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Masters Preview With Shane Bacon, Max Homa, Michigan Wins The Natty, Bulls Fire Everyone + Hot Seat/Cool Throne And FAQ's

Wednesday, April 8, 202624 takes

Michigan wins the National Championship and we talk Monday's Championship game and how good this Michigan team was (-). Emergency breaking news after the NY Post reports on Diana Russini and Mike Vrabel (-). Michael Malone is hired as UNC basketball's Head Coach and the Bulls clean house out of their front office but the owners still own the team. Hot Seat/Cool Throne including Artemis, Masters hats, getting got and more (-). Shane Bacon joins the show to break down the Masters field, what holes are each of the guys, who can win, what the course will be like and tons more (-). Our good friend Max Homa joins us to get ready for the Masters, is he too tan? how he's feeling going into the tournament and a little pump up before the big week (-). We finish the show with listener submitted FAQ's.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Netflix. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/pardon-my-take

Masters Preview with Shane Bacon, Max Homa, and Michigan’s Title

We have reached the best week in golf, but before we could get to the azaleas, we had to crown a king of the court. Michigan is back on top of the mountain after a dominant performance against UConn that felt even more lopsided than the final score indicated. Big Cat and PFT are convinced the Big 10 was the only conference that actually mattered this season, even if the national title game wasn't exactly a shooting clinic.

Win
Apr 8, 2026
#30158
Big CatBig Cat

Michigan was definitively the better team in the National Championship and it never felt like UConn was in danger of winning.

Michigan was the better team. We all saw it. It never felt like [the game] was in danger. Like the only moment that I was like, oh, UConn might have a chance, was when there was like maybe five and a half minutes left and Mullens missed that three to cut it to four.

The episode presents Michigan winning the 2026 National Championship as a fact within the show's timeline.

While the Wolverines are celebrating, PFT is already looking toward the future of the sport. Between the transfer portal and the NIL era, the landscape of college hoops is shifting faster than a Tiger Woods leaderboard move, and PFT is sounding the alarm on the sustainability of the current model.

Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30160
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Michigan is already the favorite to win the National Championship again next season.

Michigan I think is right now the favorites to win next season. Tough to win back to back, but he has to hit the portal. He has to be active... which he already is.

This is a prediction for the next college basketball season.
Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30176
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

College basketball is now 'pay to win' and that's unsustainable

It's a pay to win tournament. Like basketball is ruined. Unsustainable. Yeah, that's the new word that I keep hearing.

Subjective opinion about the direction of college sports governance.

Breaking News and Bulls Bloodshed

In a classic PMT emergency segment, the crew addressed the Sedona hotel photos of Diana Russini and Mike Vrabel. While the internet was losing its mind, Memes had a very specific theory about why those photos surfaced in the first place, suggesting it might be a coordinated strike against a certain team in North Jersey.

Void
MemesMemes

Diana Russini likely leaked the Sedona hotel photos herself to publicly announce her hatred for the New York Jets.

I also kind of think she leaked this article. Like who gives a fuck about Mike Vrabel going out in the middle of the desert? Who leaks that? And then what better way to announce your hate for the Jets than being like, I'm hanging out with Mike Vrabel pants on a rooftop.

This is a speculative theory about internal motivations and leaks that likely can't be verified.

Back in the Windy City, Big Cat is finally breathing a sigh of relief as the Bulls front office was cleaned out. After years of mediocrity and confusing trades, Arturas Karnisovas and Mark Eversley are gone. Big Cat isn't ready to give ownership a total pass yet, but he has a very expensive suggestion for who should be the next person to run the show in Chicago.

Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30163
Big CatBig Cat

Arturas Karnisovas was definitively the worst General Manager in the NBA during his Bulls tenure.

AK [Arturas Karnisovas] was one of, if not no, he was definitely the worst GM right now in the NBA. That's, I think that's actually, you can't dispute that fact. The moves that were made... absolute disaster of a front office. Terrible at scouting, terrible at trades, terrible at timing.

The ranking of GMs is inherently subjective, though 'AK' was widely criticized during this period.
Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30164
Big CatBig Cat

The Chicago Bulls should offer Sam Presti ownership stakes to get him to run the team.

The Bulls should go out and try to say, Sam Presti, here's any amount of money. You name the number. Give him ownership. Just spend it and make a team good. I just cannot understand if I owned a team, I would spend all my money in hiring the smartest guys to do everything.

This is a suggestion for a business move, which is a matter of opinion.

Masters Preview with Shane Bacon

Shane Bacon joined the show to provide the definitive guide to Augusta. He broke down why Tiger Woods might be dodging the Ryder Cup captaincy and what it would mean for his legacy to chase the one USGA trophy he doesn't have in his cabinet. Shane also provided some incredible insight into Scotty Scheffler's uncharacteristic struggles with his irons heading into the week.

Win
Apr 8, 2026
#30169
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Tiger Woods will likely not be the Ryder Cup captain because he doesn't want the life-consuming media commitments.

I'd heard Tiger didn't really want to do it. I mean there's a lot of commitments. You see how involved Luke Donald is on the European side. It's basically become his life. I don't think Tiger wanted to do a lot of the background media stuff, things like that. So I don't necessarily think he was gonna do that anyway.

Tiger Woods did not serve as captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup (Keegan Bradley was named captain).
Win
Apr 8, 2026
#30171
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Scotty Scheffler's iron play has been average and inconsistent for a pro golfer this season.

I'd say bad for a pro golfer. He's 82nd right now [in strokes gained]. He's average on the PGA tour this season with his irons. This is a stat that he's led each of the last three seasons. If Steph Curry started to miss free throws, you'd be looking around going, what's going on here?

Strokes gained data is verifiable and Bacon is citing actual tour rankings for that specific point in time.

When it came time to pick a winner, Shane is looking at a guy who has been knocking on the door and finally feels ready to exercise some demons at Augusta. He also highlighted Gary Woodland as the emotional favorite for everyone watching.

Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30172
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Gary Woodland winning the Masters would be the best emotional story in golf following his brain surgery.

Number three I got Gary Woodland winning. Obviously I think this is the one that would be the most emotional. I'm sure you guys followed the whole journey... with the brain surgery and PTSD. He's second on the PGA tour in driving distance this year at the age of 41... I feel good story in my list.

Whether a win is the 'best emotional story' is a matter of opinion.
Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30178
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Bryson DeChambeau is the pick to win the 2026 Masters

I mentioned Bryson, he's gonna be my pick this week. I was kind of leaning heavily on Patrick Reed for a long time with the way he got out of the gate. But I'm just gonna go Bryson. I think this is his year. He's one of those guys that seems to get better as he understands golf courses. And I think there's added incentive to go out there and do it considering what happened last season, to exercise the demons, if you will.

The 2026 Masters was played in April 2026. Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters; the 2026 winner is pending verification.

Max Homa Returns

Friend of the program Max Homa checked in from Augusta, looking potentially "too tan" according to Big Cat. Max talked about the new Masters app feature that allows fans to watch every single range ball, which he admits makes the players feel a little more self-conscious than usual. He also broke down his mental shift on the 12th hole and why he's not letting the course intimidate him this year.

Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30174
Max HomaMax Homa

The Masters' new range tracking app feature makes players feel self-conscious about their practice sessions.

It does [feel like an invasion of privacy] a little now that we know that it happens. You start to worry a bit about your spreads. Like if you just hit like one stinker, you're like ah, that's gonna look like an outlier. Some people are gonna think I'm sucking pretty bad. I am even more self-conscious now that someone was seeing all that.

Homa is describing his own personal feelings of self-consciousness.
Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30175
Max HomaMax Homa

Golfers overthink the 12th hole at Augusta National way too much and should just attack the pin if the shot fits them.

I a hundred percent agree [people overthink it]. Last year I got to that hole... I just remember I was like, what am I so afraid of? Like, if anything fits me, it's this. So I was like, just aim a couple steps left of it and hit the fucking nine iron and I did it... Unless I got a five shot lead, I'm playing it like that. Because it is like you're sometimes too passive.

This is a strategic opinion on how to play a specific golf hole.

Max is coming in with a lot of confidence after proving to himself last year that he could grind out a result even when his swing felt like "dog nuts." He's ready to put it all together and give the PMT listeners something to celebrate on Sunday night.

Loss
Apr 8, 2026
#30173
Max HomaMax Homa

I'm going to 'shock the world' and win the Masters this week.

I say we shock the world to win the thing. I've been thinking a lot about it. I feel like not winning's less fun than winning. So I'm kind of just gonna go for it.

Max Homa finished T3 at the 2024 Masters (the real-world counterpart to this fictional 2026 Natty/Masters crossover episode).
Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30180
Max HomaMax Homa

My 12th place finish last year was more impressive than my 3rd place finish because I was playing terribly coming in

My third was awesome but last year I was playing like dog nuts coming into it and I played awful here. But I like definitely to answer your question, think I like learned where to leave it and learned certain golf shots. Last year's 12th was significantly more shocking than the year before's third.

Subjective self-assessment about his own performances.

If Max wins the green jacket, expect a lot of crying and at least one questionable tattoo from PFT.

mastersgolfncaa-basketballmichigan-wolverineschicago-bullsnba

More Takes

Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30181
Big CatBig Cat

Michigan was the best team all year — outside of Duke, who would have won the championship by a lot

They were the best team. They were the best team all year outside of Duke. 'Cause that actually was my other big takeaway — Duke just completely, Duke beat this Michigan team a month and a half ago.

Subjective comparison of team quality. Duke did beat Michigan during the regular season in 2025-26.
Void
Apr 8, 2026
#30159
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Duke would have won the National Championship by 50 points if they had reached the final.

I think if Duke plays in the championship game, they win by 50. Easily. That was a wasted opportunity.

This is a hyperbolic counterfactual that cannot be proven, making it subjective.
Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30177
Big CatBig Cat

Danny Hurley is 18-1 against the spread in his last four NCAA tournaments, which is insane

Danny Hurley remains 18 and one in the last four tournaments against the spread. How insane is that? Furman is the only one that they didn't cover. That was the first round this year.

This is a factual claim about Hurley's ATS record over the last four NCAA tournaments. Based on UConn's remarkable tournament run, this is plausible and presented as a known stat. Cannot fully verify exact record but the claim is stated as fact.
Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30162
Big CatBig Cat

The Michael Malone hiring at UNC will either be a national championship success or a total disaster with no middle ground.

I think it's gonna be a disaster or they're gonna win a national title. Like I don't think they're gonna make the tournament, make a sweet 16 and coach for multiple years and it will be like middle of the road. Hiring a guy because his daughter is on the volleyball team is quite something.

This take relies on a satirical or unlikely coaching move that hasn't happened in reality.
Void
HankHank

Roman Anthony is a defensive liability for the Red Sox because everyone is successfully running on him in left field.

Roman Anthony, world baseball classic hero. But he has been, he's become a meme basically. If he can't, he just can't throw anyone out from left field. Everyone's just running on Roman. Shane tried to tell me he was great last year, but he was playing right field. Now he's playing left field... it's just not good.

Whether a player is a 'liability' is subjective, though defensive stats can provide some evidence over time.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

Space exploration isn't interesting until we actually land a human on Mars.

I kind of just don't care until we go to Mars. Call me when we're at Mars. I wanna see us on the moon again. How is that possible that we went on the moon in the sixties and we just never went back on it? Go to Mars or go back on the moon.

Personal interest level in space travel is entirely subjective.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The $1.2 billion valuation of the Enhanced Games is a fake number.

The enhanced games just got valued at $1.2 billion. And the enhanced games... are the steroid users alternative to the Olympics. It's being run by Peter Thiel. It sounds like it's a fake valuation because it just sounds good to say $1.2 billion.

Valuations for private companies are often difficult to verify, making this an opinion on business legitimacy.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Masters is 'above' selling gimmick hats with pimento cheese on them.

The Masters shouldn't have hats that you could like, that says like Peach on it, right? Pimento? I just feel like the Masters is like above that. The Masters has such a cool logo and they're so like strict with it that like that's all they need, you know?

A matter of aesthetic and brand taste regarding a golf tournament's merchandise.
Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30170
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Tiger Woods is focused on playing the US Senior Open to win the only USGA title he is missing.

There's been a lot of talk around [Tiger] potentially playing in the US senior open with an opportunity and nobody's ever won the US Junior, US Junior Amateur, US Amateur, US Open and a US senior. Tiger is a big history buff... I think there's a focus on potentially playing in that at some point this summer.

Tiger Woods has expressed interest but health has remained a factor in his senior tour eligibility and participation.
Open
Apr 8, 2026
#30179
Shane BaconShane Bacon

Rory McIlroy's Thursday opening round will tell us everything about his Masters chances

I think it all comes down to Thursday, PFT. I think with Rory it's how he plays in the opening round. I mean, he's been dreadful, if we're being honest, on Thursdays in his career at the Masters. Hasn't shot in the sixties on a Thursday since 2018. His scoring average in the opening round in his last seven Masters: 73.14. I think Thursday tells us a lot about how engaged Rory is.

Testable after the 2026 Masters first round completes.

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