PMTPMT DB

Takes

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Take Slip·Aug 30, 2023
#PMT-2023-0830-8481
Tom FornelliTom Fornelli

Iowa will score 31 points per game and win the Big 10 West

I'm on record. They're gonna score 31 points per game and I think they're gonna win the west. I think they are the best team. They're the one I have the fewest questions about.

Iowa won the Big 10 West but averaged only 15.4 points per game, the second-worst in the FBS.
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Take Slip·Feb 27, 2023
#PMT-2023-0227-16388
Big CatBig Cat

The Bears should consider trading both the #1 pick and Justin Fields to maximize draft capital

The Bears Trade, the number one pick. Okay. The Bears also trade Justin Fields. Then you're loaded. Just have like eight first round picks. The Eagles were able to load up because they were able to, to take advantage of a cheap contract with a quarterback. What if we just strip it all the way down and get all the picks and have all the Cap and Caleb Williams, Drake May coming up.

The Bears eventually traded the #1 pick but kept Justin Fields for the 2023 season, before trading Fields in 2024 to draft Caleb Williams.
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Take Slip·Jan 16, 2023
#PMT-2023-0116-6825
Big CatBig Cat

Brandon Staley should be fired and tried for war crimes for his coaching performance

I think that Brandon Staley should be tried for war crimes as a war criminal. I think that it's a disgusting act. What I saw in the entire second half of that game... You can't have a worse coaching back-to-back weeks than what Brandon Staley just did.

Staley was not fired immediately but was fired during the following season on Dec 15, 2023.
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Take Slip·Feb 2, 2022
#PMT-2022-0202-1213
Billy FootballBilly Football

Tom Brady's retirement is a '3D chess' move to eventually return to the Patriots

Tom Brady unretires, comes back, plays for the Patriots, and that's why he's not thanking the Patriots yet... This is 3D chess. He's using this to go back to the Patriots because the Buccaneers, he doesn't think, can take him to another Super Bowl. But the Patriots could.

Brady did un-retire, but he returned to the Buccaneers, not the Patriots.
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#PMT-2021-1201-18382
Billy FootballBilly Football

Robots can now reproduce

Cool throne is robots. They lost their virginity. Not much more that we need to explain there. Robots can reproduce now. They just released it. There was a scientific research experiment. There was a scientific green robots that created. It's a thing.

The claim refers to Xenobots (biological robots made of frog cells) which can 'reproduce' by gathering loose cells, but it's far from the sci-fi implication Billy suggests.
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Take Slip·Oct 27, 2021
#PMT-2021-1027-7726
Big CatBig Cat

The Clemson dynasty is officially dead and Dabo Swinney is a system coach

Clemson is officially—is the dynasty over? Clemson is dead. The dynasty's dead. Dabo was a system coach. He can't do it without an elite quarterback. He can't do it without Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence.

Clemson has not returned to the College Football Playoff since this take (as of early 2024), though calling Dabo a 'system coach' remains highly debatable.
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#PMT-2021-0129-9315
Billy FootballBilly Football

Six people can fit in a whale's vagina

Wales, you can fit six people in a Wales [whale's] vagina. Sick.

While a blue whale's vagina is large (6-8 feet in length), fitting six grown humans inside simultaneously is a dubious volumetric claim often found on 'weird fact' websites.
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#PMT-2020-1021-13413
Big CatBig Cat

Clayton Kershaw is the greatest postseason pitcher of all time

Clayton Kershaw has the most wins in my book of any starter in the last 25 years since the wild card came around. So yeah, he's he might be the best postseason pitcher out there of all time.

Ironically, Kershaw went on to pitch very well in the 2020 World Series, winning two games and finally getting his ring, making the sarcasm age strangely.
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#PMT-2020-0722-9790
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Sports could save millions of lives by providing a model for solving COVID-19

Sports might save millions of lives. And this is definitely not just me talking insane because I haven't had any sports on TV... Because if you can test, if you have a test case and a model for how to solve it amongst a given population, you can expand that out.

Hot TakeLifeScorchingSarcastic
While the bubble model (testing/isolation) was successful for sports, it proved nearly impossible to 'expand out' to a general population in a democratic society.
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Take Slip·Nov 20, 2019
#PMT-2019-1120-3500
Tim DonaghyTim Donaghy

55 out of 58 NBA referees were gambling in violation of their contracts

Then [David Stern] did an investigation and found out 55 out of 58 NBA referees were gambling, going to casinos, betting on football, betting on golf, couldn't fire everybody, and immediately started to backtrack that whole thing.

The NBA's internal Pedowitz Report acknowledged that many refs gambled in ways that violated league rules, but the exact number remains disputed.
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Take Slip·May 28, 2019
#PMT-2019-0528-1478
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Raptors can beat the Warriors by physically roughing up Steph Curry

Concussing Steph Curry is the best way to beat the Warriors, I think. Just choke him out. The Warriors should be smart and just roll Boogie out there. I don't care if he's hurt or injured or whatever. Let him go out there on crutches and just have him beat the fuck out of him.

The Raptors did win the series by playing physically and using a 'box and one' defense, but they did not literally choke or concuss Curry.
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Take Slip·Nov 19, 2018
#PMT-2018-1119-10053
Big CatBig Cat

Aaron Rodgers might throw the rest of the season to get Mike McCarthy fired

I wouldn't be shocked if Aaron Rodgers throws the rest of the year. [He wants McCarthy to get fired]. He's sick of him.

Rodgers didn't 'throw' the season, but the Packers struggled significantly, and McCarthy was indeed fired mid-season after a loss to the Cardinals in December.
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#PMT-2018-0820-15706
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Millennials are killing breasts because they are desensitized by the internet

Millennials are killing boobs. So boobs are on the hot seat. ... Hooters is going through some down times. ... It's actually just because millennials aren't going to the restaurants anymore because they don't like boobs. ... By the time you're 18, you're like a seasoned veteran.

Economic data does show Hooters and similar 'breastaurant' models declining with younger demographics, though 'killing boobs' is a satirical framing.
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#PMT-2018-0718-16652
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Texas football is officially back because they have 60 players who can vertical jump over 30 inches.

Texas football. This could also be filed under Texas football being back. Because they are back. Tom Herman said they have 60 players that can vertical jump over 30 inches.

Hot TakeCFBScorchingSarcastic
Texas went 10-4 in 2018, their first 10-win season in a decade, but the 'Texas is back' claim remained a meme for years after as they failed to sustain elite status.
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Take Slip·May 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0514-14825
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Celtics are better off without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward

They're a better team without Kyrie and Gordon Hayward. Yeah, everyone keeps saying, well, they'll have their two best players back next year. Well, do you really want that? No, you don't. You get rid of them. You dump those salaries. Yeah, you reload on draft picks. Yeah, you sign Terry Rozier to a 10-year contract.

The following year with Kyrie was a disaster chemistry-wise, but they clearly weren't a 'better' team long-term without All-Star talent.
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Take Slip·Apr 13, 2018·Picks
#PMT-2018-0413-3479
Big CatBig Cat

The Warriors will beat the Cavs in the Finals in only three games

I'm going Cavs-Warriors again, and the Warriors win in three games.

While you can't win a series in 3 games, the Warriors did sweep the Cavs in 4 games.
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Take Slip·Mar 14, 2018
#PMT-2018-0314-17667
Mark TitusMark Titus

Penn could be the first #16 seed to ever beat a #1 seed

I'm going to say this is the year that a 16 over one happens because why not? ... Penn, Kansas seems to be the one... If Kansas played Penn in a seven-game series, they're obviously going to move on, but it's a one-shot deal.

Kansas beat Penn, but #16 UMBC beat #1 Virginia in this exact tournament, making the 'this is the year' part legendary even if the specific game was wrong.
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#PMT-2017-1218-17329
HankHank

The Celtics will win five championships after LeBron James leaves for the Lakers

[Gordon Hayward] is going to beat LeBron, then LeBron's going to leave, go to L.A., and Celtics are going to win, like, five championships.

LeBron did leave for LA in 2018, but the Celtics did not win five championships (they have won one since this take).
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#PMT-2017-0602-16930
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the funniest long con in professional sports history

The Jacksonville Jaguars might be the funniest thing to ever occur in professional sports. This has been a long con. We've all been owned... It's like a Wes Anderson movie. It's like you don't really appreciate a Wes Anderson movie. That's what the Jaguars are saying to everyone. You don't look at it the right way.

The Jaguars actually went to the AFC Championship game later that year (2017), briefly ending their status as a joke.
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Take Slip·Nov 28, 2016
#PMT-2016-1128-8216
Danny KanellDanny Kanell

The average lifespan of an NFL player is longer than an average American

The average lifespan of an NFL player is longer than an average American. No, even an average American. Like, it's longer. They live longer, healthier lives than an average American. CTE or not.

While some studies (like NIOSH 2012) showed NFL players had lower overall mortality rates than the general population due to higher fitness and socioeconomic status, the claim is highly debated regarding quality of life and brain health specifically.
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#PMT-2016-1021-7073
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The sun is on the Hot Seat because its glare could cause the Bills to lose

Miami Dolphins to beat the Bills this weekend because she [USA Today podcast host's mom] doesn't think that the Bills are going to be able to handle the glare of the Miami sun. It's a fair point. Developing situation. Let's keep an eye on it... The sun is on the hot seat right now, so this could really be it.

The Dolphins did beat the Bills 28-25 that Sunday, though glare's contribution is unquantifiable.
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Take Slip·Jun 29, 2016
#PMT-2016-0629-3217
AsirAsir

Tommy Lasorda was about to die but his life has been saved through prayer

There's one more. That's about to go, actually... It's Tommy Lasorda. but we may have intercepted here okay we may have... I think that we've already done that [asked for forgiveness to save him].

Tommy Lasorda lived until January 7, 2021, proving he was not 'about to go' in 2016, though they 'saved' him.
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Take Slip·Jun 6, 2016·PR 101
#PMT-2016-0606-1065
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Aqib Talib can extend his career by seven years by capitalizing on his shooting incident

Tlaib may have just extended his career by like seven years. Because now he can get that really sappy E30 with Jeremy Schaap... A second chance is worth like two more contracts. So smart move on Tlaib's part, getting shot, because now he gets like an opportunity to prove himself again.

Talib played through 2019, so he got about 4 more years, though not primarily due to this incident.
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Take Slip·Apr 8, 2016
#PMT-2016-0408-1382
Eric KellyEric Kelly

Janet Jackson is selfish for canceling her tour to have a family

She cancels her fucking show because she says she wants to have a family, and she wants to concentrate on that with her husband. ... Selfish. She cancels her show for some dick. ... Not only did she cancel her show, she didn't refund her fans the tickets that they bought.

Jackson did delay her 'Unbreakable' tour in April 2016 to plan a family. The refund status varied by venue, though many were rescheduled rather than canceled immediately.