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Big CatBig Cat

The 'Curse of Barry Trotz' will haunt the Capitals in the playoffs

Are you a little worried about the curse of Barry Trotz? Because I just decided there's a curse of Barry Trotz... where the team that fires him [gets punished]... now he's going to get his vengeance.

While the Caps lost in the first round in 2019, the 'curse' as defined by a matchup with Trotz's Islanders didn't happen until the 2020 playoffs, where the Islanders beat the Capitals.

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Void
Apr 22, 2019
#3906
Ike TaylorIke Taylor

No other quarterback could survive in Pittsburgh like Big Ben

There's no other quarterback in the league can play in Pittsburgh the way [Roethlisberger] have played... he's just a tough son of a gun.

A subjective evaluation of a player's fit and durability in a specific market.
Void
Apr 22, 2019·NBA Recap
#25378
Big CatBig Cat

Joel Embiid is an absolute monster when he is healthy

Joel Embiid is a fucking monster. He is a monster. Like, watching him play. When he's healthy. But he was a monster on Saturday. When he is out there, he looks like he's playing with little kids. Like, his hands are so much bigger than everybody. He's so much taller. He gets the ball in the post. There's nothing anyone can do.

Subjective opinion on a player's dominance, though Embiid's MVP-caliber career since then supports the 'monster' claim.
Loss
Apr 22, 2019·NBA Recap
#3902
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Ben Simmons will eventually develop a jump shot

I think [Ben] Simmons will eventually develop a jump shot to complement the rest of his game, but it's going to take him a while, and I think mentally it's tougher when you see an opponent giving you such flagrant disrespect to even get the confidence of the shooter.

Simmons never developed a reliable jump shot and eventually saw his career decline significantly due to his refusal to shoot.

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Win
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.
Void
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.
Open
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.

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