Rethinking Barstool?

PseuFighter

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Cotillion said:
"I believe it's all an act" is one helluva interesting take. What else are you willing to let go so long as you think the person pushing it is just doing it for the lol's or money regardless of the greater consequences?
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Don't remember any greater consequences by Dave sometimes playing a jerk for content. I don't care to get into this because it's an argument you can't really advance either way, but my point is that Dave plays a character. I think Barstool Fund Dave is the far more actual person Dave that's beyond thankful for what he has versus content for clicks Dave. I also hope people are smart enough to see through that (and I'll give you the obvious rebuttal that not everyone is!).

For what it's worth, this is the argument Howard Stern made for decades, and I think it's valid.
 
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8slim

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I’m sure the women the Barstool lug nuts have horrifically harassed will rest easy knowing Portnoy is just playing a character.

By the way, he’s not. He’s a dickhead.
 
Bunt4aTriple

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I finally gave up on Barstool this spring/summer. I can't remember which controversy it was, but it was more of hitting that threshold. The only thing I really consumed was PMT, which I loved but haven't thought about in a while. However, I heard Take on Me in the car yesterday and my reaction was visceral. I really miss those guys!
 
BoSox Rule

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I think we another winner for a Barstool podcast. Arian Foster and PFT are great together on Macrodosing with great contributions from Big T (? I think, never really heard of it) and Billy Football. First episode is a deep dive in to Alex Jones.
 
johnmd20

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BoSox Rule said:
I think we another winner for a Barstool podcast. Arian Foster and PFT are great together on Macrodosing with great contributions from Big T (? I think, never really heard of it) and Billy Football. First episode is a deep dive in to Alex Jones.
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This is a fascinating podcast. It's very funny and completely out there. But interesting. I am glad I have been listening to this one.
 
johnmd20

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kenneycb said:
Yeah I feel like I'm high every time I listen to it. Interesting to hear Billy not sound like a dumbass some of the time too.
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Billy should unequivocally replace Hank in full on PMT. Hank is useless from top to bottom and I still have no idea how he has a mic on the most popular sports podcast in the country. He is as dumb as a brick, very basic, and defensive. Billy is hilarious and not as dumb as a brick, even if he presents as such.
 
NickEsasky

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johnmd20 said:
Billy should unequivocally replace Hank in full on PMT. Hank is useless from top to bottom and I still have no idea how he has a mic on the most popular sports podcast in the country. He is as dumb as a brick, very basic, and defensive. Billy is hilarious and not as dumb as a brick, even if he presents as such.
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Hank's sports info is basic AF but please god no more Billy on PMT. He almost drove me away from listening entirely.
 
johnmd20

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NickEsasky said:
Hank's sports info is basic AF but please god no more Billy on PMT. He almost drove me away from listening entirely.
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I irrationally dislike Hank because he really is dumb as a brick. If not Billy, someone else. I understand that Billy could be grating. Hank isn't grating, he just sucks.
 
johnmd20

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sodenj5 said:
I’m going to listen to the first episode. Typically I can’t stand Carrabis because he’s basically the Boston version of the “Annoying MFY Fan,” but his love for the Sox might be slightly better served alongside Ortiz.
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Carrabis is really awful. He is a rare person that I had to actually unfollow on twitter because he's so annoying. I am sorry to hear Papi is teaming up with him.
 
sodenj5

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johnmd20 said:
Carrabis is really awful. He is a rare person that I had to actually unfollow on twitter because he's so annoying. I am sorry to hear Papi is teaming up with him.
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Same boat. It’s unbearable. I’m hoping his role in this is largely “podcast navigator/fan” while Ortiz talks shop with a bunch of cool guests.
 
deythur

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sodenj5 said:
Same boat. It’s unbearable. I’m hoping his role in this is largely “podcast navigator/fan” while Ortiz talks shop with a bunch of cool guests.
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What makes Carrabis so awful is that he has been given this access and refuses to try and get better at his job. His interviews are terrible, there is no structure or thought to any of them He will ask a question and then ramble on and ask another entirely different question before giving them a chance to answer. He only wants to get out his dumb jokes or nicknames for things. He doesn't blog at all anymore which is fine because they were no better than his pods. He was given dream job and is just driving it into the ground. I don't think he resonates with any demographic at this point. God I can't stand him which sucks because he kinda covers the Sox.
 
johnmd20

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deythur said:
What makes Carrabis so awful is that he has been given this access and refuses to try and get better at his job. His interviews are terrible, there is no structure or thought to any of them He will ask a question and then ramble on and ask another entirely different question before giving them a chance to answer. He only wants to get out his dumb jokes or nicknames for things. He doesn't blog at all anymore which is fine because they were no better than his pods. He was given dream job and is just driving it into the ground. I don't think he resonates with any demographic at this point. God I can't stand him which sucks because he kinda covers the Sox.
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He is modeled after Portnoy, who absolutely sucks as a person. Just be brash and loud and aggressive and hope that works. Carrabis is just an asshole at all points. His twitter is a cesspool of fake tough guy ramblings. But Dave must love it.
 
Mystic Merlin

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Oh, fuck me sideways with a rusty saw. I hate that Ortiz is affiliated with this jerkoff.

Ortiz could hitch onto CC Sabathia’s Ringer show, but he may not even know about that because the Ringer buries anything that isn’t the NBA or NFL.
 
Patriot_Reign

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deythur said:
What makes Carrabis so awful is that he has been given this access and refuses to try and get better at his job. His interviews are terrible, there is no structure or thought to any of them He will ask a question and then ramble on and ask another entirely different question before giving them a chance to answer. He only wants to get out his dumb jokes or nicknames for things. He doesn't blog at all anymore which is fine because they were no better than his pods. He was given dream job and is just driving it into the ground. I don't think he resonates with any demographic at this point. God I can't stand him which sucks because he kinda covers the Sox.
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Sounds like you hang on his every word.
 
Jim Ed Rice in HOF

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That’s a pretty good get by Carrabis/Barstool. Ortiz seems to be a guy most players love at least from what I’ve seen of him at all star games, etc. There’s a good chance he can get guys on that many others can’t.
 
cournoyer

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As a listener of Minihane's podcast (save your spiel I know where most of Sosh stands on him) where Jared is on once a week, he's actually really good with Kirk. He drops the "Rocket" schtick which I can't stand, and which also makes Section 10 unlistenable. With Kirk, they actually have measured conversations and he's able to laugh at himself. Both him and Kirk deal with some mental health issues and when they discuss that I find it a decent listen. Ill give Jared's new podcast a try, I'm hoping it's good.
 
NickEsasky

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I agree with a lot of the criticism of Carrabis and really struggle with how annoying he is. I really limit my intake as much as humanly possible outside of the Pedroia interview on Section10. However, I do think the whole Rocket thing is mostly theater and he does appear a bit more subdued and normal in the small bit of content I have seen from the Starting 9 podcast.
 
ElcaballitoMVP

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Barstool is absolute trash with Carabis being one of the worst people they have over there. He's never been good. Never. The fake tough guy schtick that they think works is so tired. Spend your time literally anywhere else and you'll be better off.

So disappointed Papi hitched himself to this shitwagon.
 
nattysez

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luckiestman said:
What is the interesting part? That they will do the broadcast or something more? I wonder how that will work out.
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My general sense of Barstool is that they love to criticize how sports is covered and have in the past provided unsolicited ideas about how to do it better. I'm curious whether they can make some innovative ideas come to fruition that could set a precedent for future football broadcasting or this will just be an on-the-cheap, cookie-cutter broadcast with some additional betting stuff layered in.

Things I'm interested in seeing:
(1) how hard does Barstool push the gambling aspect of this game? I don't know what kind of in-game betting is permitted on college games on their app, but depending on what's allowed, I could see them having a dedicated "channel" where the game is in a box along with all of the running odds on the game and the commentators are focused on betting.
(2) by having an entity like Barstool humping the game, how much does this raise interest in the game? Will better teams be interested in playing in this game because it's going to be higher-profile than other small bowls? Is Barstool willing to pay schools more than usual to participate?
(3) will Barstool sell the TV rights to anyone, or are they going to make this an online-only endeavor?
Edit - never mind: their announcement makes clear that this is going to be online-only.
(4) what coverage innovations (for better or worse) will Barstool introduce? Always-open mics on players? Can they afford to install a Madden-cam and broadcast most of the game that way?
(5) to what extent can they exploit their ability to pay players directly to make more interesting ads/content during the game?
 
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Seels

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this would probably be the thing that completely breaks me for baseball. I hate everything about the Manfred experience and have jsut been a casual follower for the last two years. Much as I love the sport, I hate the current league.
 
nattysez

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There is little doubt that gambling is the easiest (though not the best) way to get more people following MLB. "Fixing" (no pun intended) the game to get more people watching is hard, but giving yourself over to the gambling powers and letting them encourage people to watch by allowing betting on a pitch-by-pitch basis is easy. Of course, you'll harm thousands of people -- mostly young men -- by making them gambling addicts, but since MLB isn't the one actually providing the gambling functionality, they'll claim ignorance.
 
johnmd20

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nattysez said:
There is little doubt that gambling is the easiest (though not the best) way to get more people following MLB. "Fixing" (no pun intended) the game to get more people watching is hard, but giving yourself over to the gambling powers and letting them encourage people to watch by allowing betting on a pitch-by-pitch basis is easy. Of course, you'll harm thousands of people -- mostly young men -- by making them gambling addicts, but since MLB isn't the one actually providing the gambling functionality, they'll claim ignorance.
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Would you suggest Budweiser is harming thousands of people - mostly young men - by making them alcohol addicts? Because MLB isn't the one actually providing the alcohol,, they can claim ignorance there too. Cool. Oh wait, they serve alcohol at games, just minting alcoholics by the thousands every season. Will the abuse never end?

Puritanism is certainly not the answer.
 
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