We have a sports media feud! We break down it all down on the show and assess who is right about NBA ratings. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode #115! We had on fellow podcaster Imperial Twilight and went for over two hours - so like our recent two episodes, we're breaking this into two parts.

We kick off Part 1 by talking about Bill's background - how much of his persona is real and how much has he exaggerated his Boston fanhood over the years? Imperial thinks Bill's everyman sports fan persona is more of a LARP than what's been let on.

Next we ask whether Bill is more of a homer now than he used to be - or, is he simply a more insufferable homer now? Is Bill worse when his teams are good or bad? We discuss his strong dislike of Pete Carroll in the late-90s when Pete was actually a decent coach, and how Bill became the poster boy in the 2000s for the annoying Patriots fan. We discuss how the perception of Simmons' homerism has changed since he stopped writing.

We then talk some Simmons & Russillo and challenge Ryen's tape grinding - have they discussed the new NBA trends in inbounds passes? It appears not - so how much tape is Russillo really grinding? And we wonder about Cousin Sal's humor - why is he not funny at all outside of the Simmons pod? And how was Kimmel funny on his late night show when Bill and Sal were writing bits? We also reminisce about some of Carolla's epic movie pitches including Pedof-Isle

Did Bill Simmons change sports writing or did he destroy it? Imperial argues that Bill's initial foray into the medium changed sports writing and eventually destroyed it. Bill created a lot of copycats and diminished the idea that the beat writers had unique insights - and why not read a fellow fan? Imperial tells us a story of talking 3 hours with Bob Ryan and his meticulous preparation and work that went into writing about the Red Sox; could Simmons could have ever been a Bob Ryan; working sources, being on-site, talking with front offices.

Next we hit on Bill's evolution over the years. Did Simmons evolve from everyday sports guy to rich guy? Was Simmons always the rich guy at heart? How and when did he go from outsider to insider? We talk about the evolution where Bill went from "I'm a sports fan like you" to "I'm Bill Simmons"; Imperial remembers when Bill covered Super Bowl week without even staying for the game. We next hit on 30 for 30 and how some of the details they left out in certain docs showed that Bill was becoming an insider quickly, and that this went against one of Bill's original premises of his writing - calling out the insiders.

We finish up Part 1 asking why Bill sat out the 2024 Podcast Election - how did the Podfather not partake? And why didn't Bill claim he felt vindicated as a podcaster when they factored so heavily into the election outcome? We ask why Kamala didn't go on his pod, and wonder why hasn’t Bill been the subject of cancellation attempts with all the content from his past.

If you liked the show, be sure to stay tuned for Part 2. Follow Imperial on Twitter at @ImperialTwilite and listen to his podcast on his substack at https://imperialtwilight.substack.com/

Welcome to Episode #114! This is part two of our excellent conversation with journalist David Quiñones.

David opines on what he feels are under-appreciated guests on the BS Pod; he likes Bill with Sean Fennessey and Mallory Rubin. We then discuss how it's odd people don't mention The Ringer and Barstool in the same breath when they have overlapping audiences. We weigh the pros and cons of Russillo staying at The Ringer or leaving for Barstool - David argues that Russillo needs The Ringer more than The Ringer needs him, and identifies the drawbacks of Russillo moving to Barstool.

We do a little MJ vs. LeBron debate before assessing who was patient zero for the current NBA rings culture - it wasn't LeBron or MJ, it was Wilt Chamberlain. And, Jordan was also a victim of rings culture until he won. We hit on how rings culture is very unfair to NBA players that are fun to watch and are highly skilled but "can never be the best guy on a winning team" according to Bill.

David highlights his biggest gripe with Bill - his constant demand for the NBA to play less games - despite the league being more successful than ever.

We finish up talking the incredible proliferation in gambling since David joined the sports media game in the mid-2000s . How much is gambling impacting ratings? How has gambling lexicon changed from being looked down upon to being accepted and now pushed. Is it sustainable? And what is Bill's role?

Hope you enjoyed the two-part, nearly 3 hours of conversation with David - rate the show 5-stars and mention this episode, and we’ll read it next show.

Welcome to Episode #113! We bring on David Quiñones, a Miami-based podcaster and former sportswriter at the Miami Herald. David combines a deep history with Bill Simmons with his vast experience of working in media and sports media specifically, and the result is one of the r/BS Pod's best episodes yet. We recorded for 2 hours and 45 minutes, so I split the pod into two parts - Part 2 will release later this week.

In Part 1, David and I discuss his experience writing for the Miami Herald sports desk and how he was inspired by, and attempted to channel, the groundbreaking work Bill Simmons was doing at Page 2 for ESPN. David explains the internal pushback he received when pitching some of those ideas, and then discusses his time at Fusion TV, an early 2010s media startup backed by Univision and Disney.

Next we dive into Bill Simmons' legacy and impact on sports journalism. Can we trace today's aggressively negative coverage of the NBA back to Bill's refreshingly honest sports takes, which spawned copycats and made everyone eventually talk like Bill to try to duplicate his success?

We then hit on Bill's frustration with NBA player pods, and David identifies what changed over the years between players and journalists, as we moved away from the days when Bill's childhood hero Bob Ryan dined out with the Celtics players; now stars simply repeat PR-approved lines to the media.

We next discuss the evolution of media and hit on the current leader in the clubhouse - short-form video content, on TikTok specifically. We examine The Ringer's video push of late, and assess how different generations consume media differently, and what that means for the future. Plus, is media critiquing media going to have a larger presence in the future?

We finish up Part 1 with David's view of Bill's takes on the Miami sports scene, including Bill's general anti-Miami sports coverage, East Coast bias, and the odd fact that no one at The Ringer even covers Miami, the city. David discusses the quirks of Dan Le Batard's show, which, similar to Bill's, has its legions of fans who are in on the joke. We talk his hypocrisy with KD and LeBron, and then hit on why Bill seems to strongly dislike mid-tier stars.

Hope you enjoyed the show, and come back for Part 2 later this week! David's podcast about Florida called "Why Are We Like This?" can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-are-we-like-this/id1645419175

Welcome to Episode #112! We bring on Mike from Twitter for a classic r/BS Pod rip. Mike and I assess the current state of Bill Simmons and his content and identify some issues that have caused us - former listeners of every one of his pods - to drop off considerably.

We start with the thesis that Bill has lost touch with the average sports fan and highlight the recent Masters Pods as an example - who are those for: Bill, or his fans? We next hit on his failure to adapt in video and how him not embracing YouTube post-ESPN and instead creating a worse version of his podcast for HBO was a real sliding doors moment for his career.

Then we discuss Bill's lost art of interviewing - not only is he not bringing in elite celebs anymore, but he's not bringing on up and coming talent like he did with Nathan Fielder a decade ago when Nathan For You first got going. And when he has had on the rare celeb lately, he hasn't evolved his interviewing style from the early days of podcasting.

We next hit on how while we used to love Bill for his takes, they seem to have gotten outrageously hot lately, and it feels like this has coincided with him not writing and not watching as much sports. This also plays out in the drafts and games he plays on his pod, which used to feel well thought out and now he's re-drafting NBA drafts less than a year after they happened.

Enjoy the show! And leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Pods - we'll read it next pod.

Welcome to Episode #111! We bring back @HubieTalksHoops for a wide-ranging show talking Bill Simmons, NBA, sports media and more. We first continue our ongoing coverage of Zach Lowe to The Ringer, where Hubie hits on some points we haven't discussed over the last few episodes. We also get his view on how Lowe fits with Russillo and whether Ryen will re-up or stay when his contract is up.

Next we get into NBA playoff scenarios and look at the best and worst case outcomes for Bill. Obviously the Celtics and Lakers factor strongly into the discussion, and we explore just how crushing an LA win over Boston would be. But we also touch on several other outcomes where Bill could come out on top vs. taking an L were they to happen - we're loaded with potential storylines this postseason. And Hubie breaks down why he thinks the Lakers actually have a legit shot to win - music to the ears of Bill Simmons listeners.

We finish up the pod talking NBA Twitter stories with Hubie, including his interactions with Woj and the rise of NBA Centel - who Hubie knew and gave advice to very early on. Hope you guys enjoy the episode, and be sure to follow @HubieTalksHoops on Twitter - and check him out on Episode 29.

We bring back Aaron from Episode #100 for a wide-ranging and fast-paced r/BS Pod rip hitting on Bill Simmons current events including Zach Lowe signing with The Ringer - what's the salary cap hit and will The Ringer make any moves in response? Plus, who's more valuable, Lowe or Russillo?

We also hit on Pardon My Take's NFL-centric approach and recurring guests, in some ways making it the evolutionary BS Report in our view given Bill's change in style over the years. We also discuss Gruden's instant success at Barstool which has already rehabbed his image.

We then get into the Stephen A vs. LeBron feud and later address Bill's unwarranted KD love. We identify ESPN's struggles during an odd time in sports media, as well as Around the Horn's issues, and the state of McAfee's show.

This is a perfect blend of Simmons Universe current events mixed with sports media analysis with a fellow sports podcaster influenced by the one and only Podfather.

If you like the show, check out Aaron's podcast For the Love of the Game: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-love-of-the-game/id1386844352

Incredible news today - Zach is back! We break it down from every angle. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 108! We bring on recurring guest Chenny (Episodes #102, #80, #75) to break down the interview heard 'round the sports world this week: LeBron on McAfee. This had wide ranging implications on sports and sports media, and we get into everything - including LeBron's specific choice to do this on McAfee, him being as open and uncut as we've ever heard him, his ripping of NBA media, and discussion of his relationship with MJ - could this even alter the GOAT conversation? Plus we reference Simmons throughout, laughing at his dislike of player pods and wonder if he'd have preferred LeBron mention him by name rather than ignore him. If you were captivated by this interview, today's pod is must listen.

Leave a 5-star review on Apple and I'll read it on the pod, and check out Chenny on Twitter and TikTok @ChennyBritt.

Welcome to Episode 107! We bring on a frequent contributor from r/BillSimmons - he's staying anonymous - for a classic r/BS Pod rip. We haven't had one in awhile and boy it feels great to be back.

We start off the show talking NBA vs. March Madness, with Bill Simmons leading the charge that you can't really enjoy both. We discuss the reasons for this increasing phenomenon, including as it relates to Simmons specifically and on a more societal level.

We next hit on Pardon My Take vs. Bill Simmons. The former is much more of a broad sports how vs. Bill doubling down on only the NBA and NFL - which is the better strategy? We discuss. Plus, PMT and Le Batard can laugh at themselves, which may be gaining them more fans over Bill, who simply won't.

We next hit on some Sliding Doors moments from Bill's career and talk about Bill's media hits of late (Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd) and how those are different than his podcasts with Ringer employees.

Hope you enjoy the show! Leave a 5-star review on Apple Pods and we'll read it next pod.