NFL Draft Rapid Reaction, Jon Gruden In Studio, Justin Thomas Off His Big Win Sunday + NBA/NHL Playoffs And Fyre Fest

Summary

Pardon My Take: NFL Draft Rapid Reaction, Jon Gruden In Studio, Justin Thomas Off His Big Win Sunday + NBA/NHL Playoffs And Fyre Fest

Release Date: April 25, 2025

Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter

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1. NFL Draft Round 1 Recap

[00:56]

Big Cat kicks off the episode by diving into the highlights of the 2025 NFL Draft Round 1. The discussion centers around the significant trades, standout picks, and team strategies that shaped the draft night.

• Jacksonville Jaguars Trade Analysis: The Jaguars made headlines by trading up to select Travis Hunter, a move that many commentators described as "fleecing" due to the high draft capital they sacrificed. PFT Commenter remarks, "Fleeced. There was a quote after."

• Notable Draft Picks:

  • Cam Ward: Selected at number one, anticipated to be a cornerstone for the Jaguars.
  • Abdul Carter to the Giants: Appreciated for his offensive potential, with Big Cat stating, "Abdul Carter goes to Giants. Love that pick."
  • Amari and Hampton to the Chargers: Although expected to bolster the running game, Big Cat expresses surprise, "I thought they would take two or three receivers and help this guy throw the rock."

• Team Strategies:

  • Cleveland Browns: Opted for a rebuilding approach by acquiring multiple draft picks, positioning themselves for future success despite current struggles.
  • Atlanta Falcons: Aggressively targeted edge rushers, trading back into the first round to secure players like Jalen Walker and James Pierce.

Notable Quote:

"Genius. His first draft, the quote was, there are players you can target and acquire who will alter the trajectory of a football team. There are very few and it's rare to be able to target and prioritize a player who can alter the sport itself."
— Jon Gruden [05:52]

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2. In-Studio Discussion with Coach Jon Gruden

[23:03]

Jon Gruden joins the studio to provide expert insights into the draft proceedings and evaluate team performances.

• Draft Grading Philosophy: Gruden emphasizes the importance of evaluating draft picks over a longer period, stating, "I'd like to take the draft grades and go back on them after a year or two."

• Team Evaluations:

  • New York Giants: Commended for strategic picks like Abdullah Carter and their selection of Jackson Dart, which Gruden believes could "change the dynamic of their team."
  • Jacksonville Jaguars: Gruden is skeptical about their immediate star impact, noting Trevor Lawrence's underwhelming performance and questioning the utility of Travis Hunter playing both offense and defense.
  • Pittsburgh Steelers: Praised for their defensive selections but expressed confusion over not addressing quarterback needs.

• Draft Process Insights: Gruden discusses the professionalism of General Managers during the draft, highlighting their adherence to valuing players based on comprehensive charts and professional standards.

Notable Quote:

"Malachi Starks, he comes in my office, you know, he's a badass. He has this presence about him. He's a great communicator. He's big, strong, experienced. He's just a clutch game-changing player."
— Jon Gruden [34:41]

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3. NBA and NHL Playoffs Recap

[48:17]

Transitioning from football to basketball and hockey, Big Cat and PFT Commenter provide a comprehensive review of the ongoing NBA and NHL playoffs.

• NBA Playoffs Highlights:

  • Memorable Performances: The hosts discuss standout player performances, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and the impact of injuries like John Morant's.
  • Controversial Moments: Highlighted instances include Lou Dort's questionable plays and fan interactions, leading to debates about sportsmanship and player conduct.
  • Betting Insights: Recommendations are shared for DraftKings bets on first basket scorers, with suggestions like Derek White and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

• NHL Playoffs Insights:

  • Team Performances: The conversation covers the dominance of teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the resilience of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  • Player Highlights: Logan Thompson's impressive goaltending and Connor McMichael's stellar play are noted.
  • Controversial Calls: The hosts dissect critical game moments, including clock operator errors and their implications on game outcomes.

Notable Quote:

"The draft, baby. I love the draft."
— PFT Commenter [03:41]

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4. Interview with Justin Thomas

[87:58]

Justin Thomas, fresh off his victory at the RBC Heritage, joins Big Cat and PFT Commenter to discuss his recent win, career experiences, and personal anecdotes.

• Journey to Victory: Justin reflects on the challenges leading up to his win, including periods of self-doubt and the importance of perseverance. He shares, "It's been a while. I can't believe it was three years. I feel like the first year felt like it was forever."

• Mental Preparation: The conversation delves into Justin's mental game, emphasizing patience and allowing success to happen naturally rather than forcing outcomes. "I just feel I'm trying to be more patient and let it happen."

• Caddying Insights: Justin discusses his relationship with his caddie, Joe, and the importance of support during tournaments. He recounts interactions meant to maintain their professional relationship without overstepping.

• Personal Stories: Justin shares humorous and candid moments from his career, including experiences with fellow golfers like Patrick Cantlay and challenges faced during pivotal matches.

Notable Quote:

"If I was still coaching, they wouldn't be bused. But I just like being an automatic qualifier and being a part of those conversations of who the picks are a lot more."
— Jon Gruden [27:15]

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5. Playoff Games and Player Performances

[48:17] - [143:54]

The hosts continue their dynamic conversation, intertwining discussions about ongoing playoff games, player performances, and personal anecdotes.

• Basketball Game Analyses:

  • The Knicks vs. Pistons game is dissected, focusing on clock management errors and player injuries affecting game outcomes. Memes highlights, "Jalen Brown was great. He was awesome."

• Hockey Game Highlights:

  • The conversation shifts to NHL games, discussing defensive strategies, goaltender performances, and the physicality of playoff hockey. "Logan Thompson stood on his head for about two periods last night."

• Personal Stories and Humor:

  • The hosts share personal experiences related to sports injuries, humorous mishaps during games, and the challenges of balancing athletic performance with personal life. Memes recounts, "I played in my first softball game last night. We lost, unfortunately."

Notable Quote:

"What you talk is easy to say, but uhm, how the draft works is. You know."
— Jon Gruden [26:11]

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Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Big Cat and PFT Commenter offer a blend of expert analysis, humorous banter, and personal insights into the world of sports. Their in-depth discussion with Jon Gruden provides valuable perspectives on the NFL Draft, while the coverage of the NBA and NHL playoffs keeps listeners engaged with current sports narratives. The interview with Justin Thomas adds a personal touch, showcasing the resilience and dedication required to succeed at the highest levels of golf.

Final Notable Quote:

"We are live right now, so. Or not live, but we're taping, so sit right down. We're not going to keep you long. It's late."
— Big Cat [23:03]

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Note: Advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content segments have been excluded as per the summary guidelines.

Transcript

[Big Cat]

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

[PFT Commenter]

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[Big Cat]

On today's part of my take it is the 2025 NFL Draft Round 1 recap. We're talking football and we got coach Jon Gruden who's going to join us about 10 minutes into the show to break down what he saw. We're going to then talk some NBA and NHL playoffs. We have Justin Thomas fresh off his win at the RBC Heritage joining us. And then we are going to finish off with Fyre Fest of the Week and it's all brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. The NBA 82 game grind is done and now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs are here and it's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments and jaw dropping plays. If you're looking to make the playoffs Even more exciting, DraftKings sportsbook has you covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA. From the playing games all the way through to the finals, now's the time to back your favorite plays, players and teams as they chase glory. All season long, DraftKings has been the go to spot for NBA player props. And that doesn't stop now. Want to make your playoff experience even more intense? Try placing a bet on your favorite player's performance. Will they drop 30 points? 40 or more? It's your call. Ready to place your first bet? Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Now lock in your bets and let's make this playoff run unforgettable. Here's something special for first timers New DraftKings customers bet $5. Get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Make it a playoff run. To remember with DraftKings, download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use code TAKE. That's code TAKE. For new customers to get $200 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.

[Coach Gruden]

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[Big Cat]

Void.

[Coach Gruden]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, let's go. Hey, football guy. Patino Award and Mite. Yeah. Martin Mite.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Welcome to part of my take, presented by DraftKings. Make it a playoff run. To remember with DraftKings, download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use code TAKE. That's code TAKE. For new customers, get 200 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours. Today is Friday, April 25, and football is back. So back.

[PFT Commenter]

The draft, baby. I love the draft.

[Big Cat]

Nothing like the draft.

[PFT Commenter]

Although the draft is way more fun when your team sucks ass.

[Big Cat]

All right, I see what you're doing here. That. That's. I would rather the team be good.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, for sure.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But it is the. It is the truth.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. The end of the draft. Crazy draft. I don't really know. I mean, the Jaguars trade was crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

That was a pretty nuts trade. Fleeced. Fleeced. I saw some of the different draft conversion charts. Some people were saying it was an all time fleecing.

[Big Cat]

So the Jaguar. So. All right, so let's set the stage. First, Roger Goodell came out in a B. That was weird. I know. Under. I understand. Obviously, it's the packers tradition, but it was just weird seeing Roger Goodell on a bike.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, you know why they do that in Wisconsin, right? Because the entire State has DUI's.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, that too. Yes. Good joke. I like that. I like that. They do lead the league for sure. But they came out. And then Clay Matthews, fcc, pleads arrest this man. I don't. I also think he lied. I don't think Donald Trump. He said the Bears still suck. And he said that Donald Trump sent him A message saying that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Which would be. Clay, you're doing fake news.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Right.

[PFT Commenter]

What's Clay? Clay Matthews is now leading the league and doing the anonymous fake sources.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That Mr. President hates so very deeply. He should take away Clay's Clay Matthews FCC license.

[Big Cat]

Can you arrest someone for misquoting the President?

[PFT Commenter]

Send Clay Matthews to El Salvador.

[Big Cat]

Agreed. That was bullshit. And also, let's just say, let's just call a spade a spade. He has the entire NFL world watching him and all he's thinking about is the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

That is a big rent free moment for you.

[Big Cat]

Big time. Rent free. Big time. Rent free. So, yeah, the draft started. Cam Ward obviously goes one. We all knew it was going to happen. And then the fireworks start. Or, sorry, explosives. Explosives. Pew, pew. Shefty promised us explosives. The Jaguars gave up pick number five overall, 26, 126 and. Or, sorry, it was 36. 126. In a 2026 first round pick to go up to two to get Travis Hunter. The Browns gave up number two overall, 104 and 200 fleeced.

[PFT Commenter]

Fleeced. There was a quote after. After the pick was made from the new GM of the Jaguars, Gladstone. I've got it right here.

[Big Cat]

Genius, boy.

[PFT Commenter]

Genius. His first draft, the quote was, there are players you can target and acquire who will alter the trajectory of a game. There are players that you can target and acquire that alter the trajectory of a football team. There are very few and it's rare to be able to target and prioritize a player who can alter the sport itself.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

This is.

[Big Cat]

Sounds like showing.

[PFT Commenter]

This is a sport changing player. The game will never be the same.

[Big Cat]

It will never be the same. If you're a Jaguars fan, I think you're. We were talking out with Chaps. I think Chaps had the good idea. You play Travis Hunter as a wide receiver exclusively this year, and then next year you start having him play both sides of the ball and you're like, that was our 2026 first round pick. Travis Hunter, the cornerback. That's the way you do it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I don't hate that. Also, if. If Trevor Lawrence throws an interception, you've got a wide receiver that's really good at tackling.

[Big Cat]

That's true.

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe force a fumble.

[Big Cat]

That's true.

[PFT Commenter]

Turn a turnover into a turnover.

[Big Cat]

I love what the Browns did, though, because the Browns getting more draft picks, they. They are in, you know, purgatory right now. Or they're in hell with Deshaun Watson. They know they're not going to be good next year. Load up some draft picks and still get a stud with Mason Graham, which is a little awkward because Mason Graham is the one who called Jack Sawyer a pussy in the Ohio State Michigan game. So a lot of Browns fans are going to have. They've probably said some choice words about Mason Graham. And now you have a defensive tackle you're hoping is going to be on the Browns for the next 10 years.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, so if I was the Browns, would it be crazy to. Because you got picks now in the second round, you can start the rebuilding process. Flacco might not be bad enough for you to get a top pick next year.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

If he's your answer at quarterback.

[Big Cat]

It could still take Shador.

[PFT Commenter]

They could. That's what I'm going. Going with here in the second round. Use one of these picks. Get Shador. Shador is going to be extra pissed at the Steelers.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, good point.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Also Shador. That was a tough, tough draft party.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

Well, tough draft party. At least Gilly was there. Gilly. Gilly is an all time vibes guy.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So for. For the Jaguars, I was just thinking with their new gm, it. It feels like a picture perfect moment. Like you're a Jags fan. You can almost fast forward five years from now and hear the press conference. And I've heard a bunch of them in, in my career as a football fan where they're like, what. What have you learned on the job since coming in? Well, when I came in, I thought, I thought I had all the answers. I thought I had to make a big splash right away. And I learned that you don't always have to make the big move to succeed. Yeah, you can, you can hear that press conference happening.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

As he's, as this young GM is maturing into his role.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. He's like, sometimes you gotta. You gotta wait and see and maybe not, you know, get over your skis and trade the entire draft capital of the future. Although that's a first rounder next year. A lot of picks this year.

[PFT Commenter]

Travis Hunter is really, really, really good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, obviously really, really good. I just think that if you're. The Jags are more going for it right now, whereas the Browns. I just like the fact that the Browns had the wherewithal to be like, hey, we're not. We're not a Travis Hunter away from being good again. We're a lot of picks away from being good again. And Mason Graham is going to. I mean, Mason Graham's going to be a problem with Miles Garrett. And I like Mason Graham a lot. I Think he's going to be awesome. I just like what the Browns did. Credit to the Browns. Also, Travis Hunter. There was a lot of people making the joke. Like you spent six months thinking you were going to go to Cleveland, then you went to Florida. I don't even know if that joke plays as much because Jacksonville.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, it's the classic Florida or Ohio bit.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, exactly.

[PFT Commenter]

But j. Yeah. At least the weather.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, the weather. Abdul Carter goes to Giants. Love that pick. I think he's gonna be a beast. Hank. Will Campbell. Yep.

[Memes]

Happy, fired up. Yeah, he was crying. Said he's gonna die for Drake May. Oh, I love it.

[PFT Commenter]

Short arms.

[Big Cat]

That'd be bad if he died.

[Memes]

Obviously it'd be very bad if he died, but right when you draft someone this high dying.

[PFT Commenter]

Can I tell you why you should love this pick, Hank?

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

All right. So Vrabel. Vrabel himself took a hands on approach with this draft pick to the point where I think they got into a fight. I think Vrabel and Will Campbell fought each other on the practice field. Vrael went out there, put the pads on, played with him. Vrabel says if that tape. He said if that tape ever gets out, people are going to have some problems. It was important to me to get out there and feel him and feel every player we evaluated on the line of scrimmage.

[Big Cat]

That's pretty good. I would die for Vrael. That's pretty good, Hank.

[Memes]

I love this.

[PFT Commenter]

Per Mike Vrabel, Will Campbell is the best feeling player in the NFL draft.

[Big Cat]

I mean, I. I do like Mike Rabel being like, I have to. I have to feel my scouts. I need to feel this man to really know what I got.

[PFT Commenter]

I love it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And Memes was being very mean. Very mean.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, he made some. Some Photoshops of short arms.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Well, no, he's. The Photoshops were out there. He was repurposing them. Some would say stealing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But Memes would say re. Repurposing them. But he was mostly saying that. Hank. Congratulations, Hank. You got the second best O lineman in the draft.

[Big Cat]

Well, I said that to you.

[PFT Commenter]

You said that to me later. But then once that to me.

[Big Cat]

Who's the best O lineman in the draft? Memes. Our guy. And what did you want to say? His name. Memboo. I can't pronounce. Okay. Armand. Yeah. You can't pronounce Armand or you didn't know it? No, no, I knew it was. It was Armand. I. I don't know names. Bad with names.

[PFT Commenter]

But yeah, memes are saying essentially that. That the jets got a much better offensive lineman than the Patriots got, like, right off the bat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's why they play the games. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But you didn't get the best feeling offensive lineman in the draft.

[Big Cat]

I've never felt them, so I don't know. Yeah. The explosives also were a reverse explosive with Ash and Genti going to the Raiders, which everyone thought was going to happen for like three months. And then the last couple weeks, everyone's like, that's not what's gonna happen. And then he ends up going to the Raiders, including Pete Carroll, giving Twitter clues that I still think he was just with everyone.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's what he did the first time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then he's like, yeah, I'll just get online. Around.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, around. But. So I spent the. Pretty much the off season being like, I don't want a running back going to the Bears. And then the last week I was like, it's going to be Ash and Genti, and I love this guy. I would have voted for him for Heisman. And then I ended up. And then the Raiders take him. And I was mad at myself and I was like, wait a second. Your initial feeling was to not overextend to get a running back? What are you doing? That's just how the draft works. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what it is, is like you had, I think, the right plan. And then the closer you get to the draft, you just keep saying the words generational talent for yourself over and over and over again. By the way, the draft comps were all time funny tonight.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you see, like, I think Cam Ward, they compared him, Patrick Mahomes as his draft comp. With Genti, it was Emmett Smith as his draft comp. Pretty high bar that they're setting there.

[Big Cat]

Yep. Those are. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But also credit to us, the NFL talent scouts, all the GMs, 32 GMS out there, big cat Travis Hunter finished ahead of Ashton Jint.

[Big Cat]

That's true. That's true. And now I can stop saying that. I. If I had a Heisman vote, I would have voted for Ashton Genti.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

So that's nice. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But he. I think he's going to be a great running back.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he's going to be awesome.

[PFT Commenter]

They didn't really have much of a running game last year, so they needed it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And then we had Ted McMillan going to the Panthers, which. I don't know if it was shock. I mean, he was one of those guys that it felt like some people loved him, some people hated him and Kelvin Banks going to the Saints and then the Bears getting Colson Loveland, which I. So I don't know. Shit. I'm just going to go off of what I've read and I'm just going to read you a couple things I've read. This is from Eric Galco. He said new Bears tight end Colson Loveland was our number two player in the entire draft class excluding all QBs after Hunter. So he was number two behind Travis Hunter. He's just a notch below Brock Bowers as a prospect and he finished the second highest graded tight end I've ever graded.

[PFT Commenter]

I do think from. From the limited amount just on Twitter, I think that like Brock Bauer has obviously had a great season catching the football.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And doing everything for the Raiders offense last year. Loveland, from what I've seen, is better when he's in line.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And so Ben Johnson loves to use two tight ends.

[Big Cat]

He said that he reminded him of Sam Laporta. Colson Loveland said that Sam LaPorta is his favorite tight end to watch. Also, here's another one from Angelo Fantasy. That's just like a guy in Philly dreaming of cheesesteaks. Angelo Fantasy said loveland was my TE1 this year. Shows advanced manipulative qualities at the stem. Specifically when tasked with timing based patterns reminiscent of Trey McBride as a prospect as well as stylistically.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you say manipulative patterns at the stem?

[Big Cat]

The manipulative qualities at the stem.

[PFT Commenter]

That's the one thing that I look for when I'm watching.

[Big Cat]

That's all I wanted.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Just find me a guy who's got manipulative qualities at the stem.

[PFT Commenter]

Just manipulate my stem daddy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So, yeah, I don't. I. I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I think he's going to be good, but who the fuck knows? So I want him to be good.

[PFT Commenter]

Are you happy with Cole commit?

[Big Cat]

So that's going to be the interesting thing. I don't. I am happy with Cole commit. But I don't know what the plan is going to be because I feel.

[PFT Commenter]

Like Cole Comet's a good player.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No.

[PFT Commenter]

When they remember that he's on the field.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I like Cole Comet. I don't know if the Bears, I think they're going to go with these two tight ends, but they might. Cole Comet's got one year left on his deal either way. I like Colson Loveland just because I read a bunch of people saying he's incredible. And I was like, yeah. And also did you see the big game hunting he had on his wall? No.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you have?

[Big Cat]

Oh, my God. He had like the biggest elk and deer heads that I've ever seen. He grew up on a farm.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

He. It said that he would wake up like on Saturdays, he'd wake up at 6:00am to, to. What is it, what is it called when you do the thing with the cow serum?

[PFT Commenter]

No, brand.

[Big Cat]

Brand him. He'd brand cows, take a nap, go play football.

[PFT Commenter]

You understand why when you're going like this and you're talking about a cow, I thought.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Okay.

[Big Cat]

Although that would be more like this.

[PFT Commenter]

That's. That's jacking off the bull.

[Big Cat]

No, but this would be. This would be milking. This is kind of a reverse. This is. This is more otph. Yeah. This is more inseminating them.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that's inseminating your own chest.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Well, no, I'm going this way.

[PFT Commenter]

So you're standing behind the cow.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm Brandon.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

So you're.

[PFT Commenter]

So he used to wake up in the morning, brand cows, then play football.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I love the guy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Great pick.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

With Ted McMillan. The Only Thing I know for sure about this pick is we're going to get some fire. Fire. Side by side photos of Bryce Young and Ted.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Because what is he, six, five, six, six?

[Big Cat]

Little, little Aaron Judge Jose Altu.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's the new one just dropped.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Kelvin Banks. Also, his baby threw up on itself.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I saw that. I think party.

[PFT Commenter]

Was that his baby?

[Big Cat]

I don't know. It was a baby.

[PFT Commenter]

There was a baby in the room next to him. That, that got jostled a little bit in all the excitement and then the baby just puked everywhere. And that's all of our first experiences with New Orleans.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Tyler Warren going to the Colts. I feel like everyone thought as soon as the Bears took Colson Love and I was like, he's gonna. Tyler Warren's gonna be a cult. Any other. I mean, we. We don't know. We're going to have Gruden sit in with us in a second. Oh, bothered me a little that the packers took Matthew golden after McShay told me, told us that he's his number one receiver. I also. The Giants getting Jackson Dart, trading back up for Jackson Dart. So that's their QB of the future. Shout out. Joe Shane's son putting on Instagram reels. Jackson Dart hype tape, like earlier this morning kind of telegraphed that one.

[PFT Commenter]

The Falcons took a player from Georgia for the first time in, like, 50 years.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

So I know Jaylen Walker. The fan base kind of fell. They really wanted somebody from Georgia.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Anyone from Georgia will be happy with that. And then they trade back up and get the guy from Tennessee.

[Big Cat]

So that was a. That felt like a lot. They gave up. I mean, it doesn't matter if James Pierce is really good, and I think there's a chance that he could be. You know, some people were saying that he's has the highest ceiling, maybe some character issues, but that was. That felt like a lot to trade.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And then, unfortunately, we had Chadur falling and Dion in the. Great. I don't know if that's a green room. It's just kind of a warehouse.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It's their party.

[PFT Commenter]

It was like a rave.

[Big Cat]

It was his house, I think.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, so they were not in Green Bay?

[Big Cat]

No, they were not.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So they were just at a party, and Shador did not get picked. I think that Dion's gonna be so mad. He's gonna start his own league. He's gonna go home. So I'd be like, you know, what if they don't want you? Them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The dfl it.

[Big Cat]

I. I'll say this. Thanks for making the second round interesting.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Like that. That is an interesting thing. What's going to happen on Friday?

[PFT Commenter]

It'll probably happen. My guess would be early on.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you'd hope. Also, the Ravens crushed their draft with Malachi Starks.

[PFT Commenter]

Malachi Starks is a beast.

[Big Cat]

He's going to be so good for the Ravens.

[PFT Commenter]

I had him second on my big board.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Do you feel good about your. Who'd you take?

[PFT Commenter]

Connerly.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

From Oregon. I. So here's why I feel good about Connerly. He's so. He's an offensive tackle. He's huge. He's got great feet. He played running back and tight end, and then he just kept growing and eating, and now he's just this massive guy with big feet, super athletic. And we got Laramie tonsil on one side. We. We drafted Brandon Coleman last year that played left tackle, so we thought maybe we'd move him over to right tackle, but now we just drafted another tackle, and we also have Wiley.

[Big Cat]

Not a problem. Not a bad problem, though.

[PFT Commenter]

Now we've got. We've got a lot of tackles on our team, and Sam Cosby's out at right guard, so I'd imagine that either Wiley or probably more likely Coleman is going to move over to guard for a little bit, and then we'll have Connerly on the right side. I have personal experience with Connerly. I met the guy. Oh. So when I was flying to Arizona a couple years ago for the Barstool Bowl. You remember that?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I was on the same plane as the Oregon football team right as they were getting ready to play against Liberty. And Connolly was on the plane and when he got on. But he's the guy. I think I told you at the time. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Oregon is so. They're so big.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we bet Oregon.

[PFT Commenter]

And I was like this. This dude was big. I saw a big man on the plane. He plays for Oregon. I think they're going to beat the fuck out of Liberty. And sure enough, he was just so much bigger than Liberty that he pretty much swallowed them all whole. And they just dominate him in that game.

[Big Cat]

I remember it because you told us that. And we bet. We bet Oregon and they killed them.

[PFT Commenter]

Our in depth serendipity.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Our in depth analysis was, I saw a big man on plane. We're like, we give money.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Max Jihad.

[Max]

Jihad. Jihad Campbell.

[Big Cat]

Jihad Campbell.

[PFT Commenter]

You're a big jihad guy.

[Max]

Jihad Campbell seems like a beast. Can't say that I know too much of his tape, but I felt he's how he's got. He traded up one spot to get him, which is a crazy thing to do, but he traded up one spot to get him. How he gets his guy. He was a top 15 guy on everyone's big boards. How he gets him at 31, how he does it again.

[PFT Commenter]

I think the night was just dragging on and how he was like, I got to get a trade in. Yeah, he was. Joe's in four one. So he hit up Kansas City, was like, you mind? Just. Let's just do a trade. Get me in on some action. Right now.

[Max]

I just need to see the video of the draft room when Howie realizes that he can get him and see how excited he is. And that's how excited I will be. Because I can already see it in my head right now. He's gonna be on the phone, he's gonna be like, I got the trade done. We got it done. And then he's gonna high five everyone else there. And then I'm going to be fired up. And he's a hometown kid and he's coming to Philly. And he said, the rich is going to get richer, and we're bringing another super bowl back to Philly.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

Meme pick memes. Just to refresh real quick the offensive line grades, you gave yourself number one.

[Big Cat]

Number one, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then.

[Big Cat]

What is his name again? Armand. Membu There we go.

[PFT Commenter]

And then who got number two?

[Big Cat]

You got number two.

[PFT Commenter]

And then.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

But no, you said something else. You said, I got what, the best.

[Big Cat]

Best left tackle.

[PFT Commenter]

I got the best left tackle. Yeah, but you got the best tackle.

[Big Cat]

Best right tackle.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, but then at best tackle. But then you put Hank third.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, I like Will Campbell. It's unfortunate he went to the Patriots. Got it. But did you hear about Variable putting his hands on him? Yeah, it sounds like Vrabel got bitch. Oh, hey. Bad time to take off. Your. Your kid. You heard it. What do you think? He's getting old.

[Max]

It's crazy thing to say.

[Big Cat]

I mean, crazy thing to say.

[PFT Commenter]

Memes, you know that we're going to have Rabes back on the show.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And if beats me up.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Gets arrested and can't coach a season, that's on him. That's true. But we also wouldn't let you press charges.

[Max]

Memes will press charges.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you would.

[PFT Commenter]

No, you wouldn't.

[Big Cat]

Keep your mouth shut. But wouldn't that make you the biggest. Because he got bitched by Will Campbell, then he bitched you. No, but I think I'd be a hero. Patriots coach goes to jail. Let's get Gruden in here. What do we. Shefty's fit. What happened tonight?

[PFT Commenter]

He thought. Bro thinks he's Andrew Whitworth.

[Big Cat]

I mean, that was. You can't do this. The. The tie and the sweatshirt. You know what I mean? You have to choose one or the other.

[PFT Commenter]

I agree. I think you can go sweatshirt, blazer.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're Andrew Whitworth.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're not Andrew Whitworth in the Venn diagram, then you have to just wear normal clothes.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

And, chef, he's advanced so far in his career that it's like, you know, we know who you are.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

You. At the most, if you're, like, joining the Manning cast, then you wear a collared shirt and a quarter zip.

[Big Cat]

Right, Right.

[PFT Commenter]

All other occasions when you're on television, you should be wearing a suit and tie.

[Big Cat]

I think he just. Yeah, he got. He got lost in too much. Here he comes. Coach Gruden.

[PFT Commenter]

Although you guys work this hard.

[Big Cat]

We're. We're. We're live right now, so. Or not live, but we're taping, so sit right down. We're not going to keep you long. It's late. He's drinking wine right now out of a Stella Blue coffee cup. I love that. All right, put the mic in front of you, and let's talk a little ball and then we'll get you. First of all, let's ask you this. This is. It's a. It's 11pm It's 11:15 right now. Is it. Is it too late? Is it too late for. For Coach Gruden? Because you get up at like 4 in the morning. Go on, put on, put the mic. Let's see if Max is getting it. Yeah. It's 12:15 in Tampa. How are you feeling?

[Coach Gruden]

I feel good, man. I feel. I love it, man. I love the vibe here.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Barstool. There's a lot of young, talented guys that love sports and gals and.

[Big Cat]

And did Stephen Chay only get six right tonight?

[Coach Gruden]

If he's lucky, he got six.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

It's a hard. It's a hard crapshoot to pick. You know that.

[PFT Commenter]

How do you think about. How do you feel about draft grades? I personally love them because the guys that give out draft grades right after the fact, what they're really grading you on is how. How well did the teams do in living up to what I projected them to do? So they're really being like, I will give you an A if you think that I am correct.

[Coach Gruden]

I'd like to take the draft grades and go back on them after a year or two.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

You know, I mean, you get the draft grade the day after the draft. Who gives a rat's ass?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

But after two years, you know, you give the team a D or you give them an A, it's more profitable evaluation, I think, because you actually got to evaluate your players.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

How the hell do you know if they're any good or not the next day?

[Big Cat]

That's a fact. All right, so big picture. What? Did anything surprise you tonight? Did you think there was any. Not grades, but, like, winners or losers or you like someone's, you know, moves more than others?

[Coach Gruden]

I love what the Giants did.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Coach Gruden]

I love what they did. I thought, you know, they need a quarterback. The Browns need a quarterback. The Steelers need a quarterback. They don't have a quarterback, but the Giants got Abdullah Carter, who I think's a really good player.

[Big Cat]

Now.

[Coach Gruden]

You got Brian Burns, you got Thibodeau, you got Dexter Lawrence. You got some guys who can at least get after guys like Jaden Daniels and. And hurts mobile quarterbacks in the NFC East. And then they have the guts. You know, Day ball's been under fire, been on his ass. They move up and they take Jackson dart. I think those are two really good picks for the Giants.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And if they come through that, that changes the dynamic of their team.

[Big Cat]

What about what'd you make of the Jaguars Browns? Triple?

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah. I was shocked what Jacksonville did. I know Jacksonville. I felt they needed a star. I live in Florida and the Jaguars are kind of a faceless franchise. Trevor Lawrence just has not exerted himself. It's not like, hey, I got to get a Trevor Lawrence jersey. He's been a disappointment really. ETN who are the Jacksonville Jaguars? Maybe Josh Allen, Trayvon Walker. I mean they needed somebody that had star power. Sell some tickets, get people excited. I just don't know what they're going to do with them.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Coach Gruden]

I really think he's a receiver. I think he can impact the game and help their quarterback at receiver. I think you're whistling Zippity Do. Die out your butt if you think he's going to play both ways in the NFL in that.

[PFT Commenter]

So, so why?

[Coach Gruden]

Well, I had Charles Woodson, probably one of the great football players to ever do it. He played both ways and won the Heisman just like this guy did and he was 20 pounds heavier and Charles wanted to play offense also. But it's hard to play defense, you know, it's hard. It's a hard deal, man. Every week's a different offense, different receivers, different quarterbacks, different game plan. You just can't go from that meeting to this meeting. Not many people have done it. You guys have studied it your whole life. Name two or three guys in the modern era of football that have done it.

[PFT Commenter]

Sammy Ball.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I didn't see Sammy play and I'm 61 years old, so we really have to be crazy to think a rookie's going to come in here and do that right away.

[Big Cat]

On the other side of it though, I liked what the Browns I did do.

[Coach Gruden]

I liked the fact they got those picks.

[Big Cat]

They got the picks. They got a great player in Mason Graham and I, I liked it. The Browns, basically, to me it's like they were honest with themselves. We're not close. So let's, let's, let's get more picks. Draft capital. Knowing that this is a full rebuild right now because we missed on desean Watson and so that that gives them bullets for the next year or two.

[Coach Gruden]

All Stefanski, he's been the two time coach of the year, so I'm sure he's got a little contract. You know, they got some confidence in him and maybe they go get Shador, maybe they go get Will Howard and maybe we over evaluated Shador too. I mean, I hate to say it, but I'm shocked that he didn't go after all the hoopla.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And all the hype that went in to the pre draft ceremonies.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

When it comes to making these trades on graft on draft night, if you're sitting in the war room, do some GM just call you up and they offer for insultingly like low value trades. Just see if you're dumb enough to take it.

[Coach Gruden]

It's not like fantasy football. Like I'm a fantasy football owner. I would call Big Cat and say, hey, I'll give you a six round pick for Pat Mahomes just to piss him off. See, you know, if he's that dumb, if he'd really do it, you know, that doesn't happen. Every once in a while you might get a call where? Are you serious? But these general managers, they know they're dealing with professional people that know the value of their players.

[Big Cat]

And they're all going off a similar chart.

[Coach Gruden]

They have a chart. They know. If you're talking about trading draft picks, that's one thing. I was surprised Kirk Cousins didn't get traded. I thought perhaps he could get traded to the Cleveland Browns and maybe that's in the cards now. Cleveland has some arsenal with this draft haul they got. Maybe they go get Cousins for one year, see if he can rejuvenate his career in Cleveland. And it'll be interesting to see, but everybody's pretty solid when it comes to trade proposals.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. I know a guy you talked to at the Super Bowl. Ash and Genti got picked six to the Raiders. What are your, what are your beliefs in drafting a running back that high? Do you think he is worth that type of pick? You know, it's obviously a new regime in, in Las Vegas. So like, do you think that it just doesn't happen very often?

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, I, I used to argue with Mel Kuiper when I was doing the ESPN draft. Kuiper said, you don't take running backs in the first round. I said, well, Earl Campbell was the first pick. Tony Dorsett wasn't bad. Emmett Smith turned out okay.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

You know, it all depends on a year by year basis, you know, who are the top 10 players in the draft. I don't think this year's draft was as strong as people want it to be for TV purposes. I mean, Covid impacted this class. So did the Nil and the transfer portal. I mean, a number one pick in a draft played on three different teams.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And I don't know if that's beneficial for his career. I don't believe it is. But a lot of these guys don't go to spring practice. They're coming out as juniors. They don't play in the same system for multiple years. It's a different process now. So it's a crapshoot. To answer your question, I don't even know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What about Buka? To. To Tampa Bay?

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah. I love Egbuka. You know, Will Howard was in our office and he echoed our feelings. What we saw on tape. Igbuka is a great receiver now, back to back 1000 yard seasons, tough as hell. He can line up in the slot, he can mismatch you as a receiver on the perimeter and he can be a punt returner. And Howard loved him. He's an unselfish guy, understands the game, knows who to block. Can't wait the block. He's an unselfish badass. That's a good pick. And it tells me perhaps you know, Chris Godwin's rehab is not gone on schedule. Maybe he won't be ready to start the season. Mike is a great receiver, but he's got to be going into his 14th, 13th season and you got to have firepower at that position to be great.

[PFT Commenter]

I kind of like what they're doing. They're kind of showing Baker, we're going to continue to commit to giving you the best possible targets.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Because when their offense, when they're passing the ball. Well, they looked like a great team out of the nfc.

[Coach Gruden]

You know, I saw him play live. I told you guys the last time when they played the 49ers, I was at the game. I did not know Bucky Irving was that good.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And Rashad White is another good back. And their offensive line, their center, the rookie, they took the first rounder, he's a hell of a player. And get a key and worse as to a good A tackles as there are, this is a hell of a football team on offense.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And now you got Evans and you got Igbo K. I don't know how to say his name yet, but I'll learn. And now you got the potential of Chris Godwin coming back and McMillan was a good pick from Washington. So they're a good team. That could be great. And they got to solve their problems on defense.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

By the way, I've loved watching the Gruden quarterback camp.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, we had a lot of fun with those guys.

[PFT Commenter]

It's very good. So who was the most impressive person that you talked to?

[Coach Gruden]

Well, the guy that got picked tonight was really impressive. You know, Jackson was, he was great. Will Howard was phenomenal. They were all very, very good. I think this Kyle McCord, this Hennigan guy, he might not get drafted until the third, fourth, fifth round, but all of these guys are good players. You know, all it takes is somebody to believe in you. You got your job, he got his. I got my job because somebody believed in me. And I remember coaching Ty Detmer in Philadelphia. I believed in him. I believed in Rich Gannon in Oakland. And sometimes that's all these guys need is somebody that believes in them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And I hope Will Howard gets his shot because he's a winner, man. And he's a big, strong, tough son of a man and a great competitor.

[Big Cat]

How. How sick did it make you when Jackson Dart said that he doesn't have a snap count? He just. Yes, I saw that cl. That clip was incredible.

[Coach Gruden]

Pretty much all of them did the same thing.

[Big Cat]

Really.

[Coach Gruden]

You know, none of them have learned. Well, that's the thing. We'll talk about this, I'm sure, hopefully in the future. But a lot of people say the game is evolving. The game is evolving. Parts of the game are dissolving. Okay. We just had Steve Deberg in my office. He's 71 years old. He threw for 34,000 yards. He played for the Chiefs. He played for the Bucks, the Dolphins. He played for all kinds of different teams. One of the great ball handling, play, faking quarterbacks ever. And he helped Peyton Manning learn how to play fake. You don't even see a play action pass anymore. You see the RPO where he pulls it out of the running back's chest. But, you know, parts of this game are dissolving and the snap count has almost totally.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Dissolved. Yeah. All right. Any other. Any other teams that you're like, I. I think they did a great job. And I mean, I always just say, whoever the Ravens pick, it's going to be a good pick.

[Coach Gruden]

Selfishly, I love what the Ravens did.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

I love Malachi Starks. Now I get. I get personally attached to players. That's the biggest fault I have a lot of the players. Gruden, you drafted, so and so he's not. He get. Well, I love that guy. You know, I get attached to these guys when I meet him and I spent time with them. There's certain guys you cherish you want to be around, you want to help, you want to see succeed. And Malachi Starks, he comes in my office, you know, he's a badass. He has this. He has this presence about him. He's a great communicator. He's big, strong, experienced. He's just a clutch game changing player. And for the Ravens to get him and pair him with Kyle Hamilton and Bobby Humphrey, I'm telling you, that was a big pickup for Baltimore tonight.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he's an awesome player. I wanted him. That's, that's, that was my guy. So Mike Frable, apparently he worked out all the guys, all the big guys that he was thinking about drafting put his hands on him and he said that Will Campbell felt the best to him. Felt the strongest. Have you, do you get physical with draft picks if you're interviewing them?

[Coach Gruden]

No, that must be a Patriot thing. Must be the Tuck rule bullshit. You know, I don't, I don't feel a guy's butt cheeks to see if he's for me. I got better evaluation.

[Big Cat]

I got a question about the Falcons. So they take Jalen Walker at 15 and they come back into the first round and take James Pierce at 26. Two guys, they don't play exactly the same way, but you know, you know, you're hoping they're going to be edge rushers. Jalen Walker can maybe move around a little bit more. Is that weird to take two guys and also come back into the round to. Not like you see with quarterbacks. But they did trade a decent haul to come back into the first round.

[Coach Gruden]

I was surprised by that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Gave up a lot to get for the 26th pick. You would think it would be a quarterback, right?

[Big Cat]

Because a lot of teams will do it to get the control.

[Coach Gruden]

I love Tennessee. My wife cheered at Tennessee. I go back to Tennessee. I got a place at Tennessee. I want to love Pierce. I don't see Pierce as a run defender yet. I don't see him wearing the big boy pants and doing what you need to do to be that kind of a player where you give up a first round pick and other picks to get them right. But I know the Falcons need a pass rush. Judon was a disappointment no matter how we slice it. They had no pressure on the passer. They got rid of Grady Jarrett. They do go and get a good player from Georgia in round one. And I'm hoping Pierce starts to realize his potential. But I thought he was a major disappointment this year for Tennessee, personally.

[PFT Commenter]

What about what the Eagles did? So the Eagles moved up one spot.

[Coach Gruden]

Shocking trade. I mean, I don't know how that works. Yeah, I know Andy Reid and Howie are good friends, so maybe there was some personal information exchanged there, but I've never seen you go up one spot and give up a fifth round pick from 32 to 31. And then they take a linebacker. You know, Philadelphia, you got to give Howie Roseman credit. If one guy knows how to pick players, it's him and Nicole Be Dean had an injury late in the year against packers in the playoffs. To get a guy like Campbell, 6, 3, 2, 40, that can run and athletically do the things he does, that's a solid pick. I'm sure Vic Fangio know what to do with them, but that was a weird, that was a weird transaction. And then Andy Reid gets Josh Simmons. I think the best tackle in the draft.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Provided he's healthy.

[Big Cat]

Ye.

[PFT Commenter]

I felt like how he just, he's addicted to making trades. He needs some action going. And so the night was almost over and he's like, I got to squeeze one in.

[Big Cat]

Just.

[Coach Gruden]

Well, they lost some players too, you know, pft. They lost Milton Williams, they lost Josh Sweat, they lost Darius Slay. I remember when we won our super bowl, we lost some players. People take them away from you and you, you have a hard time replacing them when you don't have salary cap space and you don't have a high draft pick. But this guy Howie Roseman has found a way to do it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I'm scared about Campbell. I feel like he's. He's the guy that everybody was looking at and be like, how is he still on the board?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I like, I. You're right. Josh Simmons. The Chiefs made a lot of sense and I feel like that's going to be a good pick for them. The other one that I liked, I. And I. This is just my dumb brain, football brain. But the Steelers taking a defensive tackle, being like, hey, look, Cam Hayward is, is at the end here. He hasn't retired.

[Coach Gruden]

Right.

[Big Cat]

He's still playing.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't, I don't.

[Coach Gruden]

Oh, he's still there.

[PFT Commenter]

I think he retired.

[Coach Gruden]

I think his pitch count is going to be not what it used.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but that. It's like, hey, we had this guy who was the anchor of our defense. We need another guy who's going to be a young.

[Coach Gruden]

Well, they had this Larry Ogan Joby who played pretty good for him. He's gone. So they need a defensive tackle now they got one quarterback on their roster.

[Big Cat]

I know.

[Coach Gruden]

I don't know what they're doing. Maybe Aaron Rodgers, like, he's going to solve all your problems. It sounds great, but two years ago he was out for the year and last year I think he had his hands on the ball inside the two minute drill. Five Times with a chance to win and didn't get it done right. And he's not in camp right now, you know, so you got to learn the offense. You got to build some camaraderie with your team. I don't know what Pittsburgh's doing at quarterback. I was kind of shocked they didn't take a quarterback at number 21, but they got a defensive tackle and good for them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you think about some players that are coming out that might be a little bit undersized? You see reports like they need to get a little bit stronger once they get to the NFL. How do you evaluate a guy like that where you're like, he just needs to get stronger and then he'll be great, as opposed to a guy that you look at and you're like, I think he's about as strong as he can possibly be.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah. That's where you bring your strength coach in. He's got all the measurables. You know, they measure your bone sizes, your growth capacity, they take a look at your strength numbers. That's why they test at the combine. The problem is, a lot of these guys don't even go to the combine and work out anymore. I mean, Will Johnson, the corner from Michigan, I guess, did not run a 40. From what I'm told, a lot of the quarterbacks won't run. So it's not as conclusive as it used to be. It's not as well known what people actually run, what their true strength is. But you can measure their body fat and you get a sense of their work ethic. And you got to interview the people in the training staff. You got to interview the people that this guy's been associated with to try to imagine where he's headed with his strength and his true capacity.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Do you have a favorite draft pick?

[Coach Gruden]

I loved all my draft picks. I was asked me, and I've had some players that didn't perform that they say are busts well. I'm convinced if I was still coaching, they wouldn't be bused. You know what I mean? Selfishly, that's the mindset that I have. I mean, I love Max Crosby. That's easy to say. Hunter Renfro was a favorite draft pick of mine.

[PFT Commenter]

Can we get it back in the league?

[Coach Gruden]

He's going to be back. You watch this week, you're going to see a transaction.

[PFT Commenter]

I love it.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, he'll be back in football. He belongs in the league. He's physically ready to go. He'll be an exciting addition.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I Also think I'm just ripping off a couple. I think the Cowboys did the anti Cowboys thing where people thought maybe they're going to take a wide receiver and they, they were like, hey, we need someone to.

[Coach Gruden]

That's what they did.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but Zach Martin just retired.

[Coach Gruden]

Like that's what they did 20 years ago with Tyron Smith and Zach Frederick.

[Big Cat]

Start building in the trenches.

[Coach Gruden]

They started building those guys. The left tackle in Dallas is a first round pick.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Didn't play very good last year. The kid they took from Tulsa is a first round pick. Three years ago BB's a second round pick and now they took another first rounder. But I think this Booker guy, did you see him running around the facility? Yeah, I mean I, I just think this Booker, he's the straw that's going to stir the drink in Dallas. He's going to get that group to come together and he might kick the shit out of all of them if they don't. He's that kind of personality, that kind of presence. I think he's just what the Cowboys need.

[Big Cat]

I love that pick and, and I, the other two that I, I liked. I thought the Seahawks doing the same thing where they're going to get it, you know, an offensive lineman because you got to protect Sam Darnold. And then I kind of liked what the Chargers did. Just because you need weapons on that offense. It had, it didn't have the pop. And you need, you know, they took Amari and Hampton from us.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, I was surprised by that. I mean they just signed Najee Harris.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And I like Naji. Naji has four straight 1000 yard seasons. He's almost the same size as Hampton. So now you got two halfbacks. Don't get me wrong, they're good to have.

[Big Cat]

But they want to run the ball though.

[Coach Gruden]

They're going to want to watch the playoffs. They got a bunch of Neanderthals. They look like a sumo wrestling team. They got Justin Herbert at quarterback. You know, they got throw the ball in an indoor facility like they play in perfect conditions. I just thought they would take two or three receivers and help this guy throw the rock because he's really good at it.

[Big Cat]

I think they'll end up taking one later in the draft. I just think that Harbaugh wants to run the ball and I mean they're, they're just going to be set up to run the, just Smash mouse football.

[Coach Gruden]

Well, they didn't run the ball against Houston. They couldn't, you know, they didn't run the ball. I think you got to throw the ball a little bit to run the ball.

[Big Cat]

True.

[Coach Gruden]

Good point. I know all you guys are big hardball fans. I am, too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

But they have three tight ends. They got a defensive lineman playing fullback. I know you want to run the ball, but you got Justin Herbert's.

[PFT Commenter]

All I'm saying, wide receiver. Sprinkle in a wide receiver just a little bit.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What about the Broncos? They got Baron at. At cornerback.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

They're. They're, like, taking their strength and making it a mega strength.

[Coach Gruden]

They had 65 sacks last year. We all know about Sir Tan. He's a hell of a player. They get a guy like Hanga. I think I'm saying it right from the 49ers. He's a badass man if he's healthy. And now you get Baron, who can play the nickel. He can play in the slot. He can play in the safety position. He can play corner. He's a strategic weapon. And Vance Joseph's a good defensive coordinator, but they got better. I was hoping they took Travion Henderson. I want him to get a speedy running back.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Because I love Sean Payton. We go way back, but I can't deny they got a good player tonight.

[PFT Commenter]

One last thing for you. I saw that you were talking about hanging out with Genti and did he introduce you to Migos? Migos? Is that how it went?

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah. I've been learning about music. You know, I got. Genti got beyond amigos. And I'm not just a fan. I mean, I'm. I'm a true blooded listener.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And, you know, young boy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

I got.

[Hank]

Never broke again.

[Coach Gruden]

I. I even got into Chris Brown after talking with your guy, Jaden Daniels.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Coach Gruden]

Turned me on to Chris Brown. Jackson dart has helped me out a little bit, but I'm evolving in the music world.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I like that.

[Coach Gruden]

I'm gonna straighten you guys out when I see it next time I come through Chicago, but I miss you guys. It's great to see you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's great to see you, too, and thank you for coming.

[Coach Gruden]

What'd you think of the Bears pick?

[Big Cat]

I. Listen, I'm just gonna trust whatever Ben Johnson.

[Coach Gruden]

Oh, no, it's a cop out.

[PFT Commenter]

I'll tell you.

[Big Cat]

Honest. All right. Yeah. The Bear. The first nine picks broke poorly for the Bears in terms of, like, what you were hoping, where it's like, hey, maybe Ash and Genti falls, maybe Mason Graham falls. It basically went in order of, like, you know, the. What, two or two offensive linemen. All these guys get picked. I think Ben Johnson, he. He sees a little Sam Laporta in Colson Loveland. It's going to be a big part of the offense. Two tight end sets. And Blutman, our guy. Blutman said he was. He was his number one ranked tight end.

[Coach Gruden]

So I love Loveland too. He's a mismatch guy. You got to watch him a couple years ago because this year.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he didn't have a quarterback.

[Coach Gruden]

They didn't have a passing game.

[Big Cat]

And he was also hurt. He just had surgery in January.

[Coach Gruden]

I went to the Outback bowl in Tampa, whatever they call it, they played Alabama. So I got to go to Michigan and meet Coach Moore and watch the Wolverines practice, and he wasn't practicing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Did not play in the bowl game. But they love him at Michigan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

I was just kind of curious what they're going to do with Cole. Commit. I thought he would be a good pass receiver in Ben Johnson's offense.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I don't know if it's going to be.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah, but if you're going to play two tight ends.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

Here's the problem. Which receiver do you take off the field? DJ Moore, the kid from Washington, or Keenan out?

[Big Cat]

Well, I don't think he's going to be on the Bears, so we'll get him off the field.

[Coach Gruden]

Okay, well, if Keenan Allen. There you go.

[Big Cat]

There's solve the problem.

[Coach Gruden]

The problem solved tonight.

[Big Cat]

Look how easy that is.

[Coach Gruden]

Because when I watch the Lions play, they play what I call 11 personnel. You got one back, one tight end, three receivers.

[Big Cat]

They did, actually. I saw the stat because I. Basically, the minute a pick gets made, you just go and look for all the positive affirmation. And it was Ben Johnson, I think, was like second or third in the league in two tight end sets 33% of the time. So he, he, he's gonna do it. We're gonna, we're. We're gonna. Listen, Colson Loveland, that was my number one. I told you it was my number one.

[Coach Gruden]

I know. You called it. You walked in. I give you credit, man.

[Big Cat]

I might have been tipped in.

[Coach Gruden]

He walked in. He fumbled. He threw a pick six when he walked.

[PFT Commenter]

That's not true at all.

[Coach Gruden]

He was asking for Malachi Starks.

[PFT Commenter]

I did. I said Malachi Starks. But that was after the Ravens had already taken him. I was just bummed out. I said I had Malachi Starks, too. And you remember last year who I had number one on my big board, right?

[Coach Gruden]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Who's that? Jaden Daniels, number one on the big board.

[Coach Gruden]

No, I, I Can vividly remember getting that shoved down my throat. And, boy, did you hit that right on the freaking lottery, man.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, So I did screw it up because Nate screwed it up for me because he told me that Mike Green got picked. Remember that?

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So Mike Green. I. I kind of like Mike Green. I watched a bunch of his highlights last week, and that dude seems like he should have been picked in the first round.

[Coach Gruden]

Mike Green, the kid from Boston College, the safety from South Carolina. Those are the top three, I think, defensive players that are kind of coming right off the board. But I never did get my sane resteel jersey.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, you want this one?

[Coach Gruden]

Well, no. I mean.

[PFT Commenter]

No, take this one.

[Coach Gruden]

No, I. I'm not taking it off your back.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, you mean, you mentioned it because, you know, I. You like it.

[Coach Gruden]

No, I. I'm not taking that.

[PFT Commenter]

Take it.

[Coach Gruden]

No, I don't want that.

[Big Cat]

No, he's giving it to you.

[PFT Commenter]

Take it.

[Big Cat]

You got to take it now.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't want anymore.

[Big Cat]

You got to take it. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm gonna get a commercial jersey. Here we go.

[Coach Gruden]

I'm gonna give you my Monday Night Football tie.

[Big Cat]

Oh, wow.

[Coach Gruden]

I wore this tie on Monday Night Football. It's the first time I've. I've worn it. I think this was the Vikings, packers tie.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[Coach Gruden]

I'm going to give history. And it's my first bar stool draft analyst tie. Yeah, that's a Brooks Brothers tie.

[Big Cat]

We're gonna. We gotta frame it. Put it up anyway. Moment.

[Coach Gruden]

I gotta go now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's late. It's late.

[Coach Gruden]

I. I really do admire you guys, man. The work you guys do. I appreciate it.

[Big Cat]

We appreciate you, Coach Tone around here. Yeah. Gotta set.

[Coach Gruden]

You know what? You need to set a freaking tone.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Gruden]

And standard is the standard day. Always.

[Big Cat]

Standard is right.

[Coach Gruden]

It was great, though. Tonight is seeing Jersey Jerry Swall grape. He took a defensive tackle. He didn't know.

[Big Cat]

Oh, thank you, coach.

[Coach Gruden]

He was so excited.

[PFT Commenter]

He's gonna get Shador.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he did. He was going Shadusty. Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Coach Gruden, real quick. We're about to get to our NBA and NHL playoff recap, which we were taping while some of the games are going on. We should probably update. The Grizzlies lost, but they did cover. And also John Morant is very injured. And Lou Dort, as a Lou Dork guy, I disavow. That was not a good play.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that was bad.

[Big Cat]

That was really bad.

[PFT Commenter]

It was bad. Job landed looked like. Where. Where'd he land? It looked like just on his face like on his foot. His body hit flatly so his hip not good.

[Big Cat]

That was all Thunder. I mean, John not being in the Grizzlies are very limited offensively, but they did hold the Grizzlies to 31 second points. That was bad. That was really bad. Lou Dort. We got to be better. I'm a Deutsche Chamber guy. But yeah, you're going to hear us recapping live and I think we said that the Grizzlies were going to win, but then John Morant got hurt.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You believe I said just wait.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but the Grizzlies did cover.

[PFT Commenter]

That's true.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So. And I took them plus eight and a half. So they did cover. But that was Thunder. Thunder are going to sweep just like we thought from the beginning. All right, we got to do real quick before we get to our playoff recaps. We're going to do our first baskets which we all got wrong. So this is for Friday night DraftKings. We're going to give you our picks for first basket scorers on Friday night NBA playoffs. Finally here. It's about to get wild. High stakes drama, insane buzzer beaters, jaw dropping dunks and the excitement you live for. And guess what? DraftKings sportsbook 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 is rolling out a special NBA profit boost. So what are you waiting for? Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code TAKE to claim your profit boost. That's right, Code take get 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.

[Coach Gruden]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-HOPE and wire text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Boyden, Ontario. Get one NBA profit boost per game after opt in boost expires at the end of each game. Boosts, bet criteria and maximum bet limits vary. See [e-mail] promos.

[Big Cat]

Okay, what do we got for first basket? Also, we did call correctly. The Clippers. That one we called early and they.

[PFT Commenter]

Fucking killed the Nuggets I'm going to go Derek White.

[Max]

That's Chris tops is plus 425.

[Memes]

Because it doesn't matter, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's not a problem.

[Max]

Derek White is plus 850.

[Big Cat]

All right, give me what's Giannis? It's probably low. I'm just trying to see one go through.

[Max]

Giannis is plus 350.

[Big Cat]

All right. Love it.

[PFT Commenter]

Did memes just make the nerd nugget?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he did.

[PFT Commenter]

Was that the. That was the sound memes.

[Max]

I'm gonna go with Luca plus 5.

[Big Cat]

50. Okay. All right, let's kick it to ourselves. We got NBA and NHL playoffs and then we have Justin Thomas and Firefest. Okay. Before we get to the rest of the show and talk some playoff action, we are brought to you by our friends at kfc. The future of dunking is here. The Dunk It Bucket is no ordinary release. It's a first of its kind, customizable flavor experience. KFC is introducing the first ever bucket built for dunking. It's an interactive, crave worthy food experience designed for ultimate dipping, dunking, sharing and devouring. Now with the new Dunk It Bucket, KFC is inviting everyone to get in on all the delicious possibilities and dunk it their way. Because dunking isn't just for basketball legends anymore. It's for everyone. KFC Dunk it challenge may be over, but you can still dunk, dip and devour with the KFC Dunk It Bucket. We love kfc. We love the Dunk It Bucket. It is revolutionary. First of its kind, customizable flavor experience. You got to do it with the Dunk It Bucket. They're inviting everyone to get on all the delicious possibilities and dunk it their way. Because dunking isn't just for basketball legends anymore. It's for everyone. It's so delicious. KFC Dunk it challenge may be over, but you can still dunk, dip and devour with the KFC Dunk It Bucket. We are also brought to you by our friends at Game time. NBA playoffs are here and the only place to buy hard to get playoff tickets is game Time, the official ticketing partner of Barstool sports. 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 NBA playoff tickets. Prices on the app actually go down the closer it gets. To tip off, you can save up to 60% when buying last minute tickets. We're looking at tickets for the Bucks Pacers Friday night. Tonight.

[Memes]

Tonight, I think the p. I think the Bucks are going to make this series interesting. I think they're going to go on a run starting tonight and you can get in the building for just $60 on the game time app.

[Big Cat]

Okay. The fi serve. Great, great arena. So what are you waiting for? Buy those tickets to the Bucks pacers tonight for $60. Take the guess we're going to buying NBA playoff tickets with Game time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use code PMT for 20 off. Your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem code PMT for $20 off. Download the game timeout today. What time is it? Game time. Okay, let's talk some playoffs. We can go chronological order. Hank. Yeah. Up to. Oh, easy on the Magic. Tatum was invisible, didn't play. That was a joke.

[Memes]

I know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. But. But I think that, I mean this is all this series doesn't.

[Memes]

It's just the Mavericks are just playing. Magic are just playing like scum.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, that's the thing.

[PFT Commenter]

It's like if you're. If you're a really good team and you play borderline dirty, then you're just a really gritty team. If you're not quite that next level team and you play really dirty, then you're just dirty. And that's kind of what the Magic are falling into. Right.

[Big Cat]

I don't know if they're playing dirty as much as they're just not like coordinated and good.

[Memes]

They're just getting beat and getting mad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Being you're talking about that one place specifically.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Kristaps got elbow.

[Big Cat]

I think he just doesn't understand how to control his body.

[PFT Commenter]

I saw that guy fall down and I was like, is. Is that guy okay?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Right.

[PFT Commenter]

I was like, you're just. You're just kind of a spaz.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That wasn't dirty. That was like a. Like an. Like a 12 year old that. Like an overgrown 12 year old. Yeah. Trying to figure out their limbs.

[PFT Commenter]

That guy was all elbows and knees.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Fantastic. For the dvd. Dvd though, that. Those are the moments you need.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And you had the Joe Missoula quote afterwards saying, I like watching him bleed on the court. I think that's important. Talking about Kristaps Porzingis. Awesome pictures for Porzingis. Like those. I. If. If I were Porzingis, I'd have those framed in my house.

[Memes]

Well, and we. It was happened on the podcast the other night when LeBron went down and I was like joking because I got. LeBron just died and the video came out.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[Memes]

So he was on the ground and then you could see there's a zoom in angle of him, like opening his eyes to see if any. Anyone was like worried about him and then just got right out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You got the side by side with him and Porzingis with the bandage. They brought him back on the court. They didn't wipe him down at all?

[Big Cat]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

It looked like he had just like a mohawk died into his head of blood.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I, I would say though, for the Celtics, like, obviously, I, I would assume Tatum's fine. He. They're just sitting out because they don't take the magic seriously. The big story was the Jalen.

[Memes]

He was holding two. Two bags on. On his way up the plane today, so.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay. How heavy, though?

[Memes]

No bandage, double bags, but how heavy? Like a big, like, you know, nice.

[Big Cat]

Louis, but wouldn't that be interesting if one of them was empty?

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What was in the bags?

[Big Cat]

Clothes, probably, but it could be an empty bag. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

We're talking about like.

[Big Cat]

Yes. I don't.

[Memes]

To your point, I don't think they're. They need to play those type of mind games.

[PFT Commenter]

Are we talking about like a thick knit sweater? Are we talking about a silk shirt?

[Memes]

Wait, close enough to be heavy for a road trip?

[Big Cat]

Hold on, time out. You don't think Joe Missoula would be like, hey, Jason, hold this empty bag on the way up the steps?

[Memes]

That's true, but that's also something.

[Big Cat]

Maybe you saved the, the empty bag trick. Yeah. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

I think Jim Azula actually might give him a heavy bag to carry up.

[Big Cat]

So the story from this game is did the Celtics use their empty bag trick too early?

[PFT Commenter]

Did the Celtics playoffs. Did the Celtics empty the bag?

[Big Cat]

Some high level analysis right here. Yeah. Jalen Brown looks completely healthy. 36 points. He was awesome. That would be your big takeaway, I would think. Yeah, it's like. Cause I mean, obviously his knee going into the playoffs is like, I hope he's okay. Also, this is a weird game because it was one of those. It was. It was like a torture game because the Celtics never. They were always up about 10, never could like do the kill shot. But it was never. The magic could win the game.

[PFT Commenter]

Right.

[Big Cat]

So you, like, you, like kind of were watching and being like, oh, you never know. Oh, it's eight. And then you're like, no, but it's never going to happen.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So with Tatum, how far can you go? Without Tatum, how long could. Could you conceivably keep him on the bench?

[Big Cat]

Well, I mean, to the top of the. The plane with the.

[PFT Commenter]

All the stairs.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

33, 000ft is what you're saying.

[Hank]

Easily.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. But no. How far. How far do you think you could make it just by. By sitting them?

[Memes]

I don't know. And luckily we're not gonna have to find out, I hope.

[PFT Commenter]

Luckily we're not going to.

[Big Cat]

But this is.

[Memes]

It's a great team. It's a complete, you know, it's a team effort. Jalen Brown in his comments today said the offense runs through Jason like he's our playmaker, but when I need to step up, I have the ability to do that. So I think they, you know, if Jalen Brown went out, it'd be the same thing. But you want them both together. Like it. We need everyone healthy.

[PFT Commenter]

I just loved how much Porzingis loved his own blood.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

He, like, came jogging back on the court. He's like, this is kind of fun.

[Memes]

Yeah. WWE or AW was in Boston recently. He was like in the. In the front.

[Big Cat]

I mean, it looked like he cut himself with a razor blade. It was such a perfect forehead cut.

[Memes]

He liked the wrestling. Like the wrestling moment.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And Franz and Paolo are still good. It's just the rest of the magic. Or not.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. This is just. You're just waiting out the time. Who you. Who you got next? Nick Bong? Nicks or. Or Pistons?

[PFT Commenter]

Celtics. Tatum doubtful for game three with, quote, severe wrist bruise.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so that bag was empty.

[PFT Commenter]

Severe wrist.

[Big Cat]

That bag was empty.

[PFT Commenter]

I could see Joe Missoula putting extra weight in it and just having him carry up the steps and be like, I want the least painful part of your week to be when you're playing basketball.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Or like getting re.

[Big Cat]

Injured.

[Memes]

Mighty Duck situation. He put it in the bag to.

[Big Cat]

See how Adam Banks.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Can you hold the. Can you hold the stick? Cavs, Heat. Cavs are up two. Oh, this was the Cavs. Second quarter was one of the best shooting quarters I've ever seen. They went 11 for 14 from 3. Absolutely crushed him. And then the Heat actually fought back and got a. I think they got to a two point game and then Donovan Mitchell just went nuts.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So Mobley got what, Defensive player of the year.

[Big Cat]

He did.

[PFT Commenter]

That's pretty cool for him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So he's always been a great defender, but it's good to see him recognize in this game. I was playing softball during it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So we'll get to that a little bit later. But again, this goes along my policy of not really paying attention to anybody in the east besides the Celtics.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they. I mean, it was like the Cavs The Cavs were up by a lot. And I give credit to the moral victory for the Heat is what I'd call it.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, moral victory.

[Big Cat]

They fought back.

[PFT Commenter]

That they are in the playoffs.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Well, and also fighting back in this game because, like I said, 1114 from 3 in the second quarter.

[Memes]

Also Tyler here. I'll probably be taking some of his props on DraftKings.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Call them out.

[Memes]

They said what the Cavs need to do to continue when he said pick on Tyler Hero.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Why do you say that?

[Big Cat]

Well, because that's.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Why.

[PFT Commenter]

I know.

[Big Cat]

I.

[PFT Commenter]

Don't get me wrong, Big Cat. I know why you would think that. That. But why do you say it?

[Big Cat]

I don't. I think that it's a wild.

[PFT Commenter]

It is wild.

[Memes]

There's no reason to say something.

[Big Cat]

Why? I think there's nothing Tyler Hero can do so they don't poke the bear. Yeah, well, I mean, they're talking about defense still. He was good offensively.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I don't know. Tyler Hero has it in his bag.

[Memes]

But I guess it's like you're. You know, if you're. You're pushing your opponent to try, I guess, you know.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I think they're saying, like, he's not going to be able to guard us.

[PFT Commenter]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

And we're going to. We're just going to keep getting switches.

[PFT Commenter]

Till we find him. It's like when Bane is like, where's your precious Batman now?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, it's happened. I mean, what. Last year in the. In the NBA Finals, they were just like, let's just keep switching till we find Luca. Happened to this. This is. This is what they do in the playoffs. They hunt. They hunt. They hunt for someone, but it's rare.

[PFT Commenter]

That you would, like, publicly say, yeah, hey, that guy. Hey, excuse me, Mr. Journalist. I just want to say that that guy sucks.

[Big Cat]

I think the Cavs probably are not.

[Memes]

Scared of the heat that way.

[Big Cat]

Pierce that way.

[Memes]

Blew that game.

[Big Cat]

They almost blew that game. Warriors. Rockets. Is. That's. It's just a fist fight. And Jimmy Butler might be out for a while. I don't know how. Do we have any update on his injury?

[PFT Commenter]

But it was a. It was a contusion. A contused pelvis.

[Big Cat]

Oh, Memes just had to tell Max. Hey, they're talking about update on Jimmy Butler. Go look it up. Memes. Do you. Do you think you should be running the computer? If I need a third computer, I'm doing. I'm doing audio and video. I just need a third one. So that. So that Max can just sit back.

[Max]

Eagles are coming up on the clock.

[Big Cat]

I'm looking. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. You said, quote, I can't wait to not care about who we pick.

[Max]

I know, but then when it comes down to it, I'm. I'm curious.

[Big Cat]

I mean, just find who. Howie Roseman. Find who is mocked. Wait, the evil.

[PFT Commenter]

You are not coming.

[Big Cat]

You're not even close to the 24.

[Max]

Picks that's coming up.

[PFT Commenter]

No, it's.

[Memes]

That's coming up.

[Big Cat]

That's coming up. You got to be like three or four away.

[PFT Commenter]

That's. That's coming up, but it's not. I'm going to stop doing my job because the pick is coming up. Coming up.

[Big Cat]

That's. No, dude, eight picks is like an hour away. This is.

[Max]

This is crazy.

[Big Cat]

No, you're crazy.

[Max]

It's draft time.

[Big Cat]

I'm.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm. I'm.

[Coach Gruden]

I'm worried about the.

[Max]

Looking at.

[Big Cat]

I worried about the Eagles coming up.

[Memes]

But worried and how. In what way?

[PFT Commenter]

The Commanders are coming up, what, four picks before the Eagles? I'm not worried about them.

[Max]

I'm not worried. I was just curious. I was looking to see.

[Big Cat]

I was looking. Do you even know what you're looking up right now? Yeah.

[Max]

Jimmy Butler, diagnosed with deep glute muscle contusion.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that's on his pelvis, right?

[Big Cat]

I don't even think I have that muscle. No, I mean, but the deep. You have muscle.

[PFT Commenter]

You have an ass.

[Big Cat]

But deep glute muscle. I don't think you can even get to that.

[PFT Commenter]

This is why Hank will never miss a playoff game in the NBA.

[Memes]

Yeah. I don't even have a glute muscle.

[Big Cat]

I don't know how I would injure my deep glute muscle.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, it might have something to do with just falling directly on your ass.

[Big Cat]

Ass, maybe.

[PFT Commenter]

And when it. When it happened, everybody was like, they. They were pointing fingers at. At Draymond. They were pointing fingers all over the place. Draymond didn't do anything. I want to absolve Draymond in this collision.

[Memes]

I like Draymond. I like what he said after the game.

[Big Cat]

What do you say?

[Memes]

The. They asked about the chancel. And you, Draymond. He said, that's reserved for Boston.

[Big Cat]

Oh, did you see Steve Kerr?

[Memes]

No.

[Big Cat]

He got a little upset. He said, it's not ideal when a crowd is chanting, you, Draymond. I would. Or he said, f you, Draymond. I would prefer fans could use a little more discretion. Remember that the Guy has kids, maybe. I'm old school. I'm all for the fans cheering for their team, and if they want to yell at the opponents, great. But I just think fu is a little too much. Steve Kerr. That's a pussy ass take.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I. I would agree. Steve Kerr kind of got pretty smarmy with it after the game because he would. He was talking about the physicality.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And he kind of, like, looked down his nose at playoff intensity. It's like, dude, dude, you won championships with Draymond on your team, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's the funny thing about.

[PFT Commenter]

Can't see it from that other side.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. The Rockets are. Are definitely mucking it up, and they're. It's a very physical series, and the rest are letting them play. But warriors fans being like, this is egregious. What are you talking about?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you can't. You don't. You don't get to do that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Max, can you tell me what is Steve Kerr's son's name?

[Max]

I. Nicholas.

[PFT Commenter]

Nicholas.

[Big Cat]

Nicholas is correct. Nicholas is correct, but good for the Rockets. Jalen Green was incredible. He's like the most bipolar player. He had seven points in the first game, 38 points in the second game. But the big story about Jalen Green, it was shared during the broadcast. His pregame meal is chicken Alfredo. I can't think of a worse game meal to have before playing a basketball.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, I don't know if. I don't know if you count that as pregame, because what it is, I think he. He eats the chicken Alfredo, then he takes a nap.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

And then he wakes up, and then he plays basketball.

[Big Cat]

Still, a belly of chicken Alfredo at any point is not physical activity.

[PFT Commenter]

I think he had to work his way backwards from having the. What's the best way that you can get some sleep before the game and be rested? I know I will eat a big dish of creamy pasta. So it's like. It's essentially taking Nyquil so that he can sleep, so he can play.

[Big Cat]

I mean, 38 points. I guess Chicken Alfredo worked on Wednesday night. I just don't. I feel like chicken Alfredo. I mean, I'm not. I. Lasagna, maybe.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, amongst all the pastas, I would say that chicken Alfredo, probably the worst.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I can't think of maybe noki.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but it's heavy. I feel like they never give you enough noki.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, but if you have, like, all. If you're at the buffet.

[Big Cat]

No, but they always give you, like, 10 Noki. You're like, I want More milk?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, maybe.

[Big Cat]

Is that not right, Max?

[Max]

I just don't like the way you're saying it.

[PFT Commenter]

It gnoki, noki.

[Max]

I'm not gonna say it.

[Big Cat]

Say it for us. Italian.

[Max]

In yoki.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's three syllables in yoki.

[Max]

I'm not gonna say it again.

[Big Cat]

Okay. And yi. But do you agree that they only give.

[Memes]

Say it like that.

[Max]

I memes. I I 1000% say that.

[Coach Gruden]

Do you.

[Big Cat]

Do they not give you enough in yoki?

[Max]

That was good. That was pretty.

[Big Cat]

Do they not. That's not agree.

[Max]

It depends the place that you go to. I've gone. I've gone to some pretty fat places that give you a huge bowl of it.

[Big Cat]

Of what?

[Max]

In gnocchi.

[Big Cat]

That's not even Italian.

[PFT Commenter]

I think what you're doing is like you're adding the extra. The extra val onto it. You're like a gnocchi. Which is fine if you say like that, but you can't say anoki.

[Max]

It's the gn that. It's the g. N o that you're you.

[PFT Commenter]

That you're noki.

[Max]

I'm probably saying it wrong. I'm gonna have Italians in my ass.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you're gonna have Italians in your ass.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you will.

[Big Cat]

All up in your ass.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you will. Mac. Max.

[Big Cat]

Maybe spaghetti meatballs. Max. You could play on spaghetti.

[Max]

Oh, yeah, you could. You could play on the spaghetti.

[PFT Commenter]

It's actually a spaghetti.

[Max]

It's the heavy cream.

[Big Cat]

Heavy cream is just brutal. Yeah, heavy cream.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, the heavy cream is it. It's a. It's a very strange choice, but if it's for the purpose of just sleeping, I kind of get it. Yeah, but that's maybe one of those moves where once he turns 29 and they're going to be like, how are you changing your game? He'll be like, well, I started finally taking care of my body.

[Big Cat]

You can't convinced me that even with the nap in between, Jalen Green has not had at least a couple times this year where he's like, had a nasty burp while running up and down the court, like, oof. Because those, you know, like the three hour later chicken Alfredo burps, you're like, that's gross.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Creamy Alfredo and glass of red wine before I get out there on the court. Yeah, that'll do it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I. I mean, lasagna was the only one I could come up with. If you're just picking with the pastas, I don't know what, like a.

[PFT Commenter]

A pierogi dinner would be Tough, too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Pierogi would be. Would be tough, but those don't. That's another one where they don't give you, like a ton.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But when I get them, I get like four different kinds.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[PFT Commenter]

Pierogi might be the most underrated pasta dish.

[Big Cat]

I don't even count it as pasta because it's Polish.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. But it's got the. It's got the pasta around.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. That's just a polish pasta. Okay. Knicks Pistons. Knicks win. Jalen Brunson was great.

[PFT Commenter]

He was great.

[Big Cat]

Say something positive about Jalen also. Cat was great. I bet Kat to have a bounce back game. I feel like this is just what Cat does next game. He's probably going to be invisible the game after. He's going to be awesome. Also, the Knicks, turns out passing the ball works because I felt like they passed the ball a lot better. And it wasn't just ISO ball. And the Pistons fought till the bitter end. I think the end of the game, the last like 10 seconds took like 25 minutes. There was a bunch of reviews, the game and inbound. I think the clock operator gave him a little something, something extra. And they kept on fighting. Kept on fighting. Yeah. Jalen Bronson was good. This was something nice about Jalen Brunson.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, he was. He was definitely more fun to watch tonight. But that's what we said. When the Knicks win, they tend to be. It's easier to look at them as being fun. And when they lose, you look at them and you're like, God damn it, Knicks. Why are you burning yourselves out? This isn't fun brand of basketball to watch.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. They had 15 assists on. Was it Monday night. There are two wins in this series. I think they had 22 and 26 assists. So I know that's not an advanced analytics thing. It's not a huge, crazy stat, but it does feel like when the Knicks pass the ball a little bit more, get Carl Anthony Towns involved. And he was involved early. I think he had like 11 or 13 in the first quarter. He had 25 halfway through the third.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you watch it?

[Big Cat]

Makes a big difference. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

This is the very end.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, I just said it took like 25 minutes.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So. But what happened was crazy because the Knicks were shooting foul shots and they intentionally missed the second half. A second left. And what happened was the home clock operator for the Pistons started the clock as the free throw was still happening. And so the clock ticked down to zero, the buzzer sounds the whole deal before they Even get a chance to rebound it. So what happens is then you have the Pistons that get a free inbound, the clock stops, and you get to inbound the ball and attempt a shot. As opposed to it working out perfectly for the Knicks, the game's over.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

At that point, if the Knicks hadn't had the buzzer sound on them because they. They missed the free throw beautifully, and that was that. That is a loophole. And I. I'm actually not mad at the clock operator.

[Big Cat]

No, that's what I'm saying. It was a home. Yeah, yeah. You need the help.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a great job by the home clock operator. That's definitely a trick that he saw at some point during a regular season. And you mentally file that away as a clock operator, and you're like, when the team needs me, I've got the best play that I can do to contribute to the win. Like, what do you do to kick the clock operator out?

[Big Cat]

I know what I do. Hold on.

[PFT Commenter]

You call Rico Bosco.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I mean, he was watching the game. He's a Knicks fan. He's got it. He's got to know. He's a clock operator. We got to get his take on. He's probably so pissed.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

He's got to be so pissed. There's no way he's still up, right? He tuned out the draft. Oh, no. The Giants are right now. He might be. He might be live. Oh, this is bad. If he doesn't pick up my phone, though. Oh, what was that? Email? Find Rico Bosco replacement. Yeah, we'll email that if anyone wants a job. Okay. Grizzlies are getting killed or. Sorry. Grizzlies are killing the Thunder. Yeah. Because Thunders are getting killed. Yeah, Thunder are getting killed.

[PFT Commenter]

Down by 15. Nine minutes left in the second.

[Big Cat]

That's just. Wait, that's Clippers. Yeah, you're looking at Clippers. That was a bad 30 seconds by both of us.

[PFT Commenter]

Let's just.

[Big Cat]

Let's restart.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, Here we go.

[Big Cat]

Three, two, one. Thunder are getting killed. Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

77 to 51 and a half.

[Big Cat]

That's crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

It is crazy.

[Big Cat]

I didn't expect that.

[PFT Commenter]

I. Just wait.

[Big Cat]

Just wait.

[PFT Commenter]

Just wait.

[Big Cat]

You think they're going to come back?

[PFT Commenter]

We heard it here first. I think the Thunder are going to come back.

[Big Cat]

I'm going to say Grizzlies. This is one of my favorite things to bet in. In the playoffs is just if a team goes down, it's. It's two. Two rules. Because I gave out the Rockets on Wednesday's show. I said take the Rockets if a home team goes down oh one. Take them in game two. If a road team goes down oh two, you know, they lose the first two games on the road. Take them game three at home. The bounce back game.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, this, this could be a true gentleman sweep here.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Memphis had to do something at home.

[Big Cat]

But I'll tell you what, Huge for the aggregate score. Yeah, massive because they were. It was trending to be like a. The Thunder beat the Grizzlies by a hundred plus. Now they might be able to even it out a little bit.

[PFT Commenter]

So the Thunder in the first half have only made one three pointer. There's one good 4511 for 11 from three right now. So they will not come back and win this game if that continues. But I. I remain hopeful that they'll get it within 10.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. By the way, and then the other game, the Clippers look really good. You know, we'll up. Maybe we'll update it because we're going to. We're taping all out of order. We'll see some more of that game. Let's talk some hockey. Your caps are up 2, 020.

[PFT Commenter]

Most dangerous lead in hockey.

[Big Cat]

Most dangerously in hockey. You feel good? Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

We got a good Logan Thompson game last night.

[Big Cat]

Okay. So you feel good? Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So like I've been saying, the goaltending is a big question. Logan Thompson, he was they. The way they put it on the broadcast last night was Logan Thompson is their 1A goaltender.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[PFT Commenter]

And I don't think they really followed it up with anything. But when you say that, you strongly imply that there's a 1B behind it.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Meaning that you don't really have a goaltender. But he played, he played really well last night. He made some incredible saves in the third period so that he. He was responsible for the win then obviously. Connor McMichael, great game. Some of the guys. It wasn't as dominant as a performance as we saw in like the first two periods of winter. Wins a win. Escape the barn. Two nothing. Keep it on. On schedule and then up to Montreal where Oldie will be joining me. Yeah, In Montreal. Show me around. Ha ha. So shout out to all the Canadians up there. I guess you speak French in Montreal. So I took four years of French in elementary school.

[Big Cat]

Elementary.

[PFT Commenter]

Elementary school. We. And I'm going elementary school. Yeah. In my, my elementary school it had like two periods a day that you could go like, I learned math in French and I learned science in French. And the up thing is doing division In French. It's completely different from doing it in English. So then I got to middle school, and I was like, how the do you do division now?

[Big Cat]

Holy.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Screwed me up for a while.

[Big Cat]

Damn.

[PFT Commenter]

But, yeah, I think I still remember some French stuff. Ue la bibliotech.

[Big Cat]

You're reading off your computer.

[PFT Commenter]

No, I'm not.

[Big Cat]

I just saw you.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not. You want to see what's on the computer? Look.

[Big Cat]

Yes, it's bibliotech right there.

[PFT Commenter]

That's the. The Thunder Grizzlies score.

[Big Cat]

This is bibliotech.

[PFT Commenter]

Live score. So, yeah, I'm pumped to check out Montreal and just basically pumped to spend time with the oldie.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's gonna be great.

[PFT Commenter]

Caps look good. I still feel like it's our year. I am keeping an eye. A very close eye on the Maple Leafs, though.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. So they are team destiny, by the way. Rico just texted me back. This is big for us because I see sometimes there's a complaint that our NHL recap is not long enough. We will have biz on next week. We're not the experts in hockey. We. We do have hockey experts. We'll have on. But this will all count towards the NHL recap for the timestamp. So we'll have Rico, and that will be part of it. Bosco. What's up?

[G]

You called?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I called. What do you mean? You saw that I called? Yeah, fair.

[G]

What's up?

[Big Cat]

Well, I mean, what. What was that question? You saw that I called?

[G]

Pocket dial. Could have been a pocket dial.

[PFT Commenter]

Could have been.

[Coach Gruden]

You know, I don't know.

[Big Cat]

Okay. All right, all right. So we're taping PMT right now. What happened at the end of the Knicks Pistons game in terms of a clock operator's point of view.

[G]

Yeah, I'm being a little dunked on because I'm calling the guy, the Pistons clock operator. They say it's a neutral clock operator for the playoffs, so people are getting mad about that. But either way, basically, the guy operating the clock at the Pistons should be fired. It's horrific. I expect that error from a mom volunteering at St. Anne's who had a couple of cocktails up at Lee's in.

[Big Cat]

Between the 5:00, very relatable 8:00 game.

[G]

I do not expect that from a pro. You got to be banned. You got to turn in your card, your credential. It's horrific. And I said spin zone. I know you guys love the spin zones on that show.

[Big Cat]

Oh, precedent.

[G]

This sets a precedent that, you know if you got your hooks into Detroit or you want to see who's gonna win, you just do the error and hope the team gets a rebound, and then they're taking out on the side with a chance to win. You know what I mean?

[PFT Commenter]

Well, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what the play was.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

So to walk us through what you thought should have happened, you gotta wait.

[G]

Till someone touches the ball, man. It's a day one mistake.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So do you think it was intentional, Rico?

[G]

I think that it's a possibility. It could have been intentional, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. And. And so you got some information saying that it's a neutral clock operator, so they fly these guys in?

[G]

I guess.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I don't.

[G]

It's an. I think it might be the ultimate.

[Big Cat]

I don't really know.

[G]

I'll be honest.

[Big Cat]

I don't know.

[G]

College has. College has table staffs per, you know, whatever, like, scene whole as guys who work there and whatever.

[Big Cat]

I.

[G]

In and out to the NBA table staff.

[Hank]

I have not cracked that yet.

[PFT Commenter]

You haven't cracked it. Can you. Can you crack that for us?

[G]

I'll try. Yeah. I do know the guy at the Garden. I email him every year. Hey, you know, have a great season. Like, hoping if you need anything, I'm available. Like, put me in the rotation. And he just says, thanks, I'll keep you in mind.

[Big Cat]

And he.

[G]

For 10. The last 10 years, he has not put me in. In his rotation.

[Big Cat]

You're talking. You. You're talking about the Madison Square Garden. You wanted to do the clock there.

[G]

I would start doing the book. I would start being his spotter. I would start.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Do they have a book?

[Big Cat]

You have, you know, you have. You have a job, right?

[G]

Yeah, Dan, I'm saying from 10 years ago, I used to email the guy.

[Big Cat]

But then you said you email them every year.

[G]

I know.

[Big Cat]

I. I was, you know, never give up on your dreams.

[G]

Little exaggeration. Like, you know, like Billy Joel when.

[Coach Gruden]

He wrote Piano Man.

[G]

Like, you know, like what?

[PFT Commenter]

There's a little exaggeration when he wrote Piano Man.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Wait, wait, Rico, I. I got a question for you. Do they still have a book?

[G]

They still have a what?

[PFT Commenter]

Is it still a book? I would figure that it would be just a computer system by now.

[G]

No, you still do pen and paper in the book.

[Big Cat]

Okay, Rico, last question. Say something about hockey, because this is all going in the hockey recap, and we need to just be like, yeah, we actually were talking hockey that time. Time.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[G]

I'll give a pitch to. To my show. Pick Central Every.

[Big Cat]

No, no, no, no. I said say something about hockey.

[G]

Okay, I will. Dan. We got Merls on every day now.

[Big Cat]

Merl's the best. We love Merles a goal scorer.

[G]

We're chasing the plus sign because we don't know about hockey.

[Big Cat]

Say something about the NHL playoffs.

[G]

I got Vegas to win the cup, and they look like last game, big favorite. They're losing tonight, or as we speak, it's two to one. Yeah, I'm in trouble with my feet.

[Big Cat]

Four to one. Four to one. Rico, update. It's four to one.

[G]

Four to one.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Four to one.

[G]

Jesus Christ.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay, Good puck recap. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

All right, thanks.

[Big Cat]

Okay, thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

Rico, crack that. Crack that case for us.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, please do. I will.

[G]

I'll try to crack that case.

[Hank]

All right.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

It might take. It might take a long time to crack that case, because I did.

[Big Cat]

Bye, Rico.

[PFT Commenter]

You can hang up.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Hang up.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's gonna take a while to crack that. I just did a Google search, and in approximately 0.5 seconds, I found out, yes, it is a neutral clock operator that they fly out to playoff sites.

[Big Cat]

Ah.

[PFT Commenter]

So consider that nut cracked.

[Memes]

That could be a hockey take.

[Big Cat]

I'm gonna. I have to text him what was. Speaking of the Kraken, because that could have been you cut out. Yeah, that might have been a good joke. Joke. Okay. Least year.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, wait, he's gonna say, speaking of the Kraken. How about that fat Max in his pants. That's what he's gonna say.

[Big Cat]

I'm not.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not making the joke. Rico was gonna say. No, I intercepted his joke.

[Max]

No, you said it.

[PFT Commenter]

I intercepted it. Then I threw it to my own team.

[Max]

Who's your team?

[PFT Commenter]

I pitched it back to you, Max. Yeah. Now you return it.

[Max]

Thanks.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Leaf Shear overtime winner.

[PFT Commenter]

It might be the leaf series inside.

[Big Cat]

Not worth on the pod. Inside Barstool question. All good. What? He was on the pod when.

[PFT Commenter]

Speaking of the Kraken.

[Max]

Rico is incapable of going on to a barstool podcast without saying something. Actually, let's keep. Keep this off of this.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Like, what do you mean? You were on. Okay.

[Max]

He loves bringing up on a podcast. Let's not keep this in the podcast.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Hey, Dan, thank you for asking me on Departed by take so I can talk about. About the one thing in the world I'm an expert clock operator. I don't know the answer to the question. And also, I'd like to talk to you about my future employment at Boston Sports.

[Big Cat]

By the way, Lee's the Pizza place, he said. Very good. I actually have been there.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Can you get cocktails?

[Big Cat]

I've never. I've never been a female coaching eighth grade at St. Anne, so.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

So not. That's where the relatability fell off.

[PFT Commenter]

Got it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But yeah, it does feel like the Leafs here. Yeah, they look really, really good. Although it would be very, very funny to get a 3 nothing lead.

[Big Cat]

That would be funny. Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, I don't. I. I'm not wishing that for the.

[Big Cat]

Toronto Maple Leafs, but it would be funny.

[PFT Commenter]

But it would. Even if you're a Leafs fan, you're thinking that, God damn, this would just be comedy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're a fan of comedy, you will appreciate it.

[Big Cat]

They've done it again.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And Panthers, by the way. Panthers, who are the defending Stanley cup champion. Up to nothing on the Lightning. I'm worried about the Aves. That was bad. Another overtime loss. Two in a row. That feels bad. That's a bad feeling. Especially how late. How late the games are.

[PFT Commenter]

Again, you can just.

[Big Cat]

Me personally, they're bad.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're. If you're the abs, you can just blame the system. Yeah, we shouldn't be playing these guys in the first round. Come on.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, the system is up. You're right. Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Fight the powers.

[Big Cat]

It was the system that got me.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what's great about the system though? Freebird has become the NHL theme song now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I know.

[PFT Commenter]

They play it like six times a night, in and out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's so good. Of the commercials. And by the way, the Kings, I wish I had known about the harmonica band before the playoffs because I would have bet the Kings they got to.

[PFT Commenter]

Do every game, right? Every single game.

[Big Cat]

The fact they brought it back is like that's a team. That is there. They got their eye. They got their ear to the street. That was very smart of them. How long was that hockey. Hockey talk.

[Max]

17 minutes.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I love it.

[Max]

I just made that number.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

We will have an expert on though.

[PFT Commenter]

Are any goalies standing on their heads?

[Big Cat]

I would assume. Let's see, Bennington, I feel like, has been standing on his head the last two games. He's capable. No, they're. They're down 2 0. They're winning right now. Actually, I'm watching right now. He just gave up goals, so that was a bad, A bad call.

[PFT Commenter]

You pushed him off his own head.

[Big Cat]

Oh, the. The bob. Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Bosky.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he had a shutout tonight.

[PFT Commenter]

Bobrovsky standing on his own head.

[Big Cat]

That was pretty good.

[PFT Commenter]

I thought that Logan Thompson stood on his head for about two periods last night.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So there you go.

[PFT Commenter]

Good.

[Big Cat]

So that's a big time standing on the head. And I feel like the Devils haven't scored any goals. I mean, I might be wrong, but it feels like the Devil's heaven scored any goals. They might have scored like one or two goals, maybe even more than that. But it feels, doesn't it feel like to you also whoever the stars goal is. Ottinger. Is that who the stars goalie is? Yeah. He's been definitely standing on his head because he's won two overtime games.

[PFT Commenter]

It's, it's really hard to say after one round of the Stanley cup playoffs who is looking like they could win the cup because you don't know with the matchups that they have.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, it could all be the team that you're playing against. I was looking at the, the Stanley cup bracket today, and I know it's the same as the NBA in terms of numbers of rounds, but for some reason, it feels so much harder to get to a Stanley cup final than it does to get to an NBA final.

[Big Cat]

Completely agree.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Less time between games.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. They play every other night. Real sports. That is very nice that they do that.

[PFT Commenter]

It's easy to. Anyone can win an NBA title. It's not even really a championship. Stanley cup, now that's, that's a sport.

[Big Cat]

Hank.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, that wasn't referring to Hank.

[Memes]

They've been sellers, have 18 NBA titles.

[Big Cat]

But he's coming at you right now about these players. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm saying, like, easy, Easy to win.

[Memes]

It's not. I, I, I don't, I don't know what I'm supposed to say there.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, you just cakewalk through the east.

[Big Cat]

It's trying to poke you.

[Memes]

It's not the Cavs. Cavs are good. And Magic are tough. Next. Bing bong.

[Big Cat]

I'm dying to know what this cracking joke is, and he won't say it. He keeps saying more of a bad joke. All good in cab home.

[PFT Commenter]

Have a good show in cab home. So he can't talk home.

[Big Cat]

He can't talk. You can't talk in a cab. I'm gonna say right now, the Clippers are up to one. Calling it.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

You like that?

[PFT Commenter]

Putting a pin in it.

[Big Cat]

Making an early call.

[PFT Commenter]

It is.

[Big Cat]

They're better than the Nuggets. It's, it's just. I think they are.

[PFT Commenter]

It's the second quarter.

[Big Cat]

Yep. And they're up 18.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

And I'm going to say it right now. I mean, the Clippers. Hank, you had it. You said it the other day. Clippers might be a problem.

[PFT Commenter]

Barstool sports Clippers are good. Is project really good that the LA Clippers have won this game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we're. We're calling it. It's not too early to call. We're calling this. This fight. The Clippers are up to one and the Clippers are good. And we'll see. I mean, James Harden's playing well tonight.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you see what they did in LA to try to distract Jokic?

[Big Cat]

No, this was great.

[PFT Commenter]

Great. Pull. Pull this up on the. On the tv, Max.

[Big Cat]

This, by the way, still counts as NHL talk.

[PFT Commenter]

It. Yeah, it is. This is technically nh. It's like actually horse racing talk.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So at. At. Into a dome. They have horse hats that they put in the front row tonight to distract Jokic.

[Big Cat]

Look.

[PFT Commenter]

Look at these hats.

[Big Cat]

Let me see it. Oh, I love it.

[PFT Commenter]

They're like full on horses.

[Big Cat]

I love it.

[PFT Commenter]

Look at that. So they're trying to distract him with it. I think, however, this could be. Be. It could be a bad move. I could see a world where this backfires where. Yoke. It's like when you have a real baddie sitting in the front row.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then all of a sudden, Jordan pool is dropping 62 points.

[Big Cat]

He gets in his Zen spot. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So Jokic sees these horses and he's like, I gotta stunt for these hoes.

[Big Cat]

All right, Just say the joke, dude.

[G]

Well, it's not a joke. Yeah, it's more like.

[Hank]

Whatever.

[Big Cat]

It's.

[G]

Listen, the thing next month where I'll be providing definitely skills as a referee. Just also have skill. I also have skills as a player.

[Big Cat]

I. Okay, that. What does that do the Kraken?

[G]

Nothing with the crack.

[PFT Commenter]

You were gonna say something about the cracking.

[Big Cat]

You said the thing about the Kraken.

[G]

Oh, no, Yeah. I was gonna say cracking into, like the lineup. You know what I mean?

[Big Cat]

Like. Oh, all right. Okay, bye. All right. All right. That was bad. That would have been such an all time moment if he said. I was gonna say cracking in, like, Max's belt.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that would have been way better. But good thing we got you ready for that, Max, just in case he did say it.

[Max]

Yeah, guys.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you were ready.

[PFT Commenter]

Failing to prepare is preparing to find.

[Max]

Out that he's got skills in that thing that we're doing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that thing we're doing. We got to keep it under wraps, okay.

[PFT Commenter]

He treats the most inconsequential stuff like they're the nuclear code.

[Big Cat]

Correct. Correct. Every. You Got to just be worried that the FBI is listening at all times. Okay. Should we get to our interview with Justin Thomas?

[PFT Commenter]

Let's do it.

[Big Cat]

All right.

[PFT Commenter]

Before we get to JT is brought to you by our good friends over at Truly Hard Seltzer and their new Truly unruly Lemonade. The stuff is delicious. It tastes so good. It is also 8% ABV, 8% alcohol. You know it's strong. You know it tastes great. They've got the, the wild pink lemonade. The bumping blue razz is my favorite. Also OG lemonade and, and they've got, yeah, the wild pink and punched up pineapple, too. Great flavors. It's lemonade. Let loose lemonade. What a perfect drink for the summertime. 100 delicious and 8% alcohol. It's the official hard seltzer part of my take. All the boys are drinking Truly this summer. Level up your lemonade with Truly unruly. Find it at a store near you or visit www.trulyhardsaltzer.com. justin Thomas is also brought to you by our great friends over at Chevy. Chevy. For over a century, Chevy has been building trucks 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 Chevy says 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. Draft [e-mail] and every Chevy truck truck dependability comes standard. For more on Chevy trucks, visit Chevy.com and visit JD Power.com awards and you can get more award details. Chevy, the official truck of part of my take. And now here's Justin Thomas.

[Big Cat]

Okay. We now welcome on a very special guest recurring guest fresh off his big victory at the RBC Heritage, it's Justin Thomas. Jt, Congrats. First of all, we got to start with the question we always ask when we have a golfer on after they've won. Has it hit the account yet?

[Hank]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Oh, this morning.

[Hank]

At some point today.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How is that refresh when you. When you looked it up? Probably pretty good.

[Hank]

To be. To be honest, I didn't see it firsthand, but I know I do know it's there.

[Big Cat]

Someone told you. Yeah. That they saw it. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a great feeling. Do you. Do you still have the plaid jacket? Do you take that with You.

[Hank]

You can. It wasn't my size, so they're sending me my size.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a pretty cool jacket, I would say.

[Hank]

Yeah, it is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yeah. My. My cousin is adamant that he's wearing it to his sister's wedding this fall, so we'll see how that goes.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you got to let him. So. All right. So, incredible win for you. It had been three years. Really happy you're back in, you know, up at the top of your game. What has these three years been like? Because, you know, you went through some ups and downs. Golf is a brutal sport. Was there ever a moment where you're like, I might not find it again, even though I know I can do this?

[Hank]

I mean, a little bit. There's. It's been a while. I can't believe it was three years. I mean, I feel like the first year felt like it was forever and that it took forever, and that then last year felt like I played better and gave myself some chances. It just didn't get it done. And then it was kind of joking with the media when I got done that. It luckily on my end had been so long, I was past the point of being asked every week, it's been this long since you've won, when's it gonna happen? I was like, you guys basically just. You had to move on. You had other stuff that you need to talk about. So that was way in the past that I didn't have to worry about it anymore, which was nice, but.

[Max]

But.

[Hank]

Or be reminded of it, I should say. But there's definitely some times, mentally where you're. I just was trying to remind myself that it is really hard to win, and there's a reason there's only one of them every single week, and. And to try to somehow stay patient then that my time would come. But that's always easier said than done.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it was funny because I saw something I think was on NBC, and some of the analysts were talking about your career, and because you. You won this weekend, they said I could make an argument that he is the best American player of his generation. Which is really crazy that they said that, like, right after you won, as if that's the reason why it's not anything else. Have you. Have you thought about, like, what that win? Like, now you're officially in the conversation because of this one win.

[Hank]

Yeah, I. I laughed as somebody sent that. It's like, well, you know, where I didn't hear that being said at all in the last, you know, the last couple years. It just Somehow, it was a big win for me, but apparently I didn't know it was that big, so I guess that's great. But you know how sports are. They have a lot of recency bias in there, and anytime that everybody wants to talk about whoever's the most recent winner or who's playing the best at that time. But, I mean, I do know over the course of my career, you know, I have. I've been fortunate to rack up some. A good amount of wins and. And. And different things here and there.

[Big Cat]

But.

[Hank]

But, you know, I got a lot more that I want to accomplish, so hopefully by the end of my career, I have a little better argument than, you know, some people just saying they. They think that after one win type thing.

[PFT Commenter]

You know, you were dog last week, and now this week you're one of the best of all time, so congratulations. Does it. Is there a thing where you. You get a win and you feel like you might be able to go out there and play just, like, a little bit lighter, like a little bit more free without the expectation?

[Hank]

For sure. I got more and more comfortable each time I'd get in contention. I'd say this year, I think last year, I put so much pressure on myself every time I got in contention that I had to win, and I just felt like it was really hard. But I never played well on Sundays. I mean, I would have some good finishes, but I never really had a chance, the last couple holes or the back nine. And then I feel like this year I tried to learn from that a little bit, and then really, I'm just trying to be more patient and let it happen. And so it's. I feel I'm just trying to learn from, you know, the past couple years of mistakes, of trying too hard almost. But that's always another thing in golf. That's way easier said than done.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, I got a dumb question for you. It's a. It's a who's the alpha? Question. I saw that you credited Xander Shafley for helping you with your putting. Now, are you the alpha because you basically tricked one of your competitors. I know you guys are friends, but your competition into helping you, or is he the alpha because Justin Thomas can't win again without Xander Shafley's help?

[Hank]

Damn. That is a. I don't know if that's a stupid question. That's a good question.

[Big Cat]

Thank you. Yeah, it's. Because I read it. I read it, and obviously, the initial. How normal human beings should think is, that's a really cool Story. Guys helping each other out. I obviously read. It was like, well, now I got to figure out who's got the edge here.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you have the edge now. I think he had the edge until you won.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then he's like, yeah, he's coming to me for advice.

[Big Cat]

I'll.

[PFT Commenter]

I'll give him a couple pointers here and there.

[Coach Gruden]

But now that poor fella, this poor.

[Hank]

Little guy, I'll help him out.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Cuz now, now you can take what he taught you and then, like, add one small wrinkle. Here's what really put me over the top.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

And then teach him.

[Big Cat]

You have to give him advice back.

[Hank]

Or do I?

[Big Cat]

Or do you?

[Hank]

That's the thing. I think. I think to really. To really make sure that I've of. I'm standing my ground in this Alpha battle is if I get asked down the road, just be like, no, I'm good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Well, you also can't let Xander come up to you and be like, hey, jt, you want. You want another tip so you can win again? Because that would be devastating.

[Hank]

Yeah. Yeah, that's. You know what? Honestly, I don't give a. As long as I would keep winning tournaments, I don't care how I get them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you could. You could leave these debates up to us. Us, because we, you know, we have. We have endless amounts of time to do the dumbest circular debates that make no sense. So, yeah, we'll handle this. How does it feel? Like, obviously this win is big, but it's also a Ryder cup year. I know you want to be back on the team. It had to have been a little uncomfortable two years ago where you were just like, your name was hotly debated. Not. You weren't. You weren't out there saying like, oh, I need to be on the team. But it was being you were part of the debate of who makes the last spot. Is that part of, like, a motivation this year? Being like, hey, I want to get it so I'm not in this debate anymore. I'm just on the team for sure.

[Hank]

The last. Having to rely on a pick for. For Rome and then hoping to get a pick of the President's cup last year or not. It's. It sucks. Like, it's the worst feeling ever. And I mean, it's kind of hard for. To like, be looking for sympathy or for people to feel bad for you because, I mean, it's. It all. It's my own fault. I mean, if I would have played better or put myself in a position where I qualified, I wouldn't have had to deal with it. I was fortunate that I haven't had to in past, and I like being automatic qualifier and being a part of those conversations of who the picks are a lot more. So I definitely want to make sure that I'm not relying on a pick because it's, it's not a fun place to be in, and it's just, it's, you know, you're damned if you're damned if you don't. But as long as I can get that top six, I don't have to worry about it.

[PFT Commenter]

In the Ryder cup, when we're playing on the road, what are the things that the opposing crowd can do that makes life very difficult for a Ryder cup golfer?

[Hank]

It's. Man, it's, it's so bizarre. It's, it just, it's such a. It's just uncomfortable. It's. I think it's, it's hard to explain, but it's just a, you know, you don't have the difference of other sports where it's, you know, they're, it's not like they're loud while you're, while you're hitting or anything. It's still golf. And I think that's what. Such a unique and different part of it compared to other sports. But it's just the, the roars for them versus the roars for, for the U.S. or, you know, the, the. That's maybe being said to you between shots or, or, you know, walking from greens to tees, whatever it is. I just think there's just little things there that if you, you aren't ready for it mentally, or if you maybe aren't sure how to cope with it, it can be really, really tough. And it's, it's just not something that we ever deal with. So it's, it's not really. It's not a good rep for our soft golf image that we have, that's for sure.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I mean, Long Island's going to be ready. We know that. But if there's going to be like, I'm trying to find the small differences, the details that the fans can be on that might give a boost. Like, what's it, what's it like if you're playing in Europe and you hit a shot, it's a terrible shot, it goes in the water, and then to hear the crowd erupt in cheer after you hit it, because on the Tour, you never get that. That never happens. If you had a bad shot, everyone's like, oh, oh, no. Oh, dear. But out there, they're like, yeah, this guy just screwed up. That's awesome.

[Hank]

Yeah, it is. It's. It's. It really is little stuff like that, but it. Honestly, it's the, the difference of roars for us versus them. Like, it's, it's wild and it's hard to explain, but it's, you know when, depending on the golf course, how the routing is, if you're three or four holes away from, you know, the first match, out near the last match, you know when you hear a roar, if it was for you or for them, depending on where you are. And it's just when the crowd gets really loud behind your team, I think it's, it's probably more of what it is. It's just the support for the home team versus the disadvantage for the away, you know, like the, the, the taunting or whatnot of the away team. Because like you said, it's Long Island. It's. It's gonna be, it's gonna be chippy and we all know that.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm glad.

[Hank]

I'm just glad they're on our team.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Stu Finder is going to be there for Scotty.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's going to amp him up.

[Big Cat]

It's going to be a bunch of Stu Finders out there.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Just Long island people just going nuts. I also. Dumb question. So you win the RBC Heritage, you beat Andrew Novak. He has not won a tournament before. What's the proper amount of, like, talk afterwards? Because that's a tricky situation where I know if, like, I lose and someone's, like, trying to, like, you don't want to pat him on the back too much, but you also want to be like, hey, dude, you played great. So what. How was that conversation?

[Hank]

Yeah, I just, I mean, first off, it's kind of. It was kind of like a blackout moment. Like, I'm a little unconscious of, of kind of the celebrating and what's going on. And then it is, it's. It's just like, oh, God, I have to take my hat off, like, shake this guy's hand now. But it was a. I mean, I just said, you know, great, great plan this week and, you know, we'll see in a couple of weeks. That's pretty much all it is. It's. There's not, there's, there's not a whole lot. There is a funny story. A handful of years ago, Jordan Spieth was in a playoff with Tom Gillis, who is not. Doesn't played professionally anymore. And Jordan beat Tom in a Playoff. And for the whole year, Jason Duffner was grilling Jordan. He's like, man, he's like, you just ruined Tom Gillis's career. He could have been, he would have had a two year exemption. He would have been in Maui, Kapalua. He would have taken his family there. They would have been swimming with the Dolphins at the tournament champions. But you had to beat him in a playoff and ruin his life.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, man.

[Hank]

Absolutely.

[Big Cat]

Just. And it's probably. Yeah. I mean, he's not playing anymore.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah. You got to change his name and go into comedy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Hopefully. Hopefully Andrew Novak wins one. So you're not, you know, it's not like, hey, Justin Thomas, he was that close. And then Justin Thomas ended it for.

[PFT Commenter]

You got to be the biggest Novak fan of the world now.

[Hank]

Yeah, I've, I got faith that Gilly was a little closer to the end of his career and Andrew's playing well. So I, I, boy, I haven't thought of that after saying the story and yeah, I definitely hope that it pans out now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you, if you're in the lead going into the, going into Sunday, do you talk with your opponent? Because I know Bryson was a little miffed. He's miffed at Rory for not chopping it up out there. Of the course.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I feel like a lot of guys just do their own thing, but.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you do?

[Hank]

They, they do. Especially when it's two sims. I think when it's threesomes, it's, it's way slower and like you're just something. It just, it's different. Like you have way more time that you're waiting and like you're just kind of happy to talk more. But I mean, when it's twosomes, there's times where you just are kind of, of. Someone hits it this way, someone hits it this way and you kind of, you're just, you're going your separate way, just you and your caddy the whole time. And also. Yeah. I'm not really out there to, to like have a big conversation. I mean, you'll catch up here and there, but I'd say that's pretty, pretty normal amongst everybody that we're just out there taking care or trying to take care of business.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Do you want to comment at all about Alabama football?

[Hank]

No, I'm good.

[Big Cat]

Okay, that's, that's interesting because I feel like if we had had you on at any point in the last nine years, you would have been like, fuck, yeah, I do. How, how's it Going, actually, my Badgers have to go to Tuscaloosa. That's going to suck for me. I went to the game. I went to the game in September this year at Camp Randall, and I think the Badgers are up three. Nothing. I was like, this doesn't mean anything. And I had an Alabama fan sitting next to me. They're like, yeah, we're not worried. And then you guys won like 42 to 3 or something. Something. So you get that win. But yeah, other than that, it was.

[Hank]

It was an interesting year. It's. We got a lot of spoiled Alabama fans. My. I. I'm not near as bad as I used to be. I think I used to be unbearable to watch games with. At least that's what I've been told. But I mean, hey, it's. It was first year for a coach and. And I. I hate what's going on in. In NCAA sports right now with the. The Nil and the transferring. I just think it's not, not, not good for college sports and the athletes in general. But, you know, we're basketball school now.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[PFT Commenter]

How many. How many championship games have you guys been to?

[Hank]

What's that?

[PFT Commenter]

You guys have been to a bunch of championship games, right?

[Big Cat]

In basketball.

[PFT Commenter]

In basketball.

[Hank]

All right, I get it.

[Big Cat]

What. What about.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you.

[Big Cat]

Do you, as an Alabama fan, acknowledge Rico Bosco as an Alabama fan?

[Hank]

Rico Bosco is an Alabama fan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, so there we go. That was the answer we needed.

[PFT Commenter]

He's a NATO.

[Big Cat]

He's a NATO fan. He's a Nate Oats fan over every. Everything. So he just rides with Nate Oats.

[Hank]

Nate Oats is. He's. I'm a big Nat Oats fan. I remember the first time I ever made. Met him. It was like an Alabama charity event for the golf team. And he was just. He had just gotten signed as a coach, and he's just mowing down an ice cream cone and he's like, what do you do? I was like, I play golf. He's like, nice. I don't know anything about golf. I was like, sounds good, coach. I'll see you down the road.

[Big Cat]

Wait, so did you have you get giving some money to the new Alabama facilities because it looks insane.

[Hank]

Yeah, it's nuts, man. It's. I don't know. I. I told Coach Seawell, our golf coach, this is the most impressive thing he's ever done as a coach to raise that much money in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That's. That facility is. It's just bananas. And they. Yeah. All the good stuff happened after I left school.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So how many, like, like eight or nine win seasons for the football team before we're starting to do some repo work on the golf stuff and being like, all right, we're selling this simulator. We're. We're downside. We're. We're raising this whole building because we got to get the money back to the football program.

[Hank]

Yeah, that, you know, that's. That's true. They may have to start, like, leasing or renting out, like, half of the golf facility. Like, have people living in the locker room, stuff like that. Yeah, they'll find a way. You know, that's what the. That's what the athletes. Athletic departments for.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. When you're looking back to 2016, 2017, are you like, man, those spring breaks were movies. Absolute scenes. The golf bros. Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty good. Which one was better, 2016 or 2017?

[Hank]

The first I. Or the first one was. Was. Was better. It was 20, 2016 because it was. It was our first time and it was. I felt like the. The next year we went like we wanted to do it, but it was. It felt like we, like, had to, and it was, you know, we had to, like, be posting a certain. It was just. It was different. It. It took away the. The fun of the, you know, the debauchery of a boys trip of just playing golf and just, you know, drinking beers the whole time.

[Big Cat]

But.

[Hank]

But I think the first one was better. Just with how Sunday went in the Masters for Jordan and Smiley being in the final group and not. And Smiley playing poorly and Jordan, you know, having a. Having a tough back nine and not winning. So it was, it was. Everything was needed for that trip.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, just hit like a nice reset on there. That's how a lot of these vacations go. You go on a trip with your boys, you have a great time, and everybody's like, we got to do this again every year. Year. And then you try to do it the second year, and it's kind of like the first one, but it's maybe not quite as fun, but it was a good group of dudes.

[Hank]

If you go back to the same place, for sure. I. I have. I. I have tried to pretty much every year since I've left home. I'm really close with the. A group of guys so I went to high school with and I do a boys trip with them every year of. We just, you know, we'll have three, three, four of us. And I mean, now that everyone's got families again, it's pretty tough, but. And I'm just like, you know, we just need to. Whether they come here, we go somewhere and. But we try to do somewhere different and it's, it's a blast.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you play golf on your boys trips?

[Hank]

Yeah, because that's all they want to do. I'll bring like a left handed set sometimes. I have one friend who talks a lot of shit and I just love beating him left handed because then he can't say anything and it really, really, really hurts him inside. So I remind him of that quite.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's such a dick move. But I respect it. That's what best friends do to each other.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you shoot left handed?

[Hank]

What's that?

[PFT Commenter]

What do you shoot left handed?

[Hank]

I've only, I've only played full 18 holes twice and I'm kind of like right around 100, but I can, I can shoot mid-40s if, if I'm not drinking when I start drink. If I'm drinking and I'm playing left handed, like, it is bad. Yeah, I can't. I, I just, I hit a point and I'm like, this, this. I don't know why you guys play golf. Like, this isn't fun. I can't do anything I want to do.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how we play golf. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much every time we go out. All right, so Hank has, is right here. He's. He's a. Our golf pro. You got some Questions for, for J.T. hank?

[Memes]

Yeah, a couple questions. JT, you're, you're a whoop guy. I've been, I've been wearing my whoop and my first question, I was just curious like what the stress stats difference is between like a Sunday back nine and maybe like a Thursday, you know, Thursday, Friday. First, first, first or second round? Like, is there a big difference? And is there a way for you to like simulate pressure when you're, when you're practicing like that?

[Hank]

It's a good question. I haven't looked at this, the stress before. I'm. I'm gonna have my phone right here. I'm gonna, I'm gonna give you just.

[PFT Commenter]

Full blown raw data because I saw.

[Memes]

They posted Rory's like. And when he was in the playoff at, at Sawgrass and it was like his, his stress went all the way low before he hit his, his playoff shot on 17. It's like, it seems crazy to me to be able to control that, that. But obviously that's, you know, what you guys do.

[Hank]

Like, I've done some Some. Some stuff in past of like. Yeah, I mean, it. My. It looks like they were pretty similar. It was a little lower on Thursday and Friday than it was on Sunday, but. Pretty similar. But I mean, I've done, like, some stuff. Some breath work stuff to where I know how to at least try to kind of get my heart rate down. My heart rate's higher. I would say way higher than Rory's or some other people, but it's more of just kind of like my getting it to my whatever baseline is type thing.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah. You ever do the back away where you're. You're about to hit a big putt and you're like, no, it's just not right. Something's not right. Step away?

[Hank]

Yeah, yeah, I've backed. I mean, it's. I've backed off a bunch. It's. It's just a. I think if, for me, I'm very visual and, like, kind of artistic in the sense of, like, what I'm seeing. If I'm putting, like, I want to be able to kind of see the line or see the trace. And if I'm over a shot, same type of thing. And if I don't have, like, a clear vision or somewhat of an idea what I'm doing, it's. It's not good. But, you know, I. I've hit many shots when I haven't backed off when I should have, but. Yeah, when I don't have that, that's generally when I. When I'm backing off to try to get some kind of idea.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Hank, you got anything else?

[Memes]

Yeah, I'm a big. I'm a bad golfer in a mental head case at that. And I'm a big fan of. Of seeing, like, one Instagram reel with the tip and then just completely changing everything I do. And I saw one recently that was Patrick Cantlay talking about how he only uses one wedge around the greens where he used to have, you know, the different numbers and try the different shots and stuff. And he got better once. He was like, I'm just gonna use a 60, or think he said 61, which I didn't understand. But, yeah, I'm just going to use a 61 and just use that for everything. And I was like, I think I'm gonna start doing that even though I never have before. And I was curious of that because it made sense to me where it's like, you think less. You know what club you're going to hit, but obviously you have a great short game and, you know, you probably need different shots. But is that something you would, would recommend or thought about?

[Hank]

Yeah, it's funny because like Mike who caddies for me now used to caddy for Patrick for a while. So I mean I've known him not only through counting for me, but before that. And, and Pat is also someone who's, he knows a lot of different things about the game, but he'll kind of subtly pick guys brains and, and when he wants to learn stuff. And I remember there was kind of like a, you know, six months or so or a year where he was really asking a lot of chipping questions and then we, I happened to be talking about it with my caddy Rev a couple months ago about using different clubs and he was like, yeah, he's like, I don't know if you remember but you know, at some team event or some event, he's like, Pat was just grilling you about questions about using this. Like it was me, him and Jordan I think were playing and he was asking Jordan and I so many questions. So again something we, that we just apparently we like to make all of our peers better instead of keep all of the information to ourself, it seems like, but it's, it's kind of a. Whatever fits the player. I mean I, I, a lot of guys predominantly just take a lob wedge and try to fly it close to the hole with as much spin as they can. But it changes a lot each week depending on the grass. But I like to use kind of whatever club is more of like a first instinct, I think. I generally the harder I try to make it, the worse off it is versus if I just go with what I first see type thing.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I, I thought you had one of the best shots of the last month or two. I don't know which day this was. Maybe Thursday or Friday. The one that you played out of the mud where the ball was sitting up towards the top. Because I think every golfer has been in that situation. They see their ball, they're like, I can play this. So you take a giant swing at it and immediately afterwards you can see the look on your face. You're just like, well that was stupid because you're like covered in mud at the time. Is that a shot that you practice?

[Hank]

It's, it's actually really funny you say that because I, it just, it was something where, I mean normally it's, it's not, it wouldn't be worth it. It just was where, where I was going to have to drop. I, I was getting zero advantage. Like I was still behind a bunch of trees. And I. I was. I was likely going to have to chip out. And I was like, well, I know that if I catch this how I want, I can actually get it to the fairway and have a chance to maybe make a par. And in the worst case, it'll just dribble out, which is going to be a little. A little bit better, but pretty similar to where if I just drop. So I feel like it's worth the risk. And as I'm kind of going through it, I said to Joe, who was filling in for. For Rev, I was like, hey. I was like, you just kind of, like, hit, like, a bunker shot, right? And he's like, yeah, and I hit that. And obviously you got all over me. And the hole goes on. I'm walking up there. I was like, by the way, I've never hit one out of the water before, so I did not know. Like, I thought that was kind of weird why you asked me that. I'm like, well, I felt like if I told you beforehand that I hadn't hit one out of the water, you weren't going to let me hit it out of the water. So I waited till afterwards to tell you.

[Coach Gruden]

Smart.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, the ball was taunting you, though. It was in the perfect position for you to at least give it a shot.

[Hank]

I know. And I think I just was so worried about trying to lift it up in the air and kind of almost like topping it or hitting it into the water, like, down into it, that I was like, I just have to stay down and I have to hit down on this thing. Like, I'm taking a big divot.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Hank]

And I just went. I overdid it so much that I went completely under it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

And it was just. Yeah. Water and dirt everywhere.

[Big Cat]

It was very relatable. So. So your current caddy, Joe, who is Max's caddy, he's. He's doing caddying while your real caddy is injured. Is he coming back soon?

[Hank]

Yeah, Yeah. I actually saw him today. He's doing. He's doing a lot better. He. He probably could have caddied last week, but it wouldn't have been smart. But I have a tournament. Yeah. In two weeks, and Rev will be back. He just. He's had some disc issues in his back, so. So Joe had a. Was fortunate. I was fortunate he was able to come fill in. And. And we had a nice, nice little week last week.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, we're so. We're very loyal to Max. He said it was good with him and Joe. So we're. We weren't mad at you or Joe, but we. There was a moment where our guns out. We're like, do we need to? Do we need to.

[Hank]

Hey, I reached. I reached out to Max first. I, I. I wanted to do the right thing, you know?

[Big Cat]

Respect.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Bro code.

[Big Cat]

I like that, Cat.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Well.

[Hank]

Although I don't know what I would have done if he said it's not.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, you at least have to ask. I think in. In full transparency, I think me and Big Cat said we wish the best for you, but we didn't want you to win the Masters. The first week after Joe left, that would have seemed mean for Max, but now there's some time there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You waited.

[Hank]

Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. I'm. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with how it all panned out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you think that your regular caddy, like, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down inside, saw you win and he was like, oh, for sure, right?

[Hank]

I mean, yeah, I tried to tell him as many times as I possibly could, but, yeah, while he's. I mean, I assume he is rooting for me and watching it, there's. There's got to be a small part of him that's, that's like, oh, yeah, now what's gonna happen? And I thought about kind of stringing them along and just messing with them, but I'm like, this poor guy's hurt. I can't do that to him. That's not. That's not. Not fair.

[PFT Commenter]

Right? Yeah. And almost the more you. You say to him, it's good that you guys acknowledge it, that you joked around about it, but if you're like, no, listen, this guy means nothing to me. It's just a fling. He's still at home. Like, he's carrying the bags a little bit higher than I do.

[Big Cat]

Did you tip him out? Did you tip out Rev?

[Hank]

What's that? Tip him for when?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, for. Did you tip him for even though he wasn't on the bag?

[Hank]

I have not. No. I, I just. I paid Joe.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but maybe, maybe, maybe you got to tip out Rev being like, hey, I wouldn't have been in this spot just so that he doesn't get. It's. I mean, you. You got caddies you got to deal with here. This is a very tricky situation for you.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

A couple hundred grand.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You're good for that.

[Hank]

You know, this was. This wasn't an issue, probably until you guys brought it.

[PFT Commenter]

I was like, you know what, you dick.

[Big Cat]

Here's. Here's what we could do. We can delete this part, and you could tip us out. Okay? We can extort you. We can extort you right now. We can make sure this goes Bye Bye never goes on the podcast. You tip us out, and we're good to go.

[Hank]

I mean, I don't. I don't see what could go wrong.

[Big Cat]

Then we just. Every two months, we're like, hey, jt, we still got that footage.

[PFT Commenter]

You need to pay some more.

[Big Cat]

We just have you on the way.

[Hank]

We didn't get that last one. Yeah, maybe.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that'd be incredible if, like, your. Yeah, your career takes, like, a. Like a weird turn. Everyone's like, what happened to jt? It's like, well, he went on part of my take, and they tried to extort. It's been weighing on his mind.

[PFT Commenter]

This is our speed moment for you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

When you were a caddy for Jordan, would he tip you out.

[Hank]

For. What do you mean? Did you.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you caddy for Michael Jordan?

[Hank]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sorry. I was. I was thinking speed, though. Yeah, I don't think I caddy for him. Yeah, yeah, he. He did when I. Yeah, back in the day, for sure.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Good tipper.

[Hank]

He helped pay for my first car, so that would. That was huge.

[Big Cat]

That's pretty good. That's. That's the Nick Saban way. That's exactly right.

[Hank]

I didn't even have to get. Get gifted one when I went to college. I already had it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, I got one last question for you, JT. Rollback question. R, H, O, B, A C, K.com promo code. Take 20% off your first purchase. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, great golf stuff. Roback.com promo code. Take. You have nine professional course records at different courses. Which one is your favorite? That's pretty sick, by the way. Just. Just saying it out loud. Nine different courses. You have the course record. Do you have a specific one that is your favorite? And can you name all nine?

[Hank]

I mean, I. After seeing it or after. I really didn't know until it kind of started going out last week. What is last week? TBC Sawgrass, TBC Stadium course in Palm Springs, Kuala Lumpur, Kapalua, Wingfoot, Aaron Hills, Medina and Wildlife.

[Big Cat]

Yep, you got it. So which one's your favorite?

[Hank]

I mean, the. The 63 in the US Open was pretty cool.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, wrong answer.

[Big Cat]

That's a good. The next one, the 59, is really cool.

[Hank]

Yeah, it is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Well, fortunately for me, I had nine pretty cool ones. So I had to. I could choose, you know, some. Some different ones.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a good list.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

How many holes in one do you have?

[Hank]

25.

[PFT Commenter]

That's.

[Big Cat]

Seriously.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Is that normal for a professional golfer to have 25?

[Hank]

Probably not. I don't. I'm not sure.

[Memes]

I feel like you either hear like it's like 30 or like there's somewhere. It's like, I have two.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, right.

[Hank]

Yeah. I'd say that's. That's a good way to describe.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you even get excited when you hit a hole in one? Like 25.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, 25.

[PFT Commenter]

That'd be old hat for me. I'd be like, oh, I guess I got another hole in one. Again, I gotta buy everybody drinks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, let me have one of those. 25. That's an insane number. How many. How many while playing, like, professional?

[Hank]

It's like 4, 5. 4 5.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so a lot of those are, like. Are when you're playing privately beforehand. Yeah.

[Hank]

Well, not in. Yeah, not in professional.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yes. Do you have. Do you have a favorite hole in one.

[Hank]

Sunday of the Masters? The. Your Tiger one. I made one.

[Big Cat]

That's pretty. That is pretty cool. That's actually what I think most people remember about that Sunday.

[Hank]

Yeah, definitely. That's actually the first. It's always like, wow, Tiger won the Masters. Like, is that just made the hole in one, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah. When people are like, hey, yeah, Tiger, he won the Masters. Like, well, he wanted a bunch of times. Are you talking about the time he won it? When JT got that hole in one? That's how we got a. There we go. That's gonna cost you more money for us to get that narrative going. We'll give you our wire information after this. JT though, thank you so much, man. We appreciate having you on. Best of luck the rest of the year. Hopefully see the Ryder Cup. We got to win the Ryder Cup. It's a must win. It's a must win.

[Hank]

Absolutely.

[Big Cat]

Okay. All right. I feel.

[Hank]

Absolutely. Thank you, guys. And please don't try to extort me for too much.

[PFT Commenter]

That's okay. It's very polite. Justin Thomas was brought to you by. Pardon my cheesesteak. The NFL draft is here. And ordering part of my cheesesteak for your draft day meal or late night eat meats is the best pick that you can make. Part of my Cheesesteak offers a wide variety of cheesesteaks, loaded fries, popular desserts, all delivered right to your door so you don't have to miss any of the action on your couch. Pick your Favorite cheesesteak made with thin sliced steak, melted provolone, mouth watering cheese sauce and caramelized onions on a toasted hoagie roll. And you can order the popular big cat combo. Get your choice of a cheesesteak, fries and a drink. Go to part of my cheesesteak.com, use promo code draftday and you get free delivery through Saturday night, April 26th. Just go to part of my cheesesteak.com and use promo code draft day and you get free delivery all the way through Saturday. Justin Thomas was brought to you by our awesome new friends at fast growing trees. New sponsor alert. New sponsor alert. Did you know that fast growing trees is the biggest online nursery in the United States? They've got thousands of different plants, over 2 million happy customers. I don't know if I ever told you guys this. I used to sell trees back in the day. Not just.

[Big Cat]

What?

[PFT Commenter]

Not just. Not just Christmas trees.

[Big Cat]

What about dogs?

[PFT Commenter]

Used dogs too.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

But these were brand new, like right off the factory line. Trees and plants worked in a nursery for a little bit from the soil. I. I would grow them in the soil sometimes. But this plant, this tree that Hank's got in front of him right here, that's beautiful. You know where he got it from? Fast growing trees. They shipped it to us. We took it out of the box and it looks beautiful here in the studio.

[Memes]

I got a bunch from my place too, that. They're great.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's awesome. Put. Are you gonna put any outside for the spiders to live in?

[Big Cat]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

No, you don't want that.

[Memes]

No, I don't.

[Big Cat]

Spiders are dead.

[Memes]

I thought spiders are dead, but I'm not trying to tempt them to come back.

[PFT Commenter]

These trees are beautiful. Trees call it the spiders.

[Memes]

Fuck the spiders. Come at me.

[Big Cat]

I got.

[Memes]

I got.

[Big Cat]

I got a crazy contraption for any spiders listening. Mount up.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You have a public enemy right now. He's calling you out.

[Memes]

It's like a heavy dude or heavy duty spider sprayer.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, that's a Swiss cheese plant, is what you have over there. So it's probably a Packers fan, now that I think about it. But it's a beautiful, beautiful plant. And fast growing trees makes it easy to get your dream yard order online, get your plants delivered directly to your door. In just a few days. Without ever leaving home, I am redecorating some of my rooftop. I think I'm gonna have to get some fast growing trees up there.

[Big Cat]

Hell yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Really turned. I want it to look like a rainforest Cast cafe on my roof.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

So I'm going to be in touch with fast growing trees about that. Whatever plants you want, they've got them. They've got all the plants that your yard needs. They've got fruit trees, privacy trees, privacy. If you're in Great Britain. Flowering trees, shrubs, so much more. I love this new plant. We got to give it a name. Maybe Blake. This spring they've got the best deals for your yard, up to half off on select plants and other deals. And listeners to our show get 15 off off their first purchase. When using code PMT at checkout that's an additional 15 off. Fast Growing Trees.com use the code PMT at checkout so they know that we sent you Fast GrowingTrees.com PMT now is the perfect time to plant offer. Valid for limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. What about. No, I was gonna say jo tree. That doesn't really work.

[Big Cat]

That would work.

[PFT Commenter]

It could work.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

We'll workshop it.

[Big Cat]

We'll workshop it. It. Okay, Hank, from behind the tree. That's a fast growing tree right there. Fire fest.

[Memes]

Yeah, all time. Fire fest.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, all time.

[Big Cat]

I love this. This is when we roll up the sleeves. Let's get it going.

[Memes]

It's been. I've been rattled all week. It's just. I'm a bad. I'm a bad, bad person.

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Memes]

Bad son. My dad. Oh, Greatest dad in the world. Big listener of the show, big supporter, Supported everything over the years. Driving into work Sunday.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no, you missed his birthday.

[Memes]

And I saw, you know, I saw like, I think I saw Billy string set list from the night before. I was like, oh, go listen to it. There's an app where you can listen to the. The shows. When I. Before I open it up, I see the date of the show. April 19th. And it hit me that I didn't. I realized I forgot his birthday.

[PFT Commenter]

When's his birthday?

[Memes]

April 19th.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I saw it.

[Memes]

April 20th. Like I was going to pull it up the show. And it was like, Billy Strings April 19th. And I was like, yesterday.

[PFT Commenter]

And you didn't even root for Duke this year either. Yeah, bad son.

[Big Cat]

So you sent him a text.

[Memes]

I called.

[Big Cat]

You called? And what was his reaction?

[Memes]

He was. He just. He's laughed. It honestly isn't. It's happened before too, which is bad. But it was just. It was tough. He was giving me, you know, give me for it now. Rightfully so, but it was it. I. I felt really bad. I felt really bad head.

[Big Cat]

Not to make excuses, Hank. Not to make excuses. But I think that in this situation, you should maybe not think about like, hey, what did I do wrong? And maybe blame the other people in your life because you have siblings.

[Memes]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

How do they not give you a heads up? You need the heads. Like I've been close to missing it before, but I've always gotten the heads up.

[Memes]

I know, I know. That's where I kind of did that double check was like, did I miss, you know, because we have a family group text and stuff. I was like, did other people say anything in that?

[Big Cat]

Oh, that's actually even dirtier. So they were doing the side.

[Memes]

Yeah, I didn't even, I didn't honestly haven't even reached out to find out.

[Big Cat]

Cuz my family group text would just be like everyone else and then I'll just, I'll be like the, the sixth birthday. Happy birthday.

[Memes]

Still no excuse, but. Yeah, there wasn't any, any assistance there.

[Big Cat]

Oh no.

[PFT Commenter]

So what are you going to do to make it up to him?

[Memes]

He loves Roback. I got a, I got a fantastic. Well, no spoilers, but might have a fantastic Roback care package. But it doesn't. You can't really. It's tough to, to make up. I just want to be better.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you, did you buy the Roback or you, you just looked at it.

[Big Cat]

You have in the checkout.

[PFT Commenter]

You're just getting free road Roebuck sent to them.

[Memes]

Well, I hit, I hit Roback. Great, great partners.

[Big Cat]

Dads do love robot. My dad, my dad loves Roebuck.

[Memes]

I'm wearing a random Roeback and I hit them up. I was like, is there a code I should use then? Promo code take. And they're like, we'll help you out. Let us know what you want.

[PFT Commenter]

So that was a good move on your part. Hey, I'm at the checkout. I'm wondering if I should use the promo code or if there's a special promo code.

[Memes]

I mean we love Roback. They're, they're, they're great partners. And my dad's like maybe know my, my niece and nephew and then roll back.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, well that's the good news is like right now he's like, he's fully into grandfather life probably.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Like he loves being a grandfather. The, the son that he has without a child. He's like, yeah, of course, of course he didn't wish me happy birthday.

[Memes]

Yeah, it's tough.

[Big Cat]

Do you think he's, do you think you're in his will?

[Memes]

Yeah, I think so.

[Big Cat]

I'm just asking because like that's definitely something. Like if, as if I get older as I get older and like, life. Like, I will definitely be one of those people who will be like, little tally sheet of, like, that could be the case.

[Memes]

I don't know if it's an even split. And I. That could. It could be going down by the day.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Uranus won't now.

[Big Cat]

Brutal.

[Memes]

Really bad. Really, really bad. It's one of those things where it's just do every day. You're like. When you know you can't, like, make it up.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You have to wait 365 days. It's just like, you got set yourself a calendar right now. I did. I did it because it will be on a Sunday, man.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you have to take on the responsibility next year, too, of like, letting all your siblings know, hey, just a reminder, tomorrow's dad's birthday.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I got an idea to make it up to him.

[Memes]

What?

[Big Cat]

Maybe masters next year right around his birthday. Oh, maybe Taco Bell next year. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

You're in the doghouse.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. That. That is the worst. Missing a birthday because you're just like, well, I got. I got nothing here. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The only explanation is like, sorry, wasn't really thinking about you.

[Big Cat]

I. I missed one.

[Memes]

It's really just. I just don't look like the calendar when it's a Saturday. Like, I just. I wasn't like, what day is it today? What's the. But I should have been aware of it earlier in the week is probably where I went wrong. But I just, you know, looked, and I wouldn't have even seen it Sunday. Like, I don't know. I don't. I don't.

[Big Cat]

Because it's not even like. Like, because I missed a birthday last week. But it was a cousin. Like, that's not. Yeah. That's not mandatory.

[PFT Commenter]

No.

[Big Cat]

Like, I feel like cousins are like, you know, you either get it or.

[Memes]

You don't see it on Facebook.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, right. It's like, all right, we're good. But it's immediate family is. You got to get the birthday. You got to get it right. I did do that one year, I think, on my mom's birthday. I called and my mom picked up, and I was like, hey, is dad there? And I was like. And then he picked it. And then he got on the phone. He's like, it's your mom's birthday. I was like, yeah. No, I was joking. Can you put mom back on one? So it happens. Yeah, man.

[PFT Commenter]

Sorry.

[Memes]

It's all right.

[PFT Commenter]

Brutal. My firefest of the week is I played in my first softball game last night.

[Memes]

Nice.

[Big Cat]

Oh, good.

[PFT Commenter]

We lost, unfortunately. Ah, decent showing. Decent showing from the guys. We got one bad inning and that'll take it out of you.

[Memes]

What position?

[PFT Commenter]

I played right field and it kind of sucked because there's no lights out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, no, it's very hard to see on that field.

[PFT Commenter]

You don't really see anything. Didn't make an error though, so I'm pumped about that. That and. But then the last inning of the game, I was batting leadoff in that inning. Get a little base knock to first base, no big deal. And then I tried to leg it out from first base to third on a single from the next guy up.

[Big Cat]

You got to run out of third.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm too fast for that. But as I'm running to third base, I pull a hamstring on like my second to last step, muddy field.

[Big Cat]

It was bad.

[PFT Commenter]

It was a bad field. And like, you know the feeling. Have you ever pulled a hamstring before?

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

You immediately, you know, ex. Exactly what it is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And so. But since I was only like two steps away from third base at the time I get to third, I'm like, well, I just pulled my hamstring, but I guess I have to stay on base and try to run home. The very next ball that was hit was like a short, short fly ball to like the like deep shortstop.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So you couldn't run.

[PFT Commenter]

And I. I tried to tag and I took one step and I was just like, nope, it's not happening. So this Stark reminder. I'm 40.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. So are you out for a while?

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know. We'll see. I iced it down last night.

[Big Cat]

That's brutal.

[PFT Commenter]

But. Yeah, it's brutal. First. First game back.

[Big Cat]

That field was a dangerous field last night.

[PFT Commenter]

It was injury concerns. Maybe, Maybe you guys were right not having me on the team. It's like this guy is a. He could. If he put it all together and stayed healthy, he'd be a force. But best that never was, best that never was. But we'll see a lot of going. Getting treatment on myself. But the. The squad was awesome last night.

[Memes]

You're hockey tough.

[Big Cat]

You're.

[Memes]

You'll be good.

[PFT Commenter]

I'll be fine. Lower body injury. I'm so short. My entire body is lower body injury. But I. My squad is fun like the guys. Katic had an all time performance last night.

[Big Cat]

He told me about this. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So he was a little bit late getting to the game because he was at the Cubs game last night.

[Memes]

And for listeners, this is Katic. Mike Katic was A. He played center at Indiana.

[Big Cat]

Center for Indiana.

[PFT Commenter]

He's a big boy.

[Big Cat]

Big boy. And he took a pig like maybe an hour before their game. Because we played two hours before you. So we, we weren't on the same. We. We left before you got there. But I saw. I got back in my car an hour before the game. Katic posted a picture from Wrigley with two beers in his hands and a hot dog.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I was like, that's interesting.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a solid. Listen, if you're his age and you just graduated from college.

[Big Cat]

True.

[PFT Commenter]

That's. That's what you live for is those nights when you go to a baseball game, get a little drunk, then go to a softball game. So he tries to make it all the way over from Wrigley before the game. Halfway there, he realizes I have to. And he runs into a hotel on the way to take a. Realizes that he. His pants a little bit.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

So he had pants. And he also tore like Ezekiel Elliott style, tore the bottom off his shirt, let the belly hang out a little bit and just decks the first runner of the game who's trying to score, just like runs into him and knocks him the out. So that was fun getting to play with those guys.

[Memes]

That's a football player playing song. That sounds exactly.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Memes]

An offensive lineman drunk, playing softball.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. And then at the end of the. At the end of the night, we played the night game, which started at 9:30. And so when I was leaving my house at like 8:45, I was thinking about going to sleep.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, dude. I. I used to play the league where the late game was 10:30 and it was just like, it was the worst feeling ever at 10pm being like, time to go play softball.

[PFT Commenter]

Exactly.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, I would much rather be getting ready for bed.

[Hank]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Than leaving my house to. To go to a softball game. But it was fun. And then I leave afterwards and all the other guys are like, yeah, we're going out to a bar if you want to come along. I'm like, I can't go out to a bar and drink alcohol. It's a Wednesday night and you have a hamstring injury. I have a hamstring injury. I got to get home and ice it down. So, yeah, I'm on. I'm on like the three day DL.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

I think that's not bad. Yeah, we'll see how I stand after this weekend.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. That feels.

[Memes]

He's gonna rest it up this weekend.

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe. I had. I'm gonna be doing a lot of walking On Friday, I'm going to Montreal.

[Big Cat]

You're gonna end up with a purple leg.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm gonna be with Oldie. Oldie's gonna be taking me around Montreal. I'm sure he'll. He'll want to just chill out and sit still in one place.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah. By the way, I don't know if we mentioned. I think I mentioned on the act, but Oldie. We've hired Oldie at barstool Sports. He's not going to be moving here from Canada, but he'll be here. I don't know. We'll have him for some hockey streams.

[PFT Commenter]

I think we talked about that. That like a week ago.

[Big Cat]

Oh, we did. I did say it on the show. I don't think I said during the Whitney interview. Oh, yeah, yeah. We. I. That was right before we officially did hire him this week, though. We had not hired him yet, but we have officially hired him. That was before we had officially.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm pretty grinding. I'm so excited to go through Montreal with. With Oldie. Montreal, I've heard, is a very fun city. And then having Oldie show me around. I don't know if he speaks French. I think we're gonna try, but he put out a video this morning where he's like, get into a cold tub. He's got the side pouch.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

He is old. He's, like, doing a drug. Hanging out with oldies. Like, being on drugs.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm pumped.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. My fire fest. I got a couple. One was we do our Pittsburgh radio hit every other week, pmt. And I alternate great guys, Bill and Randy. Uh, this morning, I was very tired, and, uh, I joined on the radio, and they played sound from two weeks ago when I was on, and I didn't realize that it was from two weeks ago. And I was just responding to questions. And then I heard my own voice, and so I was just talking to myself in the car, and I was like, this is really embarrassing.

[PFT Commenter]

So you heard the interview where it was the two of them and then you. Yeah, and then.

[Big Cat]

But before I could answer, I started answering again.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

A conversation I had already had.

[PFT Commenter]

Right. Were you getting into an argument with yourself?

[Big Cat]

I was just. I. My take, it was pretty similar.

[Memes]

That's good.

[PFT Commenter]

They're like, do you want ginty? And then a week ago, you're like, no.

[Big Cat]

You're like, yeah, no, it was. It was something about the pirates, like, screwing up. They were selling, like, the bricks.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Big Cat]

And I was like, oh, that's a Cubs move. And then I So I said that two weeks ago. And then as I was driving on the call, I started saying, oh, that's a Cubs move. And then it was like an echo, and it was my voice saying, oh, that's a Cubs move. I was like, jesus Christ, dude.

[PFT Commenter]

There are times when I get into the car and I'm leaving work. I think it's. It's on Wednesday. That's when you do your ESPN hit in Chicago. Yeah. On Wednesday. Sometimes I'll be wrapping up macro dosing, and then I'll get into the car at like, three or three whenever you do the hit, and I'll hop in, and then the first thing I hear is me is big Cat being interviewed on the radio.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And I feel like I'm still at work.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. It's a weird feeling. And then my other fire fest is. I don't know if this is a fire fest. You guys can tell me. I think, you know, we do a really good job with our interviews here. We. We make guests feel comfortable. Sometimes maybe we feel too comfortable with the guests. I didn't even think about it until Wednesday, show went live, and then I got a bunch of tweets, and they're like, hey, dude, you called an NFL head coach a pussy. And I was like, oh. Oh, yeah, I guess I did. Well, that was weird. Well, I don't think I've ever done that.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you call him a pussy?

[Big Cat]

I did. I said, stop being a pussy when we were talking about the tush fish. I'm talking about Matt Laflor, who is a very good guy, and we appreciate him coming on, but that was, like, one of those ones where I probably shouldn't have done that.

[Memes]

Well, I think the packers thing helps out a little like that still. Bears.

[Big Cat]

Packers.

[PFT Commenter]

So I. I saw the clip. I didn't. I didn't think that you called him a. Were we talking about the packers be in general being a.

[Big Cat]

No, we were saying the tush push.

[Coach Gruden]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

But I think he was like, the packers are.

[Big Cat]

No, he was like, I. I don't want to give my real opinion. I said something like, oh, don't be a. Either way. Probably got to clean that up.

[PFT Commenter]

I did notice that when the word exited your mouth, he, like, blinked.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

He's like.

[Big Cat]

I don't think he was ignoring. I don't think I. And I've. I text with him, and we've met him a couple times. He's a great guy. I don't know if we're at level yet. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're a Head coach. But think about it. If you're a head coach in the NFL, it's probably been years since someone's called you a.

[Big Cat]

True, true, true. Yeah. Actually, you might think about it. Might like, what if this is the undermining of the entire packers organization?

[PFT Commenter]

Right.

[Big Cat]

Like, I called him a. It was like, you can talk like that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Then it's just chaos.

[PFT Commenter]

Or what if it just adds more fuel to the rivalry?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Ben Johnson basically called him a. Yeah. And then you called him a.

[Big Cat]

Either way, I'm gonna say hand up on that one. I probably should just be a little. A little more aware of that, you know?

[PFT Commenter]

Would you say that to Dan Campbell?

[Big Cat]

Absolutely not.

[PFT Commenter]

Because Dan Campbell is not a. There you go.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's true.

[PFT Commenter]

You just called Matt LaFleur again.

[Big Cat]

Again. Yeah, yeah. No, I don't think he's a. He might have had behavior when he didn't answer the tush push question.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, reading between the lines on his answer, I feel like maybe the people in the front office.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So he Are doing it without consulting Matt La Flor about it. And he's probably like. Like, I wish the packers weren't the face of asking.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

Play to be banned.

[Big Cat]

Okay. So that's. That's a good conclusion for gate. So you know what? Strip map la. Floor of the title. Erroneous.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Disavow of myself. Max, you got a fire fest.

[Max]

I had a pretty clean week. I was pretty good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

No, I had. I had a bad week. Getting the stomach bug is by far, like, the worst thing that can possibly happen to a human. I think cancer. I feel like stomach bugs gotta be up there. Just kidding. Just kidding.

[Big Cat]

Just kidding.

[Max]

No, you. You feel like you're dying, though. It's terrible. My. My ribs hurt from puking so hard.

[Coach Gruden]

Yeah.

[Max]

So, like, every time I laugh or cough right now, I'm still getting that. That feeling in my side.

[PFT Commenter]

And you laugh and cough a lot even when you're healthy.

[Max]

I laugh a lot.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Hank]

I don't.

[Max]

I don't necessarily cough a lot, but I do laugh a lot. Thought so. Yeah, it was a tough week. I pooped my pants at one point.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no. Doesn't count if it's sick.

[Max]

Yeah. Doesn't count.

[Big Cat]

Does not count.

[Max]

Yeah, no, it was bad. I was in bed, too, so that was tough.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you ever have the moment where you. You were pooping and puking at the same time?

[Max]

No, I didn't have that.

[Big Cat]

That's the worst. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Going number three.

[Max]

Yeah. No, I didn't. I. But I did have the plastic bags next to the toilet in case.

[Big Cat]

Case.

[Max]

In case that situation happened.

[PFT Commenter]

You think that's a hungover thing, Hank?

[Big Cat]

It can be.

[Memes]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I've never done that.

[Hank]

Well, that's a crazy.

[Max]

That's an unbelievable thing.

[Memes]

I've done it once or twice, and it's.

[Big Cat]

I've definitely had a hangover.

[PFT Commenter]

I think it's crazy because, like, you know when you're about to puke and you simply don't start pooping, then.

[Memes]

No, this. Yeah, this is a one.

[Big Cat]

No, it's the other one.

[Memes]

It's happened twice, and it's like, you're.

[Big Cat]

Pooping, and then I have to puke. Yeah, that's happened hungover before. So you're like, holy. I think I have to puke.

[PFT Commenter]

What's your move? Do you. Because I've had.

[Big Cat]

You gotta flush really quick and then just. Yeah, it's terrible.

[PFT Commenter]

It's been through, like. And I just lean over the tub.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Memes]

No, that was, like, one that happened to me one time, and I still remember it when I lived in Massachusetts. It was.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

One time when I was a kid, I was peeing and I had a stomach bug, and I, like, sneezed or something, and as I was peeing, like, came out of my ass behind me.

[PFT Commenter]

This is disgusting.

[Hank]

You.

[Max]

I mean, we opened this can of worms.

[Big Cat]

It is what it is.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Come on.

[Max]

I opened this can of words.

[Big Cat]

How much weight did you lose?

[Max]

I don't know. I don't. I don't necessarily believe in scales. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I don't have any. I don't have any before that.

[Big Cat]

Under something we already knew. Yep. The.

[Max]

I feel skinnier.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, there is. That. Is the. The benefit of, like, getting a stomach bug is you feel so skinny, but then what happens is you get your appetite back after. Like, you do the. You do the test meal, and then you're like, all right, I'm good. And then you do the real meal, and you just get so fatty.

[Max]

I still. I'm still not at the real meal yet.

[PFT Commenter]

Yet.

[Big Cat]

I'm still.

[Max]

I'm still getting.

[Big Cat]

I saw you hitting some soup today.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's a good.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

I had a. I had a noodle. I had noodle soup. Not even. Yeah, from, like, a Jewish deli here.

[PFT Commenter]

Is there a. Is. I'm not gonna say what kind of deli it was. It was a Jewish deli.

[Big Cat]

It was Manny's.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Is there, like, a meal that you had right before you got sick that now you associate with being sick? Because that happened to me one time when I was younger and I ate honey mustard pretzels right before I got sick. And then I didn't touch a honey mustard pretzel for probably 20 years.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that. That ruined Emmy squared for me. The really good pizza place, Brooklyn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just killed me for it for, like, I couldn't. I loved that place. And I got sick right after. Not because of them, but it just ended it.

[Max]

Yeah, I'd stuffed peppers right before it. I don't think I'm having stuffed peppers anytime soon.

[Big Cat]

It's like everyone's got that one liquor that they like. Mine's gin. I drank too much gin when I was, like, 16 years old. Puked everywhere. And I have not. I don't drink gin.

[PFT Commenter]

Mine was rumple mints. But then you get back on the horse.

[Max]

Yeah, I was that way with chipotle. I got sick after eating chipotle one time, and then it took me, like, years to start eating again.

[PFT Commenter]

Now, now it's fine. Blake's got diarrhea too.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no.

[PFT Commenter]

Bonus fire fest. Have you considered wearing a cone?

[Max]

No, I should wear a cone.

[Hank]

Wait, I don't.

[Max]

Yep. I should just wear it.

[PFT Commenter]

You should wear a cone. Not an ice cream cone, but, yeah, regular cone.

[Big Cat]

You should wear a cone.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I want some ice cream right now.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, sounds good.

[Max]

Not me.

[Big Cat]

It's getting warm out. It's time for ice cream cones. Gonna get back on my. We're going to get a soft serve machine in this office.

[PFT Commenter]

And a Gravitron.

[Big Cat]

And a gravitron. Okay. Good show, boys. Numbers three. I think.

[PFT Commenter]

I think that was mean. Yeah.

[Memes]

17, 77.

[Max]

1.

[PFT Commenter]

95. 99.

[Big Cat]

Pug memes. You think you're gonna get it today? That would be so cool. I don't think so. So, dude, if.

[PFT Commenter]

If I get it, whoever the jet trapped is going to be helping.

[Big Cat]

What was your pick? Wiper?

[PFT Commenter]

54.

[Big Cat]

89. 89.

[PFT Commenter]

Love you guys.