Smylie Kaufman on US Open Drama and Mike Florio on NFL Takeover
What an absolute heater of a Father's Day weekend. Between the US Open coming down to the final bunker shot at Pinehurst, the Celtics getting absolutely throttled in Game 4, and the Panthers laying an egg in Edmonton, there was almost too much sports to handle. Big Cat and PFT dive right into the carnage at Pinehurst, specifically the Shakespearean tragedy of Rory McIlroy. Rory skipped out on the media immediately after the loss, even reportedly spinning his tires in a tournament Lexus as he peeled out of the parking lot.
Every athlete should get one pass per year to skip the media after a loss
I think that every athlete should get one a year where they can just say, I'm I'm not doing this and, and this you, you and if you, if you don't use it, you lose it. So you don't get carryover, but you get one a year where you can just be like, Nope, no moss, I can't do it. Because I would, if I were Rory and I had to sit there and have Bryson come up to me and be like, that was an incredible fight you put up, you know what? Oh, you played so great. I wish two of us could have won this. And then go sit and have some reporter say, Rory, talk me through what happened with that putt that you missed. I kill myself.
While the media was busy clutching their pearls about Rory’s exit, PFT pointed out that the silent treatment actually worked in everyone’s favor.
Rory McIlroy's tire spinning exit gave reporters a better story than a boring press conference would have
The media gets so mad after Claire. And then they have all their articles about how this person didn't give them anything to write about. Right. And he actually, Rory gave everybody so much more stuff to write about. Right. So much more stuff to talk about by not answering questions than he did if he had stuck around and just given like deadpan answers of credit to Bryce. And he played really, really well. Of course I'm disappointed. Very upset that I missed those puts, you know? Yeah. It's one of those things, golf's a hard game. That's what Rory would've said.
Smylie Kaufman from the Scene
Smylie Kaufman joined the show fresh off the NBC broadcast to break down exactly what he saw standing ten feet away from Bryson DeChambeau and Rory. Smylie confirmed that the tension was palpable, especially when Rory was looking over his shoulder to watch Bryson’s shots. He described Bryson as the "content king" and argued that his 55-yard bunker shot on 18 was one of the balliest things he’s ever witnessed.
Bryson DeChambeau's bunker shot on 18 was a one-in-a-million execution
I was probably 15 yards away from him... a 55 yard bunker shot is one of the more difficult shots in the game. And Bryson probably hit a gap wedge... full swing. The fact that he went in there full swing and bringing in literally watching it over the clubhouse and having the nerve to pull the shot off and get it inside at five feet was unbelievable.
Smylie also weighed in on the Rory aftermath, suggesting that the heartbreak at Pinehurst is going to result in a lighter schedule for the star in the immediate future.
Rory McIlroy will likely pull out of the Travelers Championship
I think this one's gonna sting for a really long time and it won't surprise me to see him pull out of the travelers this next week. I, I doubt we'll see him there. I'd be shocked if we see him there and yeah, the fifth major, there you go.
PFT isn't just worried about Rory's mental state, though; he's worried about the Sunday morning rounds for every weekend warrior across the country.
Rory McIlroy just made the 'gimme' range much longer for every amateur golfer
I'm mad at Rory though. I think that all amateur golfers, all people that golf for fun should be really angry with Rory today because he just made the length of a gimme putt so much longer because now if it's inside Rory range, you're gonna have to put that out.
Celtics Nerves and Stanley Cup Blowouts
Hank is back in the studio and trying to keep his composure after the Celtics forgot how to play basketball on Friday night. Despite the 38-point loss, Big Cat is still looking at the betting lines and feeling extremely confident about a Monday night coronation in Boston.
The Celtics will win Game 5 by a lot
Celtics I think are six and a half point favorites on Monday night. I believe they're gonna win by a lot.
Hank claims he's only "15% nervous," but when the guys pressed him on the historical stakes of a 3-1 lead, he doubled down on the Celtics' cushion.
There is no way the Celtics blow a 3-1 lead with two home games left
When you have a three oh cushion though, I mean there's no way. There's just no way. They have two home games. Oh, no way. Worst case way, worst case scenario. But it's not scenario they have.
With both the Celtics and Panthers dropping Game 4s in embarrassing fashion, Big Cat is looking for the silver lining in a potential cross-sport parlay.
A Celtics and Panthers money line parlay is a lock for Monday night
The fact that the Panthers then lost eight to one in the exact same setup made me feel like both teams are just gonna like, listen, I'm not a gambling expert, but a Panthers Celtics money line parlay game five feels like it could potentially happen.
Talking Ball with Mike Florio
Because we simply cannot go a week without talking about football, Mike Florio joined the show to discuss the "Phase Me" portion of the NFL calendar. The conversation immediately went to the Jets, where Florio argued that the drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ mandatory minicamp absence was a self-inflicted wound by the organization.
The Jets made a bigger story out of Aaron Rodgers' absence than it needed to be
Don don't think there's a problem. And I know that memes had some issue with something that I said last week because I saw the tweet and I had to send it to you Big Cat to get an interpretation like most people of my generation do. Hey son, what is this all about? I didn't get it. Here's the issue with Aaron Rogers and I think this is more about the Jets than Aaron Rogers. They fucked this up so bad last week. All they had to do was excuse his absence. That's all they had to do.
Florio also walked the guys through the massive Sunday Ticket lawsuit that could change how we all watch games. He’s actively rooting for the shield to take a massive hit in court for the benefit of the fans.
Fans should root for the NFL to lose the Sunday Ticket lawsuit
The NFL has always just kind of pressed forward and made as much money as they could from it. But this case is about what the NFL allegedly has done to protect the deals with CBS and Fox. And without getting too deep into the weeds, it's as simple as this. They required allegedly, but I think the evidence has proved this. They've required DirecTV to charge a certain price so people don't get it and they just watch whatever CBS or Fox has to offer. ... we should be rooting for the NFL to lose this because it will make it easier for all the fans to have cheaper choices and broader selections to watch outta market games on Sunday.
As for the actual play on the field, Florio is high on the Steelers’ ability to grind out wins under Mike Tomlin, even with a weird quarterback room. He thinks the culture in Pittsburgh is perfectly suited for a bounce-back year.
The Steelers will surprise people because Mike Tomlin knows how to manage a room of difficult personalities
Steelers you got? Oh, Steelers. Okay... bringing Arthur Smith in there... Tomlin's superpower is to take a room full of guys that you would individually look at them and say, okay, and slap 'em all together and make it into a playoff team... He knows how to speak to the better angels of all these players and get the most out of them.
Who’s Back and Max's Minute
Who’s Back featured Bill Belichick’s new philosophical cheerleader girlfriend and a check-in on Jimmy Carter’s sleeping habits. Big Cat also weighed in on the news that Charles Barkley might be retiring, though he’s not exactly buying the TNT legend’s announcement.
Charles Barkley's retirement announcement is just a leverage play
I don't buy it. I don't buy it. I don't buy it. He's too good. That's just what you say at the end of the year. He's just doing, he's he's said a million different things. He's like, well maybe I'll just hire everyone and we'll have a new, we'll bring it over here. Maybe I'll retire. Maybe w he's just, I love Charles Barkley. I love, love, love Charles Barkley. I don't buy it. Charles Barkley could talk about anything on TV and I would watch. Yeah. It doesn't matter what it could be.
To wrap things up, Max finally emerged from his puddle of Philly tears to deliver Max’s Minute. While he mostly used the time to complain about the Phillies getting "throttled" by the Orioles, he did manage to sneak in a shot at Jayson Tatum’s shooting splits.
Jayson Tatum's poor shooting in the Finals needs to be a bigger story
Tatum won 15 five and three on four of 10 shooting. He is now shooting 36% from the field and 29% from three. This series. I just like thought that we should have talked. We should talk about that.
Hopefully, Rory’s Lexus had enough tread left to get him to the airport.

