The r/BillSimmons Podcast

Welcome to Episode 54! We bring on Richie from Twitter for a wide ranging conversation on Bill Simmons and the state of the BS Pod & The Ringer.

Richie is a Simmons fan from the Page 2 days that recently started listening to the show again and has noticed a major drop on Bill's fastball. What was the reason for the decline? We discuss how Bill became what he used to rail against in the mid-90s - an older, past his prime media member mailing it in.

Next we discuss the absurdity of Bill's "it's not open mic night" comments and then get into how Bill is very much like the Dave Matthews Band, or really any band that makes it big, and then runs out of steam after their passion for the art decreases as their life improves.

We then talk Russillo's ascendance and wonder where Bill's interviewing skills have gone, as Ryen has surpassed him in this regard, by a lot. Russillo can listen to his guests and prepares great questions, while Bill constantly interrupts and tries to one up guests by making the same joke again, but less funnier. Did this fly in the Kimmel writing room?

We finish up laughing at how bad Bill's ad reads are, which are just indicative of, in our view, how little effort he's putting into the BS Pod these days.

Thanks for listening and be sure to check out the music of Wiser Times here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XiRm7fyJD4pxKO0KroEyG

The Wall Street Journal just broke the news that Amazon is in discussions to invest in Diamond Sports, the owner of Bally's Sports Networks. This could have a major impact on the future of sports rights and specifically NBA rights.

In this episode I discuss why Diamond Sports has performed so poorly and had to go bankrupt, what the leagues are looking to get from the bankruptcy, what Amazon is looking to do with an investment, the different motivations of the creditors, and how this might change the NBA rights deal negotiations.

That's right — a four and a half hour podcast. Call the r/BS Pod the evolutionary JRE. We bring back Smug (@SmugFecundity on Twitter) for his 3rd appearance, after the legendary Epic, Definitive 4-Hour Bill Simmons Career Retrospective (Episode 25), the most popular r/BS Pod episode (1100 listens) besides the Harry & Meghan reaction pod that got picked up by UK media.

For the first part of the pod we talk Bill Simmons current events: Why has the BS Pod gone downhill of late, does Bill need a refresh to bring back his creative juices, why Russillo keeps ascending, and what was the reason for the JJ beef? This is classic r/BS Pod content from one of our Mount Rushmore guests.

In part two (starting at 1 hour and 32 minutes in) we get wonkier - Smug is a father of SEVEN children and we have our first ever r/BS Parent Corner. Bill has taken us inside the life of being a parent for the last decade and 3 quarters, and that has picked up lately with his daughter off to college. We discuss Bill's feelings and then get into parenting in general - Bill is an avatar for parenting in the current age - and why Smug believes people should not only be having kids, but having big families, jiving with Bill's recent comments that he wished he had more kids. This is content that non-BS Pod fans can enjoy.

We also hit on the ascendence of Noah Eagle over Al Michaels and ask who's public persona is more true vs. their actual self, Bill or Dave Portnoy.

If you liked the show, follow @SmugFecundity on Twitter!

Welcome to Episode 51! In today's show I break down two hot media stories. Why is Disney licensing content to Netflix, and what does it mean for the Streaming Wars? What are experts now saying about the NBA's upcoming media deal? And how do they relate to one another? We break it down.

This is a must listen for those who follow streaming and sports media closely.

We have podcasting beef! Bill Simmons called out JJ Redick for comments JJ made about his time at The Ringer and we had to react.

We go through the backstory of Bill and JJ's business relationship, previous comments JJ has made about The Ringer, the relative success of each podcaster's video efforts, and close with some broad thoughts about Bill and Spotify's podcasting strategy.

Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 49! We bring on Chance from Twitter for a wide-ranging conversation about Bill Simmons following one of the wonkiest BS Pod weeks in history.

We start off talking Michael Rubin's appearance, which went over like a chainsaw in the jacuzzi; is he the most hated guest in BS Pod history? Most say yes. We also pull a Russillo-esque zag and explain where our views differed from the common reaction.

Next we tackle this week's Guess the Lines - was this Nadir Canyon for the segment? Most agree it's gone downhill but there were a variety of ridiculous moments, like Bill's delusional Ravens hate, a smoking gun for him cheating, and Bill forgetting *he* is the one that started the "who will get thrown the car keys!" for NFL QB assessment.

Then we hit on this week's Rewatchables episode - was Bill a little too horny here - which leads us into a discussion of one of the most infamous episodes of all - Jennifer Lawrence on Dumb & Dumber. If you asked for pure cringe in a lab, it'd spit out that podcast.

After all those BS Pod current events, we look back at The Book of Basketball and Bill's Best & Worst takes of 2023, before finishing up with a continuation from last week's pod: if Bill Simmons is Michael Scott, what does the rest of The Ringer look like as The Office cast? We discuss!

Thanks for listening, and a big thank you to Wiser Times for the new intro! Check out his Twitter @WiserTimesmusic for more.

We bring on Alex from Twitter (@AlexxLawson) for an excellent conversation on a variety of Bill Simmons related topics.

First, we assess Bill's NFL content and agree that yes, it's fallen off. Why has it, and what can be done about it? What were the better days like?

Next we talk how Bill's pod is today for NBA casuals - do we need as intense of NBA discussion as we have now? Why does Bill insist on the hamster wheel content?

We then transition to some Bill Simmons subreddit talk. What's the current state of the sub - is it having a moment? Are we on a bender? We then look at some classic sub moments from Alex's Twitter and have a good laugh.

We then question when and why we started rooting aggressively against Bill's teams. Then we analyze how Bill is just like Michael Scott, and wonder how much the success of Boston teams played into his career success.

Some BS Pod listeners didn't agree with Bill and Matt Belloni that Netflix had an incredible 2023. I contend that Bill and Matt were right, and explain why, giving detail on the streaming industry and competitors including Max, Disney, Paramount & NBC. If you like streaming and media discussions, give this a listen.

Welcome to Episode 46! I bring on Steve from Twitter (@ssabb05) for a fun and lively discussion of Bill's career.

When and why did Bill start falling off? We investigate and Steve introduces a new theory. We examine how his increased Boston homerism and focus on the NBA has been affecting the pod negatively for long-time fans.

We then look back and have some laughs at some of Bill's most hilarious takes of late, and discuss how much better the BS Pod is when listened to as a comedy pod rather than a straight sports news and information podcast.

Also, if you liked today's pod, check out Steve's own podcast, The Overstated NBA Show (@theoverstated).

Welcome to Episode 45! Michael from Twitter, a fellow Page 2 Bill stan, joins the show to talk all things Bill Simmons and the BS Pod.

We first review the recent Gladwell pod - these are really going to happen quarterly now? Oh no. Next Michael reveals the Russillo Pod has market corrected the BS Pod for him, and we talk how other podcasters are eclipsing Bill, especially if you're not NBA obsessed.

Next we talk how LA Pop Culture Guy doesn't have celebrities on, and - has KD blackballed him with NBA players?

We talk the Kevin Clark "trade" for Cousin Sal - what does it say about Bill and The Ringer that Kevin couldn't reach his full potential there? He's already crushing it at ESPN. Plus, Shea & Jason are doing a podcast, not at The Ringer. What happened with the union??

Then we discuss Dave Portnoy's recent Bill Simmons comments and discuss what would happen if they did a pod together.

Next, why has Bill done a complete 180 on analytics, when he was early to them in the late-2000s, even going to the MIT Sloan Analytics Conference, where he led panels and nicknamed Morey "Dork Elvis."

Finally, we discuss what we miss about Bill: He rarely banters and he doesn't want to spar anymore. And that hurt him on Any Given Wednesday, which we once again assess for how bad it was.