Chris Long and Blake Bortles on UVA's Title and Joining the Rams
The Virginia Cavaliers are national champions, completing a story arc that sounds like a Hollywood script. Big Cat and PFT look back at the journey from the embarrassment of losing to a 16-seed last year to cutting down the nets in Minneapolis. For Big Cat, the redemption story makes the victory even sweeter because the struggle was necessary for the triumph.
Virginia's national title run is one of the coolest stories in sports history
UVA now becomes one of the coolest stories in all of sports going from the loss to UMBC last year as a one seed to a 16 seed never happened before to then get all the way back and go to the national title and win the national championship. It's all like one story. And it all kind of erases. I feel like if they don't have that low, they don't get to this high.
PFT noted that while people want to talk about the officiating or the double dribble, sometimes you just need a little bit of luck to reach the mountaintop.
The best sports teams are usually the luckiest ones
To me, it seems like the best teams are always the ones that get the luckiest. You can make the case like, oh, Tom Brady shouldn't have as many Super Bowls because the interception bailed him out at the end of the Seattle game... But it turns out that if you have luck that adds up a lot, you're probably just good.
Speaking of the game itself, PFT has been tracking a specific betting trend regarding the venue. He believes the elevated floor in football stadiums plays a massive role in how these games start out, suggesting that shooters need time to adjust to the depth perception.
Unders in the first half are a strong betting trend for games played on raised floors in football stadiums.
I've noticed that teams, when they're on that raised floor... in the first half, it seems to me like all the first half unders were hitting on any game that's ever been played on an elevated floor, like in a football [stadium].
Magic Johnson's Tactical Tampering
In the middle of the show, the guys had to pivot for an emergency update regarding Magic Johnson’s shocking resignation as Lakers President. Magic didn't tell Jeannie Buss or LeBron James; he just told the media he wanted to be a "free bird" again. PFT thinks he knows exactly why Magic wanted out of the front office.
Magic Johnson resigned as Lakers president so he could spend more time tampering.
We all thought when he did it, we're like, oh, he is upset because he can't tamper as president. And so he wants to retire to spend more time with his tampering. He was like, I want to be a free bird. Right now I'm a caged bird and I'm not allowed to hit up Russell Westbrook and say, hey, congrats on the 2020.
Big Cat thinks this is just the beginning of the bloodletting in Los Angeles. With the Lakers missing the playoffs in LeBron's first year, the pressure is mounting to land a second star, and Big Cat expects LeBron to start handing out pink slips to everyone in the building.
LeBron James will eventually fire everyone in the Lakers organization, including Jeannie Buss
I think LeBron is going to fire everyone if they don't get another star. He'll go all the way up the ladder. He'll probably tell Jeannie Buss she's fired.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne
Hank put Space Jam 2 on the Hot Seat because LeBron is reportedly having a nightmare of a time finding NBA stars to join the cast. Between Giannis saying no and other stars worried about being subtweeted by their executive producer, the roster is looking thin.
LeBron is struggling to find co-stars for Space Jam 2 because players don't want to deal with him
He's having a very hard time recruiting co-stars to join the movie... Giannis denied him said he doesn't he doesn't like being Hollywood... they're worried about if they go to the movie then they're gonna have to potentially play with him on his team.
The Masters is on the Cool Throne, and Big Cat was quick to shut down any suggestion that the tournament is over-promoted. After Patrick Reed released a Champions Dinner menu featuring prime ribeye, mac and cheese, and creamed spinach, Big Cat couldn't help but roast the former champion's palate.
Patrick Reed's Masters menu looks like what a 14-year-old thinks an adult dinner is.
This menu really is like what a 14 year old would think an adult's menu looks like. He basically was forced to be like well I like steak and and I don't really like anything else. I like macaroni and cheese. I'm surprised chicken fingers weren't on here.
Chris Long and Blake Bortles
UVA legend Chris Long joined the show from Minneapolis, still riding the high of the victory and a few celebratory shots with Charles Barkley. He defended his Hoos against the replay truthers and the "boring" allegations, while also admitting that watching as a fan is a different kind of torture than playing in a Super Bowl.
Being a sports fan is way harder than being a professional player
It's totally different as a fan. It's almost more nerve-wracking. You just feel so hopeless... As a fan, I am just, man, I, uh, I'm, I'm a basket case... being a fan is way harder than being a player.
Then, the Wikipedia Club returned with our good friend Blake Bortles. Now a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Blake walked the guys through his free agency process and why he decided to shut things down early rather than continue his tour.
I chose the Rams over meetings with Denver and Baltimore
The Rams was the first one. And after kind of spending the day there, I knew that was where I wanted to be, so I kind of just shut it down and got it done... I had a meeting with Denver and then Baltimore were the next two.
The guys walked Blake through the list of famous Floridians he’s leaving behind and the geological dangers of his new home, specifically the San Andreas Fault. Blake seems ready for the "big one," though his primary earthquake strategy currently involves hide-and-seek under a desk.
Keep an eye on your phone, because the quest for the next Blake of the Year is already heating up.

