Takes

The New York media is unethical and prioritizes control

The media in general is scared of people that they can't control. Because they built this brand that can't be controlled. I would say the majority of them too are so unethical. The practices now is just a fucking joke.

The Washington State dynasty has already peaked under Coach Doug

Congratulations. Thank you. On the best season Wazoo is gonna have under you, coach Doug. I'm realistic. And I'm wanting to root for you. But when but when you're missing reps. If you won that game, sky's the limit.

Stephen A. Smith officially won the Skip Bayless divorce

Stephen A. Smith has won the Skip Bayless-Stephen A. Smith divorce. It took a few years to get there... Skip is out at Fox Sports I believe at the end of the summer... he goes off, does his own podcast, gets 5 trillion views on it. Works for ESPN, seems to be having a good time.

Adam Schefter is one of the few media members you can actually trust with off-the-record information

Adam and I actually are close... he's one of the media members you can actually trust that if it's off the record, it's not going anywhere. Like he actually will keep it close to the vest.

The EA Sports College Football 25 release will change how everyone deals with the summer

Ea Sports College football's out [next week]... It's the most anticipated video game I think release ever. It's gonna change how summer's dealt with.

The Marshawn Lynch and Gavin Newsom podcast marks the top of the podcast bubble

Marshawn Lynch, Gavin Newsom and Doug whatever, Doug... Having a podcast together is the very sign that the podcast bubble is about to burst.

The Sonos app is terrible and needs to be completely fixed

I got something to say about Sonos. Figure it out guys. Ooh, what's up with this app? Why do I need the app to, to play the, the music? I agree. And if you're gonna require me to have the app to play music, at least make the app good. You know? Yes. I gotta be able to go on my Spotify and just click a speaker. Yep. You can do it with everything else.

Jaylen Brown's necklace bio-streams caffeine and melatonin into the body digitally

It's caffeine and a necklace... use its patented technology to bio stream compounds like caffeine and melatonin digitally without you having to ingest them... It's thousands of dollars.

JJ Redick is officially banned from Pardon My Take until he starts podcasting again

[JJ Redick] is no longer in the content game. He's not doing any podcasts anymore. He turned his back on the podcast community that built him up... I think we should ban him from Pardon My Take. JJ is banned from Pardon My Take... unless he decides to do podcasts again.

The JJ Redick hiring is huge for the podcast community because it proves podcasters can do anything.

JJ Redick, coach of the Lakers... my first thought was, it's huge for the podcast community. It is. Us podcasters can do anything.

We are competing against the 'juice ball era' of podcasting where every show uses gimmicks and stunts to get numbers.

PFT and I want it on the record that we've always done this podcast Natural. We've never, we've never dated Taylor Swift. Nope. We've never became the, the Lakers head coach. It's the juice ball era. It is. It's crazy. Everyone's got all these tricks and bits trying to get all their numbers up. We just show up and we run the ball every day.

I will be calling college football this fall

If I make myself publicly fully available right now, best case scenario, I'm in the booth calling college football this fall. Is that gonna happen? Is that reality? I don't know. But the odds are going to increase by making this jump right now.

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.

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.

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.

Success in broadcasting is a combination of luck and constant preparation

Luck a hundred percent. A lot of life is being right place, right time... But like certain people tend to be lucky because they're constantly prepared. They're constantly ready for that moment. And then all of a sudden that right moment does flip and it clicks... All you can do is be good.

An NFL broadcaster could call an NBA game more easily than vice versa

I think an NFL broadcaster could broadcast an NBA game with more understanding and clarity than vice versa. Because it's too—offenses are too complicated. Defense is too complicated. The NFL, you know, 'cause you got, 'cause remember like in football, every play is an individual story... I just think there's more need and space to fill in more like football lingo and talk that than there is maybe in a ever, you know, a constant flowing basketball game that you could kind of fake it a little bit more.

Modern sports broadcasting has become much higher intensity compared to the calmer calls of the 1970s and 80s.

Compare a 1970s or eighties call of a finals game or a Super Bowl and then compare it to now, it's different in a lot of cases. And I think that's a big part that it's become okay. In fact, it's become a good way to show you're excited as much of a fan. Back in the old days, you wouldn't do that 'cause you'd sound like a fan. Now it's more encouraged and I think fans like that.

Bill Walton died because his work on earth was done once the Pac-12 ended

The Pac-12 ends, Bill's like, well my work here is done. [He's] probably hanging out with Jerry Garcia right now and the Pac-12 is on 24/7.

Secretariat's records are fraudulent and he likely used steroids

Secretariat had 663 children... Guess how many of his kids won a Triple Crown race? The answer is zero... every mile time has gradually gotten better over the years except horse racing... He also lost a bunch of races... they had an excuse ready after every single loss... he had horse herpes and they blamed his loss on that... The more you look into Secretariat, the more it stinks to high heaven.

Flightline is the GOAT horse over Secretariat

I think we should as a podcast, we should say Flightline is our goat. Flightline was a horse that won the Breeders Cup two years ago... He raced six times and he just killed everyone... Casual fans will say Secretariat... Flightline, he was an incredible horse.

The NFL scheduling Christmas games on Netflix will hurt NBA ratings by making it harder to channel flip

Not only are they taking away Christmas Day from the NBA, they're also taking away the ability of people to comfortably change the channel to the NBA games during commercial breaks... signing out of Netflix, turning onto cable... such a pain in the dick to do that. And so they're taking away even the pity ratings.

Pat Bev's interaction with the reporter wasn't that bad; it's just something he's been doing all year to everyone.

I'll start with the, the reporter thing. I didn't think it was that bad. Reporters love defending reporters. Pat Bev's been doing this all year. Subscribe to the pod... People making it like a misogynistic thing is crazy. He's been doing it to guys too.

Will Compton is a better person than he was a football player

The perfect Will Compton is a better person than he was a football player. Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. It's easy. Yeah. That's easy.

The Masters app is the greatest piece of technology ever invented

My cool Throne is the Masters app... I redownload the Master's app. Have to, it's a tradition unlike any other. And when you log into the, the first time, it just feels, it's such a great way to come down from the NCAA tournament being over... the greatest piece of technology ever invented. Yep. And you open it up and you're like, everything's going to be okay. 'Cause the Masters app's here and it's comforting and it's perfect.

The SGA and Chet Holmgren AT&T commercial is horrific and a major mistake

The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren commercial is horrific. And those are two of the most fun young players in the NBA. and I don't know who told them to do that, but that was a big mistake. 'Cause I hate them now.

Joe Lunardi hates his job and should be replaced by Steve Kornacki

Joe Lunardi has to work three weeks a year and he said goodnight at 10:57 during conference championship week on Friday night when there was like six games left. What is up with this guy?... What he needs to realize is that with one snap of the fingers that freak Steve Kornacki could step into his job and do it better.

Doing podcasts over Zoom is whack and doesn't work; you need to be in the same room together.

You have to physically make everyone agree on being in the same place because the Zoom shit whack. It's whack. It doesn't work. You need to be together. So as long as me and [Bobby Lee] are gonna be doing our show, we'll be in LA.

The Patriots documentary 'The Dynasty' is a hit piece on Bill Belichick designed to help Robert Kraft

This documentary, I think it's having the reverse effect that Robert Kraft thought it was gonna have. ... It's so clearly slanted towards Robert Kraft, but it's so, so slanted towards Robert Kraft that it's completely making me hate Robert Kraft and unnecessarily like they're going over the top to Slan it. They blamed Aaron Hernandez on Bill Belichick. Yeah. And basically made it like Robert Kraft was trying to save him.

I am taking a hiatus from breaking news because of the emotional toll of the Mike Babcock story

As far as my breaking stories and breaking news, I'm gonna probably take a hiatus for a few years after the emotional [toll]... it was a pretty nerve-wracking situation breaking that news.

Using the word 'disingenuous' is the same as calling someone a liar

Ingenuous means lying... No, I think what it meant is not only did you not know what disingenuous means, I did... Disingenuous is calling somebody a liar.

I don't need an agreement to disagree — why can't we just disagree?

I've never understood what that means. Why can't we just disagree? I don't need an agreement to disagree.

I knew what 'disingenuous' meant in high school

No, I think what it meant is not only did you not know what disingenuous means, I did. But you did. You had to look it up. No, and that's not, didn't I actually knew what that meant when I was in high school.

Sports fans are more knowledgeable today than at any other time in sports history

In 2024 I would make the argument that fans are more knowledgeable than they've ever been in any part of like sports history. There is countless things that you can watch if you want to learn more about the game that you love... everything is at your fingertips when it comes to becoming a more knowledgeable fan.

JJ Redick is playing a character on 'First Take' to lean into his Duke heel persona

I do think he is doing a little bit of a bit when he goes on first take, it's the heel in him. If you watch it under the idea that JJ is being like the Duke smart ass, I know more Ball than you, it's great TV.

Baldur's Gate 3 is currently bigger than Dungeons & Dragons itself

I'd say [Baldur's Gate 3] is bigger than D&D itself right now. It has won all the awards. It has become this huge video game and it's all based off of the D&D rules. It's the best job they've done taking the game we know and love and turning it into a video game experience.

Media coverage favors coaches over players because coaches have longer careers

Players need to know that there's a reason that the mainstream media has the coaches' backs. And it's because no matter how long you play, that coach is gonna coach longer... That relationship with that coach is more important than that relationship with the player. So when you see narratives like Russell Wilson, and you see like, okay, there's like one or two guys that are talking [badly] about the coach... it's because they know that coach is still gonna be coaching.

Tony Romo doesn't add any substance to broadcasts anymore

Tony Romo, he just doesn't. And we were the first to this take... He doesn't add any substance anymore. And it's like, and he makes weird noises. He was singing into commercial. He just says obvious things and he misses obvious things too.

I completely bombed my stand-up comedy set

It was just, it was all downhill. I knew it was bad. My dad texted me after he just said, 'you okay'. I was, I was like, I'm, I was like, I'm fine... but even if I prepped a year, you can't, you can't teach public speaking.

Tom Brady should not over-prepare and should just be himself in the broadcasting booth

If I am telling Tom Brady anything... I would just say be yourself. I, I don't get into this trying to sound like what you've heard over the years... You know the game. Don't over prepare and see what you see and react with your gut on what you see. I, I think so many times people like that's, they, they overdo it to the point where they're just paralyzed by so much information.

The NFL Super Bowl should be called by the season's best announcers

I think that the Super Bowl should be announced by the best announcers that year... It should be Greg Olsen and Jim Nantz.

Jim Nantz might retire from calling NFL games after Super Bowl 58

A friend of the show told me this... He has a theory that this might be Jim Nantz's last football game. He did retire from March Madness this past year... My guess is that why doesn't CBS if they lose Jim Nance... Why does CBS trade for Greg Olsen?

The word 'analytics' is used as a placeholder for any number that sports fans dislike

I have a take. And that's, people just use the word, they substitute the word analytics in whenever there's a number that they don't like and they're like, this is analytics.

I'm going to play football as long as possible to avoid having to do sports media

Honestly, man, that's the last thing I want to do is be doing interviews to get myself behind a camera. So I'm gonna try to do this as long as possible and, and diminish those possibilities as much as I can.

I hate watching playoff football on an app like Peacock

I hate the experience of watching a game on an app as opposed to watching on TV, where you can easily and elegantly and seamlessly flip back and forth and show off your skills going back to the game right as it's about to snap again... it's a playoff game and it stinks.

When PMT eventually ends, we will do a massive cash-grab retirement tour

When we do end up hanging up the cleats, we're gonna do like a sellout like Aerosmith... and we're just gonna be like, yeah, we're gonna make like $20 million being washed up podcasters doing like one final tour... it would be a much more calculated landing the plane.

AI will never be able to replace podcasting because it isn't capable of being consistently wrong or stupid enough to replicate human banter

I feel very secure in my job. I don't think that we would ever be able to be taken over by AI. How would they get things wrong all the time? Like don't, don't computers get things right? Can you imagine an AI having a debate about whether or not [something is] a bad take?

Al Michaels hears the social media criticism and thinks it is bullshit

Al hears it. He disagrees with it... Social media is using those two examples [Jacksonville playoff game and Denver game] to just say Al Michaels hates Thursday night, Al Michaels has lost it... He hears the noise, I don't think he's like 'I'll show them'. He has more of an f-you attitude about it. He thinks it's a bunch of bullshit.

I used to make up sideline reports if a coach wouldn't give me anything at halftime

I would make up the report sometimes because A, the coach wouldn't come out at halftime or it was too late and I was like, I didn't wanna screw up the report. So I was like, I'm just gonna make this up because first of all, no coach is gonna get mad if I say, Hey we need to kill, stop hurting ourselves. We need to be better on third down.

Ryan Russillo would be great in prison as long as he has League Pass and weights

I actually think that [Ryan] Russillo would be great in prison. He would love... think about it because he doesn't really go outside that much. As long as prison had League Pass and weights... so you just work out, eat, and then watch basketball all day.