Podbit · Pardon My Take
The NFL is officially back. PFT declares this the last Monday show without on-field football until after the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes's rehabbing left knee looks noticeably smaller than his right, and Brandon Aiyuk bought a $10M house in Northern Virginia for no apparent reason.
New UFC fighters sign for $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win — after taxes and management fees, a loss nets maybe $7,000–$8,000. Strickland slept in his coach's gym and rode a bike to training. He was making $1,000 per fight before getting UFC-signed, with no GED, no car, and no social skills. The UFC, he argues, is predatory — but for guys from Brazilian favelas or Dagestan, that money still changes lives.
Strickland describes sneaking into a UFC Fan Expo, quickly being recognized, and finding himself at the center of a wall of fans closing in. He realized in real time how crowd crush deaths happen — one person can't move because the crowd behind them is a wall. He jumped in the octagon just to survive. US Marshals had to physically fight fans back. He credits them with saving at least one life that day.
At 14–15, Strickland walked into a gym and got beaten bloody by men 5 years older. It was the first time in his life he felt something other than hate. The gym gave him community, identity, and a channel for violence that wasn't going to land him in prison. Without it, he says, his path was a serial killer's: one horrific act, institutionalization, release, another act, repeat.
Strickland was not White House-cleared for UFC 314 at America's 250th celebration — and the UFC also denied him security or fan expo passes. He can't blame either: he admits he would have grabbed a microphone and started calling out pedophiles in the Epstein files. He credits the US Marshals who controlled the crowd that day with saving at least his own life.
Bobby and Andrew dissect Mexico's World Cup win, gush over Messi still cooking 19-year-olds at age 40, and riff on the wild celebrations in North Hollywood. Bobby watched the game from his hotel while Mexico fans rioted in Van Nuys.
Tadej Pogačar claimed his fifth Tour de France title, completing the race in just under 74 hours. The final stage was shortened because French police and security had to be diverted to fight wildfires raging in the southwest. Seven Tours, five wins, seven podiums — a record Pogačar himself calls too good to be in a storybook.
Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, New York. Three very different careers — center field speed, defensive greatness, and second-base power — united by a bronze plaque.
LeBron James chose the Philadelphia 76ers on the veteran minimum, and the entire show agrees: it's championship or bust. The Sixers starting five on paper is stacked — but there's only one ball and several alpha scorers who all want it.
Max, a lifelong 76ers die-hard, refuses to say he'll boo LeBron James if he underperforms — because he's on the veteran minimum. The crew mercilessly points out that LeBron has completely neutered Philly's most vocal fan before a single game is played.
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