Stavros Halkias guests on Pardon My Take's September 4 episode

Comedian Stavros Halkias pulled up to the Pardon My Take studio for the September 4 episode, and it wasn't a quiet cameo. Halkias, the Baltimore-born comic who broke out on Cum Town before going solo with Netflix specials and his own Stavvy's World podcast, got the full treatment: a Mount Rushmore bit, a bizarre phone call, and Zac's massage story all rolled into one show.

Pardon My Take

@PardonMyTake

PMT 9-4 with @stavvybaby In Studio is Now Live! - The Clippers are in jail - Mt Rushmore Duel to end the season - Lefty Lockwood update from Hank - Fyre Fest + more Watch or Listen Here t.co/IY1yXreSyG

The rundown Big Cat and PFT Commenter posted teased a grab bag typical of the show's decade-long formula — the Clippers bit, a Lefty Lockwood update, Fyre Fest chatter — but it was the Mount Rushmore of Guy Names segment, sponsored by Reese's, that got its own standalone clip. Hosts and guest filled in a bracket of first names live, landing on entries like Devante, Muhammad, Drew, Guy, Jalen, Will and Tiger.

Pardon My Take

@PardonMyTake

The Mount Rushmore of Guy Names What got left off the list? @reeses

Fans in the replies weren't shy about ranking the episode itself. One member of the show's fan community called it 'one of my favorite pmt interviews in a long time,' and another singled out a bit where Halkias flipped to a random passage in a book mid-show and it landed perfectly. That kind of unscripted moment is the whole appeal of having a stand-up comedian sit in the studio chair instead of the usual athlete guest.

Pardon My Take

@PardonMyTake

Zac just wanted a massage man

The episode also doubled as a victory lap. Big Cat and PFT Commenter's book, Pardon My Book: Ten Years of the Best (and Worst) in Sports from Pardon My Take, released last month to mark the podcast's 10th anniversary, hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list — a milestone the hosts are still visibly buzzing about on camera.

Big Cat

@BarstoolBigCat

Stavvy opened the book to a perfect page @PardonMyTake

For a show that started in 2016 as two internet bloggers riffing on football, landing a comedian of Halkias's profile — mid-stride with an A24 Anthony Bourdain biopic role and a Netflix special behind him — while simultaneously sitting atop a bestseller list is a fair marker of how far Pardon My Take has traveled in a decade. The full episode is up now on the show's usual platforms for anyone who wants the Mount Rushmore duel and the rest of it beyond the clips.