Episodes
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.
Published 10/27/24
Published 10/27/24
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...
Published 10/22/24
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!
Published 10/21/24
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...
Published 09/27/24
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!
Published 09/26/24
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...
Published 09/25/24
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,...
Published 09/17/24
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!
Published 09/13/24
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...
Published 09/06/24
Welcome to a special edition of The r/BillSimmons Podcast! We break down the fast emerging Bill Simmons vs. Nick Wright feud from all the angles. We then touch on how this relates to Bill's expiring contract and predict what Nick and Bill's next moves are. Enjoy!
Published 08/30/24
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...
Published 08/28/24
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...
Published 08/22/24
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...
Published 08/09/24
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
Published 07/30/24
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!
Published 07/23/24
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...
Published 07/23/24
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...
Published 07/12/24
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....
Published 06/20/24
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,...
Published 06/12/24
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...
Published 06/05/24
Welcome to Episode #76! Andy (@AndyKHLiu) from the Light Years pod (https://linktr.ee/LightYearsPodcast) comes on for a fast-moving show covering several Bill Simmons and sports media topics. We start off with Andy's background becoming a Bill Simmons fan, and reminisce about Grantland and old Bill tweets. He really used to have no filter! Since Andy is a Warriors fan we get his take on Bill's view of KD - he agrees Bill overrated him because of the BS Pod appearances. And why didn't Bill -...
Published 06/04/24
Welcome to Episode 75! We bring on Chenny from Twitter (@ChennyBritt) for a classic r/BS Pod episode talking Bill, Russillo, sports media and more. We start off discussing the interesting dynamic of Bill having long-time fans who know he's overreacting with extreme bias vs. the newer fans and NBA Twitter who actually take his words seriously; it's happening like never before this NBA playoffs with Bill's hilarious flip flops every podcast. We then take a look back at Bill on NBA Countdown,...
Published 05/31/24
In this episode I break down why we’re about to see such a massive shift in the NBA rights deals. I discuss: — What went wrong with the formation of TNT’s parent Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) — Why WBD’s recent financials have been disastrous — The highly negative impact of WBD signing a new NBA deal at double the cost of the previous one — Why the deal makes much more sense for NBC and Amazon — Why the NBA prefers NBC and Amazon over WBD
Published 05/19/24
Welcome to Episode 73! We bring on Mike from Twitter (@PokerPolitics) for a deeper look into the evolution of Bill Simmons, as Mike's been reading Bill since the Page 2 ESPN days in the early 2000s. First we start with Bill Simmons current events. His flip flops on the Wolves-Nuggets series have been legendary. Plus, we react to the embarrassing Justin Termine appearance defending Bill's outrageous takes. Next we go back to Mike's origins finding Bill and wonder whether he'd be as...
Published 05/17/24