The Bill Simmons Podcast

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons sits down with his dad live from Augusta to talk about his lifelong dream of going to the Masters (5:11) and other news from the sports world (10:30). Then, Bill sits down with the "Mayor of Hollywood," a.k.a. Jeff Goldblum, to talk Steelers vs. Patriots (37:48), to play the IMDb Game (47:01), and to compare stories from fatherhood (88:31).

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Chris Ryan and Kevin O’Connor to discuss the upcoming NBA playoffs (2:31), conspiracies surrounding Kawhi Leonard (5:04), and Bill’s disinterest in anything the Spurs are doing (21:03). Then, JackO comes through to discuss the Yankees, Red Sox, and more in the return of the MLB season (56:59); UConn women’s basketball losing to Notre Dame (01:11:37); and their favorite memories from this year’s NCAA men’s March Madness (01:16:10).

You can find the official Ringer web store here: http://bit.ly/ringershop

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Kevin Durant dive right back into the mailbag to discuss the Warriors' best game this season (5:00), Klay Thompson stories (13:00), the "take" era of sports media (28:00), Durant's three-on-three dream team (40:00), LaVar Ball (46:00), basketball bloggers (56:00), and NBA free agency this summer (1:01:00).

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by self-proclaimed "Basketball Guru" Kevin Durant to discuss the distance between players and fans (5:00), growing the game of basketball (11:00), Twitter's impact on the NBA (19:00), the desire to master basketball (25:00), the All-NBA team (30:00), the revamped NBA All-Star Game (34:00), the Rookie of the Year race (41:00), the LeBron partnership (48:00), and the start to another KD mailbag (53:00).

You can find the official Ringer web store here:

http://bit.ly/ringershop 

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HBO and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Al Pacino and Barry Levinson to discuss how the two get along so well (14:45), their new film ‘Paterno’ (19:00), and what they expect the reaction to the film will be (27:20). Then, Bill debunks a ‘Heat’ conspiracy theory (41:20) and Al talks about how Francis Ford Coppola saved his job (48:30), when John Cazale realized Meryl Streep was the greatest actor alive (56:00) and the impact Marlon Brando had on him (59:00).

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HBO and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by ‘Billions’ co-creator Brian Koppelman to discuss the rewatchability of ‘Rounders’ (05:30), which ‘Billions’ character gets mentioned the most in real life (13:45), the show resonating with rappers and NBA players (1:04:00), and finding a way to make it entertaining without being campy (1:11:15). Then they discuss HBO’s upcoming documentary ‘Andre the Giant’ (1:24:50).

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Michael and Martellus Bennett as they discuss why NBA players are more outspoken than NFL players (10:04), what Tom Brady is like as a teammate (34:32), how it feels to get the sudden call that you're being traded (53:02), what they want their legacies to be (56:57), and how elitism keeps change from happening in the NFL (1:16:51).

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Ryen Russillo to discuss the Trail Blazers's quest to conquer the Western Conference (03:45), the baggage that could hold back the Rockets (24:00), the Russell Westbrook conundrum (38:00), the insignificance of the triple-double (48:30), the Rookie of the Year race between Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell (50:45), Brad Stevens and the struggling Celtics (57:45), the Boston sports radio scene (01:09:45), and ranking UMBC's win over Virginia among the greatest upsets of all time (01:19:00).

Read "Four Big Questions for the Thunder" by Kevin O'Connor here: https://t.co/jIxZTu6PCO

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HBO and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Chuck Klosterman to discuss the present and future state of college basketball and how it affects the NBA (03:00) and to debate the potential of the internet forcing today’s youth to grow up faster (15:00). Then they debate how much of an obligation you have to be plugged into society (30:00) before airing their frustrations with awards shows (57:30).

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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Kevin Clark to discuss Kirk Cousins's massive contract (03:00), the new-look 49ers (13:00), and more impactful free-agency moves (20:00). Then, Bill's dad calls in to talk about trusting in the Patriots' process (31:00) and his frustrating Celtics (42:30). Finally, Kevin O'Connor joins the show to discuss the benefits of tanking (50:30) and to talk about All-NBA predictions, so far (01:14:00).

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