Ryen Russillo In Studio, NFL Schedule Release, Zoo Trades, Playoffs And Fyre Fest

Summary of Ryen Russillo In Studio, NFL Schedule Release, Zoo Trades, Playoffs And Fyre Fest

by Barstool Sports

2h 29m•May 15, 2026
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Overview of Pardon My Take with Ryen Russillo, NFL Schedule Release, Zoo Trades, Playoffs And Fyre Fest

This episode is a classic PMT mix of football obsession, playoff basketball/hockey debate, absurd side quests, and a long in-studio visit with Ryan Russillo. The crew mostly rips the overhyped NFL schedule release while using it as an excuse to talk about prime-time games, international matchups, and holiday football. They also break down the NBA and NHL playoffs, dive deep into a bizarre gorilla trade between zoos, and close with Fire Fest chaos, including a heated softball argument and a very specific beer-and-performance science experiment.

NFL Schedule Release: Football Is Back

The hosts spend a lot of time mocking the modern schedule release “hype machine,” arguing that diehard fans already know the season is coming and mostly just want to see:

  • prime-time games
  • bye weeks
  • international games
  • holiday matchups

Key schedule takeaways

  • The Bears open on Thursday night against the Seahawks.
  • The Bears also have Thanksgiving and Christmas Day games, which the crew thinks is cool but a little excessive.
  • The Thanksgiving slate gets strong praise as one of the best football days of the year.
  • The international slate is a big topic, including:
    • Rams vs. 49ers in Australia
    • Patriots vs. Lions in Germany
    • a Madrid game
  • The crew jokes that the schedule release is basically just a way to identify travel opportunities and prime-time appearances.

NBA and NHL Playoff Talk

A huge chunk of the episode is spent reacting to the playoff picture, especially the ongoing debate around James Harden.

James Harden / Clippers-Cavs discussion

  • The crew and Russillo debate whether Harden is back in “Big Game James” form.
  • Harden had a strong scoring night, but the panel argues that his overall game still had the usual mix of brilliance and frustration:
    • big assists
    • bad turnovers
    • missed free throws
    • awkward late-game decisions
  • The overall consensus is basically:
    • he’s good enough to give hope
    • but also still very much James Harden

Knicks, Cavs, Pistons

  • The Knicks are described as dangerously confident, but in a way that feels justified.
  • The Pistons are praised for effort and physicality, but their offense is seen as too flawed.
  • Cleveland’s win helps the series feel more “real,” and the guys joke that the playoffs officially “started” once the road team finally won.

NHL

  • The Avalanche get major praise for eliminating the Wild.
  • Nathan MacKinnon is singled out as unbelievable all series.
  • They joke that Colorado basically just won the Stanley Cup already.
  • There’s also some quick talk about other first-round results, including the Sabres and Golden Knights.

Weirdest Segment: The Gorilla Trade

One of the funniest parts of the episode is the conversation about a real trade involving gorillas between the Boston, Pittsburgh, and Franklin Park zoos.

What happened

  • Frankie, a young male gorilla, is heading to Boston.
  • Little Joe, an older silverback, is going to Pittsburgh.

The crew’s interpretation

  • They treat it like a sports trade:
    • Boston got younger
    • Pittsburgh got veteran leadership and future breeding value
  • They jokingly debate whether Boston got fleeced or whether Pittsburgh is building a “gorilla factory.”
  • The whole segment turns into fake front-office analysis, complete with talk of:
    • locker room culture
    • upside
    • “stepdad” duty
    • future gorilla babies

PGA, Big Dom, and Garrick Higgo

There’s a quick detour into the PGA Championship.

Big Dom

  • Big Dom’s voiceover work is praised heavily.
  • The guys admit he crushed it and joke that he should do more golf-related media.

Garrick Higgo

  • A golfer missed his tee time by about a minute and got hit with a penalty.
  • The crew loves his bizarre post-round explanation, especially his insistence that he was “on time, but late.”
  • They spend a few minutes joking about what “one second late” actually means.

Ryen Russillo in Studio: Biggest Themes

Russillo’s appearance is one of the main attractions, and he fits right into the show’s mix of smart analysis and ridiculous riffing.

NBA playoff analysis

Russillo gives a more serious breakdown of the playoffs:

  • James Harden has been better than he gets credit for, but he’s still wildly inconsistent.
  • The Pistons’ offensive flaws are real and make them easy to pick apart in playoff settings.
  • The Cavs have enough shot creators to survive.
  • The Knicks have a real shot because of their talent and playoff readiness, but their confidence is still a little scary.
  • He notes that playoff basketball exposes roster weaknesses in a way the regular season doesn’t.

Thunder / Spurs / Wemby talk

Russillo is extremely high on Victor Wembanyama and loves the Spurs’ young core:

  • Wemby is described as the most fun player in the NBA to watch.
  • He thinks the Spurs’ young pieces are unusually advanced for their age.
  • He also believes Dylan Harper may already be the best guard on the roster in some situations.
  • Stephon Castle gets praise as an elite defender.

Rest vs. rust

They get into the classic playoff question:

  • Is extra rest an advantage?
  • Or does too much rest cause rust?

Russillo’s answer is basically that it depends on the team, but youth and experience both matter more than people think.

Lakers, LeBron, and roster questions

  • Russillo and the crew also talk through the Lakers’ situation.
  • They joke about LeBron’s future and the never-ending Jordan vs. LeBron debate.
  • Russillo makes the point that people rarely truly change their minds in that debate.

Wizards optimism

There’s also a side conversation about the Wizards’ future:

  • Russillo is more optimistic than Hank.
  • He thinks Washington has a real chance to move forward if the pieces develop correctly.
  • They also discuss the draft and whether the consensus around certain prospects is moving too fast.

Fire Fest of the Week

The episode closes with a trio of personal grievances.

Big Cat’s experiment idea

Big Cat wants to run a semi-scientific test to figure out the ideal level of drunkenness for sports performance:

  • his theory is that people are best at roughly 0.04 to 0.06 BAC
  • he wants to test it with shooting drills or games
  • the crew agrees it’s a good Barstool After Dark-style experiment

Max vs. Big Cat: softball drama

This becomes the biggest recurring fight of the episode.

  • Big Cat keeps telling Max he’s “swinging too hard” in softball.
  • Max hates hearing it.
  • The argument escalates into a full team-vibes debate.
  • Both sides insist they’re right:
    • Big Cat says he’s giving useful coaching
    • Max says Big Cat is ruining the vibe

Zach’s knish problem

Zach’s Fire Fest is that he’s become obsessed with knishes.

  • He discovered a deli near his house and can’t stop thinking about them.
  • He describes them like a potato-and-dough comfort food with endless upside.
  • His issue is not that they’re bad, but that he keeps craving them and the place has weird hours.

Final Takeaway

This episode is a good snapshot of PMT at full strength:

  • football optimism
  • schedule-release mockery
  • playoff overreaction
  • absurd animal-trade logic
  • Russillo’s smart basketball takes
  • and a completely unnecessary but deeply entertaining softball argument

The biggest recurring theme: football is back, playoff sports are heating up, and everyone on the show is slightly mad about something.