Overview of Pardon My Take with Barstool Sports
This episode spans the biggest sports stories of the weekend: Wyndham Clark’s polarizing U.S. Open win at Shinnecock, the U.S. men’s soccer team’s momentum heading into the World Cup, and a great conversation with George Kittle about TEU, his injury rehab, and the future of football. The back half of the show turns into the usual PMT chaos: Who’s Back of the Week, a random NBA/news roundup, and the start of Mount Rushmore season with a deli-meats draft that quickly becomes a debate over what even counts as deli meat.
U.S. Open Recap: Wyndham Clark Becomes the Heel
Why the crowd turned on Wyndham Clark
- The hosts and Max Homa dug into why Shinnecock crowds were actively booing Clark and rooting against him.
- Possible reasons discussed:
- His past locker room damage at Oakmont
- A broken T-Mobile sign
- His blunt humor in interviews, including the “great form of birth control” joke
- General dislike of a big leader running away with a major
What Max Homa thought
- Max said it was strange but not necessarily unfair: golf fans can root for or against whoever they want.
- He emphasized that Clark handled it well by not melting down and by admitting some of the hate was “self-deserved.”
- The 16th hole on Saturday was singled out as the championship moment:
- Clark hit an incredible eagle on Saturday
- Then saved the tournament on Sunday by getting out of trouble and making a huge birdie
Course setup and “weather luck”
- They debated whether Clark benefited from weather luck on Thursday due to a fog delay.
- Max’s take: yes, there was some luck, but the whole field had to play the same conditions, and Clark still had to capitalize.
- The course itself was praised as a proper U.S. Open test, even if some fans wanted more carnage.
The locker room debate
- A surprisingly long chunk of the discussion was about Clark’s damage to the historic Oakmont locker room.
- The hosts split on whether that was a “bridge too far,” but mostly treated it as absurd that golf lockers carry such sacred weight.
U.S. Soccer and World Cup Talk: “We’re the Best Until Someone Tells Us Different”
USA beating Australia
- The crew celebrated the U.S. men’s team’s 2-0 win over Australia.
- They loved the atmosphere in Seattle and felt the team played confidently even without its best player.
Bigger themes
- The crew pushed back on low rankings and said the U.S. should be taken seriously.
- They also complained about new World Cup tiebreaker rules that make some final group-stage games less meaningful.
- Hank played the contrarian role, arguing the U.S. benefited from a favorable setup as the host nation.
Culture and fan traditions
- Big Cat argued America should stop trying to copy European soccer culture and instead use American sports traditions:
- Penn State whiteout
- LSU “Neck”
- Ravens-style intimidation
- Crowd noise, marching bands, and stadium atmospherics
Side note: Lamine Yamal
- They brought up the viral story of a baby photo shoot involving Lionel Messi and the future star Lamine Yamal.
- The story was used as a “new goat baptized by the current goat” joke.
George Kittle Interview: TEU, Rehab, and Football Culture
TEU keeps growing
- Kittle said TEU is bigger than ever, with 90+ tight ends expected.
- Tony Gonzalez is joining this year, which Kittle treated like a huge deal.
- He joked that the best recruiting tool might be the possibility of seeing Taylor Swift, since so many guys signed up unusually early.
His recovery and mindset
- Kittle said he’s 21 weeks out from injury and already running over 16 mph.
- He’s excited but also being told to “not be a dumbass” and not rush rehab.
- He described himself as a football guy who loves contact and has to be restrained by trainers.
Football philosophy
- Kittle said he wants to coach high school football someday in Nashville.
- He’s already thinking about building a hard-nosed team with lots of two- and three-tight-end sets.
- He emphasized that young players should be “sponges” and learn from veterans.
Grass vs. turf and player safety
- Kittle strongly argued for more grass fields, saying players overwhelmingly prefer them.
- He tied it to player safety, money, and better product quality.
- He also backed the idea that the NFL should spend the money to make fields safer if it improves performance and reduces injuries.
Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers
- Kittle said Aiyuk still looks like an elite player based on the last time he saw him.
- His response on what will happen next was essentially: “We’ll see.”
- He wouldn’t speculate too hard, but acknowledged the trade/contract situation remains a big question.
George’s best line of the interview
- His advice to young players: “Be a sponge.”
- Learn from everyone, good and bad, and filter it yourself.
Who’s Back of the Week and Other Random NFL/NBA Bits
Who’s back
- The BIG3: fights broke out, games were suspended, and the league got some attention.
- Kevin Durant: he went viral again for explaining how he viewed the Warriors as an “underdog franchise” when he joined them.
- Aaron Wiggins trade: Max dropped a “breaking moves” update on a small NBA trade.
- Serena Williams: discussed as possibly being back in tennis, though the hosts suspected it might be a marketing play.
- Jameson Williams: bought a house wearing absurd slam-a-slut-style shorts, which the crew loved.
- Bathtub beans guy: a man in the UK is trying to break a record by sitting in a bathtub full of baked beans for days.
- Lead testing in Bears territory: the crew’s testing video allegedly found lead in the soil at a potential Bears site.
Other bits
- They also mentioned:
- The Chicago Hounds winning Major League Rugby
- A viral “pour beer on my crotch” challenge on Twitter
- A weird Father’s Day card calling Big Cat “big”
- A random birthday parade story where everyone called each other “champion”
Mount Rushmore of Deli Meats
The first Mount Rushmore of the season turned into a full-on debate about what qualifies as a deli meat.
Picks that came up
- Turkey
- Salami
- Ham
- Pastrami
- Prosciutto
- Gabagool
- Roast beef
- Mortadella
- Buffalo chicken
- Pepperoni, corned beef, pork roll, and other honorable mentions
Main takeaway
- The segment was less about pure rankings and more about arguments over category rules:
- Is turkey something you “eat by itself”?
- Does chicken cutlet count?
- Can you draft something that you only get at a deli but isn’t strictly a deli meat?
- In classic PMT fashion, the draft became a chemistry test between Hank, Zach, Big Cat, and PFT.
Key Takeaways
- Wyndham Clark’s win was impressive, but the real story was the crowd treating him like a heel.
- Max Homa remains one of the best guests on golf because he can explain the sport clearly while still dunking on the absurd parts.
- The U.S. men’s soccer team’s vibes are trending up, and the hosts are all-in on Americanizing soccer culture.
- George Kittle is still one of the most entertaining football guests around, especially when talking rehab, coaching, and tight end culture.
- Mount Rushmore season is officially back, and the show immediately descended into beautifully petty arguments.