PMT DB
PMT DB
Alex Rodriguez on the Mets, NBA Playoffs, and Who's Back
We have officially transitioned into a Luka Doncic fan podcast. After watching Luka dismantle the Clippers on one ankle with a 43-17-13 stat line and a buzzer-beating step-back, there’s no other choice. Big Cat and PFT are fully bought in on the 21-year-old Slovenian phenom, mostly because he’s out here making professional athletes look like they're playing in slow motion while the rest of us were beer-bonging whiskey at that age.
Big Cat couldn't help but look back at the 2018 Draft with a massive amount of second-hand embarrassment for the teams that passed on him.
Big CatThe Hawks and Kings missed out on a generational superstar in Luka Doncic and they will regret it for the next 20 years.
I'm just going to say it to the Hawks who traded [Luka Doncic] on draft night to the Kings that took Marvin Bagley—bad drafts happen. They'll worry about it. You miss on a generational superstar that is going to be incredible in the NBA for the next 20 years. Shit happens, man.
While Luka is ascending to godhood, Paul George—or Playoff PP as he’s currently known—is having a rough go of it in the bubble. Between getting roasted by Seth Curry and struggling to find the bottom of the net, the "Playoff P" nickname is looking more like a self-inflicted wound than a badge of honor.
Big CatPaul George is a pathetic second banana who stinks in the playoffs and doesn't deserve to be called a superstar.
Playoff P, Playoff PP—holy shit, that guy stinks. I don't understand how you can be considered a superstar. You would say that Playoff P is at the top of the list for second bananas, and then the playoffs come around and it's like, dude, have you played basketball before?
Looking elsewhere in the East, the Bucks are rolling, but the pressure is mounting on the Greek Freak. Big Cat is putting Giannis on notice: regular-season dominance doesn't mean anything if you're getting bounced before the Finals.
Big CatGiannis Antetokounmpo must make the NBA Finals this year or the narrative will turn against him
I got to take about giannis... he's got to go to the finals this year. That's all I'm going to say because when he dunks on the magic up 20 and like pounds his chest... if he gets stopped in the Eastern Conference Final again, like you can't do that where you just in the first round your piece and then in the second and third round you get shut down.
The Process is Broken
Hank’s Celtics completed the sweep of the Sixers, and it feels like the end of an era in Philadelphia. Brett Brown is likely gone, and the roster construction is a mess. The "Process" resulted in two stars who seemingly can't play together, leading Big Cat to propose a radical solution involving his Chicago Bulls.
Big CatThe Sixers cannot win a championship with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together; they should trade Simmons to the Bulls for Zach LaVine and the No. 4 pick.
The like sports radio call-in—like you need to trade one of the two and just build around the other—I think is actually now true. I do not think that you can win with both those guys. You gotta try to figure it out—maybe trade Ben Simmons to the Bulls for Zach LaVine and the number four pick. There you go.
Who's Back of the Week
North Korea is back with reports of Kim Jong Un being in a coma and his sister, Kim Yo-jong, potentially taking the reins. We also had Earl Thomas getting cut by the Ravens after a training camp fight, which naturally led PFT to speculate on where the veteran safety might land.
PFT CommenterBill Belichick will sign Earl Thomas to replace Patrick Chung
Maybe this belcheck move. Maybe Belichick picks him up. They lost Patrick Chung for the year. They get real Thomas as like an impact veteran that everybody else has given up on
Alex Rodriguez Joins the Show
A-Rod joined Big Cat and PFT in the office to talk about the new season of *The Corp* and the current state of baseball. The conversation immediately went to the Fernando Tatis Jr. 3-0 grand slam controversy. A-Rod didn't hold back, calling the "unwritten rules" out for being outdated and putting the blame squarely on the managers.
Alex RodriguezFernando Tatis Jr. did absolutely nothing wrong by swinging on a 3-0 count while up eight runs; the manager is responsible for giving a red light.
Tatis did nothing wrong. He is basically our LeBron James in the making. He is colorful, he is fun. We need more of that. Let's promote him and baseball, let's just loosen up a little bit. Number one, you should never get upset at the player. It is the manager's responsibility to determine green light, red light. If you're up eight and I'm the manager, I have to tell you green light or don't swing. Tatis did nothing wrong.
He also touched on the physical dangers of the game, specifically pitchers head-hunting. For a guy who played in the middle of some of the fiercest rivalries in baseball history, his stance on player safety was surprisingly firm.
Alex RodriguezPitchers should never throw at a batter's head; if you want to hit someone, hit them in the ribs or under the belt.
I don't believe that if you're a pitcher throwing 98 miles an hour you should throw someone's head to even some type of argument or something that you disagree with. If you want to hit someone, you should hit them under the belt or at the ribs—no higher than that because you can end somebody's life. That's the truth of it.
On a lighter note, A-Rod reminisced about the transition from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one. While the new digs are fancy, he admitted that the "Short Porch" and the overall dimensions made it a bit of a hitter's paradise compared to the original House that Ruth Built.
Alex RodriguezThe new Yankee Stadium is a joke to hit home runs in compared to the old stadium.
Moving into [the new Yankee Stadium] was like we were moving into the Peninsula Hotel, something really, really fancy, but it was just a joke to hit home runs. The old stadium had a better fan environment... but this stadium, it was just a joke to hit home runs.
Of course, we had to ask about his pursuit of the New York Mets. While he couldn't dive into the specifics of the bid, he spoke highly of his former rival Derek Jeter’s transition into the front office in Miami, suggesting that greatness on the field often translates to the executive suite if given enough time.
Alex RodriguezDerek Jeter will be a successful executive if given five years to fix the Marlins, and I would not bet against him.
Give [Derek Jeter] five years before passing judgment because he walked into a very difficult situation. Here's a five-time world champion, a Hall of Famer—Jeter is going to be just fine. I would not bet against Mr. Jeter.
NFL and Billy's List
To wrap things up, the guys looked ahead to the NFL season and the recent wave of false-positive COVID tests across the league. Big Cat has a theory that the NFL has accidentally (or intentionally) found the perfect loophole to keep their stars on the field when the games actually start.
Big CatThe NFL will use false positive COVID tests as cover to let star players like Patrick Mahomes play on Sundays
The NFL has muddied the waters enough that we can now safely go into the NFL season just assuming every test that is positive is not actually positive until it's negative. Patrick Mahomes test positive on a Sunday morning... they'll be like, it's a false positive. He's going to play and then two days later be like, well the for positive reading footballs good job NFL
Finally, Billy Football provided some questionable "medical" advice about training dogs to sniff out the virus and reminded everyone to keep their dopamine high by exercising.
Luka Doncic is only 21 and we are all just witnesses to his greatness.
