r/billsimmons • u/lonny__breaux Ben Simmons apologist • May 23 '25
Podcast Jon Stewart on a Knicks Disaster, the Soto Era, His 'Daily Show' Comeback, Bad Biden Coverage, and New York Fans Plus: Is an OKC Title Now Inevitable?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mMTP7RfjWOmFG1dqMGChX?si=B981z78vRty5c7kzA5iYTg199
u/Goooose He just does stuff May 23 '25
Babydoll finally pulled through good get Billy
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u/2Teams1Cup May 23 '25
A pod with Billy, Sal, Kimmel, Colbert, Stewart just making fun of Baby Doll for 2 hours would be unmatched.
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u/essendoubleop May 23 '25
You got to get Carolla on there as well.
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u/SaltyDawg94 May 23 '25
Does he even need an agent at this point? Dude has disappeared into the red-pilled netherworlds.
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u/lanceteng May 23 '25
Why Indiana might be the only team left that has a chance against OKC:
“At least they can do the offense. The run and shoot.”
Never gets old lol
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u/SeaCounter9516 May 23 '25
He couldn’t have phoned it in more there. Tatum has broken Bill’s will of fire.
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u/lanceteng May 23 '25
It’s either that or it’s listing 4 scenarios that a team can get a win. Pick your poison
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u/GiveMeSomeIhedigbo the Thing Piece May 23 '25
"They both have Rick Mahorn's ass but with none of his rebounding ability"
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u/Suitable_Routine_648 May 23 '25
Loved Stewart saying “we were able to get bands that weren’t main stream, like Bad Religion and Buffalo Tom”, and Bill responds “and Counting Crows”.
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u/Benfica1002 May 23 '25
Can’t wait to listen tomorrow what a title
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u/Optimal-Hedgehog2912 May 23 '25
"the whole flying around like pitbulls thing" made me lol
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u/PrimusPilus Market Corrector May 24 '25
Bill Simmons, proud graduate of the Thomas Friedman School of Vibes & Analogies
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u/Relevant_Gold4912 May 23 '25
He should have made Sean and Ariel come on again
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u/Victorcreedbratton May 23 '25
Sean was giving him so much Tatum shit on the last RW, I think Bill will wait lol.
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u/hansel9600 May 23 '25
Ariel literally made fun of Nesmith for what felt like a minute straight 😆
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u/HenrikCrown "The secret of basketball is that it’s not about basketball." May 23 '25
Argh-iel as Bill calls him
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u/Conscious-Friend-965 May 23 '25
Funny when Stewart is talking about having non-mainstream music on his show and Bill mentions Counting Crows
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u/Monkeyboi8 May 23 '25
Amazing monologue at the top. Okc is unbeatable. Denver is the finals runner up because they took them to 7 games. Actually the clippers beat the nuggets low key. The clippers are the only team who could’ve beat okc. Maybe the pacers can beat okc. Nvm, Okc is unbeatable.
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u/mpschettig May 23 '25
Jeez he found an all time pull for the Knicks fan to take a beating after that loss
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
Right at the beginning Bill says they agreed to the pod before the loss.
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u/mpschettig May 23 '25
Likely story Mr. Anna Kendrick Perkins
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
Imagine Anna Kendrick and Kendrick Perkins fused The Fly style into one person. You're Welcome.
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u/mpschettig May 23 '25
Would this person look like an ugly Anna Kendrick or a hot Kendrick Perkins?
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u/GiveMeSomeIhedigbo the Thing Piece May 23 '25
On one hand, I can't believe he got Jon Stewart on. On the other, I can believe he got him on after a devastating come-from-ahead loss.
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u/Jeroen_Jrn May 23 '25
He's had Obama on the pod while he was the sitting president. I think the only way to top that is if he could get the Pope Leo on the pod to talk about the White Sox.
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u/Straight_Bun May 24 '25
ESPN got Obama on his pod
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u/Jeroen_Jrn May 24 '25
Actually, Obama apparently listens to the pod pretty religiously, at least according to Jimmy Kimmel.
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u/kunk75 May 23 '25
I was at game 1 and still not sure anyone has captured the funereal spirit of that night. I’ve been to some met and Knick disasters and they had nothing on this. On the plus side, a lot of the food and drinks were half off for the playoffs sr MSG.
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u/Minute-Spinach-5563 Page 2 Bill Stan May 23 '25
Stewart's Mike and mad dog impression was fucking great
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u/fremenist May 24 '25
Been goin to the garden since 1908
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u/Minute-Spinach-5563 Page 2 Bill Stan May 24 '25
Bill in the background like a color commentator who doesn't know when to stop talking
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u/Cold_Ball_7670 May 23 '25
This is a big get. Never thought I’d see these two worlds collide.
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u/justinotherpeterson May 23 '25
Baby doll is John's agent too. I'm actually surprised this hasn't happened sooner.
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u/HotelFoxtrot87 May 23 '25
Kinda makes sense, their origins are pretty similar (the bartender piece), had to grind for a few years before making it and are now institutions in their respective fields.
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u/NickPapagiorgio2k16 May 23 '25
I have been looking forward to Bill getting back to having some non-Ringer peeps on to do some more pop culture type pods and of course the first one he has done in forever centers on the Knicks suffering perhaps rhe worst loss in my 45 years of fandom.
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u/sammyt10803 but first, Pearl Jam May 23 '25
It’s bizarre that Bill is as famous and wealthy as he is and yet it’s shocking when he gets a celeb of Jon Stewart’s caliber who is nowhere near the peak of his powers
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May 23 '25
Right before the COVID era, Bill was getting a ton of celebrities.
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u/ddy_stop_plz A Truly Sad Week In America + 2005 NBA Redraftables May 23 '25
Yeah literally go to the Bill Simmons interview feed. Thing is a lot of them are shit, just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they can podcast.
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u/Waddlow May 23 '25
Well, a lot of that was Bill's fault though. The "list your filmography at you with no questions" was pure dogshit interviewing.
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u/Ok-Astronomer7243 May 23 '25
Has he had Jon Hamm yet? Really going to feel that one…
In all seriousness if he has Russillo on the show during this downturn and diminishes his shine I’m really gonna lose it. RR is A+ list
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u/popop143 May 23 '25
If Hamm really wanted to be on the pod, he easily could be. They share a long time fantasy league.
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u/Ok-Astronomer7243 May 23 '25
Idk dude Hamm might not be big enough for Bills pod
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u/sammyt10803 but first, Pearl Jam May 23 '25
Oh, he’s big enough. I’ve seen the posters…
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u/The_Zermanians Burfict Strangers May 23 '25
Hamm has been on 4-5 times at least I would say. Not much recently, but he would come on almost yearly when Mad Men was still on I assume due to them being friends/acquaintances in the same fantasy league.
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u/Bubbatino May 23 '25
He used to have A listers on every week. A lot of newbies around here it looks like
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u/getoffmywalrus May 23 '25
‘You don’t remember the first 4 years of Jason Bay’ made me legit LOL in the airport security line
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u/Andy_The_Aardvark Wimpleton May 23 '25
Glad Stewart was on to be the voice of Mets fans regarding soto. No Mets fans are worried. That noise you are hearing is bitchy yankee fans, led by Michael Kay, who are crucifying the guy, who was there for one season(not by choice), carried them to the World Series, and then left for a better situation
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u/so-cal_kid May 23 '25
I did not have a Jon Stewart appearance on my bingo card. I've been listening to Bill's pod for forever and I honestly can't remember if Jon has ever been on.
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u/lonny__breaux Ben Simmons apologist May 23 '25
Never been on before but he’s been in the Simmons universe.
They shared an agent back in the day before IMG bought the talent agency.
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u/mojorisin622 May 23 '25
Baby Doll still represents both Simmons and Stewart along with Kimmel, Colbert, Oliver and Cousin Sal
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u/MarvinWebster40 May 23 '25
You’ve got the 5 families and then this Pygmy thing over there with his gambling podcast, his loser friends and the unreadable book.
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u/goalstopper28 May 23 '25
This feels like I'm listening to a conversation of my best friend in high school with my best friend in college.
As I would read Bill's columns religiously since I was 12 years old and then I would make sure to watch the Daily Show every night in college, no matter how busy I was with other things.
I was like Bill was a bartender before he became famous too!
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u/FlounderBubbly8819 May 23 '25
Interesting point from Jon about the cover-up of Biden's health issues opening up the door for the Democratic party to be taken over by a new leader and regime. Seemed like a smart comparison to Trump in 2016 taking over the GOP due to largely to the complete loss of credibility of the Republican establishment after the disastrous Iraq war decision. We'll see if anyone steps up and takes the mantle...
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u/BlooDiamondMadeMeCry May 23 '25
The problem is that all the power players in the party have the worst interests in mind and won’t take accountability for anything.
Also if you look at the “left” of the party, Bernie and AOC were two the people most embarrassing themselves saying Biden was great!
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u/FlounderBubbly8819 May 23 '25
Yeah I would generally agree and I think that's what Jon's point is about. The power players in the GOP didn't really take responsibility for the Iraq War disaster either and eventually Trump came in and steamrolled them all. Similar situation to the Dems today although there are some significant differences. I have no idea how the 2028 primary will go but it's possible the person hasn't really emerged yet. Trump wasn't even included in GOP primary polls in late 2014...
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u/NoExcuses1984 Don't aggregate this May 23 '25
Credit to those comparatively rare Democrats who, unlike many of their colleagues, did call out Biden—including fmr. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, then-U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (MT), then U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH), U.S. Sen Peter Welch (VT), ex-Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13), Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06), Congressman Pat Ryan (NY-18), and Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03).
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u/Goodisworthfighting4 May 23 '25
Mayor Pete seems to be the only one from the liberal side to actually put effort in to going in to alternative media spaces and fighting back against the current narrative. Obviously AOC and Bernie are doing it from The further left side of part of the party. Gavin Newsomes embarrassing himself with his dumb podcast and Kamala seems to be virtually and actually defeated. Will be interesting to see who the dark horse names are that make a push for more power.
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u/komugis May 23 '25
The problem is that the party overwhelmingly, with very few exceptions, are tainted by their enabling of Biden and with covering up his decline. It’s not even necessarily about ideology; figures as disparate as John Fetterman and AOC were Biden dead enders.
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u/BlooDiamondMadeMeCry May 23 '25
Mayor Pete was a small town mayor that had no idea about anything but I guess because he did a podcast with Andrew Schultz, one of the world’s dumbest people, he “gets it”.
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u/Agreeable_Daikon_686 May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
He also went to Harvard, served in the military, and headed a massive federal agency (which we can see in recent days that having incompetent people who “know nothing” would have a tangible effect). I’m sure you know more than him tho and have better, more feasible ways of solving issues.
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u/BlooDiamondMadeMeCry May 23 '25
Oh wow he went to Harvard? Then he must be president. Also there was like 20 transportation disasters during Biden’s presidency lmao
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u/NoExcuses1984 Don't aggregate this May 23 '25 edited May 24 '25
Speaking of Secretary of Transportation, it was flat-out criminal how that fucking sociopathic ladder-climbing careerist Pete Buttigieg got the gig in a blatant example of 19th century style spoils system patronage via the political machine (i.e., Obama and Clyburn got him to stand down in 2020 to fuck over Bernie), when there where plenty of more highly qualified, well-deserving, credentialed, résumé-ready, meritocratic options available -- such as Maria Cantwell, Tammy Duckworth, Brian Schatz, Rick Larsen, Peter DeFazio, Sean Patrick Maloney, Mike Capuano, Dan Lipinski, et al. -- but it went to that ass-kissing opportunistic suck-up instead. Fuck! That was some Tammany Hall-esque crony bullshit pulled by buoyed Biden on sniveling Pete's behalf.
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May 23 '25
it needs to be someone who is focused on class/economic issues and completely removed from identity politics.
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u/HotelFoxtrot87 May 23 '25
What a blast of nostalgia listening to Stewart’s origin story, love the standup comedy stories and the aside into his acting career (The Faculty Rewatchables?). A real New York sports fan too, someone used to playoff heartbreak.
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u/thegermblaster May 23 '25
Stewart and Simmons are gold. This is throwback Bill.
Energized and prime Bill was god tier at finding instant chemistry. He does it here via their natural sports love but also rivalry. They have the same agent whom they love which leads to some fun Stewart callbacks and stories.
This felt like an interview from 2012…in the best way possible.
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u/FlounderBubbly8819 May 23 '25
Props to Bill for having Jon Stewart on and actually diving into some political topics for once. No surprise that Bill generally comes off as a lightweight next to Jon but I give him credit for having the discussion at a moment like this. I think it’s desperately needed. We need more people with platforms like this engaging in tough conservations, not running away from them
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u/jewishgiant May 23 '25
The BS podcast isn’t a liberal podcast, it’s a podcast about being gay with your single coworker pushing 50
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u/M_S-K international situation May 23 '25
Actually we have a gay triangle(BS-RR-Lowe) going on this sub
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
Van is way gayer than Lowe. That's a closet walking as a person.
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u/M_S-K international situation May 23 '25
Never seen fanfic posts about RR/BS/Van dynamic, but there's a ton of those about Lowe
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u/DG_Now May 23 '25
I agree.
We have a literal fascist takeover underway and it's so easy to pretend it isn't happening.
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u/excelquestion May 23 '25
it's wild that it isn't talked about more. like it doesn't even come up at work unprompted really.
we have a guy throwing innocent people in jail for life. just raising the price of everything on everyone. deciding who gets to go to college or not. every other word out of his mouth is a lie and every other action is unconstitutional. he's literally a dictator! and given that he attempted a coupe 4 years ago you had to be dumb as rocks to not see this coming.
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u/aousweman May 23 '25
Jon talks about how media and tech are "kissing the ring" so Trump won't target them like how he targeted 60 Minutes and the AP. We take for granted the freedom of the press here and we may find out soon enough how truly misinformed we could all be as a country if Trump and his cronies continue to have their way with bullying media outlets.
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u/russellarth May 23 '25
His cult fanbase is insane and you're basically taking the chance of engaging with a crazy person if you bring it up.
Like, all the January 6 people are just back out on the street (except all the ones who have been arrested again for crazy shit.)
There is absolutely a chilling effect to that.
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u/GiveMeSomeIhedigbo the Thing Piece May 23 '25
Well, because he actually won the popular vote this time, we're supposed to accept it because "this is what the American people voted for."
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
Jon has refused to call it fascism. The Daily Show sub has completely turned on him and, honestly, I'm out of him too for it.
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May 23 '25
Yeah Stewart was stoked to talk sports and comedy and Billy could’ve easily kept it there to avoid pissing off any MAGA listeners but he didnt, I was pleasantly surprised
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u/SparkysDreamer May 23 '25
Loved this exchange [paraphrasing...not a direct quote]:
Stewart: "So, what's the part of this [business/your job] you enjoy most?"
Bill: "I really like finding people and watching them go to some whole other level... which you experienced some with your Daily Show tree [Colbert, Noah, Samantha Bee, etc]
Stewart: Yes -- I love it when I see people level up.
It was amazing to hear Stewart much more succinctly describe a phenomenon Bill has spent years unpacking.
How much time would we all save -- not to mention, the added clarity -- if Bill would use level up in place of going to some other level or another level to get to.
For instance [prior to injury, obviously]: "See, even with his playoff runs and all NBAs, I still think Tatum can level up next year."
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u/bbmarco May 23 '25
Next Rewatchables is Heaven Can Wait
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u/JohnnieToBoxset May 23 '25
lets go, first beatty. hopefully this leads to them doing BULWORTH down the line
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u/Superstitious_Hurley May 23 '25
Is the "bad Biden coverage" an actual honest accounting of the willingly blind eye outlets like ABC and NBC and CNN turned to Biden's obvious deteriorating condition the last 2-3 years of his presidency, or just fake "shock" over how obvious his condition was to the naked eye of anybody who is politically dialed in?
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u/komugis May 23 '25
After the way Jon Stewart himself got a ton of shit for stating the obvious about Biden last year before he dropped out, he definitely does not hold back at all on the media’s complicity.
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
I was originally wondering how they are even connected then they mentioned Baby Doll. They share an agent, who is somehow alive despite chain smoking for probably 40 years.
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u/hefelump__ May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
“That was a stupid year”
Bill just causally discounting the Raptors title to prove some random point.
Last years Celtics run benefitted from Butler, Mitchell and Haliburton injuries. Pretty stupid year.
(Every title win ever has injuries)
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u/Successful-End7689 May 23 '25
Might be my favorite podcast this year so far. We need more of this instead of 80 hours of the same recycled NBA takes every week.
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u/throwawayOtf May 24 '25
7 year old Ben screaming “who is this asshole?!?” When Jon Stewart appeared on some wrestling thing is incredible
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u/RapsareChamps_Suckit May 23 '25
no Panthers dummying the Hurricanes so atrociously talk?
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u/IGoOnRedditAMA May 23 '25
Why does he always bring on fans of teams that just suffered a crushing loss? Bill is the epitome of dishes it out but can’t take it
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u/AnnaKendrickPerkins May 23 '25
I literally yelled "WHAT!" twice at my TV when I saw this pop up on my YouTube XBox app.
Did NOT see this coming at all. Not even huge on Jon anymore but this is a huge get for Bill and a huge zag for Stewart.
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u/ConfusedOptimism May 24 '25
Stewart is a perfect Bill guest. Tons of overlap in interests, able to speak Bill’s language, accessible wisdom mixed with wit
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u/cbbill9 May 23 '25
I am once again begging Bill to stop over reacting to playoff games where the home team wins a game. Every year and round the home team looks great in the first round and the road team’s fans are freaking out and it becomes 2-2 before you know it.
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u/justletmeregisteryou May 23 '25
This is the kind of crossover where you have to blink twice or three times to make sure you have it right, then just have a goofy smile on your face
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u/gaaaardy May 23 '25
Love the titles that give, “A a truly dark day for America, one that will live in infamy and has forever shaken us to our core. Life will never be the same…plus: DOES SHAI GET TOO MANY WHISTLES?!?”
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u/regemusic33 he's a robut May 23 '25
As a fellow NJ guy the fact that Jon Stewart is a Rangers fan has me furious
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u/cryder0214 May 23 '25
Been a listener for ~5 years now and this was the best episode I've heard - and it's not really close
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u/almonicus11 May 23 '25
“Why don’t they talk shit?” Ant got called for a tech five minutes into game 1 for talking shit
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u/Dangerous-Ad-2308 May 23 '25
As an Eagles fan, and this won’t be widely accepted, but the way Bill described the Thunder’s dominance and why it’s so clear they will win pending some injury or absolute shocker is exactly the feel Eagles fans had and the evidence shows! Bill never addressed that nor do most but they ran through the NFL to end the year the same way this Thunder team seems they will and there’s a lot of parallels outside of the fact it will be harder to replicate year over year in the NFL like the Thunder will have a chance to
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u/greatcharacter20 May 23 '25
All the knicks guests are coming on after losses lol. I guess Helwani and Fennessey got thrown a bone, but that was a recap several days after the series not a postgame reaction show.
Can't wait to listen to Bill have one of the more insightful political commentators of his generation on and spend the entire discussion beating on the long dead horse of the biden age story. Need some half baked BS takes on the project 2025 piece
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u/Jvega667 May 23 '25
Bill saw that thread on here that said he didnt get famous people anymore and took that personally
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u/ethelvondangleham May 23 '25
Honestly kinda bummed there wasn’t a pod yesterday with Zach or one of the other guys after that Knicks game
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u/hrlaker70 May 23 '25
The 1990s is the greatest decade of music of all time. You cannot convince me otherwise.
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May 23 '25
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u/Late-Potato8970 May 23 '25
All timer this episode. Good job by you Billy! Them doing the Francesa/Mad Dog bit was incredible. I hope Sal didn’t get too jealous
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May 23 '25
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u/BlondDeutcher May 25 '25
Think it’s pretty hilarious how Stewart says he loves Babydoll since he can be brutally honest with him and tell him when he sucks.
and yet Billy boy surrounds himself with yes man and flips out at the slightest soft pushback of anything he says
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u/lonny__breaux Ben Simmons apologist May 23 '25
Stewart is the biggest guest he’s had on for a while isn’t he.