The Bill Simmons Thread
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His wife wiped the floor with him two years in a row too.
The constant back peddling and Monday Morning Quaterbacking of his picks were got me off the Simmons Train.
The constant back peddling and Monday Morning Quaterbacking of his picks were got me off the Simmons Train.
"I had a brain fart and disregarded my Never Bet on Eli on a Short Week Corollary to the Always Take the Home Dog in Bad Weather Rule!"
The Simmons podcast up today where he discusses the Skipper resignation and the Disney/Fox deal is really very good if you have any interest in media happenings. For a guy whose reach extends way beyond media geeks into general sports fans it's a sophisticated conversation.
Bryan Curtis of the Ringer joins for the Skipper portion and he's great. I've dealt with him a little bit and to me Curtis and Ourand are the two best guys out there covering this business. Quality hour of listening.
Bryan Curtis of the Ringer joins for the Skipper portion and he's great. I've dealt with him a little bit and to me Curtis and Ourand are the two best guys out there covering this business. Quality hour of listening.
Regarding sports gambling in general, a goldfish (well, two goldfish technically...RIP Larry I) almost won the Super Contest last year. Nobody knows anything. Except for the oddsmakers.
Ben Thompson is also just awesome in general. His podcast, Exponent, is a good listen if you’re interested in general business strategy. It focuses on tech but most of the points are applicable across industries. I probably learn at least one new thing each episode.
Ben Thompson is also just awesome in general. His podcast, Exponent, is a good listen if you’re interested in general business strategy. It focuses on tech but most of the points are applicable across industries. I probably learn at least one new thing each episode.
I’ve never heard of Thompson or his site and I’m not much of a techie; but I second that from a business strategy standpoint he was great on Simmons’ pod. Curtis I like on podcasts but find his writing to be kind of topical media hackery. I just find his Ringer articles to be “Here is why ESPN is failing” hit pieces.
It is good but giving Skipper a pass on how he totally ruined the financial future of the company seems ridiculous. It's his job to read the media landscape and he totally blew the direction the subs were going in and the massive cord cutting effect had on ESPN and Disney. If Bill didn't like the guy so much I have to think he'd come to a different conclusion about Skipper's legacy. On the other hand, they're right about Norby. Can't believe that guy is still there.
Simmons is so weird.
Twice in the last week, I've heard him talking about Danny Ainge saying he's made four of the best trades in recent memory, but let's remember he's also been lucky. Both times he's lead with as evidence, he tried to trade two first round picks for Robert Swift!
The best evidence Bill could find was a trade offer from 14 years ago I guess?
And would that outweigh all the good anyway? If put on a seesaw the Swift offer would be a pebble on the other side of the Brooklyn trade boulder. Doesn't balance out at all.
Everyone is aware luck is involved in sports Bill, thanks for the heads up though.
Ainge must have passed over his buddy Sully for a promotion or something.
Twice in the last week, I've heard him talking about Danny Ainge saying he's made four of the best trades in recent memory, but let's remember he's also been lucky. Both times he's lead with as evidence, he tried to trade two first round picks for Robert Swift!
The best evidence Bill could find was a trade offer from 14 years ago I guess?
And would that outweigh all the good anyway? If put on a seesaw the Swift offer would be a pebble on the other side of the Brooklyn trade boulder. Doesn't balance out at all.
Everyone is aware luck is involved in sports Bill, thanks for the heads up though.
Ainge must have passed over his buddy Sully for a promotion or something.
Old enough to remember when he tried to GFIN for Justice Winslow. If that had gone through Danny might have been fired by now.
Before the Kyrie trade, there was that the popular sports take that he couldn't land a big star (see, failing to land Cousins, George, Butler, Griffin, Durant, Porzingis, etc.). I think Danny has done better than most and his Kyrie/Tatum acquisitions have cemented his good judgment status at least for the next few years. On the other hand, I'm enjoying Bil's return to bashing Doc Rivers whenever he gets the chance.
Before the Kyrie trade, there was that the popular sports take that he couldn't land a big star (see, failing to land Cousins, George, Butler, Griffin, Durant, Porzingis, etc.). I think Danny has done better than most and his Kyrie/Tatum acquisitions have cemented his good judgment status at least for the next few years. On the other hand, I'm enjoying Bil's return to bashing Doc Rivers whenever he gets the chance.
BS has been amazing with Francesa doing the picks. Francesa takes over, as you'd expect. But I think they work well together. Would definitely listen if they started doing any kind of regular show...although it sounds like Francesa is working on doing his own thing.
Agree. I'm not listening for any real "insight" into the NFL, but the two of them together are entertaining. I laughed each time Francesa said YUGE ("It's gonna be a YUGE year for coach change.... I took my son to see the Knicks against OKC cause he's a YUGE fan of Westbrook), because I knew Simmons was also giggling with delight.
I haven’t yet listened to the podcast with Francesa and Bill’s Dad about the Jimmy G trade. Is it filled with lazy inability to understand salary cap implications and folksy, uninformed reactionary takes? I’m curious but worried it will make me totally angry, as it smacks of Bill-at-his-worst.
You nailed it. The Francesca part is fine. They have their own crackpot theories about why it happened but it’s fine and I’m a fan of them doing picks. His dad remains an uninformed EEI caller who thinks the trade “never made any sense” and they should have just kept both.
It’s awful. I’m through the Francesa part and I haven’t heard the words “salary cap” once. I can feel my brain cells fizzling listening to this.
The discussion is incredible without examining the salary cap AND personal (not personnel) implications of keeping/trying to keep Jimmy G under contract past 2017. I've seen almost no discussion in the media about the complexities of managing the Brady/Jimmy G dynamic into 2018 given that (a) Jimmy is four years into his career and wants to play, (b) Jimmy would get paid more than Tom and (c) THEY'RE REPRESENTED BY THE SAME AGENT.
This isn't a Madden video game; there's a good argument to be made that Bill couldn't manage having that elephant in his locker room, much less under the cap. He's not a wizard.
Agreed with the above. At one point Bill's dad even suggested that the Pats just Franchise JG and that would be the solution to everything. *eyeroll*
Also, Bill kept repeating the idea that Brady was out of touch with his teammates and was losing the locker room. I've read or heard no evidence of this. Does Bill have inside info or just talking out of his ass as usual?
Also, Bill kept repeating the idea that Brady was out of touch with his teammates and was losing the locker room. I've read or heard no evidence of this. Does Bill have inside info or just talking out of his ass as usual?
I listened to the podcast, and I think he was making that inference based on the gap in age between Brady and many/most of his teammates. It's not ridiculous to think that Tom isn't BFFs with 22 year olds on the team, but, then again, why would any player with a family be hanging out with the single guys and what evidence is there that being BFFs and/or relating to your teammates on levels beyond 'we love football and are all about working hard' is necessary to begin with?
He was trying to suggest that Bill traded Jimmy G because he sensed a 'brewing locker room problem' in the form of, presumably, Tom becoming unbearably threatened by Jimmy G's presence as the 'old Brady' who become best buds with the offensive linemen and distributed the ball to many receivers (implying that Brady doesn't) and/or different factions supporting Tom or Jimmy G.
He did frame it as a 'theory', so we can lend it the credence his theories generally merit.
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Yes, the age gap is real but I think it's a huge stretch to say Brady 'doesn't hang out these these dudes anymore' as legit take considering all the evidence to the contrary...
His dad did bring up the salary cap but of course it was the old Felger cap is crap crap. “They usually end the season $15-20 million under the cap so they could figure out a way to fit both.” According to Patscap Twitter they have just under $3 million this year.
Great point.
I didn't think they could top (bottom?) their Deflategate discussion but this was just as crappy.
Hilarious read. Derrick Henry stinks, the Rams have a higher level in them - I can fee it - and we should all be very afraid of playoff Fournette, even though people who know very little about football could have told you that Buffalo would stack the box to force Blake’s hand.
As I’m typing this, our self-annointed playoff gambling expert is four minutes shy of producing a winless wildcard weekend.
Simmons was just generalizing from his own experience. He doesn’t understand why Tate and all the Ringer staff members in their 20s never invite him to hang out with them.
The funniest part is that, on his podcast with Sal this week, he now said Derrick Henry worries him because he's "fresh" from not playing much this season and that Fournette sucks and might be tired after a long season. So I 100% expect Henry to do nothing of note and Fournette to go off on the Steelers, and then have Simmons claim he knew that would happen and was just trying to reverse-jinx the Pats and Steelers.
Also, he wrote this re: the Tennessee-KC game:
And then admitted on the podcast he bet on the game anyway. Good stuff.
It was cool of Simmons to explain in his column today that Franchising JG was financially impossible when he couldn't do that with his dad a week ago.
Edit: wasn't aware there was a long form takedown of it. LINK: https://deadspin.com/bill-simmons-is-a-fucking-embarrassment-1822032693
Edit: wasn't aware there was a long form takedown of it. LINK: https://deadspin.com/bill-simmons-is-a-fucking-embarrassment-1822032693
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To be fair, fifteen years ago Simmons deserved to be evangelized.
To be fair, I can't decide which I am more tired of: Simmons' columns or the predictable Deadspin pile-ons.
So he basically wrote an article that's an encapsulation of the BBtL thread about the Wickersham article?
At least Bill’s column discussed the salary cap implications of keeping both QBs. Wickersham’s didn’t even mention it.
Uhhhhhh so between Jalen appearing on Simmons pod and Zach and Bill appearing on each others pods... is the freeze out over at ESPN? Seems all to have happened after Skipper stepped down and Simmons even made a little mention of Skipper today on the Jalen pod. I'm only 25 min into it, but it's great hearing these two together again. I really like Jalen and Bill seems to bring out the best in him.
I usually only listen to his pods with Sal, but this was an exception. So far, so good.
I usually only listen to his pods with Sal, but this was an exception. So far, so good.
Lowe did home and home last year too but the Jalen thing is new. These guys together got me more into non Cs ball then I have ever been.
I’ll have to listen to the Jalen show but Bill and Lowe are excellent together. They are more similar than they appear and they seem to bring out the best in each other, Lowe reels Bill in a bit and Bill gets Lowe to be more personable, it’s a shame they don’t do it more often.
I think Lowe, Jalen and Simmons or some combination thereof would do a regular podcast if there wasn't some issue with employees of competing content providers working together on that. That said, I am looking forward to Rose and Simmons - they are fantastic together.
I was listening to ESPN Radio the other day and they had a commercial plugging Simmons's appearance on Lowe's podcast. I did a double take at hearing his voice on the WWL.
I listened to the first hour and 35 minutes (!) of the Simmons-Jalen Rose mega-podcast at the end of a long drive home yesterday. It was self-indulgent in many respects, and at one point Jalen compared Simmons to Colin Kaepernick in a way which made sense but also made my head spin to where I nearly drove into a ditch. Still, it was a great listen anyway, mainly because of the real sense of joy they conveyed to me: unlike the joyless Shaughnessy or the hacky Bayless, it's pretty clear to me that these guys both love what they're doing with their lives, and their defining characteristic is their authenticity. I mean, Simmons isn't always a rocket scientist when it comes to how he views the sports he covers, but he is always himself, and even in this later stage of his career, that still goes an awfully long way. And he and Jalen still clearly like each other a lot - their chemistry made the joy they felt from being with each other pretty infectious.
I think i may be the last remaining Simmons fan on the board, or the last willing to admit. Sure, he’s wrong about stuff from time to time (and his gambling advice is so terrible that his claiming gambling success is uncomfortable), but he talks about stuff i’m interested in with people i like, and the quality of the Ringer podcasts and the articles on the website is typically first rate.
That said, his interviewing skills are still inconsistent and I thought the Jalen interview was often unlistenable. Not the there wasn’t clear affection and enthusiasm between the two of them, and they’re funny and smart talking basketball. But Bill let his enthusiasm get the best of him and interrupted Jalen over and over again to the point I had to give up. It happens too much (the Paul Thomas Anderson interview was another recent example).
That said, his interviewing skills are still inconsistent and I thought the Jalen interview was often unlistenable. Not the there wasn’t clear affection and enthusiasm between the two of them, and they’re funny and smart talking basketball. But Bill let his enthusiasm get the best of him and interrupted Jalen over and over again to the point I had to give up. It happens too much (the Paul Thomas Anderson interview was another recent example).
I’m a huge fan. You are right in your analysis of his interviewing skill but it is a small price to pay for the entertainment he provides.
Edit: ICYMI the recent Rewatchables good will hunting was great (Shea Serrano was low key the best person on it)
Even his dog takes are too hot now...
Bill SimmonsVerified account @BillSimmons 2h2 hours ago
I’m anti emotional support dogs but pro police dogs
Bill SimmonsVerified account @BillSimmons 2h2 hours ago
I’m anti emotional support dogs but pro police dogs
He has since deleted that Tweet after getting some, uh, negative feedback on it.
He then moved on to passive aggressively blame everyone else's interpretations of it and then also science....
Bill SimmonsVerified account @BillSimmons 12m12 minutes ago
(I deleted the 3rd tweet in this string because it was a follow up ref to my tweet earlier today about the stupidity of emotional support dogs on airplanes ... thought that would be clear but obv not...)
He then moved on to passive aggressively blame everyone else's interpretations of it and then also science....
Bill SimmonsVerified account @BillSimmons 12m12 minutes ago
(I deleted the 3rd tweet in this string because it was a follow up ref to my tweet earlier today about the stupidity of emotional support dogs on airplanes ... thought that would be clear but obv not...)
That was totally worth it to read about the emotional support bear attacking college students.
Are you upset? Do you need support?
I can almost guarantee that reading about the bear will cheer you up!