The Yak: "Our Hoosiers (Barely Alive) Check-in From Miami"

Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts/Regulars: KBNoSwag (Kyle Bauer), Nick, Brandon Walker, Rone, Lil Sas, Kate, Steven Cheah, Big Cat, Dana, Connor Griffin, others
Location: Barstool Sports, The Yak Studio

Episode Overview

This episode is a wild, free-form check-in after Indiana’s National Championship, with the Yak crew celebrating, sharing stories from Miami, ribbing each other about parties and basketball team "tryouts," and dissecting both personal and Barstool office drama. Featuring hangover reports from Katic and White Boy Rick direct from Miami, debates on the ultimate "guy/lad/bro/dude" taxonomy, reflections on team sports and the meaning of friendship, and recurring inside jokes about magicians, blowup dolls, and Barstool basketball struggles. The usual office chaos and personal oversharing shape a vibrant, comic, and thoroughly Barstool hour and a half.

Main Topics & Discussion Highlights

1. Indiana’s National Championship: Aftermath from Miami

• Check-in from Katic and White Boy Rick (1:44:00)
  • Both are extremely hungover/possibly still drunk after celebrating IU’s first football national championship (“We're in rough shape, but we're national champions, so we're great.” – Rick, 36:46).
  • Stories from legendary Miami club E11EVEN and Prime 112 dinner—Rick admits, “At some point at like 3 or 4am it just became like a strip club.” (33:31).
  • Emotional moments: Katic “cried on TV this morning,” Rick posts about his mom, then starts Twitter beef with Miami fans.
  • Reflections on being a downtrodden Indiana fan suddenly on top—“Is this as good as it ever gets?” Discussion about the emptiness that might follow as a fan.

2. Barstool Juggernauts Basketball Team

• Tryout/Practice Debrief (2:53)
  • Practice involved high-effort running (“I had the boys running… five minutes and they're gassed.” – Big Cat, 3:26).
  • Discussion of team strategy: The new play is to give Rick the ball constantly (“I want 33 of those points to be coming from Rick.” – Big Cat, 4:08).
  • Some self-deprecation: “We're gonna lose by 25.” – Host (4:43), skepticism about the team’s fitness, and hope if their ringer Deutsche plays.
  • Debate over jumpsuits vs. suits for coaching; nostalgic riffing on “Hoosiers” and Jimmy Chitwood.

3. “Guy/Man/Lad/Dude/Bro” Taxonomy

• Literal taxonomizing of male identity terms (13:00+)
  • The group argues over who on show is a "lad," "guy," "bro," etc.
  • “Dana, you’re the most dude guy I know.” – Nick (13:04)
  • The playful bickering about what makes someone a “chump,” a “man,” a “lad,” etc.

4. Classic Yak: Gross-out Stories, Blowup Dolls & “Points” Games

• Dana’s revelations about high school points-based challenges and blowup doll incidents, and the shame/humor involved.
  • Notable: “If you’re actually a blow up doll, you’re just one step away from being a serial killer.” – Big Cat (7:47)
  • Tangent on whether using a blowup doll for pranks is more or less shameful than earnest use.
  • Nostalgia and reflection on maturing, but the crew is tempted to restart a points system in Chicago (“It’s a high school thing. We’re all 16-33 now.” – Dana, 10:46).

5. Magic, Magicians (“Jicks”), and FOMO

• Barstool staff is salty after Connor Griffin had a magician at a Penn State-heavy birthday party—and didn’t invite Yak or the rest of the staff.
  • “He looked me in the eye and said, it’s a Penn State only party.” (Mark Titus, 98:16)
  • Inside Barstool term “jick” for street magicians and riffs on “J Week.”
  • Discussion of magic’s appeal: “Dana is probably top of the list of guys that could get their mind blown over and over and never stop.” – Big Cat (28:31)
  • Ongoing inside joke: all future magic shows will exclude Connor and his Penn State clique. Hilariously petty.

6. Office/Content Drama: Parties, Applying for Dating Shows, Barstool Confessional

• Connor is roasted for excluding coworkers from his birthday/magician party.
• Update on dating show applicants: “He’s a good looking guy…an eligible bachelor.” – Big Cat (87:23)
• New Barstool “confessional booth” for anonymous complaints, mostly generating gripes about Mikey Bets so far.

7. Mascot Acquisitions & Fellas Friday

• PFT delivers “Bucky Badger” mascot suit to the office; jokes about mascot collections and group costumes.
• Segment where they highlight the “Fella of the Week”—this time, an Aussie “wave fighter” (random TikTok dude who literally shadow-boxes the ocean).
  • “If you don’t got guys like Dave out there, then you get tsunamis.” – Big Cat, 85:50.

8. Personal Tangents, Parenting, Hypotheticals, Reflections

• Brandon’s musings about where his life might have gone: “If you simulate my life 100 times, 70 of them end up in prison.” (58:56)
• Speculation on which Barstool employee’s disappearance would take the longest to notice.
• Boyish nostalgia (“Wouldn’t it be sweet to be a baby again?”).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “We're in rough shape but we're national champions so we're great.” – White Boy Rick, (36:46)
• “I want us to win this game 35 to 32, and I want 33 of those points to be coming from Rick.” – Big Cat, (4:08)
• “If you’re actually a blow up doll, you’re just one step away from being a serial killer.” – Big Cat, (7:47)
• “This is like when I came in here and talked about butt chugging.” – Dana, (9:55)
• “Dana, you’re the most dude guy I know.” – Nick, (13:04)
• “It’s a high school thing. We’re all 16-33 now.” – Dana, (10:46)
• “I just wanted to leave a legacy in the locker room for the guys.” – Katic, (33:03 – emotional, half-drunk championship reflection)
• “Connor Griffin, can you tell us why you didn’t invite us?” – repeated by Big Cat and others, throughout the Connor grilling (esp. 98:16+)
• “He was a Penn State only party.” – Mark, paraphrasing Connor, (98:16)
• “If you don’t got guys like Dave out there, then you get tsunamis.” – Big Cat, on TikTok ‘wave fighter’ (85:50)
• “If you died though, we’d all actually have to quit.” – Brandon, on Kyle/KB, (109:14)
• “Have you ever lived in an apartment with common areas? Never…But for the magician specifically, we needed more room so we rented…” – Connor, (88:50)
• “I am the kicker. Nobody likes me here.” – Brandon, during NFL job debate, (52:39)

Timestamps – Key Segments

• 00:53-04:41: Barstool basketball team practice recap, “tryouts,” running, and the feed-Rick offense.
• 13:00-14:19: “Guy/bro/dude/lad” taxonomy debate.
• 28:09–32:00: Dana’s stories of being easy prey for magicians; card tricks at bars and the joy of being “jicked.”
• 36:46–41:15: Live from Miami hotel—Katic and White Boy Rick, championship celebration stories, and Twitter beef.
• 47:10–55:00: Friendship rankings, bachelor party Usher stories, and the bittersweetness of being a “side character.”
• 65:01–70:00: Hunt for the “Coldest Guy in Chicago” from the viral Bears game clip; cane burping soundboard.
• 80:47–85:22: TikTok wave-fighter “fella of the week” segment.
• 98:16–103:56: Connor gets grilled for not inviting Yak crew to his magician birthday bash; fire code, “Penn State only” excuses.

Memorable Themes & Inside Jokes

• “Points” System – High school game for dares and pranks; would thrive in Barstool’s current Chicago office.
• Barstool Magic (Jicks & J Week) – Yak’s ‘jick’ term for magicians, magical FOMO, and desire to outdo Penn State party.
• Connor’s “Penn State Only” Affair – Running joke and sore point; exclusion from parties, resulting classic Barstool mock outrage.
• Mascot Mania – Bucky Badger, mascot collecting as a degenerate hobby, and dreams of an all-mascot office/fan section.
• Personality Taxonomy – Amusing debate about what archetype each host is (“chump, man, guy, lad, bro, dude,” etc.).
• The “Coldest Guy” – New meme/viral Barstool favorite, subject of a hunt for podcast follow-up.

The Yak Experience: Takeaways for New Listeners

This episode is classic Yak—unfiltered, hilarious, meandering but always grounded in the chemistry of its hosts. It’s a cocktail of sports, inside-office bickering, oddball observations, and gleefully immature stories. Expect quick topic jumps, self-satire, relentless peer roasting, and hyper-insider jokes (often explained in real time). The show’s tone is raucous but affable, its best moments arising from genuine camaraderie, embarrassment, and comfort with oversharing—the weird, the gross, the sublime, and occasionally, the touching.

If you’re new to Yak or Barstool, this episode serves as both an initiation to their unique lexicon and an introduction to the personalities and deep-running jokes that fuel their fanbase.

Episode At-a-Glance

• Championship aftermath: Live, bleary celebration from Miami after IU’s unlikely win.
• Barstool basketball: Out-of-shape, overconfident, and comedically dysfunctional as ever.
• Friendgroups, exclusions, parties: Connor gets (deservedly) clowned for snubbing coworkers from his birthday.
• "Guy/lads" debate: Important, not especially productive, classic Yak.
• Blowup dolls, magic, and “points”: Unapologetic college/teen hijinks nostalgia.
• Wave-fighting fella: New internet hero.
• Mascots & softballs: Bucky Badger joins the crew; ambitions for year-round Juggernaut sports.
• Plans for upcoming content: Woman’s dating show, spellbinding magician visit, and more.

Listen for:

• Hangover stories live from Miami hotel lobby.
• Abundant shots at Connor Griffin for excluding his coworkers from his “Penn State only” magician party.
• Yak’s unique taxonomy of “guy/bro/lad/man/chump.”
• Tales of Barstool’s basketball struggles and high school “points” system nostalgia.
• Tender and absurd moments—emotional championship tears, toting magic forks, wave-punching, and confessional rants.

Note: Skips all sponsorship, ad reads, and non-content as requested.