Episodes
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We review the history of Bill Simmons and JJ Redick, dating back to 2010, that's led to Bill severely doubting the 2024 Lakers and saying JJ was a lunatic for taking the job - and why he's likely infuriated at their hot start.
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Welcome to Episode 95! We bring back Doug from Episode 70 and Chris from Episode 93 for a timely 3-man weave.
We start off discussing the recent Ringer news: Why we like these additions, and how they should fit into and improve their NBA and NFL coverage. The Ringer's NBA roster is now robust - do they even need Zach Lowe? And how is their NFL roster with McShay added, but still missing Robert Mays and Kevin Clark - is there another move coming?
We also contrast these hires by Bill with ESPN's current strategy of going all-in on hot take artists like Kendrick Perkins, and give kudos to Bill for his Podcast GM skills and updated vision for The Ringer. We also pose the question - would Ringer fans prefer these 4 additions, or Zach Lowe alone?
We then segue into Guess the Lines - which we all agree is in Nadir Canyon. Can it be fixed? We break down the struggles and offer our suggestions for improvements. We think they need a format change, including cutting the recap down and bringing on guest line guessers. Also, did Bill & Sal overcorrect by making the pod more of a recap show in response to Pardon My Take's success?
We close the episode discussing Bill's future - it certainly appears far more likely that he's going to stay at Spotify now. What would Bill leaving The Ringer even look like - and does Bill want that after this recent news? Probably not.
Enjoy, and check out Episode 70 and 93 if you haven't listened yet for more of Doug and Chris!
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Missing episodes?
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Welcome to Episode 94! We break down The Ringer bringing on Todd McShay, Kirk Goldsberry, Dave Jacoby and Joel Anderson, including:
— Why these hires make a lot of sense
— What this says about the evolution of podcasting
— Why Bill is more likely to re-sign with Spotify now
— Why Zach Lowe is still a long shot to sign with Bill
Enjoy!
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Welcome to Episode 93! We bring on Chris from Twitter (@tbrodude) to dive into Bill's new Vince McMahon doc on Netflix. Over the course of the show we answer several questions, including:
- Our grade on an A-F scale and vs. 30 for 30s and Bill's Andre the Giant HBO doc
- How various groups (hardcore fans, casuals) are viewing the doc, and who the doc was really made for
- Was this a takedown of Vince? Could it have gone farther? Would Netflix/WWE have even allowed that?
- How WWE and Netflix come out looking
- Bill's impact on the aesthetics and production
- What was Bill's objective and did he achieve it?
- Why wasn't Nick Khan, WWE President and frequent BS Pod guest, mentioned once in the doc?
- Was Bill accurate in his promotion of the doc - was it extremely entertaining?
- How we think the doc probably changed over the years
- Winners & Losers
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Wow! Shocking news has hit the NBA. We break it all down — why was Zach fired, where will he land next, will he reunite with Bill Simmons, what this says about the current state of ESPN, and a lot more. Enjoy!
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Welcome to Episode 91! We bring on Scott from Twitter (@Cap_tain_Ron) to focus all of our attention this episode on Any Given Wednesday, the short-lived, Bill Simmons-hosted, 2016 HBO sports late night show. It remains an enigma to this day given how bad it was, a shocking career failure for Bill Simmons, who came into HBO at the peak of his powers. So, we break it all down. How did this happen? Why did Bill agree to host a TV show and then seemingly have zero idea of what to do? Did any of Bill's pre-show thoughts end up playing out? Just how terrible was this show? For anyone that's ever watched and wondered "how did this get on TV, and why was it so bad?" enjoy this definitive breakdown of the worst show in HBO history.
0:00-21:30: Bill's questionable "reasons" for doing the show, HBO's misleading marketing, his (lack of) gameplan, and was Any Given Wednesday doomed from the start?
21:30-39:00: Episode 1: Charles Barkley & Ben Affleck: Shockingly terrible opening monologue was a bad omen, and the viral Affleck rant hides how weak Bill was
39:00-59:15: Episode 2: Bill Hader, Mark Cuban & Malcolm Gladwell: This episode confirms Bill is awkward on TV, the show isn’t funny and Bill isn’t a performer, and it’s a worse version of Bill's podcast with weak, not fully fleshed out columns as boring video monologues
59:15-1:13:50: Episode 3: Joe Rogan, Chris Bosh, Anthony Anderson: The show is definitively not working, and this is clearly not "The Sport of Conversation" we were promised by HBO's marketing. Bill's "genre changing idea" to have on two guests to talk one topic is the worst yet with Bosh and Anderson talking NBA and TV. And why does the show look visually terrible?
1:13:50-1:23:15 Episode 4: Aaron Rodgers: One-guest episode after a Serena Williams monologue highlights just how random Any Given Wednesday has become
1:23:15-1:42:15 Episode 5: The worst episode in the series - the Deflategate sketch with Michael Rapaport. This essentially officially kills the show for good, as no show that respects itself could put that sketch on air. Also, why did Bill hire comedy writers and what did they actually do, because the show wasn't funny.
1:42:15-2:30:45: By Episode 6 the show is, for all intents and purposes, over. We continue going through each episode (all 17!) highlighting key segments, like the atrocious Nas & KD joint interview. Who was this show for? Why did Bill Simmons barely act like Bill Simmons and leave behind his Sports Guy brand? Why would people continue watching a milquetoast interview show with stale sports takes? Why is Bill having on weak guests like Jay Glazer and Vince Staples multiple times? Finally Bill's pairings start working (Al Michaels/Bob Costas), but by then it's too late.
2:30:45-2:42:36: Our takeaway: Bill liked the idea of hosting an HBO show, but never actually had a gameplan for the show. Plus, Bill's surprising honesty about why it didn't workin post-show interviews.
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Welcome to Episode 90! We bring on a new 3-man weave with Joe from Twitter and Steve Franklin (@myguysteve) who join the pod for a laugh-filled episode. We discuss Bill's recent NFL pods and guests, speculate on his next move, suggest a game changing guest for Russillo, and do our first Ringer Snake Draft, with each of us drafting a team of BS Pod podcast guests. Enjoy!
(0:00-3:45) Intro & Background with Bill
(3:45-18:10) Assessing Bill's NFL content & guests - Lombardi sucks, #EmbraceDebate on Schrager, McShay a great addition, and is only Ruiz left now that Solak/Clark/Mays left??
(18:10-21:15) Does Bill really like the NFL more than the NBA?
(21:15-37:55) Bill Simmons Free Agency Watch
(37:55-40:10) Why doesn't Bill announce the Rewatchables ahead of time?
(40:10-44:30) How would Kamala be on the BS Pod? Should Russillo have Trump on his pod?
(44:30-48:35) KOC/Solak leaving and where are the new Ringer hires?
(48:35-end) The Ringer draft: 6-round snake draft of best BS Pod guests
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Welcome to the latest r/BS Pod! KOC has officially left The Ringer for Yahoo Sports and we break it all down - what does it mean for him & The Ringer, why did it happen, how does it relate to Solak and others leaving and Todd McShay joining, and what's the current and future state of The Ringer? Enjoy!
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Welcome to Episode 88! We bring on Nick from Twitter (@NickZararis) and a wide variety of sports media ventures for an excellent discussion on the changes of Bill Simmons and the sports media landscape over the years.
Theme 1: Bill not doing the research anymore or watching the games - he was better prepared to cover the NFL and NBA as a columnist
Theme 2: Bill becoming part of the story now that he's a major sports media figure - first instance of this was the Moss Vikings trade, then Goodell is a liar, and we see it all the time today
Theme 3: Bill losing some of his authenticity - you're not a normal sports fan anymore given your professional success and your team's championships - and that's OK!
Theme 4: The sports gambling bubble - it's funding so much content creation, which along with optimizing for algos is leading to worse content. Should creators like Bill be less aggressively touting gambling sites?
If you enjoy today's show, check out Nick's other work which you can find on his Twitter.
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Welcome to another edition of the evolutionary 3-man weave! We bring back prior guests Chenny (Episode #75, #80) and Flex (#79, #80) to react to Bill's recent Fantasy Football preview show. And per usual on the r/BS Pod, we get into a lot of other Bill, Ringer and Russillo related topics. Timestamps below:
— 0:00-38:30: Reaction to Sunday's Fantasy Preview pod - Why does Bill insist on using auction values throughout the pod? Plus the ridiculous categories, and the hilarity of Bill revealing just how bad of a fantasy player he is.
— 38:30-1:01:30: Why is Bill saying he likes football over basketball now? Is this true or is it because he has a new Yahoo Fantasy sponsorship?
— 1:01:30-1:11:45: What's the next move for Bill? Will The Ringer exist in a year? Will it be sold to Amazon? Will Bill move to SiriusXM like Alex Cooper and Smartless or Amazon like the Kelce bros? Does Bill need The Ringer??
— 1:11:45-1:27:45: Russillo recently announced on Pardon My Take that major news for him is coming soon - what is it? New podcast deal? TV script he wrote getting picked up by a streaming service? What would a written-by-Russillo TV show look like?
— 1:27:45-1:41:15: Are sports media figures more comfortable taking shots at Bill now? We're seeing a lot more today than we used to!
— 1:41:15-end: Klosterman pod recap and how much did Bill really win on his 2015 Warriors bet?
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Welcome to the latest episode! We bring on Max from Twitter (@maxmarshall136) to discuss:
— How was Bill so wrong about Bezos being interested in the Celtics? What was his true motivation?
— Are the Celtics really a Tier 1 franchise like the Cowboys and Lakers?
— The origin of Bill's LeBron hate going back to 2003 draft night
— The Ringer's anti-Heat bias, especially KOC, Bill and Russillo
— Why did Bill - creator of the Atrocious NBA GM Summit - go soft on NBA GMs?
— Did Bill like the NBA more in the early 2000s than today?
— What happened to classic BS Pod guests like Jalen Rose, Chad Ford, Mark Stein and Rick Bucher?
— Max's ratio-ing of Michael Rapaport
— Content ideas for Bill's next documentaries including more on Jordan, but with a twist
— Why didn't Bill do more tie-ins with HBO, like a Sopranos Rewatchables?
— What happened to the Redraftables?
— Russillo and Bill's vibe is off in 2024 vs. when they started
— The best 5-year plan for Bill Simmons
If you like the show, follow Max on Twitter and check out his work on the Heat at https://allucanheat.com/author/mmarshall/
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Welcome to Episode 84! We bring on a guest from Twitter - who might be the biggest Bill Simmons fan we've had on the show yet - for a rollicking look back at the history of the Bill Simmons Universe. Topics covered include:
— Bill's time at ESPN The Magazine
— Grantland Mount Rushmore
— Looking back at our submissions to Grantland's Fantasy Football Writer contest
— The downfall of Michael Rapaport
— The OG Fast & Furious Rewatchables & movie pitches with Carolla
— Why Bill is such a terrible fantasy football player
— Favorite forgotten BS Report guests
— What marked the start of Bill's decline
— How r/BillSimmons has evolved over a decade
This was an absolute blast - hope you enjoy!
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Welcome to Episode 83! We bring back JF from #71 for a continuation of some classic r/BS Pod topics:
- Laughing at Tatum's Team USA flop; how mad is Bill?
- Is the NBA rights deal going to work out for Amazon and NBC?
- Will Amazon or NBC hire Bill for a studio gig?
- What were Bill's actual contributions to 30 for 30?
- Why did Benjamin Solak leave The Ringer and will Russillo follow him out the door?
If you enjoyed the episode follow JF on Twitter @Window_Cleaner
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Welcome to Episode 82! Comcast, which owns NBC, held an earnings call today where they discussed the NBA deal in great detail, including what games they won, the split between NBC and Peacock, and why they believe the deal is worth the massive $2.5 Billion annual cost.
I break Comcast's comments down in this instant reaction pod - enjoy!
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Welcome to a special sports media edition of The r/BillSimmons Podcast! News just broke that WBD matched Amazon's NBA rights offer. I discuss how I see it playing out, and who will actually win the rights when it's all said and done. I also get into Bill's scoop on Matt Belloni's pod about how Amazon structured the deal to combat the WBD match provision.
Next I stay on the topic of WBD - why I think it's an excellent decision for the NBA to swap them out for Amazon and NBC, and address the rumors that WBD is pursuing a split. While I don't think it'll happen, it informs us of the precarious position the company is in.
I finish up with a discussion of Netflix's recent earnings and how they are completely dominating right now, and how it's unlikely to end anytime soon.
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Welcome to Episode 80! We bring on Flex from Episode #79 and Chenny from Episode #75 - they know each other in real life - for a 3-man weave talking all things Bill, The Ringer, Russillo and more.
We start out discussing the hilarity of Bill barely celebrating the Celtics win and instead immediately shifting to complaining. While we still expect him to be a homer, it was surprising hearing Bill be so angered at Tatum not getting enough respect according to him, and Bill being mad the new CBA is making is difficult for "the best starting lineup of the 21st century" to stay together for a 10-year title run.
Next we talk Celtics sale, both how funny and disastrous it would be if Bill was a minority owner, and also wonder if Portnoy has solidified his claim on "The Belt" for top Boston fan vs. Bill. Simmons was not at the parade nor had any Celtics players, coaches or owners on his pod after the win - why not? Plus, Portnoy is much more suited to the new media paradigm in 2024.
Next we discuss this season of Russillo-Bill pods. Was this the final season? It sounded like Bill was reminiscing last pod. And if so, who would replace Russillo? We discuss some Ringer podcasters as well as some outside the box options.
We then talk The Ringer - will it survive after the initial deal contract is up - and wonder what Bill's next move is, including our thoughts on why Bill has never tried video again after the Any Given Wednesday disaster and whether he will in the future. We finish up with a preview of what content Bill will be putting out this summer.
If you liked this episode, check out the guys on Episodes 79 & 75 as well!
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Welcome to Episode 79! We bring on Flex from Twitter (@flexcfc) for a classic r/BS Pod rip.
We first review Bill Simmons current events, including his frustration with the reaction to Tatum's playoffs. Why can't Bill be happy with the championship and why did he do a 180 on Tatum from earlier in the playoffs? We give our theories. We also weigh in on the Tatum celebration conversation.
Then we predict Bill's NFL takes for this season, both preseason and once the Patriots start off poorly. Per usual, he will try to get a W either way.
Next, we wonder why Bill isn't discussing anything else besides the NBA when there's a ton of other sports content going on - NHL, WNBA, Euros, Olympics and more. Not to mention baseball - given Bill wrote his first book about the Red Sox.
We assess some of Bill's NBA guests like KOC and discuss how Bill isn't getting top tier Celtics guests like other NBA pods.
I also discuss at the end what I would ask Bill if he invited me on the pod (purely a hypothetical - I don't expect this to happen!)
If you like the show rate us 5 stars and give us a review on Apple Pods - we'll read it on the show!
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Welcome to Episode 78! We bring on Ty from Pyramid the Podcast (yes, inspired by Bill) to talk Bill from the early days.
Ty and his group of friends in Boston first discovered and then frequently emailed Bill in the late-90s as his column was on the rise. We discuss Bill at that time and Ty notes how part of what made Bill endearing was his aggressive calling out of the Boston media. Ty tells us why Bill was such a revelation at the time.
We then go through the various stages of his career, and hear a fun story about Ty hanging out with Bill at a Clippers game. We discuss how Bill, and his content, has and hasn't changed since he started so long ago.
We finish up with some Bill Simmons current events before discussing Ty's "Pyramid The Podcast" inspired by Bill's love of Pyramids for rankings.
If you enjoyed the show, check out Ty on his pod: https://pyramidthepodcast.podbean.com
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Welcome to Episode 77! The WSJ dropped a long article today revealing many more details of the upcoming NBA rights deal. For all intents and purposes and barring a hail mary by Warner Bros. Discovery, this is a done deal.
In this show I assess why the Peacock exclusives are such a big deal, what this means for the future of streaming on NBC, why the NBA loves NBC (not just about the money), possible future media M&A due to this NBA deal, and I predict where Inside the NBA will land.
I finish up the pod laughing about today's BS Pod episode including Bill reigniting his feud with Pat McAfee.
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