The Bill Simmons Thread

Pablo's TB Lover

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True and they wouldn't have any if Bynum didn't get hurt, shit happens.
OT but feel like I need to respond. Would the Lakers have even pursued Pau Gasol if not for Bynum's injury?
Andrew Bynums 2008 Knee Injury A Blessing In Disguise For The Lakers

This trade arguably won them the 2010 title when they could run out both big men against a relatively smaller C's lineup at the end. And at the very least, Gasol's 15 & 10 averages on 50+% shooting is the high end of what Bynum would have given them in 2008.
 

JCizzle

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That is fucking awesome.

KG has a very interesting legacy. He has a reputation for being a warrior, a super tough competitor who had an insatiable will to win. This is kind of a media narrative, but backed up by a lot of former players and teammates. At the same time, I always thought that as a player, he was kind of soft, especially by the time he came to Boston, where he was rebounding was really reduced and he seemed to rarely go into the post on offense, settling for 10,000 mid range jumpers. His supporting cast in Minnesota was really shitty but he only made it out of the first round once.

At the same time I love his passion and his refusal to admit that the Heat were a better team, even if he has delved into conspiracy theory territory. However..

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGTDBR2ye4
There's no conspiracy. Wade breaking Rondo's shoulder, which Simmons brought up, was one of the dirtiest plays I can remember in recent times. Yet the dude skated with zero punishment. Wade is the worst. I still get myself worked up thinking about that one haha
 

PC Drunken Friar

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There's no conspiracy. Wade breaking Rondo's shoulder, which Simmons brought up, was one of the dirtiest plays I can remember in recent times. Yet the dude skated with zero punishment. Wade is the worst. I still get myself worked up thinking about that one haha
Dirty player, but really solid human being. I respect the hell out of the man.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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FYI, Simmons is on the latest episode of Zach Lowe's podcast (The Lowe Post).
Them debating which players qualify as centers/forwards/guards for All-NBA purposes was great. Simmons’ indignation at Lowe putting Paul George as a guard to sneak him on to the second team was great, as was that indignation quickly turning to admiration for getting around the rules so creatively (“He guarded Ricky Rubio last night!” “Did he? Hmmm.”)
 

SidelineCameras

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Dirty player, but really solid human being. I respect the hell out of the man.
Seconded. I’m always so conflicted when players I hate turn out to be solid people off the court/field/ice. Wade supporting his queer son is like when PK Subban built a damn children's hospital in Montreal.
 

allstonite

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Haven’t listened but Drunk House returns on Simmons’ pod. What a gift to all!
He was incredible. A whole lot of bleeps and incognito tabs and talk of Tiger's junk

"It's that time of year...for SEAFOOD TOWERS...and holiday lunches...bloody marys...and SEAFOOD TOWERS" (paraphrasing I forgot exactly what he said but SEAFOOD TOWERS killed me)
 

JCizzle

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He was incredible. A whole lot of bleeps and incognito tabs and talk of Tiger's junk

"It's that time of year...for SEAFOOD TOWERS...and holiday lunches...bloody marys...and SEAFOOD TOWERS" (paraphrasing I forgot exactly what he said but SEAFOOD TOWERS killed me)
His bloody mary idea was both awe inspiring and made me question how he was functioning during the interview. Extra vodka in the base bloody, drink it down and eat the toppings, dump a double shot on as a topper. I'd be ready for bed after one of those haha
 

johnmd20

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There was a good thirty seconds to a minute where BS could do nothing but laugh; phenomenal podcasting.
The dong joke and Simmons' response, which was just to laugh and try to stop laughing and fail, and then Kyle started cackling and the entire thing was awesome.
 

allstonite

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It was funny at first and "Gust Johnson" is great but Bill's Tessitore voice is grating. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Also, are there more ads than their used to be? I understand the podcast is free and that's how they make money but the past month or so I feel like there have been way more and it messes with the flow. It feels like there's one every 5 minutes now. I normally don't mind podcast ads but I've been noticing them more lately. Not just on Simmons but PMT and a few others as well. It could just be me though
 

Kliq

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The latest Book of Basketball podcast with Steve Nash is a good listen. Nash's comments on how the game has evolved were very interesting. He talked about how he would watch the old Suns games and think about how many threes he should have taken, and how they let the media criticism of shooting too many threes get in their head, when they should have doubled-down and just shot more of them. He also makes an interesting point about the shoot-first PGs of the 2000s, and how the league wasn't ready for guys like Marbury and Steve Francis, and that now how they ran the offense would be embraced as opposed to ridiculed.
 

CantKeepmedown

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I have to say, I enjoyed MIna Kimes on the pod with Mallory and Bill. She's knowledgeable, witty, and didn't hesitate to put Bill in his place with actual facts. Maybe the "Brady dyes his hair" take was a bit strong, but she was clearly having fun with it. And she's a really fun follow on twitter.
 

nattysez

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The only thing I worry about with Mina is overexposure. She is on ESPN CONSTANTLY. But she is really great. I like her daily podcast too.
 

The Social Chair

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The Simmons, House, and Zane Lowe music conversation was the worst segment I've ever heard on his podcast. I had to turn it off. It was a NY Times Popcast episode but if the hosts brains had liquified.

Simmons current music takes are uninformed, ignorant, and borderline ridiculous. He also confirmed my long held belief he was a boner in college when he told the story of making fun of House for liking DC hardcore.
 

Marciano490

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The Simmons, House, and Zane Lowe music conversation was the worst segment I've ever heard on his podcast. I had to turn it off. It was a NY Times Popcast episode but if the hosts brains had liquified.

Simmons current music takes are uninformed, ignorant, and borderline ridiculous. He also confirmed my long held belief he was a boner in college when he told the story of making fun of House for liking DC hardcore.
Did Simmons opine on Detroit soul music or Nashville country?
 

shaggydog2000

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The Simmons, House, and Zane Lowe music conversation was the worst segment I've ever heard on his podcast. I had to turn it off. It was a NY Times Popcast episode but if the hosts brains had liquified.

Simmons current music takes are uninformed, ignorant, and borderline ridiculous. He also confirmed my long held belief he was a boner in college when he told the story of making fun of House for liking DC hardcore.
Simmons thought Johnny Cash was singing about a boy named Sioux. I don't think he ever had admirable music taste or knowledge.
 

jmcc5400

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Haven't listened to that part yet, but the intro to the pod had this gem - light paraphrase:

"And then Zane Lowe and Joe House will join me to talk about music and where it's going in 2020 . . . but, first, our friends from Pearl Jam"

Oh, Bill.
 

luckiestman

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This is why Bill is a great podcaster, I skipped this one because it didn't interest me but here you guys are talking it up and Bill is going to get that Casper Mattress money cause now I'm going to listen.

Pizza, Sex, and the BS Podcast even when it's bad, it's good*




*I have had some truly awful......pizza, but I like this saying.
 

shaggydog2000

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This is why Bill is a great podcaster, I skipped this one because it didn't interest me but here you guys are talking it up and Bill is going to get that Casper Mattress money cause now I'm going to listen.

Pizza, Sex, and the BS Podcast even when it's bad, it's good*




*I have had some truly awful......pizza, but I like this saying.
The worst is that pizza you know is terrible, but you went back for seconds anyway.
 

johnmd20

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Pearl Jam is releasing a new album in March. So they, amazingly enough, are relevant to 2020.
Wildly considered the best live band in existence. Touring this year. Releasing an album this year. Selling out MSG, and everywhere else, in seconds.

Definitely not relevant whatsoever.

The podcast with House and Zane was not bad at all. You guys are acting like they celebrated Milli Vanilli. Obviously music snobs will hammer anything. But Simmons and House are in their 50s. What more do you want? It's generally going to be generic talk about music and who expected it to be about deep cuts?

Obviously, any Coldplay mention is going to get people frothing at the mouth. But that doesn't mean Zane can't have that opinion.

I'm not a Coldplay fan, by the way, and I am not defending them as being innovative. But I also don't know enough to know if that is right or wrong. And I thought the Billie Eilish conversation was interesting. As was the Foo Fighters talk and their talk about vinyl. It was enjoyable and occasionally informative.
 

The Social Chair

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The Stones and Kenny Chesney also tour and sell out stadiums. That doesn't mean they are relevant or impacting culture in 2020.

The segement not working had nothing to do with them not knowing "deep cuts". Simmons and House have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to music trends over the last decade. Lowe's rockist opinions were also absurd.

I'm not sure what we were supposed to get of that segment other than Ben Simmons likes to spend money on collectibles.
 

OurF'ingCity

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He also confirmed my long held belief he was a boner in college when he told the story of making fun of House for liking DC hardcore.
Not sure this is so much of a belief as a widely-proven fact. On a previous podcast House noted that he, Simmons and a bunch of their other male friends used to all get together and watch porn together - Simmons initially tried to deny it and then grudgingly admitted it.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Not sure this is so much of a belief as a widely-proven fact. On a previous podcast House noted that he, Simmons and a bunch of their other male friends used to all get together and watch porn together - Simmons initially tried to deny it and then grudgingly admitted it.
Simmons has spent his entire professional life desperately trying to convince the world that he was really cool in college.

And before anyone jumps down my throat: a. I'm not jealous and b. I was not really cool in college either.
 

johnmd20

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Simmons has spent his entire professional life desperately trying to convince the world that he was really cool in college.

And before anyone jumps down my throat: a. I'm not jealous and b. I was not really cool in college either.
Simmons hasn't ever been "cool". His whole persona is the everyman. He wasn't cool in college, he wasn't cool as the Boston Sports guy, and he's not cool in 2020. Very few people in this world are cool, however.
 

Marciano490

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Not sure this is so much of a belief as a widely-proven fact. On a previous podcast House noted that he, Simmons and a bunch of their other male friends used to all get together and watch porn together - Simmons initially tried to deny it and then grudgingly admitted it.
Well, is it cooler to watch porn alone or with friends?
 

Auger34

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Simmons hasn't ever been "cool". His whole persona is the everyman. He wasn't cool in college, he wasn't cool as the Boston Sports guy, and he's not cool in 2020. Very few people in this world are cool, however.
Neither of us will have any way to prove our opinions here but I would bet a ton of money that Bill thought he was really cool in every one of those stages
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

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Just listening to the music part now. Bill is completely clueless. Trying to equate REM’s independence to the discussion about Fugazi. He didn’t understand why there is no comparison. Any chance he knows a Fugazi song besides, maybe, Waiting Room (which I love)?
 

Marciano490

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Just listening to the music part now. Bill is completely clueless. Trying to equate REM’s independence to the discussion about Fugazi. He didn’t understand why there is no comparison. Any chance he knows a Fugazi song besides, maybe, Waiting Room (which I love)?
Wait what? How?

The band with $5 concerts and no merchandise that turned down $10 million record deals? How does that argument even look?
 

thebtskink

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Kudos to House, went on a couple minute tirade against golfers choosing to play in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

Right before the million dollar pucks segment.