PMT DB
PMT DB
The 2025 Takie Awards: Blake of the Year, the Fox Deal, and Preemptive Takes
The suits are on and the vibes are high for the ninth annual Takie Awards. Big Cat and PFT are joined by the full Chicago crew to celebrate the year in takes, though before the hardware starts flying, there was some actual business to attend to. The guys officially addressed the Fox Sports and Barstool collab, making sure everyone knows that while FS1 is getting a piece of the Chicago office, the podcast isn't changing one bit.
Big CatThe Barstool Sports partnership with Fox Sports will not change the content of Pardon My Take
I'll say right now, [the Fox deal] is not gonna change this show at all. We made sure of that. We, we it's gonna be a great, like, this is very different than the ESPN partnership back in 2017. Fox is a very willing partner. They're very excited. We're very excited. They believe in us. We believe in them a lot different than what we went through with ESPN.
PFT was quick to echo that sentiment, ensuring the AWLs that his appearances on the new morning show won't get in the way of the three episodes a week we all live for.
PFT CommenterThe new FS1 show featuring Barstool Chicago will not cannibalize Pardon My Take
It's gonna be a mix of everybody in this office and people that might not be in this office right now that might stop in. I don't expect to be spending a full-time jobs worth of time going on the show, but I'll go to try to make it on like once a week is what we discussed. That way it's not gonna cannibalize Pardon My Take.
The Winners and the Legends
This year’s ceremony featured some heavy hitters for guest presenters. We had Secretary Pete Buttigieg presenting Lib of the Year to Jersey Jerry, who defended his title with pride (and a request for a cash prize). Tom Brady even showed up via video to roast Hank over his inability to distinguish between real life and AI-generated videos of kangaroos and whales.
Paul Bissonnette hopped on to accept the prestigious Citizen of the Year award after his legendary run-in with Irish travelers at a Houston's. Biz was in rare form, trying to balance his new title with his ongoing battle against gout, which he refuses to blame on red meat. He also took a moment to hype up the future of his sport.
Paul BissonnetteHockey is on the rise and the Four Nations tournament will be a high-stakes precursor to the Olympics
Hockey's on the rise man. On the rise. Hockey's on a heater as we always say on the podcast, the last two years. And on top of that, boys we're heading into an Olympic year. With all that Four Nations... precursor to the Olympics coming up. It ain't the Olympics. We all know that. But don't act like they weren't playing for something. They were playing for pride.
Not every award was about the guests, though. The crew took a moment to recognize the new first lady of UNC football, Jordan Hudson, and her influence on the sidelines in Chapel Hill.
Big CatJordan Hudson is going to take UNC football to new heights
Jordan Belichick. Classic Game Queen. Gonna take UNC football to new heights. Oh my God. She is, she is a shining star.
Blake of the Year: A Triple Threat
Blake of the Year remains the crown jewel of the Takies. The tension was palpable as the Zoom link was sent to Blake Griffin, Blake Bortles, and Brooks Koepka. Griffin showed why he’s the GOAT of this category, joining in a record-shattering 12 seconds to secure his fifth title.
Bortles was a fraction of a second late, and Brooks—dialing in from a different time zone in Northern Ireland—was a solid 17 minutes behind. However, in a shocking turn of events, a secondary deal was struck on air. If Brooks can pull off a major victory this weekend, he might just steal the crown.
Brooks KoepkaIf I win the Open Championship this weekend, I will officially take the Blake of the Year title from Blake Griffin
I'm not dead. I've never wanted to win a golf tournament so bad. [The deal is] if I win the Open Championship this weekend, I officially get [Blake Griffin's] Blake of the Year title this year. Verbatim. That's what it'll be.
Preemptive Takes for 2026
The ceremony wrapped up with the traditional look ahead. Hank is banking on a coaching change or injury in Cleveland to pave the way for a college star to make some noise in the NFL.
HankShedeur Sanders will step in for an injured Joe Flacco and lead the Cleveland Browns to a wild card playoff spot
My preemptive Take of the Year. Shedeur Sanders. It's going to lead the Cleveland Browns to a wild card spot and make the playoffs. Maybe an injury. I think after like week four [Joe Flacco's] not gonna start. Something's gonna happen. Maybe Flacco gets injured, [Shedeur] steps in, leads them to glory.
Big Cat, ever the optimist for his rivals, decided to go completely off the board with his prediction for the 76ers.
Big CatThe Philadelphia 76ers will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals
I have a new preemptive take. This is a hot take. All right. The Philadelphia 76ers will make it to the Eastern Conference finals. Whoa. Now that is that not crazy? That's, I mean we just, here it is. That Joel and the opposite of chalk.
PFT finished the round by leaning into the Chicago hype, claiming that the situation surrounding Caleb Williams is essentially a perfect storm for a breakout sophomore campaign.
PFT CommenterCaleb Williams is entering the best situation for a second-year quarterback in the history of the NFL
I truly believe this by the way. I think that the situation that Caleb Williams is in right now is the best situation in the history of second-year quarterbacks in the entire NFL. Think about it. They shored up the offensive line. They got rid of Matt Eberflus. That's good for six wins right there. They finally have a GM and a coach that are lined up on the same contract. They've got an offensive wizard at head coach who's got a bag that's deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Fyre Fest and Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, Big Cat admitted that his days of being a dual-threat athlete and podcaster might be coming to an end after a grueling week of softball and streaming.
Big CatI am officially retiring from participating in physical sports challenges
My fire fest is pretty simple. My body is broken. I'm, I'm too old for some of this shit. I did tweet that I was thinking about retirement, like not retirement from like this show, but retirement from our physical challenges. We played, we did six hour stream on Tuesday night... softball on Wednesday... oh my god, I can't walk right now. I think I need to retire from sports. I need to be a walking guy.
Hank closed the show by acknowledging the complex relationship between the hosts and the listeners, noting that while the internet can be a dark place, the AWLs are the best in the business when it counts.
HankPardon My Take listeners (AWLs) are mean to the hosts online but are always polite and friendly in person
Love you guys love seeing you guys out there supportive, you know, say mean stuff online, but they're always nice in person. I've never had a bad interaction with an AWL in person. And that is all that matters.
Nine years of Takies in the books and the bar just keeps getting higher.
