The Bill Simmons Thread

MarkBT

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On Friday's pod, Simmons had Jim Miller on to talk about the latest in his "Origins" podcast series (which is actually quite good). For this series, Miller dove into the Saban era at Alabama.

The conversation turned to the Saban-Belichick relationship. Simmons said something like Belichick always manages to get these sneaky good late round pickups from Alabama.

Um, really? Here are the U of Alabama players the NEP have drafted since 2007:

2016 1st Round - Cyrus Jones (F)
2014 7th Round - Xzavier Dickson (didn't play... C/D)
2012 1st Round - Donta Hightower (A)
2010 7th Round - Brandon Deaderick (B/C)

So... four total Bama picks in 11 years, two in first round; two in 7th. Two of them worked out... exactly zero are 'sneaky good'. In fact, if there was a 'connection' you'd think Saban might've provided intel to keep us away from Jones.

WTF?
 

GreyisGone

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On Friday's pod, Simmons had Jim Miller on to talk about the latest in his "Origins" podcast series (which is actually quite good). For this series, Miller dove into the Saban era at Alabama.

The conversation turned to the Saban-Belichick relationship. Simmons said something like Belichick always manages to get these sneaky good late round pickups from Alabama.

Um, really? Here are the U of Alabama players the NEP have drafted since 2007:

2016 1st Round - Cyrus Jones (F)
2014 7th Round - Xzavier Dickson (didn't play... C/D)
2012 1st Round - Donta Hightower (A)
2010 7th Round - Brandon Deaderick (B/C)

So... four total Bama picks in 11 years, two in first round; two in 7th. Two of them worked out... exactly zero are 'sneaky good'. In fact, if there was a 'connection' you'd think Saban might've provided intel to keep us away from Jones.

WTF?
Cyrus was also a late 2nd
 

Kliq

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I liked the podcast with John David Washington; it comes across as a real conversation between friends as opposed to the designated "I'm doing this for promotional purposes."
 

johnmd20

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Simmons with Steph Curry was one of the best BS Podcasts ever made. It's so awesome, interesting, and also very funny. While Durant comes off as a prickly, defensive jerk, Steph comes off like a down to earth human being who is kind of in awe at what he's been able to accomplish on the basketball court.

Listen to it, it's amazing.
 

Rook05

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Seconded. Steph seemed super grounded, and Bill did a great job in the interview.

That said, I’m wondering what the conflict that has him begging off of the Obama golf invite. Jeez.
 

Bunt4aTriple

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I liked the podcast with John David Washington; it comes across as a real conversation between friends as opposed to the designated "I'm doing this for promotional purposes."
I enjoyed it too, but it felt like JDW was pulling punches, like he was afraid someone would be insulted by what Bill said.
 

kenneycb

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Seconded. Steph seemed super grounded, and Bill did a great job in the interview.

That said, I’m wondering what the conflict that has him begging off of the Obama golf invite. Jeez.
Being one of the most popular athletes on the planet with a bunch of offseason commitments for various parties that pay you a lot of money that you can’t get out of at the drop of a hat?
 

jose melendez

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In his most recent pod, Bill was talking about how Mark Sanchez never scared him and was always a game manager. Sanchez, of course, was dogshit, but I distinctly remember Bill talking about him and the other young QB's of the moment and how Sanchez was the alpha, the one who would "take the keys" or some such nonsense if they all went for a drive.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Being one of the most popular athletes on the planet with a bunch of offseason commitments for various parties that pay you a lot of money that you can’t get out of at the drop of a hat?
I was only disappointed Simmons didn’t ask noted Red Sox fan Curry for his take on the current season.

Yeah, Curry sounded like a great guy
 

allstonite

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There was an interesting discussion on the 'Wedding Crashers' Rewatchables about how this movie would look completely different today or not get made. I'm not sure the point ever got through to him but Chris Ryan and Sean Fennessey did a good job articulating a rebuttal to Simmons' "I'm worried about where comedy is going" argument that he brings out all the time when he talks to comedians. They simply pointed out that jokes that are demeaning and hurtful to large groups of people (like gay jokes about the brother) don't fly anymore and the false identities to get laid looks bad under a modern lens but there's still a lot in this movie that works and there will always be ways to be funny without resorting to gay jokes or ethnic stereotypes.
 

johnmd20

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Cousin Sal will be one of 4 hosts on a FS1 daily gambling show called Lock It In. Starts September 10.
On the latest podcast, Sal made a quick, blistering joke about Simmons' failed HBO show, which elicited a loud guffaw from Simmons. It was an incredible joke and exchange. Sal is genuinely hilarious.
 

luckiestman

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On the latest podcast, Sal made a quick, blistering joke about Simmons' failed HBO show, which elicited a loud guffaw from Simmons. It was an incredible joke and exchange. Sal is genuinely hilarious.

He is a funny bastard. I would love it if he and Lombardi had a podcast (Lombardi giving him analysis for Sal’s gambling). The shows after losses would be incredible.
 

allstonite

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On the latest podcast, Sal made a quick, blistering joke about Simmons' failed HBO show, which elicited a loud guffaw from Simmons. It was an incredible joke and exchange. Sal is genuinely hilarious.
It was such a good joke. I thought that’s what he was referring to and Sal even paused like “you’re talking about you right?” And when he realized Simmons didn’t get it he went for the kill.
 

allstonite

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It's been a pretty good few weeks with the return of Sal and House regularly plus Katie Nolan and a little Wesley Morris. But please no more Nephew Kyle. I could not care less about some early 20s kid's love life. The constant references and jokes aren't funny if nobody knows or cares who he is

Also I watched him and Katie Nolan play Fortnite on Twitch. I had never played the game but from what I could tell he would be the worst person to play on the same team as. She seemed like she knew what she was doing and was trying to help him out but he would do his own thing, get her to follow, and then leave her for dead. It was really funny but I would have been frustrated if I was her
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Also I watched him and Katie Nolan play Fortnite on Twitch. I had never played the game but from what I could tell he would be the worst person to play on the same team as. She seemed like she knew what she was doing and was trying to help him out but he would do his own thing, get her to follow, and then leave her for dead. It was really funny but I would have been frustrated if I was her
I also have never played Fortnite but caught that stream via a link Nolan tweeted. Nolan talks a lot on her podcast about how much she plays, so she definitely knows the game. The contrast between her games with Simmons and then with whoever the woman was who joined her after Bill left was striking. In their first game, they lasted to the final four by communicating and using strategy. Simmons seemed more interested in joyriding in the golf cart. Not a good teammate at all.
 

Kliq

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I loved his podcast with Keegan Michael Key; if they had their own weekly podcast it could be incredible because I think they could talk about a variety of stuff. I saw someone describe Key as the most likable man in America, and I'd argue that is pretty accurate.
 

Spelunker

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I loved his podcast with Keegan Michael Key; if they had their own weekly podcast it could be incredible because I think they could talk about a variety of stuff. I saw someone describe Key as the most likable man in America, and I'd argue that is pretty accurate.
I'm now trying to picture a podcast pairing of Keegan Michael Key and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
 

bbc23

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It's been a pretty good few weeks with the return of Sal and House regularly plus Katie Nolan and a little Wesley Morris. But please no more Nephew Kyle. I could not care less about some early 20s kid's love life. The constant references and jokes aren't funny if nobody knows or cares who he is

Also I watched him and Katie Nolan play Fortnite on Twitch. I had never played the game but from what I could tell he would be the worst person to play on the same team as. She seemed like she knew what she was doing and was trying to help him out but he would do his own thing, get her to follow, and then leave her for dead. It was really funny but I would have been frustrated if I was her
I was talking to a couple friends about this but Nephew Kyle really is just a chode, this episode sealed it for me. And the best part about it is that he's everything Bill would have loved to be at that age and so I think he pushes Kyle into doing dumber and dumber stuff.
 

luckiestman

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I don’t mind nephew Kyle. I’ve already had a lot of laughs because of something Bill says when interacting with him.


More importantly, I’m almost positive Simmons still reads this board from a few random comments he made in his recent podcasts.
 

Rook05

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I was talking to a couple friends about this but Nephew Kyle really is just a chode, this episode sealed it for me. And the best part about it is that he's everything Bill would have loved to be at that age and so I think he pushes Kyle into doing dumber and dumber stuff.
I felt the same way about Tate. I guess the trick is to wait long enough until Bill gives him his own podcast. Unfortunately, I kind of like Lombardi, but I don’t listen to that one that much.
 

mcpickl

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His podcast with Michael Schur and Dan Fogelman is excellent. Lot of great TV stories. May have found the key for Simmons interviews. Have two guests on at the same time, since the guests were actually following up with questions for each other when they said something interesting.
 

MillarTime

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I felt the same way about Tate. I guess the trick is to wait long enough until Bill gives him his own podcast. Unfortunately, I kind of like Lombardi, but I don’t listen to that one that much.
Lombardi is great. Love the observation that Patricia has a laminated sheet of defensive play calls on the sidelines and yet also continued to keep a pencil in his hat.
 

allstonite

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Bill going on Jalen & Jacoby in a few minutes so the tensions must be completely thawed. He mentioned with Katie Nolan (paraphrasing) "that everyone he had issues with was gone" at ESPN. Was it really just Skipper and did it get that bad? Either way this is best for everyone involved in my opinion
 

Kliq

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He also said during the pod he did with Kornheiser that he is totally on board for hosting an episode of PTI, and that he's just waiting for the folks at ESPN to make the call.
 

jmcc5400

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Ducking in to say I would definitely watch "Cousin Sal: A Football Life." The Blood Diamond story gets me every time.
 

Auger34

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I felt the same way about Tate. I guess the trick is to wait long enough until Bill gives him his own podcast. Unfortunately, I kind of like Lombardi, but I don’t listen to that one that much.
Completely agree. Don’t really care about nephew Kyle one way or the other but Tate would drive me fucking insane. I don’t think I’ve heard him say anything even remotely insightful, funny or interesting and yet they would throw to him for his opinion all the time.
I really like Lombardi and Titus but don’t listen to their podcasts much because Tate’s on there. He knows nothing about the NFL and his only college basketball contribution is that he’s a complete UNC honk (and is always blathering about the Carolinas)

My favorite Tate story is they did a 2017 NBA mock with him, Tjarks and KOC. Tate was asked who the Celtics should take with the 3rd pick and his answer was John Collins. His reasoning? Because he had a cool nickname (The Baptist) because he could dunk the ball hard and because he was fine with and would be comfortable coming off of the bench. It was so fucking stupid and embarrassing that both Tjarks and KOC had their head in their hands and were straight up laughing at him....
But Bill wants to be his friend and be cool with the young crowd so that toolshed hosts two podcasts on The Ringer network
 

luckiestman

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Completely agree. Don’t really care about nephew Kyle one way or the other but Tate would drive me fucking insane. I don’t think I’ve heard him say anything even remotely insightful, funny or interesting and yet they would throw to him for his opinion all the time.
I really like Lombardi and Titus but don’t listen to their podcasts much because Tate’s on there. He knows nothing about the NFL and his only college basketball contribution is that he’s a complete UNC honk (and is always blathering about the Carolinas)

My favorite Tate story is they did a 2017 NBA mock with him, Tjarks and KOC. Tate was asked who the Celtics should take with the 3rd pick and his answer was John Collins. His reasoning? Because he had a cool nickname (The Baptist) because he could dunk the ball hard and because he was fine with and would be comfortable coming off of the bench. It was so fucking stupid and embarrassing that both Tjarks and KOC had their head in their hands and were straight up laughing at him....
But Bill wants to be his friend and be cool with the young crowd so that toolshed hosts two podcasts on The Ringer network

You’re mostly right but Lombardi is worth putting up with Tate for. The guy has a lot of insight that you don’t hear a lot of other places.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I really enjoy the Dantasy Football Show, and particularly Danny Heifetz — who sounds like every Giants fan I know except smarter, funnier, and more self-aware. Which I guess means he sounds like no Giants fan I know.
 

ifmanis5

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Haven't finished it yet but the Damon podcast is a fun listen. The 'Whammy' theory of acting made me laugh.
Bill has consistently ducked or admittedly passed on asking tough #metoo-type questions to both Damon and Bateman. I guess he feels that's not his brand.
 

Kliq

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Haven't finished it yet but the Damon podcast is a fun listen. The 'Whammy' theory of acting made me laugh.
Bill has consistently ducked or admittedly passed on asking tough #metoo-type questions to both Damon and Bateman. I guess he feels that's not his brand.
I haven’t finished it yet, but an hour in Damon has referenced Harvey Weinstein about 100 times and I wonder if they ever have a real discussion about him.
 

Spelunker

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Haven't finished it yet but the Damon podcast is a fun listen. The 'Whammy' theory of acting made me laugh.
Bill has consistently ducked or admittedly passed on asking tough #metoo-type questions to both Damon and Bateman. I guess he feels that's not his brand.
I'm pretty sure Simmons is a strong believer in the general notion that we've all gotten way too sensitive, based on reams of comments he's made in The Rewatchables.
 
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88 MVP

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I haven’t finished it yet, but an hour in Damon has referenced Harvey Weinstein about 100 times and I wonder if they ever have a real discussion about him.
At one point Simmons addressed it somewhat obliquely, first by outright stating that he wouldn’t ask Damon about it, but then referencing the fact that Damon himself received some negative press in the wake of the Weinstein news. Damon basically fielded that softball and used it to distance himself from Weinstein, said Weinstein was a guy that he happened to work for, that they didn’t spend time together, and that Damon wasn’t aware of Weinstein’s conduct.

Damon comes off as a likeable guy through the rest of the pod, so I would like to believe that explanation.