather had had a ton to do with it, probably.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Memes]

I got free hot dogs to shout out. The hot dog concession guy.

[Big Cat]

Well. Oh, that's sick.

[Memes]

Yeah. So he actually said, can I get a shout out on part of my take for giving you these free hot dogs? And I was like, I don't know. He goes, yeah, you're right. That's probably asking too much.

[Big Cat]

No.

[Memes]

But then I did it.

[Big Cat]

There you go. No, I. It's like, you ever go on vacation somewhere and if the weather is perfect, you just. Like, I could live here.

[Memes]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Any Any nice day, you're just like, yeah, this is the best place ever.

[Memes]

If the weather's in the 70s or 80s, it's Michigan. I hop on. I hop on Zillow.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

And I'm like, maybe I'll just buy a house here in all this great weather.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that. That will do it for you. Okay. My hot seat is Saquon Barkley because he needed a harness to get on the Madden cover.

[Memes]

Oh, I thought you were gonna say Madden curse.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, that too. But he needed a harness to over a player thing.

[Memes]

So he actually can't do that move.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[Zach]

Yeah, he did do that move in real life.

[Big Cat]

He needed a harness.

[Hank]

People forgot. He almost got hurt because of that move.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Didn't want him to do that, actually.

[Memes]

Probably kids at home got really hurt trying to recreate that.

[Zach]

Jay Wright doesn't even like coaching anymore.

[Big Cat]

My chill throne. I got a couple versus Hank the kangaroo got on the plane.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

Did you see that video?

[Memes]

I did not see that.

[Big Cat]

The kangaroo has made. He finally got. Was able to board, and he's on the plane.

[Memes]

Okay, so it was a real kangaroo.

[Big Cat]

It was a real kangaroo. He was tucked in perfectly sitting, minding his own business in the middle seat with him with a seatbelt on that kangaroo. Way to go, Hank.

[Hank]

I was happy. I was happy for the kangaroo and the woman who's, you know, it was the emotional support kangaroo. Yeah, she was. Now. Okay.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Now, did they check it's.

[Big Cat]

Look at that. Pftc. Oh, it wasn't middle seat. It was aisle seat. Did I. My mistake.

[Memes]

Check its pouch when it went through tsa.

[Big Cat]

I better have look at kangaroo's eating. Are those peanuts? That's illegal on a plane. Oh, yeah.

[Memes]

No. That's why I think this video might be fake is because there's so many peanut allergies. They. They won't let you do that anymore. Yeah, I'm just eating my peanuts right here. It's fantastic.

[Big Cat]

Other cool throne. We talked about Cal Raleigh on Monday and how awesome he is, and he should be considered for the MVP. A listener hit hit us up PFT. And said, this is from Sackman 8. He said, Long time listener, first time caller. Thank you for showing the. The nerves. I guess that's what they call the Mariners.

[Memes]

The nurse.

[Big Cat]

You just say Mariners? Yeah, you just say Mariners for the Pacers. Yeah, the nurse. Some love on today's show. Wanted to let you know some of us Cal Raleigh's dump fans have been saying big dumpy go poo poo every time he goes Yard. I love that. Just texting your boys. Big dumpy just went poo poo.

[Memes]

Big Dumpy, go po.

[Big Cat]

And my other cool throne is Max. Our Max, because he made the catch of the summer with the hot dog for people who missed it. We got a hot dog stuck in the ceiling at Barstool hq, Chicago, and it took us an hour and a half to get it out, and Max caught it and ate it.

[Memes]

Yeah. So he just opened up his buns and the meat slid right in.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I took a bite. The video of Max, can we put it in the YouTube of Max running around? Just. Just like, if you take all context out of what happened. Max doing a lap holding a hot dog. He's the most special boy we got. That's all I'll say. He's a special special boy.

[Hank]

Crack came out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No. Yeah. Do this video. The. If you just started the video when Max. When Max caught it. Yeah, the buck crack did come out. Just. Just when Max catches it. It's. It's a special, special video of him. Just look at him. He's like, I got a hot dog. I got a hot dog. Good job, Max. You got a hot dog. He's just showing everyone, like, look. See? Hot dog.

[Memes]

It looks like he's running, like, a baton race.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

At the Food Olympics.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It's like when they. When they let, like, the old guy at the spring football game score a touchdown.

[Memes]

Hair looks great, though, Max.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, hair looks great.

[Zach]

Shout out, Joel.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No.

[Zach]

It was a special day in the office yesterday.

[Big Cat]

It was.

[Zach]

It was a special day at the office. I felt like a very special boy.

[Big Cat]

And someone sent you a drink at dinner because of it.

[Zach]

I don't know if that was true, but I did get sent a drink.

[Big Cat]

Oh, it had to have been that.

[Zach]

It had to have been that.

[Big Cat]

Had to. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, let's get some finals previews. We got Resilo and then Yan's, and then we'll finish up with some listener submitted FAQs.

[Memes]

Before we get to Ryan Rossillo, who's brought to you by our great friends over at Truly and Truly Unruly Lemonade. It combines the high elk fun of truly unruly with everyone's favorite lemonade. It's lemonade let loose. It's 8% ABV. I'll say again, 8% ABV. 100 delicious. They've got four great flavors. The Bumpin Blue Razz is my personal favorite. They've got the OG Original Lemonade Punched up Pineapple Wild Pink is the perfect drink for an unruly boy summer. It's the official hard seltzer of part of my take. We love truly unruly lemonade. So refreshing. Great to drink out in the sun. Great to drink for a night out. Level up your lemonade with truly unruly 8% ABV. A hundred percent delicious. Resilo is also brought to you by our great friends over at Chevy. Chevy has been building trucks for over a century that don't flinch and they never quit. Whether you're hauling lumber on the job or trying to get the smoker, the cooler, the cornhole boards, and the whole crew to the tailgate on time, Chevy gets you there. When they say it's the most dependable truck, they're not just speculating. Chevy trucks have earned more dependability awards for trucks than any other brand, according to J.D. power 2025. Sounds like they've got the stats to prove it. I'm driving a Chevy this summer, actually. Max told me yesterday. Max said, pft, I think this might be the summer of the El Camino.

[Zach]

I did. I got a good feeling about the El Camino this summer. I got a really good feeling.

[Memes]

I got a great feeling. She's humming, she's purring. I own two Chevys because I love Chevy. You can draft [e-mail] and every Chevy truck dependability comes standard. For more on Chevy trucks, visit chevy.com and visit jdpower.comawards for more award details. And now here is Ryan Rosilla.

[Big Cat]

Okay, we now welcome on one of our best friends in the whole world. Very special guest. Very, very, very special guest. It is Ryan Rossillo. The Ryan Rossillo podcast. He is the number one ball knower in the world. And we have you on to talk about the NBA finals. But we got gifted with a news breaking an hour ago. Tom Thibodeau out with the New York Knicks. So let's start there. I want to say not shocking because this is kind of how it goes with Tibbs, where you can kind of feel the sea changing on him and he gets them to a level and then it's like, all right, he can't get us to that next level. But I'll say a little shocking because Jalen Brunson just did a press conference where he's like, I love him. Were you shocked at all?

[PFT]

No, I wasn't. You were hearing about this a little bit. I mean, we can talk about whether or not we're shocked based on, you know, this next season. It's tough because you're playing the Pacers. You beat Boston, you think you have a chance against the Pacers? I still thought they had a chance against them, even though I picked the Pacers, you know, and if you, if you take a step back and not get emotional about it the next morning, and you look at this next season, and you're like, all right, this team hadn't been to the Eastern conference finals in 25 years. I mean, there's a Knicks conversation about, like, this team winning a title before I was even born, where you're like, man, we talk about this team a lot. Although you probably say the same thing about the Red SOX prior to 2004, where you're like, you know, there's a lot of Knicks conversation. There's just a handful of teams that have had a better run for a really long time. Most wins, I think since 2013, they take out Boston. And, you know, look, Tatum went down in game four, but, you know, they were up, what, nine and 11 points three minutes ago, so they're probably going to win that game anyway. And that's a huge, huge statement. And I think on the whole, you have to feel really good about who the Knicks were this year in comparison to who they've been. But there was definitely a lot of lingering stuff. And even the last two days you were just hearing like, he's out. Out. Bill had mentioned it on the pod where he thought he'd be out. I was actually at a lunch yesterday. We were like, yeah, he's. He's probably done. And you know, the thing that sucks is, I'll tell you, in all the years I've spent getting the chance to talk to people about basketball, whether it's front office people, in the last 25 years, working with all these different coaches, when I was at ESPN and we'd be in the same room together and I'd be doing like, maybe late night TV or something. Tibbs is without question the most impressive single person I've ever talked to about basketball. Like, he made me after five minutes go like, holy, do I not know anything? Like, I've been watching this game a long time, and he is so incredibly impressive. I think there's absolute buy in. There's kind of like a toughness resetting that he brings when he comes into the franchise. But you're right, Big Cat, it seems to run its course. And, you know, the minute stuff, I don't really think it's is egregious this year. I thought that Bulls run where it looked like Joachim couldn't even make it up the floor, and you're like, dude, you're wearing these guys down. It just seems to be. Look, I think the NBA, that's the job. I don't even know that it's specific to Tibbs. I think it's the job where it is very hard to get everyone to keep listening to you after you've had this, this job four or five years. So, I mean, there's some other basketball stuff we get into why they got away from the Cat Brunson combo stuff. There was a defensive adjustment to Cat the team started doing playing with smaller guys you could get on his ass for. Like, why did you start going to bench guys that you had buried for such a long stretch of the year? But, you know, that part always frustrates me. The coach does something different and then you lose and then it means the coach is a moron. And it's like, well, you know, would you rather lose without any adjustments or attempt at anything? And putting Mitchell Robinson the starting lineup. So I feel bad for him because I know how smart he is and I think he's a terrific coach. But it's very hard in this job to have it longer than five years.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it is the league we the longest outside of Eric Spoelstra and Steve Kerr, who is the longest tenured coach now that Tibbs has been fired. Finch, it's actually Billy Donovan.

[PFT]

All right.

[Big Cat]

Which speaks to how crazy. You know what I mean? Like, that doesn't. Billy Donovan feels relatively new still with the Bulls. And it's like, this is just how it goes, guys. Guys go in and out very quickly.

[PFT]

Oh, no.

[Big Cat]

It's.

[PFT]

It's nuts. Like whenever you look at the Wikipedia page for this, you'll have half the coaches in the league. Like, I'm doing it right now. Like, Will Hardy is already on the longer side of the ten year run. Jazz. Okay. Missoula is like in the middle of the pack. So if I were going to run through it really quickly here, I think more than half the coaches are hired from 2023 on. So you're totally right. I mean, it's, it's a nearly impossible job. And you know, I don't know if you can talk about, like I was talking with somebody about it and they were talking about like the money, right? It was a really funny line because he said to me, he's like, you can not even be good and make $10 million a year now.

[Big Cat]

Right?

[PFT]

You don't even have to be that good. And you might get 10 million a year on a multi year contract. But we've been having that conversation for decades. It's like, all the players make all this money, and now they're not going to listen to the coaches. So that's not necessarily anything new. I just. It's a bit like the roommate theory. It's really hard to have a roommate where if you think of all the people you've lived with in your life, like, how many guys did you get to know that you loved versus how many guys you get to know that you hated?

[Big Cat]

Right. After living for a couple years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So.

[Memes]

So what are the. Do the Suns pick up the phone now? Are they like, hey, I know that we had it down to two. That would be a very funny fit. Tibs out in Phoenix.

[PFT]

Yeah, it would be. I mean, they're. They're running through them, you know, you know, Monty and that whole thing changed post, Chris Paul and the changes they wanted to make. And then you have Vogel, who is a really good coach, but, you know, the Lakers thing, they move on from him so quickly that you're kind of like, all right, the guy just won a title there, and now he's the problem. Look, it's. It's pretty clear. Look, I give him all the credit for the bubble one. I, you know, not us. That's fine.

[Memes]

Oh, Ryan, we did a bad job introducing you. Congratulations. Chris Paul played an entire season.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT]

Well, I'll be sure to let Chris know.

[Memes]

Vindication.

[PFT]

Yeah. That he was acknowledged for this. I can't wait. I can't wait to see what's next.

[Big Cat]

I got a question. I got one more question about the Knicks.

[PFT]

Yeah, but I want to. I want to talk about the Suns thing, though. Just because if I were Tibs, I'd be like, I'm good. I'm good right now. Like, you guys just blasted out Vogel immediately. You brought in Bud, paid him, blasted him out. It seems with the finalists for Phoenix is like, maybe we don't have to spend a ton of money this time around because they're spending all this money on these other guys. I. I think you have to have a certain mindset to respond to Tim, to Tibs, and I don't know. I'm sure Booker would be fine with it. I can't even imagine Beal in Tibbs rotation if they're still stuck with Beal, because I do think the Ring gets traded.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, my last Knicks question, because I want to talk Finals. I know you don't like Cat. You. You.

[PFT]

I don't.

[Big Cat]

You do not like.

[PFT]

I respect it. He's better than I give him credit for. I don't like watching it, do you?

[Big Cat]

So my take is he is not a perfect player. And I every. Yes, but you. You every. All your complaints about him or criticism are fair and they come from a fair place. I feel like, though, he is maybe the greatest scapegoat that a team could ever have because it's all about Cat and Tibs and not a real conversation about Jalen Brunson maybe being, you know, defensive liability at points. Mikhail Bridges not playing up to the level he should have played to. Josh Hart not be able to hit a three. And Cat is like this lightning rod. And it happened with the Timberwolves too, where if you have Cat on your team, you know, if you're another guy, you're safe. Because if you lose, it's going to be like Carl Anthony Towns is the problem.

[PFT]

Yeah, it's like being on the cabinet, where you just go like, well, ultimately everybody's going to forget what I'm in charge of.

[Big Cat]

Right?

[PFT]

Yeah, look, I mean, Brunson is like almost bulletproof. And, you know, it's funny because Becky Hammond made the comment. I believe it was Becky who had said, yeah. You know, you wonder about Brunson as a smaller guard on a title contending team, which has been accepted for years in this league. I mean, that's why, you know, Isaiah Thomas has become criminally underrated for what he was as like the real go to offensive player. And granted, you know, Dumars was terrific and Vinnie Johnson coming off the bench and that'll be the end of that Pistons breakdown. But there's just GMs that will tell you, like, I don't want to have to go through multiple rounds with a small guard. I don't want to. And here's Brunson, who, whether it was one year, I know I flipped it with Ian Tatum, where I had one in the top five in the MVP voting. I think I had Brunson fifth and then put Tatum first team all NBA. You know, Brunson's. If he's healthy, you know, he's. He's not outside of the top 10 players in this league. They nailed it. You know, he was, he was good in Dallas and I think he was going to be this. And then on top of everything else, he's just so comfortable in all these huge moments. However, you know, the Boston series, it wasn't really about Brunson in the beginning. They did a really good job containing him. Bridges went off and then, you know, Boston just becomes this Comically stagnant team. So you're right. Like, Brunson has brought such energy to this franchise. And those moments in MSG where he's just dialing it up and no one can do anything with him, it ignores. And maybe it's. It's kind of baked into the Cat. Part of it is, like, if he. If you have one bad defender, you can kind of hide it, right? But when it's the Pacers deciding, like, do we want to attack Cat this time or do we want to attack Brunson? And to Halliburton's credit, too, which I had to remind myself of a little bit of, like, his standing in the league, when you go, you know how we all kind of fall in love with, like, who those guys are the top 10 players, top 15. I voted them all. NBA. It was close for third team for him. Him. But when you have somebody who's approaching the game more like a quarterback who's dissecting things and playing, like, this natural point guard position with the instincts that are so rare in today's game, like, when you have a guy like that who knows, like, okay, there is a play that he had in the closeout game, what he went on that little bit of a tear. So Cat was late in drop coverage and doesn't get to Halliburton. Halliburton hits a floater inside the paint. And it was another one of those discussions where one of Cat's teammates is like, what are you doing? Like, you have to show more on that, that they run something very similar. Halliburton knows because he just got yelled at, that Cat's going to come up to him. And Halliburton's like, yep, and delays just enough. Siakam has the cut off of it. He's wide open. He actually missed the layup. So I know I'm kind of going off here a little bit, but when you have two of these liabilities defensively and Cat is the sassy one.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT]

And look, look, I don't. I don't know what happened with them. I mean, There was only 5 assists total from Brunson, the Cat in that entire series. When you look at the offensive ratings for the Knicks over the course of the year, like, month by month, it was the best offense in the NBA to, like, the bottom third the last couple months. So they lost something. And whether that's on Tibbs not being creative enough, you know, I would say there's probably more bridges possessions in there with an offense that's a little Bit more creative. Or we're like, hey, can't we just use the Cat Brunson thing as some kind of decoy instead of Brunt or Bridges is watching so much of this. But you're. You're absolutely right. There's. There's no dispute that with a guy like Brunson bringing this energy and just excitement, and he's so much fun. Like, you know, every kid has a Brunson jersey that's a fan of this team that nobody's ever in a hurry to criticize that guy. When you have somebody else you feel like is a bigger liability on the whole than Brunson is. Right.

[Memes]

If you're going to have a. A guy who's bad at defense who would rather have a guy who's better defense and also very tall than a guy that's short and also bad at defense.

[PFT]

Well, also, when that other guy can, like, drop 40 in a playoff game. And it's so much fun watching it happen, you know, Look, I don't even think SGA is like, a great defensive player. He's even been subbed out at times for defensive purposes, but it's never a thing.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT]

One, because he's taller. Two, there's so many great defensive players. Like, sometimes he gets targeted because it's like, I'd rather do this than switching to Jalen Williams daughter Caruso.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

Or then, you know, chat holds up pretty well, which I think they'll probably close with chat more in this series than the double big lineup that they've done off and on throughout this year. So I. I don't want to sit here and be like, hey, you're right. Let's. We should all be on Brunson more. No, I don't think part of the NBA.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT]

Where it's like, hey, you know who we don't on enough is this guy.

[Big Cat]

Let's do it. It's not.

[PFT]

I know that's not what you're saying, but he's bulletproof.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's more just cat. Everyone hits the trade cat butt and it's like, yeah, he's not perfect, but there's other things too. Maybe it is just trade cat. It's also very funny whenever basketball comes down to just like, oh, yeah, being taller does help.

[Memes]

It does.

[Big Cat]

It's like, hey, we shouldn't overthink this. Tall players are better than shorter players.

[Memes]

I'll be honest. If I was 7 4, I. I truly believe I would be in the NBA. I would have played some minutes in the NBA if I was 7 4.

[PFT]

I know you didn't listen to the podcast already today because it just posted, but we had a life advice specifically about this where a guy was working construction and he was 6 6. And there was another guy on the site that was like, man, if I had your height, I'd be in the NBA. And the emailer was like, look, I get it. It's happening my whole life. But it's also insinuating that I'm a waste of a human being because I wasted all this God given talent. And then the punchline was. You want to guess what the other guy's height was?

[Memes]

Oh, was it like 6 3?

[PFT]

Yeah, it was 64.

[Big Cat]

Inches.

[Memes]

No, but 7 4. I mean, let's be real. If you were 7 4, you'd be the NBA.

[PFT]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Memes]

For sure.

[PFT]

Not long. I think I would have blown through money and been a bit of a up in my 20s.

[Big Cat]

But you would have had. You would have been in the. You would have gotten drafted. All right, let's talk about the finals.

[PFT]

I. Oh yeah. But I'd be on podcast talking about how coaches me over. I got like black balls in the league.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you'd have the clips of you in a gym playing against a bunch of like, dads.

[PFT]

My comeback videos. I mean, we wouldn't have anywhere to post them, but they'd be incredible.

[Memes]

You would be. You would be ready to on players. If you had gotten in the league for like a cup of coffee, then you just gain a lot of weight after you get out and you're like, this guy stinks. This guy's a bum. Never win anything.

[PFT]

Yeah, I do wonder like, if you took just a general fitness test of people like north of 45, how many people that are in shape are in shape because their athletic career was such a massive disappointment versus guys that had like, incredible success. And then after 45, you're like, I don't want to do any of that because it was my life.

[Big Cat]

You're just describing CrossFit. You really are. Like, if you ever go to a serious CrossFit gym and if you go to a serious CrossFit gym and you throw one of them a football, it's not getting caught, but they could fucking burpee forever.

[PFT]

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Like, if somebody had just played catch with Rudy Gobert when he was a kid.

[Big Cat]

Did you see Rudy. Did you see Rudy's warm up dribble video where he just couldn't do it in the game? No, it was like before the game, it was like Rudy's like working on his handles and he kept. It's like, why are they taping this? Don't do this to the guy.

[PFT]

I know. It kind of reminds me was. Is that the Tristan Thompson video where he was like doing like little jump pull ups?

[Big Cat]

Oh, because I seen another one.

[PFT]

Well, you like watching sex tapes.

[Big Cat]

Well, I mean, if they know shit, right? If they're on, if they're in my purview, I'm going to watch. I'm not going to avert my eyes.

[PFT]

Yeah, but would you want to watch a sex tape of somebody you knew?

[Big Cat]

If you told me. If you came out there to me right now and you're like, if you sat. If you walked into this studio and Pft and I are sitting here right now and be like, someone's like, hey, I got a sex tape of Hank. We'd watch.

[Memes]

I want to see a stroke.

[Big Cat]

We'd watch. We'd watch. Come on. You'd watch.

[PFT]

I wouldn't. Yes, I would want to watch that.

[Big Cat]

Yes, you would.

[PFT]

I don't want to watch Hank bang ever.

[Big Cat]

I wouldn't watch it multiple times. I'd watch it once out of curiosity.

[Memes]

I want to know.

[PFT]

Guys would have to. I mean, you're in the content.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

You got to know what your man's style is. You got to know what his go to's are.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we gotta break down some film.

[PFT]

Yeah, but if he started crying and was the little spoon, that would be awesome.

[Memes]

That'd be very funny.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Then I'd watch it many times.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Before we get to the finals. You. You mentioned something in passing. Kd, you think he's gonna get traded? Why do you think that? And, and who do you think he's gonna get traded to?

[Big Cat]

What would make you think he'd play on a different team?

[PFT]

I don't know. Just something.

[Big Cat]

Hot takes with Drusillo. KD might not be on the Suns next year.

[PFT]

I thought last year he was. There was a lot of stuff, right? A lot of stuff. Around the draft there was like rumors about Houston. And then I think Stephen A. Even had said, like he is going to be traded. And then I talked about it like two days later and said I know for a fact that he's not going to be traded. And at least I had this year. I don't know. I feel like the seeds have been planted.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Okay.

[PFT]

What is that? Is that when it's a wind horse?

[Memes]

Windy fingers.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Windy fingers.

[PFT]

I don't think that deserves to be a windy. Figures.

[Big Cat]

No, dude, on the Move.

[Memes]

Why would you say that, huh? Well, you're also plugged in, Ryan. You're the most plugged in guy we got.

[PFT]

Yeah, but see, I don't. I don't. You know, I don't. As I've gotten older, I don't need to do any of that stuff. And if I get it wrong, it's like. Like the damage is so much worse than no one's ever like, hey, good call.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

That's why I like Threads so much. Big cat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

Threads is. Threads is like. Like being out in last call looking for food in Philadelphia versus, like, Sarasota. That's what Threads is.

[Big Cat]

Threads. All right, let's talk the Finals. I. I love. I've. I've loved watching the Pacers. These playoffs. They're so much fun. They play with so much pace. They have Halberton. I know there's games where it's like, hey, how is this guy, you know, a top 10 player, but when he's on, he's on and he makes everything so much better. I just can't get over the fact that the Thunders defense is so fucking suffocating and they have so many guys that they can throw at you and just like, even I know regular season doesn't matter. Like, Lou Dort is going to. Is going to make Halliburton work his ass off. And it's like, then they have other guys and the Caruso comes off the bench. Is there. What's the path for the Pacers? Like, how do you. When you look at this, is there a case you can make that, like, here's how the Pacers can win this series. Outside of Caitlin Clark going to every game, which they are 7 and O in these playoffs with Caitlin Clark in attendance.

[PFT]

That's good. It was good to see Mike Epps in the mix because all this Nick stuff, they were like, is there anybody.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

Available? Like, can we. Can we do anything? And I just to share with you guys, because I know how much you like the Jam bands. You know, Trey's been at these Knicks games.

[Big Cat]

So is Derek Trucks, right?

[PFT]

Derek Trucks.

[Big Cat]

I saw him on the baseline.

[PFT]

Right? Yeah. And you're just thinking to yourself, like, can't we get one. One shot of any of the guys on the creative side of music, you know? Although I shouldn't say that about Busta Rhymes because I still think his third album is one of my favorite. Still a go to listen to it today. Shooting around a little bit.

[Memes]

Flip mode's the greatest.

[PFT]

Yeah, right. So I didn't want to make that sound like one form of music is more creative than the other. But there's seriously something against the improvisational guys. I just don't understand why Trey doesn't deserve some sort of graphic. We don't have to worry about that anymore. The Knicks are eliminated. So, look, I think when you're watching the Pacers, you're going, okay, cool. They take care of the basketball and they love to get out and run. Here's the problem. I went back and watched the March game, the late March game where the Thunder put it on the Pacers. There was no Chet, there was no Jalen Williams. 2. Hartenstein left the game at halftime with a hip thing. So I think he played like 14 minutes. So they decided to come out small and play with Kenrich, and that's where they put. They were up like 10 at the half. They put like real separation. They got up to 22 in the third quarter. They didn't get a great SGA game because Jalen Williams was on the attack, man, when he was like the primary ball handler, like, he was on the attack. So then you're thinking, okay, so going into this, we expect the Pacers take care of the ball. We expect them to want to go small at Tom. Sometimes they have this bench and they're going to want to, I would say, get out and run. Right? The Thunder were the better running team in the regular season matchup. In that game, there were. There were two things that really stood out. One was the Jalen Williams attacking Neesmith and having zero issues with it whatsoever. Number two was they got out and pushed. Okay? So like, if you. The Thunder can basically do anything. The other thing that's crazy, like, I know I'm throwing a bunch of stuff at you here. The Thunder are 13th out of 16 playoff teams in three point shooting, and they're a minus 750 for the NBA Finals. The only series they've shot it well from three is the Minnesota series. They can get to this point, be 12 and 4 through 16 playoff games and still not shoot it nearly as well as they've shot it in the regular season. That's horrifying. They've played at a faster pace than the Pacers. They take care of the basketball better than the Pacers do. And even as much as we all love that bench because we know who all the guys are for The Pacers through 16 games, T.J. oB, Thomas, Bryant and Matheran are all net negatives. They're all net negatives. And to your point, about, like, the Thunder can Go, hey, we'll run a double big at you. I don't think they're going to want to because Hartenstein is actually of like the main nine rotational guys, the biggest net negative, and I think it's played out that way. And they started tailing his minutes off in the Minnesota series also, because Chet is somebody like, you just feel so much better about now, a month into this, because he's had some massive moments, including, I would say, you know, one of the closed Denver games and also game five against Minnesota. He was unbelievable. And you don't even have to really run any plays for this guy. So, you know, even though I'm picking the Thunder, and it's going to be really hard for anybody to talk themselves into the Pacers, the things that the Pacers pride themselves on, running, keeping the basketball, not turning it over is the better way to say it. And their bench depth. The Thunder can match you with a better bench. The bench has actually played better. They've taken care of the basketball better, and they're more than ready to run with you if you want to run with them. And that's what's so impressive about this team, is that they can. They can just take on almost any form needed in a basketball game, and it's probably going to be their advantage.

[Memes]

Have you heard anybody that's taking the Pacers, that's not just doing it to be the. I'm the guy who's taking the Pacers guy.

[PFT]

I haven't. I mean, have you guys had a moment where it was like the Giants, Pats. Pat's undefeated season, where you really thought the other team. Because, look, it's sports. This is the whole reason we care about this stuff is we have to be surprised sometimes. So I always try to like, figure out, like, when's. Is there. Is there a time to just go ahead and pick against everybody else? Because you feel like everyone's overrating the other side a little bit too much? I. I meant this is actually a question, like, do you have one in your past that you remember? You were like, I'm on the other side of this.

[Memes]

Yep. It was just a few short months ago. NFL playoffs, Commanders against Lions.

[PFT]

Yeah, that doesn't count.

[Memes]

I know.

[Big Cat]

The doink in the Super Bowl.

[Memes]

Oh, doing well.

[Big Cat]

No, no, I guess that would be the opposite.

[Memes]

That's the exact opposite.

[Big Cat]

Hank did the no doing, but he.

[Memes]

Did out of spite. So he didn't actually think that there was going to be a doink. He just did it because he knew I was betting no Doings. That's actually a great comp for the line.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Because I think, what are the paces right now? Plus 550.

[Big Cat]

Yes. I'm like that. I'm trying to think. I don't think I have 80.

[PFT]

I thought it was this morning. We don't. Whatever. It's the same number. Keep going.

[Big Cat]

I don't think there's been like. It doesn't. You're not, you're. You're talking about like big time games too, right? Because there, there are definitely moments like there's coaches, you know, where it's like, you know, Mike Vrabel used to do this with the Titans where it's like, oh, here's a Titans game, like where everyone's picking against them and they're going to win this game. Or Mike Tomlinson. Mike Tomlin on the road is a dog. It's like, well, yeah, give me Mike Tomlin on the road as a dog. But that doesn't really count.

[PFT]

No, I don't think that that counts at all. And the gambling part of it, that drives me crazy is when a guy takes the massive odds and then tries to take credit for like picking it straight up. Like they thought that was going to happen.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT]

That drives me nuts because it's like, you know, somebody loves the payout, so then they, they invest in the payout and then they pretend after the fact that fact, like if somebody were to bet the Pacers, who's just a gambler, and then the Pacers win. It's like I told you. It's like, did you. Did you tell us or did you just like the odds?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

So it's different obviously in football than it is about. You got a seven game series here.

[PFT]

Yeah, I, that's true too. And I. Look, I didn't mean to dismiss you on the commander's thing, but that's because you're a fan of them.

[Memes]

No, no, no. Dismiss away. Yeah, I, I agree with that. It's. It. I think anybody that's picking the Pacers right now, I would be shocked if I heard a good basketball reason behind it besides just the fact that everyone else has taken the other side. So I'm gonna be different.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. This might be a goal of ours. We got to figure out we gotta finally call our shot on a game.

[Memes]

What if it's the Pacers?

[Big Cat]

What if it's the Pacers?

[Memes]

But we're definitely just doing it to be different. And I can't do that to Caruso.

[Big Cat]

What about Travis Hunter? 40 to 1. We had that. No Big deal.

[PFT]

What did you get on his number being retired? What was the payout on Shador's number being?

[Big Cat]

A good question.

[Memes]

That one was actually minus money.

[Big Cat]

All right, so we gotta find one. We gotta do that. This. At some point, we got to find a big game.

[PFT]

We should all. Yeah, because we do this for a feeling and we're. We're wrong enough on the favorites, right. To just feel like, hey, do we just. Because. And again, like, to the dismissive point, because I. We live it every single day. The guy that can't stop tweeting about his team, who then is like, see, I told you, right? Like, what would you. What was your reasoning?

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Memes]

Yeah. And also, what was the alternative outcome.

[PFT]

Was going to make you cry? Like, you know, so to me, those never really count all that much. That happens a lot in college football, too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

It's like, oh, yeah, you know, you didn't think we could do this. It's like, well, why did you think you could do it? Like, I'm telling you right now, like, my. My process was far less emotional than yours was, and you ended up being right about it. But this is. Sometimes it's fun, man. You know who. Stanford Steve. Every now and would just throw at you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but Stanford Steve also has been doing this thing to me, and I don't know if it's like a bit, but I. He's been, like, texting me to, like, take things, and I. I think he's just trying to get me to change the odds a little bit. Like, super long shots, and then I'll bet it and then he'll, like, do something else. So that's how I ended up with the Kyle Schwaber 90 to 1 MVP ticket.

[PFT]

That's some sinister shit.

[Big Cat]

He might be doing it. I don't know.

[PFT]

I have. I have somebody who'll hit me up being like, hey, don't you think this? And I would be like, yeah. And then I kind of think, like, this guy's already heard me say this, so he knows I think exactly this. And then he'll be. He'll be like, you know, I can't believe all these people think this. And I'll be like, yeah, again, I agree. I've said this, like seven times. We are in agreement. And then I realized, like, he has a future on it and wants me to keep banging the table more and more for it.

[Memes]

Let's get the brains going, though. Let's. Let's hop on the group chat, find a long shot that we. That we believe in and Then we can. How about this one?

[Big Cat]

By the way, Russo was. Was talking about Travis Hunter there.

[PFT]

What?

[Big Cat]

Me texting and being like, hey, you should talk about Travis Hunter more.

[Memes]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[PFT]

No, but I'm just saying I wasn't talking about you. But that did happen because I wouldn't think that you would do it to me, but I guess you wanted an outside guy because I, I remember when that text happened and I said, are you nuts? I go, I'm actually doing an open on it today. And you were like, good. I can't wait. And then after I did it, big cat goes, that was really good. I have a 40 to 1 on.

[Big Cat]

It because I did.

[PFT]

I think I did the segment where I went, hey, like who are we kidding at this point? Like based on the field, I don't even know like who else are you voting for at this point? And the big cat was like, that was really well done. One of your best monologues.

[Big Cat]

Good job because I was going to.

[Memes]

Put you on the Panthers.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Carolina Panthers to win the nfc.

[Big Cat]

Be a crazy one.

[Memes]

I believe in Bryce Young.

[PFT]

What can I say, man? I was really happy with Bryce Young this year. I started rooting for Bryce Young only because it felt like people wanted to retire after week eight of his rookie season.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Memes]

If I had his height, I would be in the NFL. 5, 5, 10.

[Big Cat]

A question about SGA. If they thunder go on and win this, is he up? Like where is he? Top seven all time season, top nine all time season.

[PFT]

I don't know that off the top of my head.

[Big Cat]

It's pretty crazy when you actually stack it up. MVP scoring title, 80 plus win team. Like it's kind of. He's in a weird spot where he's kind of underrated because people don't like watching his game. Which I understand the complaints but like he. He will submit one of the. One of the best seasons ever in terms of totality. Just seasons I'm talking about.

[PFT]

Yeah, just seasons. I'd have to do more work on it. But two things that you said there won the free throw thing. I think was really worried about it like a Brunson SGA finals because there's a. Always a bit of a reminder. Like I remember there was some hardened stuff in 2018 where you could tell how little regular season Houston Rockets basketball people on social media had actually watched during regular season and it was like, what the Is this like first Rockets game?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

And you could see with Brunson and sga just more eyes were on it in a Way where people were paying attention. And again, I'm not to gatekeep it like this. It's not like I'm a WNBA fan and I don't want people to watch my product, but I look at it where I was worried about what could happen there with Brunson and sga, and I also. It becomes, like, just so annoying. It's a bit, like, it's a bit political, where, again, the only people defending Brunson are Knicks fans with it, you know, and it's on the SGA side. It's like, no, no, your foul suck. Our fouls suck less. And then you have foul totals and you go, hey, you know, I like how you guys made something that's pretty simple, really complicated. For those of us that have no emotional to it whatsoever, the foul merchanting of today sucks compared to the total number of free throws. Like, we watched all those games, and I'm not saying Jordan didn't get a few calls. You don't need to clip me. As if case closed. But over the course of, like, whatever the free throw rates were or the free throw totals were, it sucks way more now with the most egregious players than it ever sucked in the past because the officials don't penalize the players in the past for baiting them. The old school officials and Van Gundy said this to me, so you have to believe me. He's like, the old school guys would police it in this gray area, which is what officiating needs to be more like, where it's like, hey, you got me and you the rest of the game, right? Like, I'm never giving you one of those. And guess what? The player stops doing all of that stuff. So I just think there's a lot of smart people that started counting up free throws for any guy. Pick a guy you don't like, trying to argue, oh, actually, historically, it's not that bad. It's like, okay, so now you've just eliminated the visual comparison where it's certainly more bad or worse, I should say, and, you know, unfortunately gets in the way of what can be awesome, awesome games in an awesome product.

[Big Cat]

You. This is where Rosal, you doing a podcast on your own hurts you because you have to speak the truth. We did something accidentally on this podcast that's actually been very great for us. I went after Jalen Brunson's foul merchanting, and PFT went after SGA's foul merchant. So, like, there's always a guy who didn't. Like, people will be like, tag me in a tweet and be like, oh, but pft doesn't like this. And tag pft to tweet and be like, oh, but big cat doesn't like Brunson.

[Memes]

Yeah, we split it right down the middle now. Now it's the point where Oklahoma City fans, they don't think I should take any joy in Alex Caruso winning a championship. Yeah, I do stand by my take with sga. And you're right, it's the thing I don't like about the, the foul merchant stuff. It's not the act of shooting free throws. Like, don't get me wrong, I would rather see open. I would rather see like, like you know, not a whistle every 30 seconds and guys going to the line. But like free throws. I don't get triggered by watching people shoot free throws. I get triggered by watching guys dribble through the lane, fall down, acting like they're falling down because they got fouled, but they're falling down under control, shooting a shot that they've practiced. When they practice flopping and then getting to the line that way, that part, to me, that's hard to watch.

[PFT]

Yeah, I think Brunson's grosser than SGA is because there's so much with Brunson that's off the ball, like shoving a guy as he's trying to cut. And then like every single thing with Brunson is some sort of dramatic sell. I mean, you think he'd get sick of it on some of the off ball stuff. I mean, he drew like Knicks fans always say, oh, look at his free throw rate and look at his free. Look at all these other guys. It's like he actually drew the second most fouls per game than any other player in the league. And number one is Giannis by pretty healthy margin because Giannis is just. You just. There's nothing you can do against that guy physically. But to bring some sort of conclusion on this thing that you'd asked me about SGA's all time season, I don't know again off the top of my head, but this is when we're really dangerous because the morning shows can't. If SGA runs through this finals mvp, which is all a very likely outcome coming off of this mvp and for a guard to have the efficient season that he had and he would have had had the. The free throw part of it that I would defend SGA on is like, it's not like he's just some free throw guy and that's the only thing that's Working here, he's incredible. All right, but those shows, if that happens, it's going to be like, hey, does this guy have the NBA belt? Is this.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

The best player in the world? And this is where I would be probably a downer on those TV shows is I go, I have him fourth still. Like, I know he just won the title. I feel like that Jokic series against OKC is like, I don't know how anybody watches that series, then feels worse about Jokic this year. To me, Jokic is unobtainable. Like, you cannot get to his level right now. And there's going to be a lot of people arguing just because it's better, it's better. Nobody goes, you know, Mission Impossible 8 comes out. Nobody in the review goes, third, best one.

[Big Cat]

Fun, right?

[PFT]

It has to be the best Mission Impossible ever. And it's the best one every time there's a new one. And with SGA on the cusp of this, nobody's going to feel like they're having fun if they're saying, yeah, okay, now I have them ahead of Giannis, where I would have Giannis and Jokic ahead of everybody. And then we could talk about Luca and sga, which is kind of funny. Like, Luca, sg. Like SGA still sort of locked in. I don't know. I don't think a sane person, a real basketball person, should look at this and be like, okay, SGA is now the best in the world. Because they're going to look back on that take in October going, whoa, I got fucking caught up in everything.

[Memes]

Yeah, but what's crazy about SGA's game is he doesn't have to do the foul merchant stuff. He would still have to. He's a. He's a great player. He's a great player when he's not doing that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And by the way, your point, I agree with saying accolades like, one of the most impressive years. Doesn't mean he's the best. I'm just saying, like, statistically, when you match it all up, what he did this year could be up there with like, holy shit, that was an insane season. Doesn't mean I would take him over Jokic.

[PFT]

Right. Like, did you guys have Halliburton in your top 10 before the playoffs started?

[Memes]

Oh, yeah, I did. I had him. I had the Pacers above the. Above the Celtics going playoffs.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, we had them. Yeah.

[Memes]

Hank hated.

[PFT]

Who did you. Who did you have him ahead of?

[Memes]

I had him ahead of Brunson.

[Big Cat]

Tatum.

[Memes]

I had him out of Tatum for sure.

[Big Cat]

Mitchell.

[Memes]

Mitchell. Easily.

[Big Cat]

Giannis, Paolo.

[PFT]

Yeah, that's a good chunk. That's a good, healthy chunk of guys right there.

[Memes]

Indeed.

[PFT]

You're better at it than I am because I have never thought Halliburton is a top 10 player. And by the way, nobody would even start shit with you saying that four weeks ago. No one would. I had them all. NBA 13. So that means I believe he's in this kind of like 13th best to 17th best player the DAC. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Which is a lot worse for Dak. This is Albert because there's so many basketball players, you know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

I don't know. Over the course of a season, 48 quarterbacks. Really, you know, maybe 28.

[Big Cat]

Hey, Dak range is a great range to be in.

[Memes]

He's got paid a shitload of money.

[Big Cat]

You should do that. Like if you were doing ESPN still. I got Halbert in the Dak range. That's a real crossover. Would be going nuts for that would.

[PFT]

Be Greeny be losing his mind. Oh, on that one.

[Memes]

What about.

[PFT]

Hey, let's. Let's bump Jalen Rose.

[Memes]

What about this one? Being Big Cat have been working on this one. That this is going to be the worst Thunder team to win a championship because they're going to get so much better over the course of next couple seasons with their draft picks. This is actually a down year for the Thunder.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. We're going to look back.

[PFT]

Wow. You might be right.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You like? Yeah.

[Memes]

You thought about it and you were like, these boys know they're going to.

[Big Cat]

Win four or five and we're going to look back and be like that 2025 team. Not that great compared to the 2027 team. The 2018.

[Memes]

28 is when they come into form.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. 28 is going to be in special.

[PFT]

I'll be happy if they win. Just so people can be like, okay, finally. Presti's good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

Like that group that was holding out, you know, this guy has just been like. Like an absolute architect. He wants a certain kind of player. The personality part that they emphasize because there's a realness to this team and like how. And look, the Pacers kind of have this too. So I'm not trying to make this all about the Thunder, but this is why they're the heavy favorites. But the guy in the friend group or text chain that it's like, all right, give me your three best executives in basketball, you'd be like, Presti. And then, you know, the guy's like, for all. You know, people talk a lot about how good breasty is he hasn't won anything. You know what else is funny too.

[Memes]

About some great text threads.

[PFT]

Yeah, that's a fun one. I enjoy that one a lot. Changing my number soon. I'll get that to you guys. But let's, let's look at this Thunder rebuild real quick because you realize it was only like a couple years.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, they were in.

[PFT]

Obviously Chris Paul, if his teammates, if SGA had stepped up more in that game seven against the Rockets pockets four years ago.

[Big Cat]

Well, that's what we all think. Yep, yep. Yeah, but yeah, they were bad for two years.

[PFT]

Yeah, that's crazy.

[Big Cat]

Crazy.

[PFT]

Like that gets lost in. Well, you know, hey, it finally paid off. They were. What was it? 20. So they lose in 20. That's the, the Rockets game. Remember Harden had a block towards the end and they were like, you know, people knock this guy's defense, you're like one play, all right, 22 and 50, 24 and 58. And when they went 40 and 42 two years ago, people were like, what the fuck? Like they're. That's incredible that they're 40 and 42. It was two down years. And some of these teams are on year 15.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And it's also like, you could say a similar thing about the Pacers in the fact that the Pacers had, you know, when they had sabotage, they traded for Sabonis and Oladipo obviously was injured. But there's a lot of franchises that are just be like, oh yeah, we'll just, we'll just continue to be like the, the, you know, seventh to 10th best team in the east. And like, we're not gonna, you know, like to get out of what they were in that quickly too. Both these teams are just incredible built.

[PFT]

If you could have the Thunders roster tomorrow. I said, you can't watch the Cubs for 10 years.

[Memes]

Ooh, 10 years. Well, remember, you get in five.

[Big Cat]

Really awesome. Five championships.

[PFT]

Five.

[Memes]

Yeah, minimum.

[PFT]

My brother talks about that guy.

[Big Cat]

He PCA.

[Memes]

Yeah, he's fun.

[Big Cat]

He's fun. He's so fast.

[PFT]

I was so. I was like, what's going on? He's like, yeah, he's like my favorite player.

[Big Cat]

He is gonna. I'll say this, there's gonna be a slight regression just because he's been playing out of his mind, but he's still very good. Like people are gonna start shit, you know, when, when you can feel it coming, especially in baseball. We're like, Wally Joiner, this guy's going so hot. Obviously he's gonna have a stretch where he's not gonna get a couple hits and then the haters are gonna pile on and be like, see, he actually does suck. That might.

[PFT]

I'm taking the threads.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm getting ready for it. He's still awesome. I don't care.

[Memes]

Ryan, I. I got a question for you because I could just sense topics sometimes that you're going to be worked up about. And, and I want to just let you.

[PFT]

This whole SGA belt thing was the other open I was going to do this week, but now I'm not going to do it.

[Memes]

I just want to hear you speak about small markets and what this means for the NBA as a whole.

[Big Cat]

You can, you can, you can mix in a little ratings. Like just.

[Memes]

Oh, that's part. Yeah, that's part of the small market.

[PFT]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Maybe. Maybe the thought starter like jumbo ratings.

[PFT]

Aren'T going to be good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. In your head is a clay Travis tweet being like, look, the NBA is dying now. Go.

[Memes]

Yeah. They're losing market share to the wnba, which I also hate.

[PFT]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

Look, I think a lot of the ratings decline stuff is driven by people's political beliefs where if you're really, really right wing, you love the idea of the NBA being a dying product because it's probably the most progressive of the league. Certainly more progressive than the. The NHL. You know, there's a lot of bubble stuff that maybe I would even understand some of the criticism of, of being in the moment, feeling it was the right thing and then looking back years later being like, you know, group economics Jersey is that. But what I don't like is disingenuous arguments. And I would tell you people that are like in the TV games game, the me. The people making these decisions that I've talked to of investing into live rights are like, who the is using traditional ratings anymore?

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT]

And if you want to hit me over the head with every NFL rating, guess what I submit. I'm going to tap out before they even ask me if I'm ready in the octagon. I. I can't. I don't have an argument. It's. It's the best product. It's on network tv, everybody. It is a part of Americana. It's the best packaged. The scarcity of the inventory and all of those things and the fact that it's an OKC Indiana matchup. Like the guys are that are going to be doing victory laps on this. I already can name them. All right. But I also saw like ratings numbers for OKC Minnesota that were terrible while ignoring like some really great New York Pacers series numbers. And you're just like, okay, as soon as I see what you're doing, like, I remember this. One of my favorite examples of, like, how pathetic some people are with their political ideology and just hitting you over the head with it over and over and over again, again is when Kaepernick, that deal had been signed where Kaepernick was with Nike. And if the Nike stock went down, then everybody on the right side of it was like, see? Morons. And then the stock price would go up and then the left side of it would be like, this shows that America, like gets it and whatever. And when the reality is it had nothing to do with the Kaepernick deal.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT]

It was just the way the markets work. There was nothing significant. And whatever way the stock went for like two weeks, people were going back and forth and arguing it. And my whole point would be like, you're about to get an example, a piece of evidence that tells you now the NBA is now declining product when we already know because of the small market the rating isn't going to be strong. But is that really, is that really what this is? Is that really what the investment is? From the broadcast partners where it felt like every single person that has a channel wanted to get involved in the NBA. It's not the NFL. It's not perfect, but, you know, you want to compare it to the 90s. All right, let's do it with the NBA. It looks terrible. You want to do it with any other fucking TV show from the 90s? Because I'm telling you right now, it's probably going to look bad when you start comparing sitcoms to Friends.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Seven billion people watch the Seinfeld finale.

[PFT]

Are you aware of who I am?

[Memes]

Larry?

[Big Cat]

He got canceled.

[PFT]

That Larry King Seinfeld is so good. And some people were like, oh, Jerry kind of let him have him. Like, I actually think he kind. You know, sometimes I don't prep for an interview and then I watch that Larry King Seinfeld 1 and I go, you prep enough.

[Memes]

Brandon Marshall?

[Big Cat]

I got it.

[PFT]

Yeah, keep it, keep, keep it in this lane. Like, I know I'm on and we're all friends. Do you think I'm crazy for having maybe a bit more open mindedness of like, like what the ratings truths really are? Because I, I like, I don't know, maybe, maybe I'm. Because I know it's like, oh, you're the NBA guy. So I, I defend what I think is like a reasoned way of looking at things. And I'm, I'm not trying to tell you, like, hey, it's the NFL, because that'd be stupid of me to even try to do. But, you know, if the NHL dips in ratings or the MLB dips in ratings, nobody ever talks about how progressive they were as a league.

[Big Cat]

I, I, I also just find it very funny that, like, I, I watch, I don't watch sports to be like, I hope a lot of people are also watching this with me. Like, I, I just don't, I, like, I'm excited for these NBA Finals. I'm going to watch all the NBA Finals. If the ratings stink, I'm not going to be like, damn, well, that was a waste of time.

[PFT]

Yeah, I, I like the other part of this is kind of like, you ask the owners, you go, what do you want? Well, they, they just did the new TV deal deal. So timing of things, if it were expiring, you know, this summer or, you know, again, they'd have the negotiation done prior to that. But like, if, if the heat of the negotiation was coming off, what's going to be potentially a terrible ratings final, you know, maybe that impacts the value of it, but it does feel like all of these broadcast partners go, hey, I'd still rather be in the second best live rights thing right outside of football, which again, college football and the bowl games and what those numbers do are incredible and everything like that. But on a, on a grander scale of like, what the owners want or don't want, I mean, this, this league forever, the lack of parody, if you didn't have a top five guy, if you didn't have a number two guy that was number 10, like, it really was, like, there was no point. And for a long time we were conditioned to accept that if one team had two stars, then the next third star was going to be mad and want to go join those guys. So clearly, in a way to pull back some of the, from the, the player empowerment decade that we had, the owners introduce stricter financial restrictions. When you really dig into what happens to a team when it's over the second apron for a little while, it's like you're losing draft picks and all this stuff. Or like, hey, in the past when the player said, I want to go there and only there, now you can go back to that player saying, hey, we'd love to do it for you, but we actually are not legally allowed to do any of those things. And on top of it, trying to, even though it's a, a split, which is a percentage and the players are guaranteed that amount of money. The restrictions for what individual teams can do. It felt like all the owners wanted these things to speak to greater parody, to pull some of the power back and then feel like they have a better chance. So there's a version of this finals matchup where you go in a world where it felt like this league had the least amount of parity. Is it actually on this stretch of parity that is better for all of the markets as opposed to the very top? Now, granted, look, the NBA officers still rather this be Knicks, Lakers, who are we kidding? But if you're an owner of any of these teams, you probably feel like you have more of a chance than you've ever had before with this version of the NBA.

[Big Cat]

Agree.

[Memes]

I, I think it's better as a whole. And like Big Cat said, I, I personally don't care what the. The ratings are. I don't care if other people are watching it in mass like they have in the past. But the one thing I do care about is afterwards when they put out the ratings of like the 50 most watched events on TV this year. I care about it all being NFL and then maybe one NBA game or maybe an Olympics and then Albert Breer quote tweeting it and saying, NFL is king. Yeah, that's what I care about.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Because we respect the shield.

[Memes]

That's my Super Bowl.

[PFT]

Yeah, you guys are big football guys.

[Memes]

You could say that, you know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I know.

[PFT]

I see like the countdowns. Yeah, the countdowns to like week one.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's.

[PFT]

It'll get like 7, 000 likes.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we have a countdown clock in our office. College football countdown clock.

[PFT]

That one I don't understand. I'll never understand it. The, like, how many tackles did you make? You know, like, I don't, I don't really get that. No, I don't get the prideful like, well, I am a football guy.

[Memes]

Well, you wouldn't.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you're a basketball Ryan.

[PFT]

No, I guess I don't get it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you would never get it. We're speaking a different language. You know it. Listen.

[PFT]

Yeah, but for me, who watches like 20 hours of football a weekend?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Memes]

See, for you it's a job. For us it's life.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

And that's okay.

[Big Cat]

Listen, listen.

[PFT]

You're right. You have that shirt too, right? It says football is life.

[Memes]

Football is like. The rest is just details.

[Big Cat]

This is a long way.

[PFT]

I can't even wear that.

[Big Cat]

This is a long way of us saying, like, hey, we, we Hope your little league does okay in the NBA Finals. All right. Like, we're rooting for this platform. We're rooting for you. I got, I got one last question. Roback question. R b.com promo code, take 20% off your first purchase. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com promo code, take Ryan. Well, I need your official prediction and then I'll ask the last question. Thunder in five.

[PFT]

I played. I think it was plus 680. Thunder games one and two. Pacers game three, Thunder game four and five.

[Big Cat]

Ooh, I like that. I like that. All right, my last question. As a former ESPN er, obviously there was a lot of talk this week inside the NBA is going to espn and who's the weirdest person that could be on Inside the NBA? Is it like, Shafter or someone?

[PFT]

I think it's more interesting to like. Well, by the way, I don't want to make the Mina Kimes joke again. I know, I know, because I wasn't and I haven't talked to her, but I saw her respond to Awful announcing, which I surprised wasn't doing another Levitard story, so they had room for something else.

[Big Cat]

Something changed, by the way, recently with awful announcing. They just aggregate every. Everything that's like, everything's a beef. It's. It's. It's bizarre. I don't know what.

[PFT]

Well, I think they do big numbers. They do really big numbers because there's a. There's a show that basically started, like, pivoting into covering every single beef. And my whole point was the people that lose their minds when Mina is on a show. It had nothing to do with.

[Big Cat]

No, I knew it. Yeah.

[PFT]

So, yeah, I. I don't know. I. You know, it then it turned into a bit of a thing and I was. I was pretty busy yesterday, so I was like, I'm not gonna worry about this one today. I'm going to let it sort of live and then die off a little bit. I do think it'd be really interesting to, like, see who would ask to be on it. Who would, like, sincerely think, like, I don't think Schefter's beyond being crazy enough to be like, do you.

[Big Cat]

Do you need me?

[PFT]

It could. Could it happen? You know?

[Big Cat]

Point guard?

[PFT]

Yeah. You need somebody to come in. I listen and do something.

[Big Cat]

I know they say, can't win with small point guards. I won't. No playoffs, regular season only.

[PFT]

I don't know how Stephen A. Doesn't just like, oh, he's on the show.

[Big Cat]

He's on the show. He's sitting in Chuck's lap.

[PFT]

But they're not going to want that.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you know who'd be a good one?

[Memes]

Boomer.

[Big Cat]

Well, Boomer deserves to be on it. I wouldn't. And I love him. And now I'll get aggregated. I could see Orlovsky maybe getting in there for a segment.

[PFT]

He's tall as shit.

[Big Cat]

He's really tall. He's a great athlete.

[Memes]

They'd probably just bring him in to talk about food.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah. Chuck would just make fun of his like, yeah, hey, eat a Reese's in front of us. We want to make fun of you.

[Memes]

Orlovsky would be like, you know what I put in my cereal instead of milk is mayonnaise. And then boom, that's 45 minutes of TV.

[PFT]

You know, it'd be killers if Warlovsky was allowed. He sat down and just turns to the group and goes, I'm here to bring the white guy's perspective.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, Dan doing weird food. I. I would watch that for sure.

[Memes]

I would watch Stanford Steve on Inside the NBA too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yep.

[PFT]

That crew loves Stanford Steve.

[Big Cat]

Well, everyone does.

[PFT]

So there's, there's behind the scenes people that love Stanford Steve. He's hung out with them. He might have the best chance if Ernie's off. I could see them asking Van Pelt and then them liking. Because Chuck likes vamp. Everybody loves Van Pelt too. That would be. But I don't. I disagreed with Bill. Bill was like, they're going to it up and they can't. Everybody, everybody treats that show like everyone finds. I mean, you could even make an argument the show's a little overrated.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's getting. That's right there. Yeah.

[PFT]

No, just when they come on and they don't want to talk about the game and Shaq dumps on a center and then they're like, we didn't even know who this guy is. Or this game sucked. Like, the fact that they've been doing it this long. They can get away with all that stuff. When the segments are really long and then it goes into the unplanned stuff. They are better than that than everybody else. But there's a lot of stuff in that show. If you were starting it out being like, what the did those guys just do? Like, we've all accepted it. If that show launched next week and none of those guys have been in TV and they say and do some of the stuff that they do, they would be much like, much more harshly criticized.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT]

And because it's also not an ESPN show and it gets to be a TNT show. I think that gives it a bit of a bump. But look, they already.

[Big Cat]

What?

[PFT]

I mean, they almost released some sort of statement, like getting in front, in front of the whole thing by saying, we're actually not going to do what Simmons said.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, they can't.

[PFT]

Which is crazy.

[Big Cat]

They can't mess with it because the reaction will be so severe if. If it. If it changes at all. Like, it is such a beloved show, and it's hard to have a show that has that high of approval rating that if they mess with it, like, you don't bring in that show and mess with it.

[Memes]

And. And Barkley could also just say, hey, they're trying to fuck with their show on the air.

[Big Cat]

He would say it immediately. Immediately. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, you can't do that.

[PFT]

I would have a hard time believing that. Like, I mean, they're probably going to be overly sensitive to try, like, hey, what kind of lens do you guys use?

[Big Cat]

You know?

[PFT]

Like, is that desk a different color? Like, oh, like, I would be surprised if at some point you wouldn't have, like a Stephen. A going. Having to stop by or something. But people are going to be so mad about it when it happens. You better wait until, like, April roll.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Memes]

I hope if they get SVP to sit in, they make him wear the bow tie. Like, you're good. We're just going to call you Ernie.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Tonight.

[Big Cat]

Tall earning.

[Memes]

Yeah, I know.

[PFT]

It just SVP getting little brothered and he's like 57.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

All right, Ryan, you're the best. Everyone listen to Ryan Rossillo podcast. Thank you. Excited about the NBA Finals. Listen, we're going to watch, so we're going to do our part.

[PFT]

Smart. All right. But now I'm disappointed because I. I want to talk about what I was reading.

[Memes]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT]

Almost done with Chernow's latest opus, Thousand pages on Mark Twain.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow.

[Memes]

Mark Twain's a fast. You know, he was a. He was a Shakespeare truther.

[PFT]

He would have tweeted a ton.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Thousand pages on Mark Twain.

[PFT]

Yeah. Didn't know I needed it.

[Big Cat]

Can't put it down.

[PFT]

Yeah. I mean, look, it's Chernow. You gotta. As a citizen, as a legal citizen, you gotta do your part and read Cherno.

[Memes]

Yeah. So would you characterize Twain as a humorist or as a satirist?

[PFT]

Oh, satirist. Yeah.

[Memes]

Okay, good. Because definitely humorous is a word that people use for people that are trying to be funny that aren't Funny.

[PFT]

Yeah. Bummed out guy, though, man.

[Big Cat]

Mark Twain, not so happy.

[Memes]

Bummed out guy.

[Big Cat]

Bummed out guy. There's the book. You don't have to read the book now. Oh, man. All right, Ryan, you're the best.

[PFT]

Thanks, guys.

[Big Cat]

Thanks.

[Memes]

Ryan. Rosilla was brought to you by Experian. We're going to take a moment to talk about BFFs. Like my BFF over there on the couch. Hank. Hank is just such a good guy. Great guy. BFF Hank, right for life, right?

[Hank]

BFF fl.

[Memes]

BFF fl.

[Hank]

Yep.

[Memes]

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[PFT]

And now for something completely different.

[Big Cat]

Okay, we now welcome on a very, very, very special guest, very good friend, colleague from Spitting Chiclets it is Keith Yandel. Very. You want another one?

[Keith Yandle]

I'll take another.

[Big Cat]

Well, it's hard when it's recurring guests and co worker and friend and so it's like, I don't know how many. I don't know if I go very, very good friend or very, very special guest. You know what I mean?

[Keith Yandle]

I'll take both.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

I'd say great friend, even better guest.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Wow, that's huge. Yeah, I'll take, I'll take anything.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, so Stanley cup final, we're ready to go. Your Florida Panthers vs. Wits Edmonton Oilers. There it is right there. Let's start with the most important thing. I told you that you got an invite from Marlin's man to sit on the glass and you just, I think you just haha it and not replied. Is that, does that mean that you are gonna go with Marlin's man and sit on the glass?

[Keith Yandle]

Well, your text was I, Marlin's man has four seats on the glass. Yan's has one. So I thought that was already. Okay, you're done that.

[PFT]

Yeah.

[Memes]

All right.

[Big Cat]

Okay, good. So you're gonna sit with Marlin's man. Are you excited for that?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I can't wait. Never sat on the glass before, so that'll be a first. I. I plan on wearing all my clothes, unlike the last guy who's sitting on the glass that works for this company.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Keith Yandle]

So, yeah, it should be a lot of fun. I met Marlin's man at, at the, at the racetrack down at the Gulf Stream one time and obviously his shirt said Marlins man. I told him that we're very, very, very good friends and very good co workers. So, you know, I talked to him for a bit, but what a trip that guy is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I remember that. You. You FaceTimed me out of the blue and I was like, oh, yans is FaceTime me? Middle of the day? And then you just put the phone on Marlin's man. I was like, oh, man, here we go. He's locked in.

[Memes]

You gotta ask him about his cats. When you're hanging out with him, all.

[Keith Yandle]

He could talk about was your mom.

[Memes]

Oh, Jesus Christ. Marlins man.

[Big Cat]

It was crazy.

[Memes]

I'm like, man, I love the guy, but let's stay away from family here. Marlins man. Let's, let's be clear about that. Yeah, you should ask him about his cats. He's got like nine main coon cats and they're all, I think, like 50 pounds. He's got panthers living in his house.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, well, that Means that's. So he got the seats on the glass for free. Just for being that big of a loyal fan and owning that many cats. That's awesome.

[Big Cat]

All right, let's talk. Let's talk some hockey. How are you feeling? Confidence wise? Obviously, a rematch from last year goes seven. Now you got to go to Edmonton first. It feels like the Panthers are the best team, but, like, are you nervous at all that, like, this might be a storybook? Connor McDavid, kind of like Sidney Crosby, kind of like Wayne Gretzky where he loses and then wins against in the rematch type of year.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, no, I mean, everyone puts all that type of stuff out there in the Internet. They did it for, you know, the first round series against Toronto with, you know, Biz and his buddy, hockey Illuminati, making. It's just people making up ways to hopefully help their team win. But I don't see anything with it, you know, different. Different times, different players, different teams. That stuff means absolutely nothing. Obviously, it's good storylines and something to talk about, but I think when it comes down to it, it really doesn't mean anything in this Florida Panthers team. And they, they know what they're doing. They know how to play in these big games. Obviously, Edmonton back in the finals as well, but, yeah, I just, I think that Florida is too deep, too big, too mean, and, and, and they're ready to roll.

[Memes]

So if, if we're comparing it to last year, that would be a pretty fair comparison, right? Two same two teams, rematch. Which team do you think improved the most over the last 12 months?

[Keith Yandle]

Honestly, I'd probably say Florida. You know, there was a lot of talk with Edmonton getting a bit. Little bit older and a little bit slower, but, you know, those guys have helped them out a ton this year. I think, you know, Corey Perry, 40 years old, I think this is his fifth or sixth Stanley cup appearance. So I, I wouldn't even say that that's, you know, a bad thing for them getting older and slower. They, they're. They're getting a lot of help from those guys. But I think just what the, the moves that Florida made with bringing in, you know, a stud defenseman like Seth Jones and then, you know, Brad Marchand, who's probably going to be a Hall of Famer and a guy that is built for playoff hockey and built the way that Florida has been playing the last few years. So in my opinion, I would say Florida got, you know, obviously they were really good last year and won it all, but I think they got even better and Even deeper.

[Big Cat]

So from like a nerd hockey perspective, I feel like I kind of understand Florida, but maybe you can explain it better. Like, like their strength is their depth and the fact that they are able to just keep on rolling lines and forecheck the fuck out of you, and you basically never feel like you have good footing in an offensive set. Is that fair to say?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, very fair. And I don't even know if it's like a depth thing, because every team's deep and has good players and there's so many good players in the league. I think it's more like I, I give a lot of credit to Sasha Barkov. Like, like if someone on his line goes out, they can bring a guy in from the stands and he, he's going to look like he's been playing on his line all year. It just goes to show how good Barky is and, you know, just a true hockey player where he just. All he wants to do is make people around him better. He's so unselfish. Just won the Selkie, just won the leadership award as well. So just a guy that has all the hardware and, you know, has nothing to prove in this game. He's going to be a Hall of Famer. But, but I think just what he does for his line mates and the guys that are playing with him to, to help them, you know, be a better player, to help them, you know, get their success. Because he, he honestly, like, he doesn't care about himself. All he cares about is winning. And, you know, you see, I think it was two series ago, Boquist, who hadn't played at all, gets put on his line and he had two goals and like, he, he looked like he was a, you know, a first line player. So I, I think a lot of that credit should go to Barkey with how deep their team is, just because. Because they can plug anyone in with him and, and he's, he's a horse. And, and they can, they can, they can flourish with him.

[Memes]

I want to get your. Your feedback on a very important issue to us as a podcast, the handshake line. We love the handshake line, the best tradition in sports. But there was some controversy about the handshake line in the Eastern Conference finals. Can you tell us one, if we should be offended as handshake line guys? And two, should coaches be in the handshake line line?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I think you should be offended. And yes, coaches should be involved. I think. I mean, obviously I'm not a coach and Paul Maurice has done it A lot longer than, you know, 90% of the guys in the league. But I just think that, you know, maybe he's downplaying how much that coaches mean to a team, especially during playoffs. It's, you know, the hours that they're putting in, you know, the, the schemes that they're coming up with, the video that they're watching and I think they deserve to be in there. And you know, whether you're winning a series or losing a series, going through that handshake line, you know, just what it means to, you know, shake every guy's hand, look him in the eye, tell him good, either good luck or good series. I think it's one of the best traditions in hockey and it shouldn't, it shouldn't be taken away.

[Memes]

Yeah, I watch the games for the handshake line sometimes and, and to have the coaches just say, we're not a part of it, dude, you're part of it. It you part of this team. I think he was saying that, that coaches didn't used to be, but then they became part of the handshake line and now they're trying to pull that back and they're trying to say, no, we're not doing this anymore. I say the more handshakes the better.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I do like how they only do it once. Like you never hate shaking hands after a regular season game. It's kind of, it's all hate till you know that, that seven game series where guys are literally trying to kill each other and you know, to, to just show the, the amount of class that guys have of going out there shaking guys hands and, and you know what it mean. And like you guys, like fans love seeing it. You know, you see these animals going to work every single night and, and trying to kill each other and then they're just shaking hands and giving hugs and licking their wounds.

[Big Cat]

Did you ever get in a handshake line where you shook hands with someone and they're like, I don't really think they mean it. Like they're not respecting the handshake line.

[Keith Yandle]

No, not really. My most favorite one is when it was Montreal in Boston and Milan Lucik like looked every single guy in the eye. I think Montreal beat Boston. He was like basically like, I'm gonna kill you next game. Look it up. It's one of the most frightening thing because he, he was like a bonafide monster. Like he could, he could have beat up anyone and he'd scored 20, 30 goals a year. So, so I, I think that one kind of sticks out the most. But I was never a part of anywhere there was any shenanigans going on.

[Memes]

Is it usually just guys being like, go win it all?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, yeah, it usually. Yeah, it depends because at the end of the day, if you do lose to a team, it looks better if that team that beat you goes on to win the Stanley Cup. So you're probably rooting for them a little bit. But yeah, it's usually the great series. You know, during playoffs you're mostly playing against the same guys. You're matching match up, you're matched up against the same guy. So you see a lot of each other and you know, just the telling, telling a guy, great series. You know, you, you did a number on me. Those type of things that it goes a long way.

[Memes]

I'm watching this video right now of Lucha. He is just staring every guy.

[Keith Yandle]

He's like scary.

[Memes]

He's like, you're dead, you're dead. And the Canadians are just like, come on guys, let's get through this line. He's gonna start a fight out here. That guy rocks.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, he's.

[Big Cat]

Are you worried at all about Skinner starting to kind of stand on his head a little bit? Because he has. He's had weird moments in these playoffs. Obviously they started down. What was it? Oh, two. Did they start the whole playoffs? Yeah, down 02. Yeah. About the. Against the Kings, he had the, you know, buzzer beater goal with the, with the Golden Knight series. But in between that, he's been awesome and like, are like, do you. Do you feel confident that Bob is going to outplay Skinner or is there a chance that Skinner has another level to him?

[Keith Yandle]

I think it's a. This layover is good for the Panthers. I think, you know, worst case, I think I, I think they might lose first game. I think there's going to be a lot of goals. So take the over first game. Sponsored by DraftKings. But yeah, I, I think that's going to hurt them because I don't think Skinner can turn it on like Bob can. I think you got to have to be that. That different type of animal that Bob is. Where, you know, if he goes out on, on Wednesday tonight when the show's airing, he could give up six and then the next game give up none. But. So I think for Oilers fans, if Skinner does go out and lay an egg, you know, tonight, I think they could be in for a long series. But I think Bob has the mental capacity to, if he does have a bad game, to shut it off and go on to the next one.

[Big Cat]

How much does Connor McDavid scare you? Because, I mean, that's. Obviously, he's the best player in the world. Is there. Hockey's not like NBA where it's like, all right, team with the best player is going to win. It's more of a team sport. But is there a world where you're like, what if Connor McDavid just, like, plays out of his mind? And that. That could be it.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah. And it does scare me a little. I mean, obviously, he's been amazing this whole playoff series, but, I mean, this whole playoffs. But remember last year, I think he had 40 points, which is insane. And, you know, so there could be one of those series where he really just pops off and he's, you know, got 15 points by the end of this into this series. So that. That scares me a little bit because, you know, he's one of one where, you know, he's a guy that at any time can do whatever he wants on the ice. He can, you know, score goals, have, you know, make great plays. And he's got a, you know, another top five player in the league, Leon draisaitl, with him. And then. And when they put those guys together, when they're down a goal or two, it's scary as an opposing team, you know, you're going to get a lot of. A lot of shots on you, a lot of time in your D zone. But like we said earlier with the, you know, with Bob, I think he's that guy in there that kind of settles the group a little bit. And. And we talked to Sam Reinhardt yesterday, and he's, you know, they play where they're d, are up in the play, they're pinching, they're up in the offense, and, you know, they're willing to make some mistakes and give up some odd man rushes because they know they got Bob back there to, you know, to settle them down and make big saves. But, yeah, Connor does scare me a little bit, you know, just with how good of a player he is. But I think Florida has the guys that. That can control him.

[Big Cat]

All right, so play devil's advocate, because obviously you're rooting for the Panthers. What. What do the Oilers have to do to win this series?

[Keith Yandle]

Oh, man. I think. I think it has to be McDavid, the McDavid show. I think he's got to put on a clinic. I think he's, you know, earlier you said you look at the history of when Sid and Wayne and, you know, those guys passing the torch. I think for him to win this series, he's got a. He's got to be the guy all series and not have any shifts off. Because Florida is a team that doesn't take any shifts off. Their big guys play hard every single night. Even when Florida's big guys aren't scoring, like they're, they're making plays defensively, they're not giving up opportunities. So. So I really think for him, if they're going to win this, he's got to put on a show for the ages.

[Big Cat]

Do you. Is. Do you think Florida's dirty?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

I love that. I mean, they are. They. They. It feels like they get under everyone's skin and they're. Do you think, like, they'll not go, like. Well, yeah, they'll. They'll take runs at Connor McDavid in this series.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah. I mean, you look at last year, Sam Bennett and Connor McDavid grew up playing on the same team. I think they're, you know, really good friends and, you know, Bennett's punching them in the face after whistles. They're getting under his skin. And, you know, it's just when, especially in the, in the Stanley cup playoffs, like, it's, you know, they call it North Bay rules because I guess there was a prison up in North Bay that there was no rules. So they call it North Bay rules where it's just anything goes. Gotta find a way to win the game. And Florida's done a really good job of that, but also staying out of the box too, because Edmonton's a team if you get it. If you get stuck on the PK all night, you're going to be losing a lot of games.

[Memes]

Yeah. So in terms of just the style matchup between the two teams, who would you say on paper has the advantage given the brand of hockey that they play?

[Keith Yandle]

Probably say Florida. I think home ice obviously is going to help Edmonton, but Florida has been really good on the road too. So I just, I really think that the way that Florida is built to play, they're built to play in, in the playoffs. They're big, they're mean, they're fast, they're deer huge. You know, guys like Aaron, Ekblad, Mikola, like, these guys are 64 with massive, you know, wingspans that can eliminate you anywhere on the ice. And, you know, so I, I just, I really think that their D especially are just built for playoffs. Like guys like seth Jones, he's 6 4, probably 230 and just eliminates guys. So just. Yeah, I would say Florida probably Has the upper hand of the way that they're built.

[Memes]

All right, I, I want to talk Chiclets real quick because there's a storyline that came out this week. It echoes. It's very NBA actually. I know you guys don't like to hear that, but one of the stars of your show, Biz revealed that he's actually been injured throughout the entire playoffs. That he's got gout. How did Biz get gout? He looks to be in pretty good shape.

[Keith Yandle]

Well, he told us last night and I looked it up online. He's eating 20 ounces of steak a night. He's eating, he's eating. He's eating a 12 ounce steak for dinner like a normal at 7 o' clock. At TNT they treat you right. Like they got runners taking. And he's getting it from Morton's or whatever. Like, you know, they're loading it with butter and so he's. Yeah, yeah, he's getting, he's getting a 12 ounce steak at 7 o' clock and then another 8 ounce steak at, at 10 o' clock. 11. He's like, oh, I just wanna, just because he doesn't need a mashed potato with it. He thinks that he's doing the right thing, but the guy is just such a dragon. He sent a video walking through the airport the other day. It was so funny. Like, how do you eat that much steak? And like there's no, like you shouldn't eat that in a month.

[Big Cat]

Like, right.

[Memes]

Two sticks.

[Big Cat]

Mixing a chicken one time.

[Memes]

I would even say if you eat 20 ounces of steak in one steak, that's different than having two separate servings of steak.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Because your body's like, okay, I'm in steak mode. I'm gonna process the steak. Steak. But then like three hours later, his body's like, what the dude, More red meat.

[Big Cat]

He's doing an encore of steak dessert steak.

[Memes]

It's never been done.

[Keith Yandle]

His body's trying to break down the first 12 ounces as the nut x is the next 8 ounces are coming in and just. Yeah, it's. He thinks because he, he only eats steak and goes for hikes that he, that he's healthy. But to get goat not drinking is so unbelievable. Like that. He's got to be the first guy in history to ever have that.

[Big Cat]

That's incredible.

[Memes]

This is in relatively good shape. He looks like he's still skinny. Works out for him to get gout. Yeah, it's like maybe just only have one steak for dinner. That's your prescription.

[Keith Yandle]

But like Everybody else in the world maybe do it once a week, maybe twice a week. Like Morton's has chicken, Morton's has salmon. Yeah, you may have salad. You can get whatever you want want there. It's.

[Big Cat]

He.

[Keith Yandle]

I mean, you guys know him more like as much as I do. He. He's an excessive guy and whatever he's going to do, he's going all in. And he's all in on this stage.

[Big Cat]

Was it kind of a move for him to admit this before the Cup Finals? Like, this is something you got to say after the Cup Finals?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, it just goes to his inexperience. Right. Like, he's a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. They're not used to getting out of like, he's, he's used to. Yeah, yeah, he's used to, to golfing right now. So. And he said he, he threw out his L5s one, which is a running joke with our, with our group because he, he does more yoga than anyone. He stretches all day. Like, if you ever see him like during Survivor, they'd have like five minute clips of him just stretching. And it's like he does a whole.

[Big Cat]

Routine in the morning.

[Keith Yandle]

It's crazy. And he's still very unflexible. It's probably because all the red meat, realistically, he's turning into a cop. Wow.

[Big Cat]

I, I threw out a stat on PMT on Monday and I wanted your take on it because you actually were teammates with him. So this is the 45th consecutive year that a player in the Stanley cup final is a teammate of Yamir Yagur. You were a teammate of his. Was he just the best dude ever? It feels like he doesn't get talked enough about like being, you know, whatever we want to say. Top 10 player of all time also seems like the best dude. Was he just, just the best to be around?

[Keith Yandle]

I loved him. He was, he, he was literally. He was like a kid that just loved hockey. That's all. Literally all he cared about was hockey. He was at the rink, you know, say you got to be there at 9:00am he was probably there at like 6:30. And he'd go home, nap for a little bit and then come back to the rink. This is at home on the road, like where the arena is in, in Fort Lauderdale, in Sunrise. No one lives around there. Everyone lives in either. Boca, Fort Lauderdale on the ocean. And he lived within walking distance of the arena just so he could be close to the rink so he could go there every time. But he, he was such a treat, man. Like just his love for the game like to be. I think he was probably like 42 years old when I played with him and just how happy he was every day to be at the rink. I'd bring like the way he used to snack on blueberry muffins or chocolate chip muffins. And I'd get him a muffin every once in a while and he would love it. He'd eat it in the back of the bus like he was hiding something. But he was the best.

[Memes]

He also had some great mullets. Did he still have the mullet when he played with you?

[Keith Yandle]

No, no, I wish. That old school mullet that he had was so good coming out of the JOFA helmet. Probably the worst helmet of all time, but he made it look good. His hair at one point was like your lane. Pft.

[Memes]

Yeah, it was long and he had an aggressive mullet. I mean he, he cut that thing off like 90 degree angle at the ears and just the waterfall in the back. That to me, that's 1980s, early 90s hockey. When I think of that, that I think of Jagger's mullet. It was beautiful.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

YouTube Some of the videos of him. Like when he first came over to play for Pittsburgh, like his first. I think one of the first things he bought was like a Jean Tuxedo because he just wanted to look like North American. And like he'd drive his Porsche. He used to get, he told me he got some crazy speeding tickets of just, you know, he was just a young stud in the NHL. Just he was the best in. And he, he, he deserves a lot of credit for how good Barkov is because Barkov kind of gravitated towards him. And then, you know, those guys would just go, go to the rink all day and put in work. And I think that the work ethic that Barky has a lot comes from yogs.

[Memes]

Yeah, I, I had a dumb thought the other day when I was watching hockey. Do we underestimate how athletic the referees are in hockey?

[Keith Yandle]

So I was telling my buddies the other day, like, down here in Florida, people don't know a ton about hockey, but the linesman, the guys who are breaking up the fights and calling out like they're the strongest guys on the ice. Like, those guys grab you and it's like, oh man, it's like your dad grabbing you when you're a kid. It's scary. Like they're big. They're all, probably all the linesmen are probably six, three, six, like say six two to six, four and massive men. The, the refs Are a little smaller but very athletic. You know, skating without a stick is like for me, if I'm skating without a stick, you feel naked, like you don't know what to do. And the way that they skate around the ice and you know, with four of them on the ice now too, there's not a lot of room for them to move. They're always in a good position. Yeah, the refs don't get a lot of love, so, you know, you got to give them. And then you see one of the chickarooney took a stick to the eye. Yeah, he'll be doing the finals. He's one of the best in the, in the game. You know, comes back a week early. I texted him him a day or two, he's like, I'll be back. I'll be back. Like these, these guys take it serious, man. They, they, they love the game just as much as the players do. They take a lot of pride in what they do. And you know, hopefully that gets Florida some good calls this year.

[Memes]

And they don't come off the ice. That's crazy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Like we always say, like David, he comes off the ice all the time.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, yeah. Even go public skating for 60 minutes straight or even, you know, 20 minutes. They get arrest that at in between the periods. But if you're standing up the whole time, like you're like, I don't know how goalies do it. I would take a knee every single time out if I was a goalie down the other end. I don't know how they stand that long. They're, they're just well oiled machines. All the refs and goalies.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, last question. Roback question. Rhobac.com promo code, take 20 off your first purchase. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Great Father's day stuff at Roback. Use promo code. Take 20 off. All right, give us. You have Panthers. How many games?

[Keith Yandle]

I think it's going to go six. I think they steal one on the road early and take care of business at home and then, you know, win it at home. I think winning at home, game six would be huge. You know, a lot of that comes from I don't want to go to Edmonton for Game 7. I think we'd have to go for that. So I'm really, really playing, praying it's in game six.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Do you have a marriage bet with, with Whitney, A mayor's bet? Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

No, we actually should. You guys got any ideas?

[Memes]

Let's see. You could give him some what's big in South Florida? 2C.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you give him some 2C. And then if the Panthers win, he has to just tweet, Connor McDavid is a fraud.

[PFT]

Ooh.

[Keith Yandle]

He would never do that.

[Big Cat]

He would never do that. He might kill me by the end of this series.

[PFT]

I know.

[Keith Yandle]

I honestly think. I, I think he wants you dead at some point, like, if you're in. I don't know. I don't know if you bet on them or not.

[Big Cat]

I didn't.

[Memes]

I'm going to put some major money on the Oilers.

[Big Cat]

I told him. So I, I, I figured it out. Like, I was obviously busting his balls because we were texting about the Dallas series, and he's like, you're rooting for Dallas? I was like, no, dude, I'm. I'm rooting for the Oilers because I want them to lose in the final. And so. And he, like. I was like, I might even just bet on him. And he got very mad at me. I was like, you know what? But I think this is actually where the line is. Like, I'm not going to bet on them because he. It might actually break up our friendship. So I'll, I'll go up to that line, but I'm not going to bet on the orders. I'm going to watch as a fan. I'm going to bet over in game one. But, yeah, he's, he might just take out all his anger on me.

[Memes]

Me and Big Cat. This is exclusive. We have been named to be fan ambassadors for the Edmonton Oilers.

[Keith Yandle]

Wow.

[Memes]

Yeah. Which is huge. So now we're basically out. I'm pretty much part of the team.

[Keith Yandle]

That's huge. You guys should go to the Moss pit.

[Big Cat]

We know what the Moss. Oh, yeah.

[Memes]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

I'll tell the listeners. You tell the listeners it's a, you know, it's a pit outside of their arena with a statue of Joey Moss, who was a guy that worked the visitors room for a long time. He had down syndrome. He was the best guy, like, ever. And I, I believe Wayne was the one who had him there. So he was there forever, and he passed away. But they have, you know, a section outside of the arena where fans can watch the game all together. And, you know, it's a gong show out there. And then even if they win, win or lose, they're fighting after the game. They just get into these absolute scraps. There'll be two guys In a Conor McDur, Connor McDavid jersey just blasting each other. It's so good. And, you know, at the end of the day, like up. Good game. They can see you later.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Unless they're coaches. But it's. Yeah, it's amazing. But yeah, that's awesome. You guys are ambassadors. The only. Didn't Dave.

[Big Cat]

Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

So. So here's my. If it does go to seven, he's going to be rooting for Florida.

[PFT]

Right.

[Keith Yandle]

Because he won't give. He'll be so pissed.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

So that's kind of the only reason I hope it goes to seven. So he can get all over wit for that and, and, and being wits here. But what's a good fan? He's a.

[Big Cat]

He is.

[Keith Yandle]

He's a really good. And he played for the team. That was my only gripe with Biz with Toronto. Like, he never. He never played for the team. He never even played against them, never.

[Big Cat]

Mind played for you and Whit. Also, like, he's been riding. Like, I, I know this is gonna sound really silly, but if like the, the puck drop for the eastern time zone in the playoffs is so late and he's just, just like he said it to us. Like, he just doesn't sleep during. During the playoffs because. But he's there. He's doing spaces in between periods. He's. He's as die hard as it gets. So. Yeah, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna push it too far and bet on the Oilers, but I am gonna be. I'm gonna be watching and. And I'm gonna be having fun. I'm gonna have fun. I'm gonna watch as a fan.

[Keith Yandle]

Hell yeah. You should come down to Florida for a game.

[Big Cat]

No. Well, Marlin's, man, you got your.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Your seats.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. So. Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Pft's mom.

[Memes]

No, she's not going down there. The seats are for his cats.

[Big Cat]

He.

[Memes]

He owns cats, but he rents.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. Yan's, you're the best. Everyone tuning to Spit and Chiclets. All Stanley Cup Final. They'll have awesome. They do. They're doing live shows, they're doing streams, they're doing everything. So tune in and we'll see you.

[Keith Yandle]

See you, boys. Thank you.

[Memes]

Keith Yandel was brought to you by State Farm. That's right. In basketball, the great players don't just go it alone. They have teammates, coaches, and a solid support system behind them. It's kind of like insurance because let's face it, a lot of us probably aren't great at doing that alone either. That's where State Farm comes in. State Farm is a teammate. Always ready to assist, help find the coverage that you need and help you recover from the unexpected. From vendor benders to storm damage or even just a question about your policy, State Farm is there to help provide an assist when you need it through the State Farm Mobile app, a network of 19,000 local agents and [e-mail] so don't just go it alone. When you need help protecting what matters most, State Farm is there. State Farm with the assist. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. And Yan's was also brought to you by Part of My Cheesesteak Breaking mo.

[Big Cat]

Breaking mo.

[Memes]

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[Big Cat]

Cheesesteak.Com okay, Hank, FAQ time. Let's do it.

[Hank]

With Mount Rushmore season upon us, will the teams be the same this year? Will there be any twists? Love you guys. Thanks for providing content that helps AWS get through our lives and distract us from hard times.

[Big Cat]

Oh, appreciate that.

[Memes]

Good question. We were just talking about this.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we're. We're thinking through some things. We, I think we have a. Should we just say the idea? Because it doesn't matter. It won't ruin anything.

[Memes]

Yeah. First, I think. I think Zach might be involved.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Zach might be involved. So there's six of us. So I think we're gonna do teams of two, three teams of two. And what we're gonna do for a PMTV episode, we're all gonna sit in the conference room and do a Mount Rushmore draft that then we put out the poll and then we'll just. Whoever finishes first will be linked up with the sixth place person and that might be how we decide the teams. But we're. I'm excited for Mount Rushmore season.

[Memes]

Zach, what do you know about Mount Rushmore season?

[Ryan Rosillo]

So I would assume Mount Rushmore being the four prominent presidents in the. The Mount Rushmore there. Yep. We're doing seasons based on such.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

This is some context clues.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And then where are we going? Back from there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

You can move your mic so that you don't. Got you.

[Ryan Rosillo]

My bad.

[Memes]

It's good. It's good figuring that out. So mount. The three operative words are Mount Rushmore. Season.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Season.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Memes]

And so you broke down Mount Rushmore and then you described what a season was.

[Hank]

Pretty good.

[Memes]

What do you think we do during Mount Rushmore season?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I would assume picking out your Mount Rushmore seasons. Not seasons regarding to, like, winter, fall, spring, anything like that. The upcoming season of play.

[Memes]

Okay, so what. What we do is close. Yeah, you're close.

[Big Cat]

I mean, really close.

[Memes]

You know what Mount Rush Rushmores. You know what seasons are. So that's a good building block.

[Big Cat]

You're on the block.

[Memes]

But what we do is during the summer, when there's no NFL, NBA or NHL going on, is we have a topic on every show and we have to submit our four best picks, like the four presidents on Mount Rushmore that fit that category. So it would be like Mount Rushmore of the best NFL head coaches of all time. And then you'd have to figure out if you were to make that Mount Rushmore whose face is. Would you put on.

[Zach]

It's oftentimes way more dumb than what, like, yellow things. Was a big one last.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Give us your four top yellow things.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Four top yellow things. Banana would be huge. The. Usually the big rafts at water parks are yellow.

[Big Cat]

Yellow.

[Memes]

That's a good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Love A good yellow raincoat.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Also love, you know, sometimes the casino yellow chips being a decent amount at a hard rock. They're like, I think, no, you're ready.

[Memes]

Might be a natural.

[Big Cat]

You might be ready.

[Memes]

What's on your Mount Rushmore of pizza toppings?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Pizza toppings. One, one. I'm probably going to go sausage, pepperoni, ham.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Olive, double olive, no vegetables.

[Keith Yandle]

Top four.

[Big Cat]

All right, all right, all right. So.

[Memes]

So we got sausage, pepperoni, ham.

[Big Cat]

Finish us off.

[Memes]

Bacon would be bacon. That's a. That's a really, really good.

[Hank]

What about all those four? That's good.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

What about Mount Rushmore green things?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Mount Rushmore green things. I'm gonna go string bean casserole.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay. Maybe not.

[Memes]

That's not bad.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh, they got the onions on top. Doesn't count my value.

[Big Cat]

No, no, it's more. Terrible pick, but yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

Oh, fair.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Super fair. Yeah, definitely. You got different green things than me. Yeah, I'm gonna go. Two would be. Xbox Three would be.

[Big Cat]

He's right on that. The green ring, greens yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The whole branding is green. Super green.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Three, I'm gonna go with a nice green pasture. Love a good field. Love good sighting of grass. And four, I'm gonna go palm tree. I love palm trees.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Money didn't make the cut. It's.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It could all rounded out.

[Keith Yandle]

Top.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Maybe top 10. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

Green jacket, St. Patrick's Day, top 15.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Green jacket, St. Patrick'S Day is a great pick. That's fantastic pick.

[Memes]

Thanks.

[Big Cat]

Okay, you're ready. You're ready. You're so ready.

[Memes]

Love you, Zach.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, love you. You. You're so ready. All right, Hank, what's the next one?

[Hank]

Hey, big cat. Pft King Hank and the guy who won't ever win the lottery ball. If you could take someone in PMT's talent, whose talent would you take? And what talent would the talent be? I know. I mean, PFT playing guitar. That would be mine.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Maybe Hank's leaping ability.

[Big Cat]

Memes is memes and ability. Like a knowledge of the Internet.

[Memes]

You know what I would say?

[Big Cat]

Pretty high up there.

[Memes]

It is. It's.

[Hank]

But it's also kind of like you have that.

[Big Cat]

That not to memes's level.

[Memes]

He might be too knowledgeable.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Memes has everything. He literally just like he.

[Hank]

That's not something.

[Big Cat]

I would take something the Internet run.

[Hank]

I would take something that I have zero of and. And. And a super edition. You have knowledge of the Internet. You would just be slightly upgrading.

[Big Cat]

So why wouldn't you take PFT's driving ability?

[Hank]

Because I'd rather. I can. I can't. That's. It's the same thing. I can drive. It would just be a slight upgrade. I'd rather go from zero to, you know, know 100.

[Memes]

Are you talking about like a car?

[Hank]

No, I would. That would be a major down.

[Memes]

For a second, I thought that's what the cat was getting. I. I would probably take Max's singing ability. People don't know that about Max. Max, he's got some pipes.

[Big Cat]

Very good singer.

[Zach]

I mean, PFT's guitar is just the answer.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it is.

[Zach]

Or maybe Fl. Or flying plane. Flying.

[Big Cat]

Simulating.

[Memes]

Yeah. You take my ability to pretend to fly a plane.

[Zach]

Correct.

[Memes]

Pretty good at that.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

Max's hot dog catching ability.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Facts last one long time. Awl. First time caller one question. Mary Kill. Joc. Whit Rosillo.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's.

[Hank]

This is so easy.

[Memes]

Okay, you go ahead.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Priscillo.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

Good looking dude. And Mary Wit. Just golf all the time. Situate, guys. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

But when you go golf and you do that to get away from your wife, right?

[Hank]

No, I'd love to. To marry a girl likes to golf. And I'd kill jfc.

[Memes]

Happily, because you could. Then I see what you're doing.

[Big Cat]

No.

[Memes]

Getting the competition out of the way.

[Big Cat]

No comment. No comment. No comment. I would peace times.

[Hank]

So what would you do?

[Big Cat]

We're in peace times.

[Memes]

I think. I think I'd probably marry jock.

[Big Cat]

This is good. Keep going. Because we'll all do different answers and get mad.

[Memes]

I think. I think I would kill Rosillo and I would. Whitney, the ears are. You could walk.

[Hank]

Earrings.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

You can hold on to those ears.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So I would marry Rosillo. What's the combo that I need to do here?

[Memes]

You would kill jlc? No, Joc. You already killed Jake.

[Zach]

You're killing Whitney, which works for this moment.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Also, you saying you'd kill Rossilo, like, sorry, dude, you're dead. Yeah, because he's gonna hear that and be like, oh, pft thinks he could take me.

[Memes]

He's gotta defeat me.

[Zach]

For the record, I said it makes sense. Because he's mad at you right now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, I want him to listen. He's coming on. He's coming on Friday. He's mad at me for fair reasons. I might have said when he claimed that I was rooting against the Oilers against the Dallas Stars, I said, actually, that's not true. I'm rooting for the Oilers to beat the Dallas Stars and then lose in tragic fashion in the Stanley Cup Final. He said that was sick, twisted, deranged, all fair. So really, actually, Whitney and I aren't in a beef. Everything he said, I agree with.

[Memes]

So you're on his side?

[Big Cat]

I'm on his side. So much so.

[Memes]

So if he hates you, then he's actually hating himself.

[Big Cat]

Right? And also hating the Oilers.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm so on his side. But, yeah, he's gonna come on after game one one for Friday. We'll hash it all out.

[Memes]

I'll be honest. Any of those three guys catches? Oh, I love them for marriage.

[Big Cat]

I mean, those are. Are those the three top guys in terms of guest appearances? Titus might be the only one other one in there.

[Hank]

I don't know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Do this all the time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we do. Whitney's number one. So Titus is two. Titus is two. But we're still has got to be up there. And so does J. O, C. I. I love all three of those guys. Love them. Not Titus. Just so we're clear. I feel like J talking about Whitney.

[Memes]

He's Been on a run.

[Big Cat]

I also love Titus. Before we do numbers. Real quick. Wait. What is it? You have it. We do this all the time. Yeah, Zach, real quick. This is. This show's going to go out on Wednesday morning. By the time the show's out, you're going to be waking up to the biggest day of your life. Do you have any predictions or thoughts about your delivery of ice cream to this office, which will take place on Wednesday?

[Ryan Rosillo]

The prediction is satisfied customers.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

For the ice cream delivery because Hank.

[Big Cat]

Took a video of you and Jacob, the other part of the cream team, being talked to by the technician, and you guys took no notes for two hours.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I didn't want to be rude and pull the phone out right in front of Mr. Eric because he was doing such a great job explaining the process of cleaning and disassembling the machine. As soon as we were done with the live demonstration, I went straight to the notes app and put some spark notes in.

[Big Cat]

Give us two notes.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I can do that. One, you're going to want to make sure that you lube the. The drive shafts, but not the hex bolt at the end.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And then also, when you put that front facial on for the drawer, you need to keep a steady hand on it so your seals don't fall because you don't want to leak.

[Big Cat]

Okay. So this guy that. What he just said, he's the one who's standing between us and listeria.

[Memes]

But I. I was very impressed. I just recalled that off the top of his head.

[Big Cat]

He's ready to go.

[Memes]

Yeah. Do you have photographic memory?

[Ryan Rosillo]

No, not close.

[Memes]

No, sir.

[Zach]

It was all film. So technically you can go back and watch tape. On what. On what the guy. The man was saying. Mr. Eric, I heard a.

[Memes]

A little rumor from Mincy that the. The toppings might not be ready for Thursday or for Wednesday. Yeah, that might get pushed back. I don't. We can't have the ice cream grand opening without the toppings.

[Big Cat]

Well, we can. I think we're gonna have. It's not the toppings because Miny did not invent how to buy like Reese's and crush them up. It's the free toppings holder that he is holding us up with. So we will. We will make do.

[Memes]

So Mincy will go out, buy the toppings, and then Mincy will crush them up.

[Big Cat]

No, I don't want him touching any of our friends food. I think Zach will do that.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The toppings have been secured. The holder we can work out. That's. That's going to be a Great display and a great way for a self service toppings. You want to fluctuate how much you want to do, but you're going to have toppings for ice cream tomorrow.

[Big Cat]

Zach, before tomorrow, I really. Tonight, you got to go OG Run the ball. Green Bay power sweep. Do the traditional McDonald's dinner. You have to have all your energy for tomorrow.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's only right. It also feels like a. It's a good call. Yeah, I agree.

[Memes]

Zach, have you tried the fries well done thing?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I did. Yeah, I did. So the other day, I meant to tell you, I did go to the small. Try the fries. Well done. I went one regular, one well done. I did enjoy the well done because they're a little hotter than the regular, so it almost felt like they came a little bit fresher. I appreciate the recommendation very much.

[Memes]

Yeah, a little life hack.

[Big Cat]

Huge.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It was.

[Memes]

It was great.

[Big Cat]

All right, good show, boys. Let's do numbers. 33.

[Memes]

That's memes.

[Big Cat]

That was memes.

[Hank]

77.

[Big Cat]

6.

[Zach]

11. 99.

[Big Cat]

Pog.

[Ryan Rosillo]

55.

[Memes]

95. Zach's also 26.

[Big Cat]

One for one on his tasks. 21. Oh, he got new headphones. Got new headphones.

[Memes]

Nice work, Memes.

[Big Cat]

What was the number you guessed on Monday?

[Memes]

Zach gets things done, I believe.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Six.

[Big Cat]

Okay, great. I have six.

[Memes]

Sec. Your 55.

[Big Cat]

71. What'd you have?

[Hank]

77.

[Big Cat]

Oh, not that close.

[Hank]

Well, the one looks like seven.

[Big Cat]

You want to do one more?

[Zach]

Yeah, let's do one more.

[Big Cat]

Let's go, boys.

[Zach]

Same numbers.

[Big Cat]

Or should I say the word again and we all.

[Zach]

Okay.

[Memes]

What. What word?

[PFT]

Three.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that was PFT. I'll go 11. Six. Come on. Three.

[Zach]

66.

[Big Cat]

74. 99. 53.

[Ryan Rosillo]

44.

[Big Cat]

21.

[Memes]

What was that number, Zach?

[Big Cat]

53.

[Memes]

53.

[Big Cat]

Memes. What was your number?

[PFT]

11.

[Big Cat]

What is it? Did I say 74? What I say.

[Memes]

Did you say 74?

[Big Cat]

This is 70. No, no, no. I said 70. Something. I actually can't remember.

[Memes]

You said 70.

[Big Cat]

This is.

[Memes]

Did you say 71?

[Big Cat]

I think I said 74. Everyone's in the booth and cannot not.

[Zach]

I said 66.

[Big Cat]

I'm pretty sure I said 70.

[Zach]

Hank, this will be the. This will be the least.

[Memes]

You said 74.

[Big Cat]

No, no, I. He said 77. Last time. I'm pretty sure I said 74. Can we. Can we. Can someone go listen back? Go. Shane, give us a ruling.

[PFT]

We're going to var.

[Big Cat]

We're going to V. We're going to var. Where you going, Hank? He's got a pee. Hank's got a pee.

[Memes]

You can't take a pee during this.

[Big Cat]

I'm going to suspend myself for one lottery ball. If I'm wrong, that's that.

[Zach]

You got it?

[Big Cat]

I think I said 74.

[Zach]

You got to know your number.

[Big Cat]

I know. There's so many numbers, but you.

[Zach]

You just have to remember the one that you said.

[Memes]

No, but this is fair. If he. He's saying that, maybe I will defend myself, but then there's a punishment if you get it wrong.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Zach]

What happens to memes if the if.

[Big Cat]

Well, I mean, I've already gotten it.

[Memes]

I know, but could anything worse happen to him?

[Zach]

Yeah, I really. I. I want. I need Zach to get it back bad.

[Big Cat]

Oh, so bad.

[Memes]

That's what I'm rooting for.

[Zach]

Yeah, Zach.

[Big Cat]

It's not hard.

[Zach]

How about Zach gets your number?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I think memes is coming soon. Three's gonna hit.

[Big Cat]

No, no, no, no, no, no. Zach. All right. That was the first mistake you've made.

[Memes]

It's also kind of patronizing, which I appreciate.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Was that a patronizing. You think means he's gonna get it?

[Ryan Rosillo]

No, I think statistically, if you keep riding three, it's gonna hit.

[Big Cat]

You'd think so.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Let's go, 74. In your face, memes.

[Memes]

Congrats.

[PFT]

Big cat bar.

[Big Cat]

Comes through Memes. Look at me. Do you see how easy it is, dude?

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

It's all Shane's fault.

[Big Cat]

Why is it Shane's fault?

[Memes]

He's copying everybody's glasses.

[Big Cat]

Wait, what? We got a glass. Do we have a controversy in the booth?

[Zach]

Meme just did, like, five Shane insults in a row.

[Big Cat]

I like this, like, so many. We have so many dudes. Dudes in a booth right now.

[Keith Yandle]

So many.

[Big Cat]

Five dudes in a booth.

[Memes]

Zach, are you Italian?

[Zach]

There's six, by the way.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Not super sure on lineage.

[Big Cat]

I didn't even see wiper back. Count it. 74 memes, dude. Isn't it crazy that he can't get this? What are you pointing at? It's so easy.

[Hank]

I'm pointing at you.

[Zach]

Yeah, Hank got it.

[Hank]

I was pointing it.

[Big Cat]

Not only that, but I just got the first ever var. Nobody's got it. What?

[Memes]

Big Cat got it.

[Big Cat]

Nobody else has gotten it.

[Hank]

I've gotten it, like, five times.

[Big Cat]

You guys are just living in the past. That was, like, my third time, and I just did. I also just got first ever. Nobody else has gotten it in the past.

[Hank]

I've gotten in the past.

[Zach]

Got in the past. Everyone has gotten it.

[Memes]

I've got a couple times.

[Big Cat]

This is like the Super Bowl. All over again.

[Memes]

That was so far ago. I got a couple times.

[Big Cat]

I literally got it. Two. Two. Congrats. You. Nobody else has gotten it.

[Zach]

Hank, did you Also not true.

[Big Cat]

In the past five minutes, did you.

[Memes]

Know that Shane's stealing people's glasses?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. We got a problem copying.

[Memes]

Pft.

[Zach]

Have you gotten the lottery ball?

[Memes]

I've gotten it twice.

[Zach]

Oh, okay, good.

[Big Cat]

Look at all our boys with their headphones on and glasses.

[Hank]

I don't know.

[Big Cat]

We got five head. He's just copying.

[Memes]

It's blue light.

[Big Cat]

Oh, those are.

[Hank]

Yeah. Actually yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You know what, Shane? That's up. That you. You would. You would buy glasses. They. They. I can't believe they made more than one pair of those glasses. That was a joke in your defense, Shane. Yeah.

[Memes]

Oh, thank you.

[Big Cat]

All right.

[Memes]

Love you guys.

[Big Cat]

Love me too. Sa Sam. Sa.