Overview of Pardon My Take with Barstool Sports
This episode is a wide-ranging Monday recap covering the end of the NFL Draft, a big NHL playoffs conversation with Ryan Whitney, and a full sweep of the NBA postseason chaos. The crew also runs through their recurring weekly bit, “Who’s Back of the Week,” while bouncing between team-specific draft reactions, playoff reactions, and a few off-the-wall live updates, including the ongoing “press-off” joke.
NFL Draft Recap
Biggest draft takeaways
- The draft is over, and the guys immediately re-litigate their grades.
- Diego Pavia becomes the running joke of the weekend: every team “failed” because they didn’t draft him.
- Pittsburgh’s draft weekend was a major success culturally:
- Record draft attendance in the city.
- Schools were jokingly said to be canceled because of “draft fever.”
- The Steelers taking Drew Allar becomes a fun local talking point, especially after a Pittsburgh radio host previously joked he’d quit if the Steelers drafted him.
Team-specific reactions
- Eagles: Huge approval for Howie Roseman; the usual “Howie cooked” energy was strong.
- Commanders: PFT gives his team a strong grade, especially liking the linebacker pick and the value they found later in the draft.
- Jets: Memes is bullish on the Jets, giving them an A/A- range and praising the overall class.
- Patriots: Hank is cautiously optimistic, but the draft talk turns into more Vrabel speculation and jokes about him “doing counseling.”
- Bears: The draft plan drew skepticism, especially for not addressing the defensive line enough.
- Jaguars: They were described as either brilliant or completely insane, depending on whether their “spreadsheet” philosophy pays off.
- Rams: Sean McVay’s demeanor during their QB pick got a lot of attention; he looked visibly unhappy.
- Other notable picks: A few players who stayed in college and were once projected as first-rounders fell hard, which became a big story line.
NHL Playoffs with Ryan Whitney
Whitney’s central theme
Whitney came in fired up about playoff hockey, and his biggest point was simple: Connor McDavid is the best player he has ever seen. He said McDavid’s skating and ability to change pace with the puck are unlike anything in modern hockey, and his injury is clearly affecting Edmonton.
Oilers concerns
- McDavid’s injury seems to have reduced his superpowers, especially his cutbacks and burst.
- Whitney believes the Oilers’ issues are bigger than just goaltending, though he did note their goalie situation is still a problem.
- He thinks Edmonton’s roster construction has had several misses despite having elite top-end talent.
Series and team outlooks
- Colorado: Viewed as the most dominant, most complete team.
- Carolina: Whitney thinks they’re built to make a deep run, especially if they avoid a truly nasty opponent.
- Boston: A brutal playoff showing, with Jeremy Swayman raging at the team after a bad loss.
- Buffalo: Surprisingly strong and fun, but Whitney says they’ve already been good for a while, so it’s not a total shock.
- Philadelphia: The Flyers are back, and the vibe is “scumbag playoff hockey” in the best possible way.
- Montreal/Tampa: A very physical, intense series, with Brandon Hagel getting praised as a real impact playoff villain.
- Minnesota: Still cursed. Whitney loved the Timberwolves-style run of playoff misery and drama, and the Wild remain a classic Minnesota story.
- Oilers/Ducks: The game Whitney was watching live during the interview kept adding chaos to the conversation, which made the segment feel even more immediate.
Hockey philosophy
- Whitney repeatedly argued that PMT should lead with hockey more often once football season ends.
- He made the classic distinction between:
- Best player = McDavid
- Greatest = Crosby/Brady-type legacy conversation
- He also said that if McDavid ever leaves for a superteam and starts winning elsewhere, it would be a massive disappointment for hockey fans.
NBA Playoffs
Celtics-Sixers
- The Celtics’ series was discussed as close to being over.
- Embiid returned, but the main takeaway was that Boston’s shooting and depth overwhelmed Philadelphia.
- Eric Collins’ playoff broadcast was panned hard after people realized how different his style feels in a big-game setting.
- There was also a dirty-play discussion after a Celtics hit landed directly in Paul George’s groin area.
Lakers-Rockets / LeBron moment
- LeBron’s clutch three and the father-son Bronny alley-oop became one of the coolest moments of the weekend.
- The crew joked that Bronny should’ve dunked it, but still agreed it was an all-time NBA moment.
- They also marveled at how ridiculous it is that LeBron is still doing this at 41.
Knicks and Celtics path
- The Knicks’ win was framed as potentially season-defining.
- Cat was praised for showing up in a big way.
- The crew debated whether a loss to Boston would count as a failure, with the answer basically boiling down to: not necessarily, but the expectations are now very high.
Thunder, Suns, Timberwolves, Nuggets
- SGA was described as simply “lights out” and operating at MVP level.
- The Timberwolves’ win over Denver was one of the biggest story lines:
- Anthony Edwards got banged up.
- DiVincenzo also got hurt.
- Jokić got dragged for overreacting to an “unwritten rule” situation after Jayden McDaniels scored late.
- The crew argued that the unwritten-rule outrage mostly makes the losing team look bad.
Magic-Pistons and other series
- The Magic were heavily praised as a bad matchup for Detroit because of their size and toughness.
- The Pistons were said to lack enough scoring options to exploit Orlando’s defense.
- Wemby was back and dominant, which made that series feel effectively over.
- The general vibe: a lot of playoff series are becoming matchup-driven and increasingly ugly.
Who’s Back of the Week
Red Sox coaching shake-up
- Boston fired multiple coaches, including a bizarre move involving Jason Varitek being “reassigned,” which everyone found hilarious and absurd.
- The crew mocked Red Sox ownership and the broader John Henry cost-cutting reputation.
- There was also a quote floating around comparing the move to “shitting your pants and changing your shirt.”
Papa John is back
- Louisville brought Papa John back into the fold as an NIL booster.
- The apology/rehabilitation angle was treated as a funny but predictable “money wins” story.
Top Gun 3
- Top Gun 3 is officially moving forward.
- PFT wants a role or at least one second of screen time.
Fernando Mendoza and the Raiders
- The newly drafted Fernando Mendoza said “Raiders, let’s f***ing go,” which surprised the crew and gave off major code-switched rookie energy.
Anti-Italian discrimination
- A White Sox fan was apparently told he couldn’t wave an Italian flag at the game.
- That became a full anti-Italian-discrimination bit.
Other quick hits
- The London marathon produced absurdly fast times thanks in part to super-shoes.
- The Fitzpatrick brothers won a team event, which gets one brother a PGA Tour card.
Running Bits and Closing Chaos
The “press-off”
- The recurring “press” joke between Pickensburg and Icy Vert escalated throughout the episode.
- It became a full mini-soap opera:
- Who won the first press?
- Will there be a second press in Philly?
- Does not showing up count as a loss?
- The crew treated it like a real sports rivalry by the end.
Jacob’s scooter accident
- Jacob revealed he got hit by a car door while riding a scooter, ending up in the hospital.
- The texts about food while he was injured became one of the funniest accidental moments of the episode.
- He was ultimately fine, but it added a weirdly serious real-life twist to the outro.
General tone
- The episode is classic PMT: sports-heavy but constantly derailing into bits, fake rivalries, and inside jokes.
- The biggest through-line is that the hosts are entering the full playoff stretch with a mix of seriousness, trolling, and genuine excitement.