The Ringer
- Thread starter Cellar-Door
- Start date
The font is unnecessarily huge when reading articles on a phone, 6-7 words per line.
Hopefully that is fixed soon. Otherwise the front page looks much better than the old design.
Hopefully that is fixed soon. Otherwise the front page looks much better than the old design.
Only thing I miss is the estimated time to read article. Mainly because I'm lazy and like to know what I'm getting into before scrolling down.
This story on some Vikings' players going to Iceland to learn how to be actual Vikings and drinking beers with The Mountain is my favorite story of the NFL off-season.
https://www.theringer.com/2017/8/29/16219698/minnesota-actual-vikings-iceland-the-mountain
https://www.theringer.com/2017/8/29/16219698/minnesota-actual-vikings-iceland-the-mountain
That's a great article. And I love the picture of the 6'6 265 guy looking decidedly normal next to Hafthor.
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The photos from the article about NASA's Cassani spacecraft are pretty damn cool. It's a big universe.
https://www.theringer.com/tech/2017/9/14/16305632/nasa-cassini-mission-scientists-pick-their-favorite-photos
https://www.theringer.com/tech/2017/9/14/16305632/nasa-cassini-mission-scientists-pick-their-favorite-photos
I think The Ringer, in general, has been pretty solid overall. Their Podcast network is fantastic and there are often great columns on the site. I find myself visiting it daily. I can't imagine they are making any money but it's been a pretty good year for The Ringer.
The Ringer has grown on me. I don't find their political pieces and many of their social justice articles particularly enlightening, and I don't care about most of their pop culture articles, but the sports coverage has been pretty good. They have a good NBA team, the NFL team might be an improvement thanks to a lack of Barnwellism, and the MLB team is better than I expected (no one is touching Keri imo but they are solid).
I do like their team pieces, like the exit surveys and their office rankings. I haven't check out all the podcasts, but I do listen to Simmons and the new soccer podcast they have. I really enjoy The Rewatchables, I think it is a concept right in Bill's wheelhouse.
Rewatchables is entertaining and the Point Break one was the best so far because of the talent they had (Serrano, Concepcion, and Titus) but Bill not every movie needs to be compared to a basketball team.
I'm also interested to see what the next Binge Mode is. They were hinting at Harry Potter when Mallory was on recently which would be fine and a lot less intensive for the hosts. However I was hoping for something like Deadwood or Sopranos. Something early in the "Peak TV" era that missed the modern internet coverage would be fun to rewatch with some commentary.
I'm also interested to see what the next Binge Mode is. They were hinting at Harry Potter when Mallory was on recently which would be fine and a lot less intensive for the hosts. However I was hoping for something like Deadwood or Sopranos. Something early in the "Peak TV" era that missed the modern internet coverage would be fun to rewatch with some commentary.
The Sopranos would be such an amazing Binge Mode choice, it almost has to be.
The Rewatchables is a blast. Chris Ryan is a podcasting genius. He even makes Andy Greenwald tolerable and that is just about impossible. But The Watch is also tremendous for pop culture, TV, and entertainment.
The Rewatchables is a blast. Chris Ryan is a podcasting genius. He even makes Andy Greenwald tolerable and that is just about impossible. But The Watch is also tremendous for pop culture, TV, and entertainment.
Truth.
I don't know if it's Fennessey, Ryan, Litman, Curtis, whoever, but that editorial staff has been fantastic at finding and promoting talent.
Deadwood would be spectacular, and, sadly much more palatable since it would only be three weeks long.
I hope they do Sopranos, breaking bad and especially The Wire, but it will feel different with a series that is already complete. There will not be a built in timeline based on the show airing and they will spend less time speculating on future content.
If you're a fan of Nick Kroll and Jason Mantzoukas, the most recent podcast of the Watch is absurd and hilarious.
Jason Mantzoukas seems like someone who I should have gotten sick of about 5 years ago but I still laugh at almost everything he does. That podcast was incredible. I'm glad Greenwald just went with it
I liked his little disclaimer at the front. "Sorry guys, I tried to keep them on topic, but . . ."
The Rob Harvilla piece on Tom Petty this morning is wonderfully written:
https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/music/2017/10/3/16407332/tom-petty-dies-obituary
https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/music/2017/10/3/16407332/tom-petty-dies-obituary
This epic story on Backyard Baseball hits home: https://www.theringer.com/features/2017/10/10/16451300/backyard-baseball-20-year-anniversary
I don't dislike the Ringer FC podcast from a content or analysis standpoint; although I do think they spend too much time talking about the same five teams every week, when they have a world of sport to talk about. What drives me crazy is the way Micah Peters and Ryan O'Hanlon talk. They both sound like someone is doing an impersonation of what a bored millennial sounds like. It makes every point they make come across as condescending; but maybe it's just me?
It appears there's no comment section or ability for articles on the Ringer. Or I can't find it, which is entirely possible. If this is the case, was there ever a stated reason for it? It's better concept in a lot of ways (avoid providing the cess pool for internidiots to play in), although that section can always be ignored. But sometimes the articles skew one way politically, and make assumptions or assertions that are challengable/questionable where a comment section might be useful.
They used to have one when they first launched but quietly have seemingly gotten rid of them. My experience reading them was that they often were not filled with positive comments about the articles.
That's a shame, because political responses in the comments section are usually so full of insight.
When they switched from Medium to Vox, the comment section went away. I don't know if it's web host specific or if they decided to get rid of the comments at the same time they switched.
In general, however, the comment sections on The Ringer were pretty mild and not aggressively used.(the medium interface didn't help, it was abysmal to both navigate and use) It wasn't like, say, Yahoo comments, which is an absolute cesspool.
Yeah I thought they may have gone away during the switch but wasn't sure. Like you said, the comment section was pretty tame and there would only be about 20 comments on a story, and most of them were like "This is stupid, why is this a story?"
Comment sections are almost never worth the hassle. The amount of spam that can still sneak through spam filters, coupled with trolling as shoes makes it kind of useless. If you put a FB feed at the bottom, at least it provides some level of transparency.
Also, hasn't Twitter really taken over the role of comment sections anyway? If you want to "be engaged with the brand" you just do it on Twitter.
More awesome Shea news
Shea Serrano
@SheaSerrano
got tired of waiting for there to be more mexicans on TV so i asked @KenTremendous to help me try & make a family sitcom for ABC about them
Shea Serrano
@SheaSerrano
got tired of waiting for there to be more mexicans on TV so i asked @KenTremendous to help me try & make a family sitcom for ABC about them
Katie Baker's piece on the Fox baseball studio crew (especially A-Rod) is so good. She is a hell of a talent that I tend to forget about because I am not a hockey fan.
I really like their almost daily updating of Ringer NBA podcasts with all different shows each day. Most do a good breakdown of the games from the previous night and covering a lot of the league but I also like breaking down of some of the stupid off-court and social media stuff. It's what makes the NBA fun.
I like that they have Concepcion on more often. Chris Ryan is a great host 99% of the time but whenever the Sixers come up he gets defensive. He's becoming Simmons-like with his homerism but I find it funny because it's a completely different side of him.
Chris Vernon on the other hand is still awful. Luckily he seems to be down to only once a week now with Kevin O'Connor, whose eyes you can almost hear rolling during their podcasts.
Paraphrasing them discussing Lebron's comments on the Knicks
CV: So what do you think of his comments?
KOC: I think it's too early to tell anything. I ranked them right around each other. They've both shown flashes but still look like rookies.
CV: So who would you have taken?
KOC: I had Smith Jr. ranked higher by 2 spots and I haven't seen anything to change that yet.
CV: WOW! So you agree with Lebron. You don't like Frank?!
KOC: ....that's not what I said.
Vernon belongs as a Felger in some city with an NBA team spitting his hot takes. Not on a podcast with a smart, analytically driven cohost. It's uncomfortable how little chemistry they have.
I like that they have Concepcion on more often. Chris Ryan is a great host 99% of the time but whenever the Sixers come up he gets defensive. He's becoming Simmons-like with his homerism but I find it funny because it's a completely different side of him.
Chris Vernon on the other hand is still awful. Luckily he seems to be down to only once a week now with Kevin O'Connor, whose eyes you can almost hear rolling during their podcasts.
Paraphrasing them discussing Lebron's comments on the Knicks
CV: So what do you think of his comments?
KOC: I think it's too early to tell anything. I ranked them right around each other. They've both shown flashes but still look like rookies.
CV: So who would you have taken?
KOC: I had Smith Jr. ranked higher by 2 spots and I haven't seen anything to change that yet.
CV: WOW! So you agree with Lebron. You don't like Frank?!
KOC: ....that's not what I said.
Vernon belongs as a Felger in some city with an NBA team spitting his hot takes. Not on a podcast with a smart, analytically driven cohost. It's uncomfortable how little chemistry they have.
I don't love Vernon but I still like his and Oconnor's podcast more than any of the other Ringer NBA stuff. I think they do this show over the phone and that leads to some weird timing.
Me too. I can’t say I care much for either guy on their own but I find them interesting together and always listen to the podcast.
I think O'Connor is very good, not quite Zach Lowe level but better than most mainstream basketball guys. I usually learn something and he's entertaining enough.
KOC and Vernon are a great duo. Polar opposites and it makes for great entertainment.
Agreed with the KOC/Lowe point. Those two are awesome.
Agreed with the KOC/Lowe point. Those two are awesome.
I love Kevin O'Concert. I also love the daily podcasts for the NBA; they are fun. I even like when Chris Ryan is defensive. I think it's just a great group.
Vernon is a little annoying and hot-takey and so I completely see the point but they seem to actually like each other, so I think they do have great chemistry and Vernon is there to draw out takes from O'Bomber, which he does so I think it works. That said, I'm kind of glad Vernon is only on that one.
I fucking love Juliet Lipman and Chris Ryan together; they have amazing chemistry and Lipman is hilarious.
Vernon is a little annoying and hot-takey and so I completely see the point but they seem to actually like each other, so I think they do have great chemistry and Vernon is there to draw out takes from O'Bomber, which he does so I think it works. That said, I'm kind of glad Vernon is only on that one.
I fucking love Juliet Lipman and Chris Ryan together; they have amazing chemistry and Lipman is hilarious.
In case you care, it's Litman.
The Ringer podcasts, in general, are universally awesome. Because the NFL pod is as good as the NBA one, which is to say both are must listens. Achievement Oriented, the Rewatchables, The Watch, Simmons' podcast and House of Carbs are all phenomenal. Even Against All Odds is good when I listen to it, but I don't care about that topic that much.
Sal in his element is worth a listen. At least for the first 20-30 minutes. I don't gamble and Sal's pod is one I hardly ever miss.
I might have to listen to that more often. I don't gamble either, so going into detail about random bets doesn't really entice me but Sal is a pretty great dude and very funny.
If you view the gamblers as sports analysis with 'skin in the game' to use a newly popular term, it becomes a sports pod as much as a gambling pod.
It's really good. I think johnmd mentioned it and I started listening. I like Chris Ryan on this more than anything else he does.
Interesting I’ll have to give Vernon another real shot. To be fair I’ve only listened to maybe half of his the past few months. I do really like O’Connor and he’s been much more comfortable this year.
I feel like Chris Ryan and Simmons might come to blows by the end of the year. Between Ryan’s defensiveness and Simmons’ declaration that Tatum is the best player in the 2017 draft a month into his rookie season and almost but not quite already calling Fultz a bust.
I feel like Chris Ryan and Simmons might come to blows by the end of the year. Between Ryan’s defensiveness and Simmons’ declaration that Tatum is the best player in the 2017 draft a month into his rookie season and almost but not quite already calling Fultz a bust.
I am definitely a sports gambler and I will say that Against All Odds is not very good as a gambling podcast, but it is an enjoyable listen because I like Sal. I consider it more of a regular sports podcast that happens to mention some bets.
One thing they need to do though, is get those other 3 guys microphones because it sounds terrible having them call in right now.
One thing they need to do though, is get those other 3 guys microphones because it sounds terrible having them call in right now.
NN Taleb, guy who wrote fooled by randomness and the black swan (biz book not ballet movie) has popularized the term when talking about decision making and decision makers. More or less popular depending on your circle/interests I suppose.