Barstool Pick Em – Week 13: “Dave Portnoy Demands Apology Between Nemesis Employees”

Date: November 20, 2025
Hosts: Big Cat (Dan), Dave Portnoy (Pres), Rico Bosco, with appearances by Meek Phil and others

Episode Overview

This lively Week 13 episode centers on college football, gambling picks, rankings controversy, and a very Barstool-style office squabble. Dave Portnoy demands an apology over a lost-and-found headphone incident between nemesis employees “Meek Phil” and Rico Bosco. The crew blends banter about office dynamics, the frustration of close gambling losses, insider college football talk, and satirical takes on the absurdities inside and outside Barstool. The picks and breakdowns are as energetic (and sometimes contentious) as ever, with no shortage of memes and memorable lines.

Main Themes and Storylines

• Internal Barstool Drama: A lost headphones saga devolves (or evolves) into a demand for public apologies, highlighting workplace dynamics and comical pettiness.
• College Football Playoff Debates: The hosts dig into ranking logic, the value of head-to-head wins, and conference biases, voicing frustration at the playoff committee.
• Office Personalities and Annoyances: Self-awareness, ribbing, and acknowledgment of their own quirks—and those of co-workers—are front and center.
• Behind-the-Scenes of Sports Gambling Content: Strategy, "rider" culture, troupe hierarchies, and the hobnobbing between sports talk and actual betting.
• Real-World Absurdities Merging with the Barstool Universe: Cameos from Rider Army lieutenants, NIL money talk for DIII football, and satirical remedies for Barstool's “writer” army woes.

Key Discussions, Insights & Memorable Quotes

I. Headphone Gate: The Case for an Apology

[02:24–15:55]

• Phil (“Meek Phil”) misplaces his headphones; Rico finds them, and a Barstool-wide debate unfolds on whether Phil was properly grateful.
• The group replays the incident, with Dave acting as judge and Dan providing comic relief.

Notable Quotes:

• Dave: “He owes Meek an apology. I hate to do it.” [05:21]
• Dan: “He is one of the most annoying guys we've got, bar none...He just goes and he doesn't stop.” [07:07]
• Rico: “I offered you my headphones and you screamed at me.” [09:45]
• Dave: “He saved your headphones and gave them back and did a gallant thing...a genuine, like, ‘thanks’ would go a long way.” [09:11]

Resolution: After much replaying, passive aggression, and lawyerly (and hilarious) negotiations, Phil mutters a second “thank you.”

• Phil: “I did say thanks. I took a breath to let all of that negative energy decompose and then did say thanks.” [09:26]

II. Rider Army, Internal Hierarchies, and Cameos for Cash

[15:00–25:45]

• The hosts discuss Barstool “Rider” culture: who is a true rider, who wants the spotlight, and what happens when riders are in financial hardship.
• Shocking reveal: Sully Soprano, self-styled “lieutenant,” has begun selling $100 Cameos to pay off debts. The crew is equal parts horrified and entertained.

Memorable Quotes:

• Phil: “Some of these guys want to be fans. My two most trusted guys don't want the spotlight...My top two guys have committed war crimes, I assume.” [17:35]
• Dan: (on Sully’s Cameo) “That’s how guys go to jail for a long time for RICO charges.” [19:49]
• Dave: “I can’t believe anybody would buy that...as a lieutenant in the Rider army.” [20:38]

Segment Highlight: The team listens to an actual Sully Soprano $100 Cameo, which is gloriously overdone with Mafia references and zealous Barstool loyalty:

• Sully Soprano: “Whatever the big man says goes, right? ... Jump, how high? Buy the merch, I gotta buy ten pairs of merch. Watch my show, I gotta watch the show ten times ... That’s the key.” [23:38–24:46]

III. College Football Playoff Rankings & Committee Logic

[29:40–34:50]

• Heated debate about the logic of rankings, using Miami and Notre Dame as examples. The group criticizes committee inconsistency, the use of eye test vs. head-to-head, and the need for clear standards.

Quotes:

• Phil: “They're rewarding teams for losses instead of wins.” [30:45]
• Dave: “If you have the same number of losses, like Notre Dame, I would put in over Miami. I think they're better fans right now.” [32:01]

IV. Big Game Picks & Gambling Banter

[36:54–71:41] (Key Games Interspersed; see timestamps)

• Lively breakdowns of Michigan–Maryland, Oklahoma–Missouri, USC–Oregon, Georgia Tech–Pitt, and more.
• Classic dissection of “dead fish coach” rumors, coaching drama (Lane Kiffin and buyout rumors), playoff tiebreaker musings, and the stresses of gambling mortal locks.

Choice Moments:

• Phil: “I lean Michigan here because I just don’t want...to take Maryland. I’m hoping you guys can use a pounding.” [36:54]
• Dan: “I’m gonna take the over in this game. That Michigan-Northwestern game was crazy to watch. Five turnovers and all those missed field goals.” [39:37]
• Dave: “Nothing’s jumped out at me. It’s the worst when you go down, it’s like I got nothing.” [71:00]

V. Personal Stakes, NIL, and Barstool as College Power Players

[55:40–59:48]

• Dan, Dave, and Rico dream up using NIL to buy a Division III football championship for Nichols College, with tongue-in-cheek “cartel” analogies.
• Queries about what it would cost; Rico floats a million, Dan and Dave cap it at $50k each for the lols.

Memorable Exchange:

• Dan: “What could buy Nichols a national championship?...If it’s not that expensive, it’d be one of the funniest storylines in Pick Em history. Dave, if we both threw in 50k.” [58:42–59:03]
• Dave: “I hope it’s like...I was thinking 50k...I was willing to pay 50.” [61:00]

VI. Cheerleading, College Sports Continuity, and Misplaced Office DMs

[72:02–76:55]

• Transition to debate over adult cheerleaders, NCAA versus NFL cheer squads, and some jesting at Dave’s expense over getting “thumbs-downed” in a DM by Jordan.
• Banter about betting on UNC and capricious relationships with college programs (e.g., Dan and Wisconsin's NIL).

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Headphone Apology Confrontation: [02:24–15:55]
• Sully Soprano Cameo & Rider Debts: [15:00–25:45]
• College Football Playoff Rankings Rant: [29:40–34:50]
• Big Game Picks and Picks Card: [36:54–71:41]
• NIL and D-III Title Scheme: [55:40–61:54]
• Final Banter (Cheerleading, DMs, Office Gossip): [72:02–76:55]

The Barstool Tone & Takeaways

• Language is blunt, irreverent, and packed with inside jokes and minor profanity.
• Self-awareness is a running current—embracing the absurdities of their own universe.
• Office pettiness is played up for comedy and to reinforce the show’s "Barstool culture."
• Betting confidence is never matched by betting performance—hosts mock their own records.
• The gambling picks are numerous and often debated, with only half-serious confidence.
• Underlying warmth: Beneath the jabs, there’s real camaraderie—arguments end with laughter, and even the “apologies” come with a wink.

Closing Quote

• Dan: “Alright. Good show boys.”
• Dave: “Alright, see you next week.”
• Phil: “Got a budget next week from Dudley.”

Summary for New Listeners

If you missed the episode, expect:

• Heated but hilarious debates about everything from lost headphones to playoff structures.
• Absurd intersections of gambling, Barstool culture, college football, and office personalities.
• Some actual football analysis hidden between the quips.
• One-of-a-kind Barstool banter—where self-mockery, chaos, and “being a rider” are more important than the accuracy of any pick.

Best enjoyed with a beer, a bet, and a thick skin.