US Open With Shane Bacon, Best Of Kentucky Sports Radio Callers + HC Will Stein, Knicks Parade + FAQ’s

Episode of Pardon My Take · June 17, 2026 · 2 h 23 min

Pardon My Take hosts discuss the Knicks' title aftermath and World Cup draws, Shane Bacon previews the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, and Kentucky coach Will Stein joins during a Kentucky Sports Radio takeover.

Summary

The episode opened with the hosts reflecting on the New York Knicks' NBA championship, with Dan Katz ranking Jalen Brunson the league's best player and arguing that Tom Thibodeau deserved credit for turning the franchise around. Hank Lockwood said he did not want the Celtics to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and PFT Commenter teasingly raised questions about Brunson's contract discount. The group also discussed the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup win, Tiago Splitter's hiring by the Bulls, John Tortorella's departure from Vegas, and a run of World Cup draws including Cape Verde's tie with Spain.

In Hot Seat, Cool Throne, topics included Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's betting case and planned supplemental draft entry, the retirement of the Mr. Bing Bong bit, Brandon Aiyuk's online posts, and Pete Crow-Armstrong's cycle.

Golf analyst Shane Bacon called Shinnecock Hills the best U.S. Open host, predicted an over-par winning score due to wind, and said he did not like Scottie Scheffler's chances, favoring Tommy Fleetwood and mentioning Joaquin Niemann, Rory McIlroy and others. He also said LIV Golf would most likely finish its season.

The final segments featured highlights from the hosts' Kentucky Sports Radio takeover, including caller Andy's hypothetical about an intruder who only tickles, an interview with Kentucky head coach Will Stein about aggressive recruiting and his 'feed the studs' philosophy, a caller from Hindman, and listener FAQs where Katz stressed dependability as the key to growing a podcast.

Chapters

  1. 2:49

    Knicks championship hangover

    The hosts discuss parade plans, the Knicks' celebrations, and Jalen Brunson's place among the NBA's best.

  2. 9:57

    Celtics and Giannis rumors

    Hank Lockwood is pressed on whether he wants Boston to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

  3. 14:45

    Dolan's speech, Thibodeau and the underdog debate

    The group covers James Dolan's pre-playoff speech, Tom Thibodeau's legacy and whether the Knicks were a great underdog story.

  4. 20:21

    Hurricanes, Blazers and Brunson's contract

    Discussion of the Hurricanes' Cup-lifting training, Tiago Splitter's hire, and PFT's teasing about Brunson's pay cut.

  5. 32:37

    World Cup draws and the U.S. pick

    The hosts celebrate a day of four draws, Cape Verde's tie with Spain, Iran's situation and their bets for the U.S.-Australia match.

  6. 41:39

    Hot Seat, Cool Throne

    Picks include Texas Tech and Brendan Sorsby, Mr. Bing Bong's retirement, Brandon Aiyuk, Elmo, and Pete Crow-Armstrong's cycle.

  7. 59:18

    Shane Bacon's U.S. Open preview

    Bacon breaks down Shinnecock, the wind, Scheffler concerns, contenders, long shots and LIV Golf's future.

  8. 1:37:07

    Kentucky Sports Radio: Andy's hypotheticals

    Caller Andy poses his tickling-intruder hypothetical and other questions and shares views on Kentucky athletics.

  9. 1:49:11

    Interview with Will Stein

    The Kentucky head coach discusses recruiting, 'feed the studs,' his background and group chats.

  10. 2:07:00

    Caller Matt from Hindman

    A caller quizzes the hosts on unranked national champions and describes his garden and town.

  11. 2:12:33

    Listener FAQs

    The hosts answer questions on staying motivated, growing a podcast, and who is the biggest loser on the show.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Dan Katz

    Dan Katz argues that the point of winning a championship is getting to spend the offseason calling your team's best player the league's best.

    “That's the whole point of winning a championship is you get to spend an entire offseason saying your guy's number”

    Listen from 8:00 · New York Knicks

  • Hank Lockwood

    Hank Lockwood believes the Giannis-to-Boston rumors are fake because Brad Stevens's moves do not leak.

    “Brad Stevens doesn't deal with agents. Things that he's doing does not leak, so I feel like it's all fake smoke”

    Listen from 10:37 · Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation

  • Dan Katz

    Katz argues teams should schedule championship parades about a week after winning to give players a stretch of celebration.

    “Make the parade like a week later because you basically are saying to your team, you get to party for this entire week”

    Listen from 16:14 · New York Knicks

  • Dan Katz

    Katz credits Tom Thibodeau with making the Knicks competent winners before Mike Brown took them to a title.

    “Tibbs inherited a god-awful Knicks team and franchise and made them winners pretty quickly and made them competent”

    Listen from 17:19 · New York Knicks

  • Dan Katz

    Katz argues that outside of a handful of NBA coaches there is little difference between mid-tier and lower-tier coaches.

    “I don't know if there's a big difference between the fifth best coach in the NBA and the 25th”

    Listen from 22:58 · Portland Trail Blazers

  • PFT Commenter

    PFT Commenter argues John Tortorella is best used as a short-term midseason hire for talented teams that underachieve.

    “Just whatever team has great players that underachieves halfway through next season, smash the torts button”

    Listen from 29:11

  • PFT Commenter

    PFT Commenter expects the U.S. to press aggressively against Australia as it did against Paraguay, leaving it vulnerable to counterattacks.

    “our strategy is going to be pretty similar to what we saw against Paraguay, which is just like fuck them up and press and attack and press”

    Listen from 36:58 · 2026 FIFA World Cup

  • Dan Katz

    Katz argues that even with few rules left in college sports, players betting on their own team must be prohibited.

    “But if there should be one rule, it's that you can't bet on your own team”

    Listen from 43:55 · Brendan Sorsby betting case

  • Shane Bacon

    Shane Bacon argues Shinnecock Hills is the best U.S. Open venue, better than Oakmont.

    “Shinnecock is what Oakmont thinks it is in terms of a golf course. I mean, this is the best host of the U.S. Open”

    Listen from 1:00:48 · Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

  • Shane BaconCame true

    Bacon predicts Scottie Scheffler will not win the 2026 U.S. Open, citing inconsistency in his game this season.

    “I don't like Scottie this week. I don't think this is the U.S. Open that Scottie wins”

    Listen from 1:08:24 · 2026 U.S. Open (golf)

  • Shane BaconDidn’t happen

    Bacon predicts that if the windy forecast holds, the 2026 U.S. Open will be won with an over-par score.

    “this is going to be an over par U.S. Open. You're going to see three, four, five over win come Sunday”

    Listen from 1:13:01 · 2026 U.S. Open (golf)

  • Shane Bacon

    Bacon says Tommy Fleetwood is near the top of his board and that any major Fleetwood wins would likely be a U.S. Open.

    “I think Tommy Fleetwood if he ever gets a major it's going to be a U.S. Open just with the way he plays so I love Tommy this week”

    Listen from 1:17:55 · 2026 U.S. Open (golf)

  • Shane BaconPrediction · due Dec 2026

    Bacon says his sources indicate LIV Golf will most likely run its season through the end of the year.

    “I think at least from what I've heard, the end of the year is the most likely scenario”

    Listen from 1:25:34 · LIV Golf

  • Shane BaconCame true

    Bacon predicts Collin Morikawa, not fully healthy, has no real chance of winning.

    “I'll give you Colin Morikawa. I don't think he's going to do it”

    Listen from 1:30:31 · 2026 U.S. Open (golf)

  • Andy

    Caller Andy says he would not report an intruder who only tickled him because police would not believe it.

    “I wouldn't report it myself because, first of all, the police are not going to believe that”

    Listen from 1:40:02

  • Will Stein

    Will Stein says constant, aggressive recruiting is the core of his Kentucky program.

    “you got to constantly recruit. It is truly the lifeblood of our program”

    Listen from 1:52:26 · Kentucky Wildcats football

  • Will Stein

    Stein explains that his 'feed the studs' mantra means getting the ball to the team's best players as often as possible.

    “So that's our job is to get our best players, the ball as many times as possible”

    Listen from 1:54:00 · Kentucky Wildcats football

  • Will Stein

    Stein rejects the idea that Kentucky must be only a basketball school, arguing it can excel in both sports.

    “especially with our new athletic director, Jay Batt, like, why can't we be good at both?”

    Listen from 2:00:56 · Kentucky Wildcats football

  • Linked moment · 2:12:33Skip to 2:12:33 using a listen link in the info box.

    Hank Lockwood

    Lockwood says staying motivated differs from a fighter's situation because the podcast has no championship end goal.

    “There's also no end goal. The podcast is just for fun”

    Listen from 2:13:03 · Podcast growth strategies

  • Dan Katz

    Katz argues the key to growing a podcast is dependability, becoming part of listeners' routines by never missing episodes.

    “To be successful in this world, you have to become part of people's routines and be dependable for people”

    Listen from 2:15:51 · Podcast growth strategies

People

In the conversation

  • Dan KatzBarstool Sports personality known as Big Cat, co-host of Pardon My Take
  • PFT CommenterBarstool Sports writer and co-host of Pardon My Take
  • Hank LockwoodPardon My Take contributor and Boston Celtics fan
  • ZachNewest Pardon My Take staff member, Knicks fan
  • MemesPardon My Take staffer and New York Knicks fan
  • Max DelentePardon My Take producer and Philadelphia 76ers fan whose bachelor party is referenced
  • Shane BaconGolf broadcaster for CBS and amateur competitive golfer
  • Will SteinHead football coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, former Oregon offensive coordinator
  • Andy

Discussed

Topics

More from Pardon My Take

From the publisher

The Knicks hangover from Saturday and Jalen Brunson is making every list right now. PFT has a theory and Giannis maybe a Celtic? (00:00:00-00:31:25) World Cup draws are sweeping the nation (00:31:25-00:40:46). Hot Seat Cool Throne including PCA’s cycle and Mr Bing Bong retiring (00:40:46-00:58:21). Shane Bacon joins the show to break down the US Open at Shinnecock, who can win, why the course is perfect and should we be worried about Scottie (00:58:21-01:35:12). We hosted Kentucky Sports Radio and have our best calls including the best hypothetical ever and an interview with HC Will Stein (01:35:12-02:10:37). We finish with listener FAQ’s You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Netflix. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/pardon-my-take

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Sports·Golf·Basketball