The Bill Simmons Podcast

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Joe House to discuss the Patriots' deflating opening loss (6:00), Kareem Hunt's rookie breakout (11:00), Gronk vs. Eric Berry (16:00), the downside of Tom Savage (22:00), Kyrie's thoughts on the Celtics (31:00), and way-too-early NBA odds (36:00). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin joins to break down the lack of offseason NFL story lines (43:00), Antonio Brown's 'Dancing With the Stars' gimmick (49:00), player movement in the NFL (55:00), the spiritual element of enjoying fish (1:01:00), the best bacon (1:12:00), and final thoughts on 'Game of Thrones' (1:20:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by staff writer Shea Serrano, a Houston resident, to discuss the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and his grassroots social media campaign to raise funds (7:00). Then, JackO joins to give his thoughts on the Boston Red Sox stealing signs from the Yankees (23:30) and Trump's latest tirade (46:00). Finally, rookie Los Angeles Chargers kicker Younghoe Koo comes on to discuss his journey from South Korea to the NFL (54:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal to continue the age-old tradition of guessing the NFL lines before each weekend's slate of games. Topics include: NFL futures (6:00), Philip Rivers's number of touchdown passes (16:00), MVP odds (21:00), odds for first coach fired (27:00), Pats-Chiefs (35:00), Packers-Seahawks (40:00), Andrew Luck's over-under games played (47:00), Steelers-Browns (51:00), Bengals-Ravens (57:00), Cowboys-Giants (1:05:00), Saints-Vikings (1:12:00), and the top-tier teams heading into Week 1 (1:16:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons gives his thoughts and theories on the bizarre Kyrie/Isaiah trade saga and why he still believes Kyrie Irving's ceiling is underrated (5:05), then brings on The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor to discuss Friday's press conference in Boston and the league's reaction to the deal (26:05). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin previews the 2017 college football season and September's MLB pennant race before indulging Bill's primitive Game of Thrones thoughts (while longing for her days with The Maester, Jason Concepcion) (55:18). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by former Patriots Super Bowl champion linebacker Willie McGinest to discuss the differences between Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick (8:00), the rudderless Patriots of the ’90s (16:00), pushing the USC Trojans to hire Pete Carroll (26:00), O.J.'s superstar status at USC (31:00), Snoop Dogg's days playing quarterback (35:00), Dr. Dre's creative genius (43:00), the Michael Vick experience (56:00), the 2001 Super Bowl win (1:04:00), and where Willie keeps all of his Super Bowl rings (1:19:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by 2017 Finals MVP Kevin Durant for the second installment of a two-part series to discuss the outlook for the NBA's new-look teams and to continue answering listeners' most pressing mailbag questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by 2017 Finals MVP Kevin Durant for the first installment of a two-part series to discuss the shocking Kyrie Irving trade and to answer listeners' most pressing mailbag questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons assembles all of The Ringer's NBA experts to dissect the decision to trade Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and discuss whether the Cavaliers became better heading into the 2017-18 NBA season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on Ringer editor-at-large Bryan Curtis and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay to discuss Mayweather-McGregor media hype (5:00), politics playing a role in every sports conversation (18:00), the NFL's desire to control everything (25:00), LeBron's power in the NBA (34:00), writers weighing having a platform and getting paid (40:00), the problem with the "pivot to video" (50:00), Boston potentially renaming Yawkey Way after David Ortiz (1:01:00), and Peter Vecsey's beef with Magic Johnson (1:12:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to discuss his famous steal against the Yankees (5:00), the depth on the Dodgers this season (11:00), the sense of urgency to win a World Series in L.A. (17:00), the influence of analytics in baseball (23:00), the conundrum of balancing rest with chasing history in the regular season (30:00), Yu Darvish's arrival (40:00), and the best advice he's gotten from Magic Johnson (44:00). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin joins to discuss the best-case trade scenarios for Giancarlo Stanton (57:40). Finally, Bill's dad hops on the line to pitch his best Stanton trades (1:14:00) and give his thoughts on 'Game of Thrones' (1:21:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Kevin O'Connor to discuss Kyrie's limited trade market (6:00), Josh Jackson's trade value (10:00), the Knicks' best shot to get Kyrie (17:00), Cleveland's interest in Jamal Murray (23:30), Jabari Parker's trade potential before his injury (30:00), the Lakers trading for LeBron (38:00), and Kyrie's chances to be a Cavalier this season (44:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by The Ringer's Mike Lombardi, Tate Frazier, and Joe House to discuss the most ridiculous NFL offseason talking points, including Andrew Luck being overhyped (14:00), Odell Beckham Jr. being overrated (26:10), Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson's relationship (32:32), Kirk Cousins's contract (37:00), and Cam Newton's scrambling style (45:30). Then, they make a few sleeper predictions for the 2017 NFL season (56:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by fellow Boston diehard Kevin Hench to discuss the birth of the Brady-Belichick dynasty, the duo's best Super Bowl victory, the best team the Pats beat during their run together, the most important pass of Brady's career, the most improbable comebacks, and the most rewarding moments for Patriots fans since 2001. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Cycle CEO/founder Jason Stein to discuss the evolution of branded content (5:00), Joel Embiid's Twitter personality (11:00), Facebook curating content (21:00), the YouTube generation (32:30), the reinvention of sports (42:00), monetizing Twitter (52:00), the Rock's social media dominance (1:01:00), and the chances of Amazon one day owning the NFL (1:07:00). Then, Bill's dad joins to talk about the Red Sox's resurgence (1:27:00) and his best guesses for what's next on 'Game of Thrones' (1:30:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and sports media mogul Casey Wasserman to discuss L.A.'s Olympic bid (5:00), modernizing the Coliseum (11:00), the biggest Olympic concerns (17:00), L.A.'s underdog status with the IOC (25:00), Trump's involvement in the bid (34:00), connected car-share technology (40:00), and L.A.'s Olympics legacy (44:00). Then, The Ringer's Jason Concepcion joins to give his thoughts on Kyrie's trade request (1:01:00) and NBA players determining their own destinies (1:11:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron to discuss her new action film 'Atomic Blonde' (5:00), auditioning with a poor English accent (11:00), Johnny Depp’s presence (16:00), Tobey Maguire's gambling (22:00), chatting with De Niro (33:00), consulting Patty Jenkins on 'Monster' (39:00), overcoming a neck injury (47:00), working with Seth MacFarlane (54:00), and the loss of irony (1:02:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor and Joe House to discuss Carmelo Anthony potentially going to OKC (5:00), Kyrie Irving's decision to demand a trade (14:00), the importance of All-NBA honors (18:00), John Wall vs. Kyrie (25:00), LeBron's blindsided act (35:00), David Griffin's best moves (43:00), Dan Gilbert's dysfunction (50:00), potential trades for Kyrie (56:00), LeBron's media strategy (1:03:00), and the big-picture move for LeBron (1:12:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on former Ticketmaster CEO and House Eats 3 judge Nathan Hubbard to discuss the booming business of nostalgia-rock concerts (5:00), James Dolan's desire to improve acoustics in arenas (18:00), the best bets for future Super Bowl performances (27:00), Taylor Swift's chance to perform at the 2018 Super Bowl (32:00), Dave Matthews Band and the emphasis on touring (37:00), the real reason season tickets exist (46:00), the impact of adding more arenas in Los Angeles (56:00), and how Twitter owns the moment (1:07:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on old buddy JackO to discuss Aaron Judge's slump after the home run derby (7:00), the Yankees' trade for Todd Frazier (12:00), the scariest hitters in the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry (26:30), and the genius behind 'Mike and the Mad Dog' (34:00). Then, The Ringer's Shea Serrano joins to break down the Best Worst Movie Dunks of all time (49:00) and explain what's going on with the Spurs (1:03:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons brings on NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler to give his thoughts on his exit from the Bulls (4:00), D-Wade's impact (11:00), tampering in the NBA offseason (18:00), idolizing the Jordan brand (26:00), Karl-Anthony Towns's unique skill set (31:00), his return to Chicago next season (37:00), Thibs's love for basketball (43:00), secret pick-up games in L.A. (53:00), and D-Rose's next destination (1:05:00). Then, The Ringer's Mallory Rubin joins to discuss the long-awaited return of 'Game of Thrones' (1:15:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices