The Bill Simmons Thread

Kliq

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Bill's ranking of the worst Celtics playoff losses was good. Notably he also completely ducked responding to Emiid's comments. He clearly wants to move on from that situation.
He did a whole thing with Bryan Curtis about it last week if you want to listen to it.
 

Kliq

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I heard it. Embiid spoke after that.
I know that you are very bad-faith about this, but what good reason does Bill have to NOT try and put this behind him? It doesn't benefit him in any way, and he has already spoken about the remarks that he made. Every time some bitter NBA player who didn't listen to the podcast wants to use him as a mascot for why the media unjustly didn't vote for them to win an award, should Bill have to comment on it?

C'mon man.
 

JCizzle

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I know that you are very bad-faith about this, but what good reason does Bill have to NOT try and put this behind him? It doesn't benefit him in any way, and he has already spoken about the remarks that he made. Every time some bitter NBA player who didn't listen to the podcast wants to use him as a mascot for why the media unjustly didn't vote for them to win an award, should Bill have to comment on it?

C'mon man.
He should just do a ten-minute segment at the end of each episode responding to his haters. Then we can all hate on him for being unable to accept any criticism.

On a more serious note, the thing with him, Curtis, and Russillo was just boring to me and I normally like Curtis. A bunch of guys who themselves dramatize things complaining that people dramatize shit they say. They weren't necessarily wrong, but it wasn't compelling audio either.
 

ifmanis5

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I know that you are very bad-faith about this, but what good reason does Bill have to NOT try and put this behind him? It doesn't benefit him in any way, and he has already spoken about the remarks that he made. Every time some bitter NBA player who didn't listen to the podcast wants to use him as a mascot for why the media unjustly didn't vote for them to win an award, should Bill have to comment on it?

C'mon man.
Not being bad faith, and I don't think it's a bad strategy from him either, but many current influencers would relish a good high level beef with a star and a chance to defend their takes on a big stage. Bill passed. I think it's smart to defuse the situation since he's not going to win that battle but it's definitely notable that he didn't clap back. I also think the current group of star NBA players are done with him and it doesn't surprise me that Durant hasn't been on in a long time.
 

Kliq

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He should just do a ten-minute segment at the end of each episode responding to his haters. Then we can all hate on him for being unable to accept any criticism.

On a more serious note, the thing with him, Curtis, and Russillo was just boring to me and I normally like Curtis. A bunch of guys who themselves dramatize things complaining that people dramatize shit they say. They weren't necessarily wrong, but it wasn't compelling audio either.
I actually found it to be kind of fascinating, not exactly in what they were saying, but how similar the complaints they were making were to complaints NBA players had (about the media). In both scenarios, the people making them are frustrated that they are famous and that other people will take small snippets of things they say/do and spread that out through social media, and that inevitably ends up painting an incomplete picture of who that person really is.

In general, I'm pretty tired with NBA players complaining about the media in general. Yes, I can understand and have sympathy for players who are going to have every little mistake dragged on social media; but I think a lot of them take all of these aggregation Twitter accounts and snarky fans and use them as a general "the media" umbrella.
 

Auger34

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I know that you are very bad-faith about this, but what good reason does Bill have to NOT try and put this behind him? It doesn't benefit him in any way, and he has already spoken about the remarks that he made. Every time some bitter NBA player who didn't listen to the podcast wants to use him as a mascot for why the media unjustly didn't vote for them to win an award, should Bill have to comment on it?

C'mon man.
How in the world is he being bad faith? And it’s an MVP player who specifically called him out after a playoff game. It’s not like Jose Alvarado called him out after a Tuesday game in the middle of the season. I’d say that’s absolutely worth talking about
 

DJnVa

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My favorite part of the Rewatchables is when he wants to recast a bit role in a movie to a pretty famous actor. "Robert DeNiro couldn't do that? 15 minutes for a paycheck?"
 

Dave Stapleton

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Credit where credit is due. Simmons said that Milwaukee throwing the last game of the season would come back to haunt them given that game 7 in the NBA means something (especially in Boston).
 

Pedro's Complaint

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How in the world is he being bad faith? And it’s an MVP player who specifically called him out after a playoff game. It’s not like Jose Alvarado called him out after a Tuesday game in the middle of the season. I’d say that’s absolutely worth talking about
From the 5/18 BS podcast:

Simmons: "No, I said my guy..."
Russillo: "Well, we know Jalen Green's not your guy."
 

johnmd20

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Simmons really really really loves the phrase Rock Fight of late, he's been saying it constantly for weeks now. And now we are at peak rock fight, with it being the title of today's podcast.
 

trotsplits

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And now we are at peak rock fight, with it being the title of today's podcast.
'Rock Fight' is currently on Apex Mountain. We'll have Zoe discussing her travel club soccer Rock Fights in the next episode. 'Tea Time' will feature celebrity/influencer Rock Fights, etc.
 

jezza1918

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This was really good.
Oh man, thanks for reminder as I meant to come back and share my thoughts as well. Between work, ongoing existential life crises, and the celtics I completely forgot. But yeah...it really was a fun listen. I thought they both came off well and Green vaulted up my young players to root for list.
 

cheech13

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As much as I love both Bill and Cousin Sal, the Rocky III (and IV) podcasts both fell a little flat to me. They needed someone else there to balance out all the fawning. Look, I love those movies too, but they aren’t cinematic classics and Bill not understanding how III didn’t get universally positive reviews was another example of one of his personal blind spots.
 

Shelterdog

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Won't engage in political commentary on this part of the board but I feel just a little dumber listening to House and Simmons discuss gun control (and I say that sharing the same policy preferences as those two).
 

Spelunker

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As much as I love both Bill and Cousin Sal, the Rocky III (and IV) podcasts both fell a little flat to me. They needed someone else there to balance out all the fawning. Look, I love those movies too, but they aren’t cinematic classics and Bill not understanding how III didn’t get universally positive reviews was another example of one of his personal blind spots.
Best third movie of all time. Invented the third movie: before that it was the a sequel and a re-sequel.

Better than those just keep the franchise going, like Shrek 3 or Karate Kid 3, or a paycheck movie like Mission Impossible 3. Better even than the "tie up the loose ends" movies, like Lord of the Wings 3.

Best third movie of all the third movies.
 

TheGazelle

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Best third movie of all time. Invented the third movie: before that it was the a sequel and a re-sequel.

Better than those just keep the franchise going, like Shrek 3 or Karate Kid 3, or a paycheck movie like Mission Impossible 3. Better even than the "tie up the loose ends" movies, like Lord of the Wings 3.

Best third movie of all the third movies.
Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one who heard "Lord of Wings." Jesus. I knew that podcast would be something, but I didn't expect to get a "Rocky 3 is better than Return of the King" take.
 

Senator Donut

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Won't engage in political commentary on this part of the board but I feel just a little dumber listening to House and Simmons discuss gun control (and I say that sharing the same policy preferences as those two).
Meanwhile Jack-O's twitter account has gone private after tweeting this regarding the Yankees' and Rays' decision to use social media to share facts about gun violence. The irony of accusing the two organizations of virtue signaling while sporting a Ukraine avatar was not lost among the replies.

51946
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Meanwhile Jack-O's twitter account has gone private after tweeting this regarding the Yankees' and Rays' decision to use social media to share facts about gun violence. The irony of accusing the two organizations of virtue signaling while sporting a Ukraine avatar was not lost among the replies.

View attachment 51946
Seriously. Fuck that guy.
 

nattysez

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I didn't love Bill's opening monologue with Jalen Green where he steamrolled through their mini-controversy without really giving Green a chance to say anything. I assume that that was discussed ahead of time, but it felt a little heavy-handed. Of course, I also wouldn't have loved it if he'd apologized and then put Green on the spot to publicly accept, so I think it was probably the best he could do in a no-win situation.
 

cheech13

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Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one who heard "Lord of Wings." Jesus. I knew that podcast would be something, but I didn't expect to get a "Rocky 3 is better than Return of the King" take.
Lord of the Rings, like Star Wars, is a huge blind spot for him. During the ET pod he argued that it was peak for merchandise crossover and kids movies, just totally blowing past the much larger and influential franchise that was a contemporary to ET.
 

jose melendez

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Meanwhile Jack-O's twitter account has gone private after tweeting this regarding the Yankees' and Rays' decision to use social media to share facts about gun violence. The irony of accusing the two organizations of virtue signaling while sporting a Ukraine avatar was not lost among the replies.

View attachment 51946
You know, I was going to use Jack O in place of Carolla in my snark, and then I decided, nah, Jack O seems like a country club Republican who'd be sane on this.


Oops.
 

nattysez

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Seriously. Fuck that guy.
IIRC, JackO was the first buddy Simmons used to have on his podcast and was pretty engaging. Rather than trying to turn that into something more, JackO decided to play it conservative and did nothing more than take the occasional call from Bill. Now their classmate Joe House (who had all the same qualifications as JackO, AFAICT) is running around the country making podcasts about golf and food on the company dime, Cousin Sal turned predicting the lines with Simmons into various gambling podcasts and TV shows*, Bill is making a bajillion dollars, and JackO is still answering the "complex litigation" phone for the state of Connecticut. So I'd say that guy fucked himself quite effectively.

* I know Cousin Sal was already in show business through Kimmel, but I think "Bet the Lines" helped him significantly.
 
IIRC, JackO was the first buddy Simmons used to have on his podcast and was pretty engaging. Rather than trying to turn that into something more, JackO decided to play it conservative and did nothing more than take the occasional call from Bill. Now their classmate Joe House (who had all the same qualifications as JackO, AFAICT) is running around the country making podcasts about golf and food on the company dime, Cousin Sal turned predicting the lines with Simmons into various gambling podcasts and TV shows*, Bill is making a bajillion dollars, and JackO is still answering the "complex litigation" phone for the state of Connecticut. So I'd say that guy fucked himself quite effectively.
On the other hand, if that tweet in any way signifies the sort of social media presence JackO would have had as a podcasting impresario like House, perhaps it's just as well that he didn't give up his day job.
 

kenneycb

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IIRC, JackO was the first buddy Simmons used to have on his podcast and was pretty engaging. Rather than trying to turn that into something more, JackO decided to play it conservative and did nothing more than take the occasional call from Bill. Now their classmate Joe House (who had all the same qualifications as JackO, AFAICT) is running around the country making podcasts about golf and food on the company dime, Cousin Sal turned predicting the lines with Simmons into various gambling podcasts and TV shows*, Bill is making a bajillion dollars, and JackO is still answering the "complex litigation" phone for the state of Connecticut. So I'd say that guy fucked himself quite effectively.

* I know Cousin Sal was already in show business through Kimmel, but I think "Bet the Lines" helped him significantly.
That or he didn't want to. I'm not going to pretend like either of us actually know his goals / motivations to draw the conclusion you draw.
 

nattysez

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That or he didn't want to. I'm not going to pretend like either of us actually know his goals / motivations to draw the conclusion you draw.
That's fair. My post is admittedly the result of some projection on my part because I am absolutely a guy (especially in 2010 or whenever Simmons started podcasting) who would've said "I don't want to risk my job and future pension by doing a weekly Yankees podcast for Grantland and getting too much attention. ESPN clearly doesn't think podcasts are going anywhere."
 

nattysez

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Simmons's postgame podcasts during the Conference Finals and Finals have been fabulous listening.
 

Kliq

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A good exchange between Bill and KOC on the pod this morning:

Bill: I didn't really care for the "Fuck You Draymond" chants

KOC: You didn't join in?

Bill: No, no

KOC: I see, you wanted to avoid another Jalen Green situation?
 

JCizzle

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A good exchange between Bill and KOC on the pod this morning:

Bill: I didn't really care for the "Fuck You Draymond" chants

KOC: You didn't join in?

Bill: No, no

KOC: I see, you wanted to avoid another Jalen Green situation?
I was thinking he's been infected by LA brain if he was that worried about it! Ha.
 

Shelterdog

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A good exchange between Bill and KOC on the pod this morning:

Bill: I didn't really care for the "Fuck You Draymond" chants

KOC: You didn't join in?

Bill: No, no

KOC: I see, you wanted to avoid another Jalen Green situation?
Man he's officially become the villain. That's like the greatest Bahston fan moment in twenty years
 

Mystic Merlin

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Man he's officially become the villain. That's like the greatest Bahston fan moment in twenty years
I definitely felt let down by that take. Honestly, most of the reason I scrambled to listen to the postgame pod was to hear him guffaw over the crowd/Warriors dynamic. That’s the shit that helps make big time games fun. Nobody is getting hurt, least of all the children, so what the hell?
 

Kliq

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Man he's officially become the villain. That's like the greatest Bahston fan moment in twenty years
Haha, both Simmons and KOC didn't seem particularly annoyed by the chant, but someone in Simmons position can't be endorsing it.

Also, my favorite asshole taunt of the last 20 years is when they chanted "Ugly Sister" at Lamar Odom.
 

Shelterdog

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Haha, both Simmons and KOC didn't seem particularly annoyed by the chant, but someone in Simmons position can't be endorsing it.

Also, my favorite asshole taunt of the last 20 years is when they chanted "Ugly Sister" at Lamar Odom.
He can totally endorse it! What's the point of being a centimillionaire celtics megafan if you can't.
 

jcd0805

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I definitely felt let down by that take. Honestly, most of the reason I scrambled to listen to the postgame pod was to hear him guffaw over the crowd/Warriors dynamic. That’s the shit that helps make big time games fun. Nobody is getting hurt, least of all the children, so what the hell?
I'd hate to have my kids chanting the eff word at anyone in a public place, I get his take.
 

Mystic Merlin

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I'd hate to have my kids chanting the eff word at anyone in a public place, I get his take.
I think Kliq has it right quoting the exchange with KOC, he is gunshy. I don’t for a second believe he thinks hearing a chant will negatively affect children and should therefore be frowned upon.
 

Kliq

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Guys, Simmons caused a shitstorm for himself when he jokingly said "Fuck Jalen Green" on a podcast, including a bunch of people in this thread who mocked him for it. The man isn't going to say it's alright for a crowd to chant "Fuck You Draymond."
 

Shelterdog

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Guys, Simmons caused a shitstorm for himself when he jokingly said "Fuck Jalen Green" on a podcast, including a bunch of people in this thread who mocked him for it. The man isn't going to say it's alright for a crowd to chant "Fuck You Draymond."
It's obvious that's why he said what he said, I agree.

He still could have said he loved the chant and it wouldn't matter at all. ALthough it might hurt his dream of having Draymond host a Ringer pod.
 

Bunt4aTriple

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How many legit kids were at a 9pm Wednesday night game anyways?
Only a DNA test will prove her legitimacy, but "my" 9 year old daughter was in attendance.

She had on over ear headphones for most of the game, just to dull some of the crowd noise, but she heard everything. I didn't participate in any Draymond chants, but I did get exasperated at one point and dropped an F bomb under my breath. The fact that she wasn't shocked and instead, just slowly shook her head probably doesn't speak well of me.
 

jcd0805

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Guys, Simmons caused a shitstorm for himself when he jokingly said "Fuck Jalen Green" on a podcast, including a bunch of people in this thread who mocked him for it. The man isn't going to say it's alright for a crowd to chant "Fuck You Draymond."
You don't think there's a difference between saying something on a podcast and listening to a crowd that has at least a few children in it chant it at someone? I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to think he'd have felt it was a bit much notwithstanding his previous Jalen Green faux pas.
 

luckiestman

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You don't think there's a difference between saying something on a podcast and listening to a crowd that has at least a few children in it chant it at someone?
It’s different. The “Fuck Jalen Green” thing was literally nothing, just absolutely nothing. Could have been “forget about Jalen Green”. Fuck You Draymond was much more personal (and excellent, imho).
 

8slim

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I'd hate to have my kids chanting the eff word at anyone in a public place, I get his take.
You wouldn't have wanted to be around my 15 year old in my living room last night then. Granted, not a public place, but his language during the 3rd quarter was... salty.